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

Predictable? . . . Chaos has broken out across Spain as people queue day and night to apply for the controversial migrant regularisation scheme. In one town in Murcia, a fight broke out over the (ex?)Spanish tradition of queue-jumping. Reportedly, the Spanish government’s ongoing mass amnesty for illegal migrants has caused a functional collapse of social services across Madrid. The sheer workload imposed by the plan has collapsed local government offices across all of the Madrid region leading to significant delays in the ability to assist Spanish families in need. The mayor of a southern Madrid town criticized the government for executing the plan without sufficient planning or any coordination with local authorities.

A mystery explained? Archaeologists have discovered 6 Bronze Age mines in southwestern Spain, offering a clue on where the metal in ancient Scandinavian artifacts might have come from. The mines contain copper, lead, and silver – key materials that powered trade networks thousands of years ago.

How Spanish pop conquered the world.

At midday yesterday, I sat on a terrace on the edge of Pv city’s old quarter, observing Caminoers. It’d be an exaggeration to say the square was teeming with them but there certainly was a lot of them. They ranged from the (traditional) young backpackers – wandering around sightseeing – to the the older, wealthier walkers occupying 75% of the tables around me. These are the folk who treat the Camino as a 2 week vacation rather than a religious/spiritual experience, staying in expensive hotels or Airbnbs and eating in non-cheap restaurants at least once a day. And they are the walkers who’ve driven me to find alternatives to my favourites of many years. (An aside . . . Come November, some owners of the places who now (very profitably) cater for these folk will comment/complain they haven’t seen me for 6 months. You can guess what my response is). Anyway, I noted several characteristics of the various Caminoers and plan to list them here one day soon. A positive note . . . At least my favourite café for my late morning coffee is yet to see a Caminoer. So, it’s not a complete disaster. Especially as the (lovely) South American waitresses have time to chat with me. Occasionally in a sort of English.

Another bothersome excess population is being dealt with in a way not open to consideration.

Europe

I meant to quote this yesterday . . . Facing daily reminders of its lack of energy independence thanks to the US-Israeli war against Iran and the prospect of of a major spike in oil prices, the EU is now encouraging ember states to go nuclear . . . 15 years after the EU president was a member of the German government which mothballed its nuclear energy plants.

Iran

How Islamic is the Islamic Republic of Iran?

The Middle East War

Prediction is a mug’s game and speculation is fruitless. Yet multiple source are convinced that the negotiation window has closed and are now predicting that war will resume within a matter of days. What is certainly true is that both the US military and the Israeli IDF are prepared for this.

The latest update from Naked Capitalism. Trump leans towards another attack.

The United States of Trump America

Quotes

• Trump: I don’t need Congress’s permission to blast the hell out of Iran
• Blumenthal: Trump is threatening NATO like a 5 year old.
• Trump, to a UFC fighter: You’re a beautiful guy. You could be a model, you look so good.

Commentary

• Insiders finally admit that Trump suffers deranged fantasies.
• The article cited.

See below under The Usual Links for commentators I follow via podcasts or YouTube videos.

The Way of the World

The 20 richest countries in the world. . . . Nine of the top 10 are in Europe, with the Nordic countries confirming their strength. As for Europe, Norway and Ireland lead the pack with Spain and Estonia at 19 and 20 with their scores reflecting lagging income and, in Spain’s case, a high relative poverty rate.

Trump’s dark era is leading to a new approach to global politics.

Spanish

• Militancia: Militancy. Activism. Membership (of a political party)
• Riñon: Kidney
• Nefrítico: Renal
• Estar colado por: To be sweet on

English

10 essential British slang terms:-

• To faff around: To take too long or to waste time.
• To be gutted: To be very disappointed
• To nip to the loo: To go off to the toilet quickly
• Dodgy: Suspicious, unreliable, potentially dangerous
• Bits and bobs: Small, often random items
• Bloke: Man
• Knackered: Exhausted. [knackers = testicles]
• To nick: To steal
• Gobsmacked: Very shocked
• Proper: Very

Did you know?

The king of England owes the USA for the 1927 renovation of the White House.

You Have to Laugh

On a UK quiz show, the question was: Which Spanish Cubist artist famously had a blue period at the start of the 20th century?. Came the answer: Bugs Bunny.

Finally . . .

I had 2 nests in my garden. The blackbirds’ now has 2 or 3 hatchlings but the wood pigeons’ has lost the 2 eggs it had, probably to the bastard magpies or crows that were circling a couple of days ago.

My thanks to those readers who take the trouble to Like my posts.

The Usual Links . . .

The US commentators I follow, all on Podbean and/or YouTube for free:-

• 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

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 And on X at Thoughts from Galicia. I no longer post 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.