As you might expect, Spanish football supporters veer from wild optimism to deep pessimism as regards the chances of their team in any international competition. The European Championship starting today is no exception and the mood is currently muted. Or so it seems to me. But here’s an article from the UK press suggesting this might be unjustifiable. I certainly hope so.

And here, from the same paper, is an article which should be of interest to those who’ve got either experience of or plans for the camino to Santiago de Compostela. Especially if, like me, they adore suckling pig and roast lamb - the eating of which I always find to be a religious experience. Like taking a collection.

I was rather taken aback to see reports of the exhibition of bullfighting in the EU HQ in Brussels this week. And then amused to read Daniel Hannan’s take on this [misguided?] venture. My own view of bullfighting fluctuates between the extremes of loving it for its cultural significance and hating it for its appalling cruelty. If only I could just get on the fence and sit there. And talking of fences and bulls . .

The Spanish Minister for Housing insists that, unless you’re a vile, greedy speculator, it’s the perfect time to buy a property in Spain, as prices are now only rising in line with inflation. I don’t know what world she’s living in but the words ‘pissing’ and ‘wind’ spring to mind. Not to mention ‘lying’, ‘desperate’ and ‘imbecile’.

Galicia Facts

The official date for completion of the Madrid-Galicia high-speed train [the AVE] has long been 2012. I’d doubt there’s a single person in the population of almost 3m who believes this. So why the large headlines in yesterday’s press which greeted the relevant minister’s suggestion this deadline might just be missed? Slow news day, I guess. My bet is 2105. At the earliest.

This is the web site of an organisation called Galicia Bilingüe. You can probably guess what its objectives are. It wouldn’t surprise me to hear it’s a front organisation for that old right-wing manipulator, Manuel Fraga. Or even that it’s run by Franco from the grave. Anyway, I will post tomorrow a translation of the front-page article by Roberto Blanco Valdés.

Finally – A couple of blog postscripts:

1. Some readers will have realised it wasn’t necessary for the brothel called Club Tu & Yo to modify the ‘&’ so as to become Club Tony. They just had to turn the ‘u’ upside down.

2. If there are any other readers insulted by my apologising for saying something positive about Spain, I should stress this was a bit of ironic self-criticism.