It’s not often that you come across the same quotation within a couple of days. So, even though it has nothing to do with Spain, here it is:-

Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp. Or what’s a heaven for?

On a note which is both more prosaic and Spanish, I had one of my regular run-ins with a car on a zebra crossing tonight. What made this one special was that it was a police car. Parked half on the crossing and half off, the driver waved me on with an air of irritation which suggested it was entirely my fault. Naturally.

Here’s a capillary conundrum, with a big prize for the first person with the right answer – What is it that the Spanish have a genius for doing within a hair’s breadth and always without turning a hair? Post your suggestions below, please.

It is frequently said that the Spanish are not racist but that they detest gypsies. To be honest, it’s easy to understand this. As I was crossing the bridge today, a mother with a wheelbarrow full of detritus collected from the town’s rubbish bins was encouraging her two young kids to toss large chunks of it into the river below. Saying anything on these occasions risks later retaliation, my Spanish friends insist. But I could not stay quiet and so remonstrated with the mother. However, in what I like to think was sagacious and judicious compromise, I made my comments in English.

In truth, the Spanish probably would be more racist if the immigrants already here were spread more widely throughout the country. On the other hand, the almost-daily reports of drowned Africans who didn’t make it alive it to the Spanish coast surely provoke at least a degree of compassion.

There was a comment in the Sunday Telegraph that self-imposed silence on matters Islamic meant that little would be reported in the UK on the hanging of a 15 year old girl in Iran. So it was good to see that this was fully covered in El Mundo on Monday.