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

Says the (right-of-centre) Telegraph: The head of Spain’s capital has overseen a boom thanks to low taxes and her embrace of Latin American migrants. The article – and international praise – won’t do her any harm as she seeks to supplant the current PP leader and become Spain’s Maggie Thatcher.

Cousas de Galicia

The VdG today: For sale because of lack of staff . . . Tax pressure, rising labor costs, rising prices for products and services, and a severe staff shortage have led 25% of Galician hotels to hang up a “for sale” sign. Furthermore, they‘ve also been affected by the sharp increase in vacation rentals, which in Galicia total 25,000. According to the sector, there are 225 places for sale in the region, most of them small or rural tourism houses. And this is happening where 40% of the 313 municipalities don’t boast a single hotel.

Since the 18th century, Galicians have stressed/marketed their Celtic heritage, sometimes giving the impression that they’re the only Iberians to be blessed with this. The note below gives the lie to this innocent (and profitable) claim.

Portugal

Up in the Douro Valley, mineral-rich white wines complement seafood platters of sardines and goose barnacles. As I’ve reported, 3 weeks ago I drove to a Portuguese adega (Spanish bodega) selling some of these. This involved getting down a hillside via a pretty terrifying – but Google advised – route to the valley floor. In retrospect – if not at the time – it was worth the experience. Excellent wines.

The UK

It’s claimed that around 6.9 million people claim disability benefits of one sort or another – more than 10% of the population. This includes more than one million ‘foreigners’*. As someone once said: This is a situation a government certainly can do something about, but not if it wants to be re-elected. And that’s ignoring the problem with the government’s own MPs . . . The Prime Minister says the system is “unsustainable, indefensible and unfair” but he is facing the biggest rebellion of his premiership over planned cuts to the annual benefits bill. * Foreign nationals become eligible for universal credit and other benefits on the same terms as British citizens once they’re granted indefinite leave to remain and have settled or refugee status.

Germany.

Very unhappy re the awful treatment given by US ICE personnel to 2 German tourists.

Europe

Protests against pro-Russian leaders sweep Eastern Europe. Large rallies have taken place in Hungary, Romania and Serbia.

Italy

Italy is one of five ‘dismantlers’ causing ‘democratic recession’ in Europe, a report says.

Trump

 “I know Putin very well”, Trump often says. Can he really believe that he knows Putin, the ruthlessly ambitious ex-KGB tactician, “very well”?  [One problem is that no one knows the answer to this question].

So . . . Is Trump a stooge, KGB asset or plain stupid. Most probably, he has no real idea what he’s doing – or just doesn’t care. How else to explain his belief that proving himself right about tariffs is worth starting a global recession? Or that the ethnic cleansing of 2m Palestinians in Gaza can bring peace?

I highly recommend this latest episode of Shrinking Trump. There’s a tremendous speech from Congress and some positives from a guest:-

• The greatest impediment to Trump’s authoritarianism is his incompetence.
• The implementers of Project 2025 are also incompetent and obvious, trying to go through all the discrete phases at once. This was not helped by Trump appointing the mad Musk to lead things, rather than Vance, the choice of Voght et al.

You will also learn why the shrinks think Trump is a sociopath and a malignant narcissist. And as insane as Musk, though even more stupid.

Here you can learn why a book of a few years ago which aimed at warning the voters against a second Trump presidency didn’t work. And that it’s a combination Trump, Musk and Vought that’s behind the current chaos. I knew that Voght was the architect of the Project 2025 but not that he’s a ‘Christian nationalist/libertarian’. As is Vance, I think. Voght is said to have a ‘clear but weird vision’ – ‘really drastically minimum government’. Sadly, you’ll also learn that: The backdrop [so far] is that they can do anything and the polls don’t move – people don’t seem to care. So, Trump is possibly never going to get blamed as he ought to be.

Democracy might die in darkness. It might die in despotism. Under Trump, it’s just as liable to die in dumbness: Conservative commentator Bret Stephens.

