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

Several HTs to Lenox Napier of Business Over Tapas for these items:-

• Cadena Ser’s chief of economics affairs says that the perceived problem of squatting (okupas) is almost 1,000 times bigger than the reality. He fingers those responsible for establishing this perception: the alarm companies and those wishing to make a political point. Okupas currently account for 0.06% of homes.
• The sentimental companion of Madrid President Isabel Díaz Ayuso has now been called 5 times to declare in front of a judge re alleged corruption but, so far, has had more important things to do.
• Cave paintings in Laja Alta (Jimena de la Frontera, Cádiz) are the oldest in the Mediterranean – dating back to the 4th and 3rd millennium BC. They depict sailing ships, thought to be a first.
• The [Scouse]Hispanicist Paul Preston writes in Perfidious Albion about the real policy of the British government towards the Spanish Civil War – designed to quietly support Franco.  Along with France. This, claims Preston is what squeezed to death the democratically elected Republican government.

This “honest’’ expert on ’30 great Spanish cities’ certainly errs on the side of positivity. I’m very surprised that Salamanca doesn’t figure but pleased that Vigo and La/A Coruña do. Possibly written by an AI engine which hasn’t actually visited any of the places.

Cousas de Galicia

I read an article about a US woman who’d gone home after finding that living in Spain was rather different from taking holidays here. She’d moved from Miami to the Cantabrian (Bay of Biscay) coast and found the dull, wet winters more than she could take. Given how bad my first one was here in Pontevedra, I had some sympathy with her. I always ponder going South but never do. But, then, I’ve spent much of the last 3 winters in the UK, even though it’s not quite the same thing as heading down to Andalucia or Murcia..

To set against this . . . Property purchases here in Galicia by folks from other regions are well up on recent years. Moving North to escape the increasing heat?

Like wild boars, wolves are said to be an increasing problem for livestock farmers in Galicia. Unlike boars, they have a taste for cattle.

Portugal

The Traffic Ministry – fed up with the way Spaniards take roundabouts – has issued a guide for this in Spanish. I wonder if it’s done any good, both in saving lives and saving Spanish drivers from the €300 fine for doing things on the modelo espagnol.

The UK

Lenox addresses here the issue of Brexit’s success/failure. There are adherents of both beliefs. And some more optimistic about its future than others. Así son las cosas.

Germany

As elsewhere, sales of Musk’s Tesla cars have plummeted. In this case by 60%, making the Chinese company BYD very happy.

The USA

Possibly the first thought of many, after we’d got over the shock . . . Welcome to Trumpworld, where the developer-in-chief sees dollar signs in the rubble of Gaza.

The FT refers to ‘havoc’ and has an article on the question of where Trump got his latest lunatic idea from. A Galician newspaper has the right answer . .

Musk’s “baby-faced assassins” who are taking over the US government. Almost beyond belief.

Quotes of the Day

• Flabbergasted analysts wondered whether Trump was simply dreaming of the deal of a lifetime or proffering a madcap scheme to distract the attention of the world’s media. But his own words suggest months, if not years, of forethought. A cat may have been thrown on the table, but this one is alive and clawing.
• Everyone loves my Gaza plan: A cretin with no grasp of the concept of truth

Social Media

• The harm done by social media is like cancer: The UK’s head of Counterterrorism.=
• The tech bros don’t care a fig what porno does to children.

English

McGuffin: An object, event, or character in a story that drives the plot and motivates the characters, but is generally unimportant or insignificant in itself.

Spanish

Cerrado a cal y canto: Locked and bolted, locked/closed up tight, under lock and key

You Have to Laugh

One I neglected to post a few days ago . . .

Finally . . . Did you know?

Between the Dutch William and the German George, the English monarch was Queen Anne (1702-1714) – the last of the Stuarts. The poor woman gave birth to 17 children, all of whom died very young, with the longest living succumbing to smallpox at 11. How very tragic.

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.