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’
NB: If there’s a RV in brackets after a (paywalled) link, you might be able to read it via a Reader View extension to your browser, avoiding the paywall. If there is no RV, it will mean that the article is free to view or listen to. If there’s RV2, it means a second click on RV might let you see the article though the first RV click didn’t work.
Cosas de España/Galiza
The economy: Spain’s trade deficit continues to widen, despite growth in exports.
Property: The new tax on renters of holiday lets.
Society; If there’s a truer observation on life here, I’ve yet to read or hear it . . . Daily life in Spain tends to operate at a higher baseline volume than in Northern Europe or North America. Or, indeed. anywhere else in the world. So, this article will be invaluable, if you’re finding it hard to live with noisy neighbours of any sort. I certainly know the problem. Fortunately, though, I haven’t had to deal with an outrageously loud concert that the council has initiated a few metres from my house. With these, the only practical solution is to leave town for the duration. Suing your neighbour is one thing; suing the council is quite another.
October Fun: From the estimable Mac 75: If you step outside onto your local high street in late October, you could be forgiven for thinking Spain has fully surrendered to commercial American trick-or-treating. But wake up on the morning of 1 November, and the atmosphere pivots entirely. Enter El Día de Todos los Santos (All Saints’ Day)—a national public holiday that remains one of the most culturally vital, poignant, and ancient dates on the Spanish calendar. While British Halloween treats the realm of the dead with spooky theatrics, Spain’s observance is a masterclass in intergenerational remembrance, deep community ties, and an astonishing regional spread of seasonal autumn gastronomy.
Disappointing to read that – despite improvements – Galicia still comes last when it comes to the quality of life in Spain. Not for everyone, of course. I’m quite content . . .
But we do have the softest water in Spain.
We had an ola de frio this week, compelling many of us to put on the heating. And to fight off a cold. So, it was shocking to read that – largely thanks to the imbecilic Trump – the price of gasoil is now 78% higher than a year ago.
I see there’s to be a new Ryanair flight from Norway to Santiago de Compostela next year. But still nothing from Manchester or Liverpool. . . .
Portugal
The ‘inefficiency’ of the Foreigners Ministry is reported in our local news to be leading to the denial of medical care to Galicians who live there. Elsewhere, this is said to be true also of non-EU residents. And possibly all other Spaniards as well.
Europe/The EU
Europe’s energy policy is economic suicide, says this columnist.
The United States of Trump America
Trump understands America more than the Democrats. He knows how effectively you can use racism.
Why Trump wanted to be President and what his superordinate objective is.
A late English comedian was famous for never wanting to leave the stage and for letting his show run over, well into the small hours of the night. Hearing Trump today described as a Vaudeville performer, I realised that he’s the Ken Dodd of the USA. Without the talent.
Relevant Books
- Betrayal: Trump, Putin and the New Age of Conquest
- 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. This is not simply a book about Trump. He is the vessel, not the disease – the product of a system decades in the making, fueled by powerful interests, weakened democratic institutions, and a media ecosystem that too often chose access and complicity over accountability. The book confronts the defining questions of our time: How did we get here? Why did so many institutions fail when they were needed most? And what must we do now to defend democracy before it is too late?
- 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.
The Way of the World
One of the many caustic observations on human nature in Vanity Fair: One of the great conditions of anger and hatred is that you must tell and believe lies against the hated object, in order to be consistent. Trump and MAGA?
Spanish
- Grupo de chat/charla: Chat group.
- Derrama: A payment above the norm. Overflow.
- Pagar en X derramas: To pay via X instalments of the excess
- Zafarrancho: Havoc. Row
English
- Forenoon: 18th century ‘morning’.
- Sennight: 7 days. A week. Sadly, now rarely used.
- Fortnight: 14 days. Two weeks. [For (US) ¡Americans].
Did you know?
Talking of noise problems . . .
You Have to Laugh/Cry
Trump’s Communications Office has almost made an art form of insulting folk who make perfectly reasonable enquires, eg on Trump’s health. The latest I’ve seen is Glue-sniffing degenerates. A while ago, Communications Director, called Michael Wolff A lying sack of shit.
Finally . . .
Nice to see both a robin and a redstart in my garden today. Possibly attracted by the mealworms I’m trying to stop the damnable magpies from nicking.
My thanks to those readers who take the trouble to Like my posts.
The Usual Links
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.
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.
