Holy Week On Saturday night in Seville something happened which has been all over the newspapers, and will continue to be for some time to come. Two women returning from seeing Semana Santa pasos were hit and killed by a speeding car. The driver was more than double over the limit, and it…

¡Que barbaridad! Having studied languages at university, and now living in Spain, I am fascinated by words. What I hear, read, speak - I don't get all of it, by any means (but oh, how satisfying when I do) - is a constant source of interest. In my early,enthusastic-student days here, I used to…

Art in Sevilla Anyone who has ever been to Seville, and those who are fortunate enough to live there even more so, will appreciate the extraordinary, rich history of the city, from Tartessians, to Romans, Moors, and its important role in discovering the New World. Seville’s…

The Taste of Success Those of you live in Spain probably heard the news a few weeks ago that Ferran Adria, legendary chef of El Bulli who had just announced his decision to close his restaurant, will front a seven-million-euro international ad campaign to convince potential customers of Spain inc…

Death in the Afternoon Ever since I arrived in Spain six and a half years ago, I have wanted to do and see and experience everything that is quintessentially Andalucian, and especially part of life in Seville. Tapas, flamenco, Semana Santa, Feria, bullfighting. Yes, bullfighting. I figure that if…

Church and State Today is International Women’s Day. Thinking it was another of those 15-to-the-dozen 'read a book', 'eat more fruit'-type International Days, I was surprised to hear that it has been around since 1911, in the days of women’s suffrage. Women in those times demanded better pay (plus…

Ship to Shore I hope you're having a good puente, if you live in Andalucia, where yesterday - 28 February - was Andalucia Day. I am sure I'm not alone in thinking that three-day weekends are the way to go, especially when the weather turns out to be considerably better (warmer, drier, sunnier…

A Sense of Place As everyone who saw the horrifying pictures of that raging torrent of water in Funchal - people being saved from the water by helping hands, and cars left crushed by the force of the onslaught – will know, Mother Nature has been showing her more aggressive side of late.…

Singing in the Rain OK, I’m afraid it’s inevitable, with the skies as they are today. How can I not talk about the grim weather we´re having? Especially since my family just called me from England to say how beautiful and sunny it is there, and how my parents and my brother’s family, visiting…

Keep it down! Today, I’m not going to talk about the weather. Thank goodness for that, I hear you say. Living in Spain we are all used to the uproariousness, the joyous shouting and laughter, the noise of everyone from the bombona man calling out to customers as he brings his gas canisters, to…