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
The Spanish king belatedly admits to some skullduggery in Mexico in the 16th century.
The Corner comments here on the weekend’s elections in Castilla u La Mancha. Noteworthy is a (separate) comment in the next general election would mean a significant increase in the number of Vox seats in the national parliament.
Lenox Napier writes here of the growth of doner kebab outlets in his neck of the woods. I can attests to the same phenomenon in Pv city.
Noémi gives us here a barrio by barrio guide to Barcelona.
Europe
Still no sign of support for Trump. One hopes that they’re talking to the Iranians in secret, in order to distance themselves from the USA and to bring the war to an end.
The US-Iran War
A UK view: Trump’s threats to Nato reveal a glaring absence of any strategy on Iran. The White House seems to have failed to anticipate that Tehran would fight back by trying to impose costs on the West.
Deja vu. . . . Plus ça change . . . This was written in 2003 about the Vietnam war:- By 1967, a rising proportion of Americans was doubtful that even these numbers were justified by the war’s objectives. Lack of clarity about America’s aims in Vietnam, lack of confidence that these could be achieved quickly and lack of conviction that the stated aims were worth prolonged sacrifice.
Trump has asked China to help open up the Straits of Hormuz. They haven’t responded, possibly because they are an ally of Iran and their ships have safe passage. One wonders if Trump even knows this. Possibly didn’t read the Briefing Note.
The USA
See my earlier post on the delusional, bellicose president and his schismatic White House.
An interesting description . . . The novel Protestant-Deist-Catholic-Jewish fusion that is today’s American culture.
A worrying development as regards the prosecution of protesters. The execrable Pam Bondi boasts that there will more before she is impeached.
Meanwhile . . .
- Trump erupts in fury as he’s hit by damning leaks on the botching of the war. Threatens to prosecute media outlets for treason.
- He makes the best-ever confession dressed up as an allegation against reporters.: They are truly sick and demented people who have no idea what damage they are doing to the USA.
- And pathetically claims: We don’t need our allies. I’m just asking them to see how they react to prove that they never have and never will help us. Lies upon lies, of course
Spanish
- Zafio: Uncouth, oafish, coarse.
- Para los pies (de alguién): To stop (someone)
- Dumpin: Dumping (as in selling goods below the cost of manufacture)
English
Did you know?
Missouri and Iowa once nearly went to war over honey.
You Have to Laugh
Finally . . .
Bloody ‘ell . . . After she’d killed her husband, an Utah woman wrote a book on dealing with grief . Chutzpah, I guess. On stilts.
Finally . . Finally . . .
For a day at least, summer leapfrogged spring and gave us a temperature of 25 today. This compelled me to take the garden chairs out of storage, making it a really big day. Thank-you, St Patrcik.
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 there.
If you´re thinking of moving to Spain, this link should be useful to you.
Thoughts from Pontevedra, Galicia, Spain 