A recent survey of 85 Spanish media notables produced this list of the 10 favourite dishes from Spanish cuisine:-
1. Paella
2. Gazpacho
3.Tortilla con patatas - potato omelette
4. Madrid stew
5. Fabada – a stew of beans, pork and ‘etc.’
6. Marmitako – Fish stew, I think
7. Octopus Galician style [i. e. with paprika]
8. Roast lamb
9. Pisto manchego – Fried vegetable hash. Or ratatouille
10. Migas – Fried breadcrumbs

There is something reassuringly simple about this list. More British than French in its approach, I guess.

Last week a friend of mine was waiting at a junction when a car crashed into him from behind. It turned out to be a police car and the driver - at 3.30 in the afternoon - was clearly drunk. He suggested that he and my friend drive separately to the local police station but apparently got lost on the way and never made it. Although he subsequently turned out to be the head of the local police, I haven’t yet noticed any coverage of this incident in the local papers. Perhaps when it all gets to court….

Talking about driving – there was one of those all-too-common reports in yesterday’s paper about a car leaving its side of the road ‘for reasons as yet unknown’ and killing all its occupants when it crashes into a wall, tree or - most frighteningly -an oncoming vehicle. Most often – as in this case – this happens between 2 and 6 in the morning. And on a bend. I think one can make a fairly educated guess as to why this type of accident occurs so frequently, especially when the car is large and powerful and/or the driver very young.