The inflation rate here has virtually doubled in the last three months, from 2.1% to 4.1%. You could hardly blame the Spanish for being conscious of this but the Economy Minister has come up with a novel explanation of why they might be guilty of over-sensitivity. They are, he says, still confused by the change from pesetas to euros in 2002 and are grossly over-tipping on small items such as their daily coffee. As the Spanish have the reputation of being among the worst tippers in the world, this will surely have come as good news to all the hard-working café and bar staff throughout the country. And quite possibly as a complete surprise as well.

Another indication of how close our general elections are is the announcement that the current tax on CDs and DVDs will be reduced by one of the parties. Can’t recall which one now. But they’re obviously after the youth vote. Or ‘yoof’, as it’s called in the UK. Spanish equivalent?

And the third amusing political announcement of the last few days is that, given the enormous rises in prices of certain foodstuffs, we should all consider rabbit for our Christmas dinner. I, on the other hand, am researching Korean recipes for barking dogs.

But the worst announcement of the week must surely have been Al Queda’s statement that it still plans to return Al Andalus to Islamic rule. Just in case you’re not au fait, the modern term for this state, which passed away in the 15^th century, is ‘Spain’.

And talking of territorial aspirations, I see Kosovo is still on track for the independence that’s supported by most of the EU states - though not, of course, by Spain. There will then be the problem of what to do with the northern bit of Kosovo which is populated by Serbs. Not to mention the bits of Bosnia and of Croatia where the same applies. If we’re going to have self-determination all round, then these must surely be given the chance to secede as well. If not, why not? The same question will arise in respect of Navarra, if the Basque Country eventually leaves the Spain to which many of its inhabitants claim it never belonged in the first place. And I don’t just mean the cowardly ETA psychopaths who think this can be achieved via bombs and nape-of-the-neck ‘executions’. It’s an ever more complicated world. Especially in Europe, where the EU superstate pulls in one direction and would-be free nation-lets pull in the other. Perhaps the answer is a World Federation of states in which English is the only permitted language. Roll on Nirvana.

Meanwhile, Spain’s National Court is not to proceed with the prosecution of Fidel Castro for genocide because it turns out that, as a head of state, he is immune. Which must have taken a lot of pre-trial research.

Which reminds me . . . I listened over the weekend to an interesting podcast from Notes from Spain about psychopaths who plan to travel around Spain on pedal bikes. This was a bit confusing – not to mention worrying - until, at the end of the broadcast, the name of the relevant web page was spelt out – www.spanishcyclepaths.com These Americans and their English pronunciation!