Tim Parfitt's Blog, page 7
June 11, 2023
Letter from Spain #8
When I was first sent to work in Madrid in the late 1980s, I remember being struck by the way Spaniards left things until the last minute. The mañana, mañana attitude was very real at the time. As I worked in magazine publishing, and had come from Vogue House in London where everything was planned and scheduled according to strict timetables, the ‘leaving-things-until-the-last-minute’ mentality in Madrid was even more acute.
The thing is, however, most Spaniards don’t actually believe they’re leaving anything until the last minute. There might be a deadline for something, but that’s all it is: a deadline; a ‘date’. Many people here believe that it doesn’t really matter when you start to prepare for something, as long you meet that deadline (and over the years I’ve become more like them). I wrote this passage about it in my book, A Load of Bull - An Englishman’s Adventures in Madrid:
To get us all off to a good start, Alfonso suddenly stretched his arms out wide and twisted his palms to face each other, as if holding up an invisible, long box. This, we were told, was his imaginary ‘time-line’. As Francisco translated, Alfonso started to explain with simple karate-chop gestures along this time-line, that when a road or a building was made, the British started here and finished there. The Spanish, however, also finished exactly where (or when) the British finished, (demonstrated by another karate-chop at the same point) but – and this seemed to be the key to it all – the Spanish started here, he beamed, karate-chopping half-way along the line, and still managed to get to the same end at the same time as the Brits.
Over the years, I thought that this ‘last minute’ habit had largely disappeared, but I was reminded about it on Friday after the left-wing Podemos group, along with 14 other left-wing groups (some of whom had already confirmed), finally agreed to form part of the Sumar alliance led by Yolanda Díaz, for the 23 July general election in Spain, just hours before the expiry of a deadline for all parties to register. Sumar itself was then also officially registered on Friday as a political group to compete in the election.
The deal signed late on Friday apparently ‘ended days of intense negotiations’, and while this Substack blog is not designed to be political, I think it’s a good thing. If it only simplifies the 14+ left-wing ‘parties’ under one umbrella, then it’s a good thing. That way we can also avoid the Life of Brian-style nonsense of the Judean People’s Front not agreeing with the Judean Popular People’s Front, let alone the People’s Front of Judea or the Judean Popular Front. If you follow me …
The Barcelona Connection - research & dates for diaryThe Art Newspaper recently asked me to write a short piece about my research on Salvador Dalí for The Barcelona Connection, which can be found here. They then shared it on Facebook, Twitter and Linked in, and included it in their Book Club blog mailing, for which I am very grateful …
To continue with the research journey that I started in last week’s letter with Chapter 1, here are the images to accompany Chapter 2 …
This, I decided, is the fictional country home of Jaume and Montse, the Marqueses de Guíxols, not far from La Bisbal d’Empordà, and where the painting is discovered in their cellar. Also pictured is the painting that Benjamin refers to as The Face in the book, normally on display at the Figueres Museum - as the painting that Jaume Guíxols uncovers is very similar.
I first found this house back in March 2013, over 10 years ago, when I was writing The Barcelona Connection as a film script. I then revisited the area in November last year, as I was finally completing the novel … and I even found that the house was for sale (although I’m not sure if it has now been sold). If I had the money, I would buy it.
It’s an old 16th century rectory, in a beautiful setting, which originally served as the residence of the parish priest of the Església de Sant Martí de Llaneres.
The church, its adjoining rectory and Can Torrò farmhouse (or masia), are located not far from the small village and castle of ‘Castell d’Empordà’ (more about that in a future post). It has been documented since the year 1101, although the current building was built in 1584. It is described as being ‘of Renaissance type’, called at the time ‘Roman style’.
Castell d'Empordà was the name used for the whole of the town, whose origin arose from the castle of the Counts of Empúries, located on the top of the hill.
Next week, Chapters 3 & 4 …
Have you read the book yet? Here’s a latest review and there are more each day on Amazon and Goodreads. Click here to choose where to order it from!
