Rainy crappy weather in Madrid so I didn’t make it out of the house until past 6 p.m. and then only to a bar up the road for a quick caña.
There were a couple of policemen in there, one drinking non-alcohol beer, the other a clara con limon: shandy. Not sure British cops would drink shandy, even on duty.
I kept my ears peeled for some fine Spanish vulgarities from the local constabulary, but was disappointed. They just ate their bocadillos and stared blankly at the chat show on TV.
Never mind, the portero made up for them as I walked through our lobby on my way home.
How are you I asked?
“As they say on that Police program on TV,” he said, “hasta los santos cojones” – Pissed off to my holy balls.
Notes from Spain by Ben Curtis 