Every pig has its Martinmas

When Europa played over at Sant Andreu in November, the local Four Bar Squad, which has record, unveiled a banner showing another local saint, St Martin, in wolf costume slaughtering a pig dressed as one of Europa’s following (they believe they’re tigers, not pigs, but whatever): Sant Andreu duly murdered Europa 3-0. The return is…

Bear-faced cheek

These bloody bears, they come over here and everything get’s changed just to suit them. Do bears shit in woods? Yes, and they’ve no right. They don’t belong here. Signed, A Dog. (In Catalan gossos = dogs, while ossos = bears. There, that’s ruined it.)

La primera sueca

Ángel Palomino, Carta abierta a una sueca (1974) lists various types of Swedish girls, whose presence on the Spanish costas in the 1960s was crucial in many Seat 600 purchase decisions: “suecas suecas, suecas inglesas, suecas francesas, suecas alemanas, incluso españolas. Que a su vez se subdividen en diversas clases: la sueca veinteañera y cimbreada,…

Tony, traitor?

Just to the right of the dedication to Tony and Ingrid, dated 2006, are the faint remains of a similar one to Toni and Ana, dated 2004. What will 2008 bring?

Taken by death

The famous “Kiss of death / Petó de la mort” memorial sculpture in Poble Nou cemetery, photo by the excellent izarbeltza, regularly visited on this Barcelona walk: A more earthy interpretation, from a Chinese shop, also in Barcelona:

Illusionist

Walking down the escalator at Fontana metro, I pass a undistinguished-looking middle-aged woman just as she skilfully inserts her hand into the bag of the girl standing, unaware, on the step below her. I grip her arm and say, Gotcha. Oh no, she says, it’s my daughter, but you’re right to do it: there are…

Wolfie

I guess one of us should apologise to Maurice Sendak.

Pause + Antonio Fuentes anecdote

An expedition to examine the remains of Moorish castles and drink village wine on the Albacete-Jaén borders means that things will be fairly quiet around here until perhaps September 5, when last minute preparations will commence for the launch of a revolutionary new communications model at the Albacete Fair. The Feria de Albacete is not…

Spanish vultures snacking in Holland

The crazy European regulation making it illegal to leave carcasses in the high mountains has led to reports of starving vultures attacking and killing large live stock in several parts of Spain. Now one of Nick‘s wolfmen has sent news of several hundred griffon vultures from the Pyrenees having sought alimentary asylum in Holland, in…

Drug checkpoint

Quiet mountain road, chilly evening. The Guardia Civil do an ID and vehicle document check and then ask us to get out. GC1 takes a couple of paces back, while GC2: OK, we’re going to do a thorough check of you and the car for estupi … estupe … estupefacientes. M, also happier with common…