This theory is supported by the fact that there are only two British comedy programmes which Spanish people of a certain age can name without hesitation - the Benny Hill Show, which was once fabulously popular in Spain as it was everywhere else, and more surprisingly "Los Roper", a sitcom which - cast your minds back here - was called "George and Mildred" in English. But such programmes are not representative of the Spanish sense of humour in general - they're just what the people responsible for making and importing the programmes think Spanish people enjoy.

Is it true that there's very little truly edgy stuff on TV, comedy-wise - the funniest stuff is probably a long-running "Spitting Image" copy called "Las noticias del guiñol" (The Guignol News) which, since it has been wildly overexploited, is very hit and miss.

What Spanish people refer to as "English humour" - the slightly self-mocking, ironical humour at which we specialize - is largely absent, and you should be careful about revealing, as I once did, that your house looks like a pig sty: the comment was met with looks which seemed to say "if his house looks like a pig sty, why on earth is he telling us about it?" Indeed, irony is largely absent from the Spanish sense of humour in general.

The best Spanish comedy, of course, comes from the mouths of Spanish people themselves - and in my opinion it comes from the mouths of Andalucíans (I should declare an interest here, because my wife is Andalucían). In one short conversation a couple of days ago, I heard the following three epithets, which I defy anyone not to find amusing: "I felt like an octopus in a garage" (I felt completely out of place); "my mouth hurt from telling her off"; and "he's lost so much hair, he looks like a light bulb".

Andalucians, aware that life should be a theatrical affair where the person you're speaking to is your audience, sprinkle their chat with such gems. A great deal of the best humour is to be found in elaborate anecdotes, lengthy tales told over a glass or two of tinto. So there's one more reason for learning the language: that, despite appearances, so much of the humour of the Spanish people is built into it.

Me siento como un pulpo en un garaje – I feel like an octopus in a garage

Me duele la boca de decirla – I'm fed up of saying it

Ha perdido tanto pelo que parece una bombilla – He's lost so much hair, he looks like a lightbulb

Me encanta el sentido de humor español/inglés – I love the
Spanish/English sense of humour

Es una persona muy graciosa – He's a very witty person

Es muy difícil contar un chiste en otro idioma – It's very difficult
to tell a joke in another language