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 economy:-

• Not all good news. . .
• For those really interested in this subject.

So, who is really mainly responsible for Spain’s housing crisis? Well, certainly no one Spanish, it seems . . .

Mistresses, money and all the king’s escándalos. Against his son’s wishes, Juan Carlos has written a book about ruling Spain, dealing with Franco and the ‘mistake’ that led to his exile.

As is well known . . . Spaniards tend to sleep less for several reasons. Late dinner times, vibrant nightlife in its cities, and coffee culture, among other factors, influence sleep. The average Spaniard sleeps 6 hours 56 minutes a night.

Galicia is one of 3 Spanish regions to have seen airport traffic reduce this year. So, all interested parties are going to meet soon to discuss this. To some of us the solution seems obvious – amalgamate the 3 inadequate airports into one, so that Galicians stop travelling 2-3 hours to use the much superior Oporto facility in North Portugal. But this is likely to prove unattractive to politicians in the 3 relevant cities.

The good transport news is that we’re inching closer to having cercanía (i. e. truly local) trains operating between Galicia’s major cities. Which will mean greater frequency between Pv city and Vigo, for example. And should mean a last train later than 21.50. Which is hopeless, if you want to attend an event in either city.

Talking about forms of transporting people/stuff . . . . More narcosubs than ever, says El País here.

The UK

This is something which seems to be worrying quite a lot of Brits. Quite possibly even some on the (‘progressive’) Left.

The mad, bad world of MAGA.

Trumpisms

• I’m not a mean person.
• Newsom’s nickname should be ‘slimy’.
• They say it’s the best 9 months of any president ever.
• Communists are fleeing South Africa

Is his cognitive decline is now obvious?

A health update.

China

The strange paradox of Chinese economic decline: Productivity has underperformed the US and other advanced economies since Xi Jinping took power.

The Way of the World/Social Media

Gen X [45-60, after Boomers but before Millennials] – is enraged and radicalised by internet bile. And by living through the great unregulated free-speech experiment.

Spanish

• Chiringuito:

1. Kiosk or stall selling drinks, usually outdoors, where food is sometimes also served. Often on a beach.
2. (Colloquial). Business or commercial activity, or the place where it takes place.
3. Financial entity operating outside legal controls and guarantees. .

• Montañas rusas: Roller coasters are called Russian mountains because the first were hills of ice constructed for Russian courtiers in the 17th century.
• Escurridizo: Slippery, elusive, sneaky, evasive.

English

Performativity: Something said to be very important in US politics. And very probably elsewhere, as I heard this morning that the UK PM might well be clever but lacks charisma and TV appeal.

You Have to Laugh. Or at Least Smile

The strangest religion of the 20th century.

Finally . . .

Not everyone will be interested in learning about this Spanish chap. . . Rafael de Paula: The celebrated and singular bullfighter has died, aged 85. An unorthodox gentleman ‘torero’ who was imprisoned for a crime of passion that transfixed Spain.

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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If you´re thinking of moving to Spain, this link should be useful to you.

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.