A good morning from Fisterra, northern Spain
Santiago de Compostela, Spain’s historic city captivates at every corner
Although it was the journey – the Camino from Ferrol to Santiago de Compostela – rather than the destination that was important, the historic city in Galicia, in Spain’s northern region, is both beguiling and intriguing. For it manages to balance the thrust of an increasingly secular modern world, with…
Centuries-old tradition is fundamental to Easter celebrations in northern Spain’s Galician region
The origins of the Easter ceremonies in the Galician town of of Ferrol lies centuries in the past Passionate displays of devotion practices and regalia steeped in tradition …
Art at the heart of a programme to revitalise run-down suburb in Galicia, northern Spain
Art is putting colour and liveliness into the heart of Canido, a run-down suburb in Ferrol, Galicia, northern Spain. Skeletons of buildings have become the frames for giant-sized portraits or tableaus; time-battered walls are renewed with startling portraits, creating an increasingly popular tourist route. All this is the result of an…
Shropshire countryside sparkles in the springtime sunshine
Lucky 13 for lovers of books in translation in Man Booker International longlist
Discovering new authors is one of the great joys of reading and the International Man Booker Prize, which publishes work in translation, provides seemingly endless inspiration. I’m clearly not alone as, according to Neilson which tracks such statistics, sales of works not initially written in English, are at an all-time…
Magical wet and wildlife in the heart of Ecuador’s Amazon region
For a heart-stopping moment it seems we are heading, really fast, for a barely visible sandbank on which an elegant white heron stands, an imperious lone beacon. Then, with a perfectly timed flick of his wrist, our helmsman quells the engine on the large, motorised canoe and it slews into…
Stella Prize longlist offers gold mine of great reads
If you’re looking for some suggestions about which book to read next, literary prize longlists are always a great starting place. The recent announcement of the 12 books in the running for Australia’s $50,000 Stella Prize is an excellent example. The Stella Prize is open to Australian women authors writing in…
Crime File: A murdering sister, a missing schoolgirl, and a new Superintendent Jury mystery.
My Sister, The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite: All her life Nigerian nurse Korede has been in the shadow of her beautiful, charismatic younger sister Ayoola. While Korede is a diligent and hard worker at a prestigious Lagos hospital, nurturing a secret love for one of the doctors, Ayoola gets…