Musk

He’s like an addict. He’s addicted to the attention, the drama – he’s stuck his finger in the social media socket and his brain is fried. He’s probably got cheerleaders, his little Silicon Valley crowd, telling him he’s doing a great thing, but most of them don’t know anything about it or the consequences.

It’s become clear to everyone that Musk’s high-profile political activism is doing huge damage to Tesla. Sooner or later, he’ll have to choose between the White House and his company – and even then it may be too late to rescue it from the comedy he created. . . . The blunt truth is that Musk’s brand of techno-libertarian politics is toxic to the environmentally aware, socially liberal, white collar professionals that make up Tesla’s core customer base. [And this ‘genius’ was too dumb to see this?]

Trump [very possibly illegally] gave Tesla his full backing but that only served to emphasise how tone deaf both men have become. It is hard to know what planet you have to be on to think that an endorsement from Trump is what the company needs right now.

P. S. Tesla has been forced to halt sales of its Cybertruck, because panels keep falling off the supposedly indestructible vehicle.

The USA

Reflecting “the Trump administration’s assault on democratic norms and global cooperation”, the USA has been added to an international watchlist because of the rapid decline in civic freedoms. Civicus, an international non-profit, puts the US alongside the Democratic Republic of Congo, Italy, Pakistan and Serbia. Details here.

Russia v Ukraine

Ukraine is on the butcher’s block, as Putin ‘accepts the philosophy of President Trump’

In the terms of the new Trump doctrine, Putin has done nothing wrong apart from using military force to impose his annexation of territory – something which Trump would presumably rule out (wouldn’t he?) in the case of the US taking over Greenland and Canada. If that is the Trump position on Russia/Ukraine, then all that Putin must do to meet his terms is to stop his armed incursion which he obviously would agree to do, if Ukraine could be persuaded (coerced) into dropping its own military resistance. 

The Way of the World/Social Media/Quotes of the Day

The era of Trump and Putin is not a new thing. It is a very old one. We don’t need a Cold War based on dislike any more than we need a phony peace based on supposed ‘friendship’.

On a lighter note . . . Incessant demands for consumer feedback are the newest plague on our inboxes. It’s enough to drive one back to shopping in person, with cash – anything that doesn’t require an email address.

Spanish

• Bum: Boom (economic)

Did you know?

TV-B-Gone is a sort of remote control with which you can switch off any TV in the world. I bought one years ago for 15 dollars and had a lot of fun with it. I see that, on Amazon UK, a replacement would now cost me 33 pounds. Quite an increase, but it doesn’t compare with the Amazon Spain price of 170 euros. Which needs some explaining.

Finally . . .

The last 3 proverbs from around the world:

• Estonia: A new boat will find old stones
• Burma: Talkers aren’t strong; the strong don’t talk
• Egypt: Pride and dignity would belong to women if only men would leave them alone.

THE CELTS IN SPAIN

The Celts reached various parts of the Iberian Peninsula through multiple migratory waves, primarily between 1000 BC and 300 BC1.

Migration and Settlement

First Wave (ca. 900 BC)

• Catalonia: Celts established themselves in this area, entering through the Pyrenees.

Second Wave (700-600 BC)

• The Northern Coast: Celtic tribes traveled westwards to here.
• Central Regions: They moved south beyond the Ebro and Duero River basins
• Tagus River Valley: Some Celts got as far south as this.

Areas of Celtic Presence

• Northern, Central, and Western Regions: Celts inhabited more than half of the peninsula’s territory
• Eastern Iberian Meseta: This area was occupied by the Celtiberians, who were either mixed Celtic and Iberian tribes or Celtic tribes influenced by Iberians.
• Portugal: Celtic presence was noted south of the Douro River and north of the Tagus River
• Northwestern Extremadura

Notable Settlements

• Cabezo de Acala and Castro de la Coronilla in Aragón: These were identified as originally Celtiberian

The Celts didn’t continue to the Mediterranean, probably because of the strong presence of Iberians there. The interaction between Celtic and Iberian cultures led to the formation of distinct groups like the Celtiberians, especially near the Middle Ebro, the basin of the Duero, and the Tagus valley.

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. But see here on this. 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.
• Getting a mortgage in Spain: Some advice on this challenge.