Those Funny Spaniards 7; Greece; Lions v Loins; To trust or not to trust; Menus; & Personalities.

Over the past few months, I've noted here more than 200 aspects of Those Funny Spaniards. Astonishingly, I managed to miss one or two of the most important. So, here are 6 more:

• They're gratifyingly tactile, e. g. the lovely young doctor who rubbed my back as I left Salamanca hospital.
• As well as being very sociable, they're instinctively friendly.
• Nearly all Spanish women are blonde.
• They're not terribly prompt. They call the promptness habit hora britanica.
• They operate an impressive 'honour system' when ordering and (later) paying for drinks

Greece: A dialogue of the deaf appears to be reaching its endgame, with the possibility of a Grexit being higher than ever. My guess is this is the first time those who run the supranational organisations have been up against a government which either believes in democracy or fears that caving in will lead to revolution. Or both, of course.

You couldn't make it up: This is a tweet about the woman killed by a lion in her car: Very sad but there are warning signs. These loins are not hand-raised pets. They are wild animals following their instincts.‬ Speak for your own loins, was my reaction.

I mentioned yesterday the robbery at my house a month ago. Inevitably, I'm now embroiled in a fight to get the insurance company to give me more than a fraction of my loss. The latest development is that I have to go to the police for the 3rd time to have them correct an initial error in their description of my two Iranian coins so that the company will consider my claim for at least one of them. As I said to someone only this week, this is a low-trust society and neither claimants nor insurance companies believe the other for a second. One result is the emphasis on exactly what your denuncia to the police says. On other occasions it's a notary. One explanation of why there's so much paper in Spanish society and why there's the world papeleo.

Having translated the menu of my favourite tapas bar, I was a bit miffed to see the printed version contained Grilled razor shells; Corned[Cured] beef; and Tit Mousse. So, to save my reputation - and to avoid further customer confusion - I yesterday changed all the offending items by hand. Which may not make me very popular.

Here in Galicia, a new type of B&B has been opened on the Lugo coast - an ex-lighthouse. Noisy Spanish neighbours won't be a problem.

Finally . . . Yesterday I amused myself by choosing from a series of fotos and getting this summary of my personality: Strong character. Reasonable. Sociable. And extraordinary! It's a bit of nonsense, of course. Or is it? For this is what came next: Due to your strong character, you're a role model for many. You stay true to your principles and have the guts to stand by it. It's in your nature to stand up for the weaker ones, because justice is one of your main concerns. You can't take conflicts very good. If two people are fighting, you're usually the impartial third party trying to meditate between the two and restore the harmony for the greater good. With which I don't have much of a problem. Though my daughters might. Not to mention my friends. Especially Alfie. Click here if you're tempted.