A prominent British theatre director has said cinema producers are even bigger liars than politicians seeking election. As I wearily flick through the 10-20 pages of electoral coverage in every paper I open, I wonder whether this can possibly be true. A party in Andalucia has gone so far as to promise free Viagra for inmates of the region’s jails. Presumably they’ve already got conjugal rights. If not, they could soon be using anything to hand to chip away at the walls.

A drug-taking anaesthetist who infected 275 of his patients with Hepatitis C has been jailed for 1,933 years and ordered to pay compensation of 20m euros. But it seems he’s likely to serve only 20 and the local government might have to cough up the money. Odd.

More and more data is leaking into the public domain about the financial affairs of the popular songstress/diva and her politician partner accused of money-laundering down in Andalucia. As ever, one wonders how they could have kept 10 million euros in 36 accounts without anyone noticing or caring. But it’s pretty clear they thought they were above the law – an opinion which, until recently, was evidently justified. What’s also obvious is that she’s getting a wave of public sympathy for the ‘harassment’ she’s suffering. Which says a lot.

In the same case, the mastermind of the operation under investigation has explained some of his wealth as a consequence of his extraordinary luck in various lotteries. He has, it seems, been blessed with 80 wins during his lifetime. 50 of these during the last 15 years. No wonder he gathered a lot of hangers-on around him. Presumably the tax authorities – if they ever spoke to him – found his explanation not just enviable but also perfectly acceptable. You and I should have such two-pronged luck.

More home-grown resistance to Spain’s infamously high noise levels. Or Pontevedra’s at least. A group of residents in our old quarter has formed a society which is planning to sue the bar owners and the ‘negligent’ council, whom they hold responsible for their inability to get any sleep every Friday and Saturday night of the year. And every night of the week during the summer months. Who can blame them? Especially as the old quarter has become one vast bar-cum-nightclub since it was closed to traffic 7 years ago.

I can’t recall a single criticism of the EU in over 6 years here in Spain. On the contrary, it’s regularly lauded as a source and protector of ‘cohesion’ and ‘equality’. Translated, these mean ‘We’ve had oodles of cash over 20 years; we’re getting lots more over the next 7 years; and we want it to keep coming after that’. Not surprisingly, then, there’s concern here that President Sarkozy has changes in mind that threaten ‘cohesion’ and ‘equality’ in France’s favour. Dread thought. No country should be allowed to act merely in it own interests. Or at least not unless it’s under the umbrella of the magic words.

I came across a new English word today – the superciliati. I suspect the membership might include me.