Vilafranca’s has a strong rivalry with Vella dels Xiquets de Valls, another human tower group, though incidences of murders and gloating over accidents by delivering coffins to each other have been left behind in recent decades.

Nowadays digital calculations of weight and pressures and modern fitness regimes are the order of the day.

“We normally have falls only 20 percent of the time, but at the championship you wheel out the hardest constructions and take risks; you’re there to win it,” Michael explained.

Michael was not always into building human towers, having travelled all over Spain and Italy in search of “weird Catholic festivals” and the latest opera concert.

But despite most of his interests being rooted in European culture, Michael insisted that it is “not about loving Europe”.

“The thing is I’m a Brexiteer… it’s about not becoming one big, grey blob controlled by an unelected government. I love cultural differences; they’re what make us great and I am passionate about Catalonia,” Michael explained.

Despite Lorraine, his wife, describing her husband’s passion as “madness”, Michael said he has no intention of stopping.

“There are 80-year-olds who still take part, although in less strenuous positions than mine,” he said.

Even if he wanted to, Vilafranca would not let him go anyway, Michael said as he has become a kind of mascot for the club as its sole Englishman.

“We talk in English because as they’re all Catalan nationalists, they won’t let me speak Spanish and I’m too old to learn Catalan. The days are too long with dinner and drinks until midnight for me to take on anything new.”