I Spy

"Ooh, they're a long way from home"
"You're pathetic"

Too many I-Spy books in my youth I suppose. I notice car registration plates. Maggie is not impressed.

In the past Spanish car number plates have changed their format several times. Until the turn of this Century that registration system always included a simple code for the province where the vehicle had been registered: M for Madrid, B for Barcelona, SA for Salamanca, A for Alicante, TF for Tenerife etc.

Then ETA started to blow up out of town cars. Other local prejudices, and new computer systems, persuaded the authorities to adopt a system that simply chooses the next number letter sequence (1234 ABC) for the next car registered whether it is registered in Sevilla or Zaragoza.

So I can no longer tell where a car is from. The only thing I can look out for nowadays is how new the car is. The MG and Maggie's car were both registered in 2005 and they had DJ sequences. The Mini, registered in early 2008 is FYZ and, at the tail end of 2008 we're onto the late Gs.

Big Chief I-Spy would be pleased with me. I'm on the lookout for my first H reg.