It wouldn’t be Sunday without a fraudulent ad in El Mundo’s magazine. The latest was for an effervescent pill called CHRONOSLIM and it contained all the usual snake-oil claims. And a premium-rate number to call for your assessment of just how much weight you’ll lose. Possibly the same one as for last week’s wonder extract of 11 plants. According to a serious-looking, white-coated ‘D. Gilbert’, ‘The 3 components of CHRONOSLIM penetrate [through their effervescent action] the fat and cause its elimination even from people who’ve tried everything else without success’. Needless to say, this miracle product also gets rids of cellulite and wrinkles. And stops flatulence.

The Constitutional Court has denied the right of the Andalucian government to make an agreement with Madrid on financial matters independently of the other 16 regions. If the same reasoning is adopted for the Catalan Constitution, there are going to be problems. To say the least.

El Mundo today takes a strong line against the lax British model of multiculturalism and says no woman in Spain should be allowed to hide her face behind a burkha or a niquab. It will be interesting to see whether this sparks a debate on this difficult issue.

That annual farce, the Eurovision Song Contest, is almost upon us again. A columnist in one of Britain’s major newspapers today contrasts the unserious way in which this is approached in the UK with the diametrically opposed way in which EU legislation is received there – As the EU celebrates its 50th birthday this week, we appear to be among the few who continue to take the rules seriously. While other members seem to pick and choose, sniggering at those regulations that don't suit their interests, we bury our farmers and fishermen in a drift tide of red tape. We absorb every absurdity, while the French, Italians and Spanish do as they please, mocking our rigid adherence to central diktat. Maybe we should take a lesson from Eurovision and lighten up on the EU, refuse to treat it with reverence, sit back and revel in its pompous self-importance.

Galicia Facts and Perspectives

Of the 194 people arrested in connection with last August’s dreadful fires, only 5 have been imprisoned or sent to psychiatric units. The rest appear to have been released without charge.

Last year, in this poor region of Spain, 8,000 Galicians underwent plastic surgery. Of these, 2,000 were men. Though possibly not when the surgery was over.

I see the British government is advertising for a Consul in Galicia. Here’s the ref. for those interested. They haven't called me yet, despite my perfect qualifications.