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.

My thanks to those readers who take the trouble to Like my posts.

Cosas de España

In Spain, one doesn’t have to wait long for another political scandal to come along . . . This week’s is the case of Noelia Núñez, a young PP MP (and member of the party’s ‘núcleo duro’), whose CV for election to Congress had included 3 degrees she doesn’t have. An ‘administrative error’, she claimed, before apologising and quitting to take up a career as a ‘TV Commentator’ for the current affairs program En boca de todos. Appearing ‘as often as is allowed’ by the studying she plans to get the degrees she has never had. Maybe.

A nice place to visit in Aragón before half the world does.

There’s No such thing as . .

• A Spanish event without (loud) background music.

Cousas de Galiza

For the 3rd time, the Supreme Court has backed the extension for many years of the operating licence for the cellulose factory on the edge of Pv city. So, what next for the mayor, after the his repeated failures over 20 years?

The UK

This is an amusing podcast on the ludicrous questions in the test for British citizenship, administered – can you believe? – by The Iranian Association. Which is: A registered charity providing a range of services to support Iranians and other ethnic minorities, refugees, and migrants in London, and which runs the Life in the UK test centre.

More seriously . . . Jeremy Corbyn has founded a new far-left party, with the (daft) interim title of “Your Party”. I guess the US equivalent would be Bernie Sanders doing this. It’s stressed that Even moderate success could have a disproportionate impact. . . . For Labour, the immediate effect is that it now faces choice of recognising the inevitable and writing off the Muslim vote or redoubling its efforts to keep Muslims on board. Which way the party jumps could have a profound effect on our politics over the next 4 years.

France

I wondered if the French are as negative about their country as the Brits are about theirs, so asked an AI engine . . . Yes, the French widely believe that their country is deteriorating. According to a recent poll cited by The NYT, 87% of respondents agreed that France is in decline, reflecting widespread malaise. This perception is linked to economic challenges such as rising energy prices, decline in key industries, and political dysfunction. Trust in government and political institutions is very low, with confidence in the President and the PM at record lows and a high level of mistrust towards politics overall. This has worsened since the snap elections and the dissolution of the parliament in 2024, contributing to a pervasive sense of political and social unease among the public. Sacré bleu!

Europe

The answer to a related question . . . Compared to neighbors like Germany and Italy, France stands out as more pessimistic and distrustful.

THE MAGALandREALITY TV SHOW

Trumpisms

We’re going to reduce the prices of pharmaceutical prducts by 1,000 percent, even 1,500 percent. Numbers which are not even thought to be achievable.[How very true for once. But does he have any idea of how stupid this is?]

The News

It’s been said that this Trump rant ¨should not be met merely with a collective shrug¨, which is surely correct, no matter how much his insanity and hunger for power have been ‘normalised’:-

Trump is reported to have not ruled out giving Ghislaine Maxwell a pardon. Hardly a surprise. A relevant video.

Republicans have advanced a proposal to rename the Kennedy Center’s opera house after Melania Trump, who is the honorary chair of the board. For services to the Arts, apparently. By staying away from them, presumably. The proposal passed the House Appropriations Committee – largely along party lines, of course – but still requires full congressional approval. 

Quote of the Day

After more than 200 years of their republic, Americans have found that a president who is both very rich and insane can do whatever he likes. In other words, can be more powerful than the less-than-absolute monarch they got rid of. As this wouldn’t be possible in the UK, one question raised is whether, in practice, the much admired, written US Constitution really is superior to the unwritten British Constitution. It’s quite hard to see even an insane monarch acting like Trump.

Russia v Ukraine

I don’t know how many of his 50 days he has left but, meanwhile, it’s reported that: Putin has respondedwith one of its largest naval exercises in years, codenamed “July Storm.” An operation spanning the Arctic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, the Baltic Sea, and the Caspian Sea, involving over 15,000 troops and hundreds of military assets.

The full, untold story of Trump’s U-turn on Ukraine. How the White House shifted from a freeze on weapon deliveries to billions of dollars in fresh aid.

Spanish

• Si fuera poco: As if that weren’t/wasn’t enough . . .

English

Courtesy of reader Perry . . .

• Moirologist: Professional mourner.
• Prosopagnosia: Face blindness.
• Xanthodontous: Having yellow teeth.
• Borborygmus: Rumbling or gurgling belly.

Only the 2nd is recognised by my spellcheck.

Did you know?

This article tells us of the falsehoods all programmers believe about names.

You Have to Laugh

Finally . . .

Technology . . . Don’t you just love it. This week:

• My back-up laptop, bought only 13 months ago, has developed a screen problem which prevents use.
• My phone of less than a year won’ t charge properly via any of 3 chargers and 4 cables
• The telefonillo on my front gate has stopped working, and
• The remote control key for my car door locks won´t work, and it’s not the fault of the battery. (The alarm goes off when opened manually).

Next week should be better.

Meanwhile, with my 6 year old grandson I´m moving on from chess to backgammon, the virtues of which include: 1. It’s quick, 2. You can chat while playing it, and 3. It’s not all about brainpower; there’s an element of luck. A relevant podcast here.

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 or on Substack.

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.

If you´re thinking of moving to Spain, this link should be useful to you.