dilluns, 7 de setembre del 2015

August

And then after July came August as usual. August started well - exceptionally well in fact; the very first day we had our annual Big Day Out on the beach. We "camp out" all day once a year on one of the huge deserted beaches on the arms of the Ebro Delta, with a fantastic knee-deep bay of water on one side of the beach, and  the wilder sea of the open Mediterranean on the other. See satellite photo below. Cousins, grannies, uncles, friends, we all hit the beach with cars loaded up with sun shades (essential), kites, buckets and spades, canoes, picnics, drinks... and spend the full day there till dusk. A great time was had by all.

Two days later I flew to England with our oldest son (12 today) to drop him off at my parents' in South Yorkshire for a week's break from us and a chance to practise his English. And then I flew back to Catalonia. The rest of us spent another week here, finishing off translation work and coping with the heatwave before joining Andreu in England for a 3-week holiday.

However the day before we flew I felt a sharp pain in my leg which brought back unhappy memories of my DVT 2 years ago and so went to the hospital to have it checked. I was given the all-clear, and a couple of blood-thinning injections "just in case" and told to fly.
For our first week in England we'd decided to go to the Lake District and a grand time was had by all - lake cruises, treks up and down hills, bathing in tarns and lakes, eating Grasmere gingerbread, visiting the Pencil Museum and so on. See photos.

However, again, by mid-week that pain was starting to come back. I managed to finish the week in the Lakes but as soon as we got back to my parents' we went to Barnsley Hospital A&E to check it wasn't a DVT again.... and it wasn't, it was a SVT! I'll explain: instead of a potentially life-threatening deep vein thrombosis which could mean the clot moving into the delicate parts of your body, it was (is) a "superificial vein thrombosis" or "thrombophlebitis" which is nowhere near as bad ... unless it develops into a DVT if the clots start to move from one vein system to another... which shouldn't happen but.... lots of should/might/but/not usually vocabulary used by the doctors who gave me a very thorough looking over in the hospital (long live the NHS!) meant that I spent the next 2 weeks scared out of my brains once again. They were right, though, so far: the pain was intense and unbearable for a few days but has gradually faded, and is now just annoying. They say in 7-14 days more I should be OK again as the SVT is just running its course. It all meant I did hardly anything for the other 2 weeks in England but I did manage to check out a new second-hand record shop in Elsecar, The Vinyl Tap! With a few more blood-thinning injections "just in case" we flew back to Catalonia on 31 August and now the next step is seeing more doctors to see why this has happened and if there's anything I can do about it - and, looking at my history repeating itself, whether these incidents are related to flying.
I am still resting up at home now but hope to get into school for some preparation this week, and aim to be 100% for working when classes start on the 14th. Our kids also go back to school that day, with our son moving up to the Big Boys' School - i.e. secondary school. Time flies.














dissabte, 5 de setembre del 2015

July

After a relatively blog-free period, you'll all be wondering "What did Brian do this summer?". Well...here's July.

As you may or may not know, the school year comes to an end here by Saint John's Eve (23 June) and from then on we had the kids at home allowing us the chance for lots of arguing playing with them. My work situation also changes then as the "normal course" comes to an end and we start our intensive "summer course" for anyone who wants a short sharp introduction to English. What happens, though, is that this course is only in the mornings so I'm free by 14.00 every day, and when we've hidden at home through the hottest part of the day (temperatures reached 38º this summer) around 17.00-ish we can do things with the kids. A couple of days cycling, a few at the beach (a 25-minute drive away), and many afternoons with the kids "socializing" - having friends round, or going to friends. Our daughter also went away for a week-long summer camp at a nearby village.
We also managed to check out a couple of late-night concerts in the annual jazz festival and had a great time at the Renaissance Festival (check out previous years' July blogposts to see what I'm talking about). And we saw an amazing concert by the renowned great Catalan celloist Jordi Savall. Using a 500-year old instrument, he and his small group took us on an amazing musical tour within the amazing setting of Tortosa cathedral. Examples to follow...
All in all, a busy month but providing enough change to our normal routines to be considered "a rest" (you know the saying). A well-deserved and much-needed rest after a very busy, and stressful year, with loads of work and other issues to worry about - which I won't go into here, except the fact that our kids seem to be becoming teenagers 2 or 3 years before the predicted time :)



dissabte, 25 de juliol del 2015

The #soapbox proposal for Catalonia - English language version



Today’s post is an English-language explanation/version of my previous one. As that was tailored for my Catalan readers, this will be slightly different – with more background information but less specific details. Here goes...

