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

Despite good macro economic growth in the last decade, Spain’s real disposable income growth number doesn’t look very good. Possibly helped by EU subventions, countries which have done an awful lot better are Rumania, Latvia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, and Poland. [En passant . . . Poland is currently the largest recipient of EU funds and is set to remain so under the EU budget for 2028–2034, though its per-capita funding is below that of smaller-countries like Croatia, Estonia, and Latvia.]

Another surprising and disappointing number cited in that article is for child poverty . . Spain’s rate of 34% is higher than Romania’s and is surpassed only by Bulgaria. This is an AI generated explanation for this: Spain’s high rate of child poverty is driven by a combination of factors including weak [state]family support policies, in-work poverty, high housing costs, long-standing labor market problems, and a smaller welfare safety net than most of Western Europe.

You can drive a little car in Spain than doesn’t need a driving licence (un sin carné). You might think these would be without the corner scratches that adorn most larger cars but this foto suggests this isn’t the case:-

The culprits are possibly the drivers of larger cars, when parking them. As opposed to, say, the carpark pillars we all have to contend with.

Cousas de Galiza

There’ve been suggestions that octopuses have fled Galician waters for those of the UK, explaining why local supply has diminished and we’re now eating – well, some of us – British cephalopods. Experts say this is false, as the real cause for falling local yields is heavy fishing, both legal and illegal. Got to feed those thousands of new Caminoers who all want to try our signature dish of polbo á feira. Even at today’s highly inflated prices.

Lenox Napier of Business Over Tapas has kindly sent me this article on the questionable way in which the regional and provincial governments – both of the PP – have set about financing a regatta in nearby Sanxenxo for the disgraced ex-king. Which I suspect they’d also do for Franco, if he were still with us. (BTW . . . The phrase a dedo, literally ‘by finger’, means without a public tender or secretly.)

I heard that ‘unforeseen ground complications’ are a not-uncommon reason for suspending a construction project and for ensuing significant cost overruns. But I suspect that – in the case of a very large roundabout project on the edge of Pv city – this term can’t really apply to the discovery of a huge urban rubbish dump below the surface, that you really should have known about. Hardly a true geotechnical factor such as a high water table or an unexpected type of soil or rock.

The UK

Decidedly not good news . . . Celebrities have brought cigarettes back into vogue and smoking rates in England have increased for the first time in two decades. Lung cancer is not a good way to die, especially in your 50s. I confess to feeling like saying that to every young Spanish woman I see smoking on a terraza. But I know I’d be totally ignored.

THE USA

Trumpisms

They keep on coming, from an alternative universe . . .

• It’s a privilege to be the first American president to be welcomed to Windsor Castle. [He’s the 8th.]
• Kimmel was fired because he has no talent, not because of his Kirk comments. [As if]
• I don’t know Peter Mandelson.[Who shared a friendship with Epstein and who, as the British Ambassador in Washington, was often filmed with Trump in the Oval Office.]
• In a previous life, Trump on meeting Mandelson :God, you’re a good-looking fellow aren’t you?
• We’re the hottest country in the world and nobody’s even questioning that.
• The UK gave us a footing on the way to becoming the world’s hottest country. [One way of losing a war of rebellion and conceding independence . . .]
• We settled the war between Aberbaijan and Albania. [Actually, it’s Azerbaijan and (!)Armenia].

From a right-of-centre Times columnist . . . Now Maga world struggles with free speech. Trump supporters have responded to the killing of Charlie Kirk by threatening their own version of cancel culture.One hopes he’s right when he avers: The route to true authoritarian rule in the US is strewn with constitutional and civic obstacles and requires an acquiescence that might not be forthcoming even from diehard political supporters. Note the ‘true authoritarian’ and the ‘might’.

Jon Stewart takes the piss here. Where you can learn about Trump’s talent-o-meter. [I recommend an ad-blocker, if you don’t pay for YouTube]

Quote of the Day

Trump is not a transactionist; he’s an extortionist.

The Way of the World

If you read that Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel and Rachel Maddow are setting up a new media venture to take on the companies afeared of Trump’s wrath, you need to know that this is someone’s idea of a – pretty elaborate – joke. A hoax in other words. It’s tiresome but, these days, you need to check anything remotely surprising with an AI engine.

Social Media

Social media is a cancer which is feeding our[USA] divisions. Agreed but has anyone got any ideas about chemotherapy or surgery??

Spanish

• Plato fuerte: Main course/item.
• Bulo: Hoax
• Halago: Compliment. Flattery
• Balde: Bucket, pail, tub, bucketful
• De balde: 1. Free of charge. 2. In vain, for nothing
• En balde: In vain, for nothing
• No en balde: Not surprisingly . . .
• Estar de balde: To be superfluous. To be idle.

Did you know?

The film I cited yesterday – Aguirre, the Wrath of God – has cult status. Which it might well deserve. Not all of them do. Take Last Year in Marienbad – once considered a masterpiece, but now seen by most as the pretentious, boring [French avant-garde] rubbish it is. The Aguirre film is on YouTube here but you need a VPN tuned to the UK or the USA if you want to watch it in Spain.

Finally . . . You Have to Laugh

• The perfectly-tinted Trump . . .

• Pretty soon Trump is gonna say he never met Trump.

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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.

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