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 several ex capitals.
• Spain’s Xmas and New Year pastries.
• The estimable Ma75 brings us cava recommendations.

The UK

An interesting take from a (nice) departing ambassador. The UK remains one of the most astonishing places in the world. But the British are suddenly, and oddly, intent on convincing themselves it isn’t.

The USA

The Cold War tells us that America cannot prevail by sucking up to dictators.

Chickens coming home . . . DOGE had cancelled the premium element of the app that would have permitted full blacking-out of sections of the Epstein files. Which is how folk got a lot more info than the DOJ intended. Rank incompetence. Very possibly the hallmark of the Trump administration.

The Way of the World

Identity politics is not merely a left-wing ideology. Witness American heritage, which is conservatism that has absorbed the conceptual framework of the modern left. It is identity politics translated into racial terms.

Spanish

• Hechizo: Spell.
• Caballo de batalla: Battle/work horse.
• Existencias: Stock, inventory.
• Hojaldre: Pasty, puff-pastry

English

• Carspreading: Also known as autobesity and car/truck bloat, is the trend of cars increasing in average size and weight. The average weight of cars sold in Europe increased by 21% between 2001 and 2022. In the USA, SUVs and pickup trucks comprised more than 75% of new sales in 2024 compared to 38% in 2009. Car parking spaces have stayed the same size. Other bad consequences are listed here. Where there are astonishing stats on pickup truck sales in the USA. A triumph of marketing.
• To un-alive yourself: Internet slang. A euphemism for committing suicide. It emerged on platforms like TikTok to evade algorithms that flag direct terms like “suicide” or “kill.”

Did you know?

Why the grapes ritual of NY Eve.

You Have to Laugh

Some hilariously hard-hitting US humour/humor. [No idea what the last minute or so is about and how it got into the video.]

Finally . . .

Google Maps shows 2 restaurants in one location in Pv city. One of them closed 20 years ago . . And the two 5-star comments about it – of only 2 years ago – surely belong to a tapas bar of the same name elsewhere in the old quarter.

My thanks to those readers who take the trouble to Like my posts.

The Usual Links . . .

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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.