Letter from Spain #52

New book, new writing schedule ...

I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is that I am now entrenched with writing ‘The Madrid Connection’ and I’m very excited about it. The bad news is that this means that between my day job(s), I’m going to have even less time than I already have to keep up this blog, at least on a weekly basis, and at least for the next three months (until the end of August).

That’s not to say I’m stopping this ‘Letter from Spain’ - far from it - so please don’t ‘unsubscribe’. I will still post a ‘letter’, as and when I can, but it won’t always be on a weekly basis until I’ve completed the first full, good draft of TMC (it will almost be my second draft).

When I write, I have to have a deadline. I can’t write unless there’s a deadline. That’s easy with magazine and newspaper work, but sitting down and writing a book takes huge self-discipline - and I’m also still researching everything while writing. I don’t have an agent at the moment telling me there’s a deadline, and so I’ve set one myself: a specific number of pages (even if bad) to complete every single day, every week, during three months. It’s four pages a day, if you’re curious (about 1,400 words) - whether on my laptop and/or handwritten.

Once I’ve finished that first/second draft, I intend to spend a further three months (September to November) rewriting it - which is easier to do once you have something to rewrite - and then for a final draft (at least my final draft), I will do so again during December to February, yet hopefully with an editor’s notes. There will probably be another draft after that, but I can’t think about that right now.

As and when I can post a ‘Letter from Spain’ during the next three months, it will be to share news of events (there’s one coming up in Madrid on 20 September - see below!) and any developments on the audiovisual side of things - or because there’s a topic that I just can’t not write about.

For those of you who have read ‘A Load of Bull - An Englishman’s Adventures in Madrid’ (see below) or for those of who are yet to read it - I’m also going to start posting some photos and other notes in this blog that relate to each chapter - more ‘scenes from Madrid’ than anything else, for those of you who are interested in the locations described in the book. I did this for The Barcelona Connection in ‘Letter from Spain’ #7 right up to #42, as well as notes on all the research I carried out for the book (see below). With ‘A Load of Bull’, in addition to more recent photos of the locations in Madrid, I’m also going to dig into my archive of photos to post shots from the late 80s and 90s, of people and ‘incidents’ that appear in the book … at least where I’m allowed. So do not unsubscribe!

Thanks for reading … and please bear with me whilst I work on ‘The Madrid Connection’.

‘A Load of Bull - An Englishman’s Adventures in Madrid’ - photos and notes (1).

Chapter 1 - the Centro Colón aparthotel (entrance).

On the Plaza de Colón, the Centro Colón was a plain-faced concrete block of dull grey, with its name set out in gigantic letters on the roof, lit up to neon-red at night. If you had a room overlooking the floodlit fountains of the Plaza de Colón itself, you’d be able to see the Christopher Columbus monument and several giant sculptures depicting his voyage and discoveries. If you had a room on the top floor, you’d be able to see the chic shopping street, Calle de Serrano, beyond the frenetic main arteries of the city, the Paseos of Castellana and Recoletos. But I didn’t have such a room.

I’d convinced myself that the Centro Colón would be a luxury hotel. But the lobby reception was classic late sixties: beige and brown furniture, rubber plants in huge tubs, white PVC sofas, chrome sculptures and ornate, fake crystal chandeliers. It looked like a set from a Pink Panther movie. The lift smelt of Ambre Solaire inside as if the previous occupant had just come in off the beach. But I was six hundred kilometres from the nearest beach.

Books, Reviews, Research, News & Events

Forthcoming Events

On Friday 20 September, I am doing an event at the Secret Kingdoms Bookshop at Moratín 7 in Madrid. Whilst the event is free, places will be limited. You can reserve a place by buying a €3 voucher redeemable in the store on the night. Hope to see you there! You can reserve your place here via this link - or click on image below.

The Barcelona Connection - Research

In my weekly ‘Letter from Spain’ from #7 right up to #42, I included notes about all the research I carried out for The Barcelona Connection. Many of the posts include photos and descriptions of locations that appear in the book, from Nîmes, Figueres, Cadaqués, La Bisbal d’Empordà and, of course, many areas of Barcelona. There are also posts about Salvador Dalí’s Hallucinogenic Toreador and ‘The Face’, the Dalí Museum in Figueres, the Picasso Museum and MNAC in Barcelona, even Girona Airport and nearby motorway service station - as well as the G20 Spouse Party, museum visits and ‘art attacks’. I hope the notes about the research are of interest … and I hope you might buy, read and take The Barcelona Connection with you to some of the locations that appear in the book! If you do, please send me a photo and I’ll post it here …

The Barcelona Connection - Book & Reviews

A murder. A kidnapping. A lost Salvador Dalí painting. Just 36 hours to resolve all three. Every crime scene is a work of art …

Benjamin Blake is no ordinary detective. Specialising in the criminal underworld of stolen and forged art, things don’t always go the right way for Benjamin. But when they don’t, he has a stubborn determination to put them right.

Within hours of being sent to Barcelona to authenticate a possible Salvador Dalí painting, Benjamin is left stranded without his cell phone at a service station alongside a bloody corpse in the early hours of the morning, after being savagely attacked with his hire car stolen, together with the painting.

