This morning's serious radio discussion centred on how much room for manoeuvre the Spanish government has in facing its economic challenges. Not much, apparently. Coincidentally, the author of this article suggests that the end of a property boom and a credit crunch don't necessarily lead to a recession. They haven't in the United States and they won't, he says, in the UK. Because, in each case, a sharp fall in the value of the country's currency - plus an appropriate bank rate - have led or will lead to an exports-driven boom. For Spain - locked into currency and bank rates which bear no relation to its economic performance - these are options which are simply not available. Which rather endorses the point made in the radio discussion. So, are people in Germany still getting shut of their Euros printed in Italy? If so, will Spanish notes be next?

You'd have to be an optimist to set up a new airline anywhere right now. And un mega super optimista to do so in Spain, a couple of weeks after a major disaster at Madrid airport. But I bring you . . . Flysur. Which is an Andalucian airline operating - as of today - out of Córdoba. It will fly directly to Barcelona, Bilbao and Vigo. With more cities next year. If it's still in business.

The British couple who kept their neighbours awake all night with their raucous lovemaking have made El Mundo's back page feature, "The Human Zoo". The first line reads- Here we have a happy couple who are too ardent [fogoso]. At least by the prudish [mojigato] standards of the British. I guess we're expected to infer from this that the non-prudish Spanish would all be delighted to be kept awake by the incessant banging of a headboard against their wall. Inter alia. One thing I do know is, if they both suffered fatal heart attacks in the process, we'd be sure to have photos of the naked corpses in the media the following day. Now, that's what I call a progressive society. Nothing mojigatos about us.

Galicia

In Britain, the biggest motoring challenge you face is to find a time during the day or night when there isn't a jam where the M5 and M6 meet outside Birmingham. Here in Pontevedra, it's to find the time when there isn't a legion of learner drivers on the roads, taking their compulsory lessons. I did think this might between 8 and 9 of the morning but, sadly, this isn't so. And - perhaps because they all set out en masse at 8 or 8.30 - it's possible to find yourself in a convoy of these, all proceeding with excess caution, tail-to-tail. Then the only compensation is the amusement arising from watching them demonstrate idiosyncratic signalling and lane discipline as they approach, enter, negotiate and exit the town's now numerous roundabouts. If you're new to driving in Spain, you should learn to make no assumptions about learner driver behaviour on these. Mind, you, much the same can be said for their qualified colleagues.

As predicted, the Xunta lady responsible for language policy has rejected the complaints of Vigo's leading businessmen, seeing them as evidence of the 'mental barriers' she's trying to get rid of. And she told them the use of Gallego would give them added value and a competitive advantage. It strikes me that Vigo must have some piss-poor businessmen if these need to be forced on them by the local government. Though I'm not sure I'd take a career politician's view of the keys to business success over theirs. But it's not all bad; she also gave an assurance that, when the barriers have been knocked down and things equalised [or 'normalised' as it's usually called], then people would be free to choose between Gallego and Spanish. So - coercion now; freedom of choice later. Which I guess is better than Franco's policy.

Finally, I'd like to deny the rumours that I - not ex-President Aznar - am the father of the child of the French Ministress of Justice. And that I am having an affair with the lovely Leticia, after failing to realise who she was because of her nose job.