A friend sent me this week a pean of praise to the the humble banana. One quality attributed to it is the ability to make one's shoes shine. Well, the skin anyway. Naturally, I've tried this but as yet am unconvinced. Maybe I'm using the wrong side of the skin. It doesn't come with instructions.

Another tip, from another friend - If you have difficulty getting to sleep, repeat in an irregular pattern the sound th. This advice, of course, will be of no use to all those French folk who can't manage this sound.

An item of news you may have missed - Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedoy was this week elected president of Turkmenistan. The general view was that he got the job because, of the eight candidates standing, his was the easiest name to pronounce .

In Villamayor de Santiago, in Castile-La Mancha, the town's traders decided to sell goods in pesetas as a way of improving business. They succeeded beyond their expectations and I read that now my home town of Pontevedra is thinking of giving it a try. I'd find this more appealing if 1. prices were at the year 2000 level (coffee for 100 pesetas, for example), and 2. if I had any pesetas.

Looking along the Biography shelf of the Oxfam bookshop today, I was pleasantly surprised to see a pristine copy of Lavengro, penned by the (in)famous author of The Bible in Spain - George Borrow. At 3.99, a snip.

Finally . . . It being Friday, my cantankerous friend, Alfred B. Mittington has posted his recipe for home-made mayonnaise, whilst contemptuously dismissing the opinions of everyone else on this challenge. Click here for the details. Followed by more details.