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

Maria on the apagón of Monday of last week.

The risk of a blackout was highlighted two years before Spain’s grid went down, says this Times columnist.

Cousas de Galicia

There’s little doubt that, for whatever reason, we in the North West suffer in comparison with the rest of the country, particularly the South East. The limited Renfe advance-booking system is a recent example. As is the per-km cost of our toll roads. And the ratio of toll to non-toll highways. Someone is making a lot of money from motorists up here/

Logically, the 3 regions of Galicia, Asturias and Castilla y León are getting together to try to do something about the unfavourable treatment dished out to us by Madrid. Possibly because we don’t usually vote PSOE . . .

Not terribly surprised to see that our officious police forces managed to increase annual motoring fines by more than 30% in the last decade.

A little more surprised to read that 14,000 motorists were fined in Galicia last year for not having had the annual technical inspection of their cars. 80% up in 7 years.

And pretty surprised to read that owner of sale-price-restricted ‘protected properties’ are getting round the restriction and achieving the market price via up to 75,000 euros ‘in black’. Which runs serious risks, for both parties.

More tourists, more coaches, more problems on our serpentine roads up in the hills. This is the second time in a month that a coach has got stuck on a curve . . .

The UK

I know that it’s temperatures are currently higher than our but is it really heading for a summer drought???

Ireland

Another article on Trump’s threat to the economy . . . Tensions are mounting in Dublin as Ireland faces the looming threat of punitive tariffs from the United States.

The Latest Mad Pronouncements of the Jester

I created the word ‘equalize’ and it’s the best word.

Trumpworld/LA LA Land

The FT takes a good look at what DOGE has actually achieved. Which is a great deal less than both threatened and claimed, it says.

An interesting observation . . . Trump is becoming one of America’s most Left-wing presidents ever. The Maga movement is borrowing from Bernie Sanders to boost its populist appeal. . . Trump is not a “trickle-down” president. He’s an interventionist straight out of the populist, Left-wing tool box. But he’s also a social conservative, who by cracking down hard on immigration and DEI overreach, manages to combine the foibles of both Right and Left.

Sr. Abrego Garcia: Public lies. Private reality.

The Cabinet members sit with MAGA hats in front of them. Equivalent to the prescribed dress in the court of an emperor or a king?

Quotes of the Day

• America is openly for sale.
• Transparent corruption is still corruption.
• This kind of behavior from the Trump administration has gone on for so long that it is hard to rouse the media to attention to cover it. Their standards for the ethical conduct of politicians – or, at least, of Republicans – have lowered so dramatically that it’s hard to tell if they have any.
• Trump will get away with his plane stunt: we know he will, because the constitutional checks on his power have been made deliberately useless. But no one should be confused about what he is doing.

Russia v. Ukraine

Russia’s president has shunned Zelensky’s call for face-to-face talks in Turkey. This columnist theories as to why. If talks did take place and Trump – as he says he would – Trump did attend them – wpuld he stay awake?

The Way of the World/Social Media

Spain is joining with Greece and Ireland in attempts to prevent minors accessing social media until they are 15.

Spanish

• Urraca: Magpie. Not Hurraca . . .But pronounced the same.
• Arañar: Scratch. claw, scrape.
• Tirantes: Braces/Suspenders
• Cachito: Little bit/piece
• Fiebra aftosa: Foot and mouth disease
• Quitamiedos: Guardrail, barrier
• Bionda: Crash barrier.

English

• Ceasefire: A compound noun, combining the 2 major sources of modern English – French and Old English – with “cease” coming from French (and before that, Latin) and “fire” from Old English. It’s a delight to see the roots of the language so symmetrically married in the one word.
• None the less: Sometimes nonetheless. As with nevertheless. [To note: Nonetheless and  nevertheless have slightly different meanings. Nonetheless means “in contrast to something that happened or was said.” Nevertheless means “in spite of something happening.”]

Did You Know?

Bloody ‘ell! Harvard’s copy of Magna Carta – bought for $27 – has been revealed to be an original worth $21m.

You Have to Laugh

Macron is wrong — the best baguette is a binned baguette.

Finally . . .

More from the 11th century Pillow Book . . .

Hateful Things

When a well-bred young man who is visiting a woman of lower rank calls out her name in such a way as to make everyone realize that he is on familiar terms with her. 

Random Comments

• Nothing can be worse than allowing the driver of one’s ox carriage to be poorly dressed.
• Small children and babies ought to be plump. A preacher ought to be good looking .
• Oxen should have very small foreheads.
• A palm-leaf carriage should move slowly or else it loses its dignity.
• A wickerwork carriage, on the other hand, should go fast.

Things that make one’s heart beat faster.

• Sparrows feeding their young.
• To pass a place where babies are playing.
• To sleep in a room where some fine incense has been burnt.
• To notice that one’s elegant Chinese mirror has become a little cloudy.
• To see a gentleman stop his carriage before one’s gate and instruct his attendants to announce his arrival.
• To wash one’s hair, make one’s toilet, and put on scented robes. Even if not the soul sees it, these preparations still produce an inner pleasure.
• It is night and one is expecting a visitor. Suddenly one is startled by the sound of raindrops which the wind blows against the shutters.

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.