In his excellent book, Between Hopes and Memories, Michael Jacobs writes this about the Brits who, by the early 90s, had discovered northern Spain – The British who now flock to Cantabria . . . are of a different kind from their counterparts in southern Spain: generally more discreet, more middle-class, more interested in sightseeing. They love the mild climate, the quiet, sandy beaches and the wealth of old churches and pretty villages to be seen on rainy days; and they are delighted by the traditional houses they can hire. Writing now, he’d have to add that this type of Brit has ventured west from Cantabria, into Asturias and Galicia. And they not only hire houses but buy them. Especially near Lugo and Ourense, where they’re still relatively cheap despite rising demand over the last 5 years. Because of my [5 year old!] web page on Galicia, I’m occasionally accused of some responsibility for bringing these folk here. But, given the state of Galicia’s rural communities up in the mountains, I can’t say I feel any guilt. And I’m sure their money is most welcome to the local councils. I’d even lay a large bet most of them learn Gallego as well as Spanish. The Brits, of course. Not the councils, who won’t use anything else.

El Pais is currently highlighting the degradation of Spain’s coast, as part of its coverage of the government’s high-profile demolition campaign. Yesterday, it told us that Almería and Granada have the least built-up but most threatened coastlines and it treated us to evidence by way of aerial photographs of places such as Enix. I guess we can now all easily see for ourselves via Google Earth. At the personal level, it’s reported that luminaries such as Antonio Banderas are at risk of having palatial houses knocked down. Which probably serves them right as they could surely have afforded a lawyer to check on the legality of their properties. As if they needed to.

For those with a deep interest in the Madrid bombing trials and their political significance, here’s a blog which I wish I’d known about before now. I blame the author, Graeme, for hiding his light under a bushel. For those who just want an amusing take, here’s the content of El Mundo cartoon:-
Husband: They’ve announced the trial verdicts.
Wife: Who won? The government or the opposition?

Talking of politicians, I’m willing to pay 100 euros to anyone who can find an edition of El Pais in the last year that doesn’t feature a photo of María Teresa Fernández de la Vega, who is actually only one person and not three. In my estimation, she’s being positioned as Zapatero’s replacement. Which probably proves how little I know of Spanish politics.

If my eyes do not deceive me, the fashion industry is instructing young – and not-so-young – women to wear black and white this autumn/winter. At least here in Pontevedra. Appropriately, these happen to be the colours of sheep.

Finally, that well-known British sceptic, Christopher Booker, says here that global temperatures in the years since 1998 have no longer been rising and may soon even be falling. If so, he adds, the global warming scare will turn out to have been “as great a collective flight from reality as history has ever recorded.” Vamos a ver.