Showing posts with label interview. Show all posts
Showing posts with label interview. Show all posts
Monday, July 18, 2022
Fires and Heatwave in Spain: Talking to ABC TV News (Australia)
Tuesday, July 28, 2020
"Fears increase, virus surges in Spain" -- My latest interview with ABC Radio (Sydney)
5 minute recording here.
Saturday, August 19, 2017
Video: My latest interview with ABC TV (Australia) about the Barcelona terror attacks
Yesterday I talked via Skype to host Fauziah Ibrahim about the Barcelona terror attacks of 17 August 2017.
Among other questions, she asked me about the reactions of people in the area and increased security measures.
(YouTube video also available here.)
Thursday, August 17, 2017
Barcelona terrorist attacks -- first interview with ABC Radio in Sydney
I spoke to Robbie Buck of ABC Radio Sydney soon after the tragic attack on Las Ramblas, Barcelona. Audio recording here starting at 09.50.
I will be doing another interview with ABC TV News via Skype later today around 6pm Australian time.
Saturday, April 8, 2017
Chatting with Jim Kent on Barcelona City FM radio
An enjoyable time was had by all and the full podcast can be downloaded here.
Saturday, April 1, 2017
"I don't like divisions. They belong to a schizophrenia of thinking"
 |
| [Photo: JOSEP LOSADA.] |
Romanian writer Mircea Cartarescu makes one of the most compelling arguments in favour of the existence of Europe in an interview with Marcela Topor, the Editor of Catalonia Today magazine...
"I've always been a fervent pro-European. My Europe is one built on an enormous cultural, philosophical and scientific heritage.
The Judaic-Greek tradition dating back 3,000 years is its spine.
Descartes is the archetype of the European spirit. His famous quote starts with the word “dubito”, which is the most European word possible, in my opinion. T
he spirit of doubt, which leads to rational thinking, is the best thing that Europe has. This is my ideal Europe: a place of humanism, centred around education and culture...
I don't like divisions. They belong to a
schizophrenia of thinking.
The Berlin Wall was the main symbol of the
Iron Curtain during the Cold War. I dream of a Europe without frontiers,
I am also aware that we still have a long way to go until we can hope
to achieve this dream.
European countries are not just simple squares on
a map, but they have a bloody and traumatic past. The United States of
Europe seems something of a utopia right now."
Read more from source article at Catalonia Today here.
Saturday, February 7, 2015
Video: interview with Nicole Millar
 |
This week I had a very enjoyable interview with Nicole Millar on her English language program for El Punt Avui TV.
We talked a lot about parenting and more generally about our
lives here.
Monday, June 23, 2014
Interview on ExpatsBlog.com
Where
are you originally from?
Australia.
In which country and city are you living now?
Spain.
How long have you lived in Spain and how long are you planning to stay?
8 years and planning to stay another 5 years at least [but probably longer.]
Why did you move to Spain and what do you do?
Many reasons, but largely because Europe (especially Spain) has the kind of history, culture and lifestyle that is one of the best in the world. I taught English and History at two international schools here part-time for a few years and also finished my first book, The Remade Parent. Now I'm working on a travel book about Spain while being a columnist and reviewer for Catalonia Today magazine...on top of teaching local adults English in company mainly.
Did you bring family with you?
Yes, my wife and son have always lived with me. I couldn't have it any other way.
How did you find the transition to living in a foreign country?
Difficult at times. Sometimes it feels like (even after 8 years here) that the transition is still continuing but I'd lived in Japan for 3 years (and England for 2 years) before coming to Spain so it was not so hard.
Was it easy making friends and meeting people; do you mainly socialise with other expats?
No, it wasn't easy and still isn't. I don't socialise much with expats either though.
What are the best things to do in the area; anything to recommend to future expats?
