The ‘old road’ between Pontevedra and Vigo, is reputed to have more than ten Clubs for men looking for a good time. Last week, the largest of these featured in the latest round of the popular Spanish game Let’s Raid the Brothel. Last time this happened, the owner claimed he’d been unaware the twelve illegal immigrants he’d let rooms to were practising prostitution. He’s obviously not a quick learner for the police found another eleven this time round. As so it goes on. All very amusing.

Ahead of the demolition of another six illegal houses in our local gypsy encampment, the owner of a coastal campsite site stepped in with an offer of temporary accommodation for the inhabitants, while the local council finds a better way to fulfil its obligation to re-house them. But within 24 hours they were asked to leave and have now been placed in various hotels along the coast. This will surely do nothing for the reputation of the gypsies. Nor to ease the widespread terror of having them as neighbours. Nor to evoke sympathy for the complaint from the gypsies’ leader that they’re suffering ‘unjust social exclusion’. And so it goes on. No wonder the council dragged its feet for years before complying with a court order to demolish the illegal houses.

According to a survey among Spanish people, 60% of Spanish people don’t trust the results of surveys among Spanish people. 35% of them think Spanish people don’t really say what they think and 25% of them think they don’t understand the subject. So, pick the meat out of that.

The Spanish tax office – which may or may not say what it thinks and understand the subject – says that only 25% of taxpayers ticked the box on their forms allowing a small percentage of their taxes to go to the Catholic Church. It will be interesting to see whether this rises after the current PR campaign.

Anarchy was very big in Spain at the start of the 20^th century but there are only a few souls of this ilk these days. These are called antifascistas by some. And squatters by others. Though okupas is probably a more correct term for the latter.

Galicia Facts

The 15 Spanish municipalities with the oldest populations are all here in Galicia. In the uplands of the Lugo and Ourense provinces, to be exact. So, plenty of scope for incoming Brits looking for a bucolic idyll. Possibly at a reduced price right now.

Finally . . . If you’ve just bought a house in Galicia and are considering the central heating options, my advice would be to resist the blandishments of anyone offering an underfloor system. I’m sure they’re wonderful for, say, Norway’s permanently ice-cold winter but, in our variable-temperature season, they’re rather inappropriate. Pretty useless, in fact. Particularly if they’re driven by a boiler which dies every time the north wind rises above 5km an hour.