I have just been sent a wonderful YouTube film of a demonstration in Barcelona about the crisis in Spain.  It is wonderful (breath-taking really) and shows the best side of Spain and the culture of Spain. The demonstration is set within an office of la Caixa, one of the biggest banks in Spain, and revolves […]

Last weekend saw huge demonstrations in Spain against the labour reforms in Spain that the ruling PP (‘Conservative’ ) party have fast tracked through Spain’s legislature.  The protests were predictable, as furious private sector employees throughout the country saw their employment rights changed for the worse. In short, the changes are as follows: Before t […]

So, 2011 was officially the worst year for property sales since the Spanish property crash began in early 2008.  Sales were down 20% compared to 2010, which means they were almost 60% down from the halcyon days of 2007. Of course, this is no surprise given the parlous nature of the Spanish economy and the […]

Rajoy says violent clashes are not true reflection of country. Marches continue in a more peaceful atmosphere […]

Demonstrators of all ages come out in support of students. Calls for resignation of government delegate multiply. Crowds gather outside school were marches began […]

Government fears 4.4 percent goal for 2012 would deepen the economic crisis […]

Two terrorists charged with setting off bomb which killed six-year-old girl […]

After a nearly five-year legal struggle, 17 tons of shipwreck treasure wrested away by the Spanish government from Florida deep-sea explorers will leave the United States from an Air Force base later this week, officials confirmed on Tuesday night. […]

A contemporary copy of the Mona Lisa has been put up on display by Madrid's Prado, just weeks after rocking the art world with revelations about its provenance. […]

Silent movie The Artist wins the Best European Film prize at the Spanish cinema awards, the Goyas. […]

Inaki Urdangarin, the son-in-law of King Juan Carlos, is preparing to defend himself in court in a widening embezzlement scandal. […]

With its empty streets, bricked-up shops and deserted playgrounds, the sprawling residential development of Sesena has become a ghost town and a desolate symbol of the collapse of Spain's property market. […]

This young lady is singing in the rain, and dancing in the rain, and splashing in the puddles in the rain. Photo by James White/flickr. If you are as old as I am, you probably remember a Hollywood film called Singing in the Rain. That was Gene Kelly singing a song from that film. In the film he was indeed ‘singing in the rain’, and ‘dancing in the rain’ as w […]

A famous photograph of Scott, writing in his journal, at the expedition base camp. Do you know what “centenary” means? It means the 100-year anniversary of something. This week is the centenary of the arrival at the South Pole of the first British explorers , led by Captain Robert Scott. The English word “Arctic” means the area of the world around the North […]

One of the new pandas at Edinburgh Zoo, enjoying a snack of bamboo shoots. This is a new Listen to English podcast, the first for a very long time. No, I am not dead, as some of you seem to think. Nor am I ill, nor have I run away to the Caribbean with a beautiful film star. I have simply been busy. (However, if you know any beautiful film stars who would li […]