I’m assuming we’re all up to date on the Catalan independence drive? Check here if not. OK? On 9 November 2014, Catalonia held a “vote” in its independence. The Spanish government banned them from holding an official binding referendum, so the Catalans decided to hold a non-binding simple public consultation – which the Spanish government also decided was anti-constitutional! Over 2 million people voted, the Catalan president then had legal action started against him, and we’re still at the same point – the one where it’s blindingly obvious that Catalans want to decide their own future in some kind of vote and they won’t give up till they do so!

Hence, the Catalan President has promised to call Catalan parliamentary elections for 27 September 2015 in the hope that these results will be a de facto referendum, giving the pro-independence parties a clear democratic mandate to go ahead with an independence declaration independently (excuse the pun) of what the Spanish government says.

Between the Scottish referendum being announced and finally carried out in Scotland, though, the Scottish people enjoyed an 18-month peaceful period of campaigning where everyone was able to hear, and question, all the arguments in favour and against independence. This is not the case here. So much energy and time has been invested in just getting to where we are – being able to have a vote – or defending and justifying this right - that it seems to many of us that the actual Yes/No campaign has hardly started. Of course, those of us with a keen interest follow every snippet of news, every article, every public meeting, speech, tweet, that we see and have plenty of information – but there is a huge segment of the population who don’t. How are we going to inform these people about what this vote means – within the 60 days left – and answer their doubts?

I don’t think the usual televised debates or local meetings held by pro/anti “experts” will be seen by many people other than those who already know what they want to vote. My proposal is to get out the old soapbox. The well-known people involved in the indy campaign, whether they be politicians, members of the pro-indy non-partisan bodies, celebrities and other experts, must hit the streets – and now. Imagine three of them, one each from a different party or group showing they are all in this together, standing on a soapbox outside the local market making a brief (2 minute) speech and, above all, answering people’s questions. They may get insulted, but they will also get a chance to allay the fears of the typical “What about the pensions?” potential voter. Get a bus (or more), move the indy folk around from town to town – three towns a day, three soapbox meetings per town in different public squares, and so on. This would really get the message across to those who at current are undecided or apprehensive about the consequences of the September election.


divendres, 24 de juliol del 2015

Catalans, hem d'agafar el #soapbox ja! #araéslhora



Falten 64 dies per a les eleccions catalanes, unes eleccions on decidirem si marxem d’Espanya o si l’estat espanyol ens passi la maquina piconadora i s’acabi amb els pocs poders i drets que ara tenim – i m’és igual qui guanyi a les eleccions espanyoles ja que sabem que tots volen anar per aquest camí d’una manera o d’una altra. L’època happy flowers amb respecte des de Madrid per les autonomies o diferències socials i culturals s’ha acabat. No es pot quedar amb lo que tenim ara. No és una opció - ara o sobrevivim com a país o entrarem a formar part de l'Espanya unificada.

Les eleccions catalanes són crucials i úniques – a canvi de conviure uns mesos en un país amb un govern estrany “de tots els colors”, podem guanyar la llibertat; si no, podem perdre les esperances de la nostra i les properes generacions. Alguns diuen que no volen un país “de Mas” o “de dretes”, però si no pujem al tren de la independència tindrem un país de dretes igualment – Espanya. Anem a per totes, i d’aquí 2 anys cada u que triï el model de país que vol...

... el problema és que s’ha perdut molt de temps decidint com votar, si podem votar, a que o qui votarem, i defensant els nostres drets; i en aquest temps hem passat per alt allò que van poder fer a Escòcia – 18 mesos de debat tranquil, al carrer, a la tele, a la premsa, entre amics, per a que tothom tingui la màxima informació abans de votar. Aquí hi ha poca campanya, i els actes pro-independència que es fan no arriben als centenars de milers de catalans qui no llegeixen la premsa, no van a actes organitzats, miren més La Sexta que TV3 etc. Tinc la impressió que falta aquest pas – i tinc humilment una proposta en brut que es pot refinar si creieu que funcionaria.

