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

Which way is the key tourism sector going in 2025? See here for answers to this question. No one is expecting a reduction in numbers.

Barcelona is planning a new attack on mid-term rentals. Mark Stücklin addresses the plans and their likely impact here.

Cousas de Galicia

Not everyone in the region is against wolves: there were 2 articles in the VdG yesterday sympathetic towards them, albeit from senior folk in NGOs you’d expect to have such views.

Which reminds me . . . A walk last week in the forest behind my house revealed this evidence of boars getting near to us humans . . .

Last night’s temperature was again, at 2 degrees, the lowest ever for December. Well, since the Little Ace Age perhaps. Or maybe only since records began, long after that. Anyway, my underfloor heating doesn’t cope well at this level, which is annoying, as cold hands don’t make for accurate typing.

The UK

Another 5 star review for Paul McCartney’s show, this time in Manchester.

The USA

Iran

It couldn’t happen to a nicer set of leaders . . . The fall of Syria’s brutal regime is the latest in a series of recent setbacks for its chief sponsor, Iran, which spent billions of dollars propping up Bashar al-Assad only to see its investment disappear overnight in a rattle of celebratory gunfire. The government is facing an extraordinary public backlash on TV talk shows and social media over the wasted billions as well as the Iranian blood that was shed in vain to prop up the bloodthirsty Assad regime. More here.

Quotes of the Day

• The [UK’s] House of Commons has become a prop for social media. . . . The quality of MPs has been declining for years, mostly because few people in their right mind want to do the job. . . A big problem, which “modernisation” might actually make worse: Parliament is increasingly dismal at making and debating our laws.

On something else . . .

• Censorship – throughout history – has been an abject failure. What movement did it ever stop​? Certainly not Nazism in today’s Germany.

The Way of the World

Social Media

Revelling in a CEO’s killing is where phone obsession has taken us. We’ve always slowed down to look at car crashes. But now there are a thousand a day to stare at . . . This is not the internet’s fault. It is ours. The internet is only giving us what we want . . .We all have unfortunate instincts within us. When it comes down to it, we are all just highly evolved apes that got lucky. Social media capitalises on these base instincts, makes them stronger, gives us what we want. But we don’t have to take it. 

English

Toxic: A word whose usage has shot up since the mid 1960s. It used to mean ‘poisonous’ but now seems to mean something like ‘irritating to me’. Or to each other, as in a ‘toxic relationship’.

Spanish

Sesgo: Bias or slant. Of Spanish judges – claimed by the PSOE government, denied by the PP opposition. Probably believed to exist by the majority of the Spanish population. As in the USA but not the UK, where the appointments aren’t political.

Did you know?

Lily Phillips – the young English woman who pleasured 100 men in October and who’s planning for 1,000 in January – was already a porn star before that famous Only Fans stunt. Who’d have guessed? As I think I’ve mentioned, her mother is her business manager. She even appears to have directed a documentary of the October event.

You Have to Laugh

• For Monty Python fans . . .

–I’m always amazed at how skilled Spanish tattoo artists are.

-You’re not the only one. No one expects the Spanish ink precision!

• An Iranian joke you might have read above: How can a people tighten their belts if they don’t have any trousers. Quite possibly first heard in a Communist country decades ago.

Finally . . . Questions of the Week . . .

• When she’s a millionaire, will Lily Philips use a bit of her ill-gotten cash to finance a change of name? and

• Meanwhile, will her parents’ friends shun them, despite their new-found wealth?

Finally, Finally . . .

I saw a (modern) Jeep parked down the road the other day and wondered if it was yet a decent car. Apparently not . . . Attractive looks and appealing deals in showrooms might convince you that the Jeep Compass is a bit of a left-field gem. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. From its cheap interior materials and sloppy ride quality to its uncouth engines and sluggish performance, there’s little to love – you’ll find far better SUVs for the same sort of money.

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.