Britain and Spain appear to be converging at ever greater speed. A day or so after reporting the statistics on young[ish] Galicians still living with their parents, I read that “Britain is turning into a nation of 'mummy's boys' who cannot afford to leave the parental home. Exorbitant house prices, student debts, modest first-time salaries and a love of home comforts means many young men live with their parents into their thirties. 60% of men in England aged 20-24 were living with their parents in 2006, 8% more than in 1991. 39% of women of the same age were still at home, an increase of 7%. Almost a quarter of men are still at home until their 29th birthday, with one in 10 clinging on into their mid-thirties”.

And today the British press is full of articles on how much noisier the country now is. Witness – “An Englishman's home is no longer his castle. As lorries rattle down residential streets and lanes, aeroplanes roar overhead, rowdy barbecues take place over the garden fence and teenagers yell on our doorstep, our castles are being invaded by constant and unwanted noise. The British are used to living cheek by jowl. But, in the past, we were aware that, in order to keep the peace, we had to have consideration for others. We have quite enough laws in this country and need no more against noise. What we do need, though, are better manners.” Britain, of course, used to be famous for its manners. I’m not sure this can be said of Spain. Or of my noisy neighbours.

On the other hand - Another example of Spanish nobility – “Valencia's fans applauded Chelsea off the field”.

Finally, the first of a series - Random Quotes from Gerard Brenan’s South From Granada, written about his time in an Andalucian village in the 1920s:- The reader will not find much overt praise in this book. I have simply put down what I can remember having seen and have taken it for granted that no one is going to find in Spain a model country like Sweden or Switzerland, conditioned by the rhythm of its machines but, on the contrary, one which has up to now insisted on preserving a certain modicum of anarchy and non-compliance. How long this is going to continue, I cannot say.

Is it obvious I’ve lost my notepad?