Odd headline; Patience runs out at the doctor's; Germans on and in Greece; & A funny seagull.

A fascinating headline, raising all sorts of questions: Pamplona fest ends with no fatal gorings; man dies elsewhere.

I went to see my doctor today, to talk about problems in getting a prescription filled. The time of my appointment, as ever, was an unusual one - 10.46. But I got there 5 minutes early as I knew 10 of us would have been given the same time and there was just a chance I'd be first. To my surprise, the waiting area was jam-packed. And there was no sign of doctor activity. What usually happens is that each doctor emerges after a consultation to call out the name of the next patient. Some of the doctors post a list on the wall and there was one such available. But my name wasn't on it. After a while, doctor activity began and patients started going into their offices. I couldn't help but notice that the substitute (female) doctor for my doctor had turned into a male but I wasn't too worried about that. What did concern me was that my name wasn't being called by any of the 3 doctors on duty. And what amused me was that every time one of them called out 3 names, no one responded. So, a 100% no-show record. After an hour or so of this surreal farce, I decided to leave and ask my doctor neighbour for a prescription. This is against the rules but, hey, this is Spain and rules are for other folk. Those without connections. Needless to say, she was happy to give me what I needed. All's well that ends well.

During my hour or so of waiting - and reading - there was a little incident which demonstrated my oft-cited claim that the Spanish are, at the same time, rather inconsiderate of others but, at the same time, the world's best apologisers. When I went up to check the list on the wall, I left a magazine on my chair. As I returned, I saw a woman remove it and put in on the adjacent chair. As I picked it up to sit down, she said she hadn't realised it was my chair and apologised profusely. I said it didn't matter but, nonetheless, she got up and went to sit elsewhere. Next to her husband. Don't ask me.

More seriously . . . It's been suggested that the Germans know all about corruption in 'dishonest, lying, lazy' Greece because it's mainly German companies who've indulged in it. And on a massive scale. See here.

Talking of Germany . . . Here's a blog which highlights a fascinating prediction made by a lawyer there in 1997. It also lists the Ten Big Lies Told to Germans to Keep the European Dream Alive. Rather chilling, if not totally surprising.

Finally . . . Seagulls are rarely amusing but here's one that's raised a lot of laughs.