Don’t forget these dates for your diary if you are in Barcelona or Madrid:
On Thursday 29 June at 7pm, I’m going to be doing an official presentation of the book in the company of the British Consul in Catalonia, Lloyd Milen, MBE. The event is taking place at the Alibri bookshop on the Carrer de Balmes, 26 - and it would be wonderful to see you there. Further info can be found here: https://www.alibri.es/events/2119.
It is now also confirmed that I will be doing an event at The Secret Kingdoms bookstore in Madrid on Thursday 28 September. More details on that in due course.
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June 4, 2023
Letter from Spain #7
One of the biggest debates in Spain during this past week has been the decision of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to call a general election for Sunday 23 July. But I’m not talking about the political debate; I’m referring to the outcry from many Spaniards because the choice of date will impact their holidays. And we’ll be in the middle of another heatwave come 23 July, for sure.
It’s something that came up in my chat with Giles Brown on Talk Radio Europe on Wednesday (you can normally find me there on Weds or every other Weds talking about the latest news from Spain) - the fact that it is ‘unprecedented’ for a southern European country to hold an election during (God forbid) the height of summer! 23 July! The outrage!
I don’t know if it’s going to work in Sánchez’s favour or not. He’s gambled in the past and won, so anything could happen. On the political front at home, by choosing 23 July he’s giving the right wing and far right parties no time to celebrate their success in last Sunday’s local and regional elections, or to organise themselves into regional coalitions in order to govern (which they’ll need to do in some areas). On the international front, I believe there are some major NATO and EU ‘summits’ that Sánchez will be showing his face at, just weeks before the election (including Spain taking over the rotating presidency of the EU on 1 July) - so he might also be banking on his ‘statesmanlike’ image - you know, ‘the only guy to lead Spain on the international stage’ image to carry him through to another term - especially as his main rival, the leader of the PP opposition, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, admitted this week that he can’t speak English, ‘but will study it’ (bless him).
Sánchez might also be banking on the fact that it will be around 43 degrees celsius on 23 July, too, because he’s also up against a number of opposition politicians who are as good as climate change deniers. Spain’s firefighters had a really tough year last year, but I fear that the date will probably coincide with wildfires across the country again, too.
But it all might backfire on Sánchez, of course, because to coincide a general election with the summer holidays in Spain has been widely viewed as an act of sacrilege.
Feijóo himself said that Sánchez wanted to force voters ‘to choose between ballot boxes and holidays … [but] we want them to pick either Sánchez or Spain’. He also said that ‘calling elections on the hottest dates in our country and during the largest holiday exodus is an unprecedented event in almost half a century of democracy. Does he want the least turnout?’
Spanish media have been talking non-stop about whether citizens should cancel holidays or vote by post. Postal workers have complained about the extra work they’ll have. The 23 July election also means that thousands of officials will be forced to work at polling stations (like jury service) and half a million others will be summoned to work alongside them. Spanish law only allows absence for ‘family events of particular importance’, illness or similar … not holidays … and there could be fines of up to €5,000 or even prison sentences for those who refuse to work at polling stations, or for falsifying an excuse to be absent. It’s going to be an interesting eight weeks ahead …
The Barcelona Connection - research & dates for diaryI wrote last week that I’m going to start writing more here about the research that I carried out for The Barcelona Connection. Have you read the book yet? Here’s a latest review and there are more each day on Amazon and Goodreads. Click here to choose where to order it from!
So … Chapter 1 … Benjamin waking up at the service station is right here … El Gironès, just near Girona Airport on the AP-7 motorway, direction towards Barcelona. You probably think I’m mad (and I probably am), but I’ve been to this service station many times, researching it, checking how Benjamin could walk to the airport from there, timing the distance from Nîmes and on to Barcelona, the toll tickets involved, how he could see the control tower of the airport across the field, and the gate he pushes through to finally stagger down the lane towards the airport itself …
More soon …
Don’t forget these dates for your diary if you are in Barcelona or Madrid:
On Thursday 29 June at 7pm, I’m going to be doing an official presentation of the book in the company of the British Consul in Catalonia, Lloyd Milen, MBE. The event is taking place at the Alibri bookshop on the Carrer de Balmes, 26 - and it would be wonderful to see you there. Further info can be found here: https://www.alibri.es/events/2119.
