Calendars are like portals into other worlds. This week I'm supposed to be teaching at a travel-writing retreat; giving a talk on a cruise ship with José Pizarro, and going to see Nick Cave. Instead I'm seeing how many paper clips I can throw into a yoghurt pot in a row.

Em mataran https://t.co/ZUQwc0eOfv

Barcelona council leaving Twitter except for emergencies, describing it as a ‘spiral of misinformation and intransigence that directly attacks democracy”.

In my new role as Travel Drama Reporter, can I just point out that there is a train on fire at Gatwick station.

The only reason I still have a Twitter account is because so few of the travel/Spain/journalism people are on Bluesky, but it becomes harder and harder to defend. Recommend building up a following over there, an infinitely better place.

Here we go again. Good luck everyone.

V last-minute but got a spare invite to this tonight at In-Edit if any Barcelona people would like it

Thanks to @theguiri1975 for reminding me about this Jonathan Meades doc on Franco. Contains some of the most entertainingly weary delivery on earth and lines such as "[Franco] was posthumously generous with his phosphates."

Swamped with DMs but you can all use the video with a credit, EXCEPT the Mail, GBNews or any media outlet aligned with their ideology. The rest of you journos – keep up the good work.

Aaaand we’re on the move

So this is fun. Birmingham Airport has been evacuated after reports of a 'suspicious vehicle’ and we’ve all been herded to the NEC.

Incredible pics

If anyone is in need of tickets to the following things at the Cheltenham Lit Fest, see me, for I have a surfeit: Neneh Cherry/Cathy Newman Barbara Kingsolver The Booker shortlist Women at the Heart of the Century (S de Beauvoir, N Mitford, the Paget twins)

Victory at last! (Our plans are measured in centuries. We have other prospects.)

You should hear what she thinks about Italy #chamberofhell

This is a wild ride. Zoe disapproves of Ronda's ravine and thinks Seville, Granada and Córdoba are 'weird and sad'. Plus something something TikTok and Hemingway.

"In sailing, efficiency and sustainability are two sides of the same coin. It’s about working with the elements instead of against them." I talked reduced drag and thermal batteries with the Spanish America's Cup teams for @imagine5_real.

RIP to Rebecca Horn, who I'm probably more aware of than I'd otherwise be thanks to the Estel Ferit (Wounded Shooting Star) having been a preferred meeting place for the last 25 years. 'See you at the cubes.'

Are any of the useful Barcelona accounts on Bluesky yet? I am barely here these days but I miss the trickle of city news.

let's call it a gift link

How to be a better tourist