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 real reason for Spain’s chronic housing crisis?

Twin corruption trials cast a shadow over the 2 main parties ahead of a key election,

The income tax season has become.

Advice on buying a used car here in Spain, where ethics might not be the highest in the world.

Visitors from Madrid are surprised that we don’t have Uber, Cabify or the other one here in Pv city. I had thought that the ban on them was region-wide but I read this morning that they’re allowed in La Coruña, Vigo and Santiago de Compostela. Our mayor is from the Left but maybe thinks that local business interests rank higher than those of residents. And hates cars anyway.

Camioners are already starting to fill the bars and restaurants of the old quarter, in search of a dinner very early by Spanish standards. My Galician nationalist friend, Fran, snapped these yesterday and labelled them ‘un puto Spanish occupying force in Galiza’. Which is stronger than anything I’ve written. But he might have been joking . . .

The Middle East War

See my earlier post.

The ‘fog of peace’ . . . . There is utter confusion about the basis of peace negotiations. Here’s a side-by-side table of what the respective parties claim are, at least, the agenda topics. They are clearly completely incompatible:-

Trump goes as far as to say Iran is so defeated that his 15-item list consists of conditions which a totally-defeated Iran has already unconditionally accepted in order to prevent further US attacks. If true – which, of course, it isn’t – this would make the negotiations of ‘the next 2 weeks’ pointless. If it weren’t so serious, watching the mendacious White House spokeswoman endorse and defend this Trump lie would be hilarious,

It’s not surprising that the ceasefire isn’t holding, if only because Israel wants no part of it and insists that Lebanon wasn’t included in whatever the deal’ was. End result – the Hormuz Strait is still controlled by Iran and effectively closed. So, Israel is killing hundreds in Beirut and Iran is firing rockets at regional states. And Trump is panicking.

The United States of Trump USA

Relevant podcasts, with links to the latest episode:-

• The Daily Beast – This is compulsive listening/watching on, first, Trump and, then Epstein. Podcast Video
• Inside Trump’s Head  Podcast Video
• The Daily Blast with Greg Sargent – Podcast
• The Rest is Politics US Podcast Video
• The DSR Network Podcast

Quotes of the Day

• [As anyone who knows the Middle East appreciates – Iran specifically] Trump’s threat to destroy Iranian civilisation will be remembered there for generations to come. No one there will ever trust the USA again and states are already turning to China.
• Trump is killing Iranian schoolgirls to silence American schoolgirls.
• Hegseth: Our troops deserve the praise. God deserves all the glory.
• The only qualification you need to be a member of Trump’s Cabinet is to be unqualified.
• Trump is insane but his madness is the best thing to happen to the West in decades. [Rationale here]
• Trump: Victory has never been so glorious.

Spanish

• Guantera: Glove box.
• Poli bueno; The good cop.
• Escarificar: To scarify.

English

A Dr Johnson quote: The duchess had not superior parts, but she was a bold, frontless woman, who knew how to make the most of her opportunities in life.  I had to research ‘frontless . . . . It’s a chiefly derogatory term, meaning :-

• Bold to the point of rudeness or indecency,
• Lacking the “face” or outward reserve that social decorum demands,
• Shameless or audacious in manner, especially in speech, or displaying behaviour that would normally be considered immodest, impudent or improper.

I think I’ve been accused of all that. More than once.

Did you know?

How to go snipe hunting. Or not.

Finally . . .

As a young boy scout, I had the line The Lady Flora MacDonald is here to see you, Sir in a Gang Show sketch about Bonnie Prince Charlie. I was suddenly reminded of this when reading that Samuel Johnson and James Boswell had met the lady on a trip to the Western Isles in 1773. An AI engine confirmed that: The sketch portrays Charles Edward Stuart (“Bonnie Prince Charlie”) and his escape after the Battle of Culloden, often with a humorous or slightly absurd twist typical of Gang Show comedy. One scout plays Prince Charlie, a few others are his attendants, and the rest of the troop act as the army, marching and chanting in a stylised way. As I recall, the laughter was sparked by regular repetitions of the phrase Och, aye, the noo. I’ve also recalled that my father leant 2 German officers’ swords for participants to wear, having obtained them as a young RAF pilot in Germany in 1945. These must have been much too big for the wearers thereof. Which might well have helped with getting laughs. Reader Kev might remember the sketch. We go back that far.

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 until April 30 on Facebook. And on X at Thoughts from Galicia.

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.