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’.

NOTE: Today, I’m using new way of posting via WordPress, allegedly simpler. There might be mistakes. For one thing, I don’t seem to be able to reduce the size of fotos. Or check that the links are OK. Or revise the text once published so as to reduce spaces between paras, for example. At least not until it’s been published and emailed to subscribers. Bear with me . . .

Cosas de España/Galiza

Bad news for both major parties in the Andalucían elections. The far right Vox party gets a step closer to its objective of first and second class residents.

Noémi gives us advice on vegetarian and vegan restaurants in Barcelona.

Spain is expecting this week its first major heatwave of the year, with temperatures forecast at almost 40 degrees in some regions.

I’ve seen this chap around town many times, usually with just 2 or 3 plastic bags of whatever. This time he seems to have around 15, leaving me wondering how me moves around with them all. On top of the question of what’s in each of them of course.

An old friend – Pothole Pat. Who goes and comes, comes and goes.

It’s a lot worse than it looks here. And has already cost me at least one hew tyre.

The notary didn’t call me today. But I did get a letter about a hearing date for the case I was bringing against the tiler who tried to cheat me out of €350. I went to the court several weeks ago to annul this – after I´d got my money back – but they couldn’t find the papers. So, I guess I’ll have to go there again for a 2nd try.

Portugal

For me, Oporto has suffered from overtourism for at least 10 years. Possibly 15. Which, I guess, is rich coming from me, as I’ve always been a tourist there – if I wasn’t only (through necessity) going to the airport. I long ago ceased to enjoy the city and have vowed never to revisit it. But, then, I did see everything there before it fell to this modern curse. Anyway, a relevant article.

The Middle East War

The latest update from Naked Capitalism.

The United States of Trump America

Trump has announced that the National Garden of American Heroes will be built in Washington, as a sculpture park honoring 250 American figures ahead of the nation’s 250th anniversary. He has described it as a collection of statues of founding fathers, military figures, civil rights leaders, athletes, artists, and entertainers. I guess we can be sure of the identity of one hero’.

As deaf as a stone and twice as dumb . . .

– Interviewer: What do you say to the farmer complaining of paying almost 5 dollars a gallon for gas.

– Trump: I would say it’s gonna come down fast. The stock market is higher than it’s ever been. 401s are higher than ever. More people are employed than ever. [He might actually believe that the non-rich buy this line, not actually knowing any of them].

Queries

– Is there any other democratic country that has a Constitution that allows an unpopular insane person to be its head of state who stays in power via a mixture of corruption and the terrorisation of his party, the media and the leaders of major companies, making himself billions along the way?

– What is the USA going to do about preventing this happening again?

– Will this actually be possible in such a divisive political culture?

A democrat politician lays out plans – Podcast or Video – to deal with Trump’s endless corruption and abuses of power. Apropos is the astonishing case in which Trump is effectively suing himself for 10bn dollars but will settle for 1.7bn. This, he says, will form a (slush) fund to help victims of US justice such as the Jan 6 rioters. And maybe himself.

Trump rages wildly at a reporter, insisting his victory is absolute and accusing the journalist of treason – revealing that he doesn’t get that military force alone can’t force open the Strait of Hormuz.

A reminder . . . A major member of the Clown Circus: Natalie Harp is a close aide to Trump who’s been his executive assistant since January 2025, after earlier jobs in right-wing media and Trump campaign roles. She became known for carrying printouts and a laptop or printer to show Trump flattering news and social posts, which earned her the nickname “the human printer”. She’s now believed to write many of his insane posts. She’s talked about here at minute 47.20s

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

The Way of the World

Feeling depressed about the state of the world? Worried about the future? You’re not alone. Pessimism about politics is the new normal among the peoples of the west. Major conflicts in Europe and the Middle East and the harms caused by right-left extremism, stagnating economies, inequality, corruption, terrorism, racism, big tech, mass extinctions and the climate crisis make for shared nightmares.

Spanish

– Socarrón: Sly, sneering, snide, etc.

– Socorro: Help. Relief.

– Socorrista: Lifeguard.

Did you know?

The FBI once investigated a pop song . . .

You Have to Laugh

Another uncomfortable Finn . . . Very un Spanish.

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 no longer post on Facebook. But I can be read on X at Thoughts from Galicia. And on Substack here

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.