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
Mark Stücklin writes here the challenge of buying property off-plan in Spain – a risk I’d never take myself.
And Lenox Napier writes here on public health issues down South.
When I came here in 2000, there was a cellulose factory on the banks of the river Lérez, on the edge of the city. It closed in 2003 and much-needed flats were built on the site, albeit 15 years later. Mind you, the new Commercial Centre near me in O Vao, now under construction, was first mooted 20 or 25 years ago. Things can move very slowly in Spain. Which I guess we can put down to the usual suspect of ‘Spanish bureaucracy’. Though this might not be a true bill.
When I checked many years ago, I counted 12 or 13 local newspapers, for a population of 2.8m. There still are this many, it seems. For these are the last years’ circulation changes, proudly displayed in today’s Diario de Pv. For obvious reasons. I have no idea how they can all stay in business:-
- La Voz de Galicia: -11,68%
- Faro de Vigo: +0,72%
- La Región: +1,75%
- El Progreso: -21%
- Diario de Pontevedra : +38,1%
- El Correo Gallego: -7,14%
- Nós Diario: +13,3%
- La Opinión: -38,1%
- Diario de Ferrol: +20%
- El Ideal Gallego: -50%
- Diario de Arousa : -20%
- Atlántico Diario: -60%
A headline in today’s Diario de Pv referred to problems of salud metal, which confused me. The text revealed this to be a mistake for salud mental, or mental health,
Talking of mistakes . . . A cheese on a local is was given in English as ‘Mozzarella of pure cow’.
And another was given just as ‘Galician Blonde’. Which is a local bovine breed, which no foreigner would know, of course. Or anyone from, say, Madrid.
The Middle East War
No meeting in Pakistan. Whether or not negotiations are to continue, it looks as if it is the end of the line for Pakistan as a mediator.
The latest update from Naked Capitalism. An attack is coming? All of the ominous signs that have preceded previous “surprise attacks” on Iran are visible..
The United States of Trump America
What a country!
An event that Trump never wanted to take place was aborted after a shooter approached the event’s security staff. Where there was apparently no metal detector. Within half an hour of this, Trump gave a ‘bizarre’ press conference in which he claimed, inter alia, that this ‘assassination attempt’ justified his vainglorious ballroom plans. So, nothing suspicious about any of this? Needless to say, I’m not the only person raising doubts about the genuineness of the events. Strange that the shooter was one of the few ‘dangerous’ people not to be shot and killed on the spot in the modern US. Lucky guy.
I guess some folk will believe that Trump really does want the re-scheduling of an event at which he’ll be roasted and Epstein-reporting awards doled out.
Relevant podcasts/YouTube videos
- The Daily Beast 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
- The Politics Girl Video. Amusing
- The Daily Show Video. Very amusing
Spanish
- Lirón; Dormouse
- Ocasiones puntuales: Special occasions.
- Habitáculo secreto: Secret cabin/lair
English
‘Assassin’ comes from an violent Persian sect led by Hasan‑i Sabbah in the Crusader era and called hasasasin/hashashashin. In Europe, the word came to mean a murderer or political killer.
Incidentally . . . 2 AI engines I used said that the original word was Arabic, not Persian. I believe this is wrong, probably because the scripts are very similar.
Did you know?
You Have to Laugh
Another uncomfortable Finn . . .
Finally . . .
I fully expect to die after being mown by some vehicle or other. Yesterday in Pv city’s old quarter, I was brushed by a woman cycling fast up a narrow street when I stepped out of the place where I’d taken a coffee. After which I got the standard Ay, perdón! as she sped off. Which I probably wouldn’t have got it she’d actually crashed into me. So, small mercies.
Finally . . . Finally . . .
On my way home from lunch today, I stopped to ask 2 middle-aged lady Caminoers why they were some way off the Camino. They surprised me by saying they were looking for a Casa Rural which Google had told them was a kilometre away. I told them it was actually 5km away and all uphill, in 25 degrees. And then took them there. They were Austrians but I refrained from asking them if their German accent was the same as Adolf HItler’s . . .
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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 