Colin Davies

8 February 2026

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

Good news for the already-propertied here . . . Spain is forecast to continue to lead price growth.

I was trying to recall this description of the Costa del Sol the other day – A sunny place for shady people. I believe it’s attributed to both Somerset-Maugham and Noel Coward. It still very much is that, of course. As the frequent reports of violence down there attest.

Rail chaos continues in Galicia . . .

Portugal & Galicia

Fascinating . . . Why the Portuguese are genetically different from the Spanish. This applies to Galicians too, though possibly a tad less so, given the absence of a border with Spain.

Europe/The Near East.

Supported, naturally, by (the ‘authoritarian but lame-duck’) Trump, Turkey has de facto annexed a large bit of Syria. Although Turkey is an official candidate country for the EU, nothing has been said by Brussels about this. But I doubt it’s helped Ankara’s case.

The USA

See my earlier Trumplandia post.

The Melania ‘documentary’ . . . Whatever else, it has the dubious honour of having the biggest discrepancy between audience ratings and critics’ scores in the 27 years of the existence or Rotten Tomatoes. It achieved 8% on their Tomatometer, against 99% from cinemagoers on their Popcornmeter.

Pro

  • It’s a wonderful opportunity to learn more about Melania – her warmth, compassion, and dedication to this country.
  • Beautifully done! Sophistication and class. Amazing First Lady!

Con

But did anyone really expect MAGA fanatics to dislike it? As they say, there’s no accounting for taste. There are people who dress their dogs in overcoats. And then carry them around in their arms. In case the gloves on their paws get dirty.

An Anglo comparison:-

  • In the USA it took $7 million at the box office in the opening weekend.
  • In the UK and Ireland, it got c. £33,000 from 155 cinemas – an average of £213. Not so many MAGA nuts there, of course.

Spanish

  • Frailecillo: Puffin
  • Papilla: Porridge
  • Reseñar: Review, note, outline

English

I was trying to get a Spanish friend to differentiate between the pronunciation of ‘ship’ and ‘sheep’ yesterday. She insisted they were the same vowel sound. I suspect this is true of most Spaniards, as the short i in ‘ship’ doesn’t exist in Spanish. A different example tomorrow . . .

Did you know?

There is a jellyfish the size of a school bus . . .

You Have to Laugh

To find this amusing you really have to read the final item in my Trumplandia post of earlier today . . .

I follow the keto diet myself – it has many benefits. But I’m in two minds as to whether it’s cured my schizophrenia or not.

Finally . . .

There’s still a crack in the slab in the shell of a building of the new O Vao commercial centre . . .

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 there.

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

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