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

One of the PSOE’s (further Left) coalition partners – the Catalan separatist party ERC- has got it in for private property owners. It’s planning to introduce a progressive tax on anyone who owns 3 or more residential properties in Spain.

These are the best things to do here, says Fascinating Spain. Which never knowingly undersells the country, of course.

Another day, another corruption allegation and arrest. This time against the Secretary of State for Security in the last PP government.

Spain seems to have a problem finding the right glue. Tiles are falling off a modern theatre building in Pv City. Just as they have from buildings in the City of Culture in Santiago de Compostela and the Roman museum in Mérida. A wrap-around wire mesh is seen as the answer with for our theatre. Don’t know about the other places.

Cosas de Galicia

Galicians visit the doctor more than other Spaniards and suffer more from chronic conditions. Can it be the humidity that everyone complains about? They also have the 2nd poorest mental health, after the Balearic Islands. But their teeth are better than in a few other regions. Or they go to the dentist less often, at least.

I was briefly disorientated in the city centre this morning, when I turned left at a jewellery shop but found myself in the wrong street. I had taken the shop as a landmark but had forgotten that the city has one of these on almost every corner and quickly reorientated myself. Too much money here looking to be washed.

The arrival today of the current edition of Private Eye just 3 days after the one of 2 weeks ago rather proves my point about letter-withholding by Correos.

Pilgrim Perspectives

I rescued a Frenchwoman this morning heading for Fátima (blue arrows), when she really wanted to go to Santiago de Compostela via the Camino Espiritual (yellow arrows). I was pleased that she was far more willing to  take the shady variant I recommended to her than yesterday’s German Caminer. And she was lucky I didn’t inflict my French on her.

BTW: 35-40,000 people walked the (newish) Camino Espiritual last year. Which compares with about 5 people during its first year, when I walked it. And came across none of these. Now, as on most other Caminos, it’s almost impossible to walk in solitude.

An astonishing percentage of Caminers walk through Pv city with their phone in front of their face, constantly checking they’re still on the Camino. This is despite all the arrows on the walls and the bronze conches on the pavement.

The UK

The British military is to spend more than £1 billion on artificial intelligence and a hacking attack team. The Defence Secretary has vowed to give the armed forces more power to target hostile states such as Russia. It rather sounds like they’ve been sleeping on the job to date.

The Latest Insane Pronouncements of the Jester

• I don’t know what’s happened with Putin. I’ve known him a long time and always got along with him well. [Condemned by the words from his own mouth.]
• This is Biden’s [bad] stock market, not Trump’s.
• No president ever worked harder than me (cleaning up the mess I inherited) [Posted from a golf cart somewhere.]
  

Trumpworld/LA LA Land

‘Worldwide humiliation’?? A new ruling from the United State Court of International Trade provesTrump’s attempt to use our international trade balance of payments with countries around the world as a reason for a president to impose tariffs is illegal and unconstitutional. Here’s the Wall Street journal on this. And the FT.

Can the appalling Stephen Miller last 4 years? Four more months??

Russia v. Ukraine

Trump’s threat to crush Putin is nothing but empty words. Deep down, Washington appears unwilling to pay the price of launching a trade war on Russia.

Spanish

• Petardo: Firework, firecracker, banger, squib.
• Petardeo: The noise of firecrackers, fireworks, backfiring.

English

• Crickets: “Used by (North) Americans to describe a situation of complete silence, especially after something awkward, embarrassing, or when no one responds to a question, joke, or statement. It comes from the sound of crickets chirping at night, often the only sound when everything else is quiet”.
• The people rule, even when ‘wrong’ . . . Mispronouncing mischievous is now acceptable. And will be obligatory within 10 years.

Did You Know?

Neanderthals were artists. Well, one of them at least.

You Have to Laugh

No doubt in my mind about the week’s finest newspaper headline. It featured no tabloid-style puns or other verbal japery. It simply summed up the story in 11 exquisitely deadpan words.T hey were:“Prince Harry flies from LA to Shanghai to promote greener travel.”

Finally . . .

From The Pillow Book:-

Editor’s note: It seems probable that Shonagon had several lovers but never became a principal wife.

Lovers and Loving

When a woman runs into a lover with whom (alas!) she has broken for good, there is no reason for her to be ashamed, if he regards her as heartless. But if the lover shows that he has not been even slightly upset by their parting, which to her was so sad and painful and difficult, she is bound to be amazed by the man and to wonder what sort of a heart he can have. Oblivious of his own callous attitude, her abandoned lover carried on a glib conversation in which he criticizes the behaviour of other men. How shameful when a man seduces some helpless Court lady and, having made her pregnant, abandons her without caring in the slightest about her future!”

I said: “I can’t stand men or women who praise their lovers and who get angry if someone says the slightest thing against them.” “That doesn’t make you sound very dependable,” said Tadanobu, which amused me greatly.

As the days went by, the condition of the cherry-blossoms in front of the palace did not improve, and the sun gave them an unpleasant, withered look. One morning, after it had rained all night, I got up early and went into the garden. By this time the blossoms were really not worth looking at, and I remarked that they could hardly be compared to the faces of tearful lovers forced to say farewell.

Squalid Things: A woman who falls ill and remains unwell for a long time. In the mind of her lover, who is not particularly devoted to her, she must appear rather squalid.

I saw a girl in an unlined robe of soft white material, an attractive trouser-skirt, and a bright aster cloak. She had a terrible pain in her chest. Her fellow ladies-in waiting visited her one after another, while outside her room a crowd of young noblemen had come to inquire about her. “How dreadfully sad!” they exclaimed. “Has she ever suffered from this before?” In fact none of them seemed particularly concerned, except one who, being the girl’s lover, was obviously very distressed about her illness. Since their relations were secret, he was frightened of attracting attention and, though he entered her room, he did not dare come too close. I found it fascinating to watch him standing there, his eyes full of anxiety. She bound back her beautiful long hair and sat up in bed, saying that she was going to be sick. It was painful to see how ill she looked, yet there was something charming about her appearance. 

One night in the Ninth Month a certain lady was visited by a young man who, though not of the highest nobility, was known for his elegance and keen wits. He left before dawn when the moon still hung in the sky, bathing the whole landscape with its beautiful light. Determined that the lady should think back fondly on their parting, he whispered to her every endearment that he knew. She stood watching for a long time as he dis appeared into the distance, believing that this was the last she would see of him that night. The scene was beautiful beyond words. Her lover, however, had only pretended to be leaving; presently he came back and hid behind a garden fence, intending to let the lady know he was still there. Just then she glanced in his direction and recited the words, “Like the moon that lingers in the dawning sky. According to what the man told people later, the moonlight seemed to be shining like a great lamp only a few inches from where the lady was standing, and he was so overcome by the sight that he left without a word.

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The Usual Links . . .

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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.
• And here’s a personal guide to moving to Spain – to work, not to retire.