Hi Nigel, thanks for the reply.  From memory I thought you spoke passable Catalan  8-)  As you say, it is a real buzz being able to converse in a 2nd language.  We meet up with some Catalan speaking friends every Saturday evening to help improve our Cat and their Eng.  I was really pleased that we managed nearly 2 hours just in Cat this time.  A bit mangled for sure and raised a few laughs, but it was communicating and great fun.  The mono/mona thing certainly confused me for a while as did mimosa which meens gentle as well as the plant.  A bit confused when a friend described a kitten as Mimosa.  Still, I will watch out for the 'salida' expression, I wouldn't want to go th wrong way!

I do wonder how people would get on contacting the emergency services here if they don't speak either language.  There isn't much time to find a translator if your house is burning down or your partner is having a heart attack!