Barcelona

A Ragged Diagonal

~ Kate Wilson ~ 2 Comments

It feels like Spring – look at that blue sky!

Those trees that I photographed a few days ago are now almost in full blossom

It is the kind of weather when you don’t know what to wear.  A coat and hat makes you feel too hot but go without and it is too chilly in the shade or the late afternoon. Here’s me looking hot and bothered in Granollers – it is also time to start carrying sunglasses and of course I hadn’t!

I went up to Barcelona today to sort out some papers in the British Consulate. That was an interesting experience as security measures now mean you feel you are visiting a prison – at no time was I in a shared space with another human being without a pane of reinforced glass between us. I had to give up my mobile phone at the entrance otherwise I would have taken a photo of the amazing views over Barcelona to the sea from the Consulate office.
I had an idea that Primark might be interesting and as I am looking for a new dress to wear for Swing, I took a long and complicated journey down to Diagonal Mar.
The British Consulate is at 477 Diagonal and Primark is at 4 Diagonal. Don’t let this give you the impression they are close to each other!
Diagonal is not very pleasant to walk along in the day time as it is so noisy and busy but there are some wonderful buildings that would be a shame to miss.

There is that blue sky again! I love that dome and the round balconies.

There were green parrots squawking up in the trees and I felt drawn into this garden where they had an exhibition about Wales. It all looked very sunny and tempting.   This place is called Palau Robert and it was the Catalan Ministry for Culture between 1936 and 1939, then returned to private ownerhip after the civil war and later bought by the Government.

Inside was a small show about a man called Joan Triadu` (1921-2010) – teacher, writer, literary critic and Catalan activist. He was professor of Catalan for two years at Liverpool University.   I love wandering around in Barcelona and coming across unexpected and interesting exhibitions

One of his books is called The Adolescent Teacher. He was sent to Granollers to teach age 16!

Primark was a disappointment but the journey was worth it because I took the tram for the first time from Marina to Diagonal Mar. I don’t know this part of the city very well and I still have no idea what the Gerkin is all about!
Here is a closer detail of the Zurich building on Diagonal – I walked past it without noticing the first time and only on my return trip saw the amazing pictures on each rectangle and the reflections

The line of life is a ragged diagonal between duty and desire.   William Alger

Bonnie takes the train to Barcelona

~ Kate Wilson ~ 4 Comments

Bonnie and I travelled down to Barcelona yesterday to stay with our friend Cristina.
We took the train from Granollers Canovelles station which is the third railway station in the Granollers area and is on a different line – the one that goes from Vic to Hospitalet.

As far as I know you can’t take dogs on the metro or the buses so if I travel with Bonnie I need to aim for somewhere on the railway line. Cristina lives in Nou Barris so we were trying out the route  to Sant Andreu Arenal which is only 30 minutes walk from her flat

I like the station at Canovelles – it feels like a country station – out in the open air and you even have to cross the railway tracks to get to the right platform which they only announce a few minutes before the train arrives.
(By the way. another person asked me for directions as we walked to the station. It is one of my callings – being a town guide either in Barcelona or Granollers! I don’t feel like a local but obviously something in my manner gives confidence to strangers!)

Bonnie has to wear the muzzle on the train. We don’t mind as it stops stray children from trying to touch her – they actually give her a wide berth ‘Mira mama! Un perro malo!’
She was really good on the train and all the way through Nou Barris to Cristina’s house. I used to think it incredible that she would go to Barcelona. What a grown up dog! But it’s no different from any other collection of shopping streets. She doesn’t seem fazed at all by the thought of Gaudi or the Sagrada Familia!

We went for a walk later up the Turó de la Peira which is a rare public green space in this very built up district. It used to be larger but pre-democracy there was a lot of building in this area which ate into the park. Many of those flats later had to be pulled down due to their poor construction which made them unsafe.  The park is a much needed breathing space in the city and all the better for being on a hill.

there are wonderful views from the top over Barcelona to the sea

and in the other direction, the Collserola Natural Park. We sat together on a bench and took photos of ourselves! She is such a great companion.

Thank you to life

~ Kate Wilson ~ 2 Comments


This felt like a week crammed full of different and lovely things

I woke up on Monday morning still in beautiful Sant Nicolau – the sun was streaming into the bedroom and the wind had dropped – but it was time for us to leave

Helen has lost two of her dogs and it felt hard going knowing they are still out there but we don’t know where. She has been incredible – there are posters of them at every corner in an area stretching from Bascara to Figueres and all around. I went out with her every day exploring new corners of the region, to speak with people and pin up posters and scan the fields

But apart from one possible sighting there has been a resounding silence

I drove back to Granollers and almost immediately caught the train down to Barcelona to go to my Swing class in Gracia.  I even stayed on afterwards to eat in a Syrian restaurant with two other beginners.

