Yet another sunny day. This must surely rank as the best Galician September in recorded history. Although we did have a few drops of rain during Sunday night, they say.

Returning briefly to the issue of personal abuse in Spain, specifically to the conundrum of how the Spanish can be simultaneously both respectful/noble and rude towards each other. . . It’s a feature of Spanish society that most people never move far away from their place of birth and, therefore, from people they’ve known all their lives. I guess, then, it’s possible that – just as in Liverpool – the culture thrives on friends insulting each other. But, like everything else I write, this is just what it says on the label – a thought from Galicia. Incidentally, a Spanish friend told me last night of a highly popular program on Channel 5 here – Escenas de Matrimonio - which showcases rudeness between partners. So, essential viewing for those seriously interested in this subject. I dipped into it last night and can confirm it’s premised on exaggeration of reality.

I’d guess it’s not compulsory for town halls across the UK to fly the Union Jack. And I imagine that, if it were, there might just be a few problems in Scotland and Wales. Though probably not Northern Ireland. As for flying the flag in one’s own garden, I used to think this was actually illegal but this may not be true now. I mention all this only as background to a rumbling dispute here as to whether town halls across Spain – especially in her troublesome ‘nationalist’ regions – should be forced to obey the law obliging them to sport the Spanish flag on their poles. The government shows no sign of doing this and the right-wing opposition is trying to take political advantage of its stance, especially among those who fear it’s evidence of Spain’s slow break-up. On this, I’m sympathetic to President Zapatero. It would, I suppose, be better to scrap the law than see it being ignored but I doubt this is politically feasible either. Masterful inactivity selects itself.

Talking of nationalist regions – A reader has kindly provided the text of a speech by a management consultant which describes what he calls the Celtic Style of Management. If your Spanish is up to it, this makes for an entertaining read. I hadn’t known that amongst other things we should thank the Celts for is the invention of soap. I do know it’s an irony that the man who most exemplifies the approach described – the founder of Zara - was not born and raised in Celtic Galicia but in non-Celtic Castile. Which should make him a colonising imperialist to some Galician Nationalists.

Sky News yesterday gave us as a major item a report that David Beckham was returning to the UK because his father was ill. Could there be anything more indicative of its distorted values? Maybe Rupert Murdoch has shares in the company running the car parks at Heathrow airport.

To end on a positive note – whatever postures the respective national media have adopted, it’s been encouraging to see British letter writers criticising Lewis Hamilton and their Spanish counterparts having a go at Fernando Alonso. Perhaps it’s a sane world after all.

Then again, Google's Blogger is back to giving me instructions/advice in a mixture of German and English.