Mr Miguel Ángel Medina González is something of a celebrity in Spain. He was the first person in the country to have his driving licence suspended after losing all 12 points on it since June. And yesterday he was caught at the wheel with alcohol levels at twice the legal limit. I guess it was to be expected from someone with his regard for the law that he said it would make no difference to him if the courts deducted another 14 points from his licence. It takes a lot to get sent to prison for driving offences in Spain but Señor Medina González finally managed it.

Spain is the cosmetic capital of Europe and its flagship is a company called Corporacíon Dermoestética. This has been running a press ad for some time now that seems to me to be a model of persuasive deception. Or deceptive persuasion. About 70% of the ad is taken up by four large photos overprinted with these comments. . .
1. ‘Beauty does not distinguish between races’. The photo is of a woman in a sari who looks remarkably Spanish.
2. ‘Nor sexes’. This time it is a handsome, bare-breasted, long-haired young man who may or may not be confused about his gender.
3. ‘Beauty does not recognise age’. Here we have a woman in her 30s whom I guess we are expected to believe is in her 40s.
4. ‘It is one part and it is all of you’. This tag provides the excuse to present a photo of a superb set of breasts and buttocks. Not to mention a flat stomach and a pair of cellulite-free thighs. All on the same woman, I should perhaps add. Sadly, we are not given her phone number.

It seems I don’t know my saints from my souls. I’m indebted to Eamon in La Coruña for pointing out that Nov.1 is All Saints Day and Nov. 2 is All Souls Day. On one of these in Mexico, I’m told, everyone repairs to the cemetery at midday to have lunch with their departed loved ones. I seem to recall something of this in Malcolm Lowry’s ‘Under the Volcano’.

Galicia Facts

Our donkey population has fallen from 25,000 in the mid 90s to only 6,000 today. If you want to know about an organisation dedicated to protecting them, here’s a recent press article . . .

www.elcorreogallego.es/index.php?idMenu=130&idNoticia=98529