Catalonia

Spain's pardoning of Catalan separatists may backfire

22 June 2021 7:21 pm

In one of his adventures on the highways of 17th-century Spain, Don Quixote encounters a gang of prisoners ‘manacled and…

Catalonia’s grievance culture

16 February 2021 3:17 am

‘Scotland,’ declared the Times in 1856, is ‘manifestly a country in want of a grievance.’ The same could be said…

Does Catalonia really want independence?

8 September 2020 4:00 pm

In 1714, after a long siege, Spain managed to regain control of Barcelona after the War of Spanish Succession. Catalan…

When Brexiter meets Catalexiter

30 November 2019 9:00 am

After the hostel breakfast, I stood on the tropical grass lawn smoking the first fag of the day and mulled…

Rumours of sexual misconduct swirl around Westminster

4 November 2017 9:00 am

Home A great ferment of accusations of sexual impropriety was made against people in Parliament and out of it. Bex…

Spanish practices

7 October 2017 9:00 am

In October 1936, on the anniversary of Columbus’s discovery of the New World, a ceremony was held at Salamanca University,…

The demise of bullfighting has been predicted for 100 years, yet it lives on

Is bullfighting on its last gasp?

14 May 2016 9:00 am

Looking at the programme for the feria of San Isidro in Madrid this month (bullfights are being held on 31…

(Photo: Getty)

Will Spain learn from Scotland in the battle for Catalan separatism?

3 October 2015 8:00 am

One of the unforeseen consequences of the reunification of Europe after the Cold War has been a resurgence of independence…

Andrew Marr’s diary: The summer of Corbyn — and other things we didn’t see coming

22 August 2015 9:00 am

This is the Corbyn summer. From the perspective of a short holiday, my overwhelming feeling is one of despair at…

Scotland knows the power of a common enemy. We English don’t

18 April 2015 9:00 am

When last Sunday Pope Francis took the brave step of acknowledging the Armenian tragedy as the ‘first genocide of the…

Where ‘poop’ came from

28 March 2015 9:00 am

Danny Alexander recounted in the Diary last week his daughter’s efforts in making unicorn poop. This is something of a…

Time for the King of Spain to save his country again

5 April 2014 9:00 am

Might there ever be in this century, anywhere in Europe, a case for serious political interference by an hereditary monarch?…