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/Galiza

The (Spanish) wife of the ex-leader of the UK’s third political party has hinted she will run for election in Spain, after becoming frustrated with the country’s persistent corruption scandals. Maybe we all should.

An unusual rescue. Or the rescue of something unusual, perhaps.

María asks where Scotty is when you need him.

The weather is doing funny things but, then, it often does in Spain. It was reported that the Costa del Sol would bask in temperatures of up to 33 today, while the rest of the country would experience a sharp drop in the mercury. And that autumn had brought widespread temperature falls and persistent rainfall to ‘northern Spain’. Well, it hasn’t here along the (North Western) Galician coast, where today’s temperature was in the mid 20s. With no rain. Though admittedly, the nights are now a tad fresco. Up in the North East, though, the heavy rain certainly seems to have arrived, as it frequently does in the autumn and winter. Barcelona is experiencing heavy floods, I believe.

That ‘Queer tortilla’ event cited yesterday . . . I checked on the name Pinto y Maragota and discovered these are 2 names for the same fish and that all of these are born female (maragota) but that some change sex and become male (pinto). There are colour and size differences: maragota is typically greenish-brown, while pintos are usually redder and often larger. The fish is said to be highly valued in traditional Galician cuisine but I can’t recall ever seeing it on a menu. A peasant dish?

The USA

The would-be dictator is also a would-be medial expert. Presumably a more credible one than those his Secretary of Health has told us can’t be trusted. Both the latter and Trump appear to believe that the only scientific evidence needed comes from their own guts. And this is the most powerful country in the world. As of now.

Practising politics the wrong way. By blurring truth and criminalising dissent, Trump is dismantling the US’s free-speech order from within.  Trump does not seek to criminalise hate speech so much as to criminalise speech he hates. . . . The US is being dragged into a state of emergency. Speech is framed as terrorism. Satire is rebranded as enemy propaganda. Employers punish workers for personal posts. The predictable result is a chilling climate of surveillance and reprisal, in which citizens learn to keep quiet. The assassination is not just being used to police manners; it is being used to reconstruct the public square so that dissent equals disloyalty, and disloyalty is treated as a security threat.

Lenox Napier turns from matters Spanish to write on his relationship with the USA here. Not impressed by some of Trump’s appointments, it seems . . .

Quote of the Day

At Charlie Kirk’s memorial rally, his widow said that she forgave his killer, adding that “The way to respond to hatred is not more hate, but love, and we are seeing that.” Trump directly contradicted her, declaring that he disagreed with Erika. “I hate my opponents and I don’t want the best for them,” he added. What Trump said was flatly opposed to the widow’s message and was spoken against her at the very occasion which was publicly honouring her husband. It is hard to think of a crasser thing to say at such a time, but Trump seemed determined to say it. [Making the event all about himself, of course.]

Russia v Ukraine

If you’ve ever wondered how Moscow residents view the war for the destruction of a neighbouring state, this is the article for you.

The Way of the World

The UN lists more than 90 conflicts in over 50 countries. So, it’s odd that – in the Western media at least – only one of these seems to matter.

Social Media

One proposal for at least reducing, if not ending, the evil that is promoted on US-owned platforms: Social media platforms should be made accountable for publishing harms.

Spanish

• Kikos: Corn nuts, toasted corn.
• Minar: To mine, undermine, sap.
• Benéfico: Charity. Charitable. Beneficial.

Did you know?

If you’re not happy with the volume on your YouTube volume, you can double it via a downloadable extension, at least to some browsers.

Finally . . .

Yesterday I received a FB friend request from a lady who is both beautiful and the consort of the Dutch king. Maybe she reads this blog. On the other hand . . .

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.