One-time Barcelona resident Ben Holbrook spent lockdown trawling through old video footage and honing his video editing skills. Read his story and watch the resulting short film below.

‘Barcelona. A Day. A Life.’ A Short Film by Ben Holbrook

One of the worst things about lockdown life has been not being able to visit my beloved Barcelona. It was my home for so many years, and although I no longer live there, it’s still where my heart and soul belongs.

It’s hard to say exactly what it is I miss so much… Obviously I miss the wine and the tapas and the lazy afternoons spent strolling (and sometimes stumbling) from bodega to bodega. I miss cycling along the dusty pine-scented tracks of Collserola, peering down on the city glistening below. I miss my friends – the chasers of dreams, the forever young. Read the rest of this article…

Las Cloacas de Interior is a damning exposé of the sinister machinations within Spain’s Home Office and the upper echelons of the national police force to discredit the then Mayor of Barcelona, Xavier Trias, and others, in the ‘dirty war’ against the pro-independence parties of Catalonia.

The scandal was first brought to light by Público journalists, Carlos Enrique Bayo and Patricia López, after they anonymously received a recording of a meeting between Spain’s Interior Minister, Jorge Fernández Díaz and the head of the Anti-Fraud Office of Catalonia, Daniel de Alfonso. Read the rest of this article…

When someone asks me to meet them on the Ramblas I’m immediately concerned, it’s a bit too hectic for my liking. But my fears were soon allayed as we headed into the foyer of Hotel 1898 – the former headquarters of the General Philippines Tobacco Company.

Originally designed by Catalan architect Josep Oriol Mestres as the private residence of the López y López family, this beautiful, colonial-style building has many original features and the letters FTC (Filipino Tobacco Company) still adorn the entrance-way. A brief walk through the downstairs lounge and we are out on Carrer del Pintor Fortuny, away from the hectic Rambla and our food tour really begins!

I have been invited on the Savor Spain food tour by marvellous Marwa, owner of Wanderbeak Tours, a company just beginning to make their mark on Barcelona and definitely one to watch out for.

Wanderbeak Barcelona Food Tour

Read the rest of this article…

Trevor: He’s not a people person

An indie feature film about a man in Spain and his daughter.
Plus wine, lamb, some ants and a cat.

How many creative expats does it take to make a film in Barcelona? Answer, not that many. At least not as many as you might think. I caught up with the screenwriter Georgina Tremayne, director Carlos Domeque and lead actor Hunter Tremayne from the soon to be filmed Trevor, a low-budget, and hopefully successfully crowdfunded feature about expats, and one in particular called Trevor (as you may have guessed). Read the rest of this article…

Snow in Barcelona (1962)

With the coldest months still to come in Barcelona there could still be some snow. But with balmy temperatures worldwide this year thanks to a particularly strong El Niño it’s looking highly unlikely. So for fans of winter whiteness check out the famous snow in Barcelona during the Christmas of 1962.

This was one of a handful of years on record where snow fell in the city but was by far the heaviest of the 20th century, most people had never seen or experienced anything like it. Luckily this freak occurrence is well documented online with photos and videos.

Below are a few of the best videos to give you an idea of what the city and surrounding area was like. Will this ever be seen again in the city? I hope so. Maybe this particularly strong El Niño will lead to a similarly strong cold-weather La Niña. Read the rest of this article…