It is now also confirmed that I will be doing an event at The Secret Kingdoms bookstore in Madrid on Thursday 28 September. More details on that in due course.
Thanks for reading Letter from Spain! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
May 29, 2023
Letter from Spain #6
‘Twenty-four hours is a long time in politics,’ someone reminded me this morning, but I would personally cut that by another 12 hours for politics in Spain. This newsletter is normally sent out on Sunday evenings, but I’d waited until Monday morning in order to mention the final results of the local and regional elections held yesterday. Just a few hours later, however, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez made a surprise announcement, telling us that there’s now going to be a General Election held on Sunday 23 July, just eight weeks away, and almost seven months earlier than we’d expected.
I voted in Spain for the first time yesterday, at the Escola Maria Ossó in Sitges, my hometown. Being a British resident here in Spain, I’m allowed to vote in municipal elections, but not regional, and not on 23 July (but we’ll come to that).
Before Sunday’s elections, Sánchez - who leads the PSOE socialists, currently in power nationally in a coalition with Podemos - had said he hoped citizens would ‘vote positively’. Meanwhile, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, the leader of the main right-wing opposition party, the PP, said he hoped people would ‘vote massively’. I don’t know if my vote was massive or not, but as I’m an optimist, it was definitely positive.
It seems that the results of the local elections in my hometown, and also the results from the nearest, largest city of Barcelona, bear no resemblance at all to what’s going on across the rest of Spain.
In Sitges, the Junts de Sitges party received the most votes, with the Catalan Socialists (PSC) maintaining their quota of councillors, although it’s not yet clear who will end up being the mayor (they’ll need to work it out by 17 June, which is the ‘swearing-in’ day, apparently). A similar result took place in Barcelona, where former mayor Xavier Trias (with his Trias per Barcelona party backed by Junts per Catalunya) won the most seats (11), but with the PSC in a strong second position with 10 seats. Again, it’s not yet clear who will become mayor, although it’s pretty obvious that Ada Colau, who came third, won’t be enjoying a third term.
Across the rest of Spain, however, the socialists have done diabolically in the local and regional elections. Before Sunday’s vote, 10 of the 12 regions (where new leaders were to be elected) had been run by the socialists, either alone or in coalition. With over 95% of the vote counted, only three of the 12 regions will remain governed by the socialists. In Madrid, the PP won absolute majorities at city and regional level, and they’ve also won in Valencia, Seville, Palma de Mallorca, as well as the regions of Aragón, Cantabria, La Rioja, Extremadura, the Valencia Community and the Balearic Islands. Other than in Madrid, however, the PP are going to have to govern with the support of the far-right Vox group … which brings us back to the General Election.
Why has Sánchez suddenly announced an election for 23 July? I think he’s going ‘all in’ with a gamble, although it’s a huge risk for him. He’s giving the PP no time to celebrate their local and regional victories, and by announcing the election in eight weeks time he’s also ordering his coalition partner, Podemos, to get their act together, with or without the new Sumar platform of his deputy PM, Yolanda Díaz. I think he’s also turning to the national electorate, and as good as asking for a vote of confidence. He’s saying ‘this is what’s going to happen on a national level - you’re going to get the PP with Vox if you don’t vote for me’. He’s gambled in the past and miraculously it’s paid off. But he might be in for a shock on 23 July.
One thing is certain for now: the current Spanish parliament will be dissolved this week and we’re going to have eight weeks of bickering and ‘campaigning’, without anything actually getting done in Spain until after 23 July. Which will then become from the start of September, because everything closes down in August …
The Barcelona Connection - research & dates for diaryFrom next week, I am also going to start writing more here about the research that I carried out for The Barcelona Connection, seeing as I had to recently write something on it for The Art Newspaper. Reviews so far have also been praising the ‘impeccable research into Dali’s work and the workings of international police’ … with ‘the action betraying a detailed knowledge of and affection for his adopted city of Barcelona and Catalonia’ … Have you read the book yet? Click here to choose where to order it from!
