The intangible and the edible Flamenco was accepted by UNESCO as Cultural Heritage. To give it its full title, it was “inscribed on the Representative List of Intangible Heritage of Mankind” (Patrimonio Inmaterial de la Humanidad in Spanish). There was great rejoicing here in Seville, as you can…

Flamenco, Flamenco     Last week I was fortunate enough to see a preview of the new film by Carlos Saura, Flamenco Flamenco. It was at the Seville Film Festival, an annual event which is growing in size and stature each year. The preview took place the same day as the Gala, but was a…

Running the halls This post will either be of considerable relevance (and hopefully interest, too) – if you have children at school in Andalucia; or of none whatsoever – if you don’t. If your kids are being educated in another country, for example the UK, it will hopefully be of some interest. I'd…

A loving act of protest One group who will be happy with how the Pope's second official visit to Spain last week went, are gays and lesbians. Their kiss-in on Sunday morning, outside the archbishop's palace in Barcelona as Benedict XVI was leaving to consecrate the Sagrada Familia, attracted…

Life in the fast lane After living in the western Andalucian countryside for three years, in a fairly quiet area with very few foreign people around, coming to the Costa del Sol is a shock to the system. I went down there for a work meeting this week, and felt like the country mouse in the big…

Deber y tener OK, I admit it. I love TV movies about famous people. Even better if they're royalty or aristos, and we get a glimpse inside their everyday lives - the king eating his breakfast in a grey chandal (tracksuit), Prince Felipe glued to the telly. The mini-series about the Duquesa de Alba…

Flamenco soy As we're an Andalucian website, it would be a glaring omission not to talk about the campaign to have flamenco, the distinctive and wonderful form of musical and dance performance which originates in Spain's south, recognised as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (I'll…

Plan? What plan? Last Friday was the first day of Seville's new "Plan de Trafico", whereby motorists who stay in the centre (within the ronda, except for Marques de Paradas, part of the one-way system) for more than 45 minutes will be fined 70 euros; the restrictions (ie the cameras) are in…

Up in smoke So, the next stage of the anti-smoking legislation , which first started back in 2006, will arrive at the start of next year. As from 2 January 2011, you will no longer be able to smoke in "enclosed public places", in other words bars, restaurants, cafes, nightclubs; but it also…

The Venice of Seville At long last, Plaza de España has reopened, after its lifting, one of those English words adopted and comically misused by the Spanish (more often used in the plastic surgery sense, as in actresses aged over 40 who don't mind looking as if their face is covered in clingfilm…