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

Just an everyday case of corruption . . . The chap who headed up the Unidad de Delitos Económicos y Financieros de Madrid was found to have 20 million euros lying around his house and office. “Presumably connected with drug smuggling”. His wife escaped jail because of an error on the part of the judge. It’s said.

Confirmation has arrived that we can now all shoot wolves more or less when we like here in Galicia, provided we go through the inevitable licence process first. (Or run a few legal risks). And only where they’ve been predatory.

Local hotel and bar owners say it’s nowadays so difficult to get staff that they’re resorting to students to meet summer demand. Hardly a new thing – I worked all my university vacations in hotels and bars in the UK. This gave me a real appreciation for good service, which is certainly the norm in Spain. Pv city certainly ain’t Paris.

There’s talk of a cercanías line along our coast. I’m not clear on how this would differ from the current train service but, anyway, this talk seems to be going nowhere.

Life in Spain . . .Update on today’s lunch. All the Anglo-Spanish couples replied immediately last week. Three of the four Spanish couples waited until last night to advise me they wouldn’t be coming, very probably because something better came up. The fourth are next-door neighbours so couldn’t avoid telling me on Friday, when I asked them. As for the other three, as rain was forecast for today, it surely wasn’t a question of a beach’s siren call. I say three out of the four, but one couple didn’t come back to me at all. Different cultural norms, of course. And, as I’ve said, I’m inured to it and I planned accordingly. Moral of the tale: Don’t invite a complement of 100% Spanish friends . . . .

Talking of the expected rain . . . Hotel reservations for this Semana Santa in Pv city are down 30%. Here in Galicia, you can’t really blame folk for last minute-itis. At least when it comes to hotel reservations in April.

Portugal

Good to know that Lisbon is still looking at a night train from La Coruña to Lisboa, via Pv city, Vigo and, of course, Oporto.

The UK

After this, what more proof does Britain need that it can’t cosy up to Trump?

The USA

Probably majority views, outside MAGAland at least:-

• The true Trump has revealed himself: he is a wannabe autocrat. The tariff shenanigans have put on display the President’s unmatched vanity and rampant disregard of American norms. Can this get any more bizarre? If you managed to sit through the thing that they called a White House Cabinet meeting last week, you might have been stunned by the sheer, maniacal audacity of it. This surreal pantomime went on and on, as each apostle around the table professed undying loyalty to the mission that was personally embodied in our saviour, Donald Trump.
• China has just shown it can defeat America in a trade war. Donald Trump has almost certainly started a battle he cannot win.

Quite a headline . . . America risks a ‘moron premium’ after Trump’s tariffs chaos. The president’s erratic leadership has sent a chill through the US bond market – and rattled investors.

A glimmer of hope? . . . How Trump’s team of rivals pulled him back from the brink. The president’s trade war has brought into focus some important differences between his coterie of billionaire advisers.

Quote of the Day

Serious though the tariff war is, there is a danger it may distract attention from the wider crisis, namely that Trump and his sidekicks are presiding over a quasi-fascist state, with huge damage to the rule of law, democratic values and the lives and living standards of countless poorer nations being cut off from US overseas aid.

You Have to Laugh . . .

In case you missed it . . .

His tariffs were imposed on every nation
Regardless of their size and population
His people sang a plaintive song
‘The penguins have abused us for too long’.

Finally . .

Philosopher George Santayana on why we follow the crowd: A man is a gregarious animal, and much more so in his mind than in his body. He may like to go alone for a walk, but he hates to stand alone in his opinions

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.