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 journalist who lunched for more than 3 hours on the fatal day of the Valencian floods a year ago has emerged from the long grass to say that: At some point during the meal, the president began receiving calls that repeatedly interrupted our conversation. I remained in the restaurant, completely unaware of these communications. I didn’t ask questions, participate, or even learn about their content, and the president never expressed any concerns to me about them. I suspect I’m not alone in finding this rather hard to believe. But maybe I’m an ageing cynic and it’s true nothing at all was said to a reporter lunch guest about an emerging tragedy. And that she never asked why there were so many calls that he ignored.

BTW . . . The suggestion has been made that Mazón waited until his generous pension and other benefits had been secured. Which certainly sounds plausible. The wages of sin, some would say.

Here’s Lenox Napier with his informed take on the development.

The left-of-centre Guardian is naturally supportive of the Spanish socialist PM. Here it asks if judges are doing politics. And Can the Spanish PM survive corruption cases against his family and allies? I’m biased in his favour; I fancy his wife . . .

The new EES system . . . ‘Early days’ problems for Brits of all sorts at Malaga airport.

Here’s an irony . . . When I first came to Spain I decided to buy a Rover car from a dealer in Pv city, on the basis that the company was now owned by BMW. But, soon after that, they sold it to the management team for one pound, who then sold it for millions to a Chinese company. This built the car in China under the MG brand, initially only in China. The Rover agent in Pv city duly closed down. But not before my engine had blown up and had been fixed by them at enormous cost. MG is now big in e-cars and is looking to avoid EU tariffs by building them in Spain. And Galicia is said to be one of the 3 regional candidates.

I have to eat my words re my e-book. A kind lady called me today this morning to say she’d found it in a pool of water near where I park my car. Still works, she says.

Even better, through the good offices of a constructor friend, I effectively got my money back from the tiler who cheated me out of 350 euros a few months ago. In Spain, when you have a problem, it helps to have a friend who, as they say, knows the ropes. But I guess that’s true of many countries. If not all of them. However, as I understand it, I can’t now withdraw my official denuncia against said tiler. Which, I guess, is his problem. Another case of the wages of sin . . .

Portugal

At least for US ‘travelers’ . . . Portugal has emerged as Europe’s ultimate travel destination, surpassing iconic rivals like Italy, France, Germany, and Greece. The country’s allure lies in its unique blend of rich history, vibrant culture, stunning landscapes, and exceptional hospitality, it says here. I agree and strongly believe that everyone thinking of coming to Spain should immediately change their plans. BTW . . . It strikes me that one needs a special skill to be a travel writer. Especially if you’ve never actually been to the place your singing the virtues of. Will AI make them all obsolete.

The mad, bad world of MAGA

Being fair, this is an FT article on the upsides of Trump’s economic policies. Which, of course, might or might not have been foreseen or even intended. If you’re a very rich US citizen, it seems they certainly were. Especially if your surname is Trump.

Russia

Are we in the West, like the Romans, going soft? Playing dirty used to be the west’s preserve. Now we’re letting Moscow beat us at our own game.

Spanish

• Vela: Candle. Sail.
• Velera: Chandler.
• Velero: Sail boat.
• Derribar: To knock down.
• Montaña rusa: Switchback, rollercoaster.

Did you know?

Oak trees in Spain:-

• Carballo: Galician for the European Oak, specifically Quercus robur, also known as the English Oak or Pedunculate Oak. Robust, large, and deciduous.
• Roble: A broader term used in the Iberian Peninsula. Covers various oak species but frequently synonymous with carballo or closely related species. Not as big as carballo.
• Encina: Holm Oak (Quercus ilex), an evergreen oak species. Smaller and more drought-tolerant than Carballo/Roble. The wood is dense and traditionally used for charcoal.

You Have to Laugh

Inside the world’s clumsiest heist: As the bungling burglars’ missteps emerge, the audacious act that was the Louvre jewel heist has been redefined as a French farce.

Incidentally, back in 1983, I worked with the inventor of DNA profiling, Sir Alec Jeffries. Just plain Alec back then.

Finally . . .

I wrote years ago that I thought it very Spanish that the national Radio Clásica station involved far more talking than music. This morning, I listened for 30 minutes, during which the latter didn’t feature. So, I switched to a ‘pop’ station but turned that off pretty swiftly, as the first song consisted entirely of the word ‘fucking’, endlessly shouted in a Spanish accent.

Finally . . . Finally

Sic transit gloria mundi . . . After 3 days of very high readership numbers, yesterday’s was the lowest for quite some time. As if I care . . . [But I just saw today’s are very high again. Una montaña rusa.]

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 . . .

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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.