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

More problems for the beleaguered PM. This time not money but sex. . .

The Spanish wife of the ex-UK deputy PM says Spain has seldom felt so disillusioned with its leaders but that she will clean up Spanish politics using British ethics. A Herculean task, it would seem.

As I gaze down from my Poio eyrie, the only constructor’s crane I can see is on my side of the river, where 28 houses are being built next to the pijos’ tennis club. Back in the peak of the crazy years of 2002-2007, there were 10 to 20 of these. (Cranes, I mean, not pijos). Anyway, I’ve been reminded of this scenario by this article on the role of US investment companies in the huge problem a shortage of residential properties in Spain’s cities. And the ever-rising prices of those which are on the market. This sentence stood out: After the real estate bubble burst [in 2008], housing construction in Spain was halted, and only in recent years has begun to pick up again, albeit with “not enough land to build on”, and properties being built that are ultimately not designed for social housing, further exacerbating the problem. In Spain less than 2.5% of homes are for social housing. In short, nothing was done by any government to prevent this problem occurring 20 years ago and, then, to stop it getting worse year by year. As someone has said. the investment (‘vulture’) funds don’t cause/exacerbate property shortages – as they rent out – but they do profit from it via the rising prices and, thus, the interim returns on their investments and eventual sale. The Spaniards who keep their flats empty are more of a legitimate target. And maybe those who go into the holiday rental business instead of offering long term lets. But it’s always good for governments to have someone else to blame. Very preferably a foreigner.

If you’ve been living in a cave for the past decade or so, you won’t know anything about these movies and TV series centred on the ever-more-popular Camino de Santiago.

Cousas de Galicia

The VdG tells us that 15% of Galician DNA has its roots in North Africa and the Middle East. And that: In addition to the high percentage of inherited genes, the researchers were surprised because the data indicates that contact with these regions did not occur during the Muslim conquest, but rather in the Roman era. The answer seems to lie in the North African labor force used by Rome in the construction of its cities and roads. Which explains why a fried of mine was so confused by her DNA test results.

Interesting to hear that the latest generation of narcosubs to arrive along our coast will be self-propelled. Perhaps with Waymo painted on their sides.

J lo is performing here in Pv city this week – I can see the stage from my salón window – but, meanwhile, someone in her entourage will have infuriated at least some denizens of our fair city by allowing this to happen. There is centuries-old enmity between the 2 cities.

MAGALand

Horrific, but normalised in this ever-weirder country . . . The USA was hit with mass shootings and fatal accidents on Fourth of July holiday. . . . Violence and shootings tend to surge during the summer, especially on one of the deadliest days of the year

Trump as dealmaker. It’s all fake. Theatrics. The White House has little to show as Trump’s self-imposed deadline to reach trade deals with dozens of countries arrives in 4 days. Trump bragged he would rapidly secure dozens of trade deals, but his administration has claimed just 3 — and the details are thin. So, now Trump will send out ‘10 letters a day to hundreds of countries’, saying Take it or Leave it. Which is his traditional style of deal-making in New York, of course. His MAGA base is not expected to notice. And the stock market seems pretty happy with this massive failure. Even though US trade will undoubtedly suffer.

The NYT Board comments here on Trump’s blatant politicisation of the FBI: Trump’s playbook for the FBI. is plain to see. He is turning it into an enforcement agency for MAGA priorities. He is chasing out agents who might refuse to play along and installing loyalists in their place. He is seeking to remove the threat of investigation for his friends and allies. And he is trying to instill fear in his critics and political opponents. Among his many efforts weaken American democracy and amass more power to himself, his politicization of the FBI is one of the most blatant.

Also astonishing . . .Trump is waging war against the media – and is winning.

María has a nightmare which is all too plausible . .

Canada

A drop in the ocean? Canada imported a little less than $1.1m worth of American wine in May—a 98% decrease from the same month last year, and a 63% drop from April.

Relations with its southern neighbour . . . Courtesy of reader Aleksandras.

Quote of the Day

With reference to the Trump-Musk falling out . . . If you lie down with dogs, you’ll get up with fleas. In each case here.

English

Dreckitude: The quality of being dreck, which means something worthless or of low quality, often described as junk or garbage. It was popularized by fashion icon André Leon Talley to express a lack of beauty or value in something.

English’s cousin language you might never have heard of.

Did You Know?

No one can inherit your e-books. You die, they die.

You Have to Laugh

Two of the USA’s fine Republican Representatives. Does any other country have folk of this ilk?

Finally . . .

A fine old number by Billie Holliday. By Bette Midler. And best of all, the original by Ethel Waters. The mother of modern singing. She is forgotten by many now but she changed the way singers approached a song. Concentration on lyrics and the inner feel of the song. Everyone imitated her from Bing Crosby to Lena Horne to Sophie Tucker.

Good to hear the word ‘gay’ used with its original meaning.

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.
• Buying a property ‘off-plan’.
• 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.