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 VdG today on the awful wildfires around Spain: Firefighters were working tirelessly yesterday to control the wildfires in Ávila, Madrid, Castellón, and Toledo. They know that temperatures will rise again in 2 days, making the fight even more difficult. The flames continue to advance on most fronts, forcing even more people into confinement yesterday: 100,000 are locked in their homes, and 30,000 have been evacuated in 4 regions.As I write this, a fire-plane is flying over Pv city, to pick up water in the estuary of the river Lérez. And either smoke or river mist is heading towards the city from there.

These are 5 places in Spain which The Olive News claims are ‘crying out’ for tourists.

• La Rioja
• Extremadura
• Spain’s green northern coast
• El Hierro the wildest and most westerly of the Canary Islands.
• Teruel

I recommend them all. Much better than Galicia

Last night, I joked with my family that, as many of the pictures on my walls were slightly askew, we might have had a mild earthquake. This morning I wasn’t too surprised to read that: A magnitude 3.1 earthquake was recorded in the Atlantic Ocean yesterday, off the coast of A Coruña. As its epicentre was almost 200km offshore, it caused no damage.

The UK

Now more than ever, in the age of clickbait, there are lists and lists. One from Time Out claims that Bath is the happiest city in the entire world. I guess it might be true. If you’re a big Jane Austen fan.

The Middle East War

The latest update from Naked Capitalism.

The United States of Trump America

Trump: I’ve done more for you than your parents, OK? Your parents are good. I’m not going to knock your parents, but I have been better to you than your parents. That I can tell you. The Golden Age of America is upon us. We’re in the Golden Age. This is an age like no other. We’re having the single greatest year we’ve ever had as a country. [Maybe he really is crazy enough to believe this BS].

Other: Trump is the greatest ever exponent of imposter syndrome.

Trump will drastically decline within months, says a psychologist who expects a dramatic change in presentation within the next 6 to 8 months.

You`ll probably know this. . . You might have heard it whispered . . . . Tariffs are Trump’s favourite plaything – and his justifications are absurd . . . With the midterm elections less than four months away, it’s a precarious time for Trump and Republicans: His war against Iran is going badly, his approval ratings are in the toilet, gas prices are soaring and pushing up inflation, and nation after nation is furious about his insults, bullying and ugly American unilateralism. So, amid all this mess, what does Trump do? He turns to his favorite economic plaything: tariffs. . . . Like so much that he does, his new tariffs are clearly based on pique and false premises with lots of shamelessness and absurdity thrown in.

The estimable David Rothkopf talks here about Trump’s fear of the approaching Grim Reaper.

Trump said not long ago that he’d be the world’s best Communist. If he meant leader of a single-party state, public ownership of everything, rigged elections, and unlimited presidential tenure, he’s certainly having a good try at it. No wonder he admires Xi, Putin and Kin Jong Un. The boys who done it.

Spanish

• Azotar: To whip, beat, lash.
• Azote: Type of whip
• Azoteo: Beating, whipping, slap
• Azotea: Flat roof, terrace. Head (slang)

English

New to me, the word I mean, not the action . . .

Smishing: short for “SMS phishing”. A form of social engineering attack carried out via text messages, SMS, or messaging apps like WhatsApp or iMessage, rather than email. Cybercriminals send messages that appear to come from trusted sources such as banks, delivery services, government agencies, or even employers, often creating a sense of urgency, fear, or curiosity to manipulate the recipient into acting quickly.

Did you know?

The correct way to hang toilet paper?

Finally . . .You Have to Laugh

Barcelona pigeons . . .

My thanks to those readers who take the trouble to Like my 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. And this, on the annual costs of owning property here.