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.

Iran

No one, of course, knows what will happen next but Richard North writes this morning: For the time being, with Iran making noises about closing off the Straits of Hormuz, instability reigns supreme. As for the claim that the world is now a safer place, he opines: That may be the case sometime in the future but, as we await with trepidation the next moves, not just yet.

Near term:-

• Trump floats regime change to make Iran great again. [Baseball cap available from the Trump family]
• Iran is reported to have ‘taken significant steps towards closing the Straits of Hormuz. This would have severely negative consequences for the global economy. [Oil will surge to over $100 a barrel.]
• Iran has threatened to activate sleeper cells in the USA.
• Russia is saying that ‘some countries’ will now be prepared to supply Iran with nuclear warheads. Decidedly not good news.

Some or all of the (allegedly) unanswered questions.

Israel

The war with Hamas in Gaza is said to threaten its relationship with the EU. Hardly a surprise.

The USA/Trump

No shortage of critical articles, of course . . .

• Trump’s war with Iran signals a perilous shift from showman to strongman.
• No matter what Trump says, the US has gone to war – and there will be profound and lasting consequences. He has fallen slap bang into the trap laid for him by Netanyahu. [Rather proving my point that the world’s authoritarian rulers knew how to play Trump]. His reckless gamble makes a nuclear weapon for Iran more, not less, likely.
• Like George W Bush, Trump has started a reckless war based on a lie.

Can it possibly be true that Trump has exaggerated the success of the (illegal) Iran bombing strike?

Cosas de España

A good article on the predicament of the Spanish PM, as he fights for his political life.

Ahead of the inevitable court cases, the woman in a charge of the electricity network – a political appointee – blames the power companies for the blackout.

Another failed attempt at – undoubtedly well-intended – rent controls?

Cousas de Galicia

Two things still surprise me re neighbours:- 1. There’s little interaction between them. To say the least, they’re not exactly in and out of each other’s houses, and 2. Only a small minority of 20 of us in this street do any tending of the pavement in front of our walls, where weeds proliferate. Mind you, the council does send someone everyone 6-12 months to do something about them.

Something of a surprise – an English woman singing in Galician.

Portugal

Down in a village not very far south of Pv province, the residents are fighting against the creation of 4 vast lithium mines. The odds must surely be against them succeeding.

The Way of the World

A modern curse . . . . If you don’t pay for the premium service:-

• YouTube is now inserting ads every 3 minutes on at least some videos. If it is of a podcast, this too suffers. Sometimes right in the middle of a sentence.
• WhatsApp says that, contrary to its original promise, it will soon hit us with ads.
• Spotify, of course, ruined their original free offering with ads some time ago.

Spanish

• Mojar un croissant con: To have a meeting/chat with?? [I see there is certainly a suggestive meaning].
• Achique: Bilge, drainage

Did You Know?

English is, of course, a (West) Teutonic language but – one way or another – it has been suffused with words from Romance languages. In the 19th century, William Barnes tried to reform English by limiting it to words of Saxon-English origin. Where no “Teutonic” words were available to express his meaning, he made up alternatives, such as sky-sill for horizon, glee-craft for music, wort-lore for botany, hearsomeness for obedience, and somely for plural. Years later, readers  of the New Statesman were challenged to write the opening paragraphs of a modern novel in this reformed English. Click here to see the inventive, but amusing, offering of one reader. To my mind it – logically – turns English into something resembling German.

You Have to Laugh: If only to avoid crying.

Finally . . .

An unavoidable question . . .Trump is unquestionably a vile individual. Likewise, it seems, every one of his Cabinet appointees. So . . . What does this say about the majority of US citizens who voted him into power? After all, they could hardly claim to be ignorant of his personality, his crimes, his many faults and his declared intentions. Did the Germans really know as much about Hitler?

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.
• What to do if your visa application is rejected
• Finally, from a tax lawyer: Everything you need to know about taxes and healthcare when retiring to Spain.