So, good news for nationalists everywhere - Belgium looks ever closer to breaking up. That said, Wallonia might not last long as a separate entity, as 54% of the French are reported to favour its annexation. Flanders, on the other hand, could well remain independent. Or form a confederation with the Dutch. A British politician points out, firstly, that The countries which do best, these days, are small, agile ones, and, secondly, that Among nations, as among individuals, it is those who are made dependent on grants which suffer most. One inevitably wonders whether Cataluña, the Basque Country and Galicia would fare differently against these criteria. And I suspect the perception of fit amongst the populace would largely determine the outcome of any referendum on independence. As in Scotland, perhaps, where only 25% are currently said to favour this.

There are statues and paintings of a wide array of Blessed Virgins in Spain. One of the oddest must be the picture of the Virgin of the Fly in the sacristy of Toro’s main church. If you go to see this, be sure to take a look at the fabulous ivory and tortoiseshell carving in the same place. Astonishing workmanship.

It was in this church that I witnessed another example of what I always refer to as Spanish individualismo. Or easy disregard for rules. The church’s most famous feature is a marvellous 13^th century, Romanesque portico on which everyone seems – to me at least – to be smiling. You get to it through a door on which there’s a large sign forbidding photography. Despite this, a guy in his 60s had to be loudly reminded of this as he was about to snap the portico. “Just a little one?”, he unsuccessfully pleaded. And then spent the next five minutes moaning to his wife about pointless authoritarian attitudes.

In a related sort of way – I was amused to see the Spanish king telling the insufferable Venezuelan president, Chaves, to shut up during last week’s Iberian-South American Summit. My guess was that, far from being scandalised at this shocking breach of protocol, most Spanish people would be full of praise for his action. And so it seems. El Mundo had an editorial yesterday headed ‘The king puts Chaves in his place.’ Which does seem to be the majority view. By a long chalk.

It was reported last week that the feared result of a new Italian law would be the departure of hundreds of Rumanian gypsies in the direction of Spain. This comes at a time when our local press is warning us of the re-appearance on our streets of ‘deaf-and-dumb’ Rumanians collecting for a fictitious charity. Things could be worse; from the Costa del Sol comes a report that “gangs of Kosovans, Albanians and Romanians have targeted the chalets of Britons and other foreigners, wrongly believing them all to be rich.” This risk, it’s said, will rise as unemployment grows as the result of the recession in the construction industry. Which, by the way, is now being described as ‘faster and less gentle’ than predicted. What a surprise.

Galicia Facts

The bees in the north of our region are of the European variety, whereas down south they’re African. However, I can vouch for the fact they all buzz in Gallego.

A supermarket chain, Gadis, has made a bit of a stir with an ad whose strap line is Let’s live like Galicians. As it’s rather self-mocking, I guess it comes under the heading of Galician retranca humour. But I’m sure someone will let me know, if I’m wrong. You can see it here, complete with helpful but hilarious English subtitles.

Finally, click here for an alternative view of Norman Mailer, who was naturally lionised in the anti-American Spanish media. Never having read any of his books, I wouldn’t know where the truth lies.