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

A few more marks needed for university courses in Galicia. First the two that always surprise me and are said to reflect demand far in excess of capacity:-

• Nursing: 80%
• Physiotherapy: 78%

Secondly, down in the lower reaches:-

• Public Direction and Management(?): 38%
• Fine Arts: 36%
• Law: I haven’t seen it cited yet but it’s usually down at this low level, unless it’s combined with something of higher status in Spain. Possibly Registrarship or Notaryship.

I wonder if Caminoers heading north on the traditional Portuguese Way know that the next town after Pv city – Caldas de Réis – is currently suffering its awful annual plague of flies. But doubtless the wealthier will be able to escape them by availing themselves of one of the spa baths there.

I recently cited yet another paean of praise to Pv city which spoke of the cobbled medieval streets of the old quarter. Which didn’t match my recollection. I’ve since checked and can confirm that there ain’t any. Meaning that the writer either doesn’t know the difference between an old granite slab and a cobblestone or has never been here. Or both, of course.

The UK

How the British empire collapsed and how this might compare with that of the (US)American empire.

The Middle East War

The latest update from Naked Capitalism. Escalation. End of the (nonsensical) MOU. Oil up.

The United States of Trump America

Quotes

Trump

• I’m number one on TicTac[sic], with an astonishing number. More than Taylor Swift.
• The US has invented almost everything that has been invented.
• The Islamic Republic of Japan 111 missiles at the USS Abraham Lincoln.
• Do you have a question for President Putin? [Twice. Meaning President Zelensky]
• They are scum. [The recently nice and very reasonable Iranians. Does Trump have a memory?]

Others

• Trump learnt just enough about football to cheat at it.
• Not even Assad or Putin have boasted about war crimes as much as Trump has.
• Trump’s narcissism is so vast that he simply can’t tolerate not being the centre of attention, controlling the narrative. This is not new. He was the same in the New York real estate sector 40 years ago. [He was a joke back then but, as the saying goes, no one’s laughing now].

Query: Once he loses dominance and can no longer control the narrative – meaning he ceases to be the global centre of attention – will Trump die of a broken heart? We can but hope. While not caring a jot what carries him off.

Cue my mother’s (smokers’) joke . . . It’s not the cough that carries you off; it’s the coffin they carry you off in.

The Clown Show

Standing behind Trump as he ranted at the NATO summit, were the 4 major Cabinet arse-lickers, each with a mask – and, in Rubio’s case – sometimes a smile – on their faces. Most remarkable was Scott Bessent’s – a stare fixed on the far distance. God know what each of them really thought of the madness on view.

If you listen to this podcast, I’d be surprised if you didn’t come away concluding that the US system of government is even more dysfunctional than you’d thought, and the country’s elite even more corrupt and venal than you could ever have previously imagined. As for a huge quantity of the voters . . . . At the very least, they confirm the 18 and 19th century fears of what would happen if there were universal suffrage. Thank god, then, that experience in other democracies proves them wrong. What we are talking about here is the real (US)American Exceptionalism.

And then there’s this podcast on the depths to which Trump and the extreme far-right Republicans are prepared to go to control the state and enrich themselves beyond the legendary wealth of Croesus.

More tabloidly . . .

Trump’s Secret Plot to Help a Sex Charge Pal is Exposed 

Spanish

• Caldero: Cauldron, pot, kettle, pan, saucepan, crock.
• Caldera: Boiler, heater furnace.
• Encubrir: Conceal, cover up, mask, hide, whitewash, disguise, cloak, abet.

Finally . . .You Have to Laugh

Social media . . .

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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.