Addictions; Funny names; Changing times; Cakes and ale.

In 2014 average Spanish consumption of alcohol fell to 113 litres a year. Or a measly 31cl a day. Cigarette consumption, on the other hand, rose to 2481 a year, or just under 7 a day. The 'profile' of a smoker is said to be a woman of 45 to 64. From what I see all around me, this should be a female aged 16-95. Other experiences may differ.

A separate headline: Spain leads Europe in the use of cocaine and cannabis. And I thought it was the Brits. Perhaps it is in the UK media.

Talking of the stronger sex . . . Not so long ago, I listed what I felt were rather odd female Spanish names. Well, here's a few strange male names garnered from a book about the 1920s and 30s: Indalecio; Horacio; Segismundo; and Niceto. I don't recall hearing or seeing any of these since I came to Spain. And here's another strange female name: Socorro. It means 'Help'.

And still on women . . . How can I put this? As I crossed the bridge into town yesterday, buffeted by a strong side wind, I was overtaken by a teenager(17?) in her school uniform. So short and loose was her skirt that it lost its battle with the wind at least 20 times. The funny thing was that this clearly didn't perturb the young lady one iota and she made no attempt to - what can one say? - preserve her dignity. Try as I might, I couldn't help wondering whether this would have happened even 10 years ago.

And talking of how society develops . . . When I first came to Pontevedra, you could park for free opposite the station, walk through the carpark and step over a low wall onto the platform, bypassing the building. First, they removed the free parking spaces. Then, they put up a tall metal fence in place of the low wall. Finally, they closed the main doors of the station onto the platform and compelled us to detour 50m so we could (sometimes) put our bags through an X-ray machine. An improvement? Nah. Unless you're employed as the (occasional) X-rayer. Incidentally, I recall the removal of free parking there as  the first step in a relentless program of reducing free parking on the city's streets. Presumably a revenue-related exercise at bottom. But, now they've turfed the gypsies out of their settlement near the station, perhaps the land will be available for free parking. As if. 

Finally . . . I read yesterday that a 175ml glass of wine contains around 160 calories, "the same amount as a slice of madeira cake". As I don't like madeira cake, I feel I can safely ignore this.