Small Great Revolution The Mayor of Barcelona, Jordi Hereu talks of the future high-speed rail links between Spain and France Basil Howitt offers a third update on the high-speed TGV link-in-progress between Perpignan and…
2 More scandals from the Roussillon, otherwise known as “Le Far West de la Politique” (“The Wild West of Politics”) 2 Basil Howitt reports on a new twist in the notorious Saint-Cyprien saga. He also…
“Quel gâchis!” (What a waste!) Basil Howitt’s otherwise idyllic summer was marred only by the relentless dumping of fruit and vegetables at local supermarket entrances and elsewhere. [([epigraph]: With these actions we are reduced to…
Smelly socks – final story (we hope) [(Alduy, c’est Perpignan, et Perpignan, c’est Alduy. Bravo Monsieur le Maire ! (blogger Huascar: 21/06/2009 à 22h08))] Basil Howitt closes Perpignan’s saga of the smelly socks. Fortunately last…
Glad to be back! After a rare visit to his native city of Manchester, Basil Howitt was thrilled to touch down once more at Perpignan airport and be whisked back to his adoptive village of…
Solidarité: Lansac à la bougie (Solidarity: Lansac by candlelight) by Basil Howitt Basil Howitt relives some of the hairy and heartening moments of Tempête Klaus. It raged through the P.-O. at a top speed…
TGV Perpignan -Barcelona: Will I live long enough? by Basil Howitt Basil Howitt sends an update on the progress of the new TGV link between Perpignan and Barcelona. He also wonders if he…
2 NIGHT TRAIN FROM PORT BOU 2 3 by Basil Howitt 3 You may think that this was a daft request. When my wife Clare asked me what I wanted for my 68th birthday, I…
When Perpignan’s smelly socks start to stink – the continuing saga! 3 Basil Howitt reports on recent developments in Perpignan’s notorious electoral saga. 3 Perpignan’s current political scene is a boon to any satirist. If…
If you head west on the D117 from the Catalan border town of Estagel, with the unforgettable 10th century fortress of Quéribus towering above you on your right, you soon come to Maury, the first village along this route in Le Fenouillèdes, or the Land of Fennel – or even Fenolheda in Occitan-speak. Le Fenouillèdes is part of Occitan Languedoc, whose inhabitants are rather scornfully referred to by Catalans as “les gabatx” or foreigners. Skirmishes between the “gabatx” of Maury and the youths of Estagel are still not unknown.