teapotmonk.com

Whether we refer to a conflict 500 years ago or just 70, reconciliation requires as a first step, a recognition of a shared past.




Spain´s recent drive to come to terms with its dark era under Franco, has proved - not unsurprisingly - a little tricky. 70 years on, and the wounds are very much still open.

Still, the process is underway, and perhaps in time the majority will come to see that the injustices perpetuated during the dictatorship, remain unjust. One - often overlooked - context for such reconciliation could be found the the ever present ties that now link Spain, in particular Andalusia with the north African coast. One rather small but, significant bond exists between the town of Fez in Morocco and that of Loja in Granada.

One such exchange occurred on Friday when the town hall here in Loja opened its doors in the evening to the musical group Benmussa. Such cultural exchanges helps promote a greater understanding between these two ´civilizations´ and not only helps to understand the past, but serve also to remind us that such a cultural heritage was formed not just in Fez, but in the very heart of Al Andalus too.






It served as a strong reminder that we are what we were, and in the recognition of such roots, blood ties and even linguistic overlaps, we can learn to look again at issues that perhaps we see as outside of ourselves

With over 500.000 Moroccans living and working in Spain, often in conditions so bad and for salaries so low, doing work that Spaniards would not consider, it is useful to be reminded that these immigrants were not that long ago the residents of this country. When they were forcibly removed, they left not just their legacy, but their blood and genes so visible in many Andalucians today.

If such reconciliations are possible between nations that have warred, then with understanding, it can be achieved again. Whether the conflict was 500 or just 70 years ago


Read: to be added
Play: Radio Tarifa
Watch: to be added

A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it.
George Moore




I cant help but contrast Italy and Spain. In some ways they are sister countries, in others they belong to separate solar systems. How can places be so similar and so unlike at the same time?

I said to Cherry that if Italy is a Volkswagen transporter, then Spain has to be a Nissan Vanette. If Italy is the LIon KIng, then Spain is Winnie the Pooh. She said I´m being to harsh on Spain, I said I was being too hard on Italy.

My pursuit of the perfect manchada seems to be sending me in circles. But then again, traveling in the same direction all the time isn’t for me. I've tried consulting the Tao Te Ching again but just get the same responses: renounce wisdom, see the simplicity in an empty glass, walk like an ripe olive - that sort of thing.

So Iv’e gone back to my ipod theory.







Yesterday, I sat in a local bar, and watched an old guy pouring out my coffee. He had the face of Eeyore. When it arrived, it came in a ceramic white cup, one of those silly things with handles only Barbie dolls could use. I called him back to the bar and he looked up at me as though I were about to steal his thistles.

I reminded him that I had asked for the coffee in a vaso - a glass cup. He apologised and went off to change it for me. I prefer a glass cup as it allows you to see the strength of the coffee, and I believe it keeps the liquid hotter for longer.
So when it came back, I was able to see it was a little strong, and so I asked politely for more milk and that the milk should be hot, not tepid, nor cool. Off went my coffee again and was returned a few seconds later, milkier and steaming. Just how I love it.

Was I being too fussy at the bar? ¡Qué va hombre!
My pod played The Man who doesn't know how to smile.


Read: The Tao of Pooh
Play: Josh Rouse
Watch: Volver

Well yesterday it became public. As I reported early on in this blog, Almunecar has been experiencing a building fever that had left the town a souless construction site and a marketing nightmare. Cosy little Almunecar passed its urban growth plans yesterday ignoring all limitations laid down by the Junta de Andalucia. The first of these being that no town can increase the size of its population by more than 30% for the next 8 years.
Did Almunecar take note? Does the Pope wear a silly hat?




Almunecar has a population of about 26.000 at present, with plans to increase its housing stock with 35.000 new dwellings. This figure potentially increases the population by another 90.000 inhabitants. Now, lets see......... by my calculations thats a tad over the 30% guideline.

Secondly, the plan consists of the construction of four golf courses and two mariners. Almunecar´s Mayor - Juan Carlos Benevides - had been trying to push though such measures for some years, and it seems at last he has persuaded the rest of the council to follow him along his personal yellow brick road.

There remains though, a few unanswered questions in my mind:
1. Spain is entering its 3rd year of drought, particularly so in the coastal south. Where will the extra water come from for 90.000 new inhabitants and 4 golf courses (each of which consumes the same as a town of 20.000 people) ?
2. The land for construction and leisure will come from the fertile tropical vega that surrounds the town. This unique micro-climate has provided employment and a food source for the town throughout its history - that was until the arrival of the immobilaria. A disappearing fertile vega covered by cheap housing and concrete does not appear to me to be confronting a volatile future of energy deficiency unsustainable tourism and depleted water supplies. Or perhaps Im misreading the entire global economy. Me,Al Gore and just about every scientist in the world that is.
3. Finally, what will such a plan do to the already feverish and saturated housing market on the coast? Andres Palacios, ex-PP member and a man I unfortunately had to meet on several occasions, has pointed out the reason why the plan was passed by all parties: More than 80% of the town has an economic interest in this plan. We all have land to sell.....

And so the sage continues.....were we right to get out when we could or should we have stayed, invested in property and made a killing like everyone else? Tricky one........
Can´t get a decent manchada there anyway.

Play: Money, money money...........Abba
or New Order. Power, Corruption and Lies

Read how it once was: Jan Morris - Spain
or Norman Lewis, Voices of the Old Sea
or the classic Fabled Shore by R. Macaulay.

Disembarking in Venice you are confronted with an Inconvenient Truth. The place is sinking. If Al Gore is only 20% right, then this city´s visitors will need more than a pair of Wellington Boots to move around.




In a sense, Venice is the innocent victim in the global warming scenario; it is a pedestrianized place where people walk everywhere, and pause to talk or take a coffee. It is a place where there are no cars, no car exhaust fumes and no parking problems. The streets are clean and there to serve the community, not the vehicles. There are no parking wardens, zebra crossing nor traffic lights. It has no noise pollution and is a example perhaps of how cities can survive without the omnipresence of the car.
And it is trying to develop public awareness about the imminent ecological issues - the serious subsiding problems, rising water levels etc. Here is a poster that was part of an exhibition in St. Marks Sq, about rising sea levels. The problem is that it sees the answer in terms of local construction rather than global climate shifts.

And will an exhibition be enough? Or will it be the eventual sight of tourists wearing snorkels to travel through the city that finally pushes the authorities to take a more realistic step?


Read:The economics of climate change - Nicholas Stern

Watch: An Inconvenient truth - Al Gore

Buy: Wellingtons and snorkel with waterproof ipod holder.