Burglary in Spain

BURGLARY in SPAIN

“I have robbed”, I confessed to the bemused young Guardia Civil officer after I had found my way inside the rather imposing Guardia Civil barracks in Nerja (there is internet speculation that certain chips in the stonework date from the times of Civil War firing squads). My phrase book had correctly prompted me to say “me han robado”  (“they have [someone has] robbed me”), but in my somewhat panicky state it came out as “he robado”.

Chunks of Empire go missing at Tate Britain

Chunks of Empire go missing at Tate Britain

The main impression I took from the Tate’s Artists and Empire exhibition is that the visual arts don’t come close to the written arts in reflecting the complexities, the dark corners and the brighter corners of Britain’s chequered Empire.