I may have happened upon the reason for the lingering affection for hand-held shower heads in Spain. In my daughter’s flat in Madrid, the [pretty ancient] shower has both a fixed head and a hand-held attachment. The former, though, is attached to the ceiling and not the wall, meaning that you can’t avoid drenching your head if you use it. One can see why the alternative would often be favoured and how the gradual disappearance of the fixed head would leave behind just the hand attachment. OK, anybody got a better theory?

I may also have discovered why 92% of Spaniards say they aren’t depressed about coming back to work at the end of the August holiday month. According to a Madrid taxi driver last night, September is the party month par excellence in Spain. This is despite the fact no one has much money left after their long vacation. I guess the philosophy is, if you have to push the boat out to get to the end of the month, you might as well shove it as far as it will go. Very Spanish.

In the copy of the Voz de Galicia I brought with me to Madrid, I see they’re now giving us photos of male whores in the small ads. Though the word ‘small’ may well be inappropriate in this context. What next? Pictures of pretty spaniels? Or well-dressed, full-size plastic dolls, perhaps.