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.

The USA

Oldish News:-

• NATO leaders sycophancy.
• The contentious issue of Iran’s nuclear capability as of now.

New, and worse, News

• The US supreme court has dramatically expanded the powers of the president . Trump, personally, will now have the presumptive power to persecute you, and nullify your rights in defiance of the constitution, at his discretion

At the start of the 20th century, the great majority of Germans still most probably believed in the principles on which liberal nationalism rested, such as freedom of thought, representative government, tolerance for the opinions of others and the fundamental rights of the individual. A hundred and twenty five years later, does Trump give any evidence of believing in any of these? Do his Cabinet members, whatever they really think?

Insane Trumpisms

• Beautiful, clean coal.
• Like no one has ever seen . . .
• Who could have guessed it would be so difficult?
• I deserve 5 Nobel Peace Prizes

Quotes of the Day

• Hesgeth is nothing more than a court jester dancing for his king.
• Just when the world desperately needs wise elders, its fate is in the hands of old and ruthless patriarchs . . . Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping are both 72. Narendra Modi is 74, Benjamin Netanyahu 75, Donald Trump 79, and Ali Khamenei is 86. . . . These men are the children of the postwar world – and as they near the end of their lives, they seem determined to tear it down. It almost looks like revenge.

Cosas de España

The supreme court gives the embattled PM a bit of relief.

Barcelona plans to expand its airport. One can see why at least some residents aren’t at all happy about this.

Here’s a lawyer’s advice on avoiding abuses in your property rental contract.

Cousas de Galicia

The history of property rental controls applied when the underlying problems aren’t resolved is one of unintended negative consequences. The VdG today reports very significant reductions in available flats in all Galicia’s cities over the last 4 years, accompanied, of course, by high price increases, as supply further reduces.

The works on the new shopping precinct along the road to Vilagarcia are now in pretty fullish swing but I still doubt they’ll be finished by next Xmas. Not far away, the works on a (closed for months) road in nearby Lérez continue to be done, it seems, on a one-day on, three-days off basis. I suspect the company doing them has more than one project on the go, proving that – while you certainly can’t please all the people all the time – you can displease them all the time.

For clarity . . . The tattoo I cited yesterday does, of course, have Camino significance, being the cross of the Knights of Santiago/St James. One wonders just how many of its aficionados are aware of this. Especially the atheists among them.

The UK

Is the world also laughing at this Anglo country, as well as at the bigger one?

It’s rather hard to avoid the conclusion that the UK has lost its way over recent decades.

The Way of the World

AEP plays the optimist . . . Beware of AI energy hyperbole: scientists already have a solution . . . an atom-thick graphene chip that slashes energy use for computing and AI data centres by over 90%, radically changing the trajectory of global electricity demand over the next quarter century. . . . Technologists will once again save us from our own incorrigible stupidity. Ojalá!

Russia v. Ukraine

More optimism?? Trump has Putin trapped, and the Kremlin knows it. The Kremlin’s lack of support for the Iranian regime indicates its fear of US retaliation via arms shipments to Ukraine.

Spanish

• Afear: To deface. To censure.
• Enloquecer: Go crazy/mad. Freak out.

English

A fashionable phrase:- Threading the needle: 1. To perform a task or action that requires extreme precision, accuracy, or delicacy, much like the literal act of threading a needle. To skilfully navigate a difficult situation, especially when balancing or finding harmony between conflicting forces, interests, or viewpoints. 3. In sports or other contexts, to move or pass through a very narrow or tight space with little margin for error.

Social Media

Something else it’s responsible for . . . How using a full stop could give away your age. Where text message punctuation is merely good grammar for older people, Gen Z sees all kinds of hidden meanings.

Did You Know?

The Spanish word Ojalá – meaning “I hope,” “hopefully,” or “if only” – has its origin is in Arabic, specifically phrases such as “inshallah”, “law sha’ Allah”, or “wa sha’a Allah”, all of which mean “if God wills it” or “God willing.” It entered Spanish during Muslim rule (711–1492), when Arabic heavily influenced local languages. 

Finally . . .

Reader David in La Coruña has asked if how I feel about the new restaurant practice of making you pay for your meal when you order it. In principle, I have no problem with this but wonder how it will work with items ordered during the meal. Possibly irritating if payable for then. As happened to me in a Chinese place down in Madrid a couple of years ago. But it was a buffet and it was only the wine.

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.