There was a conversation on the radio today between a reporter and someone senior in the Traffic ministry about the positive effects of the new driving regulations. The final question was about problems arising from the large number of tourists driving round the country in summer. The astonishingly honest answer almost caused me to swerve – “Well, the truth is the visitors don’t cause any problems. But they certainly suffer some. Most of them come from countries where drivers show consideration for others. Here, of course, we’re more individualistic and think of no one but ourselves when we drive”. I hadn’t noticed.

The Archbishop of Toledo has given us a new perspective on Spain’s rampant regionalism/‘nationalism’. If Spain fragments, he says, the most independent-minded ‘autonomous communities’ will lose their Christian identity. Quite how this fits with the Basque Country always having been one of the most Catholic parts of Spain, I’m not sure.

They may be utterly insignificant in Anglo-Saxon countries but notaries are demi-gods in Spain. This reflects their key role in the numerous bureaucratic processes that demand certified copies of any number of documents. I had to get one of these today and waited an hour in the office of ‘my’ notary. The setting was ultra-modern but, to be brutally frank, with a little imagination one could imagine oneself back in the 19th century. People milling about everywhere; notaries flitting from room to room, where groups patiently wait for their escrituras to be read out, word for word; secretaries chasing after hassled notaries, trying to get them to attend to at least one of the multi-stamped, certified copies awaiting a scribbled signature. On reflection, possibly even the 18th century. But no one complains, except the occasional curmudgeonly Anglo-Saxon like me.

Both my ADSL provider and Telefonica have confirmed my line is absolute rubbish. The latest reason given for this is a malfunctioning ‘bucle’ [loop?] at the central exchange. This is owned by Telefonica who say they’ll only fix it if I switch to them. This, of course, is pure blackmail. And from a company I already seriously disliked. What was I saying about customer service?

I could cheerfully strangle whoever is responsible for the endless spam messages under headings like Re: gipahVjiagra. If they work for Telefonica, I’d be quite happy to go in for a bit of torture first.