Have you heard about the new tienda de informática called Snuff? Bit of a weird name, I know, but there you go. In Málaga, of course, it’s pronounced something like ‘Ehnaf’ or even ‘Ehnah’. Which is where this story starts. I was in the electronics store Worten – to say it right in Spanish screw [...]

‘What do you call a man who looks after sheep in English?’ a fellow pilgrim asks me on the road to Santiago? ‘Er, a shepherd?’ ‘That’s right. Un chepa. In Ferrolano un chepa is a guardía municipal (local policeman). I’ll explain. Ferrol is a port in the far north of Galicia, which due to its [...]

‘What do you call a man who looks after sheep in English?’ a fellow pilgrim asks me on the road to Santiago?   ‘Er, a shepherd?’  ‘That’s right. Un chepa. In Ferrolano un chepa is a guardía municipal (local policeman).  I’ll explain. Ferrol is a port in the far north of Galicia, which due to its [...]

The reservoirs have never been happier, but on a purely selfish level heavy rain in Spain is always a pain. In our case, a downpour in the middle of night means leaping out of bed and sprinting across a puddle-strewn, roof-leaking patio-cum-porch, tripping over a bedraggled cat or three, charging into the kitchen and rushing [...]