There's a sign in a cafe near my daughter's flat which reads "You are allowed to smoke in here and may things be as God wants them to be." Obviously, then, He's a smoker.

Spain ranks only second to Italy in Europe for per capita use of energy. Apart from the possibility of airconditioning, I can't understand why this should be. Anyone got any ideas?

On the issue of English translations again - I went to the Pontevedra museum a while ago and offered to provide English labels for the exhibits, free of charge. The response was underwhelming, to say the least. I was told they'd get in touch with me when the new building opened in a couple of years' time. We'll see. Of course, one problem here is that there's not much of a tradition of community service and offers of free help are often treated with supicion. Especially if they're going to deprive someone of work. Or a budget.

Spanish readers must sometimes wonder why I rail so much against the bureacracy here. Well, here's one good example. I need a statement from the Spanish Inland Revenue that I pay tax here. This simply requires confirmation that the person with my name, address and fiscal number is a tax payer in Spain. In the UK, this would mean you sending a letter and waiting for the statement to be sent to you by mail. Here, it involves at least 3 time-wasting trips to the tax office and the copying of several documents which add absolutely nothing to the existing knowledge of the tax office that I've made 8 declarations and pay spanish taxes. Needless to say, one of these is my residence card. But not content with this, they've also sought a copy of my application for the card. Bloody good job I kept it. But, then, one throws away documents at one's peril in Spain. In this paper-obsessed culture, you never know when you will need one or a hundred copies of it.