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

Someone takes a very negative view of Catalan separatists here. One which is quite possibly shared by most Spaniards.

Lenox Napier on the fires.

The bizarre Tomatina.

Cousas de Galiza

Even before J.Lo arrived in July, there’d been at least one big ‘pop’ concert in Pv city. And this was followed by several others, culminating last night in this one, which ended some time after 3am.:-

For me, all these concerts share 5 characteristics:

• With the obvious exception, all the artists are unknown to me. And possibly quite a few older Pv city residents.
• They all go on until very late into the night, usually starting at 22.30.
• They’re all exceptionally loud, necessitating ear plugs in my case – up to 2km away from them.
• All the music features a persistently pounding bass, which doesn’t make the challenge of getting to sleep any easier.
• They quite possibly upset quite a few residents of the city.

It’s possibly worth noting that the Pv city’s mayor doesn’t live in the city but in Marcón, 4km from the nocturnal cacophony.

On a few points of detail . . . The now annual Río Verbena Fest only began in 2022, after Covid. It now involves the erection of 2 huge temporary stages (escenarios). The concerts aren’t free but are preceded by free Sesións Verbeneiras in one of the city’s squares, performed by local artists and some festival performers. As you can see from the poster, the latter start as early as 17.30 and go on for more than 8 hours.

Portugal

Why Portugal is the ‘safer bet’ for Americans traveling to Europe. Allegedly. [BTW . . . €3 for a coffee with milk is extortionate in Spain, never mind (cheaper)Portugal. One wonders where it was ordered. A 5-star hotel?]

The UK

Just in case you don’t know this quite well known story, it’s amusingly told here . . . The Spanish Armada: How England, Weather, and Bad Planning Crushed the “Invincible Fleet”.

THE USA and THE MAGA REALITY TV SHOW

Trumpisms

• I deserve a Nobel Peace Prize. Everyone agrees. [Utterly delusional]

The latest episode of Shrinking Trump. Trump’s pathological relationship with Putin is on full display. Great opening statement, if you listen to nothing else. At min1.02. You can also get it on your favourite podcast platform.

Russia v Ukraine

An interesting perspective . . . Russia’s new middle class can’t afford for Putin’s war to end. ‘Deathonomics’ is transforming Russian society. Few would welcome peace.

The Way of the [BBC]World

As a devout adherent of gender ideology, the BBC believes in respecting everyone’s preferred pronouns. And when I say everyone’s, I really do mean everyone’s. This week, a male neo-Nazi in Germany will be allowed to start serving an 18-month sentence in a women’s prison, after he announced that he now identifies as a woman. The BBC News website covered the story, and it repeatedly referred to this neo-Nazi as “she” and “her” – even though the photo at the top showed that the charming lady in question still sports an enormous handlebar moustache. How I would love to have been a fly on the wall in the BBC newsroom, when the staff discussed this decision.
“Er, guys – and non-guys – are we absolutely sure that this neo-Nazi is genuinely transgender? And not just a cynical opportunist who’s taking advantage of Germany’s new self-ID laws in order to be placed in a nice, safe women’s prison, rather than a scary, violent men’s prison?”
“How dare you, you hateful bigot! Of course we must respect the pronouns of this poor, vulnerable woman! Nazis have feelings too, you know!”

Even more seriously . . . First reading dies, then knowledge, then science. It’s the Disenlightenment.

Spanish

• Con lo cual: So . . .
• Verbena: Festival. Street party. Night party.

Did you know?

I doubt it’s still the rage here but for a while there was a craze for walking around Mercadona supermarkets, with a pineapple in your cart, to show you were available for a date. But only at 7pm on a Thursday. But it got so bad that Mercadona stores took to hiding the pineapples at 6.55. It was important to make sure your pineapple was the right way up . . .

Finally . . . English

Horning: Injury from a horn. A goring, Un corneado, in Spanish. There are 6 meanings listed in OED’s entry for the noun horning, 4 of which are labelled obsolete. And at least one obscene.

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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.