I regularly say one of the main reasons I live in Spain is that it’s a saner society than the UK’s. Truth to tell, it’s not hard to find examples of British lunacy but, anyway, here’s one, from today’s Telegraph:- For eight years, public-spirited June Turnbull has provided the people of Urchbell with a colourful flower display on a small plot at the entrance to the village. She did not think she had been risking more than an aching back and a dent in her purse. Wiltshire City Council, however, knew better. Some safety-conscious official noted the bend in the road, thought of Mrs Turnbull concentrating on her pruning and spotted danger. If she wished to continue to beautify the triangle of land, then she would have to don a fluorescent jacket, put up "men at work" signs and employ someone to watch out for her, insisted the head of the Highways Department. He added, without any apparent hint of irony, that she would also require a licence from the Department granting permission to garden. As for Spain, on Friday night friends challenged me to deny things were heading in the same direction here. Possibly true, I replied, but the pace of change was slow enough to leave me with the comforting thought I’d be long gone before Spanish society turned into anything like the UK’s. That said, I guess it’s always possible the EU behemoth will start demanding that Spain doesn’t just ratify its endless laws but starts implementing and, God forbid, obeying them. At which point, Spain’s intense love affair with the EU might just begin to fray at the edges. Followed by rapid unravelling when the money stops flowing this way.

A UK columnist makes the point that, in the aftermath of the feminist movement, it’s a major irony that “At no time in history has the message been pumped out so forcefully to pre-pubescent girls that the primary import of any woman's life is to be sexually desirable to men. What follows from this message, one suspects, is a brief flurry of coquettish triumphs followed by decades of eating disorders, plastic surgery, and quiet self-loathing”. Well, here in Spain, there’s never been much of a feminist movement and women have never stopped thinking it’s of paramount importance to make yourself attractive to men. It’s true there are eating disorders and massive investment – Europe’s highest – in cosmetic surgery but I don’t get the impression there’s much middle-age female self-loathing here. Perhaps because women are not pulled in two directions at the same time. If I’m wrong [or, worse, being patronising], I’m sure someone will let me know.

At last some good news for Catalans. The unfancied rugby team, the Catalan Dragons, yesterday defeated the league leaders, St Helens. Unfortunately, though, the Dragons operate out of Perpignan in France.

When my daughters and I write to each other, LOL means Lots of love. But, as it was used recently by one of my readers, it must mean something else in cyberspace. I certainly hope so.

Quote of the Day

It’s true that Malloch-Brown has enemies. One of them is his own mouth.

British columnist, William Langley, speaking of a UK Foreign Office minister.