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

What overtourism does to Spain and Portugal’s ‘vertical’ communities .

An informative article on the Spanish colonisation of The Americas.

The astonishing outfits of a very colourful festival down in the Valencia region next month.

Cousas de Galicia

The storm which smashed into Ireland and the UK yesterday will hit us tomorrow, taking over from the one which gave us a pretty violent hailstorm in Pv city today.

Ryanair has said that Spain suffers from a failed regional airports policy. “Regional airports are half empty and currently underutilised by 64%”, says the company. I wonder if Galicia’s 3 small facilities are included in this group. I guess so, given that Ryanair is cancelling some operations here.

Europe

This article – aimed at North Americans? – claims that Denmark, Switzerland, Germany, The Netherlands and Sweden are the best places to live in Europe. They might well be by some criteria but they certainly ain’t the cheapest.

The UK

Fascinating . . . 12 places in England that contributed to making America great in the first place.

Ireland

Trump is said to be planning to crush the Irish economic miracle. The president’s threat to raise tax on overseas companies would blow a hole in Dublin’s national finances.

Denmark

It’s not only Ireland that Trump has in his sights, Denmark – another NATO ally – is said to be in crisis mode, after an horrendously bullying call from Trump to the PM about the USA taking control of Greenland.

The USA

For all his early momentum, Trump’s political revolution can’t last. He faces splits within the Republican party in Congress, in the Maga movement and in an electorate demanding quick results. He sabotaged his own first term with his notoriously short attention span, unwillingness to read policy documents, and fostering of chaos and dysfunction . . . .. “He has a style of governance where he leads with brash and then falls back on threats. There’s the big speech and the flashy announcements but then there is the kind of hard bore grind of governing and Trump seems to fall asleep when he gets to the hard work. It is a thoroughly radical right-wing agenda but we’ll see how far he gets with it.”

Through the blizzard of edicts, see Trump for what he is: an autocrat reaching for limitless power

Nothing if not vindictive, Trump has removed Dr Fauci’s security protection, the need for which was created by him.

Russia

Reader Aleksandras has kindly supplied this article on Russian interest in 1984.

China

What China might be doing with its social media algorithms.

Quotes of the Day

• Since the attempts on his life, Trump has spoken repeatedly of divine intervention. Not everybody is convinced. Not a huge surprise.
• I don’t know if Trump really believes that God saved his life on that day, but he knows that his evangelical followers—a significant part of his constituency—believe this. This kind of appeal to providence has a long history in the USA. Providence is normally used to advance the political ends of those who invoke it. But there has never been an inaugural address in which the president has claimed that God is using him for a particular purpose
• The question Donald Trump is asking is: “How much can I be king?”

The Way of the World

This article follows up on my question about the stats on trans kids in the UK.

English

A host of palindromes. Not surprising to read Dr Johnson’s remark.

Spanish

A few Spanish examples of the same thing:-

• Anita lava la tina
• Dábale arroz a la zorra el abad.
• Somos o no somos
• La ruta natural
• Acaso hubo búhos acá

Did you know?

It’s very hard to believe that Gen Z folk are shunning sofas for ‘human pet beds’ and that an increasing number of adults are finding the thought of curling up in a giant animal basket too hard to resist.

You Have to Laugh

Finally . . .

The lovely – but struggling – Emma Raducanu is said to be looking for a 7th coach in 3½ years. I’ve thrown my hat into the ring. I don’t know much about tennis but it seems neither did the 6 previous occupants of the position.

My thanks to those readers who take the trouble to Like my posts.

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.