Every August, some 20,000 tourists flock to the town of Bunol (in the Valencia region of Spain) to hurl large, red squishy tomatoes at one another. La Tomatina – the world’s largest vegetable fight – is a full blown fiesta and in the week building up to the battle, Bunol is filled with fireworks, food, street parades and parties. However the undisputed highlight of the festival is the tomato fight which takes place between 11am and 1pm on the last Wednesday in August.

I was in Cardiff yesterday for a meeting about tourism. Cardiff has transformed itself over the years. It has had the castle, the National Museum and the shops for years to attract tourists. Then along came the regeneration of Tiger Bay. Now there is a new shopping area that has just opened so on the way to the meeting I thought I would have a quick look. Judging from the number of people there it has attracted initial support and, when the rest of the shops open, it will probably have good Xmas sales.