Spain
How not to handle an independence referendum
If David Cameron seeks any testament to his handling of Britain’s difficulties with Scottish separatism, the mess that Spain is…
Is bullfighting on its last gasp?
Looking at the programme for the feria of San Isidro in Madrid this month (bullfights are being held on 31…
Why the Spanish may be better off without a government
The Spanish seem to be doing better without one
The waves that wrecked Britannia
Military history is more popular than respected. It is not hard to see why. It is masculine history, a trifecta…
Gloriana and the Sultan — England’s unlikely alliance
The idea for a mechanical cock was never going to work. In 1595 the English ambassador to Constantinople, Edward Barton,…
The young entrepreneurs making the best of Spain’s crisis
Lara Prendergast finds delicacies amid the dilapidation in Andalucía
Why did Goya’s sitters put up with his brutal honesty?
Sometimes, contrary to a widespread suspicion, critics do get it right. On 17 August, 1798 an anonymous contributor to the…
Will Spain learn from Scotland in the battle for Catalan separatism?
One of the unforeseen consequences of the reunification of Europe after the Cold War has been a resurgence of independence…
The missing ingredient for a perfect gazpacho
We were eating tapas and talking about Spain. Leaving caviar on one side, when jamón ibérico is at its best,…
In my opinion, Death Corner was a very safe place to stand
Watching the daily running of the bulls through Pamplona’s narrow streets online this week has given me a wistful pang…
The Spanish village that thought it was called ‘Kill Jews’
A village has changed its name because it seemed offensive. But I think the villagers were under a misapprehension. The…
BBC2’s Armada has something for everybody - including three yummy female historians
It has been a while since the BBC really pushed the boat out on the epic history documentary front. Perhaps…
An education to know: remembering Raymond Carr
Laughter, bird-watching and erudition with Raymond Carr
Left-wing populism is on the rise - and may take Ed Miliband to No10
Would-be leaders of the left are harnessing the mood of angry populism
Wines to toast a warrior saint
Towards the chimes at midnight, a few of us left a — respectable — establishment near Leicester Square. Eight or…
Opera North's Gianni Schicchi and La vida breve reviewed: a flawless double helping of verismo
Is there a more beautiful aria than ‘O mio babbino caro’ from Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi? There are more overwhelming moments…
Royal Ballet’s Don Quixote: Carlos Acosta is too brainy with this no-brain ballet
One feels the pang of impending failure whenever the Royal Ballet ventures like a deluded Don Quixote into a periodic…
How to fight Europe’s demons of deflation
The new fear haunting Europe
The king who blamed everything that went wrong on God
Geoffrey Parker is a product of Nottingham and Christ’s College Cambridge, and I think was once a pupil of the…
I nearly went lost my mind in southern Spain on the trail of Gerald Brenan
Another writer I once liked very much is Gerald Brenan. Brenan served with distinction in the first world war and…
A buffet in an Egyptian tomb
Atlantico is a vast buffet inside the Lopesan Costa Meloneras Resort Spa and Casino in Gran Canaria. The Lopesan Costa…
How Italy failed the stress test (and Emilio Botín didn’t)
Continuing last week’s theme, it was the Italian banks — with nine fails, four still requiring capital injections — that…
I like the look of this exciting new Islamic State. But why don’t they want Belgium?
There is something attractive about almost the whole of southern Europe being part of an immense and somewhat rigorous caliphate,…
Jean-Claude Juncker is stale, grey and likes his booze. That's why Cameron should back him
David Cameron is surely right to think that Jean-Claude Juncker is not the man to relieve the European Union’s woes,…
Andrew Marr’s diary: The summer of Corbyn — and other things we didn’t see coming
Andrew Marr 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…