Well, it's been a while. And, in the interim, my faithful companion Ryan has moved on to pastures celestial, after a mere 17 years. Will I now get a galgo?


I find myself in the UK, at the house of my younger daughter, Hannah, in Leeds, where the temperature reaching an unseasonal high of twenty-something has prompted the first - and possibly last - BBQ of the year. And the inevitable warnings of a drought from the newspapers. Which made it all the more surreal that I should first have had to help remove Hannah's Christmas tree from her sitting room.


Talking of daughters . . . Here's Faye's message about her novel The Second Death of Juan La Roca.


And talking of Galicia, I leave you today with a few questions from one reader which other readers might like to address:-


1. What are  the  main reasons  given by  those Galicians in favour of autonomy, and the  main reasons given by those who are  not in favour  of autonomy .


2. What are the  views  of  the central government  about autonomy, and even independence, for Galicia?

3. What proportion of Galicians are in favour of autonomy or independence?

4. Is the trend towards autonomy/independence  increasing or decreasing?

5. Do the views of the older generation and younger generation  significantly differ ?

6. Do the views differ between Galicians in the rural areas compared to those in  the urban areas?

7. What is the current  Galician position regarding bullfighting? –  will there be a referendum on the matter ?