Since I arrived here in Madrid yesterday afternoon, I felt I’d seen the same young woman at least 10 times. The explanation turns out to be that where my daughter lives is the Goth centre of Madrid and what I’ve been seeing is several girls with the same hairstyle, makeup and idea of dress sense. Very nonconformist.

And talking of young women, I wandered off Gran Via this afternoon, in the general direction of my daughter’s flat, to find myself coming face to face every 5 metres with ladies who seemed to have little else to do but lean against the wall. I must look very poor as I wasn’t propositioned once. More seriously on this theme, the Catalan government has become, I think, the first in Spain to announce they’re going to take action against the prostitution that shames Spain. According to El Pais earlier this week, Spain has, pro rata, double the number of prostitutes as Germany, with 95% of them being foreign women thought to have been tricked or forced into the activity. Something, said the paper, needs to be done about this. For what it’s worth, I suspect little will be achieved until Spanish women stop turning a blind eye to what visibly goes on all around them. As to why they do this, I wonder whether they regard an uncommitted dalliance as less of a risk to their marriage than an affair of the heart. Just a thought.

I visited an exhibition of Russian art from the 20s this evening. This was all a little depressing in its emphasis on socialist production goals and achievements. So, for light entertainment, I moved to an enchanting photographic exhibition at the Telefonica museum, featuring the work of Chema Madoz. I followed this up with a visit to the adjacent museum of telecommunications, which contained a fascinating display of early phone sets, including one made by Eriksson in 1895. None of this, however, made me feel any better disposed towards Telefonica, especially after one of the guards stopped me trying to get my emails via the computer on display.

Spanglish section

Fliparse – 1. To get stoned, 2. To go or be driven round the bend


And finally, the name of a chap who fitted some windows for my daughter:-

Dionisius Sandia Nogales – Dionysius Watermelon Walnut-tree