Latiguillo; Alameda; The Spanish mystery; Porcelain woes; & Abortion.

Word of the Week: Latiguillo. A friend used this in the context of a leak from a pipe behind the bidet. My first search threw up only 'Verbal tic', 'Cliché', 'Overworked phrase' and 'Small whip'. But this time the Royal Academy dictionary came up trumps with 'A thin, flexible tube which connects two pipes'. Which I suppose is close to a small whip. But the other meanings . . . ?

Talking of words . . . Seems I was wrong to think alameda comes from the Arabic Al meidan. Said Royal Academy says it comes from the Spanish for poplar tree, Álamo. And it's certainly true that Pontevedra's alameda is lined with large trees which may well be poplars. Allegedly, it was once the orchard of a convent which used to exist alongside the ruined church of Santo Domingo.

I'm pretty sure I could spend the rest of my life here in Spain but still never reach a full understanding of how the economy (both the white and the black bits) really works. We regularly read just how high unemployment still is, how pessimistic everyone is and how sceptical that growth is just round the corner. Then you read that, despite the total collapse of the property market, Spain still ranks as the country with the highest number of homeowners (83%). But not just that, she also has the highest percentage (27) of people with a second home. Of course, the simple explanation is probably that the 'submerged economy' is even bigger than the estimated 26% of the total. And that some of the statistics are false, most notably the unemployment rate. But who can say with total conviction? Spain is different.

Talking of the (under-performing) economy . . . One of Galicia's joys (and jewels) has been the Sargadelos porcelain company. So it was sad this week to hear it's gone into receivership (Chapter 11). Let's hope it gets bought by a larger concern. Or even a venture capital company.

Finally - and still talking of Spain being different - this time thanks to the Catholic church's vestigial power - here's The Daily Telegraph's take on the regressive abortion bill currently passing through parliament.