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

That blackout last year . . . Macron has reminded us that Red Electrica warned in October that Spain was at risk of future blackouts and demanded urgent changes to help cope with sudden fluctuations in solar energy. Not sure this has happened yet.

Beyond Madrid and Barcelona, what other Spanish cities are drawing the crowds? I’m not sure La Coruña merits the citation.

Hopefully you can here see some of last night’s procession in Pv city, which would have been cancelled if we’d had the 44th day of rain . .

Failing that here, maybe . .

Italy

Wow! How Italy ended up at a cricket World Cup, with a team made of a pizza chef and plenty of Aussies

Europe

Trump is doing something to America that no foreign adversary has ever managed, something Putin’s been dreaming about for decades: he’s convincing our oldest and closest allies, countries we fought wars to defend and liberate, and with whom we share a democratic system of government, that the United States can’t be trusted. . . . European leaders — like millions of Americans — are looking at Trump’s naked embrace of Putin, his open contempt for democracy, and his casual threats against NATO allies and concluding that no critical tech or defense system should ever again depend on the whims of this narcissistic wannabe American strongman.

The USA

See my earlier Trumplandia post

US spending on healthcare is astronomical, though some outcomes are worse than elsewhere.

• 1970: 7% of GDP.
• 2000: 13% of GDP.
• 2023-4: c.18.0%

This compares with

• Germany: c. 12%
• France: 11.5%
• Japan: 11%
• Canada: 10-12%
• The UK: 10-11%
• The OECD average: 9%

In none of these countries, I believe. do people live in terror of losing their insurance. Or for not having it in the first place.

Cuba

No fuel, no tourists, no cash – this was the week the Cuban crisis got real. Diplomats in Havana are preparing for an alternative Trump [Rubio?] tactic: the country being starved until people take to the streets and the US can step in.

The Way of the World

An interesting question . . . What on earth does it mean to be Left-wing now?

This, of course, is from a UK perspective. In the US it seems you’re left wing – communist even – if you even slightly oppose the right to make billions at the expense of everyone else, including even the very poorest. Or the right to carry military-grade weapons.

Social Media

When self-care is this mad, it’s no wonder young girls have anxiety. Wellness insanity is self-deception wrapped up in a desperate desire to live forever – and deeply unhealthy.

Spanish

• Rodaje: Filming/shooting
• Gasítico: Gas related
• Toma y daca: Give and take

You Have to Laugh

I have a book on Finnish attitudes – from Finnish friends – which shows them as even more silently discomforted than the British. Here’s page 1 of many to come . . .

Finally . . .

Having seen the headlines, I asked Perplexity how on earth one cheats at curling. This was the answer , , .

Common methods involve manipulating stone delivery or the ice surface.

• Double-Touching Stones: Players might intentionally or accidentally touch the stone with their hand or body after release but before it crosses the hog line, which can alter its path.
• Cheating the Line: Sweepers or throwers can “cheat the line” by intentionally sliding or throwing the stone slightly inside the target line, relying on aggressive sweeping to correct it and avoid a wide miss.
• Delivery Violations: Using anything but the stone’s handle to deliver it violates rules (e.g., touching the side), potentially giving extra control.
• Ice Tampering: Players might subtly damage the ice or stones during breaks, like excessive brushing to alter friction, or striking stones with brooms to change paths.

No VAR. Yet.

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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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