Don’t forget these dates for your diary if you are in Barcelona or Madrid:
On Thursday 29 June at 7pm, I’m going to be doing an official presentation of the book in the company of the British Consul in Catalonia, Lloyd Milen, MBE. The event is taking place at the Alibri bookshop on the Carrer de Balmes, 26 - and it would be wonderful to see you there. Further info can be found here: https://www.alibri.es/events/2119.
It is now also confirmed that I will be doing an event at The Secret Kingdoms bookstore in Madrid on Thursday 28 September. More details on that in due course.
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May 21, 2023
Letter from Spain #5
I was very sad to hear that Martin Amis had died from oesophageal cancer at his home in Florida yesterday, at the age of 73. It’s probably unfashionable to say it, but I much preferred his very early books that were published in the 70s - The Rachel Papers, Dead Babies and Success - than his ‘heavier’ work in the 80s and 90s. In fact, The Rachel Papers and Success both had a huge impact on me, published in 1973 and 1978 respectively, although I didn’t get to read them until around 1980, aged 20. But more about that in a moment.
Reading the articles and obituaries about Amis last night and today, I was fascinated to discover that he had a connection with Spain. It was something I’d never realised - and I probably would have warmed to him even more if I’d known (hispanophiles tend to warm to other hispanophiles). I dug into the Amis-Spanish connection after reading that he’d been educated at schools in the UK, Spain and the US, before going to Oxford.
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The son of Kingsley Amis, his parents were separated when he was 14, and according to the obituaries his education was ‘rescued from ruin at the last moment’. His mother, Hilly (née Bardwell) ‘took the children [Martin had a brother and sister] to a villa in Mallorca that their father had already rented for an experimental year abroad, hoping that her husband would follow’. But he didn’t.
Amis apparently then ‘moved from school to school’ and it was only after he attended ‘no fewer than 14 establishments’ that he finally made it through A-levels and to Oxford. I haven’t found what school he actually attended in Spain, but it might have been while he was in Mallorca, or it might have been in Ronda in Andalusia …
At a book presentation in La Central in Barcelona in 2015, Amis said the following: ‘The truth is that I have a big relationship and connection with Spain. I would say that Spain is my country in Europe. France and Italy are not. My brother and sister live in Ronda. My mother lived there from 1975 until her death.’ He gave an anecdote, saying that ‘at that time, during the period of Franco, it was still prohibited to be in a bikini on the beach, and that one had to wear a one-piece bathing suit’. He said that his sister, when approached and ticked off for wearing a bikini instead of a one-piece, asked what piece she should remove.
He said that his mother ‘transmitted this love for Spain’ that he had, and he felt he had something in common with the Spanish people: ‘the sense of humour, which can be quite cruel, but also very educated’.
Bearing in mind Amis also spent two years in Uruguay with his second wife, Isabel Fonseca, before moving to the States, his grasp of the Spanish language was probably very good. Researching him further, he is quoted as once saying: ‘Present-day Spain translates as many books into Spanish, annually, as the Arab world has translated into Arabic in the past 1,100 years.’
I’d also assumed his books were almost unknown in Spain, as over the years when I’d mentioned his name to others, I’d been met by blank stares. Then I found out that not only all (or at least most) of his work has been translated into Spanish, but that an old friend and work colleague of mine, Enrique Murillo, actually translated the book Money into Spanish. Small world.
