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

Spanish friends told me the other night that the one exception to ex-colonies being favourably disposed to the motherland was Mexico. And then I read this and this. I seem to recall that Mexico had raised the issue of reparations but that might have been an ex British colony. Maybe Trump . . .

This tells us how a US tradition took root and flourished here in Spain, partly as a result of the American cultural tide. As I’ve claimed a few times, fun is everything here. In my 25 years I’ve seen several events grow and blossom magnificently from seed. The Feira Franca (Medieval Fair), for example. Possibly a reflection of greater wealth in the city.

Mark Stücklin here tears into the Barcelona council for its years of counterproductive measures in the property sector: Barcelona’s housing crisis is not an accident. It’s the inevitable result of years of disastrous policymaking by a city hall that seems determined to make a bad situation worse.

A chap down South writes about the various time wasters in his life. Many of us will sympathise. Empathise even.

The mysterious pilgrim of Santiago de Compostela. (Which really isn’t named after a field of stars but after a Roman cemetery).

The mad, bad world of MAGA

The President of the USA, the most powerful man in the world, once again took to his fake social media site to issue a furious diatribe about a comedian, in which he indulged his authoritarian impulses and declared that being “100% anti-Trump” was “probably illegal!”. He described Seth Myers as “going on and on, a truly deranged lunatic””. Which is about as good a bit of projection as you could ever hope for. Not a scintilla of self-awareness,

The President of Peace: Trump threatens to go into Nigeria ‘guns-a-blazing’ over attacks on Christians. He says he’s ordered the Pentagon to begin planning for action, without mentioning the persecution of Muslims.

More presidential stuff from the crooked cretin in the Oval Office.

I’ll spare you his posts on bathrooms in the White House. But you can see SNL on this and other madness here.

I realise I’m 30 years behind the times but I’m binge watching The West Wing. I enjoy it greatly but it’s hard to believe any administration really acts like that of the Nobel Prize winning Jeth Bartlett, and it’s impossible in the case of Trump’s circus of incompetents. Who could only ever star in a vicious satire. I hope someone’s writing it.

Quotes of the Day

• Trump’s policy is press releases.
• I believe that there are demons and that they might be extra-terrestrials who’ve fallen to earth: Marjorie Taylor-Greene, Republican House member and ‘Bible-believing Christian’. As opposed to Trump, who is a non-believing ‘Christian’.

The Way of the World/Social Media

Social media bloodlust is a tragedy for all of us . . . On social media there is no gatekeeping or decency, no respect for feelings of the bereaved or for life itself, and it is desensitising us all.

Spanish

• Paripé: Subterfuge.
• Piojo: Head lice.
• Liendre: Nit, lice egg.
• Acotar: Limit, narrow down, reduce

English

Just in case you’ve forgotten . . .

• Palimpsest: 1. A manuscript, typically of papyrus or parchment, that has been written on more than once, with the earlier writing incompletely scraped off or erased and often legible. 2. An object or area that has extensive evidence of or layers showing activity or use. 3. A parchment which has been written upon twice, the first writing having been erased to make place for the second.
• Morselization: The process of dividing something into small pieces. It can be used in various contexts, including cooking and medical procedures.

Did you know?

Stone age crayons . . .

Someone has finally snapped the incredibly rare white Iberian lynx.

You Have to Laugh

Cat breeds explained.

Finally . . .

Readership: The mystery deepens . . . Yesterday’s wasn’t twice the average but thrice. Without much optimism, I asked an AI engine why this might be, and got an answer which ended with:In summary, the rise is likely due to a combination of timely, engaging content, growing interest in Galicia as a region, and the blog’s reputation for insightful, regularly updated posts on current local and broader topics. Possibly not true but perfectly acceptable . . .

Since much of the increase seems to come from the USA, my suspicion is it’s ICE’s bots scraping my posts for evidence that would justify barring me from entry in the infinitesimally small possibility I might visit the US again.

Finally . . . Finally.

The other way I’ve gone back 30 years is to resort to my painfully slow back-up laptop while I await a replacement charger for my new one. You have no idea now much I’ve suffered writing this.

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.