The Princess Cristina imbroglio gets curiouser and curiouser. A couple of days ago the Tax Office announced it had information that she'd sold 13 properties around the country in 2005-2006 for 1.4m euros. Allegedly, this is either tax evasion or money laundering, one or the other. But some say there might have been human error on the part of either the Tax Office or one or more notaries. The professional association of the latter has erupted in anger at the mere suggestion, labelling it 'infamous'. So we wait on more developments in this increasingly surreal saga. Possibly the announcement that, even if the princess did commit offences in 2005-6, these are now proscribed by the passage of time.

In a recent poll of confidence in Spanish institutions, only the Guardia Civíl, the police and the armed forces got the vote of more than 50% of the people. As for the others:-

The media: 48%

The ombudsman: 39%

The monarchy: 37%

The (RC) Church: 36%

The judiciary: 35%

The government: 24%

The political parties: 18%

The only one that really surprised me here was the low rating of the judiciary. Perhaps this is explained by the writer of a letter to El País today who felt that the country's vast corruption problem would not be resolved until the judiciary were truly independent. I suspect most Spaniards would agree.

Listening to a discussion on same-sex marriage today - two Christians and a Muslim - the latter put forward the argument that God abominated homosexuality and that permitting gays to marry would lead to the end of society as these marriages could not produce children, which was the essence - indeed obligation - of Islam. I wondered how he would go about showing me - even in theory - that allowing gays to marry would mean one less child in the world. Perhaps he thinks all we straights would be desperate to marry someone of our own sex once we got the chance. Or that gays, deprived of what they really wanted, would settle for 'normal' marriage and then - religiously - apply themselves to breeding. As if.

Talking of nonsense, I was reminded today that there's more than one daft myth that supports a pilgrimage business. Back in the UK, Glastonbury is thought, by some, to be the place where Joseph of Arimathea set up the first Christian church. And there are those who even believe Jesus preached there. As with the Santiago de Compostela myth, there's not the slightest bit of evidence for either of these. But why let truth get in the way of a good walk and an uplifting spiritual experience. As the trinket sellers are wont to say. Especially in Lourdes. Where they have their own street.

Listening to Google - coincidentally a little besieged at the moment - saying they're planning to take down child abuse sites, I had the same question as I had for France when it announced it would take action against ETA terrorists on its territory, having done nothing for decades - Why on earth has it taken you so long?

I mentioned yesterday that Brazil far outclassed Spain in showing/exploiting the female form on TV. Not only that, the featuring of blood and gore in Brazil also puts Spain in the shade. Ditto with groinding. I never would have believed it possible.

The latest bit of gerund appropriation - El picking. Goods selection in a warehouse. Also called El packing, it seems.

Finally . . . In the 12 years I've been driving into town via Paseo Colón, I've never seen any car be given a ticket for the illegal parking there that turns a 3-lane road into a 1-lane slalom. In fact, I followed a police car through this last night when nothing was done about it. Perhaps someone could explain this to me one day. Are some rules regarded as inconvenient not only by the punters but also by the police? "Too much paperwork, Gov." If so, the trick is to know which these are.