OK … so, as far as the impact that The Rachel Papers and Success had on me in my early twenties … I guess I should have read this quote by Sebastian Faulks regarding The Rachel Papers: ‘By virtue of its verbal brilliance, the book killed the genre of the young man’s coming of age novel dead. There was no point in anyone else trying after that.’ But I did …
I wrote my first ‘novel’ at the age of 18, called Green for Queen, about a bunch of kids in a 'Boarstal’-style youth detention centre. As I’d never been to a youth detention centre, I don’t think I knew what I was writing about, and after a sufficient number of rejections, I gave up approaching all the Bedford Square (at the time) publishers with it. Then followed my second ‘novel’ at the age of 19, called Billie and the Kid, which never got published but received enough ‘encouraging rejections’ to make me want to keep writing. Then I read The Rachel Papers and Success - and wrote a third ‘novel’, Girl, Non-Smoker, Own Room, at the age of 21 or 22. I was working in London for Condé Nast and the novel was about living and flat-sharing in London … but as I wasn’t actually living or flat-sharing in London, it didn’t work and again I failed to find a publisher. But reading Amis (and many others) made me want to write more and more - and after a fourth unpublished novel (Round Robin, this time a real ‘near miss’), I eventually found my subject matter: Spain. Through trial and error, I guess I learnt ‘to write about what you know’. RIP, Martin Amis.
ElectionsThis time next week, we’ll know, more or less, how the voting has gone in the regional elections in 12 of Spain’s autonomous regions - Aragón, Asturias, the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, Cantabria, Castilla-La Mancha, Extremadura, La Rioja, Madrid, Murcia, Navarra and the Valencia region. At the same time, we’ll also know the results of the voting in local town and city elections throughout the whole of Spain.
Whilst these regions all hold their elections on the fourth Sunday in May every four years, Andalusia, the Basque Country, Catalonia and Galicia don’t. In the case of the Basque Country and Catalonia, I imagine it’s because they simply don’t want to do things like the rest of Spain, but I’m not sure about Andalusia and Galicia. As for Castilla y León, they had an election last year, which is when the far-right Vox party entered a regional government for the first time. Suffice to say that I’m hoping this isn’t going to happen elsewhere after next Sunday, but I fear it might. We’ll see …
Final CallThis is a final call if you’d like to receive a review copy of The Barcelona Connection. Simply use this link below and follow the instructions:
https://booksirens.com/book/PWQDW3O/JZ59FRL
Book Sirens (which is a brilliant platform) are currently offering a few slots for people to download, read and then review the new book on Amazon (or even Goodreads, I think) … and hopefully you might really enjoy it! Or, of course, you could BUY the book from any platform you like by clicking here!
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May 14, 2023
Letter from Spain #4
First things first. For a limited time period, if you’d like to receive a review copy of The Barcelona Connection, then please use this link and follow the instructions:
https://booksirens.com/book/PWQDW3O/JZ59FRL
Book Sirens (which is a brilliant platform) are currently offering up to 50 slots for people to download, read and then review the new book on Amazon (or even Goodreads, I think) … and hopefully you might really enjoy it! Or, of course, you can also buy the book from any platform you like by clicking here.
Secondly, if you are living in or near Barcelona (or visiting), then here’s a date for your diary: Thursday 29 June at 7pm.
On that evening, for about an hour, followed by a glass of cava, I’m going to be doing an official presentation of the book (in other words, talking about it) in the company of the British Consul in Catalonia, Lloyd Milen, MBE. The event is taking place at the Alibri bookshop on the Carrer de Balmes, 26 - and it would be wonderful to see you there. Further info can be found here: https://www.alibri.es/events/2119.
I will also be doing an event at The Secret Kingdoms bookstore in Madrid in September. I will post further information here in due course, as well as details of an event being planned in Malaga.
This week I attended a very exciting meeting in London with the producers I am working with on developing The Barcelona Connection for the screen. Once you’ve read the book, please tell me who you think would be the perfect actor to play the main role of Benjamin Blake, the art detective … I’m genuinely curious.
Back in Spain, meanwhile, the starting pistol has been fired for the political parties’ campaigning for the local and regional elections that take place on Sunday 28 May. They’re allowed to start campaigning a fortnight before the elections, but to be honest it feels like they’ve been campaigning for the last four years, since the last elections.
