Now here’s a Nationalist policy some will consider worthy of more consideration . . . In line with its policy of promoting the local language in every medium, the Catalan government has given 15,000 euros to a maker of porn films. I wonder if these will end up on our late-night TV, dubbed into Gallego. Though there’s only so much you can do with a sequence of groans, of course. Still, it keeps someone off the streets.

On a more serious level, it’s emerged that Spain is in an EU minority of one in supporting the Russian attitude towards the proposed independence of Kosovo. I haven’t seen anything about this in the Spanish media but I suspect that, for obvious reasons, Spain backs any attempt to stop Kosovo achieving this. If the comment I read the other day is accurate – “Independence will probably be seen as a mistake one day but appears to be a fait accompli” – then Madrid surely has a real fight on its hands. Meanwhile, though, politicians in Catalunia and the Basque Country [and possibly even Galicia] must be salivating over reports that “The new Kosovo would have the right to enter into international agreements and apply for membership of the UN, World Bank and International Monetary Fund”. I fear it can only end in tears.

The Spanish media has, of course, reported Mohammed Fayed’s ‘victory’ in getting a jury for the final[?] inquest into the death of Princess Diana. Fayed is, of course, quite mad and so can’t see that, if the all-powerful Establishment he accuses of murder really existed, it would surely have stopped this happening. But what is logic to a conspiracy thinker of the highest order? I look forward to being entertained by his loopy comments when the jury decides it was an accident.

Galicia Facts and Perspectives

February was rather warmer than average here but the rainfall, at 24 litres per square metre, was close to the norm. However, averages are not awfully useful for the Atlantic coast; over the last 30 years the range has been 11 to 567 litres. You have been warned.

Foreigners now represent almost 10% of the Spanish population of 44 million. But not here in Galicia, where we can only muster a paltry 2.7%. Only poor old Estremadura has fewer immigrants. Or ‘less’, as almost everyone in Britain wrongly says these days.

Well, they can’t be accused of poverty of ambition. A group of Gallegos has decided it’s not enough for Galicia to be either an ‘historical nationality’ or a ‘national reality’. Calling themselves the Fillos de Galicia [Sons of Galicia], they’ve decided the Galician diaspora deserves the label ‘Galician Global Nation’. And here’s their web page to prove it. Here you’ll find, for example, their proposed flag for the new ‘virtual community’. I suppose it had to happen. Impressively, you can opt to read the page in Spanish or English as well as the original Gallego/Galego. Unfortunately nothing happens when you exercise this choice but this is not uncommon in Spain. I’ve registered [as breoganbritanico] and will offer to do the translation gratis [perhaps with help from Carlos and Xoan Carlos] but I fear that, as ever, I won’t get a response to my kind offer.

Well, I think I’ve registered. Having provided the small mountain of information requested and clicked the button, the screen went blank. Perhaps I’ll now get confirmation to my email address. Vamos a ver.