We all have those moments when we realise we’re getting a bit past it. Mine came about two weeks ago at a gig. The (very very) few other people in the room around my age had all sensibly positioned themselves at the back and were bobbing gently along, while I had foolhardily gone right into …
There are some bars that, rather than advertise their existence, seem to actively discourage new clientele. As soon as you walk through the door you feel like Luke Skywalker walking into the Cantina on Tatooine; the music stops, the patrons turn to give you withering looks and the bar tender ignores you when you try …
A brief crawl around Madrid’s most historic bars Read More »
The Spanish are infamous for their poor timekeeping. Those of us who’ve lived here long enough know that ‘I’ll meet you at 8 pm’ actually translates into 8.30 or even 9. It’s simply something you get used to and, if truth be told, it’s nice not to have to rush to appointments. But back in the …
Even a Spanish clock tells the right time twice a day Read More »
Time was you couldn’t swing a cat, let alone drive through central Madrid without hitting a church or monastery. A lack of urban planning meant that the city’s narrow streets were stifled by religious institutions. That was until Bonaparte’s troops rolled into town. The new ruler, Napoleon’s brother, Joseph, decided to modernize the city and …
In the church of San Isidro lie the embalmed remains of Madrid’s most famous patron saint, Isidro the Labourer. This varnished bag of bones lying on a bed of white satin, his modesty covered by a flag embroidered with the city’s heraldry, is not doing too badly considering it’s getting on for 1,000 years since …
Cloaks have a long and infamous history in Madrid. In fact, the English term “cloak and dagger” derives from 18th century Spanish and French dramas, (capa y espada in Spanish) in which villains would fight with the fabric of their cloaks wrapped round their arms to form a shield (for more on duelling check out …