Us imagineu si els actors principals en aquest moment – parlo de Mas, Junqueras, Fernandez, altres cares conegudes dels seus partits, Romeva, Llach, cares de l’ANC i Omnium, i d’altres entitats (ajuntaments, sindicats, associacions...) que volen la independència... us imagineu si aquesta gent anés pel carrer. Poble per poble a peu de carrer, fent petits discursos de minut i mig, però sobretot contestant les dubtes de la gent. Un pensionista que té por de perdre la pensió i mira els catalans de Podemos i Ciutadans que surten a La Sexta cada dissabte, no anirà mai a una xerrada de l’ANC o de Convergencia, però si es trobes amb algú que “coneix”, un Artur Mas, a la porta del mercat, igual li diu de tot, insults inclosos, però també li preguntaria, “Ei, que passa amb lo meu?”

Per això, ja n’hi ha prou de fer actes individuals de cada partit en llocs tancats com auditoris o pavellons, o simplement estar esperant la campanya de 15 dies al setembre. Cal agafar el soapbox

El soapbox més conegut és lo de Speaker’s Corner a Londres, on la gent es posa dalt d’una caixa de fusta (tradicionalment usades per transportar sabó) i es posa a parlar a qui li vulgui escoltar, però en el passat era una manera típica dels politics (al menys a Anglaterra) per arribar a la gent. Semblava que les teles i grans mítings havien acabat amb aquesta practica, però encara avui en dia alguns politics ho fan i amb aquesta cosa original, i sorprenent, poden arribar d’una manera directa a llocs o persones on normalment el seu missatge no arriba. Diuen que li va funcionar al John Major! 
Proposo que els “actors principals” del Sí (i els del No si volen, però ja és qüestió d’ells la seva campanya) vagin viatjant de poble en poble, en un autobús a l’estil campanya americana (aquí ja tenim un autobús a punt!) si volen – junts si és possible – i fent això. Us imagineu a Fernandez, Mas i Llach dalt de caixes de fusta davant del mercat central, després, al mig de la plaça principal, i per acabar al parc municipal, fent petits (molt curts) discursos i parlant amb la gent, i 2 hores més tard agafen l’autocar i van al poble del costat? Mentrestant, la Muriel, Junqueras, i Eduardo Reyes estan fent el mateix en una altra població. I Carme Forcadell, Germà Bel i Romeva formant un altre equip. Rull, Rovira, i Toni Soler un altre. Actors politics i no politics. I més i més... Cada grupet, 3 o 4 pobles per dia, 60 dies... podem fer tots els pobles de Catalunya! Suposo que cal (o no..!) buscar la forma d'evitar problemes amb la normativa sobre quan i on es poden fer campanyes així, però si posem imaginació tot és possible - no cal que demanen el vot, simplement estan explicant com seria un país indepedent, etc. Aqui tenim una proposta, ara seria questió dels experts de polir-la i posar-la en marxa!

Si anem a per totes, cal començar ja!
...
[Sorry, no time for English version of this post yet -next week hopefully. It is a very specifically "what Catalans should do" type post though!] 

diumenge, 28 de juny del 2015

Mallorca

Una nova aventura! La setmana passada vam aconseguir escapar-nos 4 dies a Mallorca per a visitar familia, concretament la germana de la meva dona, el seu parella, i el bebe que acaben de tenir. L'objectiu era precisament aixo, visitar la familia i descansar despres d'un trimestre una mica moguda. I aixi ho vam fer. Vam voltar molt per Palma, vam anar a la platja, vam jugar a Monopoli, i vam fer una visita rapida a Valldemossa.
També vaig aprendre que Menorca queda a l'est de Mallorca, i no pas a l'oest com sempre havia pensat, malgrat viure aqui 25 anys i haver visitat les dos illes. També vam poder confirmar que el tema de la llengua està malament a Mallorca, molta gent no xerra en mallorqui - però a nivell personal, poc a poc, gràcies al cunyat estic millorant la meva comprehensió del que diuen quan ho parlen!
Fotos i musica....
...
Brian's Big Break finally arrived - a well-deserved 4-day break in Mallorca (or Majorca). We now have family there - the missus' sister, her partner and their new-born kid - so we went to visit them and relax after a hard term (the school year finished here on the 19 June) before starting our "summer courses". So relax we did - 4 days of playing Monopoly, wandering round Palma, checking out the sights, the beach, and a quick visit to the place Chopin (apparently a pianist) described as being the most beautiful place in the world, Valldemossa. Obviously he'd never been to Yorkshire...
By the way, a little knowledge; Mallorca was re-conquered from the Moors by the Catalan king Jaume I donkeys' years ago and as such formed part of the Catalan/Aragon empire, and the language they speak is a kind of Catalan with a few changes, and a tricky accent! The Balearic isles now form an autonomous community within the state of Spain, as does Catalonia.
A few photos, followed up by another song by the best group from Mallorca.














