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

Now is the time of the year when many, many Madrileños flee North to escape the heat, perhaps not very successfully this year. But, anyway, in Galicia they’re called fodechinchos, a slang term which is not defined in either the RAE or the RAG dictionary. Here, the definition takes on a connotation linked to the attitude of a visitor, whether from Madrid or anywhere else in Spain. So:-
Shows no respect for Galicia or the Galicians.
Walks through our land thinking that everyone should serve him/her.
Regards our heritage as having been placed in front of him so he can take photos.
Shows no effort to respect for or learns anything about our culture.
Is unaware that people live in towns and cities who need their space and rest.
Treats the locals condescendingly.
Has a particular fondness for leaving his/her vehicle at the mercy of the rising tides.

The article – in Spanish – tells you how to spot and avoid them.

Cousas de Galiza

A ‘travel writer’ enjoys prowling through nearby Vigo. She writes well, albeit about a place I just about recognise. You clearly need different eyes from mine to be, as she is, a much-syndicated travel writer. To be positive, she is less flowery than others of her calling. And she does mention the drug trade. [P. S. Most Mencia wine doesn’t come from the Rías Baixas but from further inland, up in the hills.]

The temperature was again very high in Pv city yesterday – at 37 – but, sadly, the cooling winds finally dropped, giving me a Madrid-level bedroom temperature of 28 last night. Forcing me to use one of the fans bought for the several relatives arriving today. Thank-god these higher temperatures – according to Trump – are the result of a Chinese hoax and can be expected not to occur every summer.

Ludicrously, yet again my relatives – perforce – had to fly into Oporto, incurring (high) hotel costs because of a late arrival. Will Galicia ever get its airport act together and reduce its 3 inadequate airports to just one decent one? [Answer: Possibly when Hell freezes over. A political impossibility ]

The UK

There’s one question quiz shows won’t ask: how stupid is Britain?

The best instant coffee available in UK supermarkets.

THE MAGA REALITY TV SHOW

An amusingly hard-hitting profile here of one of Trump’s least-qualified senior appointments – Kristi Noem. Ignorant but loyal. Like a lap-dog, I guess. Possibly a bitch.

Trump goes to Hell.

Trump puts us through hell . . . ‘He has trouble completing a thought’: bizarre public appearances again cast doubt on Trump’s mental acuity. Biden was hounded for his age-related gaffes, but Trump’s increasingly strange behavior has largely been ignored.

Quote of the Day

A Republican lackey-cum-comedian: The president’s greatest priority is getting accurate data. We have to have our own people in the weather bureau to ensure this.

Russia v Ukraine

Trump allegedly sets a condition for avoiding more sanctions, possibly as ineffective as the last lot.

The Way of the World

Excessive tourism always kills something. Possibly a lot. See here and here.

From the article above on fodechinchos . . . Las tendencias de Instagram han hecho mucho daño al turismo. 

Spanish

• Pataca; Jerusalem artichoke [???] Potato in Galician and Portuguese. Old Macao currency.
• Estrepitoso: Resounding, spectacular.
• P’alante: Ahead. Short of Por alante.
• Pillería: Mischief, trouble.
• Picardía: Ditto

Did you know?

Neanderthals survived almost 400,000 years in Europe before the first Homo Sapiens group arrived out of Africa. Whether their demise had anything to do with the latter is a matter for debate.

Finally . . .

Not a lot of Spanish folk work in August. And I wish the guy with the hedge-cutter in a neighbour’s garden hadn’t done so for most of today.

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

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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 . . .

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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.