I have a friend who is standing for election, being on ‘the list’ for one of the local parties. He told me that you can always tell when an election is coming up, as the local councillors all start being nice to one another, fully aware that no party will win an absolute majority, and that they’ll have to form a coalition of sorts.
This time around, I can vote on 28 May. Actually I could have voted four years ago, but I never got round to filling in all the right forms. Right now, I’m furious with the local council because they simply find every excuse they can not to make a payment on time. Personally, I think it’s a disgrace. The central Spanish government is permanently boasting about giving billions of euros to this, that and whatever, to help citizens and local businesses, but believe me, you try getting a local or regional government to make a payment in Spain … forget it. Rant over.
By the way, if you read my piece about Juan Carlos last week, this article in today’s Sunday Times might interest you, and this original documentary on Sky looks fascinating, too …
On a final note, it was Salvador Dalí’s birthday this week … born on 11 May 1904. More on my research about him next week … thanks for reading!
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May 7, 2023
Letter from Spain #3
Although this is called a ‘Letter from Spain’, I’m currently visiting the UK, so it is a letter from there this week, with a Spanish twist.
Inevitably, I watched the coronation of King Charles III yesterday. Inevitably, too, I compared it with how they do things in Spain, but the fact is that no-one in the world does these things like the Brits. Even if this was supposedly a ‘streamlined’ and ‘slimmed-down’ ceremony, with some 2,000 guests instead of over 8,000 for Elizabeth II’s coronation, the Brits are still world champions in pageantry. So they should be, after practising it for 1,000 years.
I couldn’t understand, however, why Charles needed cue cards in order to say things like, ‘I do’ and ‘Yes, I will reign over you’, and I spent most of the time feeling sorry for all the old fogeys in the congregation, unable to go to the loo for around four hours (having had to be in their seats two hours before it started).
The worst part of it for me, however, has been in the build-up; watching and reading the fawning, pre-coronation tributes of Charles (and Camilla) in the printed press and on TV, where there was scarcely any acknowledgement of Diana at all. I flicked through a whole Telegraph colour supplement dedicated to Charles yesterday, and there was no mention of Diana whatsoever, except for one photo caption, and even that was simply to accompany the famous shot of her poor sons walking behind her coffin. It’s as if she’s been blacked out of history, at least by the BBC, Telegraph and Mail.
And talk of being blacked out …
There was Harry yesterday, last in the ‘royal’ party to arrive and walk meekly down the aisle to his seat, with his face then strategically obscured by the feather in Princess Anne’s hat for most of the ceremony. Feathered out of the TV coverage, he was in the UK for under 29 hours before jetting back to California in time for his son Archie’s fourth birthday party. Some people say he will regret what he’s done for the rest of his life, but I’m not so sure.
Harry was dressed in civvies, while Andrew, meanwhile, was allowed to wear a flamboyant, ceremonial cape. The message was clear: if you’re a British royal, it’s okay to be accused of being a sexual predator, but don’t marry a mixed race American and slag off your family in an autobiography or on Netflix.
In every family there’s a dysfunctional element, though … which brings me back to the Spanish comparison …
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If you think the house of Windsor has problems, spare a thought for the house of Bourbon. Spain’s King Felipe VI - Felipe Juan Pablo Alfonso de Todos los Santos de Borbón y Grecia - was a guest at Westminster Abbey yesterday, and he must have been thinking, ‘If only …’
His own ‘coronation’ in June 2014 was merely a swearing-in ceremony, after his father, Juan Carlos, dogged by scandals and health problems, abdicated in disgrace at the age of 76 after a 39-year reign.
There were no gilded horse-drawn carriages or foreign dignitaries at Felipe’s low-key, austere ceremony, which was void of all pomp. It took place amid 26% unemployment in Spain, a smouldering republican sentiment and a growing independence movement in Catalonia. Although the unemployment rate has halved since 2014, the reverse has happened on the other two fronts.
A year after he became king, Felipe had to also strip his older sister, Princess Cristina, of her title of duchess as she prepared to stand trial on tax fraud charges. While she was ultimately cleared by the courts, her husband, Iñaki Urdangarin, was eventually convicted of fraud and embezzlement.
