I saw a set of Chinese horoscopes on a shop counter today – separate ones for the year of the Dog, Horse, Tiger, Armadillo, etc. For each of them the Spanish word used was the male of the species, except for the Goat, where it was the female form. I guess this is because calling someone a Billy goat is the biggest insult imaginable in Spain. I’ve never understood why, though someone has recently suggested it involves an implication of cuckoldry. As you may recall, the female form of goat also means ‘slut’ but this must have been considered the lesser evil.

There’s a little village in the hills of Galicia called Cans. Oddly enough, this means ‘dogs’ in Gallego and - unlike the Spanish word ‘perro’ - is derived from Latin. Anyway, around this time of year the village’s population of 200 swells to 10,000 as they hold a festival parallel to that of its namesake in the south of France. Needless to say, this is a little less serious and features more ‘agroglamour’ than is probably evident on the Cote d’Azure. But it sounds like fun. So, next year in Cans?

I have recently re-grown my beard and was told by my hostess at lunch yesterday that it made me look ‘more intelligent’. I am still wrestling with the significance of this comment.

I don’t often get the opportunity to use the English equivalent of a popular Spanish word but, sadly, a chance has now arisen. Yesterday, there was an emblematic car crash in the south of the country. A 4x4 was driven too fast round a bend and swerved into the path of a saloon car coming the other way. Of the 13 occupants, 6 were killed and 5 seriously injured. Of the 6 dead, 4 were children in the back of the 4x4, including 3 brothers. One can only hope, for his sake if nothing else, that the driver of the latter was among the adults who died. And pray that Carlos Alonso doesn’t win the Formula 1 championship this year. Or any year, for that matter.