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

If you’re tourist flat owner who’s been fined, you might be in for a refund.

Maria revels in being herself in a Galician summertime.

The Voz de Galicia today majors on the number pedestrians run down and killed in Galicia over the last 5 years -more than 700 in total. Regular readers won’t be surprised to read that the majority are hit on a zebra crossing just as they’re reaching the end of it. Indeed, today – on the 4-lane crossing I use 4 times a day – I saw a woman and child almost hit by a van that stopped just in time as they were in the middle of the 2nd lane. And I was almost hit by a car undertaking the stationary van, as I passed them and entered the 4th lane for me. I must write an appropriate epigram for my tombstone before I become a statistic.

Spanish bureaucracy is much commented on. And feared. My own experience over the years hasn’t been too bad but a friend here has just endured it at its worst. Wanting to change her British TIE residence into Irish/EU NIE residence and having an expiry date of early July on her TIE, she started the process last November, to avoid stress. After getting conflicting advice from the internet, the police and the Irish embassy, she commissioned a local gestor to help her through whatever the process might be. Finally, having filled in all the relevant forms and copied all the relevant documents, they went together today to finalise the process, only to be told they needed not just one but three certificates never previously cited by anyone. Which would involve getting an official translation of at least one and having it notarised. The suspicion is that this is a challenge never previously faced by the Pv city bureaucrats and they’re either making it up on the fly or ignoring the fact my friend has been resident here for 8 years and are treating her as a newcomer seeking a NIE. Either way, she’s ready to give up and to renew her British TIE. So, victory to the job-preserving bureaucrats. TBH, I did warn her last November that changing her residence status might prove more troublesome than it was worth.

The World Cup

Not a new thought . . . . Spanish football players might well play more intelligently than English footballers because every Spanish boy plays football and the most intelligent aren’t dragooned into playing rugby at a school with pretensions. Plus, of course, a higher level of skill. The footballer who has long demonstrated the combination of intelligence/ vision and skill is the unmatchable Lionel Messi, of Argentina.

The Middle East War

The latest update from Naked Capitalism. Hard to say things are looking promising. Thank god the king of deals is on the case . .

The United States of Trump America

Given his proclivities, it’s a surprise Trump hasn’t sued any of his children for defying him on some trivial matter or other. Assuming one of them actually has.

Just a coincidence, of course, but Trump’s birthday is also that of the (German) doctor who first described Alzheimer’s disease. I’m sure you ccan guess his name . . .

Trump spirals in an unhinged multi-post Truth Social meltdown, threatening legal action over a “treasonous” newspaper article that claimed his brutal war with Iran achieved very little change

Why the tech broligarchs went full MAGA    Podcast      Video

Spanish

• Guardia: Duty call
• Renting: leasing
• Facultivo: doctor

English

Lenox Napier writes here on this subject, highlighting very different abilities among Spanish politicians.

Did you know?

Some weird college/university degrees.

You Have to Laugh

The SNL comedians test each other’s tolerance . .

Finally . . .

Some stats that (US)Americans find hard to believe, convinced as they are that the Superbowl is the biggest sporting event in the world:-

• Superbowl: 125m viewers

• India-Pakistan cricket match: 163m viewers

• The World Cup Final: 1.5 billion viewers

But the Superbowl wins at . . . advertising.

Finally . .

This is a quirky book written by a quirky friend of mine who’s (mainly) a brilliant carver of wood and stone. A recommended read.

My thanks to readers who take the time to Like a post.

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 can also be read on X at Thoughts from Galicia. And on Substack here. 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.