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

The Guardian reports that: The swirl of corruption allegations surrounding the centre-left PSOE government has intensified dramatically, after a senior member of the party resigned after a judge found “firm evidence” of his possible involvement in taking kickbacks on public construction contracts. Sr Santos Cerdán León’s name is a new one to me but doubtless I’ll be reading more about him shortly. Though I might not be able to understand all the skulduggery details.

Mark Stücklin of Spanish Property Insight explains here why the government wants a new housing database.

Brussels isn’t happy about the PM’s amnesty for naughty nationalists, designed to keep him in power. To the great annoyance of many.

A couple of Gib developments . .

• Spaniards are said to be unhappy at losing cruise ship business to this port, but
• Everyone is happy that an historic deal has been struck on border controls. Not before time.

Lenox Napier tells us here of a vibrantly colourful festival down in his neck of the woods.

Cousas de Galicia

The city of La Coruña has come up with a novel way of limiting tourist flats – a cap of 0.5 of them per 100 residents. I guess this really means 1 flat per 200 . . .

This week, 2 cruise ships docked in Vigo and disgorged a record number of passengers, almost 13,000. Which must have pleased some of the residents.

There’ve been 3 major construction projects on my side of the river Lérez in the last 5-10 years. Each of these has been suspended for at least 6 months after a short period of work. The latest is the construction of a new entry-exit to the A-52 bypass and the remodelling of the huge roundabout which houses the nearby fire-station. This is said to be due to the need to modify the project after detecting solidity issues on the land. Specifically there are problems with the foundations of the new roads, which require a new technical study on reinforcing the pivots, since they are being built on a former garbage dump. This is a strange pattern and one wonders whether it’s displayed in other Spanish/Galician cities. And, if so, what it means. After all – and to say the least – it’s not as if Spain hasn’t had massive experience of major construction works over the last 40 years. Did no one know about the rubbish dump?

Portugal

You might need to get to your departing airport even earlier than usual, because of delays caused by the chronic understaffing at border control.

The UK

A resident complains: “Tourist hordes are destroying my beloved Notting Hill”. Life in the upmarket London district hasn’t been the same since the 1999 romcom inspired a new generation to descend on it. I know how she feels but residents of other Spanish cities have it far worse than I do. At least I can find places which are still Spanish, even if there is more smoking taking place there than on terraces fully occupied by the better-off Caminers.

Trumpworld/LA LA Land

More from the utterly strange land of the ceaseless TV reality show . . .

TACO Tonterías

• Leonard Leo is described as the arch-conservative who has done more than anyone to pack the courts with conservative judges. But, because because many of his appointees have implemented the law, Trump has labelled him A sleazebag who hates America.
• Addressing the audience of Les Miserables: If the National Guard troops and marines weren’t there, that city would have been burning to the ground right now. [Does he really believe this crap? I imagine not.]

Trump is the king of confected emergencies. . . . His methods are transparent yet still effective.

Trump’s response to the LA protests is a stark warning of what’s to come. . . .His administration makes clear nearly every day that the rule of law is for chumps. . . . Even the most minimal check on executive power is anathema to the Trump agenda.

Is the USA on the path to becoming a failed state?

I can’t help feeling that, if the voters don’t reject the Republicans in the mid-term, they will – as the saying goes – deserve everything they get.

Quotes of the Day

• When we look at the recent series of pardons, we are essentially presented with the crimes that Donald Trump has no real problem with: tax evasion, bribery, and wire fraud.
• Trump used to be known as POTUS but is now DESPOTUS

Russia v. Ukraine

So, no sign yet of Trump taking severe measures against Russia at the end of the 2 week period he gave Putin to stop the slaughter. Anyone surprised?

The Way of the World

It’s said to he possible to do the Haj from Spain on horseback. Not to mention the bloody Camino . .

Spanish

• Estado de queda: Curfew
• Rastrillo: Rake. And . . . flea market . . .

English

To have your back: To protect you. American?

Did You Know?

Hemingway’s 3rd wife was an exceptional woman called Martha Gellhorn. They lived together as international correspondents and clandestine lovers in Madrid’s Hotel Florida, not far from my daughter’s flat. It’s well known that he nurtured her as a correspondent but it’s not so well known the he also tried very hard to ruin her. After they broke up, she wrote: Be advised, love passes. Work alone remains. Which is at least half true. Usually. BTW: This is the Chopin piece cited.

You Have to Laugh

Not far from Stansted airport in the UK there are villages called Nasty and Ugly. Hence the inevitable headline: Nasty Man Marries Ugly Woman.

Finally . . .

HT to reader Richard in Ferrol for the news that the founder and CEO of Ryanair gets a taste of his own medicine.

Finally, Finally . . .

Really the penultimate selection from The Pillow Book. Tomorrow the final 2 entries.

Sympathy

Sympathy is the most splendid of all qualities. This is especially true when it is found in men but it also applies to women. Compassionate remarks of the type “How sad for you” to someone who has suffered a misfortune, or “I can imagine what he must be feeling” about a man who has had some sorrow are bound to give pleasure, however casual and perfunctory they might be.

Gossip

It is absurd of people to get angry because one has gossiped about them. How can anyone be so simple as to believe that he is free to find fault with others while his own foibles are passed over in silence? Yet, when someone hears that he has been discussed unfavourably he is always outraged , and this I find most unattractive. If I am really close to someone, I realise that it would be hurting to speak badly about him and when the opportunity for gossip arises, I hold my peace. In other cases, however, I freely speak my mind and make everyone laugh.

Facial Features

• Features that I particularly like in someone’s face continue to give a thrill of delight, however often I see that person.
• With pictures it is different. If I look at them too often, they cease to attract me. indeed, I never so much as glance at the beautiful paintings on the screen that stands near my usual seat.
• There is something really fascinating about beautiful faces.
• Though on object such as a vase or a fan may be ugly in general, there’s always one particular part that one can gaze at with pleasure.
• One would expect this to apply to faces also but, alas, there’s nothing to recommend an ugly face.

Men again

• I like having a visitor when it is snowing.
• A secret visit is especially enjoyable. As one waits for the man 1 whispers to oneself “Can he forget”?
• On one occasion a man who invariably sent me a letter after we had spent the night together, declared that he saw no point in our relationship and that he had nothing more to say to me. There was no word from him on the next day. When dawn appeared without the usual morning letter, I could not help feeling rather gloomy. As the day advanced, I thought “He really meant what he says”.

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.
• A comparison of UK and Spanish living costs.
• And here’s a personal guide to moving to Spain – to work, not to retire.
• Finally, from a tax lawyer: Everything you need to know about taxes and healthcare when retiring to Spain.