I last wrote about the construction work at the back of my house at the start of September, saying activity was very spasmodic. Since then things have changed completely. In the last 4 weeks, they’ve worked round the clock to clear the land, to sink foundations and to start work on the walls. It’s nothing short of a miracle. Or, rather, it would be if any of this were true. Things certainly have changed but only to the extent that absolutely nothing has been done on the site since I last wrote. Zip. Zilch. Nada de nada. Even the oft-idle machinery has gone. So perhaps it really was all illegal and things have been suspended until the proper licences have been obtained and all fees and taxes paid. As usually happens.

This is the time of year when the forests behind me buzz with the sound of chain-saws being used to cut down trees for winter fuel. I am never entirely convinced all this is legal. Particularly as regards the episodes that take place in the middle of the night. But I am probably getting far too suspicious.

Yesterday I went on a boat trip through the canyon of the main river in Galicia’s magnificent Ribeira Sacra area, east of Ourense. Outside the boat all was calm and quiet and it should have been 90 minutes of pure relaxation. But, unlike their Portuguese neighbours, the Spanish abhor silence so the combination of engine noise, occasional [indistinct] commentary on the PA system and endless, loud chatter on all sides made sure it wasn’t. Fortunately, like parents with babies, one develops filters over time.

It seems I was wrong about Spain not implementing the law on booster seats for toddlers in the back of cars. A reader points out this has been a requirement for 2 years already. However, as I have yet to see a toddler or small child [as opposed to a baby] in one of these, this does tend to support my contention that the Spanish take a different approach to laws compared with the British. Even if they come from the EU. Especially if they come from the EU, perhaps.