The food and wine is exceptional and the weather is good for most of the year so it is great for outdoor types. Apart from Barcelona, the regions are wonderful if you have the time to visit them. I think Toledo is incredible, as is Granada too, but there are real gems like Asturias or Galicia which are often neglected by visitors.
What do you enjoy most about living in Spain?
The sun, the seafood, the people I work with (usually!) and the family-friendly nature of public life. I love the tranquility of the little town we live in but Barcelona never fails to stimulate the senses and feed my curiosity.
How does the cost of living in Spain compare to home?
Home is here in Spain but compared to Australia food and drink is much cheaper though other costs are often higher.
Unless you have independent wealth or are very lucky (or well-conected) you'll need some savings to live on at times.
What negatives, if any, are there to living in Spain?
Of course there are negatives such as cultural clashes and some people prejudging you but the positives (still) outweigh the negatives for me.
If you could pick one piece of advice to anyone moving to Spain, what would it be?
Experience as much of the local culture as you can...as long as it interests you.
What has been the hardest aspect to your expat experience so far?
Finances and dealing with the many layers of bureaucracy when you want to do even quite basic things related to housing, business or employment.
When you finally return home, how do you think you'll cope with repatriation?
As I say, home is here, but I'm sure that there would be plenty of reverse culture shock in going back to Australia one day, even just visting there for short periods I've noticed that.
What are your top 5 expat tips for anyone following in your footsteps?
Australia.
In which country and city are you living now?
Spain.
How long have you lived in Spain and how long are you planning to stay?
8 years and planning to stay another 5 years at least [but probably longer.]
Why did you move to Spain and what do you do?
Many reasons, but largely because Europe (especially Spain) has the kind of history, culture and lifestyle that is one of the best in the world. I taught English and History at two international schools here part-time for a few years and also finished my first book, The Remade Parent. Now I'm working on a travel book about Spain while being a columnist and reviewer for Catalonia Today magazine...on top of teaching local adults English in company mainly.
Did you bring family with you?
Yes, my wife and son have always lived with me. I couldn't have it any other way.
How did you find the transition to living in a foreign country?
Difficult at times. Sometimes it feels like (even after 8 years here) that the transition is still continuing but I'd lived in Japan for 3 years (and England for 2 years) before coming to Spain so it was not so hard.
Was it easy making friends and meeting people; do you mainly socialise with other expats?
No, it wasn't easy and still isn't. I don't socialise much with expats either though.
What are the best things to do in the area; anything to recommend to future expats?
The food and wine is exceptional and the weather is good for most of the year so it is great for outdoor types. Apart from Barcelona, the regions are wonderful if you have the time to visit them. I think Toledo is incredible, as is Granada too, but there are real gems like Asturias or Galicia which are often neglected by visitors.
What do you enjoy most about living in Spain?
The sun, the seafood, the people I work with (usually!) and the family-friendly nature of public life. I love the tranquility of the little town we live in but Barcelona never fails to stimulate the senses and feed my curiosity.
How does the cost of living in Spain compare to home?
Home is here in Spain but compared to Australia food and drink is much cheaper though other costs are often higher.
Unless you have independent wealth or are very lucky (or well-conected) you'll need some savings to live on at times.
What negatives, if any, are there to living in Spain?
Of course there are negatives such as cultural clashes and some people prejudging you but the positives (still) outweigh the negatives for me.
If you could pick one piece of advice to anyone moving to Spain, what would it be?
Experience as much of the local culture as you can...as long as it interests you.
What has been the hardest aspect to your expat experience so far?
Finances and dealing with the many layers of bureaucracy when you want to do even quite basic things related to housing, business or employment.
When you finally return home, how do you think you'll cope with repatriation?
As I say, home is here, but I'm sure that there would be plenty of reverse culture shock in going back to Australia one day, even just visting there for short periods I've noticed that.
What are your top 5 expat tips for anyone following in your footsteps?
- Travel widely and see more than just the little area you live in.
- Learn to be functional in a relevant local language.
- Be prepared to earn less than you probably do already.
