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

Property matters:-

• Another frenzy? . . . A staggering statistic but one possibly borne out by the price of a house in my street which has just gone onto the market – House prices rose by 12.9% last year. More than double the 7% projected. This was the highest rate since the final (phony) boom year of 2007, when it was 13.1%.
• A connected development . . . A record number of Spanish parents are forking out thousands of euros to help their kids get on the property ladder as housing prices soar. The surge reflects how the housing affordability crisis is pushing youngsters to turn to the bank of mum and dad. Traditionally, Spanish families supported young adults by letting them stay at home rent-free. Today, as economic pressures mount, that support increasingly comes as cash to help them buy their own homes.
• Evictions to rise Spain could face a wave of evictions numbering in the thousands after parliament once again rejected the extension of a key housing protection introduced during the pandemic. The moratorium was designed to protect vulnerable families from being kicked out of their homes during Covid if they found themselves unable to pay the rent or meet their mortgage. The measure allowed judges to temporarily pause eviction proceedings while social services attempted to find housing solutions for vulnerable tenants. 

A foul legacy? . . . Says the FT in a depressing read here: Spain’s booming economy collides with a barren politics. Fifty years after Franco’s death, rancorous divisions in parliament have choked off policy debate. Behind Spain’s hearty boom is a weakness that still weighs heavily: Spain’s riven politics. Polarisation is not unique to Spain, but its visceral brutality in the country stands out.

Says the Olive Press here: If there’s one thing that unites both Spaniards and expats alike, it is their burning hatred for the country’s national tax agency. Whether it is an incomprehensible letter, an impossible deadline, or a Kafka-esque demand for paperwork that doesn’t exist, nearly every entrepreneur and wealthy businessman has tangled with Spain’s notorious tax collector at one time or another. But behind the terrifying bureaucracy lies a highly lucrative incentive structure that critics have branded as ‘mafia-like’. As I’ve said, in this environment, foreigners are low-hanging fruit. Especially those show they’re wealthy by buying their way to a special visa. Which is why the Hacienda is being sued by an Anglo law firm representing some very unhappy and angry newish residents.

Says the FT here: Spain is a ‘role model in weathering Iranian oil shocks due to its speedy rollout of renewables’.

The US-Iran War

Iran could be the US’s Boer war: a hollow victory that marks the beginning of the end of empire.

The USA

See my earlier post on the delusional, bellicose president.

The other cretin who likes to appear on TV . . . . Bizarre outbursts at the press, a backstory full of mishaps – the US ‘secretary of war’ earns his keep as the loyalty hire par excellence.

Voter ID: In England, Wales, and Scotland, polling‑station voters must show one of a long list of approved photo‑ID documents. You can use any one of 13 documents or copy thereof. If you don’t have any of the above, you can apply for a Voter Authority Certificate or an Anonymous Elector’s Document, both of which are government‑issued photo‑ID specifically for voting; these are free. Rather different from Trump’s plans . . .

Quote of the Day

A bit from Samuel Johnson’s The Vanity of Human Wishes, which is an adaptation of Juvenal’s 10 Satire, which critiques the futility of human desires for power, wealth, and long life. Reading it put me in mind of Trump’s USA . . .

But, scarce observed, the knowing and the old
fall in the general massacre of gold.
Wide-wasting pest that rages unconfined,
and crowds with crimes the records of mankind,
For gold, his sword the hireling ruffian draws.
For gold. the hireling judge distorts the laws.
Wealth heaped on wealth nor truth nor safety buys,
The dangers gather as the treasures rise.

Spanish

• Arepa: Corn cake
• Proveedor: Supplier
• Albacea: Executor

Did you know?

The US invasion of Canada, via Quebec.

Finally . . .. .

Great to hear a pre-dawn blackbird song this morning, for the first time this year. Sadly, it stopped as the dawn arrived. But did reappear late mornng.

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.