It had to happen, of course. Following in the wake of Cataluña, the Scottish Prime Minister has said his government will seek to replace .co.uk with .sco in internet domain names. But he’s in for a shock; I’ve already registered it for Merseyside. Being short for Scouse, of course.

I’ve noted a few times that Spain lacks the hysteria surrounding paedophilia that prevails in the UK. On the other hand, it’s beginning to seem that in this - as in other things - attitudes in Spain may be rather too relaxed. The media there has recently been featuring the case of a man who had committed two assaults but had never been jailed and who then went on to kill a young girl. And this, it’s said, is not a unique case of judicial leniency. Understandably, calls are now being made for a tougher response to convictions.

The bursting of the property bubble - Home owners could see 25% wiped off the value of their properties within two years, a leading economist has warned. ‘It is‘, he said ‘entirely plausible that the credit squeeze, financial markets' turbulence and sliding consumer confidence could lead to house prices falling by a quarter. No, not Spain but the UK. In the former, there’s a widespread view that - despite identical factors - a collapse in prices has never happened before so it can’t happen now. Needless to say, having lived through two before this one, I am not so sanguine.

When it comes to estimating Spain’s economic growth this year, you can basically pick your own number. The Finance Minister is sticking with something near 3.0%; The FT and others have reduced theirs to 2.5% or less; and now El Mundo tells us today that internal government predictions will be down to 1.8% by the end of the year. Not an exact science, economics. So, your guess is as good as mine. The paper adds that 80,000 small shops will close but, if these are estate agents, I don’t suppose many of us will care much.

I went to get a key duplicated in West Kirby last week and was rather taken aback when the chap said that, as it was patented, copying it would be illegal. That said, I do know one pharmacy in Pontevedra that won’t give you prescription items without the necessary bit of paper. The others are more obliging.

Back here in Hoylake, there’s a bar offering tapas options after 5pm. I doubt I’ll be giving it a try. For one thing, I can guarantee the prices will stretch credulity. But I might take a look at the menu. Just for a good laugh.

It’s amazing how links can arise. My brother-in-law told me last night that demolition of an unused synagogue in Liverpool had been suspended because some quango felt “not enough has been done to explore the possibility of its use by other religions“. As he said, there’s only one religion that’s growing at the moment and it’s hardly reasonable to expect Jews to open negotiations with its representatives. And then, this morning, El Mundo hits us with the report that the Vatican has admitted for the first time there are now more Muslims in the world than Catholics. Never mind Jews.

It’s a funny old world. Unless you get caught up in the Jewish-Muslim conflict, of course.