dilluns, 15 de juny del 2015

More story-telling ... The Princess Bride

Mentre parlem de contes... l'altre dia vaig fer allò que fa tothom, comprar DVDs de pel·licules que em fascinaven de més jove, amb l'esperança que als nostres xiquets també els agradaran. Un dels quals era el Princess Bride, of course. Quina joia! Per casualitat fa només 2 mesos també vaig llegir el llibre, el qual és molt molt bo! I evidentment, qui pot oblidar la música?
I sí, als xiquets els ha encantat, ho han mirat 3 cops i juguen a dir "My name is Iñigo Montoya..."
..........
Speaking of stories... the other day I did what every middle-aged parent does: buy DVDs of films I loved as a youngster (or teenager), hoping our kids would also love them. One of the bunch is The Princess Bride, a hilarious but romantic fairy tale unlike anything I'd seen at that time. Obviously since then, this kind of gentle satire has been copied but The Princess Bride was one of the first to do this, I think, and has stood the test of time. By chance, I also say the book second-hand in Barcelona on our recent trip there and devoured it in no time. It's also great! And, who could forget the music? All in all, a triplet of great entertainment!
And yes, the kids do love it. They've seen it 3 times and now play at saying "My name is Iñigo Montoya..."




 

diumenge, 14 de juny del 2015

Tell us a story...

Quan no estem enfeinats salvant lo món, de vegades pensem en com guanyar-nos les garrofes i tirar endavant l'economia de la casa. Per exemple, usant l'internet per a promocionar l'activitat de Sílvia com a rondallaire amb contes en anglès.

... and when we're not saving the world or just prevaricating about the bush, we do actually try and keep the bread on the table. For example, using our cost-free (in financial terms) social networks to try and promote Sílvia's story-telling activities.
By the way, this activity isn't as easy as it looks, writing/adapting tales for the English level a typical 7-year-old Catalan child might understand, introducing key words and expressions you want them to practise, preparing the material, rehearsing....

dissabte, 13 de juny del 2015

Still busy .... #BandOnTheRun

As I was saying, still busy! I have a mental list (does that sound right?) of fascinating blog posts I'd like to write but can't seem to get my head around starting them..... 
...this week, we're coming up to the end of the school year. Work-wise that means more work preparing reports, helping kids get ready for their official Cambridge University English exams in June/July, organizing our "summer courses" (July), and organizing the 2015-16 course. Family-wise, it means our oldest son is about to finish primary/junior school and move up to the Big Kids' School in September. The year a kid has their 12th birthday is the year they step up to secondary education. Apart from fragile emotions (where did those 12 years go?!), this also means end-of-school festivals and parties, plus the beaurocracy of paperwork to register him at the new school.
On the "campaign" front, it's also been one of those weeks. Started out last Saturday with a Town Cycling morning out that I was involved in organizing. One of the objectives of the outing was to gather local cyclists' ideas so as to write an article for a local newspaper, and a letter to be sent to the council. Guess who had to write them? Plus, spreading the news about these activities on social networks...
On the "save the river Ebro" front, we have been invited to defend our position before the Petitions Committee of the European Parliament on the 22nd. I cannot go, for work reasons, but am involved in most of the coordination of the trip and lobbying over the internet, arranging private meetings beforehand, passing on information to MEPs and so on. Also had to translate an important document we want the Parliament to have as well as a more simple leaflet which we hope explains our situation clearly.
On the "Catalan independence" campaign, some of the things will remain unsaid here, but I did go to the local indy group's meeting to explain my proposal of inviting an "expert in internet activism" to Tortosa to set up a workshop on how to use our time on the net most efficiently for our objectives.
At the back of my mind, I also have to organize things for our 3-day break in Mallorca next weekend to visit the sister-in-law and our 4-month-old nephew.
For no reason other than the fact that I was amazed when a 16-year-old student told me yesterday that he went (with his folks) to France last week just to see Paul McCartney, here´s Band on the Run: 

diumenge, 31 de maig del 2015

Busy bee #WorkingForALiving

De vegades em pregunto perquè no tinc temps per a mirar la tele o esciure un post al blog. I després recordo que gestiono o ajudo a gestionar:
Sometimes wonder why I no longer have time to watch the telly or write a post on my blog. Then I remember I run, or help to run:

