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

That government proposal to apply 100% property tax to purchases by non-residents . . .

Spain’s minority government proposes to ban smoking and vaping in outdoor spaces including bar terraces, parks and outside schools, It will also be outlawed at concerts, festivals, university campuses and outside medical centres and transport stations. The draft law will also ban minors from consuming tobacco and prevent the advertising, promotion or sponsoring of tobacco products. The proposal must pass a consultation stage before being submitted to a vote in parliament and might never become law. It is likely to spark a fierce backlash from the important hospitality sector in a country where outdoor dining is popular. Around 26%of Spain’s adult population smokes daily, according to 2024 data from the health authorities. [Rather more for females than males].

Impressive news re Spain’s banks.

Cousas de Galiza

If you want to know more about the Galician artist Castelao, this might be for you – assuming you can understand Gallego . . . Anser Álvarez is a Galician journalist who presents a podcast entitled “Castelao, a carón de nós”. This seeks to bring Castelao to the modern public, exploring his intellectual, political and artistic sides, as well as more personal aspects. The podcast includes expert voices and offers new readings of Castelao’s biography.It is available here and other platforms.

A friend owns the 2 restaurants at the top of Tapas Street in Pv city’s old quarter. They are both extremely popular with the ever-growing horde of Caminoers. Who have now largely taken over both of them from the locals. I haven’t checked but I suspect they get rave reviews on various sites. Sitting outside one last night, I noticed a major difference between them these days: Despite having the same menu, one caters for richer ‘pilgrims’ and the other for less well-heeled walkers. I told my friend that he was implementing the business strategy of dominating niches. I wasn’t too surprised to hear that the only niches he was familiar with were those for coffins in Spanish cemeteries. And that his stratetic success was something of an accident.

TBH, this success now makes these places unappealing to me outside December-March but, as I’ve said, there are a few alternatives for traditional Galician fare off the beaten track. And they are both cheaper – not just than the expensive one . . .

If anything, the weather this morning is even more miserably autumnal than last evening’s. Back to pullovers and duvets. Hey ho, such is life. Especially along the Atlantic coast.

The UK

The coolest parties in British history.

Europe

The Spanish train manufacturer Talgo says it’s received approval from EU and German agencies for its 230 model trains to operate in Germany.Good job it wasn’t the infamous S106 being evaluated. Only fit for Galicia . . .

Says this French columnist: The French are failing to see the scale of their crisis. With protests set to paralyse the country, political leaders and public alike refuse to face facts.

THE USA

Those inexplicable Americans . . .

Quote of the Day

Imagine . . .

• A strong man rises to power on a wave of populist rage, promising to end corruption and restore the nation’s pride and values.
• He surrounds himself with political outsiders and fellow travellers, hangers-on and opportunists, chosen for loyalty over competence.
• He wages war on institutions, identifies and persecutes ethnic minorities as enemies of the people.
• He purges the state and the judiciary and replacing office-holders with loyalists.
• His inner circle is riven with rivalries, corruption and suspicion and the leader is prone to indolence.

Well, it isn’t Trump – though it certainly could be. And it’s not Nigel Farage. Not yet, anyway. You’ve probably guessed who it really was.

Spanish

Masa madre: Sourdough

Galician

Ocaso: Evening. As in Portuguese. From the Latin occāsus.

English

If you read the article on words which amuse yanquis, you’ll know that Ta is one of these. AI answer: It’s widely used in Northern England as a substitute for Thank you. Theories suggest an influence from Scots Gaelic or Danish (tak), reflecting the linguistic exchange during the Viking period in northern Britain. However, the strongest evidence is for baby talk. The OED records its use in a 1772 letter to a baby. It was used for many years as a child’s way of saying thanks, which then spread to adult, and regional usage, particularly in northern England. Ta is distinct from Ta-tah or Tarah, meaning Goodbye.

Did you know?

Misunderstood geniuses.

You Have to Laugh

Boris Johnson as a would-be historian, and – back in 2014 – an aspiring PM.

Finally . . .

The spellcheck for my documents in LibreOffice has ceased to function and I can’t get it back. Even worse, the alternative language to Spanish has changed to Luxembourgish, a language I didn’t even know existed. Life can be a bitch.

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.

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.