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Continue reading →: RocamadourRocamadour’s situation, set into the cliffs of a gorge on a tributary of the Dordogne river, has attracted tourists and pilgrims since its beginnings in the twelfth century. Most come for its historical monuments and its Notre Dame Sanctuary, but there are of course plenty of bars, restaurants and souvenir…
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Continue reading →: The Bells of GramondThe sleepy folk of Gramond are woken early on weekdays; whether they choose to be or not. The church bells are loud, but muted between 10 pm and 7 am. Then at 7 am they are back with a vengeance; seven strikes, repeated, followed by a cacophonic miscellany of chimes…
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Continue reading →: The National Telepathy by Roque Larraquy
translated from the Spanish (Argentina) by Frank Wynne – Published 2024 The large part of this unconventional short novel is narrated firstly by the unnamed assistant to Amado Dam, a 1930s rubber magnate, then by the deeply unpleasant Amado himself. A Peruvian ship is delivering 19 undocumented indigenous Indians to…
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Continue reading →: Mother Naked by Glen James Brown
English Literature – Historic Fiction – Published 2025 Teesside author Glen James Brown is one of our upcoming North of England writers, inevitably compared to Benjamin Myers with this novel and its links to Durham Cathedral. Modyr Nakett (Mother Naked in old English) was recorded as being a wandering minstrel…
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Continue reading →: Through the Pyrenees and into the OccitanieThe village of Tella, high up in the Ordesa National Park in the Spanish Pyrenees (ar 1240 metres), has a number of historical sites to see, though the Bear Cave (as I found out only when I got to its locked gate) is closed in the winter. The Dolmen de…
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Continue reading →: Ordesa and Monte Perdido National ParkThe Sierra de la Demanda was largely formed in the last ice age, with broad alpine peaks, green highland pastures, and expansive valleys cut by fierce rivers, not least the Ebro, which I have been following for a few days now. Wildlife abounds. This is La Rioja province, and here,…
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Continue reading →: Los Chozos de OrbanejaOrbaneja Del Castillo is one of those attractive ancient Spanish villages that gets floods of tourists at the weekend. Buses bring crowds from the local cities of Burgos, Santander, Bilbao and Vitoria. The interest of the majority of visitors is in taking a selfie in front of the waterfall that…
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Continue reading →: Dengue Boy by Michel Neiva
translated from the Spanish (Argentina) – Published 2024 Nieva is an exciting new Argentinian writer of speculative fiction. This, his debut novel, has been described as ‘gaucho-punk’, but is so unparalleled that it requires its own genre. Some narratives defy being described in a review summary; such is this. Here’s…
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Continue reading →: TudancaI spent three days at the picturesque village of Tudanca, in the Saja-Besaya Natural Park, which gave excellent views over the Sierra de Peña Sagra, a range of sixteen kilometres in length above the Nansa valley. It is an excellent base for hiking and some really good MTB as well.…
To live more widely
supera superiora sequi
SafeReturnDoubtful is my alias.
Where is Andy?
I was so much older then…
Quote of the Week
Alice asked the Cheshire Cat, who was sitting in a tree, ‘What road do I take?’ The cat asked, ‘Where do you want to go?’ ‘I don’t know,’ Alice answered. ‘Then,’ said the cat, ‘it really doesn’t matter, does it?’
Lewis Carroll
Safe Return Doubtful 