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 Pontevedra

The Diaro de Pontevedra today headlined an article: Bars that are making a fortune in Pontevedra. And it’s opening para was: In the city, there are 32 hospitality establishments that invoice more than a million euros a year, 8 more than in 2024. They occupy 2nd place in the list of businesses that pay the Economic Activities Tax, which continues to be headed by estate agents/realtors. The full text is here. I confess that I found the article surprising and will have to enquire further about it. I guess it could help to explain why virtually very retail shop that closes in the old quarter becomes a tapas bar/restaurant.

Another statistic also surprised me yesterday. I knew that the official number of 200,000 plus of annual Caminoers on the Camino Portugués ignored those who don’t register for a Compostela when they get to Santiago de C, but it’s now reported that there’s one of the latter for every Caminoer that does register. Which would mean over 400,000 passing through Pv city each year. Also hard to believe.

It’s been a rainy week, to day the least. None of the official traders were at the Sunday flea-market (el rastrillo), only a few of the (illegal) gypsy traders under the protective arches (los soportales) with their usual wares of old clothes. There was one stall, however, which had a few other items, including A Yashica SLR camera with a price tag of €30, against a market value in excess of 100. If I didn’t have a Pentax of the same vintage, I might have bought it. As it is, I decided to tell the stallholder of its real value He just shrugged.

We have a new flag pole in Pv city’s old quarter, naturally flying the standard of Galicia. The launch ceremony happened to be taking place yesterday as I entered the city from O Burgo bridge. So, I was able to listen to a bit of bagpipe (gaita) playing and watch our (Galician nationalist) mayor glad-handing all and sundry, putting – a la Trump – the back of his mitt at risk. Anyway, here’s the said pole and flag.

I estimate it’s height at 5m. I didn’t know why it had been erected until a friend told me that it was the anniversary date of the 1918 Asemblea Nacionalista das Irmandades da Fala. Which Google gives as the Nationalist Assembly of the Brotherhoods of Speech. So, I guess it centred on Galego/Gallego. Which the mayor always speaks in, rather than Spanish.

Europe

Even Washington’s European vassal states, it says here, don’t want anything to do with Trump’s illegal boat strikes in the Caribbean and the Pacific. Separately, it’s reported that the UK has stopped passing intelligence material on drug operations there to the US government.

The mad, bad world of MAGA

Another Delusional Trumpism

• Marjorie ‘Traitor’ Green is a disgrace to our GREAT REPUBLICAN PARTY! [What’s truly bizarre about this is that Trump is perhaps the only person on earth who thinks there is currently a Republican party, as opposed to the Donald J. Trump party/monster he and the puppeteers behind him have created.]

Needless to say, the spat between Trump and MTG is a joy to behold.

Oof . . . A hard-hitting summary. Hard to contradict. BTW, it’s attributed to a Brit but the spelling of ‘worshiped’ suggests an American, or someone educated there:-

Quotes of the Day

If humans stop reading, barbarians will live among us again. Western society seems to have forgotten why we moved on from cave paintings: the written word is vital to making sense of a complex world.

The Way of the World

Tipping cultures vary hugely around the world. I’ve actually had tips refused in 3 countries. Against this, the obligation to tip generously is culturally embedded in US folk, in the same way that certain things ‘British’ are embedded in me, however much I don´t want them to be. The justification for the US approach is the need to augment low staff salaries, something which doesn’t exist elsewhere. Especially where there’s a compulsory minimum wage. This is a not-terribly-surprising comment on the US scene: [North] America’s tipping culture has become a billion-dollar scam: What started as a small gesture of appreciation has become one of the biggest corporate scams of our time. “Tipping culture” is no longer about helping workers — it’s a psychological trick used by billion-dollar companies to make customers feel responsible for low wages. Behind every smiling touchscreen asking for 20% lies a system that manipulates guilt, hides fees, and keeps both workers and consumers trapped. From delivery apps to digital banks, tipping has turned into a tool of control — a way to drain the poor while protecting corporate profit. The illusion of generosity has never been more profitable.

There’s a must-see video on the ‘abusive’ US system here, expanding the bare comment cited above. And explaining how the tipping culture has ‘leaked’ into the entire US service culture. It also describes the Price partitioning which has extended the approach into other countries, such as the UK. And the psychological and technological factors at play.

Researching this a little, I came across this comment on Reddit (among many ignorant ones):
Tipping culture has its origins in racism. People (mostly the wealthy) did occasionally tip before, but basically the practice was started by restaurants that didn’t want to pay their black waiters and busboys, instead leaving them to rely on the generosity of others. I’ve no idea if it’s true or not but it sounds plausible.

Tomorrow – Dynamic Currency Conversion, which started as a banking scam but is now common in retail outlets around the world. And Dynamic Pricing.

Spanish

• Halagador: Flattering, complimentary, gratifying, pleasing, etc.
• Menudeo: Retailing, the retail trade. Used in the context of drug-peddling.
• Mayoreo: Wholesaling.
• Garrafa: Jug, carboy, Jerry-can.
• Petaca: Pouch, hip flask.
• Petaqueo: An illegal activity related to drug-smuggling. Supplying petrol for the narcolanchas, the speedboats used to bring drugs ashore from the narcosubs or the ‘mother-ship’. It involves the use of petacas or garrafas filled at petrol stations. [I know this because some idiots lit up while filling one of these and immolated themselves. If you see this sort of filling going on a petrol station, move quickly into the shop.]

English

• Busboy: American.A restaurant employee who clears away dirty dishes, sets tables, and serves as an assistant to the waiting staff.
• Bellhop: Also American. A hotel employee who helps patrons with their luggage while checking in or out. Bellhops often wear a uniform.

I imagine a lot fewer foreign tourists will be seeing these this year. And possibly several years into the future.

Did you know?

The dial phone was invented by an undertaker who believed the operators at the switchboard were routing all relevant calls to a competitor. Once you could dial directly, these ladies were redundant.

Finally . . .

There used to be both a ‘back slash’ and a ‘forward slash’. But the former seems to have disappeared, so that ‘slash’ now only means the latter. Has it disappeared from keyboards or is it just hiding somewhere?

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.