So, John Sergeant has removed himself from the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing program because of a serious risk the perverse British public would defy the judges and vote him to victory in a few weeks time. For those that don’t know, Sergeant is to dancing what Ghengis Khan was to pony trekking. Or what Stevie Wonder would be to needlepoint, perhaps. He has about as much skill as the ex bullfighter I saw on the Spanish version of the program a few weeks ago but - because of his entertainment value - is highly popular with the audience. The difference is that, whereas Sergeant is regularly savaged by the judges for his terpsichorean incompetence, the bullfighter was lavished with praise simply, it seemed, for being able to stay upright while shuffling around the floor. Something to do with greater respect for ex toreros than for retired political commentators, I guess.

If you’ve been following the saga of The Economist v. the Catalan government, you’ll know that, apart from seeking an apology from the former, the latter has said it will counter international ignorance and disinformation about the Catalan region/nation via an increased number of ‘embassies’ overseas. Which seems an odd thing to be doing in the teeth of a recession that could yet be a depression. But needs must, I guess. And, if scientists can make a new windpipe from a few cells and delineate the genetic profile of a woolly mammoth, maybe they can help out by cloning Dr Goebbels.

Galicia

With petrol prices now falling almost as rapidly as they rose a while back, the question being [re]raised is why the stuff is around 6% more here than in most of the rest of Spain. The suppliers say they have to pay one cent on each litre to the Galician Social Security as a healthcare levy. Which is fine but that still leaves at least another five cents unaccounted for. Perhaps they’ll come clean and tell us it has to be paid to the Galician Petrol Cartel.

I wondered out loud a few months ago whether the mistaken installation of the electricity meter on top of a new wall would be rectified before the house was occupied, by re-locating it in the wall. Well, this photo seems to confirm that they took the easier route of modifying the fence to go round it. Though I assume the cables going in and out of it really are temporary. We should know before the owners take up occupation some time within the next ten years. Having paid around 500,000 euros for the place four years ago. Which must have seemed like a good idea way back then.


The WiFi internet connection I get via my Catalan neighbours has been very slow over the last 24 hours. My guess is they’re doing some heavy film or music downloading. You’d think they’d be more considerate . . .