Barcelona or Bust: This weeks newspaper column

Hola.

I spent a lot of time in Barcelona in the nineties. It was cheap enough in those days to spend frequent long weekends there. You could eat great tapas, drink fruity red wine and gaze at the wonderment of those fine Gaudi buildings for next to nothing. It’s a lot more expensive now; such is the power of the Euro.

Catalans used to do a wonderful thing on the first Monday of the month. If there were household items that you did not need, you’d put them out in the street for people to collect for free. It wasn’t rubbish either. An old pal of mine furnished his apartment with rugs, mirrors, beds etc, all long before the zeitgeist of EBay.

It was a truly honorable exercise in giving, part of the soul of a great city. It’s all stopped now. Some pathetic EU law put paid to it. It’s sad and short sighted in my opinion.

With this spirit, I’ve decided to take my own stance. Last night, I left a box of about fifty old books outside my front door with a note saying ‘take’. I wonder what will happen. I’ll let you know.

Perhaps you should try it too, and together we can all start something, a movement even. After all, we’re Europeans now aren’t we? Or is the old ‘Boot Sale’ still a better option?

Adious.

www.millfieldtheatre.co.uk