Equus Asinus

It has been a month since the country which I no longer regard as home elected a clown as its prime minister. I have stopped actively listening to the daily news from the UK and only catch it accidentally between symphonies on Radio 3. When the leadership of countries is given over to individuals who … More Time to turn off the crisis

Rubí Donkey writes her Rubí Tuesday blog. It is New Year’s Eve and the end of the second decade of the 21st century.  Rubí reflects on the past ten years from a donkey’s point of view. A long time is often referred to as “donkeys years” as donkeys have remarkable longevity in the animal world, living … More Rubí donkey reviews the decade

From Morris, Matilde, Aitana, Rubí and me.

I have noticed the growing use of the term anthropocene to describe this second epoch of our current quaternary geological age. It was called the holocene until recently, describing the epoch that began 12,000 years ago at the close of the paleolithic Ice Age. Anthropocene is now used to describe the same epoch as an … More In praise of the equocene

Rubí Donkey writes her Rubí Tuesday blog.         Here at El Parral we like to think of ourselves as being at the cutting edge.  Indeed, while cutting ear-holes in newspapers to make our Halloween costumes last week, our Peasant cut his finger with a craft knife.  It was the kind of personal sacrifice for … More Low-speed Internet arrives at El Parral

Rubí Donkey writes her Rubí Tuesday blog.         Morris donkey has been reading again.  Sometimes it is good that Morris does reading because he tells me clever things to write on my portant blog and I improve my reputation as a world-class interweb source of intelligent debate.  And I’m only ten which Morris says … More Asinine culture wars

Through the summer I have been deliberating over the possibility of returning to academia. Having passed my rather easy test for Spanish citizenship in June, I found the study sufficiently enjoyable to consider doing a postgraduate course of study at the University of Alicante. I explored the possibility through July and August and the course … More University of the wind in the trees

During the past years on this blog and in my old Costa Blanca geography teaching blog, the hydrology of Alicante province – and this part of it known as Marina Baixa – has been a frequently mentioned topic. As a geography teacher I brought local hydrology into the Key Stage 3 and GCSE curriculum, and … More Come on in: the apocalypse is delightful

A short exercise in silence: a quiet afternoon. Come to something a bit different on Sunday 1st September from 3pm to 5pm here at El Parral. Many friends have enjoyed a relaxing afternoon here sharing a barbecue or a paella – and we will do that again soon – but I would like to offer … More Quiet afternoon Sunday 1st September