So, they're all out. The 33 miners trapped 700 metres down a Chilean copper mine for 70 days have been rescued, in less than 24 hours. Everyone's a winner baby, that's the truth: the delighted president (approval ratings above 70%, from earthquake devastation in February - he was sworn in as an…

So, in the end, it did go ahead. Our local romeria - the Romeria de Torrijos, in Valencina de la Concepcion, near Seville - managed to avoid the rain (well, mostly). After the correctly-predicted torrential downpours of Saturday, yesterday had strange weather, some hot sunshine, but a chilly…

It's all so confusing, isn't it? The weather, that is. At this time of year, it can be boiling hot - bikini weather - one minute, and then fleece-chilly the next. First thing in the morning, you have to wrap you and yours up snuggly warm and put the car heater on, then a few hours later you're "…

It doesn't seem like an obvious meeting, but the project of a Moroccan-Belgian contemporary dancer and performer, and an Andalucian flamenco artist, both highly respected internationally, produced an amazing espectaculo which I saw this weekend at the Maestranza theatre in Sevilla. Based around…

So, was it a success, or wasn't it? Yesterday's huelga general, that is. Well, as ever with these things, it depends on who you talk to, as estimates of everything from attendance at demonstrations and support of the strike, to involvement by different sectors, vary with a typically Spanish…

I recently read a travel article, in an English newspaper, which stated that "it used to be simple when it came to Spain's big three. For style, you'd choose Barcelona; for culture, Madrid. Seville, meanwhile, was the place for romance...beautiful, but not exactly sexy...the Spanish equivalent of…

In case you haven't heard already, and there might be a few people still left who haven't, next Wednesday - 29 September, 29-S - there's a general strike in Spain. A national, general strike. Which means that the whole country will be affected, to some degree. Transport: limited service of planes (…

I was thinking the other day - as I'm sure you do if you live in or near, or have visited, Seville, or any other historic Andalucian city - the incredibly complex, often tricky, relationship between old and new in my adopted home town. Tradition is highly valued in Sevilla: bullfighting, Semana…

This morning I was sitting down to write today's post, about La Pantoja, Julian Muñoz, and the endless saga that continues to grip the nation (Did she launder her then-boyfriend's ill-gotten gains? Was she involved in the illegal building permits corruption scandal? And, most importantly, will the…

Well, it is September after all, and after the long, extremely hot summer, people come out to play again, at their local ferias. The most famous September ferias here in Andalucia are the Goyescas in Ronda, which happened earlier in the month, and the Vendimia, the grape harvest festivals which…