If you've ever been in Sevilla for Semana Santa , you'll know that it's a pretty extraordinary experience: life-size Mary and Jesus statues being carried slowly, wobblingly slightly as they go, along packed streets, preceded by hooded, robed figures, accompanied by mournful music, and watched…

In the midst of mounting uncertainty in north Africa and the Middle East, with Egypt facing civil unrest/near-revolution, as well as continued economic hardship here in Andalucia (nearly a million unemployed, with 350,000 households now having all members out of work; 43% of under-25s in Spain…

One thing which no expat living in Andalucia, or Spain, can fail to notice, is the difference in the roles of the sexes here, as compared to most northern European countries. Women are (generally) the ones who cook and take care of the children. I nearly fell off the sofa laughing when I was…

There is a new scandal which is slowly coming to light here in Spain. Last year, there were a few stories in the press on the subject; now, there is a flood, with newspaper and TV reports appearing daily. Today, it reached the Fiscal General (Attorney General)'s office, so it is making headlines…

Last week it was FITUR, the tourism fair, in Madrid. You may have seen reports in the press, and numerous mentions on Twitter, about the (temporary) hotel made of rubbish, designed to coincide with FITUR. The hotel was constructed using 12 tons of basura collected from beaches around Europe (…

As I've mentioned on this blog before, I am total sucker for made-for-TV mini-series about royals - Letizia and Felipe, The Duquesa de Alba (up to her second marriage), and Alfonso de Borbon (Franco's granddaughter's late husband - come on, keep up). It doesn't really matter to me if they're not…

I don't know if is the case throughout Andalucia - perhaps you can let me know? - but there have been loads of roadblocks around here recently to breathalyse people. We were driving back from going out to lunch on Sunday a week ago, and at a roundabout between two towns, the Guardia were waiting…

Something that became clear to me not long after arriving in Spain, over seven years ago, was that this country has very clearly-defined roles in terms of family. This has changed over the years, but you'll still find elderly mothers being looked after the (younger/est) daughter. When I started…

It's now over a week since the new Ley Antitabaco came into effect. Up until last Tuesday - the latest figures available, this being Spain - FACUA (the consumers' association) had received 1014 denuncias nationally, of which 246 were in Andalucia, with 142 of those in Malaga. In the first 24 hours…

Last night, the Reyes Magos (Three Kings) came to visit every city, town and village throughout Spain, on varying scales - on camel, horse, donkey and elephant; helicopter, boat, skis; while the smartest arrived on the AVE, the Spanish high-speed train which beats the rest of Europe's…