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

It hasn’t rained in Pv city for over week now but, down in Madrid, the PM is under a constant downpour. The latest adverse development is that: Isabel Pardo de Vera, ex presidenta de Adif, ha sido acusada por un juez de la Audiencia Nacional de varios delitos graves en el marco del llamado “caso Koldo”. La investigación judicial se centra en su presunta participación en una trama de adjudicación irregular de contratos públicos a cambio de comisiones ilegales, junto al ex director general de Carreteras, Javier Herrero

The right-of-centre journal The Corner has this to say about the PM’s situation as captain on a sinking ship: In this nightmarish political climate, the discovery that corruption is flooding PSOE offices, with two organization secretaries involved in a kickback scheme, has been a devastating blow that has left the socialists knocked out, out of the game.

The execrable far-right Vox party says it’ll emulate Trump and expel 8 million foreigners and their children. I might be wrong but I can’t see this being well received in Spain.

Talking about idiots . . . Today’s 2nd bull-run in Pamplona was very long. And – after the last bull got isolated and turned round several times – very dangerous. Two runners were gored and 6 or 7 others taken to hospital,

Cousas de Galicia

The open-air stage for tonight’s J lo performance in Pv city was finalised yesterday and a rehearsal duly took place. This involved the standard city oriented greeting but to ‘Vigo’. Let’s hope she gets it right tonight. She’s surely paid enough to do so.

Great excitement in Galicia over some ‘confirmatory’ findings near the alleged grave of the Muslim commander, Tarif Ibn Malik. He who brought the Berber troops over from Africa in 711.

It’s c. 30 years since the residents of Pv city were surprised by the introduction of roundabouts. And, as every regular reader knows, despite the efforts of El Tráfico, they still don’t know how to negotiate them. Largely because they’re still being taught to do what would be wrong – or even illegal – in other countries. But, as well as being dangerous, this can be advantageous. This is because, in every stretch of road where there is at least one roundabout – i.e. all of them now – drivers all stay in the right-hand lane, to that they can go into and round the obstacle always in the RH lane. So long as you remain aware someone might be cutting across you from the right, this leaves the LH lane free for you to proceed at a good lick.

The UK

I had a good laugh this morning at the fuss over Emma Raducanu possibly being bra-less at Wimbledon. Here in Pv city, nearly all the young women – and some of the not-so-young – are currently wearing on the streets as little as they’d wear on the beach. Ms Raducanu wouldn’t be noticed here. Or at least not for that.

MAGALand

Katherine Leavitt is still insisting from the planet she and Trump inhabit:-

• Trump’s phone is still ringing off the hook with calls from world leaders desperate to do trade deals
• Trump’s unilateral impositions – via letters – of tariffs are ‘deals’, not indications of a total failure to reach agreements with the recipient countries.
• Trump continues to work incessantly in the interests of Americans. Mostly, of course, for those who want an expensive perfume. Or anything with the Trump name on it.

Back in the real world, Trump is being mocked for his (‘illegal’) letters, all written in his Germanic capital-letter-ful style.

That missing/non-existent Epstein client list . . . Even the far-right nutjob Alex Jones finds the White House line impossible to swallow. Makes him physically sick, he says. Trump’s response to the scandal – seen as a typical distraction tactic and as ‘insane’:-

A written Constitution – any written Constitutions – is said to be superior to Britain’s unwritten version. Boris Johnson showed that, if there’s an authoritarian will, there’s away to ignore the rules and conventions of the latter. But hasn’t Trump shown that the US Constitution is as holey as a Swiss cheese​? Assisted, of course, by the pusillanimous Republican party that he has terrorised into total submission.

BUT . . . . Trump’s approval ratings as of 7 July:-

• 44.9% of Americans approve of the job he’s doing, while 51.5% disapprove, resulting in a net approval rating of -6.7. On specific issues, his net approval ratings are:

• Immigration: -3.3 to -4.2
• Economy: -11.9 to -13.0
• Inflation: -23.8 to -23.6
• Trade/tariffs: down from -12.7 to -14.5
• Regionally, Trump’s approval varies widely by state. He enjoys his highest net approval in Wyoming (+44%) and West Virginia (+36%), but faces significant disapproval in states like Hawaii (-47%) and Maryland (-41%).
• Compared to his first term, his approval rating is c. 3 points lower at this point.

Quote of the Day

It’s an iron law of politics – You can never remove a benefit you’ve given.

Russia

Another strange death. Of a sacked minister. Oddly, he didn’t fall out of a window.

You Have to Laugh

A popular Monty Python song like you’ve never heard it . .

Finally . . .

This is an old-fashioned shop in Pv city’s old quarter that I love for a smell I associate with shops of my childhood . . .

I sometimes stop at the door just to take in a breath. Luckily, I lose my Panama hat every summer so have an excuse to go in and actually buy something once a year. I imagine that, when the ageing owners retire. it will become yet another pastry shop. Or a sushi bar.

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.