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 regularisation of illegal immigrants – the pull-factor.

A propos . . . Galicia’s expulsion of foreigners has increased by 50% over the last year. Nationally, the increase is lower than this, at 12%

An intriguing question: Why are Spanish houses so cold in Winter?

Incidentally , , , I’ve long thought that Spain has a level of government too many. There are 4: national, regional, provincial and municipal. Specifically, I’ve wondered what the provincial government does, other than provide another opportunity for corruption. This question has risen again as I read that the Pv provincial government has not responded for a year to the application from the PV municipality to do things to the convent grounds of an ex convent in Pv city. Meaning that said application will soon be out of time and lapse.

The rain it hath returned, and will be with us for a few days before we see the winter sun again.

The UK

Back in 2001, when his brother, Andrew, was proposed as a ‘trade envoy’, Prince Charles opposed this – saying he’d just run after women and play golf. That’s, I guess, why Chas is now seen as a wise king . . .

The USA

See my earlier Trumplandia post.

If you watch any of the (truly appalling) address, note the permanent smug grins on the faces of Vance and Johnson behind him. There must be a special circle of Hell reserved just for them.

A Fox News imbecile: Canadians are practically communist. Hockey is all they have.

The estimable Marina Hyde: So, Epstein buddies have been arrested in the UK. And in the US? Zero, zip, nada. I fear that any Americans seeking real justice will have to wait, and wait, and wait.

Quotes of the Day

• He’s a well balanced politician; he has a chip on each shoulder.
• Neither in the UK nor in the USA are our democratic systems now fit for purpose. [But how to reform them?]
• In the UK, two guys called Andrew have been arrested in connection with the Epstein scandal: a famously very clever one and a famously very thick one.

Russia

Funnelling illegal immigrants into the EU via tunnels in Belorussia.

China

China’s military crisis – Is Beijing’s army on the brink of collapse?

The Way of the World/Social Media

Another of those genuine-looking false news items: Trump has been nasty to the US women’s ice hockey team for declining a White House invitation

Spanish

• Aleatorio: Random
• Lambón/Lambana: Ass-licker. Sycophant. (US) Republican.
• Aleatorio: Random
• Efecto llamada: Pull effect

You Have to Laugh

Finnish discomfort . . .

Finally . . .

For many years, Google didn’t show an island in our estuary. This is the Isla/Illa de Tambo and it was ‘militarised’. But now it isn’t, so it appears in Google Maps. Once this started, visitors looking for my house – in Rúa Isla/Illa de Tambo were surprised to be sent to said island. But I think this has now been rectified. Anyway, you can now visit it, at certain times.

Finally . . . Finally . . .

Only 10 months to Xmas . . . .

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.