40° 24' N , 3° 42' E

I went to my first flamenco show since I arrived in Spain, called "Algo más que flamenco", playing at El Teatro Arlequín. The spectacle is meant to showcase the different regional dances of Spain, focusing on flamenco primarily but also giving us glimpses of the Zarzuela, Muñeira, Aurresku, etc.

Paul the octopus set for sensational transfer to Madrid aquarium

In what may prove to be the biggest transfer story this summer, negotiations have begun to bring Paul the psychic octopus to Madrid after he correctly predicted Spain's World Cup final victory.

Madrid's Zoo Aquarium says it is prepared to trump any other offer Germany's Oberhausen Sea Life Centre receives for Paul, certain that the world's most famous cephalopod will attract thousands of visitors.

At present no cash is on the table, and the zoo says it is trying to negotiate an exchange of animals.

Sounding more like the president of Real Madrid than a zookeeper, a spokesman said he was confident that Paul would be in Madrid within a few days. Madrid was prepared to offer Oberhausen "whatever they demand" to complete the deal — suggesting that this will be a cash-plus-animal transfer.

He added that Paul, named after a German children's book by Boy Lornsen, would be treated "with tender loving care" because of his national treasure status in Spain.

Paul correctly predicted the outcome of all seven of Germany's World Cup matches, as well as the final between Spain and Holland. This was an improvement on his record for the 2008 Eurocopa, in which he correctly predicted four out of six of Germany's games.

During the World Cup, Paul became a media phenomenon, with his final predictions screened live on television. He also became the world's third most popular Twitter trend during the competition, out-doing both Shakira and Cristiano Ronaldo with 141 hours of trending.

A Brazilian company has developed an iPhone app based on Paul's performance, allowing users to consult the octopus to help them make decisions. The Ask the Octopus app lets users ask 50-50 questions, to which a cartoon of Paul chooses an answer.

They call it "the red effect". It has spread down Spanish streets on the torsos of hundreds of thousands of fans wearing the shirt of the national soccer team, La Roja or "The Red", and threatens to over-run even the most obdurately separatist corners of the country. On nights when the team notches up another World Cup victory it turns into a musical chant: "I am Spanish! Spanish! Spanish!" they shout joyfully. "I am Spanish! Spanish! Spanish!"

Spaniards cannot recall an outpouring of national pride similar to that provoked by the country's first-ever appearance in the World Cup final today. "Not since the Spanish civil war have there been so many flags in the streets," El País newspaper reported as Madrid prepared for an all-night party if La Roja beat Holland in South Africa this evening.

Indeed, Spain's red and gold flag still reminds some people of the civil war of the 1930s, more particularly, of the 36-year dictatorship of Francisco Franco, leader of the pro-fascist Nationalists, that followed it. Few countries in Europe, except Germany, have such an instinctive mistrust of patriotism.

Such an outpouring of national pride also raises challenging questions about Spain's vision of itself. This is a "nation of nations" according to some, who see Catalonia and the Basque country as unrecognised nations which, like Scotland, deserve their own football teams. Spain oppresses other nations, according to separatists, including to the Basque terror group Eta – which exacts its revenge in blood. The country's constitutional court disagrees. "Our constitution recognises no nation but Spain," it affirmed on Friday in a stern rebuke to Catalans who hoped a new autonomy statute might formally allow them to be known as a nation within Spain.

The blog re:kuwait has written signficantly about the Kuwait Metro Project, a topic that picked up steam after the inauguration of the Dubai Metro system in the UAE rival city last year. Al-Watan Daily is reporting that Spanish companies show keen interest in the project (the design of the metro plan itself was done by a Spanish firm). The metro network would be part of an overall GCC railway linkage project. A Spanish-language report by INESCO TIFSA dating back to October 2007 also details the project. You can read it by click on this link.

Picked this book up at the Virgin Store in the Beirut airport while I was waiting for a connection flight. It is an easy read and I got through the entire book on my long flight.