- Make sure that if you have kids that they have regular social and/or educational opportunities with local children (not just with other expats.)
- Try to not rely
only on expats for your social life.
Tell us a bit about your own expat blog.
It's a blog on social/public issues and cultural life in Catalonia, Spain and wider Europe.
I started it in 2009 and it now brings visitors from all around the world, which is great.
- See more at: http://www.expatsblog.com/articles/1797/australian-expat-living-in-spain-expat-interview-with-brett#sthash.43EHX2eu.dpuf
Sunday, September 29, 2013
Time for a change? The end of the siesta?
The
other night I got a call from ABC
Radio in Australia, asking me to comment on this
story
about Spain abandoning
the siesta
and changing (back) to the same
timezone as the countries on
Britain's latitude.
I
did a short interview on their breakfast show [click on the
MP3 link here
to listen to it] and I argued that these proposed changes are
(underneath all the supposed reasons) largely an attempt to get more
hours of work from people without paying them more for it.
The
study was set-up by Rajoy's PP government who have continually made
it very clear that one of their biggest plans is to reduce
wages
and “reform” labour conditions.
The report that was produced was
part-authored by Nuria Chinchilla, a
business school executive.
That says a lot to me.
Business
representatives are the first to blame workers for the economic
problems in this country, while ignoring
their part
in often hiring relatives and friends ahead of better qualified and
more experienced candidates.
It means that this kind of nepotism
creates a type of employee who believes they do not have to work well
to keep their job and the cycle of “jobs
as favours”
for those with connections continues. To me, this a much greater
problem than anything related to hours of work.
One
of the proposals being put is that people work 9 to 5 and have no
siesta at all.
I
have never had a two-hour lunch break and plenty of people here do
not, but the less obvious part of the plan is to bump up the time
spent working in the average day of the average working man or woman
in Spain.
As
Ignacio Buqueras, president of the Association
for the Rationalisation of Spanish Working Hours says in a
related Guardian article, "We should be starting between
7.30am and 9am and never finishing work later than 6pm. Half an hour,
or an hour, is more than enough to time to eat a healthy lunch."
In other words, it could be legal to start much earlier than 9am,
work until 6pm and have only 30 minutes for lunch.
What
are the chances that an
increase in wages will accompany an increase in working time?
Zero
percent chance.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
X-mas interview on ABC Radio Australia
I was interviewed again on Christmas Day for an early morning radio audience in Australia. I told them how we do it here, how others do it here and how it isn't done at all.
Amongst a few other more important things, I mentioned the importance of volunteers and how hospitals are increasingly giving patients so-called "informative invoices" to show how much their 'free' operation would cost if it had to be paid for directly.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Another interview with Australian national radio
The other day I was interviewed again by ABC radio for their Overnights program and, amongst other subjects that I have blogged on, I talked about:
How Barcelona and dozens of cities united in world-wide protest
The stealing of children in Spain (compared to Australia's Aboriginal
"stolen generation")
Doctors at a Barcelona hospital offering to perform free operations on
cancer patients
"Catalan Footprints" exhibition in Australia recently
The economic crisis in general here (ie. More than one in five people
in Spain now live below the poverty line.)
Link to MP3 recording of the interview here.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Another interview for Australian radio
On Sunday I will be interviewed again on Australia’s publicly-run ABC Radio, this time about the festivities of this time of year in Spain and Catalunya. The program is Overnights – Round the World and will be at broadcast there on Boxing Day morning.
I will mention the caganer, the El Gordo lottery, calcats and romesco sauce, caga-tio and other oddities.
I will mention the caganer, the El Gordo lottery, calcats and romesco sauce, caga-tio and other oddities.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
An interview about Spain for Australian radio
This week I will be interviewed on Australia’s ABC Radio about current events in Spain and our lives here in Catalonia. The program is Overnights – Round the World and will be at approximately 4.15am on Saturday AEST.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)