After the class we wanted to try out the late Jam session at Swing Maniacs as we need to practise as well as learn new steps. But there was time to eat inbetween and what a pleasure to have falafel and hummus and pitta bread – the sort of food that feels like a real treat here.

And then a quick dance before catching the last train home.

I met Tiffany for coffee one morning – but it wasn’t coffee – it was the Catalan chocolate drink that is rich and thick and warm like a pudding and comes with whipped cream and little sponge fingers for dunking. If you want to order it is called a Xocolata Desfeta and if you want the cream it is a Suìs
Don’t go to that link if you are on a diet!

On the way home the man with the accordion was out again beside the newspaper stand. He recognises me now (as one of the few people who throw money into his bag and stop to listen!)
So when he had to start another song he looked at me and said ‘Danny Boy?’  Of course I sat down on the bench to listen – and cried a little for the strangeness of it

What else?  We have just been to the CineClub which shows films in original version. Tonight this was a Catalan film called Fenix. A really amazing and good film about a young boy who, under the influence of Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix, wrote emails to supermarkets telling them to put their labels in Catalan and not just Spanish. I really must be careful what I write here because this is a true story and what happened to him was horrific. Armed police rushed his home and he was charged with crimes under the terrorism laws. Worth seeing this if it comes to your alternative film club!

And lastly we took our seed potatoes over to the farm where a new friend has offered us a space to plant them. I brought over Pentland Javelin and Charlotte and am looking forward to real potatoes this summer!

Bonnie loved being in the countryside again and I have promised  both her and me –  ‘Soon!’

 

BCNegra 2013

~ Kate Wilson ~ 1 Comment

I am reading about the festival of the crime novel which is on in Barcelona from February 1st to 9th. According to the article in the Vanguardia, the thriller genre is going through another golden age; sales of books are high and there are very popular and successful adaptations for film and TV.

I began thinking about all the TV and crime series that were part of my childhood and youth – starting with Dixon of Dock Green, and going on through Z-Cars, Prime Suspect, Inspector Dalgliesh, Miss Marple, Morse, Cracker, Rebus, Sherlock,  The Killing and so on.

Is it a particularly British/American fascination?  There don’t seem to be equivalents on Catalan TV.  In fact I don’t notice there being any series that are so addictive and popular that everyone stays in to watch them.  Is that something to do with the weather – that there is always something more interesting to do outdoors and less need to snuggle down on the sofa?

But of course there are also the Nordic writers and programmes.
When I first arrived in Barcelona three years ago everyone in the metro was reading the Larsson Millenium books. And the VG article had an interview with someone new to me called Unni Lindell whose recent book Muerte Blanca is the third of a series of novels which have also been adapted for TV. She describes how there was one condition for the making of the series, that the dog Birka who is the constant companion of the policewoman Marian Dalhe, has to be played by the real dog Birka owned by a friend of Unni.

As part of the festival they have also organised a competition to see what are the best locations for crime in the city of Barcelona. You can sent in your ideas to this twitter account #raconsbcnegra

Crimes against humanity – the bombing of Barcelona

~ Kate Wilson ~ 4 Comments

On 31st May 1938 Granollers was bombed by Italian fighter planes who were supporting Franco’s forces in the Civil War. I want to write about that nearer the anniversary but today I saw some news I thought was interesting.
A court in Barcelona has ordered that there should be an investigation into crimes against humanity when civilian areas of Barcelona were bombed earlier that year, also by Italian forces. Because of the 1977 law of amnesty that guarantees members of Franco’s regime immunity from prosecution there have been no opportunities to challenge whose who committed crimes in the Civil War.  But because the bombing of Barcelona (and Granollers) was done by foreign troops(although clearly with the approval of Franco)  it is possible to slip past this legal muffler of truth. Here is an article in Spanish with a lot more information.

There is always the question – is it better to move on and let tragic sleeping or dead dogs lie? Or is it important to open up old wounds so that they can be cleansed and heal?

It is all so recent. Living memory. People who were victims of the bombing are still alive. And those who bombed – many of them too are still alive.  Although quite old. But does that make them innocent?  Personally I have always thought it important to get things out into the open – but it also depends on whether is is done with the intention of healing and moving on or of punishment. It’s such a big question and one I expect that will be discussed here a lot while the process unfolds.