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

A new book claims that Spanish cities are increasingly seeing themselves as digital brands and prioritising their appeal to tourists above the interests of the locals.

The PM’s proposal – perhaps never totally serious – for a 100% tax on property purchases by non-EU citizens is said here to be doomed.

They’re harvesting the eucalyptus crop up in the hills behind my house, giving us vistas that we don’t usually have when walking up there. Here’s the Isla de Tambo, once an off-limits military base but now a place you can visit. Assuming you have a boat.

On it are the remains of a monastery knocked down in 1589 by the locally-hated Francis Drake, one of whose piratas is said to have thrown the statue of Santa María de Gracia into the sea. Whence it later rose and placed itself back on what was left of the altar. Another Galician myth, of course. Well, the last bit, anyway. The first bit is certainly true.

ALICE IN MAGAWORLD

Trumpisms.

• I’ve told Pete [Hegseth] – Maybe our cities can be a training ground for the military.

The Disaster in Chief. Laurence O’Donnell doesn’t hold back on that appalling speech to the military, in which Trump – on the verge of insanity – trailed the use of it the army against private citizens. There is no functioning intelligence, says O’Donnell. Inter alia.

A propos . . . Trump signalled that he seeks to transform the military into a partisan tool of his regime, repeatedly telling the assembled leaders that they would be tasked with missions targeting Americans.

An excellent response to Hesgeth’s ultra-buffoonish performance. Which he’s clearly stupid enough to think was impressive.

It’s very possible you’ve already realised this . . . The Speaker of the House of Representatives is not expected to be neutral. Unlike Speakers in some other parliamentary systems, such as the UK, who are expected to be strictly nonpartisan and impartial, the US Speaker is always a senior leader of the majority party and one of the most powerful and openly partisan figures in Congress. The primary role of the US Speaker is to lead the House on behalf of the majority party, shape the legislative agenda, control the calendar, and greatly influence committee assignments. The Speaker is elected by the majority of House members and is expected to advance their party’s interests

Quotes of the Day

• There is something pathetic about Hegseth and Trump, who have schemed and failed their way into positions of power and prestige that are comically outsized to their character. . . . There is no pretext that can sustain the delusion that these are serious people, or that their instructions to the military come from any motive other than their own desire for narcissistic gratification.
• The US has a long tradition of gangsterism and lawlessness, so when it comes to Trump’s White House, nothing should surprise. Casual disregard for the established norms of democracy, trade, economic management and international diplomacy is today such a feature of Trump’s America that it has lost the power to shock. Can any economy, let alone one as dynamic and business-friendly as the US, continue to flourish, confronted by this kind of arbitrary exercise of power? Refusal to kiss the ring almost guarantees persecution and exile. Rule of law and independent expert judgment are being replaced with government by presidential whim, a state of affairs more commonly associated with Putin’s Russia and other autocratic regimes.

Spanish

• Desahogo: Relief, release, outlet, venting.
• Aveninarse: Impend, approach, loom.
• Anteayer: The day before yesterday.

English

You might have thought that English doesn’t have an equivalent word for anteayer but it does – nudiustertian. You can learn of its origin and pronunciation here.

And then there’s the older ereyesterday.

And here’s the term in numerous languages. Including antevispera in Hispanic Spanish.

Did you know?

The mayor of London is said to have suggested that residents learn Arabic. This is not true but it led me to these findings:-

• Like English, Spanish and French, Arabic is a “macrolanguage”.
• It has with c. 25 dialects, which vary widely. [More even than Spanish, I think.]
• Geographically or culturally-close dialects are more mutually understandable.
• But dialects can differ so much that speakers from distant regions can find it difficult to understand each other.
• North African dialects are the least intelligible to other speakers because they include many Berber and French loanwords and also differ phonetically
• Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) – not spoken as a native language anywhere – is widely taught and serves as a common language in media, education, and official communications.

Finally . . .

I included a ‘nice’ picture yesterday. Today, here’s something on John Singer Sargent, with one or two of his lovely but ‘outrageous’ portraits.

My thanks to those readers who take the trouble to Like my posts.

The Usual Links . . .

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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.