Well, I guess the first thing I have to do is apologise for describing Hugo Chavez as a dictator yesterday. After doing a bit of googling, I’m aware there’s a view around that he’s a dictator in the making but, nonetheless, perhaps demagogue would have been a better word.

The British media thought the new German Chancellor yesterday frightened Mr Blair by re-affirming the Franco-German axis. The Spanish press thought she tipped the wink to Mr B by referring to the relationship with France as only a ‘friendship’. Can they both be right? Or wrong, even?

The young men and women of Spain may not be able to match their British counterparts for binge drinking and its concomitant violence but, when it comes to snorting cocaine, they can hold their heads up high. Though possibly not their nostrils. For, depressingly, Spain ranks number one and the UK number 2 in the European league table.

Matters Catalunian: Earlier this week – in the face of a continuing boycott outside the region - the CEO of a cava company stressed the product is as Spanish as it is Catalunian. For this, he was roundly criticised by the President of the local government. Perhaps he’ll be arrested for treason next. And at yesterday’s meeting of the International Ice Hockey Federation, Catalunia’s request for nation status was voted down. They did get the support of Albania and one or two obscure African states but this was possibly not unconnected with the fact the Catalunian federation had paid for the delegates’ plane tickets.

I read today the Muslim faith suffered its Sunni/Shiite schism quite soon after Mohammed died. This was essentially because, although specifically permitted several wives and concubines, the prophet didn’t manage to leave a male heir. Not for the first time, this left me wondering about God’s capacity for forward planning.

For new readers – If you’ve arrived here because of an interest in Galicia or Pontevedra, you might find my non-commercial guides interesting – at colindavies.net