I OFTEN write in praise of Lidl.

Today I have to take exception to their callous indifference to the needs of Scottish gourmets. The situation is so grave I may have to report the German supermarket chain to the International Court of Human Rights, the Office of Fair Trading, and the Glasgow Federation of Shoplifters.

Lidl's discrimination against Scottish customers must break every European Union rule about competition and common markets.

A reader interjects: "Haud oan, was it no just last week you were raving about moose steaks, Argentinian hare legs, redleg partridge in a pear tree, and sundry other game delicacies on sale in Lidl Maryhill?"

Correct. But I'm in Barcelona now (managed to get along the M8 to Edinburgh Airport before the snow closed in and lorries started jack-knifing) and I have checked out Lidl's festive fare over here. They've got stuff that might even turn Maryhill on to the Mediterranean diet.

Big jars of hand-peeled, extra thick white asparagus at £3.50. Lobster mousse at £1.40. Half-a-dozen baby crabs at £6. Slightly less healthy is the cassoulet of duck confit at £2.50, not to mention the lump of foie gras at £5.50 a half-pound.

If I was having a Lidl Spanish Christmas, I would give the turkey a miss in favour of the chicken breast stuffed with plum and peach segments.

The reader interrupts: "You haven't rubbed it in yet about how cheap the Spanish wines are." Oh yes, the Navarra reserva red at £1.30 a bottle and the Ribera del Duero at £9 for six.

Maryhill Lidlites will be missing outon the champagne ice cream at £2 a tub, topped with the strawberries in syrup at 90p a jar. To be fair, the shortbread in Scotland is much cheaper.

The reader is back on to say: "Should you not be writing about Spain's sick economy with high unemployment and further harsh cuts to come from the new right-wing government? There must be widespread depression at the recession."

It's hard to say. There are two bank holidays this week, yesterday and tomorrow, so some folk have just taken the whole week off. They seem quite cheerful down at the beach, jogging, cycling and doing other keep-fit stuff in the sunshine. I suspect they are getting ready to eat themselves through the crisis at Christmas.