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

Dreams of regime change will end in a rude awakening: It would be naive to believe that the US could take a wrecking ball to the Iranian state and walk away unaffected. . . . Trump’s recent disavowal of regime change on the ground that it would produce chaos is welcome news. We must hope that the mercurial president doesn’t change his mind, as he does so often.

What d’ya know . . . Trump and Hesgeth might have exaggerated the impact of the bombing. Might even have lied. Along with the Leavitt parrot. Amazing.

The USA

The nuttiness, the insanity doesn’t stop.

Marina Hyde explains why here: He just wants it to be about him. Everything being always about him is the position of maximum control and maximum attention.

Actually, Trump isn’t a one-off. I can say this as I’m listening these days to an account of the Medici family in Florence in the 15th century. I’m reminded of the old saying that Cream isn’t the only thing that rises to the top .

American exceptionalism . . .

The World

I’ve long thought that the world will never be stable until it ceases to be dependent on oil from the Middle East. This article suggests that day has arrived for the USA. Possibly even for Europe.

Quotes of the Day

• We live in a mad age where we happily devalue every significant moment in life — from birth to marriage to your kid’s first bike ride — by turning it into an amateur photoshoot. We also live at a time when, culturally, every experience must be reduced to its lowest common denominator, lest it be labelled with the dread word “elitist”. Which seems to mean tolerating behaviour that, even 20 years ago, would have been regarded as unacceptably antisocial.
• There is no MAGA ideology. Trump himself is the ideology.
• Netanyahu speaks perfect Trump.

Cosas de España

Defence spending . . .

• NATO and the Spanish PM are singing different tunes about Spain’s commitment to this.
• The Spanish PM is desperately seeking a distraction from corruption allegations threatening to topple his minority government. The US president looks set to oblige him with a dust-up.

It’s coming up for that time of year.

UK alcohol tariffs prove a headache for Spanish winemakers. Exports to the UK, which is Spain’s biggest market for still wine, dropped by 7.5 per cent in value in the first 4 months of this year – because of increased taxes on alcohol.

Another bodge. Though perhaps not as bad as earlier ones. The Virgin Mary is given a ‘plastic surgery’ look down in Sevilla

Cousas de Galicia

The VdG today, after a short period which twice saw a temperature of 38 in Pv city. The number of hospitalizations due to episodes of high temperatures has increased by 10% in Spain, according to the Health and Climate Change Observatory. This state agency has released a guide on the risks of extreme heat, given the increasingly long and torrid summers. This document emphasizes that the temperature at which heat impacts people’s health varies across regions, and that “28 degrees in Galicia can be worse for health than 37 degrees in Andalusia.” Authorities estimate that around 1,300 people die each year due to heat, most of them in accidents.

Portugal

The government gets tougher on foreigners.

What a change . . . In the late 90s, my daughter visited Lisbon and concluded that, though it was run-down, it could be glorious. As of now: Lisbon has made itself irresistible to tourists – and has become the least affordable city in Europe.

The Way of the World

Something here on the selfie-mania I’ve moaned about for a few years now, after my visits to the Alhambra in 2017 and more recent visits to Toledo.

Spanish

Aupar: to help up.

Did You Know?

If there’s anything better than wild strawberry plants for ground-cover growth, I’d be surprised. They really do spread themselves quickly, via thin red lines (stolons) that sprout nodes where they touch the soil.

You Have to Laugh

This is my favourite spot in Pv city. On the wall of the house next to one where there’s a plaque saying Valle Inclán vivía aquí:-

Finally . . . Gardening Notes

Faced with the choice of English or Italian grass seeds, I went with the former. Looking at my lawn now, perhaps I should have gone for the one labelled Crap Spanish gramón seeds that are heat and drought resistant.

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.