I am a great believer in complaining in certain situations. For example, if it helps to improve customer service in general, because we all benefit from that.

If I order something online and the delivery company fails to bring it and is impossible to communicate with, I nag their Head Office like mad until they bring me my package just to shut me up. If they pretend they have tried to deliver and I know they're lying, I tell them so and threaten to report them to the consumer authorities. That normally has an effect.

Or, as another example, if I have been waiting patiently in a queue for some time and someone pushes in front of me, it is like a red rag to a bull, but I stay polite and point out to the offending customer and the member of staff that I was there first and my time is just as important as theirs. My local shop used to be a shocker in this respect, but nobody tries to jump the queue in front of this battleaxe any more. It's one of the advantages of getting older, I find. You don't care what people think any more, and it gets things done.

However, I also firmly believe that there are times when there is no point in complaining. When the luggage carousel takes ages to get going at airport Arrivals, for instance. Or, and I have to say it, because we have to wear a mask or find our movements restricted in Spain nowadays because of the coronavirus. Since Wednesday night's announcement that Andalucía was closing its boundaries and that many towns and villages are being put into mini-lockdown, a lot of people will have had to cancel their travel plans for this long weekend, which is very disappointing for them and for the owners of the hotels or self-catering establishments they had booked. But it can't be helped.

Complaining will have no effect whatsoever in stopping or even slowing down this pandemic. It is here, and we have to go along with whatever measures are deemed necessary to keep the population in general safe.

People who complain about having to wear a mask are like pre-schoolers whining "I don't wanna put my gloves on" when Mum says it's cold outside and they have to. Is it really such a hardship to have to curtail an evening out and be home by 11pm because of the curfew? At least we can go out before then. Remember when we couldn't? When we had to stay inside our homes unless absolutely and justifiably necessary? That was only a few months ago. And if people don't comply, we will end up in that situation again. The whinging would reach epic proportions then.

Let's all do our bit, willingly, to save lives and get this pandemic over as soon as possible. Don't agree? Never mind. There's no point complaining to this battleaxe...