New quote, old story

“The tongue is the deadliest of all blunt instruments,” quotes Carlos Ferrero with ref to the Catalan media authorities’ new guide to banishing Spanish and all references to Spain as a country from our screens.

Of faggots and Fords

Unlike motorcars, bicycles take you through village centres and allow you to park outside at any interesting-looking drinking hole you encounter. Friday afternoon on my way up-country for a weekend engagement I stopped at a village cafĂ© in the mountains between Montseny and Montserrat, where a nice but weary barmaid was serving brandy to some…