Category: Catalonia/Spain
-
A few sparks
[This article was first published in the October edition of Catalonia Today magazine.] Ambling through the modern centre of Sant Joan Despí [near Barcelona] recently, I came across a kind of historical relic barely seen in this era of celebrity websites, corporate sponsored blogs and fake news. Lying disregarded on an outdoor cafe table was a…
-
A very personal reason
[This article was first published in Catalonia Today magazine, March 2018.] If you are a regular reader of this column you might remember several articles I’ve written in support of the public health system over the last few years. This month I have an interest that is particularly close to home because I am…
-
Some bad journalism on Spain
[Photo: Cornelia Kraft] [This article was fisrt published at NewsTrust’s News Hunt for Bad Journalism.] In Jennifer Varela’s piece on a recent anti-abortion march in Madrid, the most important words in this article are: “The bussing in of representatives from more than 40 countries…” So, not all of the supposed 1 million people who attended…
-
The way we are
[This article was first published in the 10th Anniversary edition of Catalonia Today, June 2014.] I was a reader of Catalonia Today before I was a writer for Catalonia Today. My first memory of it (at that time published as a weekly newspaper) was being impressed by (now Editor) Marcela Topor’s wonderful interview with…
-
Portrait of an Asturian miner
[This article was first published in Catalonia Today magazine, December 2016.] The coal miner’s wife wakes him and he coughs. He shuffles to the small bathroom sink and spits black liquid, washing it away with with the brown tap water. Last night he slept badly, suffering from stomach cramps, diarrhea and vomiting again.…
-
On trust and the grape
(This article was first published in Catalonia Today magazine, September 2016.) People trust each other where I live. I’m not talking about the kind of confidence where no one needs to lock their doors. I mean that where I live you don’t see that look of suspicion in the eyes of a stranger that…
-
Slow life in Catalonia
(An edited version of the text above was first published in Catalonia Today magazine in February, 2013.) Time. It is the one thing that many of us feel like we don’t have enough of. Generally, we move through our lives at a rapid pace with mobile phones permanently on and our attention fixed…
-
Education in Catalonia
[A version of this article was first published in Catalonia Today magazine in Sept. 2013.] This month thousands of parents across Catalonia will be almost cheering with relief, but most teachers will be feeling a mixture of dread and anticipation. The long summer break is now over and a new school year is…
-
-
The day that keeps giving
[Photo: Jasar – Granollers] A man slices a dragon’s head off (saving a princess) and he then gives her a rose that is made from the dragon’s blood. The End? No, just the beginning really. The human desire for legends of this sort is legendary but there is a lot more to every…
Brett Hetherington 