wake, 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 healthy development . . .

Semana Santa in Sevilla – Some nice fotos of the faithful. I wonder what a Martian would make of it all. Or a Buddhist.

Talking about a national religion . . . . So, Real Madrid didn’t get anywhere near one of their famous remontadas last night against Arsenal, losing at home and going out of the Champions League by an embarrassing 1-5 on aggregate. You’d be daft to bet on the manager staying long in his job, despite the glories he’s brought the team.

Cousas de Galicia

Foreign demand for Galician properties is surging. Non-resident buyers were led by Americans and Portuguese, drawn perhaps by heritage links or the comparative tranquillity of the region. Among foreign residents buying locally, Portuguese and Romanian nationals took the lead.

Brits to the South, Yanks to the North is how The Olive Press puts it here.

Portugal

Lenox Napier, in the latest issue of Business Over Tapas, brings us one of the world’s most beautiful hotels: El Palacio de Buçaco in Portugal. A 19th-century palace inspired by the country’s most important monuments. This building is located in the middle of a beautiful forest and offers visitors a unique experience full of luxury and exclusivity.

The UK

In a landmark case, the Supreme Court had said that, for the purposes of the application of UK statutes,‘woman’ is defined by biological sex, not by personal gender preference or even by a certificate of gender change.

Per Richard North: It should never, ever have been the case that the definition of a woman was a political hot-potato, and that politicians were being challenged over whether women could have penises. That this has been a matter for debate is perhaps as good an indication as any of the level of decadence afflicting this nation and much of the western world. With all the problems affecting us, society and government both have no business wasting time and intellectual capital on such tomfoolery. . . But this conflict isn’t resolved yet. It’s a start, on the slow march back to sanity, but there are battles still to be fought.

France

Doubtless for its own benefit, France is said to be moving towards reviewing the 90 day restriction on British home-owners.

La La Land

You probably won’t be any more surprised than I was to hear that Trump and his family have made millions – it not billions – since he was elected. Cryptocurrencies and Truth Social being a couple of means. This seems to worry very few Americans. Who are said to worship wealth, however acquired. Funny folk. Possibly shouldn’t be telling the rest of us how to live our lives.

Also not very surprising is the report that Trump has turned parts of the White House golden, making the world’s most famous address look more like Mar-a-Lago.

Some of the people behind Trump:-

• Eminent Trumpians: meet the president’s cultural outriders. A loose network of podcasters, filmmakers and other figures is helping to shape and drive their idol’s policy agenda.
• JD Vance: An insight into the mind of the next president. Loyalty trumps dignity for Trump’s attack dog.
• His Cabinet members . . . This morning, as I emerged from sleep, I recalled this cartoon, prompted – no doubt – by the video of last week’s consummate sycophantic performances from his appointed clowns.

From a (British) Trump admirer . . . Trump’s epic quest to save the world is going disastrously wrong. The US president is squandering his many victories [in the culture war] with his catastrophic errors on trade and Ukraine. He hasn’t blown it yet, but it’s a close call. His tendency to hubris and self-delusion risks destroying his presidency. He has made too many mistakes, under-estimated China, been played for a fool by Vladimir Putin, embraced flat-earth economics and alienated allies. His second term has so far been characterised by performative chaos, market volatility, obscene levels of cultishness, and zero strategic planning when it comes to decoupling from China. He has empowered know-nothing sycophants, especially Peter Navarro on trade and Steve Witkoff on Russia and Iran. He won’t meaningfully reindustrialise the Rust Belt, and many of the red-pilled Wall Streeters and Silicon Valley founders who support him fear America is about to be plunged into a recession thanks to his imbecilic import taxes. With friends like this . . .

Despite all that, the writer seems to think – see here – that all is not yet lost. Because Trump can and will change his spots. Possibly an optimist. Meanwhile, some nice lines . .

• Trump, a capitalist on all else, has always been a socialist on trade, assuming governments can simply instruct their citizens and enterprises to purchase more US goods.
• Perhaps the greatest paradox of all is that parts of the Maga movement are embracing a form of right-wing wokery, with their own dark conspiracy theories, cult of victimhood, identity politics, denial of reality, moral grandstanding, hypersensitivity and purity tests.
• It is economics, not ethics, that will ultimately determine whether Trump succeeds or fails. He was elected to make the US richer; his protectionist escapades are making it poorer. For the sake of the West he was meant to rescue from terminal decline, it’s time for an urgent course correction.

A few more additions to my A-Z of Trump descriptors: Despotic Throwback. Would-be dictator. Failure.

Quote of the Day

Goebbels seems t have known he was lying. Trump doesn’t understand the difference between truth and fiction.

Spanish

• Remontada: Bounce back, comeback.
• Gana: Desire or want. (Usually in the plural)
• Hacer lo que viene en gana: To do whatever you want.
• Atesorar: To cherish/treasure, To accumulate, To hoard

Did You Know?

For whatever it’s worth . . . “The French phrase Ouate de phoque (“seal’s cotton wool”) sounds like WTF in English”. Listen here.

You Have to Laugh

You too can have a body like Donald Trump’s.

Yesterday Through the Ages

Courtesy of the Autodidact Professor. Scots won’t like it.

Finally . . .

María writes here on the El Salvador’s disgusting prison/extermination camps.

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.