Spain is suffering its worst drought in 70 years and immense damage is being done to crops throughout the country. When reading of the impact on exports of vegetables, I was reminded that the Spanish perception of vegetarianism is thin slices of ham.

Nice to have The Economist endorse my view of a week or two ago that Madrid has the edge over Barcelona in the battle to bring the huge gambling complex (Euro Vegas) to the country. Let's hope it really comes off.

Which reminds me . . . It's hard to see the Champions' League being won by anything other than a Spanish team. Ditto the Europa Cup. Or whatever it's called.

On a BBC discussion tonight about gay marriage, the host(ess) of the program interjected with "Regardless of the ins and outs . . ". Which probably wasn't the most felicitous phrase she could've used.

Talking of priests . . . The Catholic Church in Spain has launched a publicity campaign aimed at raising the recruitment rate for these. There are currently about 22,000 priests in the country, which strikes me as quite high. But, then, there is an old Spanish saying which runs:-

If you want to be happy for a week, get married.

If you want to be happy for a month, get a pig and eat it.

If you want to be happy for ever, become a priest.

Incidentally, the Chinese have a similar saying but the last line runs:-

If you want to be happy for ever, get a garden.

Still on the religious theme . . . An 80 year-old Spanish nun has been arrested for her involvement in a baby-trafficking scandal which began during the Franco regime but continued until the 1980s. It's claimed that more than 1,500 babies were taken deceitfully from their mothers and either sold or given away for adoption. She didn't work alone of course; "Doctors, nurses, nuns and priests are all suspected of forming part of an organised network that told mothers their children had died during, or straight after, birth." An interesting development.

Finally . . . As it's Friday, here's Alfie Mittington's latest recipe. For ragoût. Enjoy.