This may say something about the different cultures or it may not. The gesture of two fingers made behind Cherie Blair’s head a couple of days ago was described as ‘rabbit fingers’ in the UK but as ‘horns’ in Spain. The latter implies the target has been cuckolded, which is about as serious as things get here. Relatedly, the Spanish swear word most calculated to enrage a man is cabrón, which literally means merely goat. Other nuances include bastard, brothel keeper and, of course, cuckold. By the way, relatedly seems to be a word I’ve invented. Move over Shakespeare.

A woman turned up at La Coruña airport on Monday and tried to check in carrying her husband’s ashes in a casket. When told she’d, naturally, have to fill in numerous forms and so miss her flight, she went outside and scattered them on a patch of grass adjacent to a small pond. That’s showing ‘em. Airport staff are said to be still in shock.

In one of those bizarre judgements that seem to come down regularly in respect of motoring offences here, a judge has ruled that an unlicensed, uninsured youth who killed 5 people, including his own mother, was guilty only of a single misdemeanour punishable by a fine. The public prosecutor had felt there were 5 serious offences, calling for a prison sentence or two. He, too, is said to be still in shock. As are we all.

Finally, possibly the worst aspect of the problem I had with the bank yesterday was that, when I finally got through to a human, she treated the conversation not as a chance to help a customer but as a telemarketing opportunity to sell me bank products. In the end, I just put the phone down on her. That’s Spanish banking. Either not commercial or too commercial. But never customer oriented. I read that the HKSBC is one of the favoured suitors for BBVA, one of Spain’s largest banks. Good luck to them in cleaning out the Augean stables, if they are unlucky enough to succeed.