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

Oops. The Spanish PM calls his party’s regional leaders nasty names. And raises questions about his involvement in corruption at the top of the government.

Cousas de Galicia

Spain’s greatest entrepreneur operates out of La Coruña, in NW Galicia. His flagship store – Zara – is celebrating its 50th anniversary.

Portugal

I’m reliably advised that the statue I included last night was not of someone holding a little Jesus but St Anthony of Padua holding any old child. From an AI search: St. A of P is widely recognized in Catholic tradition for his particular fondness for children. Many of the miracles attributed to him during his lifetime involved children, which has led to a longstanding tradition of entrusting children to his special protection. Parents often invoke his intercession for their children, believing in his compassionate care and miraculous aid.

Also Mengaço should have been Melgaço . . .

The UK

The poison of Trumpism has been injected into the bloodstream of British politics: The support for Reform mirrors the support for Maga: it has been shaped by an online world that is tribal and cruel – negative polarisation, the desire to drink the other side’s tears, the tendency to see politics as a way to upset people you don’t like, the culture wars and the consequent downgrading of economic arguments. Hopefully not. Or not too much, anyway.

The Latest Mad Pronouncements of the Jester

• I misunderstood the numbers. [Take your pick].
• On drug prices: We’re getting them down 60, 70, 80, 90%. But actually, more than that, if you think about it in a way mathematically. [Meaning what, exactly??]
• On being gifted a 400m plane by Qatar: The deal is very transparent. [Indeed].

Trumpworld/LA LA Land

Shrinking Trump. The continuing saga of Mad King Donald – a man afflicted not only with malignant narcissism but also with increasing dementia. A man who would deny his own identity if, say, 70% of Americans said they hated a person called Donald Trump. ‘I don’t know him and never had anything to do with him. Or Epstein. Whoever he is’.

When a gift is a bribe and ‘blatant corruption’. Another comment here.

And funny video commentaries on this endless insanity, here and here.

Quotes of the Day

• As personality cults go, Trump’s is bizarre. Various dystopian novels and films down the years have imagined an autocrat rising in America, a man promising to rise above the petty, bickering politicians in Congress. But no one imagined such a man being so needy, self-absorbed, wheedling, childish, petulant and deceitful. 
• People say things online that they would never say to someone’s face. The online atmosphere is angry, aggressive, bombastic, conspiratorial and egotistical – in a word, Trumpian.

Spanish

HT to Lenox Napier for these:-

• Wasapear: To Whatsapp.
• Ir a toda leche: To go at full speed.

You Have to Laugh

Lenox Napier has been necking wine on the Neckar river in Germany.

Finally . . .

From The Pillow Book, ten more depressing aspects of life in the 11th century Japanese court, for a lady there:-

• When you’ve sent your carriage for someone who’s promised to visit you and it returns empty.
• When a high-ranking court lady has taken the husband of your daughter as a lover.
• When the nurse who has been taking care of a baby leaves the house, saying she will return but doesn’t.
• When a young man has sent a messenger to fetch a lady friend but waits in vain.
• When a woman has been awaiting a visitor but her maid announces someone with whom she has no connection.
• When an exorcist exercises all his skills but the evil spirit gives no sign of leaving.
• When the household of a hopeful candidate fails to receive a notice during the period of official appointments [Like, I suppose, after the Oposiciones here in modern Spain].
• When one has sent a verse which turned out fairly well and there is no reply.
• When someone who lives in a bustling, fashionable household receives a verse from an elderly person who is behind the times and the poem is old-fashioned and dull.
• When one needs a particularly beautiful fan for a special occasion but when it arrives, from a talented artist, one is shocked to see how badly it has been painted

Finally, Finally . . .

I hope early receivers of my post of yesterday all realised that ‘still climb or three’ should have been ‘stiff climb or three’. I suffered a bout of premature publication last night. Hence, the other typos as well.

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.
• This post of mine contains several relevant articles from ThinkSpain.
• 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.