anglo-spanish Society 225 Spring 2010 Quarterly Review in this issue foul play on the costa...Denise Holt meets the King of Spain...Travel Scholarship update... Letter from Madrid ... News... Rafael Nadal Reg Charity No. 1080250 from the editor elcome to the second issue President: Carles Casajuana i Palet, of the Review in its new His Excellency The Spanish Ambassador format. Thanks to all of you Deputy President: The Duke of Wellington KG, who kindly wrote in to give LVO,OBE,MC,DL us your thoughts on the new Wstyle of our Society’s maga- Chairman (Incoming): Dame Denise Holt zine. The response to the last edition Vice-Chairman: Jimmy Burns was encouragingly positive. We had Executive Secretaries: Events and Grants: Siobhan many more comments than usual Songour from members, but please keep Membership and Finance: Jordi Casinos them coming; we want to make it even better and to expand it to reflect the growing audience of people Honorary Treasurer: Mark Phillips interested in Spain. Editor: Adrian Wright Does it give you what you want? Design: Steve Bunn RCA In this issue we welcome our new Chairman, Dame Denise Holt; we hope Other Members of the Emily Cooper Ilmo Sr Juan Mazarredo she enjoys her position at the helm of the Society and feel sure that her Executive Council: Gonzalo Ålvarez-Garrido María Amparo guiding hand will see us through the waters of transition in the coming Albert Jones García-Asencio years. As usual, we have Book and Music Reviews, Recipes, the Spain Up- Carmen Bouverat Paul Pickering date and cover of Anglo-Spanish events, giving special mention to those Mercedes Licudi-Studdard Miriam González of the Society: look out for future events on page 10, and in particular the Lady Pilar Brennan John Scanlan Young Musicians Evening. There are also interesting articles on the Spanish Lady Lindsay José Ivars-López Property Scandal and Escape Routes through the Pyrenees during WWII. Sandra Coombs Muir Sutherland Isabel Clara Lorda-Vidal If you have an interesting story to tell, or an idea about an aspect of Spain or Spanish life that you think would be of interest to our readers, please get in touch. We value your views so write to the Society’s secretarial office at 102 Eaton Square, London SW1W 9AN or, better still, email us at info@anglospanishsoci- ety.org Adrian Wright Principal Supporters spain today of gross domestic product to development aid. To mark the Spanish Presidency of the EU in the first semes- ter of 2010,the Review has asked Maria Lledo* of the Span- The effective start-up of the Lisbon Treaty will be another ish embassy in London to give us an official summary of her clear priority. government’s aims. The Spanish Presidency will try in all those fields to strength- 1. Achieving economic recovery while promoting a en the Union and its institutions and to promote innovation model of sustainable growth capable of creating more and and effectiveness, while bringing the Union closer to Euro- better jobs. pean citizens. 2. Bringing European citizenship a step further in the *Maria Lledo is a Counsellor in the Spanish Embassy in Lon- 21st century, with particular consideration of gender equality. don 3. Promoting Europe as a global actor, the defense of human rights and the eradication of poverty in the world. 4. The implementation of the Lisbon Treaty Other news…..by Quixote We will have a very dense external relations agenda, with nine summits and other high level gatherings. The Spanish Premium clothes cut Presidency will continue promoting a global, fair and endur- ing peace in the Middle East. We will try to accelerate the Burberry announces closure of its facility in re-establishment of the political process between the parties, Barcelona as part of a restructuring of its loss- contributing to building reciprocal trust. making Spanish operation. Spanish sales were i) We will also organize summits with important down 37% in the first half of 2009. The company says it is no partners as Pakistan, Japan and Russia. We expect notable longer viable to produce a special collection for the Spanish progress to take place in the negotiations that are underway market, where it is largely a premium rather than a luxury for the new EU-Russia Agreement. brand. 