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

Changing Spain: Supermarket ready-to-eat meals are reported to have grown by 50% in 3 years and to have ‘robbed’ restaurants of clients.

Unchanging Spain: More here on Sevilla’s botched Madonna statue. To some of us, the fuss might seem disproportionate, not to say astonishing.

The pushback against overtourism . . . Malaga city  freezes new tourist rental licences for 3 years. Unless you know someone on the Council, perhaps.

Hogging a sunbed could cost you €250.

Cousas de Galiza

The tragedy grows . . .Not only do the fires remain out of control, despite all the efforts and resources being employed, but they are also expanding their radius of action. The fires in the Valdeorras area, which burned 6,000 hectares in just 12 hours, crossed into the Galician province of Lugo yesterday. The Serra do Courel mountain range is now in danger. The heat wave will give us a break, but widespread rain is not expected, and a simple drop in temperatures is insufficient to extinguish these fires, which have already consumed almost 58,000 hectares. “The problem this time is the simultaneous occurrence of the fires,” says the Air Force Commander. The government has accepted aid from 5 countries. Meanwhile, the political dispute is also spreading. [This is Spain, after all.]

Damn! Brits are moving to the lush green corner of northwestern Spain.

Portugal

This raised a smile . . . A new ‘Atlantic corridor’ fast railway line is planned, to run from Lisbon via Porto up to A Coruña by 2030 — with a branch to Madrid. Maybe by 2040.

The UK

Over the past 8 to 12 months, there has been a 25% increase in US homebuyers snatching up properties in the UK, with many buyers wanting period architecture and modern homes. US buyers are in search of the ‘quintessential English life’ and, while many are drawn to historic properties, there are also buyers looking for modern homes. But all Americans want a key feature that’s not at all common in Europe – air conditioning. So, London’s carbon footprint will be increasing soon.

THE USA and THE MAGA REALITY TV SHOW

All hell beaks loose for Trump as exports collapse.

Trump’s cult of loyalty breeds incompetence and corruption. His grovelling crackpots will [eventually] bring down Trump with them. https://www.rawstory.com/these-groveling-crackpots-are-going-to-crash-and-bring-trump-down-with-them/

Quotes of the Day

• Wholesale prices are way up because wholesalers aren’t ‘eating’ the tariffs. Who is Trump going to fire now?
• As Trump is increasing his power, his dementia is increasing at the same time.

Russia v Ukraine

More on the Russian view on that (non?)summit.

The Way of the World

The sort of risk most of us face these days.

Spanish

• Aluciente: Encouragement, incentive, inducement, lure etc.
• Chiribita: Spark, sparkle.
• Chilla: Squealing, screaming.
• Parte: Usually means something like part or section but on an insurance claim form means Report.
• Cárter: Petrol sump.
• Parachoque: (UK) Bumper. (US)Fender

I’m grateful to one of my visiting daughters for the opportunity to check out a few of these words . . . . The others came from a bullfight report in a local paper.

English

Odd words added to the Cambridge dictionary.

Did you know?

Another reason to visit Antequera in Andalucia . . . A recently excavated Roman mosaic in Antequera is part of the Villa Romana de la Estación, opened to the public in July last. It is the largest known geometric Roman mosaic on the Iberian Peninsula and forms part of a vast luxury villa belonging to the wealthy Licinius family, who made their fortune in olive oil production. The villa covers approximately 23,000m², though only a quarter has been excavated so far. The mosaic is notable for its scale and well-preserved geometric patterns, primarily using white, black, and ochre tesserae. Salomon’s knot and lotus flower motifs are prominent, alongside some vegetal designs. Unique finds around the villa include a rare statue of a hippopotamus, over 1,300 oyster shells, and several imported marbles and golden tesserae. The villa’s grand peristyle (colonnaded courtyard) includes a 180,000-litre pool and elaborate mosaics, highlighting the opulence of the Roman elite in Hispania.

You Have to Laugh

It seemed the perfect solution. A young mother in the US wanted to name her daughter after her grandparents, who were called Harvey and Charlotte. So, welcome to the world, baby Harlotte. As you might imagine this choice caused a stir in the family. The mother’s cousin said: “She didn’t tell anyone the name idea until after she was named and papers signed. My mum burst out, ‘You named the baby “whore”?’ and my cousin started screaming.” Ah well. It’s no worse, I suppose, than “Fellony” which still regularly appears on the baptism lists in the USA..

Finally . . .

The foto at the top of this post is not of a normal dawn. Nor it is the smoke resulting from the dreadful fires in Galicia. As some will have recognised, it’s a ‘sea’ mist over the river Lèrez that runs around Pv city. Its estuary is not far to the right and that’s where the mist crawls in from.

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 . . .

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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.