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

On property purchase restrictions . . . The new sanctions regime is as much about politics as it is about policy. And the trouble with political ambitions is that they can clash with economic realities.

And they can backfire, under The Law of Unintended Consequences. Industry experts believe that foreign buyers – including Britons – are being treated as “scapegoats” by the Spanish government, and that Spain will be poorer as a result. And that: The targeting of non-EU non-resident buyers reflects a refusal in the Spanish government to admit the real causes of the country-s housing crisis – a “straightforward” problem of rising demand and static or decreasing supply. It amounts to scapegoating foreigners who are the only group that can’t vote in Spain.

Talking of politics bumping up against reality and a hard-nosed commercial operator – The saga of AENA and Ryanair. There can be only one winner.

Interesting to see that the Spanish company Navantia has bought the British company Harland and Wolff, famous for building the unsinkable Titanic.

Cousas de Galicia

Nothing has happened except a lot of rain . . .

The UK

One columnist’s (plausible) view of why the UK has lost its way in the last 20-40 years. (NIMBY, by the way, stands for Not In My Back Yard.)

The Netherlands

How the country eradicated potholes, a bane of life both in the UK and in Spain.

France

Who’d be the French president? Macron’s approval ratings have sunk to the lowest point ever after a disastrous TikTok video – an ill-advised exchange with a TikTok influencer who turned out to be an Islamic fundamentalist. The French president is described by aides as ‘sad and isolated.’

The USA

The front cover of the latest issue of Private Eye, a British satirical mag:-

It’s notable that, while Trump has not done several tough things that he was going to do on Day 1 – stopping the Ukraine war, and reducing inflation, for example – he has been able to implement threats acts of retribution and vengeance, not to mention pardoning the criminals who horrified the world on January 6 four years ago. ‘Liberation Day. As he calls it.

Making something ‘great’ depends, I guess, on what noun you apply the adjective to.

It’s interesting that a man heading up a corrupt oligarchic government thinks that the USA was greatest between 1870 and 1913. For this period – the Progressive Era – was the age of trust-busting, when monopolies were dismantled and market competition under laws like the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890.

I doubt there are any Trump voters reading this blog but it there is/are, this is for them . . . Trump’s plans are already making your life more expensive. A la Truss . . .

Russia

One expert’s view of why Russian invaded Ukraine. For Moscow, as we know, it wasn’t technically an invasion, as Ukraine – like the Crimea – was/is part of Russia. Conveniently.

Quotes of the Day

• The desire to be a politician should bar you for life from ever becoming one.
• Hitler was a romantic about England: it’s thought that he ordered the bombers to lay off Oxford because he fancied its golden towers as his HQ.

AI

One answer to the question you’ll all be asking about that Chinese AI engine.

English

Continuing with my bringing you all up to speed (al día/tanto) . . .

• FAFO: Fuck around, find out. Used by gobby young people – and Trump – to mean ‘Try that and see what happens’.
• GTFOOH: Get the . . . .
• STFU: Shut the . . .
• DILLIGAF?: Do I look like I give a . . .
• JFGI: Just fucking Google it.

Spanish

Al ras: Flush, level with. [Not it’s first appearance, I fear]

Did you know?

St Albans is one of the better British cities for pubs, if not the best.

Finally . . . You Have to Laugh

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.