Someone has kindly pointed out that, for this blog, I’ve written 50,000 words, the equivalent of a short novel. In fact, this is Blogspot’s never-changing number and a word check of my 2004 and 2005 scribblings reveals a true total of 94,800 so far. Like everyone else, I’ve always thought I had a novel in me; I just didn’t know it had got out.

Well, that estimable geriatric, Mr Fraga, has made the trip to South America that was so easy to forecast. And, whilst it naturally “doesn’t have anything at all to do with the imminent elections”, it seems that Buenos Aires is decked out with PP party posters of his luminous, wrinkle-free face. I imagine Galicia will now be deluged with Argentineans looking for his plastic surgeon.

In an El Pais report on the post-election UK political scene, one of Gordon Brown’s promoted acolytes is referred to as a Brownista. This is a perfect rendition of the English term Brownite but somehow seems much more sinister to me. And possibly to Tony Blair.

On the doors of many garages in town, there are official signs saying that the entrance must be kept clear by law. They’re issued by the local council but I’ve often wondered whether I could just get one knocked up in some tool shop or other. Now I know. A check has revealed that more half of them are illegal.

Astonishingly, the Vatican has reminded the King of Spain that his oppo in Belgium many years ago refused to sign an abortion decree and suggested he think about doing the same with the gay marriage statute coming his way soon. I suppose this madness is to be expected when your last great client state is slipping away but it will surely be self-defeating and counterproductive. Juan Carlos is reported to have replied that he is the King of Spain and not the King of Belgium. Mind you, like the rest of us he probably still has to do what Brussels tells him to do.