Spanish air traffic controllers are not going to strike this month, in spite of what you might have read elsewhere. That's all, don't bother clicking on the headline, I have nothing more to say about this.

Jordan Taylor from Houston, Texas, visited Madrid last month for a slightly unusual reason, to take part in a chamber music festival. He had a great time, I'm glad to say, was bowled over by Madrid, and was even lucky enough to catch the tremendous welcome the city gave the victorious Spain football team after the World Cup. He posted about it to a guitarists' forum we both visit, so enthusiastically that I was tickled, and I reproduce his post here with his kind permission. Read on for Jordan's account of his visit to Madrid:

The Parlament de Catalunya has voted to ban bullfighting throughout the region. The regional animal protection law is amended by the vote to prohibit "les curses de toros i els espectacles amb toros que incloguin la mort de l'animal i l'aplicació de les sorts de la pica, de les banderilles i de l'estoc, bullfights and shows with bulls which include the death of the animal and the use of the lance, banderillas and the sword." This careful wording deliberately excludes the correbous, the bull-runs held in rural towns and villages, because although bullfighting itself has been in decline in Catalonia for some time, the correbous are more popular than ever. The law comes into effect in January, 2012. Read more.

British Behaviour Abroad is an annual report published by the UK Foreign Office since 2007, based on information from British consulates all over the world. At first glance, the press release for the latest report seems to suggest that British behaviour abroad was actually quite good in 2009-2010. Oh, we're still getting arrested for drunkenness, but the report prefers to dwell on Brits' lack of preparation - many of the incidents found were quite preventable with a minimum of foresight. "Research found that Britons are spending an average £12.00 at the airport on magazines and sweets – more than double the cost of a standard single trip insurance policy." Read on for the full FCO story.
 

Congratulations to Spain. Not only have they won the World Cup, but they have done so in fine fashion, setting a shining example of sportsmanship. Media around the world – except the Netherlands – agreed that the 1-0 extra-time result was justice being seen to be done. And the jubilation of Spaniards everywhere was, and is, immense. If you cared, you've probably seen the game already, so here's the match summary - in Lego (but complete with foul play):