Roscón de Reyes “Mm, look what I’ve bought,” says Francisco every January 5, thrusting under my nose a giant ring-shaped bun with a few bits of red and green candied peel stuck on top and a plastic toy hidden somewhere inside for me to break a tooth on.  I fail to show much enthusiasm  . [...]

Villancico The Spanish word for Christmas carol has its origin in the old Castilian word villano, meaning ‘villager’ – as opposed to noble or squire. During the 15th and 16th centuries the villancico was a jolly sort of song-and-dance knees up for country folk, and it was only in the following centuries that the songs [...]

So here we go again, rolling out the Christmas stuff. Last year, you may recall, I got my act together enough to write a post about the caganer, and very popular and well-received it was. For newbies, or those too lazy to click on the old post to refresh their memories, the caganer is one [...]

If  you think that December is an ordinary working month with a bit of extra shopping and a few days off for Christmas, think again. Here, December is about as productive as August, when the whole of Spain grinds to a halt. You simply cannot expect to buy a house, get a new kitchen put [...]

OK, so it’s January 7 and you really need to give the liver a break from tipples of any kind for at least a few days. However, yesterday was a holiday, today it’s if it was one, and the weekend began a shot of anis and a rosco de vino ago.  So, one last licor [...]