A friend of mine, London born and bred, has quite a Spanish look - dark hair, dark eyes, olive complexion (has anyone ever seen an olive that colour?) - and says the family account is that his mum's side are from Cumbria, and supposedly there are pockets there where sailors from the Armada ran aground and settled, introducing their DNA into the local gene pool.

The whole business of where and how people moved centuries ago when we imagine everyone just lived and died in their home village is fascinating.