Philip Spires commonplace book

I have kept a commonplace book for many years. It's a place where scraps of impressions are filed for future reflection. It's not a diary, it's just a mental scrapbook, concentrating on book reviews, concert reviews, visual arts and some occasional pieces on travel. It is also a place where I occasionally reflect on what I write. Details of my books can be found at http://www.philipspires.co.uk

Showing posts with label spain. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 29, 2022

Óscar Esplá – music in context

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Some artists seem to be inextricably linked to places. Henry Moore’s legacy is in Leeds, where he studied, but was not born. Barbara Hepwort...

Friday, October 14, 2022

El balcón en invierno by Luis Landero

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El balcón en invierno by Luis Landero is beautiful, if at times frustrating book. It could all be said much more simply, succinctly and perh...

Thursday, November 11, 2021

A visit to Casa-Museo Zacarías González, Salamanca

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Zacarías González is not a name that appears in many art books or catalogues. It ’ s not a name that appears on the title tags in many publi...

Thursday, March 11, 2021

Costa Blanca Arts Update, Claudi Arimany, Eduard Sanchez, Joaquin Palomares, Elena Segura

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There are not many concerts around these days. In addition, audiences are reluctant to attend and the travel and accommodation restriction...

Sunday, September 27, 2020

Amores percussion, Maria Maica, Elia Casanova in Alicante and International Chamber Orchestra in Alfas del Pi

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Three concerts in four days… Despite Spain’s rising number of coronavirus cases, concert halls are open. The audiences wear masks, seat ...

Friday, August 7, 2020

Costa Blanca Arts Update - Spanish Brass and Zélia Rocha

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There has not been much opportunity to review arts events of late. I am sure I don’t have to explain why. But over the last few weeks ther...

Friday, January 10, 2014

Doves Of War by Paul Preston

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Writers of fiction are often accused of forcing their characters to jump through ever more fanciful hoops to satisfy a presumed need for eng...

Monday, September 17, 2012

Donald Cottee's second blog

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In E283, Lexicography… - Don discusses language and the art of the blog, he examines the linguistic skills of his heritage and declares his ...

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Donald Cottee's first blog

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A search for Donald Cottee… - Don sets the scene by examining who he might be. He searches for himself without much success. He then introdu...

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About Me

philipspires: I was born in Wakefield and was brought up in Sharslton, a mining Village. I went to London University and then became a maths teacher, working initially as a volunteer teacher in Kenya. I spent sixteen years in London, in Balham and Islington. In 1992, I left Britain for Brunei and then Zayed University in Abu Dhabi. I currently live in La Nucia, near Benidorm in Spain. I am interested in the relationship between nature and nurture, birthright and experience. Themes of culture and identity and their relation to economic and social roles underpin my writing. What we are born into relates to what we become, but we are rarely in control. What others do, our interests and intellects and the way we choose to earn a living, all of these shape us into what we become. It may be that culture is the sum of all assumptions that others make on our behalf, whereas identity represents our reactions to them. I did a PhD on the effects of education in economic development in the Philippines. I was President of Alfas del Pi Music Society for twelve years.

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