Letters from the Atlantic

Many people do not realise that the Spanish Civil War of 1936 actually began in the Canary Islands. Francisco Franco was General Commandant of the Canary Islands, who was based in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. It was here that Franco plotted his strategy, well away from the rest of Spain, before he headed to the Spanish Peninsular. It was under his watch that Spain became divided into two factions: ‘Republican’ and ‘Loyalists’. © Barrie Mahoney 2024To find out more about Barrie, his blogs, podcasts and books, go to: http://barriemahoney.com/

It is true that less tourists return home alive than have set off for their holiday in the Canary Islands. This disturbing fact is not one that the tourist industry will thank me for highlighting, but it is time that the stark facts are raised once again and that holidaymakers are alerted to the potential risks of a holiday in the Canary Islands, and other popular tourist destinations.© Barrie Mahoney 2023Join me on Facebook: @barrie.mahoneyTo find out more about Barrie, his blogs, podcasts and books, go to: http://barriemahoney.com/

Getting the work-life balance right is not easy for many people, and for many juggling with earning enough to pay the rent or mortgage, food and other bills, there is often very little choice in the amount of free time available. Time to spend with families and friends is important, and I often admire the Spanish tradition of putting family life first whenever possible.© Barrie Mahoney 2023Join me on Facebook: @barrie.mahoneyTo find out more about Barrie, his blogs, podcasts and books, go to: http://barriemahoney.com/

Here we go again, another Friday 13th. I really am fed up with reading what all the doom mongers have to say about the likelihood of disaster on this ‘unlucky’ day. It reminds me of an event a few weeks ago when a weird religious sect that takes the Book of Revelations literally, busily promoted the idea that the world was about to end on 21 September. How disappointed they must have been on 22 September. I just hope that they gave some serious thought to those unfortunate believers who committed suicide in order to avoid the big event, or those that had blown all their savings a few weeks before, as they couldn’t take their savings with them. Such foolish predictions are not only dangerous lies, but very cruel for many decent, trusting people.© Barrie Mahoney 2023Join me on Facebook: @barrie.mahoneyTo find out more about Barrie, his blogs, podcasts and books, go to: http://barriemahoney.com/

It is often fascinating to discover some of the remedies and answers to problems that can be found by looking at the past. If we look carefully, we often find answers to many present-day problems, and how our ancestors dealt with the inconveniences of life. I discovered this recently when looking at a tree on the small island of El Hierro...© Barrie Mahoney 2023Join me on Facebook: @barrie.mahoneyTo find out more about Barrie and his books, go to: http://barriemahoney.com/