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

Ceuta: Ahead of new breach attempts apparently planned for tomorrow, the Spanish Interior Minister has announced the reinforcement of the defences of both Ceuta and Melilla. He added that a “significant operation involving information gathering, intelligence, and source tracking” has been deployed to assess the alerts. Horses, bolted and stable doors are words that spring to mind.

Mark Stücklin writes here on how the EU’s property-market intervention will negatively affect foreign buyers and sellers in Spain.

Santander in Cantabria is said to be challenging Madrid as Spain’s ‘destination of choice for art aficionado Brits’. The reason is Faro Santander – the former HQ of Banco Santander, which has been transformed into a major new public arts centre.

I saw a headline saying that the peak viewing time for TV here in Spain had moved 2 hours in the last 30 years. I assumed this meant – as with the evening meal – towards an earlier time. But it turned out to be from 21.30 to 23.30! This compares with 20.00 in both the UK and in the USA,

Another new word connected with a major local industry – Narcovelero. Drug-yacht.

With 5,000 triathlon athletes, their trainers, family members and spectators in town, the number of tour groups has naturally rocketed in Pv city. And the event has even come to my street – 2km out of the city centre. This large van and trailer were parked outside my house last night, taking up not just one but three parking spaces. Thank dog it’s only 5 days.

While the vehicles are Spanish registered, the occupants are German. Presumably staying in the very profitably rented house of a neighbour whose parking is not affected . . .

The Middle East War

The latest update from Naked Capitalism.

The United States of Trump America

• Trump is so obsessed with being on TV, If he wasn’t on TV, he’d doubt his own existence.
• Trump often retreats to his worst impulses when he feels most powerless

Press-Starved Trump has launched his own television channel after banning three networks from the White House TV press pool. Said the White House: “Trump TV, will streaming 24/7.” adding that it will be where people can “watch the Trump Administration’s biggest moments all in one place.” The first program last night was a rerun: a Trump speech of July 3. I imagine one can bet on how many viewers it will have at any point in time. Lucky (US)Americans! So life enhancing.

A Trump post . . . .

So, that’s alright, then. A second post was even nuttier.

Why Pathological Trump Just Made a Major Blunder

Trump’s Press Ban Backfires as Aides Leak the Humiliating Motive Behind It

Relevant Books

• To be published in October. Can be pre-ordered now: Wtf America?!: The Way Out of This Hell and Back to Democracy. On Amazon or here.
• The final pages of Kurt Andersen’s fascinating run through the USA’s history – Fantasyland: How America went haywire. A 500 year history.
• Profiles in Cowardice, by Jacob Weisberg. Cited in this podcast.

Spanish

• Parar los pies: To stop someone/soemthing
• Genial: Brilliant(GB), Awesome(US)
• Rajarse; To crack, split, cut(a throat . .)

Did you know?

For what it’s worth, this is a list of the world’s 20 most liveable cities. Fortunately. Pv city isn’t on it. Though Madrid and Barcelona are. Having been there twice, I found the No. 1 city to be a surprise.

Finally . . .

I read that a walking speed of 80 paces a minute was ‘brisk’, which I rather doubted as I do 100-105 normally. Though not yesterday after Sunday’s 23km in 36 degrees. Perplexity suggested:-

• 80-100: Normal walking speed. Easy conversation.
• 100-120: Brisk walking. Breathing noticeably faster but you can still talk
• 120-140: Fast/very purposeful walking. More effort. Conversation becomes shorter and harder.

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 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.

This – from veteran blogger Lenox Napier – is an excellent weekly newsletter (Business Over Tapas) on all matters Spanish. Indispensable for those who needs insights on how and why things happen here.

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.