Catalonia

Spain’s pardoning of Catalan separatists may backfire

22 June 2021 7:21 pm

In one of his adventures on the highways of 17th-century Spain, Don Quixote encounters a gang of prisoners ‘manacled and…

Catalonia’s grievance culture

16 February 2021 3:17 am

‘Scotland,’ declared the Times in 1856, is ‘manifestly a country in want of a grievance.’ The same could be said…

Does Catalonia really want independence?

8 September 2020 4:00 pm

In 1714, after a long siege, Spain managed to regain control of Barcelona after the War of Spanish Succession. Catalan…

When Brexiter meets Catalexiter

30 November 2019 9:00 am

After the hostel breakfast, I stood on the tropical grass lawn smoking the first fag of the day and mulled…

Rumours of sexual misconduct swirl around Westminster

4 November 2017 9:00 am

Home A great ferment of accusations of sexual impropriety was made against people in Parliament and out of it. Bex…

Spanish practices

7 October 2017 9:00 am

In October 1936, on the anniversary of Columbus’s discovery of the New World, a ceremony was held at Salamanca University,…

The demise of bullfighting has been predicted for 100 years, yet it lives on

Bullfighting

14 May 2016 9:00 am

Looking at the programme for the feria of San Isidro in Madrid this month (bullfights are being held on 31…

(Photo: Getty)

Will Spain learn?

3 October 2015 8:00 am

One of the unforeseen consequences of the reunification of Europe after the Cold War has been a resurgence of independence…

Diary

22 August 2015 9:00 am

This is the Corbyn summer. From the perspective of a short holiday, my overwhelming feeling is one of despair at…

The power of collective grievance

18 April 2015 9:00 am

When last Sunday Pope Francis took the brave step of acknowledging the Armenian tragedy as the ‘first genocide of the…

Poop

28 March 2015 9:00 am

Danny Alexander recounted in the Diary last week his daughter’s efforts in making unicorn poop. This is something of a…

King Juan Carlos must save Spain – again

5 April 2014 9:00 am

Might there ever be in this century, anywhere in Europe, a case for serious political interference by an hereditary monarch?…