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

This is said to be the oldest extant building in Europe. It’s the Naveta [Inverted boat?]de Tudons on the island of Menorca.

It put me in mind of the tomb of Cyrus the Great of Persia back in the 1970s, before it was tarted up. And you could literally climb over it.

The regional tax office – A Facenda – says there are 17,500 Gallegos who owe them money, and who have now had their bank accounts frozen.

Spanish justice is slow at the best of times but the logjam in Galician courts is now huge. It’s grown by 40% in 5 years, giving judges an average backlog of 850 cases each. I don’t suppose I’ll ever get my day in court with the tiler who cheated me out of €350 . But the good news is that the Guardia Civil tells me they are ‘progressing’ with my denuncia. Whatever that means..

This is most of the cocaine haul from the latest narcosub to be caught in our waters.

The 2 – well paid – operators fled ashore but were later captured. Whereupon – like the 2 Russian poisoners in Salisbury – they claimed they were just tourists, looking for the Camino de Santiago.

A few more things we have more of in Pv city since 2000:-

• Gyms
• Squash courts
• Pádel courts
• Pickleball courts
• Crossfit facilities

ALICE IN MAGAWORLD

The government lockdown . . .

• From the horse’s* mouth . . . [ Or should that be ‘ass’s mouth?]

• The architect of project 2025 says he relishes chance to cut, fire and cancel.

The Way of the World

Hamas will demand key revisions to Trump’s Gaza plan before accepting it.

Social Media

Emojis have their place, of course – they add nuance when space and time are limited. But they will never be a replacement for the right word. We have a lot of data now showing a widening gap among our children between those who are exposed to a rich vocabulary and those who aren’t. And we need to fix that. Reading, as always is key: it’s the most natural way of extending and enjoying the words we use.

Spanish

• Cross: Cross country race.
• Teclado: Keyboard
• Teclear: To Type
• Desahogarse: To get it off your chest. [Thanks to reader Colin for this one]

Did you know?

The dark history of the making of The Wizard of Oz.

BTW . . . As I was reading that this morning, from a classical music web site came an orchestral version of Somewhere over the rainbow. Quite a coincidence. Or was it . . . . . ?

You Have to Laugh

British humour, I suspect . . .

Finally . . .

To say the very least, the history of Gaza (and of the Palestine lands around it) is long and complex, involving actors that you might or might not have heard of. This is a web page offering these 5 podcasts, with more to come. Also available on other platforms.

Note: The word Palestine derives from Philistine, having originated in the Hebrew term Pelesheth, which became the Latin Palæstina and the Greek Παλαιστίνη, Palaistinē.,

Thumbnails of the episodes:

• 291. Gaza is one of the oldest urban centres on Earth, and in this series we are exploring its long history. It was first referred to by Pharaoh Thutmose III in the 15th century BC when it was known as Ghazzati. In this episode we ask: Who were the Philistines? Why did Egyptian pharaohs put monopolies on Gazan sweet wine? And what was ‘The Bronze Age Collapse’?
• 292: Why did the Assyrians spare Philistine port cities like Gaza when they conquered The Levant? How did the Persians overthrow the Babylonians in the region? What did Alexander The Great send back to his tutor after he besieged Gaza City? 
• E293: How did Gaza become a centre of learning and festivals during the [Roman] Byzantine era? Who was St. Porphyrius of Gaza, and why did he destroy pagan temples in the city? Why is the Early Christian period considered a Golden Age for Gaza?
• 294: How did the expansion of Islam out of the Arab peninsular affect Gaza in the 7th century AD? Who was ‘Amr ibn al-As and how did he ambush the Byzantines in Gaza? Why is the Islamic Conquest described as the “invisible conquest” by some historians? 
• 295: Why did Crusaders travel from Western Europe to Gaza and The Levant in the 11th century? Who was Saladin and how did he conquer the Franks? How did the Mamluks defeat the Mongols in the 1200s and usher in an era of prosperity for Gaza? [By the way, it was a surprise to learn in this episode that, despite the Arab ‘invasion’ of Palestine in the 7th century, they were outnumbered by Christians and Jews until the 11th century.]

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.