Felipe’s father, Juan Carlos, had been groomed by Spanish dictator Franco. His relationship with the Spanish public finally started to crack in 2012, when he broke a hip on an elephant hunting trip in Botswana, while his subjects back home were struggling to find jobs in the recession.
The media then uncovered that Juan Carlos had been accompanied on his fateful hunting trip by a former mistress, the Danish-German socialite and businesswoman, Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein (also known as Corinna Larsen).
They’d originally met in Africa in 2004, where she was involved in organising safaris. Their relationship developed romantically, and they remained lovers until 2009, remaining close friends for a while afterwards.
Things got worse during 2020, when revelations of payouts of more than $100 million to Juan Carlos from Saudi Arabia, linked to public contracts for Spanish companies, hit the front pages. It was discovered that €64.8 million was given by Juan Carlos to his former lover in 2012, although he later unsuccessfully demanded that the money be returned. They then both became subjects of judicial investigations for opaque financial dealings, including assets kept in tax havens.
Juan Carlos left Spain for self-imposed exile in Abu Dhabi on 4 August 2020, after prosecutors started looking into allegations of fraud in Spain and Switzerland. He said it was to prevent a ‘repercussion of his personal affairs’ undermining his son’s reign and damaging the monarchy (a bit late for that). Spanish and Swiss prosecutors finally closed their probes into his finances due to insufficient evidence and the statute of limitations, but said several irregularities had been found.
Corinna has since sued the former monarch, accusing him of allegedly orchestrating threats and ordering unlawful covert and overt surveillance starting in 2012, after she declined to rekindle the relationship. The case continues in the London courts, although he will be immune from prosecution during the period he was king (up to June 2014).
Corinna has also labelled the former monarch as ‘unhinged’ in a podcast series, claiming that he used to call her 10 times a day at her office using a fake name, and would ‘return home with bags full of cash, happy as a five year old’. When she asked about the origins of the money, she claims the monarch’s reply was ‘this is from my friend so-and-so’ and that it seemed ‘like it was a very common situation’. When she showed surprise, she claimed he would say, ‘Oh, you’re so dramatic, you don’t understand how Spain works.’
How Spain works …
Sure enough, the house of Windsor’s problems with Andy and Harry pale into insignificance if you consider the murkiness of the house of Bourbon’s fortunes …
On a last note, the fictional character of Lisette ‘call-me-Dixie’ Dijckhuijsen in The Barcelona Connection is based on a combination of three individuals I know like Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein …
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April 30, 2023
Letter from Spain #2
On Thursday in Spain they banned bullfighting events featuring dwarves dressed in costumes, in a decision welcomed by disability rights groups but condemned by the few surviving performers.
In a tradition that apparently goes back decades, people with dwarfism dressed as firefighters or clowns had entertained audiences by chasing young bulls without killing them, in shows considered to be comic.
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While the number of self-styled ‘dwarf toreros’ had been dwindling, ‘dwarf bullfights’ were still being staged, especially during festivals honouring a town’s patron saint.
By banning the tradition, Spain comes in line with European Union directives on discrimination against disabled people. Quite right, too.
A handful of the few remaining ‘dwarf toreros’ staged a protest in front of the Spanish Congress in Madrid, however, to express their condemnation of the ban. They said they feel respected and appreciated when they are performing at bullrings, and that without the shows their livelihood is at stake.
I mention this bizarre news item because not only is it the type of news that could only come from Spain (yes, Spain is different), but it’s also a topic of conversation that could have quite easily led to a quick ‘debate’ or shouting match that Elena might have had with Benjamin in The Barcelona Connection (and still can on screen). I can’t tell you more if you haven’t read the book yet (so you have to read it!) - but there’s already a line or two of shouting dialogue about dwarf bullfighters that I think we could now incorporate for the TV series.
