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

Here’s the estimable Mac75 on the history of the Knights Templar in Spain. Not as fulsome as the articles of the Autodidact Professor, needless to say. What could be​?

At dinner last night, one of my Spanish friends confessed he was no clearer than me on the crime(s) allegedly committed by the partner of the Madrid region Presidenta. But the group’s expert advised that it was simply a case of a false tax return. Which failed to show a commission of (I think) €350,000 on one of the questionable Covid supply deals. Possibly for rubber gloves. Above a certain monetary level, this sort of thing is treated as a crime in Spain, meaning a possible prison sentence.

It’s been a tad disconcerting to see that a 1970s British sitcom – ‘George and Mildred’ – was wildly popular in Spain. ‘George’ died recently – in his 90s – and his obit was accorded a full page in one of the newspapers I flicked through yesterday. [BTW: Un spin off is what it sounds like. As is una empresa spin off, I guess.]

Reader David up in La Coruña has kindly helped me confirm that get my HP laptop’s motherboard [placa/base madre] replaced here will cost me it costs at least twice as much as than in the UK. In fact, as much as it cost when new 2 years ago. This is because there’s a nice-and-tight restrictive operation run by HP’s exclusive agent in Spain. It reminds me of analgesics and the restriction on their sale to pharmacies. David sees this sort of anti-consumer behaviour as a left-over from the Franco era. Boy, is his influence living on in the marketplace. But at least his plans for autarchy collapsed in 1959. Since when, Spain has done rather well. Helped by sun and sand. And the EU.

Cousas de Galicia

More positive coverage on that windy place, A/La Coruña.

Not too difficult but I guessed that Combarro would be the most famous village in Galicia in this review of candidates for this accolade in each of Spain’s regions. But only last night, I was saying to Spanish friends that – given the number of visitors to its narrow lanes – I’m averse to going there except at the height of winter.

The UK

There’s growing concern that the Labour party will defend its Muslim ‘constituency’ by introducing a new/strengthened blasphemy law ‘through the back door’, by re-defining ‘Islamophobia’. This columnist addresses this concern in the context of the wider issue of free speech.

The USA

Nothing if not cynical and openly hypocritical, Trump has launched a White House ‘[Christian]faith office’, headed by the dreadful Paula White. He really knows how to pick ‘em. And the critic of big government has set up a task force to enquire into nastiness done to Christians.

Can we make sense of Trump and his madcap pronouncements? This columnist thinks he/we can. His argument is certainly plausible but it won’t, of course, convince everyone that Trump actually knows what he’s doing. Or that, as his acolytes claim, he’s ‘playing 4-dimensional chess, while his opponents aren’t even on a chequers[draughts] board’. Can they really believe this​ or has the Devil bought their souls​?

Social Media

There’s an old saying that a lie will travel halfway around the world before Truth has a chance to get its boots on. A major reason for this nowadays is that a lie is far more click- and Like-worthy than the truth. And the bigger lie, the better and the faster. This makes Trump the perfect authoritarian populist politician for the age of social media. Will things have changed before the next US election in 2028​?

The Way of the World

It’s tempting to think it must be satire – or possibly a spoof – but London’s Science Museum is telling kids that Lego could be be anti-LGBT. Because the ‘gendered’ bricks are only male and female, reinforcing the idea that ‘heterosexuality is the norm’. You couldn’t really make it up. Read about it here.

Spanish

• Fascista: In Spain, a word which simply means ‘disagreeable’, in line with Orwell’s 1944 observation that he’d heard it applied to a vast range of folk and that it had been degraded to the level of a swearword.
• Chivatazo: Tip. Tip-off
• A pies juntillas: Blindly, on trust. To the letter. [Pretty obsolete, I’m told]
• Gorrear: To scrounge, cadge. [From gorra for ‘cap’?]
• Apuesto: Handsome, dashing

Finally . . . You Have to Laugh So Much You Will Cry

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.