Spanish banking; The Inquisition; Spanish enemies; Spanish kissing; & A Rapa das Bestas.

In Spain, the devil takes the hindmost, capitalism is at least pink in tooth and claw, and consumer orientation is just an infant. All of which is background to a complaint that my bank failed to tell me last year that a deposit had matured and that I'd get no interest on it until I went in and extended it. Ultimately it's all my fault, of course, for not being on the ball. But it's a tad tiring to stay on said ball for everything and with everyone. So, I've done the only sensible thing and shifted the deposit to another bank. And put a note on the fridge re renewal or liquidation. Don't have a smartphone to shout at me on the right day. Just magnets.

The Spanish Inquisition - expected or not - was not all bad. In 1568 it sentenced all Dutchmen to death, with only one or two exceptions. But it did fail to follow through on this and for this it should stay in the doghouse.

Which reminds me . . . I mentioned the other day those Spaniards who dislike the Brits for forgetting their military losses and downplaying Spanish victories. Today I quarter-read an article by one of them which argued that Britain and France are still Spain's enemies, in contrast with Germany and Russia, who have always been her allies. I didn't read on to find out exactly how. I suppose every country has its counter-factual nutters.

Spanish women, when proffering their face for the kiss of greeting, do so with their head on a slant. First one cheek and then the other. British women, on the other hand, think they have to kiss the man and so hit you straight on, with lips pursed. Which makes for some fascinating manoeuvres. That said, I bumped into 2 female friends tonight and they had the Spanish technique off pat. But, then, they have lived here for a while.

Every couple of days, I put a load of seeds out for the sparrows and blackbirds. But the latter don't seem to eat seeds and the former - all 40 of them - have been muscled out by a pair of collared doves. Who themselves have been shoved off the feeder by a pair of wood pigeons. Next, orcs?

Finally. . . Just in case you've never heard of it, here's a video of one of Galicia's biggest tourist events - A Rapa das Bestas at Sabucedo. There's actually a host of these taking place during the summer but you won't see a foreigner - except me, perhaps - at any of the others. Apply here for details.