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  . [...]

Grape swallowing gene. Yes, yes, you know all about stuffing your mouth full of grapes but did you know that this New Year’s Eve custom only goes back to the beginning of the last century? Apparently, it was dreamed up by Valencia grape-growers in 1909 as a way of off-loading an extra-bumper crop. Although the [...]

Yes, the shopping centres are crawling with Papa Noels and you can’t get through the door of the Euro shops for all-singing, all-dancing Christmas tree tack. True, El Corte Inglés seems to kick off the season a week or three earlier each year. And yes, the advertising on television for toys, perfumes, aftershaves and watches [...]