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

This is the latest (educated) guess at the size of the black market in Spain. No lower than when I came here almost 25 years ago, and only exceeded by Italy and Greece. The most approximate data certifies that the black market accounts for 17% of GDP in advanced economies and 33% in developing economies and emerging markets. European countries with very low levels below are Austria, Denmark, Estonia, Slovenia, and Belgium.

I must have missed the announcement of central registration of tourist flats . . .The Government’s scheme for short-term and tourist rentals is off to a busy start — but it also reveals the scale of the rental wild west that authorities are trying to rein in. Officials hope centralised oversight will bring a more “transparent, safe, and reliable” rental market — and help curb widespread abuse of tourist rental laws, which have frustrated long-term housing advocates and local governments alike.

This week’s news is bad for Spanish olive oil and wine producers, of course.

I get the impression that family funeral insurance is good business in Spain, reflecting the fact that the law demands an awful lot be done within 48 hours. Meaning that leisurely DIY is not usually practical/tolerable. There’s recently been a lot of internet publicity aimed at frightening foreign residents into taking this out but publicity seems to have suddenly stopped. Possibly as a result of a British-owned firm going bust, amid allegations of fraud and lost fortunes. For what it’s worth Santa Lucia’s is the policy favoured by folk I know, Spanish and foreign.

Cousas de Galicia

We had our first narcosub in 2019. We now get 5 a month along our coast.

Rich Mexicans are the tourists who spend the most money in Galicia. Few of them are ‘pilgrims’, would be my guess. Possibly mostly heading for Avión. Which has its own private airfield. And some lovely mansions.

That star on top of the house near the old Jewish quarter in Pv city . . . A reader advises it’s really a pentacle. AI advice is that this is a versatile symbol used in various magical and spiritual traditions.

The USA

If you’re struggling to understand what lies behind the apparent idiocy of Trump’s tariffs, there are 2 main schools:-

• Trump is a power-mad genius who operates from the authoritarians’ playbook – First destroy the economy and then increase executive control.
• Trump truly is an ignorant imbecile who first spouted his quasi-religious faith in tariffs 40 years ago and has been given a 2nd chance to implement his mad scheme, which even those who don’t believe in free trade think is nonsensical. As The Guardian says here, it’s been decades in the coming. Though few believed it really would.

For those in the 2nd category, here’s some support: In the 90s, Trump literally managed to bankrupt casinos. To repeat: this is a man who somehow contrived to bankrupt multiple casinos. Is he the guy to reshape the entire global economic order of the past century?

In a nutshell. . . If Trump is right, and his decades-old dream revives the world’s largest economy, enriching its citizens and transforming its industrial base into a manufacturing powerhouse, his administration will be one of the most successful in modern memory. But if he’s wrong, the very Americans who elected him to rapidly bring down the cost of living are likely to be hit hardest.

An historical perspective . . . What Trump seems to be after is US autarchy. Here’s a (telling) list of those leaders who’ve aimed at this in the recent past:

• Adolf Hitler
• Joseph Stalin
• Mao Zedong
• Benito Mussolini, and
• Francisco Franco, who master-minded los años de hambre – El período de extrema escasez y miseria que siguió a la Guerra Civil, especialmente entre 1939 y 1952. Este tiempo estuvo marcado por hambrunas[famine], racionamiento, estraperlo (mercado negro), enfermedades derivadas de la desnutrición y una alta mortalidad.

And here are some contemporary Examples

• North Korea
• Rojava (Northern Syria)
• Cooperation Jackson: A modern localized effort in Jackson, Mississippi

A couple of descriptions of Trump from non-believers:-

• He is Trumpelstilskin – Turning gold into straw
• It’s as if Forest Gump married Jacob Marley and gave birth to Donald Trump

More sceptics . . . J P Morgan says that, unless things change, the chances of a US recession have increased from 40 to 60%. Others are even more pessimistic.

This is the latest episode of Shrinking Trump – containing some very worrying observations about what might be Trump’s overall objective – a malignant narcissist who admires authoritarians and very probably wants to emulate them. Assisted by a system which might well allow this.

And this is a must-read – the surreal Week 11 press release from the White House. Not so much a bunch of clowns as comedians,

Russia v Ukraine

Russia has intensified attacks on Ukraine as the peace talks stall. ‘Day 1’ recedes further and further into the mists of time.

China

To no one’s surprise, not rolling over. I say ‘no one’ but it seems that Trump believed they ‘wouldn’t panic’ and so would negotiate around his starting tariff. Perhaps they know something about doing deals.

Spanish

Jaquear: to hack

English

Some words you’ve probably heard and never will . . . .

• Subagitate: To have sex with
• Verecund: Bashful; modest
• Reme: To cry or call out
• Cacoëpistic: Badly pronounced

You Have to Laugh

• One thing Trump will never have to worry about – having his speeches plagiarised by a future president
• Trump’s diary for this week

Today Through the Ages

Courtesy of the Autodidact Professor. Not everyone around the world will be happy about the knighting of Francis Drake – El Pirata.

Finally . .

Well, as usual, I didn’t win any money on Britain’s Grand National. Possibly because, as usual, I didn’t place a bet on it.

A bit of High Society that I used to enjoy watching a few decades ago . . . Talented guys, if not very nice people.

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 . . .
• I can also be read on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/colin.davies.752861 or on Substack at https://doncolin.substack.com/
• 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.