Stuff Catalans Do: FC Barcelona

FC Barcelona Having married into a family of cradle-to-grave Barcelona supporters, Football Club Barcelona, aka el Barça, is naturally one of the main threads in the tapestry of my life here. My sons were carted to the home matches at the Camp Nou by their dad and grandad almost before they could walk. During summers […]

Stuff Catalans Do: Besòs, Bon profit and Botifarra

Besòs One of the rivers that Barcelona lies between on the coastal plain, as opposed to having a river flowing through the city. You know those three tall chimneys you can see as you look up the coast in the direction of the Fòrum? They belong to the old Sant Adrià de Besòs power station […]

Business Writing Magic

Many people tell me they have big problems writing for their business. They know all the stuff they’re supposed to do to promote their products and services: email marketing, newsletters, articles, tweets… But they don’t know where to start. They get stuck. Their brilliant ideas go down like a lead balloon on the page. How […]

The Colours and The Shapes

Ever since I was a depressed, angst-ridden teenager in Manchester, I’ve zoned out / self-soothed / chilled out by wandering round shops. So when I read about the wonderful Artist’s Date tool in Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way, I thought:  I already do that. Costume jewellery and art supplies, fabric departments and toy shops, tropical […]

Why I Failed Ancient History

“Cicero,” declared my grammar school classics teacher, “was an old windbag.” And that’s when it all came alive. I was a straight A student – Latin, Greek and Ancient History.  What most people don’t know is that I failed my Ancient History exams at Cambridge.  I’d never been that good at history,  which wasn’t helped […]

Creative Writing Magic

Creative Writing Magic: a fun and festive introductory workshop in central Barcelona. Spark the magic with simple but powerful creativity and writing tools. Click here for more information.

The Three Little Pigs

When my mum came to pick me up after my scary first morning at primary school, I pretended I had not left a puddle on the brown polished wood floor of the classroom. If I pretended it wasn’t there, no one would see it. But childen’s magic doesn’t work for grownups.

Jam Tarts

When we talk about books, reading and writing, my mum always remembers an episode from one of those wonderful novels by H.E. Bates (probably The Darling Buds of May) where Ma Larkin makes jam tarts.