Category Archives: Blog
Remembering Hugh Thomas
Hugh Thomas, who has died aged 85,was a historian with an enduring interest in and passion for the Hispanic world straddling epochs, continents and empires. He also played an active part as a policy adviser to Margaret Thatcher, and in his later years served in the House of Lords as a life peer, never seeing this as place of patronage let alone retirement but as an integral part of an effective and accountable parliamentary democracy. .. He had developed an interest in Spain after a first visit in the …
Messi’s Number 10
Of the several images of a memorable El Clasico last Sunday few will endure with such iconographic intensity as that of Lionel Messi, holding up his number 10 Barca shirt to the Bernabeu stadium after scoring the defining goal against Real Madrid in the last minute of extra time. Real Madrid fans who occupied the bulk of the stadium are an exacting crowd. They expect and demand the best from their star players as they do in the city’s nearby bullring of the country’s best matadors, not least in the …
The Genius of Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo
What separates genius from the good and even brilliant is the ability of a person to evolve with the passing of time, not just to mature, but to create anew, and still be inspirational,to remain a clear cut above the rest. In top flight football , as in other elite sports, the threatening awareness of mortality, the ease with which a player can go from his peak to a swift decline, from valued asset to beyond sell-by date, is only too common, sometimes with tragic consequences on the personal …
El ejemplo de Churchill
A pocos pasos del terrorismo que ayer sacudió la ciudad de Londres esta una estatua de Winston Churchill, corpulento en su abrigo de trinchera, y con una mirada enfocada y resuelta, toda una imagen de un pueblo que ha conocido y sobrevivido, con orgullo y victorioso , momentos más amenazadores de su historia. En el momento que el terrorista empezó su paseo endemoniado a través de Westminster Bridge, camino del Parlamento, me encontraba a cuatro cuadras después de haber almorzado en mi club cerca de Trafalgar Square con un amigo …
Warsaw Diary
There was a long queue at passport control at Warsaw’s Chopin airport on arrival from London. ‘Never happened before’ said a young polish lady. I and another British national looked at each other with the thought passing through our minds- is Brexit already with us? It turned out there were a couple of police officers who had turned up late for their shift and in the end we all swept through the EU lane relatively smoothly- but for a few minutes it did make one think, how …
La Sra May: Entre patriotismo y nacionalismo
La perspectiva de la otra ribera escribe Jimmy Burns Marañón Escribo declarando al principio mi ‘status’ de ciudadano Europeo, nacionalidad británica, nacido en Madrid de una madre española y padre británico, educado en el Reino Unido, que desde 1953, cuando naci, he pasado la vida compartiendo culturas,a nivel personal, profesional y políticamente. Por lo tanto, desde esta posición por lo menos híbrida, permítanme intentar formular algunos pensamientos personales sobre el discurso de la señora May, y lo que podría producirse para el futuro de las relaciones entre …
Mrs May between patriotism & nationalism
I write as a British national, born in Madrid to a Spanish mother and British father, educated in the UK, bit who since 1953 has spent is life straddling two cultures, personally, professionally, and politically. So from this hybrid position , let me attempt to formulate some personal thoughts on Mrs May’s speech, and what it might auger for the future of UK-Spanish relations. As an exercise in political speech making and delivery, May’s rhetoric and poise appealed to a British sense of identity rooted in history with …