Sometimes fact is stranger than fiction, and it can certainly be more ‘tabloid’. While writing The Barcelona Connection, I would often worry that something specific was going to happen to a bullfighter in the real world before the book was published (I can’t tell you what, you have to read the book!). It was an odd thing to keep you awake at night. Also, very early drafts of the original screenplay, pre-2010, took place when bullfighting still existed in Barcelona. After the bullfight ban in Catalonia came into effect, certain scenes were moved to Nîmes in the South of France. I remember a reader also commenting that the original character in an early draft of the screenplay of the US Secretary of Sate, Chuck Patterson Jr., was ‘too old, bumbling and exaggerated’. But then along came Donald Trump and now also Joe Biden … with all respect …
It’s been two weeks since the book was published and the initial reactions and reviews have been fantastic. I did a TV interview for an English language show in Barcelona that can be viewed here below (and my new diet started immediately after I saw it) …
I was interviewed by Hannah Murray on her book show for Talk Radio Europe … and I have started to set up dates to present the book in Madrid and Malaga - and, of course, in Barcelona.
I had hoped to have written a Substack ‘Letter’ last Sunday 23 April … but I’m afraid Sant Jordi got in the way.
For Sant Jordi, one of my favourite times of the year in Barcelona, I signed copies of the book in my hometown of Sitges, at the Sitges Ajuntament table (organised with the Bibliotecas of Sitges), and also at the table of the Welsh-Catalan Association (well, I’m a quarter Welsh). Thank you to all who came by and bought the book!
If you’re reading the book and want to make any comments, I’d love to hear from you. I aim to publish this ‘Letter from Spain’ every Sunday, so please sign up to receive it for FREE and recommend it to others. Thank you for reading!
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April 12, 2023
Letter from Spain #1 - The Barcelona Connection
‘A murder. A kidnapping. A lost Salvador Dalí painting. Just 36 hours to resolve all three.’
EVERY CRIME SCENE IS A WORK OF ART.
I’m delighted to be kicking off my first post on Substack by announcing the publication of my new book, ‘The Barcelona Connection’.
Planned as the first in a series of books about an art detective, the book is also in development as a TV series. As an author, journalist, occasional radio and comedy host, I am often working on several projects at the same time, but am always happy to hear from anyone who’d like to get in touch.
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My weekly newsletter on Substack (every Sunday) will mix observations about the news and living in Spain, notes on ‘The Barcelona Connection’ while writing the sequel, plus a ‘behind-the-scenes’ look into developing it for the screen.
My non-fiction travel memoir, ‘A Load of Bull – An Englishman’s Adventures in Madrid’, tells the story of being sent to Madrid in the late eighties for six weeks to help launch Spanish Vogue, but staying for a decade and running the company. I am also planning a sequel based on my time living and working in Barcelona since 2006.
To kick things off for this first post, below are some details about the plot of ‘The Barcelona Connection’. You can click here on this Books2Read link to find the best way to purchase your copy, either in print or as an eBook. I hope you enjoy it and I look forward to sharing news and updates about my writing with you in the weekly newsletter.
The Barcelona ConnectionBenjamin Blake is no ordinary detective ...
Specialising in the criminal underworld of stolen and forged art, things don’t always go the right way for Benjamin. But when they don’t, he has a stubborn determination to put them right.
Within hours of being sent to Barcelona to authenticate a possible Salvador Dalí painting, Benjamin is left stranded without his cell phone at a service station alongside a bloody corpse in the early hours of the morning, after being savagely attacked with his hire car stolen, together with the painting.
Helped and hindered by the fiery Elena Carmona, pursued by a psychopathic hitman, Benjamin becomes the prime suspect in a politically motivated kidnap and murder. All this on the eve of Barcelona hosting a G20 summit and UN climate change conference, with the police in hot pursuit fearing a wider terrorist threat.
From Nîmes in the South of France, across the border to the sweltering humidity of Girona, Barcelona, Figueres and Cadaqués, The Barcelona Connection is a fast-paced, gripping page-turner sprinkled with black comedy, blending the real with the surreal, art crime and mistaken identity … and where the clues at the crime scene might just be the mirror image of a long-lost work of art …
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