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

Walking in the Alpujarras, among the Casas Blancas. At a price.

Ryanair warns lengthy flight delays this summer, because of a shortage of Spanish air traffic controllers. Not to mention the usual – maximally troublesome – strikes of the French variety.

A judge investigating the DANA tragedy of last November down in Valencia has ruled that the female journalist who lunched all afternoon with the president of the Valencia region during the appalling floods can’t be called to testify as he is now a member of parliament and so has immunity. Smells more than a tad, to me a least. It’s said that just about everyone, including his own PP party, want said politico to be held to account but this looks unlikely. Spanish politics. Where heads are rarely severed from shoulders.

Cosas de Galicia

Around 22,000 properties in Galicia belong to folk who own 10 or more of them. And this is supposed to be a poor region.

The man who first brought cocaine to Galicia in the 1980s, has just been released from prison in the the USA, after 37 years. I wonder if he thinks it was all worth it. I guess he can afford an expensive funeral.

No sooner do I report on the extent of vaping among Galicia’s youth than the Xunta announces that it’s finalising a ban on ‘electronic cigarettes’, which are said to have 27,000 adeptos.

It’s reported that 25% of residents of Pv city have a pet – a total of 21,000. Often a ridiculously small dog. Perhaps the P should stand, not for pilgrim, but for pet.

Good news? Spaniards fleeing the heat of the South now comprise 30% of property purchasers in the Rías Baixas. At least they’re not terraza-hogging Caminers . . . .

USA Normal

The Law of Unintended Consequences in action in the insane world of US tipping?? . . . Trump is about to send the tipping culture into overdrive. Americans already tip for everything, but the president’s latest tax break means it’ll get even worse.

The Latest Pronouncements of Donald Whimsical TACO Man..

• When I came here to talk to Nippon Steel, I was thinking of raising the tariff on steel from 25 to 40% but I asked them if they preferred 50 to 40 and they said Yes. So, I increased it.
• Six months ago this country was stone-cold dead. People felt it wouldn’t last 6 months. Now, it’s the hottest country in the world.

Trumpworld/LA LA Land

If you really want to know what Trump is* and what he’s doing to the country, the best thing you could do is to listen to 2 psychologists here, or watch them on YouTube here. You’ll get an insight into the normalisation of evil, the overt corruption, the criminality and the legitimation of violence by an increasingly authoritarian regime. And, as a bonus, you might get to understand the difference between a meme coin and a bitcoin. Trump is, of course, making money from both of them – the first president in US history to monetise his time in the White House.

* Inter alia – A mafia don, a malignant narcissist, an extortionist and scholastic terrorist.

Trump’s military parade: The media has focused on the price tag and potholes but history might well mark 14 June as the ceremonial birth of US fascism.

TACO Man – See the first few amusing minutes of this.

Query: If Trump had gained power as a Roman emperor, would he have been worse than Caligula? He’s certainly made worse appointments.

Quote of the Day

The courts should have no role here. There is a troubling and dangerous trend of unelected judges inserting themselves into the presidential decision-making process: The utterly wrong White House Spokeswoman. Who has nil understanding of the US Constitution. Or pretends not to.

The Way of the World

Says The Times: The leaders of Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland have written an open letter challenging the ECHR to award states more freedom to eject criminal immigrants and strengthen asylum rules. And that: Frustration is growing with the weaponisation of the convention to prevent the timely deportation of foreign criminals masquerading as fugitives from political and cultural oppression. The leaders of these 9 EU states claim that the EU protecting the wrong people. “What was once right might not be the answer of tomorrow”, say the signatories. “We have to restore the right balance”.

Spanish

• Haren: Harem
• Adepto: Adherent.

You Have to Laugh

Finally . . .

Random bits from The Pillow Book . . .

When I stayed away from the Palace, I frequently received visits from senior courtiers and other gentlemen. The people of the household where I was staying used to complain about this and criticize me. If my visitors had included anyone to whom I was particularly attached, I should have resented their complaints, but such was not the case. As it happened, I had no desire to meet them. Yet, if a gentleman comes all the way to see one both during the daytime and at night, is it possible to reply that one is not at home and to send him away embarrassed? Some of the men who visited my house were almost total strangers, and in the end it became too much for me. On the next time when I left Court I therefore decided not to announce where I was going-in fact I told hardly anyone except Tsunefusa and Narimasa. On one occasion during my absence the Lieutenant of the Guards, Norimitsu, came to see me. In the course of our conversation he mentioned that on the previous day His Excellency the Imperial Adviser, Tadanobu, had insistently questioned him about my whereabouts. “After all,” Tadanobu had said, “it hardly seems likely that you would not know where your own sister is staying.” Norimitsu had continued to protest his ignorance, but Tadanobu had become cross and only pressed him the harder. “I really had a difficult time hiding the truth from him,” said my brother. “It was all I could do not to burst into laughter. To make matters worse, Tsunefusa was sitting directly next to us with an unconcerned, innocent look. I knew that if I so much as glanced at him I should start giggling. To save myself, I snatched from the table a common piece of seaweed and popped it into my mouth. It must have looked odd, but my ruse saved me from giving away your secret. As it was, Tadanobu decided that I really did not know where you were.” 

