My favourite coffee in Spain is a cortado, which is kind of like an espresso with a dash of milk. I’ve been living here for 5 years now and I’ve probably had at least two cortados every day since then, so I’ve had more than three thousand of them in that time, which also means I’ve asked for them more than three thousand times too … Continue reading Big Egos Have Little Ears
Have you ever heard a song on the radio, Spotify or wherever when it seems to be the perfect moment for you to have heard it? As a big music fan, I love discovering new songs and every now and again I unexpectedly get the chance to rediscover something I’d forgotten about. I love walking around in Granada listening to music and yesterday doing just … Continue reading The Spontaneous Sound Of Summer
As we live our lives, from time to time it can feel like we’re treading water and that we’re surrounded by the same old ‘greyness’ and it’ s true that the world can be a terrible place for all kinds of reasons, however there is beauty and joy in even the little things we see and do every day if we are open to seeing it … Continue reading It’s The Little Things
‘Boldness has genius, power and magic in it’ (Goethe) I saw this quote a while ago and it really struck me as I’d never thought of boldness having such qualities before and yet, now I think I might understand it a little more as at the weekend, I took a chance at being bold in my own small way. If you’ve been reading this blog for … Continue reading How To Scare Yourself Into Being Bold And Loving It
Puede ser difícil ser quien eres. A veces eres tú que es tu peor enemigo o mayormente, la gente a tu alrededor de ti, como tu familia o tus amigos, aunque te digan que te quieren. Tal vez tengas sueños en los que quieres renunciar a tu trabajo para viajar por el mundo o empezar otro trabajo. No importa qué sea. La verdad es que … Continue reading Encuentra Tu Gente
A friend was recently telling me about their plans for setting up their own business. They’d been thinking about it on and off for years and things were such in their life that now seemed like the perfect opportunity to make it happen. But strangely, although she was clearly passionate about this idea, all I could hear her say was ‘But what if it goes … Continue reading What If It Goes Right?
I have been a fan of Q (English music magazine) for many years and in the latest issue, I was reading an interview with a band called Royal Blood. Now I’m not really a rock fan but every now and again a band comes through that I really like and Royal Blood are currently and pleasantly deafening me with both their albums. But why am … Continue reading Can What’s Missing Be Your Strength?
It’s 6am on the first day of November and quite dark outside. I couldn’t sleep and so I tiptoed through the house so as not to wake Mrs Cortado and our dog Grace to go outside and get my phone which I’d left in the car. On my way back, I promptly dropped it (clearly no coffee yet having an impact) and happened to look … Continue reading Sky Full Of Morning Stars
Perhaps this is something we don’t like admitting, but although we may want to get things done as soon as possible, sometimes it will just take longer. And that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. I’ve just managed to get a Spanish driving licence for a friend. It’s been a process which started a few months ago and as is the case in … Continue reading How Bruce Lee Helped Me Get A Spanish Driving Licence
“Sometimes I want to go home and stay out of sight for a long time” This is a lyric from a song called ‘Van Occupanther’ by one of my favourite bands, Midlake which gets me every time. On listening to it today, it got me thinking especially about how it feels to ‘sometimes want go home and stay out of sight for a long … Continue reading Permission To Not Be Positive
I’m sitting on a lovely, ever-so-slightly battered brown sofa in my favourite bar (Cafe Cyrano) in Almería, my recently adopted ‘big city’, listening to my new favourite album (‘Hey Mr Ferryman’ by Mark Eitzel) with a cortado coffee and an orange juice. I’ve just put my car in for a service. Not a big deal for most people, but not having owned a car until recently, … Continue reading Nothing Like A Coffee And Some Time
I haven’t posted here for a while. Not for any particular reason. It just kind of happened and maybe we need time away from things or even people to reflect and appreciate them more when they come back. I always wanted this blog to be about rallying against the negativity and cynicism in the world by seeing and appreciating the positive that is in the … Continue reading Bring It On…
Away From The Noise 