5 Email accounts
4 Facebook accounts/Pages
5 Twitter accounts
3 Youtube accounts
4 Blogs

Thank God for technology, eh!

dilluns, 27 d’abril del 2015

Tortosa

Finally giving in to public demand, here's a few lines on Tortosa - where I live - for my international followers!
Basically, this is not the typical place where English migrants end up. No English supermarkets, no Marmite, no John Smiths beer, no groups of "Brits" gathered round SKY TV channels in noisy bars watching Premier League teams. Nor is it the other extreme, the dream-home for the English-man "gone local" who spends his time caring for chickens and olive groves before playing his guitar out on the verandah on a moonlit night. No, it's just a normal town with normal people.

Wikipedia says it all, but basically; a reasonably-sized town in the south of Catalonia with a population of about 35,000 inhabitants.The main feature is the river Ebro, which winds its way through town on its way to the Mediterranean.
It is the largest town in this area, though, and, as such, has a plethora of shops, services, and public bodies, making it a pretty important place for people around here. It has its old part, with Renaissance period buildings and a castle built originally by the Moors. At different moments in history it has been an important town in Catalonia, and the trilogy of Moors, Jews, and Christians have all left their mark on the town's history and culture. However, its days of splendour are long gone as all the real action in Catalonia happens up near Barcelona or further north, and the economic crisis has also taken its toll. Most youngsters have to leave to find work or if they want to go to university. There is very little industry, and most of the local economy is probably based on the above-mentioned service industries as well as agriculture (which isn't exactly blooming) and a sort of green-sustainable-tourism thanks to its location. In more recent history, Tortosa was the focal point for the tragic Battle of the Ebro which more or less culminated Franco's coup back in the 1930s' Spanish Civil War. The town was bombed out of recognition and thousands of lives were futilely lost in months of trench warfare.

We are only a 30-minute drive from the El Port mountain chain - with peaks higher than any mountain in Great Britain - or 30 minutes from the spectacular Ebro Delta with amazing wildlife, unique landscapes, and miles of wind-swept tourist-free beaches.
Tortosa suits me - big enough to have a fair share of things to do, near enough to Barcelona in case I ever want to see The City, but small enough to more or less know everyone and live a peaceful small-town life.
Maybe a few photos will give a clearer idea....

















And the afore-mentioned Ebro Delta looks like this...


diumenge, 26 d’abril del 2015

A couple of songs by Faerground Accidents

Un altra troballa gràcies als misteris de Twitter. Suposo que hi ha milers de grups nous sortint a Anglaterra, però per casualitats que no acabes d'entendre - perquè tu has seguit tal, o has parlat de tal - de sobte un dia et trobes amb un grup de Sheffield per Twitter i escoltes les seves cançons i penses, wow! Vivim en un món on la sort té molt a veure, si el grup x cau al twitter del nou George Martin en comptes de Brian Cutts, ves a saber com acabaria ... mentre esperen aquest cop de sort, només els queda l'opció de continuar fent allò que els agrada i juga a totes les opcions de publicitat que poden trobar.... 
.... 
Another pretty amazing group I've found thanks to the whims and quirks of Twitter. There are probably thousands of new groups out there just waiting to be discovered but by chance this is one of the few to fall into my lap. Maybe I followed someone who follows them, or entered a key word related to this group, or whatever... but somehow I ended up finding this twitter account and listening to their music. A crazy mix of great music and black humour lyrics, just up my street. I think only a northern-England group could pull this off! Who knows where destiny takes us - if the same tweets sent out into the dark reach the twitter-feed of the new George Martin, the sky's the limit. If they reach mine, well, I just hope my followers enjoy them as much as I do - and I'd encourage the band to stick at it, doing what they enjoy and playing the social network publicity show for all it's worth. 

dissabte, 25 d’abril del 2015

Ups and downs of Sheffield life - Live for the moment #TheSherlocks

No sóc d'aquells anglesos que marxen del país però al lloc on aterran volen veure la televisió anglesa, comprar productes anglesos, tenir més interes en les eleccions angleosos que els d'aqui etc. Si estic en un lloc (com a Catalunya), prefereixo pensar en la vida aquí. Per això, durant anys i panys he evitat, o simplement no-buscat, estar gaire informat del que passa al Regne Unit, però ultimament gràcies a les xarxes socials, m'hi he posat una mica més al dia. Principalment sobre noticies locals dels llocs on vaig cada estiu per visitar familia etc. No m'importa gaire si les anglesos volen a Cameron o Miliband, però si que m'importen noticies com aquesta que he trobat gràcies a Twitter....

