Reading a report about some local arrests this morning, I noted that, when the police tried to nab the miscreants, they took off and fled. Or, in the Spanish original, they emprendieron la marcha y huyeron. Which is 4 syllables versus 12. This is, of course, a fair reflection of the main difference between Anglo society - where time is important and people never have enough of it - and Spanish society, where time is not so important and people have oodles of it. Quite a paradox. But you do need a lot of time when you like to talk and it takes you three times longer to say what you want to say than others. Or only twice as long if you talk at the speed of light. And shout.

Andrew Hagan expatiates here on the sad death of the British pub. A taster - The European-style café culture that New Labour fantasises about will never be possible while British publicans demonstrate such utter contempt for responsible drinking and the social rudiments of drinking pleasure.

I regularly say British society is now quite insane. And who can doubt it when a self-employed decorator is fined for smoking inside his own van because it's classed as a workplace? Personally, I detest smoking but believe people should be free to damage their lungs anywhere where it doesn't affect me. When will the British people rise up and slaughter the jobsworths who are making their life a misery? Is it too much to hope that a change of government will bring to an end the Age of the Bureaucrat? Probably.

And still on British [and Spanish] society - Reader Colin has cited this Times article which suggests the percentages of young men availing themselves of the services of prostitutes are 1 and 25 in Britain and Spain, respectively. Which will probably merely confirm to Spanish readers that the British are repressed and hypocritical. Especially when it comes to sex.

You hear some odd, religiously-inspired names for women here in Spain - though I guess nothing is as strange to Anglo ears as Jesus - but last night I heard Adoración for the first time. Right up there with Imaculada, Penitencia and Transustanciación. Though I think I might have made up the last one. And possibly the second one as well. Hard to say.

Galicia Facts

A letter in today's Voz de Galicia begins - "Ahora ya no basta con conocer el idioma gallego. !Agora hay que falalo por narices!" And it ends - "Si los señores Touriño y Quintana están tan seguros de que eso es lo que queremos los gallegos, que hagan un referendo en Galicia sobre la guerra de lenguas que han provocado. Sería una forma determinante de acabar con este esquizofrenia." In between, the writer voices the irritation I've heard expressed many times by totally bi-lingual friends who object to being prevented from speaking the language they prefer, especially to those who fully understand them. And who would possibly be just as disappointed as Anglo friends were to drive 6km up a mountain track to see an old gold mine near Lugo, only to find all the information there was solely in Gallego. I write this on the eve of an announcement from the Nationalist holder of the Culture post in the Xunta who is about to give us a Catalan-like law on what language must be used by shopkeepers. As I've said, I suspect the politicians are under-estimating the resentment all this is causing among Galicians who are proud to be both Gallego and Spanish and to speak both languages fluently. And harmoniously. They resent the interference in their lives and could well display this in the ballot boxes next year. But we will see.

As for these elections - the President of the Xunta - said Señor Touriño - has declined to say he won't bring them forward, insisting he will do this if it is in the interests of Galicia. Yeah. Right. Not in the interests of his party, then?

As I mentioned Pontevedra's lovely little Peregrina chapel the other day - as nestling behind the café eyesore - I thought I'd post a full view.

And as we're doing photos, here's one of my Catalan neighbour's swimming pond. Her grandchildren did arrive from Barcelona a couple of weeks ago and chemicals were duly chucked into the pool but with limited effect. Galicia, as you can see, is a pretty green place but few spots achieve quite this verdant hue.


Finally - Membership of the Anglo Galician Association web forum has soared to 44. Anyone can visit and there's a big cash prize for the 50th person to log on as a member. Honest. What's stopping you? You can decide later if you want to go on the circulation list of the Association itself. And be regularly bothered by me.