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.
Spain/Galiza
The Rail Crash
- Four system failures led to the Spain train crash, a report finds.(RV). The investigation points to a computer system meltdown, as critics blame government underinvestment.
- ADIF – the company responsible for the tracks – ignored 2023 warnings about the risk of derailment near Urda. An internal document had flagged a “serious risk to rail traffic” on the stretch where 69 people died in a tragic accident. However, this never led to the suspension of rail operations.
Politics
- Last week’s train accident that killed 69 has hindered the socialist government’s chances to stay in power in the November 29 snap elections. Per a new poll, if the elections were to take place this week, a right-wing coalition between the centre-right People’s Party (PP) and the far-right, anti-mass migration VOX party would have a “100%” chance of securing an absolute majority of parliamentary seats required to form a government.
Local News
It’s the 2nd day of November and our high today was again 23. And the day was dry. Perhaps in 20 years’ time Spaniards from other regions will finally stop saying it rains every day here. Incidentally, the wettest place in Spain is way down South . . . It’s Grazalema, a village in the Sierra de Grazalema, Cádiz province, Andalucía. Rainfall averages roughly 2,000mm or more a year—about 3-4 times the national average. Pv city averages about 1,613 mm a year, most of it outside the summer months. When I am regularly reminded that:-
The rain it falls upon the just
and on the unjust fella.
But mainly on the just, because
the unjust steals the just’s umbrella.
Which is regarded as a mere pecadillo here.
The United States of Trump America
I’ve said more than once that I imagined that the Republicans – fearing what further damage he would do to the party – might well arrange the assassination of Trump. After tomorrow’s midterms, surely the last thing they’ll want – 2 years out from a presidential election – is an increasingly demented maniac representing them, ably assisted by his almost amusingly incompetent Cabinet. Something has to give.
Right on cue – Four ways Trump will become more dangerous if he loses the midterms. What does it say about the US Constitution that, without Congress or popular support, he could continue to create havoc both in the USA and around the world? As I say, surely even the Republicans won’t want this. So, will they grow a pair?
By the way, is it possible that Trump is not merely the embodiment of evil but actually the spawn of the Devil? After all, if God can send his son to put the world to rights, couldn’t the Devil send his son to put it to wrongs? Ironically, it’s his credulous Evangelist Christian supporters who would be most capable of getting round to believing this, should they ever see sense. As it were.
Relevant Books
- Betrayal: Trump, Putin and the New Age of Conquest
- Wtf America?!: The Way Out of This Hell and Back to Democracy. 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.
Spanish
- Abordaje: Approach. Boarding.
- Bocarte: Anchovy
- Cachondo. Horny. Turned on.
Englis
Some more Vanity Fair words:-
- To coquet: To flirt, especially in a light, teasing, or self-interested way; to try to attract admiration without serious intent.
- Post-obits: Short for post-obit bonds: loans in which someone expecting to inherit money after a person’s death borrows money now and agrees to repay a much larger sum once that inheritance arrives.
- Dr James’s powder: An 18th–19th-century patent fever medicine, containing antimony compounds and calcium phosphate. It was meant to induce sweating but was toxic.
- Cattle: Back in 1850, this term included horses as well as cows. And possibly donkeys and mules. All of which were ‘chattels’, I guess.
Finally . . . Did you know?
The scariest old-time radio shows . . .
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.
