The cartoonist of the ABC newspaper has something of the Gerald Scarfe about him, in that he can make any of his politician targets look pretty horrific. Today's portrayal of the VP Maria Teresa Fernández de la Vega [to use the short form of her name] is particularly cruel. But she is, to say the least, not terribly photogenic so it's not a particularly tough challenge to make her look grotesque. I appreciate this is not very gallant of me and, of course, none of it is relevant to her political views and her performance. Strange and headmistressy as they are.

En passant, MTFdlV's latest proposal is that 1.2m Spanish emigrants should be given the right to vote by internet in the 2012 elections. I wonder if this will be more or less open to fraud than the current system. But what I don't wonder about is whether the majority are likely to be PSOE [socialist] or PP [conservative] voters. The lady is of the PSOE.

There's a TV channel here which shows local programs throughout Spain. Naturally enough, it's called Localia. One of its ads last night showed a glamorous young woman parking her car below her house and then walking up the connecting stairs first to a sitting room and then to a bedroom, both furnished in a style rather too modern and garish for my tastes. Anyway, in the bedroom, the young lady lay down on a double bed and opened a book. The camera then panned to a second double bed, which struck me as an odd feature for a private bedroom. Until the voice-over revealed the ad wasn't for a furniture company but for a 'motel' on the outskirts of Pontevedra. Which is painted the traditional pink, has a high wall around its car-park, and is called Motel Venus. Only in Spain? By the way, take a second to ponder the incongruity of the young woman throwing herself onto the bed and opening a book. Possibly the first and last time this has happened there. And, if the ladies I've seen crossing the bridge to go into town are anything to go by, I suspect Motel Venus could be prosecuted under Spain's equivalent of the UK's Misrepresentation Act. If there is one. If so, I imagine the place's well-heeled denizens would pay me not to initiate court action. Or have me exiled. If I were lucky.

I've been advised that the name Penitencia that I thought I might have unintentionally fabricated is, in fact, a real one. Readers have since provided some even more unusual - not to say quite incredible - additions.

Galicia Facts

When I was in Madrid a month ago, I was impressed to see some bits of apparatus had been installed in Dos de Mayo square for senior citizens to exercise their muscles on. There's a similar Park Biosaludable in the nearby town of Pontecaldelas, though this one has apparently been commandeered by uppity kids.

The Poio/Pontevedra gypsy spat has continued without a let-up over the past few months, with the families displaced from shacks on the site near my house being vehemently rejected like foreign bodies by one local town after another. The mayor of Poio has now offered them houses close to where their shacks used to be. Leaving one wondering why this couldn't have been done in the first place. No doubt there's a simple answer.

My plea for new members for the Forum of the Anglo Galician Association [AGA] led to a massive increase of three. So the big prize is still available. Looking at the forum this morning, I noted that the ranking for subject views was:-
Food and drink - 175
ISP suggestions - 103
Schools in Pontevedra and La Coruña - 95
Advice about Vigo - 62
Architects - 57
How do I post on the Swapshop? - 46
Joining AGA - 45
British TV - 42
Galician Celtic jewellery - 24

Nice to know that all my exhortations have led to only 45 people being interested in knowing how to join the AGA. But encouraging to see that bon vivants have led to Food & Drink being number 1. Unless they were all looking for ways to get hold of salad cream. Or, worse, Marmite.

Finally, as today is the last day of July, it's appropriate to bid the month a less-than-fond farewell. For the weather has not been great. And today we've had its parting shot in the form of the Atlantic Blanket again. August should be better. But, then, my younger daughter is coming and she's a bit of a jinx. Hey ho. September's usually nice. And quiet, after the end of the first week's Medieval Fair in the old quarter. Which has been a tradition for eight years now.