Both M. Sarkozy and the government of Senegal have joined the crowd in telling Spain it has no one else to blame but herself for the avalanche of illegals arriving from Africa. In fact, Senegal goes even further and accuses Madrid of doing little to halt it and of defaulting on all the commitments it’s given on this to date. Not very diplomatic. But possibly true.

In his book “Ghosts of Spain”, Giles Tremlett lays into the Costa del Sol in no uncertain terms. He describes it as – amongst other things – “A brand new Mediterranean megalopolis, a single, centre-less stretch of building extending down the coast for a hundred miles, from Nerja in the east to Sotogrande in the west.” A few years ago I wrote my own impressions of this awful place, which you can see here . They’re not a million miles apart from Tremlett’s. Though I suppose even more vitriolic.

And, while I’m plugging my own stuff, here’s a short note plus photos I’ve just written on the disappearing private houses of the city of Pontevedra. Just in case anyone’s interested.

I’ve talked before of the hit-and-[more often]miss approach of the Spanish film industry to movies in English. There was a free DVD in one of the papers today - a western called ‘Rage at Dawn’. On the cover, this is printed as ‘Rage at Down’ and then translated as ‘Rabia Interior’. It’s just possible there’s a form of misplaced logic here [Dawn -> Down -> Internal] but I certainly wouldn’t bet on it. Anyway, I was astonished to see the DVD offered the original English soundtrack. But less surprised to find it didn’t work.

Hits to my Galicia page have risen quite a lot recently. I wonder if this is because thousands of Scousers are trying to find out where exactly it is that Ryanair will be flying to from Liverpool as of next month.

I’m always delighted [más o menos] to receive comments from Spanish readers, but I’m never more pleased [or impressed] than when one tells me he/she actually enjoys my stuff. So, my thanks to Xavier. Especially as he may be either Catalan or Galician. But perhaps not, as he says he’s Spanish.