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

Lenox Napier writes here on the Vox party demand that Spaniards be given priority treatment for public services, which seems to have advanced further in some regions than I’d thought.

An unexpected – indeed, a ‘stunning’ (but understandable) – request for political asylum.

In the comic novel I’m reading, a chap looks at the wares in the window of a shop selling medical goods and thought to himself that the trusses, elastic stockings and male corsets, displayed on pink plastic limbs were oddly like the gruesome votive objects, signifying cures, that hung in the side-chapels of Spanish churches. Which struck me as amusingly correct.

Some squares in Pv city are plagued with rapacious seagulls. So, I was interested to read today that the most effective way to scare them off is to shout at them. Not to inflict violence of them. If true, it’s possibly less enjoyable . .

Portugal

The travel industry faces an eco-crisis, it says here.

The UK

Thursday’s local elections were an undoubted triumph for the newish Reform party, and success for the bizarre Green Party. I, for one, have no idea what they really mean both for now and for future general elections. But, when the number one concern of voters is potholes in their local roads, it does rather suggest the UK’s highly centralised way of financing local government needs a re-think. Reform, even . . Maybe even a period of historic political change. Says this columnist: That a European country’s central government should consider itself responsible for every hole in every road in its largest constituent nation was a reduction to absurdity of Britain’s obsessive centralisation. The crisis was caused by the government’s savage squeezing of local spending. This was reflected in the closing of libraries, police stations, youth clubs, nurseries – and the opening of potholes.

The Middle East War

The US has fired on two Iranian-flagged oil tankers on the 2nd consecutive day of strikes, as hopes of an imminent deal to end the war fade.

The latest update from Naked Capitalism.

Quote: When it comes to the Iran situation, I can’t read it at all. Either president Trump is displaying Machiavellian cunning or monumental stupidity – or even both simultaneously. 

The United States of Trump America

I highly recommend this discussion with an ex federal prosecutor on Trump’s crimes against the USA and its people, on ways to bring Trump and others to justice, and on the validity of Epstein’s suicide and his scrawled note. Podcast or Video

Possibly wishful thinking. . . Trump’s health collapses, as the war ruins his final years.

Lawrence O’Donnell’s latest Last Word

Rather, more amusing – John Stewart on the last week.

Russia v Ukraine

Trump has announced a 3-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. This truce comes just in time for Putin to hold Victory Day event in Moscow, without fear of Ukrainian missiles raining on his parade. Look on it as a favour for a friend who Trump really respects. Or something.

China

President Xi is communicating that, if Trump “relapses into fighting” and doesn’t “stick to negotiations”, he won’t be allowed to land in Beijing next week.  

Spanish

• Pasarela: Footbridge
• Pilot: To sink piles
• Pavimento terrizo: Dirt track

English

Neck mess: A popular jewellery trend among Gen Xers. Essentially, the chaotic layering of multiple necklaces – chains, pendants, charms, and chokers of varying lengths, textures, and weights.

Did you know?

The drugs used for slimming these days were originally developed for diabetes sufferers but are now thought to be relevant for other conditions, both physical and mental. As regards the latter, I wondered if this might be because they affect the gut microbiome and improve mitochondrial strength in the brain. This is the essence of an AI engine response: Yes, it is claimed that GLP‑1 drugs reshape the gut microbiome in a potentially healthier direction and may support stronger, more efficient mitochondria in neurons. These effects are well documented in animal and mechanistic studies, are plausible in humans via metabolic and anti‑inflammatory benefits, but are not yet fully proven as a direct, robust “brain‑mitochondria boost” across diverse populations. My interest in this – and perhaps that of some readers – is because of the growing belief that all mental complaints – such as my daughter’s bipolar condition – are caused by weak mitochondria in brain cells.

You Have to Laugh

The philosopher Bertrand Russell wrote in 1929: “While cruelty is, in theory a perfectly adequate ground for divorce, it might be interpreted so as to become absurd”. When the most eminent of all film stars was divorced by his wife for cruelty, one of the counts in the proof of this was that he brought home friends who talked about Kant. Russell wrote: “I hardly suppose that it was the intention of the California legislators to enable any woman to divorce her husband on the grounds that he was sometimes guilty of intelligent conversation in her presence”.

Finally . . .

I watched an episode of this excellent BBC series last night but have to confess I completely missed how it nails middle-class, midlife mum styles.

Finally . . . Finally . . .

Today, I dug out a notebook I’d last used 17 years ago, intending to use the blank pages in it. I got to reading the stuff I’d jotted down in 2009 and could easily understand those relating to plans for my first Camino later that year. Other notes gave me a lot more trouble. Particularly those on what appears to have been an offer to participate in the marketing in Spain of kiwi fruit from New Zealand. Of which I have nil recollection. There’s also 2 pages of jokes. Or, rather, abbreviated forms of these. I leave you with 2 that I could decipher, while not guaranteeing even a smile:-

• No matter how many Germans you eat, an hour later you’re hungry for power. . . . [Vintage 1970?]
• A woman decided she’d have a total makeover. She slimmed down, changed her dress style, dyed her hair and even had a face lift. When she lay dying after a car crash, she shouted out ‘Why me, God? Came the reply: ‘I didn’t recognise you!’.

P. S. There was also a page on a non-laughing matter – my car’s engine blowing up and costing me €2,000. Which an AI engine tells me would be nearer €3,000 in today’s money.

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 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.