FELIZ NAVIDAD to you all from Spain, where - when it's not raining - the daytime temperature is still around 18C.

Last month after harvesting the potatoes, I put in peas, celery, broccoli and onions. All are doing well. I tried brussel sprout seeds and, sadly, they've come to nothing so I wonder if it just doesn't cold enough here. I'd love to hear from anyone in southern Spain who's managed to grow these vegetables, which are traditionally English with Christmas dinner.

All has been quiet next door in Gonzalo's and I learned he'd had minor surgery and was recovering. It's evident now that he's better.....he's back to leaping over the fence, mattock and a bunch of seedlings in hand to put in immediately. More onions! I have shingles at the moment so poor D had to get stuck in immediately with a special tool Gonzalo has presented to him. This and the mattock which may not be familiar to gardeners outside the Mediterranean or the Middle East, are the most popular here. In fact, I read that mattocks were being imported to UK as gardeners had discovered the versality of them. Gonzalo laughs at my garden fork and hoe and shakes his head, brandishing his various sized mattocks. I'll take photos soon and post them.