17/2/2010 ii) The first meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the EU Further signs of shrinkage Eastern Partnership will take place during our presidency. The Spanish economy shrunk again in the fourth quarter of We will pay particular attention to EU enlargement, and, in last year, albeit at a slower rate than the period before, leav- the field of the European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP), ing it as one of the last European economies to pull out of will continue working for the development of EU civil and the recession. Spanish registered unemployed topped 4m. military capacities, with special attention to fostering the 12/2/2010 (Continues). work of the European Defense Agency. We will ensure that Room for Optimism the EU is in a position to contribute through civil and military Prime-ministers Gordon Brown of the UK, and Jose Luis Za- operations to conflict stabilization and resolution. We will patero of Spain join their Greek and Norwegian counterparts strive to consolidate and intensify EU cooperation on the in collective appeal to the financial community to prioritise subject of crisis management with the UN, as well as with growth over deficit cuts, and told financial speculators to organizations like NATO, OSCE and the African Union. change their short-term view for one that is more favourable We will pay special heed to the fight against poverty and to society. 19/02/2010 social marginalization. We will prioritize development co- If Pigs could fly? operation in the EU’s foreign affairs agenda with particular emphasis on increasing coherence and effectiveness of aid No FT… No comment….2009/2010 and upholding the Union’s commitment to allocating 0.56% elBulli takes a break Ferran Adrian provokes mass despair in the culinary commu- nity by announcing that he is to close his restaurant in Roses for two years. 26/1/2010 Prison movie prized ‘Cell 211’ wins eight trophies at the Goya Awards, Spain’s ver- sion of the Oscars. 14/2/2010 3 society news Our new chairman, Dame Denise Holt. writes ... Denise Holt presents credentials to HM The King of Spain Dear Members, I am so delighted to be the new Chairman of the Anglo- Spanish Society. I’ve been in love with Spain since the time, long ago, when I studied for A levels at New Hall School in Chelmsford. Amazingly, it now seems that New Hall is where Catherine of Aragon gave birth to Mary Tudor. What an irresistible legacy and challenge to someone who has spent much of her adult life working to promote mutual understanding between the United Kingdom and Spain! At New Hall I fell in love with Spanish language and litera- ture. I went on to read Spanish, French and Politics at Bristol University, which gave me some fascinating insights into the politics and history of Spain, a great preparation for my first job in the Foreign Office . In fact, I joined the Foreign Office at birth, and spent my childhood travelling the world with my parents. Strangely, none of our postings took us to a Spanish speaking country. I entered the Diplomatic Service in my own right in 1970, as Research Analyst for Iberia - an extraordinary vantage point from which I followed Spain’s transition to democracy with bated breath. After 1984, I moved on to become a generalist diplomat. Overseas postings included Ireland (twice), Brazil and a thrill- ing three years as Ambassador to Mexico, as well as a number of fascinating jobs in London. The highlight of my career 4 for your diary – obviously – was my appointment as Ambassador to Spain. KNUSTON HALL, IRCHESTER, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE When I presented my credentials to King Juan Carlos I had to For more information on the following courses, contact their website or pinch myself. E-mail I am always conscious that Spain and the UK are two old [email protected] or Tel. 01933 312104 countries, whose history has been intertwined for centuries. Spanish Conversation 7 - 9 May 2010. Tutor Esperanza Fernández. Fee: £125 I have a personal love of the medieval period, and it was great – £199. thrill for me to visit Santiago de Compostela, an important Spanish Conversation 12 – 14 November 2010. Tutor Esperanza Fernández. pilgrimage centre for British people for so many centuries. Fee: £125 - £199. My last stop on leaving Spain was Burgos where I went to pay my respects to Eleanor of England, sister of Richard the DILLINGTON HOUSE, ILMINSTER, SOMERSET. Lionheart, wife of Alfonso VIII of Castile and daughter of my For more information on the following courses, contact their website or E- heroine, Eleanor of Acquitaine. Later on, there were darker mail [email protected] or Tel. 01460 258648 days, as our countries vied for religious, political and eco- The Ancient Kingdom of Aragón. 19 – 21 March 2010. Fee £ 145 – 257. And... nomic supremacy. Alliances shifted back and forth, and as Ambassador I was also conscious of the need to commemo- An Adventure in Aragón. 22 – 26 March. Fee £665 plus flight. Both led by Chris Pollard. rate the past without celebrating the vitory of one side over another – thankfully, we’re all allies now. Spanish Adventure: Advanced Language Course. 1 – 4 June 2010. Fee £185 – 352. Tutor Chris Pollard. But an interesting sidelight for me was that the involvement The Joy of Spanish.