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

NOTE: Something from yesterday, with the correct link this time. . . A positive spin . . . From dictatorship to EU powerhouse: Spain’s 40-year journey of successes, setbacks and stories that transformed a country.

Mark Stücklin writes here on the supply, the demand and the prices of properties.

An anti-drug police chief is among the 100 corrupt ‘narco-cops’ arrested in Spain over last 5 years. Not a huge surprise to anyone, I suspect.

The (Spanish) girl done good.

My favourite Galician village name . . Dead Cat.

The video on Pv city’s old quarter I posted yesterday . . . I forgot to say that I found their comments on the sweetness of the food in Dukela – my favourite restaurant – to be odd. Perhaps they meant the food wasn’t as picante as it would be in Morocco. Which would be true, as all restaurants have to conform to Spanish tastes. BTW . . Viewing it again, I was even more irritated by the grimaces and gestures. But, then, I am a bit of a curmudgeon . . .

We’re having a lot of sun this week but a cold wave is on its way to Spain. Up in the north west, we might just escape the worst of it.

The United States of Trump America

See my earlier post on the Middle East War

The Madness of Emperor Donald . . .

The real reason why Trump talks like an idiot. [Apart from being one, of course]. Podcast Video

Is anyone surprised that there’s evidence of massive insider dealing around Trump’s announcements.

Does this remind you of anyone? He is not interested in anyone’s opinion. He surrounds himself with hangers-on, all dependent on him, united in fear and greed. He is notorious for refusing to pay his bills, meeting all protests with an invitation to sue. He talks incessantly, haranguing his sycophantic listeners with long, tedious accounts, while they all sit in timid restraint. . . . Not Trump but an 18th century British politician, Lord Lonsdale.

Spanish

• Balbucear: To babble, mumble.
• Arepa: Corn cake.
• Vigente: Current. Valid.

English

I noted that the British and US past participles were different – spat and spit. respectively. Having seen some 18th century British English, I can now add that ‘spit’ was the PP then used in England. Not terribly surprising.

Did you know?

In the Dead Rabbits Riots of 1857, New York decided to settle politics the old-fashioned way. With bricks.

You Have to Laugh

Finally . . .

I’ve been receiving 2 copies of Private Eye a month for 26 years – 10 since Brexit. Today I was asked to pay 6 euros as customs duty on the latest edition – ‘As it’s come from outside the EU.’ I declined to pay almost 3 times its cover price and told them to send it back.

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.