Category Archives: Barcelona

Spanish socialists aim to consolidate general election win

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‘Super Sunday’ of city, regional and European elections could inflict further damage on traditional party of Spanish right

Spain is heading to the polls for a “super Sunday” of European, regional and municipal elections this weekend that will see Madrid and Barcelona’s city councils up for grabs and the socialist PSOE party hoping to repeat its victory in last month’s general election.

Twelve of Spain’s 17 autonomous regions will be voting to choose new governments, including the Madrid region, which has been in the hands of the conservative People’s party (PP) since 1995, despite a series of corruption scandals.

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Barcelona school removes 200 sexist children’s books

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Other schools look to follow after Tàber school takes out one-third of its collection, deeming the books ‘highly stereotypical and sexist’

Several schools across Barcelona are considering purging their libraries of stereotypical and sexist children’s books, after one removed around 200 titles, including Little Red Riding Hood and the story of the legend of Saint George, from its library.

The Tàber school’s infant library of around 600 children’s books was reviewed by the Associació Espai i Lleure as part of a project that aims to highlight hidden sexist content. The group reviewed the characters in each book, whether or not they speak and what roles they perform, finding that 30% of the books were highly sexist, had strong stereotypes and were, in its opinion, of no pedagogical value.

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Barcelona v Manchester United: Champions League quarter-final – live!

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23 min “The most remarkable thing about Larsson’s spellat Man United,” emails Simon McMahon, is that it was IN 2007!!! Time really does speed up the older you get. Soon I’ll be eating breakfast every five minutes.”

This sounds like an excellent ruse, and well worth wearing a suit to go to the newsagent.

22 min “The ‘Walking’ in ‘Walking to Glory’ sounds like a schoolchild’s go at translating ‘Caminando’,” advises Charles Antaki, “but to be fair, caminar can mean to walk, but also, presumably more appropriately, moving or, better marching. Here endeth the evening class Spanish lesson, misremembered from a very long time ago.”

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Manchester United v Barcelona: Champions League quarter-final, first leg – live!

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“We need to improve on the first leg [of the PSG tie]. We know we need to play better at home. It’s down to us to try to dominant the game. If we let them dominate, we’re in for a hard game. So that’s part of the battle, to maybe take control of the ball.”

He’s unsure how long Rashford will be able to last because he’s just recovered his fitness. “But you know Rash, he lives for these games.”.

The teams are on the pitch at Old Trafford going through their pre-game stretches and what not. “Lionel Messi warms exactly how he wants to warm up,” announces Steve McManaman, almost swooning. That warm-up, by the way, seems to involve some gentle stroking the ball about and the occasional caress of a baroque tattoo on his left leg (the tattoo appears to feature a ball and a hand, no doubt Messi’s own tribute to Diego Maradona).

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Pope Francis on Lionel Messi: ‘He’s great, but he is not God’ – video

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The five-times Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi has earned the nickname 'D10S', a combination of his shirt number and the Spanish word for God - Dios - but Pope Francis has said 'it is a sacrilege' to give the Barcelona captain that title.

In an interview with La Sexta, the leader of the Catholic Church, praised his Argentinian compatriot saying: 'He's great to watch - but he's not God.'

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Ryanair racist tirade: man avoids UK charges as plane was in Spain

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Essex police conclude their inquiry into incident that was filmed and put on social media

The man who launched a tirade of racist abuse at a 77-year-old woman on a Ryanair flight last October has avoided charges in the UK after the Crown Prosecution Service said the offence took place under Spanish jurisdiction.

David Mesher, from Yardley Wood, Birmingham, was filmed by fellow passengers calling Delsie Gayle an “ugly black bastard” and told her “don’t speak to me in a foreign language, you stupid ugly cow” on a stationary plane at Barcelona airport on 19 October.

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In the digital age, how much longer can Spain’s street kiosks survive?

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As newsprint sales fall and tourists demand keychains, the city of Barcelona is trying to keep alive the old social culture that revolves around street kiosks

For generations, the day in Spain has begun with picking up the paper from the newspaper kiosk and then reading it over breakfast in a bar. These two urban institutions – the kiosk and the bar – have been the twin pillars of any barrio, or neighbourhood.

“You have a close relationship with your clients,” says Máximo Frutos, who owns a kiosk and is vice-president of the city’s news vendors association. “I have copies of the house keys for around 15 people in the barrio, in case they lose theirs. It’s not like any other business.”

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