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 wife of the PM has a tough week ahead of her, as she faces the politicised judge who’s accused her of all sorts of things, despite the fact that the national prosecutor has said there’s nothing for her to answer. I suspect she’ll eventually emerge well from it all. But will have had her summer holidays ruined, perhaps.

Apart from the wolves and wild boards that I recently mentioned, northern Spain also has brown bears.

Today I asked the staff at my favourite place if they had a rifle with which I could shoot a busking/wandering ‘musician’ who is not only the worst guitarist in the world but also the worst singer. I think he knows 2 chords at most and always sings the same bloody song, taking advantage of the fact that the guiris of today – the Caminoers – will relaced by others tomorrow. He makes the accordionist whom I flee from every summer sound like Mozart. Imagine my surprise when a waitress told me that, of an evening, he comes in to exchange 70 or 80 euros-worth of coins for notes. There must be an awful lot of tone deaf folk passing through the city.

But there was some good news this morning . . . In the Pilates class, the woman who never draws breath actually stopped talking for quite lengthy periods, after complaining of something or other and mentioning the taking a pill. Probably not one to freeze the tongue though. As it happens, 2 or 3 of the other ladies were only too willing to take up the chat baton. Not for the first time, I felt that events that would not usually be social occasions elsewhere in the world really can be in Spain.

Tourism drives on . . . An emblematic building in the main square of Pv city is having 2 of its floors converted into holiday flats. Noisily.

The Middle East War

The USA and Iran have agreed a Memorandum of Understanding. Which is progress but, of course, far from the ‘peace deal’ claimed by Trump. The antagonists are now betwixt cup and lip, a place of many potential slips. If only because Netanyahu is lurking in the background.

In business, a M of U is not always very significant, having no legal value. Intentions only.

The latest update from Naked Capialism.

Quotes re ‘the deal’:-

• Trump: The deal is now complete. [As if.]
• Rep. Adam Smith: The deal shows that the Iran war was a “colossal mistake”.
• The majority: At best, we are merely back to where we were before the war was initiated by Trump

The United States of Trump America

Quotes

• I believe that Trump will go down not just as the worst president tin US history but as the worst human ever to have lived. [Possibly OTT. Slightly. He’s up against some big names – Attila the Hun, Stalin, Hitler and Stephen Miller]
• Stephen Miller 1: We just hand out benefit checks(cheques) to anyone who claims a benefit, without making any checks(checks): [Totally untrue.]
• Stephen Miller 2: If we stopped these abuses, we could balance the budget. [Also totally untrue. Miller is clearly the best performing pupil of both the Trump School of Maths and the Trump School of Morality. Both very relative concepts for the founder thereof.]
• Trump: I agree with Mark Levin when he says to, EXPEL THE BUM. [Jamie Raskin]. Congress can never be great with people like this, who suffer massively from Trump Derangement Syndrome, casting their vote of HATE! [Raskin has called for Trump’s impeachment.]
• The drive for an imperial president isn’t new. It began decades ago. As with so much else, Trump has turned the dial up to 11.
• The Democrats need to re-establish the equality of the Congress and, as the English parliament did against Charles I, use the power over the money which it possesses to curtail Trump’s actions.

Yesterday, I cited the attack on Iran as an example of the sort of stupid things that autocrats inevitably do. Before that, of course, there was the inflation-generating imposition of tariffs on both friends and foes. Accompanied by the lie that these would be paid by the foreign suppliers, when in fact they’re paid by US importers and, eventually, US consumers And then there was the maths around drug prices. All leading to the depressing sight of terrified sycophants – previously thought to be intelligent – defending these inanities out of fear of provoking Trump’s wrath and vengeance. And the loss of their power and income. Stupidity and fear – the hallmarks of Trump’s presidency.

Dr. John Gartner returns with a deeply provocative conversation about aging, cognitive decline, power, and the presidency. Quote: I’ve never had a patient as sick as Donald Trump. I believe he’s setting us up for a nuclear strike. Podcast Video

Spanish

• Avistamiento: Sighting
• Quitar/Sacar la espina de: Can mean ‘To get revenge on’. I think.
• Planigrado: Planigrade.

Did you know?

A plantigrade is: An animal that walks with the entire sole of its foot flat on the ground, including the toes, metatarsals and heel. Examples: Humans, bears, raccoons, badgers, hedgehogs, kangaroos, and monkeys.

You Have to Laugh

The 2025 IgNobel Prize recipients. Where Fingernails, Drunk Bats, Zebra Cows, and Pizza-Eating Lizards Become Serious Science.

Finally . . .

I knew there was more than one reason not to take one of those tourist trains seen in cities around Spain . . .

Finally . . . Finally . . .

In case you haven’t heard, Spain – the European champions – were just held to a 0-0 draw(tie) by Cabo Verde, a tiny island with one hundredth of Spain’s population. A tremendous defensive performance, bringing joy to many non-Spaniards. Though not to me, of course. Just admiration.

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 no longer post on Facebook. But I can be readon 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.