Awake, for morning in the bowl of night has flung the stone that puts
the stars to flight.
And, lo, the hunter of the east has caught the sultan’s turret in a noose of light!

Spanish life is not always likeable but it is compellingly loveable – Christopher Howse: ‘A Pilgrim in Spain.

Cosas de España

If you’ve ever wondered how the Spanish middle class has evolved in the last couple of decades, this is the article for you.

Possibly Spain’s greatest inventor.

In an article I cited recently – possibly only yesterday – youth unemployment was said to have fallen from its height of 50% but is still around 26%. And, yet, there are regular complaints from restaurant and bar owners here in Pv city that they can’t get staff. And this despite the fact that young folk continue to pour in from South America. All rather odd. And hard to understand.

Cousas de Galicia

I guess we should all be happy about the news on food prices – that while they haven’t actually come down from the high levels reached over the last 2 years, the rate of increase has reduced. Small mercies. Here’s a chart about our local percentage increases and decreases in November. Olive oil and sugar might well have fallen back a bit but this is after vast increases previously.

The Olive News has as article on food inflation here.

The UK

Spaniards’ lives are rather dominated by their ID cards. So, they naturally find it very hard to believe Brits don’t have them. Or even – if you ignore (non-compulsory)NHS numbers – just an ID number. But they don’t. Years ago, Tony Blair tried to introduce them only to fail. But times have changed and this article says the majority of folk would now support their introduction. So, I could end up with 2. I guess.

France

As you might not have heard of the new PM, here’s an article on him.

The USA

Weird times. . . Like a medieval court: Inside Trump’s shadow White House, Mar-a-Lago. The 126-room mansion in Florida has become a source of both spectacular shindigs and high-stakes meetings with foreign leaders.

Spanish

The Royal Academy has chosen these words as their candidates for Word of the Year:-

1. Alucinación:  Sensación subjetiva que no va precedida de impresión en los sentidos. A reference to AI??
2. Dana: The kind of weather front that hit Valencia in November
3. Fango: The type of speedboat we’re very familiar with here along Galicia’s coast
4. Gordofobia: Fat phobia.
5. Inquiokupa: Una persona que accede legalmente a una vivienda mediante un contrato de alquiler, pero posteriormente deja de pagar las rentas y se niega a abandonar la propiedad
6. Mena: Mena: Inmigrante edad que no cuenta con la atención de ninguna persona que se responsabilice de él.
7. Micropiso; Microflat
8. Narcolancha: The type of speedboat we’re very familiar with here along Galicia’s coast
9. Pellet: ?Pellet?
10. Reduflación: La estrategia comercial en la que las empresas reducen la cantidad o el tamaño de un producto mientras mantienen (o incluso aumentan) su precio
11. Turistificación: Turification
12. Woke

Did you know?

A study involving the oldest human DNA ever analysed suggests Homo sapiens reached Eurasia 50,500 years ago and interbred with Neanderthals for 7,000 years.

Finally . . . You Have to Laugh

Well, at least I did, at this peroration on FB, cleaned up for inclusion here . . .

This is the worst dog breed – the bloody Chihuahua. These little buggers act like they own the world when they’re barely big enough to survive a gust of wind. If Satan designed a dog to give you a panic attack, he’d give you a Chihuahua. They look cute but they’re pure evil in a handbag. Who in their right mind thought that having a rat-sized dog with the attitude of a pub bouncer was a good idea? They’ll square up to a great Dane like they’ve got something to prove, and you’re just standing there mortified, trying to explain to the other dog’s owner why your glorified hamster is trying to start World War 3. And don’t even get me started on the barking. It’s like they’ve got a personal vendetta against silence. It’s like living with a furry air raid siren that never shuts up. You’d think that, with all that noise, they’d actually have something important to say, but No – just pure, unfiltered, pointless rabbiting. These little bastards have no concept of their size. They’ll pick a fight with a Rottweiler, a horse, maybe even a tank, if given the chance. Meanwhile, you’re standing there like “Mate, you’re the size of a baked potato. Calm down!” If you want to live in constant fear of being out-psyched by a creature the size of your slipper, get a Chihuahua. It’ll ruin your peace, your hearing and probably your sanity but, hey, at least it fits in a handbag.

My thanks to those readers who take the trouble to Like my posts, either after reading them on line or in my FB group Thoughts from Galicia.

The Usual Links . . .

• You can get my posts by email as soon as they’re published. With the added bonus that they’ll contain the typos I’ll discover later. I believe there’s a box for this at the bottom of each post. If you do this but don’t read the posts, I will delete your subscription. So perhaps don’t bother if you have other reasons for subscribing . . .
• For new readers: If you’ve landed here looking for info on Galicia or Pontevedra, try here. If you’re passing through Pontevedra on the Camino, you’ll find a guide to the city there.
• For those thinking of moving to Spain:– This is an extremely comprehensive and accurate guide to the challenge, written by a Brit who lives in both the North and the South and who’s very involved in helping Camino walkers. And this is something on the so-called Beckham Rule, which is beneficial – tax-wise – for folk who want to work here. Finally, some advice on getting a mortgage. And this article ‘debunks claims re wealth and residency taxes’. Probably only relevant if you’re a HNWI. In which case, you’ll surely know what that stands for.