“And this also has been one of the dark places of the earth.” The phrase started going around in my head about three weeks ago, as I looked around me at the landscape where I live, and particularly the Jurassic ridge of the Castellets which forms one solid wall of the valley, facing the high Aitana … More Flintstones among the cicadas
Having completed my reading of Henry Sire’s epic treatment of the liberal fascism of pope Bergoglio (the man who some people refer to as Pope Francis but I do not), and completed my three-part book review on these pages, I moved on to other matters and caught up with the concreting job inside the gate of … More Whiter than white
Synods on the Family While the lengthy treatment of the 2014 and 2015 Synods on the family are required reading for Catholic critics of Bergoglio, I will not spend time reviewing that part of the book (central though it is). It clearly involves an extraordinary change in Catholic doctrine, achieved by completely political methods, and … More Is the Pope a Catholic? (Part 3)
In this second part of my consideration of The Dictator Pope, the book on the present pope by Henry Sire, I shall summarise and review the first three chapters. This is a hard read, particularly if you have – or ever had – made some personal investment in the Catholic Church. This blog post is … More Is the Pope a Catholic (Part 2)
It has been a long time since I directly commented here on this blog on matters concerning the Catholic Church. In this book review I simply offer an outsider’s understanding of the matters discussed by Henry Sire, and not those of a Vaticanista or someone who has any inside knowledge. What are we to make … More Is the Pope a Catholic? (Part 1)
But not the end of the holidays! Welcome back to the blog, and as the teachers return to school and prepare for the children to return to school tomorrow, I remain here at El Parral on permanent holiday. As it is my first September not returning to work, I was a little apprehensive about it: … More End of the summer
None of your healthy Mediterranean cuisine, thank you. In the 40 degrees Celsius heatwave here, we’ll have tbe usual Sunday roast, thank you. At least the gravy will not go cold. Aitana is sunbathing while everyone else pretends to be busy about nothing in particular. (A practice they have learned from their Peasant?) The key … More 40 degrees in the gravy
When some donkeys – who should know better – get into the chicken pen, that doesn’t make them chickens. And if I write my Rubí Tuesday blog on a Wednesday that doesn’t make it a Wednesday blog. So this is my Tuesday blog on a Wednesday. A peasant in a chicken pen is not a chicken … More If you can’t stand the heat get out of the chicken
Here in El Parral retirement has now become a way of life rather than a strangely endless school holiday. Long hot days. Any outdoor activity after eleven a.m. and before six p.m. is quite impossible, so I spend a lot of time in the shade under my cool pergola. But this has not been quality … More NO NEWS IS GOOD NEWS
The Spanish national dish – if there is one based purely on popularity – is tortilla con patatas (Spanish omelette), and it is simply a matter of whisking a few eggs and frying with potato and onion, so what’s the big deal? The fact is that you take pot luck in any Spanish bar or … More Tortilla de patatas
