Good to see that the Gibraltar row has been downgraded to page 13 or so, after the British government gave a written undertaking to have its sub back at sea by Wednesday. Let’s hope we don’t have a nuclear holocaust before then. Meanwhile, the Galician Nationalist Party have demanded that the government insist that British nuclear submarines refrain from sailing anywhere near the north west coast. Doubtless they’ll be asking the same thing of the French, the Russians and the Americans.

Talking of affairs of the state, the ex Secretary of State for national security sentenced to prison last September for diversion of funds is still at liberty. As you may recall, his incarceration was postponed so that he could spend Christmas with his family. He now says that he needs just a bit more time to sort out his pension. Of course, the other thing he says is that he’s prepared to blow the whistle on some of his ex colleagues. But I’m sure there’s no connection.

I’m not convinced it’s true but Spanish papers have reported on a German girl’s loss of unemployment benefit after she declined to work in a bar where the hostesses were expected to offer sexual favours. Given the prevalence of such places in Spain, this could be a dangerous precedent for many young woman here. However, it all apparently hinges on the fact that such bars are legal in Germany and my impression is that this is not exactly true in Spain. Insofar as anything is exactly true here.

This is Carnaval weekend in Spain, providing everyone with an excuse they don’t really need to dress up and have a great time. If you want an idea of what things are like here in Pontevedra, try my article Carnaval in Pontevedra on my web page – colindavies.net