Thoughts from Galicia, Spain

It was a noisy lunchtime down in Veggie Square today. First off, there was possibly the worst violin player in the history of the world going from table to table, as if he were some maestro in a Hungarian restaurant. Not content with doing it once, he did it again. Perhaps because no one gave him anything the first time round. I seriously considered giving him 5 euros and telling him to piss off. Then there was the woman at the next table to me who couldn't talk without screeching. It reminded me of Thursday night, when I and two Spanish friends had sat behind a group of 8 Germans who, despite the fact they were all talking, were making scarcely any sound at all. My friends were great impressed at this skill and suggested they must all be lip readers.

Just in case you've been in a cave for the last day or so, here's a video of the Yellow Duckmarine going down in Liverpool's Albert Dock yesterday. Given there were more than 30 people on it, it seems miraculous no one drowned.

If you're au fait with English politics,you'll know who Nigel Farage is and what damage he's causing to the Tory party right now. In an article on him in this month's Prospect magazine, I was intrigued by this comment on the British character. Non Brits may disagree. Especially one down in Portugal - The characteristic that best defines the British people is that they have the finest bullshit detectors in the world. Go to any gathering in Britain - in a pie factory or in a palace, in Brixton or Brixham - the one character trait that we most admire and celebrate is a person’s ability to inhabit their character as proudly and directly and amusingly as possible. It’s the contortions we cannot abide. I guess400 years of democracy have brought us to this point. Or 800, if you count Magna Carta.

Finally . . . Senseless graffiti is the bane of Pontevedra. On the other hand, the good stuff is admirable. And here are some of the latter:-