Calendars are like portals into other worlds. This week I'm supposed to be teaching at a travel-writing retreat; giving a talk on a cruise ship with José Pizarro, and going to see Nick Cave.
Instead I'm seeing how many paper clips I can throw into a yoghurt pot in a row.
Barcelona council leaving Twitter except for emergencies, describing it as a ‘spiral of misinformation and intransigence that directly attacks democracy”. eldiario.es/catalunya/ayunta…
In my new role as Travel Drama Reporter, can I just point out that there is a train on fire at Gatwick station.
The only reason I still have a Twitter account is because so few of the travel/Spain/journalism people are on Bluesky, but it becomes harder and harder to defend. Recommend building up a following over there, an infinitely better place.
V last-minute but got a spare invite to this tonight at In-Edit if any Barcelona people would like it es.in-edit.org/docs/one-hand…
Thanks to @theguiri1975 for reminding me about this Jonathan Meades doc on Franco. Contains some of the most entertainingly weary delivery on earth and lines such as "[Franco] was posthumously generous with his phosphates." youtube.com/watch?v=vmvPyI6k…
Swamped with DMs but you can all use the video with a credit, EXCEPT the Mail, GBNews or any media outlet aligned with their ideology. The rest of you journos – keep up the good work.
So this is fun. Birmingham Airport has been evacuated after reports of a 'suspicious vehicle’ and we’ve all been herded to the NEC.
If anyone is in need of tickets to the following things at the Cheltenham Lit Fest, see me, for I have a surfeit: Neneh Cherry/Cathy Newman
Barbara Kingsolver
The Booker shortlist
Women at the Heart of the Century (S de Beauvoir, N Mitford, the Paget twins)
Sally Davies (really only on Bluesky now) retweeted
Victory at last!
(Our plans are measured in centuries. We have other prospects.)
This is a wild ride. Zoe disapproves of Ronda's ravine and thinks Seville, Granada and Córdoba are 'weird and sad'. Plus something something TikTok and Hemingway. spectator.co.uk/article/spai…
You should hear what she thinks about Italy #chamberofhell spectator.co.uk/article/ital…
"In sailing, efficiency and sustainability are two sides of the same coin. It’s about working with the elements instead of against them." I talked reduced drag and thermal batteries with the Spanish America's Cup teams for @imagine5_real. imagine5.com/articles/the-ra…
RIP to Rebecca Horn, who I'm probably more aware of than I'd otherwise be thanks to the Estel Ferit (Wounded Shooting Star) having been a preferred meeting place for the last 25 years. 'See you at the cubes.'
Are any of the useful Barcelona accounts on Bluesky yet? I am barely here these days but I miss the trickle of city news.
How to be a better tourist telegraph.co.uk/travel/desti…





