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

This purports to be an expert’s honest review of every major city in Spain. Galicia’s are La Coruña and Vigo. Thankfully, Pv city doesn’t feature.

A staggering comparison:

• Spain (pop. c. 45m) has c.4 million empty residential properties. (c.14% of the total housing stock.)
• England (pop. 60m) has 0.7m empty homes (under 3%).

Spain: There is significant regional and ownership concentration. The issue is complex due to the condition and location of many vacant homes, even as housing demand remains high, especially in major urban centers. Hence the regular reference to structural problems that not being addressed. And a crazy housing market. For example, in Pv city – where demand is high and prices rising rapidly – there is a large percentage of empty flats. I’ve never heard an explanation for this. But see the general comment below this post.

Life in Spain: My daughter went out to dinner last night at 8, leaving me to look after my 6 year old grandson. She and her friend had a reservation for 9 and were still eating at 12.15, when I asked them where on earth they were, as I was tired of answering the question every 10 minutes of when mummy would be home. She finally got back at 1.30, to find us playing football in the garden. But at least we got to see the Galician Day fireworks at the child-friendly hour of midnight . . .

Cousas de Galiza

With the temperatures rising, attention is being given to growing not only olives up here in the North West but also avocados Should give a boost to the local economy. But hopefully won’t mean acres of Almeria-like plastic sheeting.

THE MAGA REALITY TV SHOW

Trumpisms

• I hardly know him/her.[Always an outright lie]
• On giving a pardon to Ghislaine Maxwell: I don’t know; I haven’t thought about it. It’s something I haven’t heard about. [As if]
• On Epstein: I had nothing to do with the guy. [Ditto]
• I was never briefed on Epstein [Ditto. Another outright lie]
• Last month, we had nobody entering our country. Nobody. Shut it down. [Ditto]
• You should be talking about the amazing 6 months we’ve had.
• I don’t deal in conspiracy theories. [Except when seeking election]
• Stop doing the windmills. [To Europe]
• Get your act together or you won’t have a country any more. [Ditto]
• Stop the invasion. [Ditto]
• People love my golf courses. Probably the greatest in the world.

Spanish

• La raia: The local word for the border with Portugal. Actually the river Miño/Minho. ‘Ray’ in both Portuguese and Galician.
• Piojo: Head lice

English/Did you know?

• Nit: Head lice/eggs.
• Biddy: Slang for ‘nit’ – especially in the Scouse dialect of Merseyside.

I’m reminded of this because this week, after attending a summer football camp, my grandson came back with a serious number of nits in his fulsome hair.

In my primary school of a while back, we used to have to line up to be examined by a nurse, one by one. Her nickname among us kids was Nitty Nora, the biddy explorer.

Finally . . .

I was waiting last evening for my daughter to come out of the supermarket when the passenger door opened and a woman I don`t know got in and sat down without saying a world. She was far too old to be on the game so I guessed she had just made a mistake. I told her it wasn´t her car but she didn’t respond. I told her again but she took several seconds to digest this information and then collapsed in embarrassment. Her – equally-aged – husband meandered up to the car to help her out. I think they survived the incident. But what an exciting life I lead in Poio.

I’m off now to take my grandson to his first football match. As he was – despite treatment – scratching his head sitting next to me last night, perhaps we will be giving biddies to up to 2,000 fans in Pv FC’s stadium . . .

EMPTY PROPERTIES IN PONTEVEDRA CITY

En la ciudad de Pontevedra, alrededor del 14% de las viviendas están vacías, equivalente a aproximadamente 6.037 viviendas sin uso, según el último censo del Instituto Nacional de Estadística basado en datos de 2021. Esta tasa es una de las más bajas de Galicia, pero refleja una realidad importante en la ciudad. [I have heard higher numbers over the years

Las razones detrás de este número notable de pisos vacíos en Pontevedra incluyen:

Ubicación y mercado inmobiliario local: Aunque hay demanda, la oferta de viviendas disponibles no siempre coincide con las necesidades o preferencias de los potenciales residentes, especialmente si las viviendas están en zonas menos demandadas o necesitan reformas.

Conversión de locales comerciales en viviendas: Aunque hay un aumento en la demanda para convertir bajos comerciales vacíos en viviendas, la ciudad también enfrenta un creciente número de locales vacíos; entre 2023 y 2025, los locales vacíos en Pontevedra aumentaron un 44% (hasta 2.450 locales), lo que refleja un abandono estructural y económico de ciertos espacios urbanos.

Factores económicos y fiscales: La presión fiscal y los altos costes laborales afectan a pequeños comercios y propietarios, limitando la capacidad de revitalizar estos inmuebles y ponerlos en el mercado. El auge del comercio online también reduce la necesidad de locales físicos, impactando el dinamismo urbano y residencial.

Duración del abandono: Muchas viviendas permanecen vacías durante largos periodos, ya sea por razones económicas, especulativas o porque estos inmuebles no cumplen con los requisitos de habitabilidad actuales sin una inversión significativa.

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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.