Archive for November, 2010
Monday, November 29th, 2010
Ask for a bail-out, that is. Zapatero is full of the "We're fine, thank you very much", while Economy Minister Elena Salgado tells us the banks' improved transparency, as insisted by the Bank of Spain, is working (and soon they'll have to spill the beans on how up to their ...
Posted in Current affairs, Economy, Politics | 3 Comments »
Thursday, November 25th, 2010
Unless you're fluent in Spanish when you come here to Andalucia - whether to live, or to have a holiday or extended stay (to write that novel, for example) - speaking the lingo is one of the biggest challenges, but also one of the most essential skills for starting a ...
Posted in Culture and Customs, Education, Language | 5 Comments »
Monday, November 22nd, 2010
Few characters are as closely associated with Seville as Carmen. The Town Hall has been holding a programme of events dedicated to famous (fictional) local personajes, entitled Mitos de Sevilla, of which the much-loved gitana is the first; next year it's Don Juan's turn.
One of these events is currently on ...
Posted in Culture and Customs, Women | No Comments »
Monday, November 15th, 2010
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 ...
Posted in Culture and Customs, Events, Flamenco | 4 Comments »
Thursday, November 11th, 2010
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 ...
Posted in Education | No Comments »
Monday, November 8th, 2010
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 headlines around the world. What a ...
Posted in Current affairs, Religion, Social affairs | No Comments »
Saturday, November 6th, 2010
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 ...
Posted in Culture and Customs, Driving, hotel, Language, Shopping, Travel Andalucia | 12 Comments »
Monday, November 1st, 2010
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 ...
Posted in Culture and Customs, Current affairs, Media, Women | No Comments »
