What a joy to see Spain playing such superb football last night. And reminding Sven Eriksson of the secrets of the game – playing people in their right positions, keeping possession, going forward, and stopping your goalkeeper hoofing the ball up to the single flimsy lighthouse which constitutes your entire attack. Spain is going through a golden period with individual sports stars such as Nadal and Alonso at the moment but what the country really needs - to counter its centrifugal pull - is a successful team, composed of players from all over the country. So, all strength to their elbows, even if it means beating England in the final. As of now, of course, this is the remotest of prospects.

The ETA terrorist organisation has announced that, although it is naturally committed to taking the peace process through to its end, it doesn’t see this happening until France recognises the Basque homeland and participates in the process. France has naturally said it’s got nothing to do with them. So the words ‘hell’, ‘freeze’ and ‘over’ spring to mind.

I said yesterday Spain is a saner place than the UK. What I definitely didn’t say was it’s safer. How could I? For, as these photos show, I’m currently living not so much near a building site as on it. Only 3 metres from my front gate, they’re dismantling a long granite escarpment which – over at least the next 2 years – will be replaced by a total of 18 houses. The dust and noise levels are intolerable for 8 hours a day but - consistent, with Spanish standards of consideration of others - we’ve been offered no apology for this disruption to our lives. Nor even an explanation of what’s going on. And the sole concession to safety is the helmet-less chap in the T-shirt waving cars past the active pile-drivers, bulldozers and trucks. But I suppose it could be worse; they could be dynamiting the granite. As it is, I expect the lamppost to be adorning my front garden very soon.

If you feel it’s unimaginable dynamite would feature in a residential area, think again. Two weeks ago – on the other side of my house – it was used on another site, shaking my windows and almost knocking to the ground three men repairing my neighbours’ roof. I couldn’t tell whether their shouts were in Spanish or Gallego but I doubt they were complimentary. Needless to say, the roof repairers were not in a safety harness of any sort.