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

Spain’s minimum wage has risen, it says here, to the level of the most frequent salary. Which might be unique in the world. I guess it could go on to exceed it. In practice, if not in theory.

This is a nice little story about an Irishman who was critical to the creation and development of Real Madrid a century ago. He’s buried in a cemetery in my old home town, not far from the fire station where my grandmother was the cook. He taught his Spanish charges the rules of the game and reduced the duration of matches from 3-4 hours to 90 minutes. And banned smoking during them. Not to mention nipping off at half-time to see your girlfriend. Real Madrid fans visited his grave yesterday, just before they were beaten by Liverpool at Anfield ‘across the water’. Meaning the river Mersey, of course.

I tried Radio Clásica again early this morning but switched off after 20 minutes of 3 folk chatting. Often simultaneously, of course.

Ryanair has long been famous for proving you can displease all the people all the time. Their last flight out of Santiago de Compostela to London in January is now available at €250, many times the normal price. If there is any such thing with Ryanair.

Of Galicia’s several universities, only one – in SdC – has a Medical faculty. With doctors and nurses being in short supply, the others are clamouring for the right to have a faculty. Quite why they have to fight for this in the region with the lowest number of faculties in Spain is something I don’t yet understand. I believe the decision rests with the Xunta.

The UK

Could it happen here? – a fascinating podcast on populist and authoritarian governments. Starts with a nice description of the Trump regime.

The BBC is not what it was, says this columnist from a right-of-centre newspaper.

The mad, bad world of MAGA

Utter madness. Trump counters the reality of his historically low approval ratings with Teutonic-style whingeing/lying on Truth Social: “So many Fake Polls are being shown by the Radical Left Media, all slanted heavily toward Democrats and Far Left Wing. In the Fair Polls, and even the Reasonable Polls, I have the Best Numbers I have ever had and, why shouldn’t I? I ended eight Wars, created the Greatest Economy in the History of our Country, kept Prices, Inflation, and Taxes down, and am setting standards for Right Track/Wrong Track for a future USA. Fake News will never change, they are evil and corrupt but, as I look around my beautiful surroundings, I say to myself, ‘Oh, look, I’m sitting in the Oval Office!” Sadly, also a reality.

As The Guardian writes: Trump and his media buddies are taking the muddling of reality to a whole new level.

An American talks here about The absurdity of US society.

The (infamous) cost of health insurance is one of the things in this clickbait list of 12 reasons why Americans are leaving the USA.

Spanish

• Desdibujado: Blurry, faded, smeared. [Real Madrid last night, per one report.]
• Aturdido: Stunned, dazed, light-headed.
• Repunte: Rebound, rally, upturn.
• Sablazo: Sword blow. Rip-off. [Think Ryanair].

Did you know?

Today is Guy Fawkes Day in England. Luckily, I just missed being born on it, as my mother was planning to call me Guy, if I had been. The celebration dates back several hundred years and you can read (a lot) about it here. What surprised me is: Some measure of celebration remains in New Zealand, Canada, and South Africa. But not in rebellious USA. Which is an irony.

You Have to Laugh

A sign in the window of a Cincinnati sporting goods store:

NOW IS THE DISCOUNT
OF OUR WINTER TENTS

Finally . . .

I saw this bird in my garden this morning, I think for the first time in 25 years. AGW? . . . The Gray Catbird – medium-sized, with a distinct long, rounded black tail and a narrow, straight, pointed bill. It has a rusty-brown patch under the tail.

Finally . . . Finally

OK. now its getting crazy. Yesterday’s readership was just under 10 times more than the day before. What endorses my suspicion that it’s mainly bot activity is the low number of views per alleged visitor. So, nothing to get excited about. Not that you were . . . P. S. None of my readers are in Russia but more than half are now said to be in the USA. Have the Russians moved their bot factories??

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.