Round-the-clock boozing is a big issue in the UK at the moment, where many are concerned that the proposed relaxation of the licensing laws will simply lead to more of the atavistic binge drinking for which the UK is now infamous. The Spanish equivalent of this is the botellón, which is street drinking by young people from midnight to 8am. It rarely involves violence but is always accompanied by a great deal of noise and a fair bit of vomiting. Understandably, affected residents want something done about it. Here in Pontevedra, the local council pronounced last week that this is a global problem to which no one has yet found a solution. In other words, “Tough shit.” So the residents took to the streets this weekend and blocked the traffic for 15 minutes by walking backward and forwards across one of the zebra crossings. As this is a death-defying strategy in Spain, feelings are clearly running high.

One of Spain’s leading banks – the BBVA – is under attack from a construction company which is trying to gain control via an increased shareholding. The fascinating thing about this is that everyone here seems to think it’s quite normal for the socialist government to use its ‘friends’ in the construction company to gain influence over a major financial institution. Likewise, no one seems to object to the wholesale clear-out of previous occupants of senior positions in the government owned TV companies. All part of a patronage culture, I suppose.

The President, Mr ‘Bambi’ Zapatero has said that there will be no deal with the Basque terrorist group ETA until they renounce violence and turn in their arms. Their immediate response was a car bomb in one of the Basque cities. Some see this as the last gasp of a shattered and demoralised organisation and one can only hope this is true.

On a more trivial plane, one of the country’s leading cosmetic surgery companies has initiated a remarkably direct advertising campaign. This centres on having some of the country’s most beautiful women pronounce “Yes, I too have had cosmetic surgery and now feel better and more attractive.” The chances are that this is a bare-faced lie but no doubt the campaign will be effective. As ever, evidence of any sort of feminist reaction to this is conspicuous by its total absence.