Who’d have thought the Prince of Wales could succinctly encapsulate the basic difference between Anglo and Spanish cultures? This is what he said - Sometimes, nowadays, you get this awful feeling that everything has to be so efficient and relevant that there's no room in life for the things that make it all worthwhile

I wrote a few days ago that prostitution is a prominent aspect of Spanish life. Increasingly so, it seems. In only 5 years, the number of women employed in roadside brothels has grown from 9,590 to 19,154. As less than 100 of these are Spanish, it means an awful lot of woman from poor countries in South America, Africa and Eastern Europe are being exploited in this booming but unregulated industry.

And talking of exploitation, ‘Don Miguel’ Fraga has soldiered on until the very end of his 4th term as President of the Galician government. Even on the eve of handing over power he’s been dishing out TV franchises, despite a threat on the part of the incoming administration to revoke them. Most recently Don Miguel has taken to confirming that, although he’s approaching 83, he won’t relinquish his position as leader of the opposition at any time during the next term. Unless, I suppose, he gets a visit from the Grim Reaper.

Britain and Spain are converging in at least one way. More and more university graduates in the UK are having to live at home after completing their studies. Which naturally brings their active sex life to a sudden halt. So, as in Spain, there’s a need for discreet places where they can be nice to each other. This has apparently led to nocturnal competition for Wendy houses in neighbourhood gardens. Where there’s a will ……

Quotes of the Week

Hungary and Slovakia have no coastline. You might think these landlocked countries would be excused from implementing European Union legislation on safety at sea. But that would be to underestimate Brussels bureaucracy. The two countries are being threatened with expensive legal action in the European Court of Justice for failing to bring in Europe's maritime laws.

We have 19th-century legal responses to 21st-century terrorist behaviour.
John Howard, the Australian Prime Minister

Londoners are belatedly taking to cycling because it feels safer - which it is not. Mile for mile, you are 84 times more likely to get killed travelling by bike than by Tube. Cycling is also about 14 times riskier than going by car.

Or, as Sky TV would say, more riskier.