Madrid airport has opened its new 4th terminal. The final cost was five times over budget but I don’t suppose anyone was particularly surprised; this appears to be compulsory for major public works these days. Doubtless the architects responsible have moved on to bigger and better things. Though not as big as they will eventually turn out to be.

Another identikit death on the Galician roads yesterday. Male; 20; early hours of the morning; ‘bendy road’; no other car involved; ‘left the road for reasons as yet undetermined’. A writer in one of today’s local papers wrote a hard-hitting article on this theme, referring to the Galician roads as the 5th horseman of the Apocalypse. No need to send young men to die in Iraq. Send ‘em to Galicia. Must be easy being an actuary in this country.

The Iranian government has said all commercial contracts with countries responsible for insulting the prophet Mohammad will be unilaterally cancelled. In retaliation for this, I shall be eschewing their caviar and pistachios until the mullahs come to their senses. Shouldn’t take too long; they seem a fundamentally decent group of people.