... a la ciutat de Sheffield, s'ha fet en els ultims anys, i decàdes, molts canvis sobretot en la part comercial. Com a gairebé tot arreu, el centre de la ciutat perd el seu interes mentre la gent prefereix anar a comprar als nous centres comercials a les afores on pots menjar McDonalds, comprar als Marks & Spencer's o anar al cine (com a tots els centres comercials del món, vaja). No obstant aixo, hi ha rincons de Sheffield on petites botigues independents i originals s'han aguantat i encara funcionen. Són unes petits joies per a la gent que les usa, on pots comprar i xerrar una estona, i encara gaudir de ser una mena de "common person" com diria Jarvis Cocker. Concretament hi ha una que ens encanta, una botiga super-petita, un laberint eclectic ple de petites sales amb llibres, revistes, i discos de música que no trobaries a cap lloc més de la ciutat. Es diu Rare & Racy. Pos, resulta que l'ajuntament de Sheffield ha donat el OK als propietaris dels edificis on es troba aquesta botiga i algunes més del mateix estil, per a tumbar-les :( Aqui teniu un bon article al The Guardian, i es pot seguir la campanya per a salvar-les al Twitter de @SaveDevStreet

Bé, no tot son noticies dolentes. Gràcies als misteris de Twitter, no sé com, vaig trobar aquest nou grup de Sheffield dels que estic segur que en sentirem parlar...
..........
I'm not the typical English person who goes to live abroad and spends his days watching the BBC, reading the Daily Mail, buying English products or showing more interest in the UK general elections than the local news of his place of residence. If I'm here, I'm here and this is my life. I wouldn't say I've made an attempt to avoid English news and contacts over the years, but I have definitely not sought them out... however, thanks to the ease of social networks, over the last few years I have begun to show an interest in local affairs of my birthplace, especially as there are places we go back to every year. I do find it useful to know what's going on in Whitby, to encourage Barnsley record shops to stay open, or to follow Sheffield artists etc.... 
so I was shocked to read this news the other day. Sheffield city centre, like most English cities, is struggling to stay alive when everybody prefers to go to out-of-town commercial centres where you have all the big name shops and entertainment you can find in any other centre. The only way the city centres can stay alive is by offering something different, original independent one-off shops and cafes for the few of us who don't want to spend every day in McDonalds or HMV. The area of Sheffield around Devonshire Street is one such place- an oasis of eclectic offerings to make anyone's day. However, a couple of weeks ago I heard that Rare & Racy, the most amazing record (and more) shop, was going to be knocked down with the OK of the Sheffield City Hall - as well as some other cool shops. The full news story is here in The Guardian.

I just hope they see sense and reverse this decision. If not, I expect to see Sir Yorkshire Pudding throwing his full weight behind the campaign to save these shops - a campaign you can follow, for example, on Twitter at @SaveDevStreet
To finish on a brighter note, also thanks to Twitter I have discovered this new group who are surely going to be BIG one day soon...


dissabte, 11 d’abril del 2015

An afternoon near the Roques de Benet mountains











Una setmana santa tranquil·la a casa, descansant i fent coses de casa i de familia - però un dia vam fer una escapada. Una tarde vam anar a Horta de Sant Joan, o més concretament la zona d'El Port amb les muntanyes Roques de Benet, i el camí cap a la Mas de la Franqueta. Molt bonic, com sempre (és un lloc que visitem sovint), aquests dies tot verd i amb els barrancs i rius plens. Vam passejar una estona i vam contemplar les muntanyes cubistes tal com va fer Picasso fa uns anys. Fins i tot vam esperar fins gairebé la nit per a fer 4 fotos dels ultims rajos de sol i uns nuvols molt xulos.
....
So, a quiet Easter at home doing "family things" but one afternoon we drove up into the local mountains for a stroll with the kids. We went to a place near the town of Horta de Sant Joan where Picasso spent a couple of summers as a youngster and where he apparently "invented" cubism. Looking at the interesting skyline of the town, but above all the "square" mountains of Roques de Benet, he "saw the light" - or so the story goes. We had a grand time and even waited till dusk to get some sunset type photos as the last rays of the sun turned the, normally red, rockfaces golden.

[update]
This is one of Picasso's first Cubism paintings and is apparently of factory, and rooftops, in Horta de Sant Joan: