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

A couple of articles from Mark Stücklin of Spanish Property Insight:-

• The influence of the now-ended Golden Visa scheme, and
• Increasing foreign demand for Spanish properties.

Lenox Napier wonders how prepared he should be.

Good news for rail travellers . . . Renfe has brought back its Rail Pass, offering free train and bus travel across the country from 1st May to 30th June. This gives residents and tourists unlimited travel for 2 on several Renfe services, including Cercanías, Rodalies, Media Distancia and the Ancho Métrico. narrow-gauge trains od the North coast. But not the Galicia-Madrid trip. Which will continue to subsidise cheap trips and south from Madrid.

A somewhat unusual tale about a young Italian woman whose death in Spain 30 years ago remains a complete mystery.

Cousas de Galicia

As the saying goes, En Abril, aguas mil* . . .The rainfall this week has been as heavy as forecast and I fear several, if not all, scheduled Semana Santa processions will be cancelled. As they were last year, I think. Though not last night’s, of the Nazarenos.

*An AI engine tells me there’s also

• Abril llovedero, llena el granero, and
• En abril, cada gota vale por mil

The UK

Even worse weather . . . Strong winds and freezing rain.

La La Land

More adverse opinions:-

• In Trumpland, ‘defending free speech’ means only one thing: submission to the president.
• The beginning of American state terror’ is here.
• Trump hasn’t killed globalisation. He’s killing the US economy. The president’s tariff fiasco is proving in real time why protectionism is so economically damaging. Trump has already lost his trade war against China. Beijing is hardly likely to roll over given its financial and global trading strength.

The latest vendettas:-

• Trump is going after a pollster who upset him last year.
• And after Harvard University, which won’t accede to his ludicrous demands.
• And – inevitably – a US-born immigration lawyer has been ordered to leave the country. even though removing US citizens is illegal.

But some good news, perhaps. . . . Trump, like Hoover, is reigniting support for free trade. People are witnessing in real time how protectionism causes economic damage.

And it’s an ill wind that blows no good. . . The banks have done well out of the mayhem. As they say, We don’t really care which way things move, so long as they move.

The Way of the World/Social Media

Not every woman was impressed by that brief sisters’ flight into space. Here’s The Guardian’s spiky, hard-to-please Marina Hyde on it: The all-female Blue Origin flight on Monday broke boundaries and set records in the spouting of girlboss gibberish – one giant leap backwards for womankind.

Quote of the Day

America First doesn’t mean America Alone. But that’s the way we’re heading. And that will make our country less safe.

Did You Know?

I’ve never really realised that: The date of Easter Sunday can vary by as much as 35 days – because it depends partly on the phase of the moo. In 1928, the UK Parliament passed an Act that would establish its date as the Sunday following the 2nd Saturday in April (so always falling between April 9 and 15). Although passed and enacted, the Act never came into force because the government agreed that the change would need to be made in consultation with church leaders. Who are probably quite conservative . . .

You Have to Laugh

Yesterday Through the Ages

Courtesy of the Autodidact Professor.

Finally . .

I don’t know if the wet weather has had an impact – after several days of high temperatures – but the moths are certainly back in town. Or at least in my salón, having apparently entered via the garage. Time for preventative action there.

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.