The times they are a-changin'

Well, it's just not normal, is it? People ordering fried fish and chips at one thirty in the morning?" Paco, a local restaurant owner, looked vaguely aghast as he recalled the many late nights he used to spend serving customers in the long-gone days when he was allowed to stay open until 2am. I sat back in my chair for the long haul as he warmed to his theme, leaning towards me conspiratorially and reducing his voice to a whisper.

"Don't tell anyone but, to be honest I hope this latest closing time of midnight becomes a permanent thing. I mean it's late enough for anybody sane to be eating, isn't it? Plus, I get to wake up a reasonable hour the next day." He raised his eyebrows and pursed his lips as if to say, "Nobody can argue with that, can they?" and toddled off to make me a bacon roll.

The thing is, I think Paco's right. As it stands, following all of the curfews and restrictions and everything, people seem to have got used to going out earlier in the evening and getting home before the cock crows, which is surely positive and healthy development.

When I first arrived in Malaga in the late 1340s, young people would start getting ready to go out about eleven o'clock and leave the house at twelve (or five past eleven in my case). You'd still be in time to get something to eat before heading off to the music bars which seemed to close only when the last customer had dabbed my - sorry, I mean 'his' - mouth with a tattered serviette and wobbled out of the door.

As I recall (it's all a bit of a haze, to be honest), there were a few places open officially until eight in the morning and then some other rather more insalubrious joints where you could stay drinking through to following the afternoon. Trying to maintain a dignified gait, while negotiating hordes of shoppers on the way home, was no mean feat, let me tell you.

There's a temptation to remember these times as if they were Halcyon days but I'm pretty sure all the same fun and frolics would have been available if everyone had gone out a bit earlier but nobody really questioned the timetable - it's just how things were and you had to adapt if you wanted to join in.

Anyway, it will certainly be interesting to see how things develop over the next few months.

In the meantime, sleep well, Paco.