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

One wonders how this will affect Spain’s future competitiveness. And what percentage of workers are really getting the minimum rates.

Cousas de Galicia

Very bad news . . . A “catastrophic” collapse in shellfish numbers is being reported by Spanish fishers in Galicia, with some stocks falling by as much as 90% in the space of a few years. Galicia is Europe’s principal source of shellfish and, after China, the world’s biggest producer of mussels, which are farmed in the estuaries. The recent Hermania storm is reported to have done irreparable damage – possibly fatal – to shellfish beds in our estuaries. Prices will surely rise, assuming supply.

The storm also damaged those parts of our rail network which are old and more vulnerable. Which is all of them, in fact, except the new tracks between Ourense and Santiago de Compostela.

Our mayor basks here in the glory of the recent Feroz festival. You can tell he thinks the event is important as he isn’t wearing jeans. Or probably isn’t, beneath a DJ. And because he spoke to the TV camera in Castellano, not his normal Gallego.

The UK

WH Smith opened its first store in 1792 – a newsagents on Little Grosvenor Street in London – but progress means that, like many other well-known High Street names, it’s on the verge of downsizing to merely a retail option in train stations and airports, where customers are ‘captive’. Or disappearing altogether, like Woolworth’s for example. Some say it won’t be missed, given how bad the buying experience has become is in its remaining High Street stores.

The USA

After years of strife over what his rise means, Trump’s inaugural address clarified everything: he is the symptom of imperial decline who purports to be the cure. . . . He thinks he will affect the country’s ongoing decline in ways that are both big and small, both hilarious and horrendous.

China and AI

Has rocked the capitalist world with a cheapie but decent* AI search engine, giving the US companies a black eye. Well, rather more than that, it says here.

* Unless you ask it about infamous aspects of Chinese history.

Quote of the Day

With Trump back in the White House, leaders across the world will have to get used to something very new: an America unembarrassed about putting its own national interests first, and specifically in making the security of its borders one of the central aims of its foreign policy.

The Way of the World

“The Last Musician of Auschwitz” – This breathtaking documentary will stay with you forever. Should be compulsory viewing

English

Doing my bit to keep you up-to- date. . . .

• Astrogender: “A fluid gender identity that transitions from male to female to non-binary depending on the current configuration of the night sky”.
• Aliengender: “A gender that is an interpretation of a gender or genders from a non-human perspective”.
• Maverique: “A non-binary gender identity that exists completely outside the traditional gender binary. It is characterized by a strong, autonomous sense of gender that is entirely independent of male, female, masculine, feminine, or neutral concepts”

I guess it’s possible to have all of these at the same time and to move between them, as your insane sense of self shifts from one to the other.

Spanish

• Díscolo: Wayward, unruly, fractious, rebellious, headstrong. [I can never remember its meaning]
• Sudar la camiseta: To work up a sweat

Did you know?

The UK harbours the biggest percentage of drinkers of instant coffee in the world, despite it tasting awful. As I recall it did when I started on it as a university student, giving it up as soon as I was earning money. An amusing article on this here.

Finally . . .

I don’t suppose there’ll be a lot of you interested in it but here’s something on the history of the Pv city football club. It’s in English but could well have been written by a Portuguese. That said, there’s evidence of the influence of ‘Manc’.

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.