Helped and hindered by the fiery Elena Carmona, pursued by a psychopathic hitman, Benjamin becomes the prime suspect in a politically motivated kidnap and murder. All this on the eve of Barcelona hosting a G20 summit and UN climate change conference, with the police in hot pursuit fearing a wider terrorist threat.

From Nîmes in the South of France, across the border to the sweltering humidity of Girona, Barcelona, Figueres and Cadaqués, The Barcelona Connection is a fast-paced, gripping page-turner sprinkled with black comedy, blending the real with the surreal, art crime and mistaken identity … and where the clues at the crime scene might just be the mirror image of a long-lost work of art …

If you can’t locate a copy of The Barcelona Connection in your local store, it can be ordered from any bookshop simply by giving the ISBN number: 978-1-7393326-1-7.

It is also available in print or as an eBook via Amazon and Barnes & Noble, or you can also click here to choose where else to order your copy from.

Click here for the latest reviews on Amazon and on Goodreads.

A review by Michael Eaude of The Barcelona Connection was published in the October 2023 edition of Catalonia Today.

‘Short, fast-moving scenes and the deft joining of two completely different plots … the novel is not just breathlessly rapid and action-packed, but overflows with humour and satire.’

‘The excellent plotting, the local knowledge, the surreal humour, the political satire and the speed of events … it’s an admirable and very readable crime novel.’

A review by Dominic Begg of The Barcelona Connection was published in La Revista, a publication of the British-Spanish Society.

‘The Barcelona Connection is a fast-moving page-turner with a helter-skelter plot.’

‘The background to this thriller is realistic and familiar to those who know Barcelona well. It’s a world of cynical, ambitious politicians; civil servants promoted via enchufe; friction between Spanish and Catalan investigators; disruptive anti-capitalist activists; bumbling US dignitaries and security guards; the continuing influence of old supporters of Franco; the soulless 21st century, exemplified by apartment hotels seemingly without human staff-members …’

Here’s a link to a review of the book by Eve Schnitzer published by the Spain in English online newspaper.

‘Tim Parfitt very cleverly weaves together two parallel though quite different stories, set against the background of a contemporary Barcelona that is even busier than usual with major international meetings.’

‘Two plot lines interweave, with some highly ironic as well as suspenseful results … this book has a lot to offer the reader, from pure entertainment to solid information and, possibly, a fuller understanding of the complexities of Spain and Catalonia in particular.’

Here’s the link to an article I was asked to write for The Art Newspaper about my research on Salvador Dalí.

A Load of Bull - An Englishman’s Adventures in Madrid - Book & Reviews

Eighteen years since it was originally published, ‘A Load of Bull - An Englishman’s Adventures in Madrid’ has just been re-issued, with a new introduction, new cover and five extra chapters that were cut from the original book.

It is available in print and as an eBook, and this time worldwide, in both formats. Bookshop distribution is underway but in the meantime you can order the new paperback or digital edition via Amazon and Barnes & Noble, or the digital version on Apple, Kobo, Smashwords, or on many other platforms by clicking here.

If you’ve never read the book, I hope you will now acquire a copy and laugh out loud. If you did read and enjoy the original edition, I think you’ll love this new edition with additional chapters! More details about the book and links to many reviews are below.

A LOAD OF BULL - An Englishman’s Adventures in Madrid

The hilarious true story of an Englishman sent to Madrid to help launch Spanish Vogue …

In the late eighties Tim Parfitt blagged his way into a job at Condé Nast in London and from there into a six week stint in Madrid to help launch Spanish Vogue. Six weeks turned into nine years, and helping out turned into running the company. Along the way, Tim Parfitt discovered the real 'real' Spain. He never saw a Costa and he certainly never bought an olive grove. Instead, he discovered a booming city in hedonistic reaction to years of fascism, where sleep was something you only did at work and where five hour lunches invariably involved a course of bull's testicles.

Tim Parfitt's rise from unwanted guest to paparazzi-pursued mover in Spain's glamorous social scene is a hilarious comedy of errors. Frothing with a language designed to make foreigners dribble, hospitalised by tapa-induced flatulence and constantly frustrated by the unapproachable beauty of the women parading through the Vogue offices, he nevertheless falls in love with a city, a country and its people - despite the fact he hasn't a clue what they're on about.

You can click here for all the reviews of A Load of Bull on Amazon, as well as on Goodreads.

Links to newspaper and magazine reviews:

‘A hugely entertaining memoir ... frequently laugh-out-loud funny.’ (The Daily Express)

‘Parfitt is no ordinary Englishman … his light touch and neat line in self-deprecating humour perfectly suits this entertaining urban spin on the old tale of Brits having fun under the Spanish sun.’ (The Sunday Times)

‘A love letter to Madrid ... brilliantly captures a truly eccentric and hedonistic place.’ (The Daily Mirror)

‘Often hilarious ... a side-splittingly funny travel memoir.’ (BBC Online)

‘Vivid yet affectionate … fascinating, escapist stuff.’ (OK! Magazine)

‘Magnificent ... brilliant and moving, hilarious and truthful.’ (La Vanguardia)

‘Don't miss it … Madrid through the eyes of an Englishman.’ (Vogue España)

Spanish edition

A Load of Bull was also published in Spanish under the title, Mucho Toro - las tribulaciones de un inglés en la movida. Click here or on image below for the current eBook version.

Contact Details

You can email me at: tim.parfitt@hotmail.co.uk