Anna Nicholas

Site Search

Books

What the critics say

“A warm and intelligent account of expat life in Spain filled with humorous anecdotes” Daily Telegraph Expat

“Anna once again manages to make me want to give up my life in London and set up shop on a Spanish island” Live Your Life e-zine

“Endearing, funny…” Real Travel magazine

OUT NOW

Published July 2012!

---

LAUNCHED SEPT 2010

On the Trail of World Records with Norris McWhirter

Latest Events

• To be confirmed

See the Events page for latest news!

It’s time to stop oiling the wheels of Brussels

That’s it. Until now I’ve laughed off the bizarre and batty edicts imposed by Brussels bureaucrats such as outlawing bendy bananas and cucumbers, denying that water is hydrating, that prunes are not laxatives and that eggs cannot be sold by number only weight. Even the ban on feeding kitchen scraps to chickens hasn’t rattled my coop. There may be a...

A Beginner's Guide to Mallorca

As the summer season looms large here in Majorca one thing is certain, a mountain of eager beaver destination guides will be hitting bookshops and online stores, hoping to persuade holidaymakers that a visit to the island’s sun kissed shores is nigh impossible without their invaluable insights and blessing.

How though does one sift through the ever-growing assortment of guides that...

Fretting about frogs

At this time of year I am usually in frog mode. Now that might sound distinctly odd to some but there is nothing more thrilling than the triumphant return of Majorcan amphibians to our valley in Spring.

In the autumn our fickle frogs set off on long vacations, no doubt to sunnier climes, and with a heavy heart I accept that...

Just what the doctor ordered

When it comes to visiting hospitals and doctors’ surgeries I’m a complete coward. My aversion stems partly from the gloomy aspect of my companions, lambs to the slaughter, in the waiting room and also from the strange clinical odour that seems to permeate the very fabric of these most inhospitable of buildings.

And then there is the filling of forms in...

The little Englanders unwilling to take a walk on the wild side

They’re at it again. Truly it drives me to distraction and I know it shouldn’t but today as I coursed along the luxuriously curvy mountain road towards the village of Deia I spotted a fluorescently white, middle-aged couple eating white sandwiches on a narrow and muddy apology for a lay-by in full view of the traffic. What’s odd about that,...

Even in rural Majorca everyone knew of the iron lady

A group of Majorcan friends arrived for supper in sombre mood. I worried that there had been an accident in the town but no, they’d heard the news of the death of Baroness Margaret Thatcher and wanted to show their respect.

Later as they raised their glasses to her memory –although in truth they seemed to know her best from Meryl...

Are Spanish youths really hitting the bottle?

Despite a recent survey showing that 60 per cent of Spanish teenagers aged 13 to 18 do not take drugs and very rarely touch alcohol, the central government in Madrid has decided to raise the permitted age for alcohol consumption and purchase to 18 in order to ‘protect children’ and to reduce anti-social behaviour in public places. Currently in Asturias...

Accusing Spanish hospitals of duping British holidaymakers is a sick joke

Why all this Spain bashing of late? Perhaps it’s down to a subliminal loathing for a country that enjoys more sunshine than miserable old Blighty or is it just the British need to kick a dog when it’s down?

The current whinge is about health cover for British holidaymakers. Some claim – mostly insurers, ironically – that some Spanish health centres...

Spanish farmer should strike while the iron’s hot

Most Spaniards can only dream of winning the famed lotería but lucky farmer Faustino Asensio Lopez in southern Spain seems to have hit the jackpot quite unintentionally.

Some 30 years ago while tending his family’s herds in a field near the city of Ciudad Real Mr Asensio Lopez came across a lump of iron weighing 100kg. Thinking it was military debris...

It’s a dog’s life:travelling abroad with man’s best friend

A British expat was recently recounting an adventurous and tiring three day escapade driving from the UK via France to Barcelona from where he took the ferry to Palma, Majorca. And all for the sake of his two pooches –Great Danes as it happened- that he simply couldn’t face traumatising with a stint in the hold of a plane.

He’s not...

Hola!

Thank you for popping by my website. Aside from giving you the latest news about my five Mallorca book titles, A Lizard in my Luggage, Cat on a Hot Tiled Roof, Goats from a Small Island, Donkeys on my Doorstep and A Bull on the Beach, I shall be uploading my regular columns in Telegraph Expat and also other miscellaneous articles.

You will find updated information about forthcoming talks and events and are invited to join up for my monthly free e-newsletter which includes news about forthcoming book projects and items of general interest.

Please do drop me a line if you would like to make comment about anything on this site.

Hasta pronto!

Expatblog has voted me top blogger for Spain 2012. Many thanks to all of you who voted for me.

Newsletter

Please sign up here for my monthly e-newsletter.

© Anna Nicholas