Things that give a pathetic Impression

• The voice of someone who blows his nose while he is speaking.
• The expression of a woman plucking her eyebrows. 

Splendid Things

• Chinese brocade.
• A sword with a decorated scabbard.
• The grain of the wood in a Buddhist statue.
• Long flowering branches of beautifully coloured wisteria entwined about a pine tree.
• Despite his low station a Chamberlain of the Sixth Rank is a splendid thing. To think that he is allowed yellowish-green robes of figured material and cloth that even young noblemen of the finest families are forbidden to wear!
• A mere Assistant or Subordinate Official in the Emperor’s Private Office, who is the son of a commoner and who has gone completely unnoticed while serving under gentlemen of rank with official posts, becomes splendid beyond words after being appointed Chamberlain.
• A Chamberlain of the Sixth Rank cuts a magnificent figure when he arrives with an Imperial mandate or when he brings the sweet chestnuts for the Great Council banquet. Observing how he is treated and entertained, one could imagine that he has come down from heaven.
• A girl of noble birth has been chosen as Imperial consort but is still living at home, where they refer to her as “Princess”. When a Chamberlain visits her with a message from the Emperor, her lady-in-waiting, before even delivering the letter, first pushes out a cushion for him from behind the blinds. As she does so, she displays the sleeves of her dress – a rare sight for a man of such humble rank. If, in addition to being a Chamberlain, the messenger belongs to the Imperial Guards, things are still more impressive. He sits down on the cushion, spreading out the skirts of his under robe, and it is the master of the house himself who gives the man a wine cup. What must be his delight on receiving such treatment! A Chamberlain can keep company with young noblemen as if he were their equal— yes, with those same young noblemen whose very sight used to overawe him and who in the past would not have deigned to sit in the same room with someone of such low rank. Now it is he who inspires jealousy, especially when people see how closely he attends the Emperor, fanning His Majesty and rubbing the inkstick for him when he wishes to write a letter. The Chamberlain’s term of office is 3 or 4 years. During this time he is poorly dressed and there is nothing very elegant about his personal effects; yet he can mix freely with senior courtiers and other superiors. But what does he have to show for it all when his term has expired? I am sure that, as the time approaches for him to receive the head-dress of nobility and forgo the privilege of being admitted into the Presence, he feels sorrier than if he were to lose his own life. It is sad to see how he bustles about the Palace in a frantic effort to secure some last favours from the Emperor. In the past, Chamberlains began lamenting the loss of their privileges from the very beginning of the year when they were to relinquish their posts. Nowadays they compete for new appointments.
• I need hardly say how splendid I find a learned Doctor of Literature. He may be of lowly appearance, and of course he is of low rank; but the world at large regards him as an impressive figure. As an Imperial Tutor, he is consulted about all sorts of special matters, and he is free to approach the most eminent members of the Emperor’s family. When he has composed one of his prayers for the Emperor or the introduction to some poem, he becomes the object of universal praise.
• A learned priest is also splendid. It is impressive enough when he reads his breviary by himself, but how much more so when he is among several Lectors officiating in the Sacred Readings at one of the fixed periods! It is getting dark. “Why haven’t they brought the oil?” says one of the Lectors. “How late they are in lighting the lamps!” All the Lectors stop reading, but the learned priest continues quietly reciting the scriptures from memory. An Imperial Procession by the Empress in daytime.
• The Empress’s birth chamber.
• The ceremony of installing a new Empress. On this occasion tables are arranged in front of her dais together with the lion and the Korean dog. Then the people from the Table Office bring in the Imperial Cauldron. As one watches all this, it is difficult to believe that this same Empress was recently an ordinary person known simply as “Princess”.
• The procession of the First Man. His pilgrimage to Kasuga Shrine. Grape-coloured material.
• Anything purple is splendid, be it flowers, thread, or paper. Among purple flowers, however, I do not like the iris despite its gorgeous colour. What makes the costume of Sixth Rank Chamberlains so attractive when they are on night duty is the purple trousers.
• A large garden all covered with snow.
• The eldest son of our present Emperor is still a child, but how splendid he looks when he is in the arms of Their Excellencies, his handsome young uncles, when he is being served by senior courtiers, or when his horse is led out for inspection! Seeing the young Prince at such times, one would say that nothing unpleasant could ever happen to him.

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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.