Letters from the Atlantic

The Canary Islands have a strong place in history in setting the centre of world time. Imagine the prestige (and confusion) if the world’s clocks were set to Canaries Mañana Time and not Greenwich Mean Time.

© Barrie Mahoney 2011

This article is part of the book 'Living the Dream' by Barrie Mahoney. 

You can find out more about the author and this book by clicking here

Do you receive endless email spam messages advertising all kinds of competitions, pills and potions and, in particular, Viagra? The Viagra ones are particularly sinister, I find. After all, do they know something that I don’t? They are, of course, easily dealt with by using the delete button, and some email providers also provide very sophisticated software that will weed out some of the most annoying and offensive messages and blast them into the ether. Sadly, it is a fact of modern day living that most of us are bombarded with all kinds of advertising, junk mail and unwanted phone calls.
© Barrie Mahoney 2011

This article is part of the book 'Living the Dream' by Barrie Mahoney. 

You can find out more about the author and this book by clicking here

Agatha Christie visited the Canary Islands in search of a tranquil and recuperative environment to help her calm a troubled mind. In February 1927, at the age of 36, she visited the Canary Islands to recover from a number of events that had taken place in her life and were having a serious impact upon her mental health.
© Barrie Mahoney 2012

This article is part of the book 'Expat Survival' by Barrie Mahoney. 

You can find out more about the author and this book by clicking here

It is easy to understand the fascination of many Americans with these small volcanic islands just off the coast of Africa. More than two hundred years have passed since the arrival of the Canary Islanders in Louisiana. However, Spanish surnames are plentiful in Louisiana as well as in other states, and their descendants still treasure the unique heritage of their brave ancestors from the Canary Islands.

© Barrie Mahoney 2010

This article is part of the 'Letters from the Atlantic series' by Barrie Mahoney. 

You can find out more about the author and this book by clicking here

I have watched neighbours struggle and become obsessed with the after effects of red rain in the Costa Blanca. At first it was rather amusing to watch the frenetic activity on neighbours’ patios after a rain storm. Patio furniture, tiles, steps, banisters and balustrades all had to be carefully washed and scrubbed within minutes of the rain stopping. After all, this red dust from the Sahara was pretty powerful stuff and it seemed to get into places, cracks and crevices that you would not think possible.
© Barrie Mahoney 2012

This article is part of the book 'Escape to the Sun' by Barrie Mahoney. 

You can find out more about the author and this book by clicking here

The house shook as lightning shot across the sky, lighting it up rather like it does with fireworks on fiesta days, but this was not to be from the joy of fireworks. Rain beat down and the wind blew violently against the closed shutters and doors with a mighty force that seemed not to be of this world. I tried in vain to switch on a light, but the power had failed.

© Barrie Mahoney 2012

This article is part of the book 'Expat Survival' by Barrie Mahoney. 

You can find out more about the author and this book by clicking here

The Flor de Pascua, or poinsettia, is an essential part of Christmas in the Canary Islands and they grow wild, mostly on the northern slopes of the island, but are native to Central America. The Aztecs put the plant to practical, as well as decorative, use and from its bracts they extracted a purplish dye for use in textiles and cosmetics. The milky white sap, today called latex, was made into a preparation to treat fevers.
© Barrie Mahoney 2012

This article is part of the book 'Message in a Botttle'' by Barrie Mahoney. 

You can find out more about the author and this book by clicking here

My first encounter with ‘The Big Beast’ came shortly after moving into a new housing development in the Costa Blanca. Obtaining a reliable electricity and water supply were both considerable challenges, but none more so than getting a telephone. I recall standing in endless queues with other equally frustrated expats of all nationalities, and sometimes the shop closing before anyone was available to attend to our needs. I have witnessed grown men cry with anger and frustration at the sheer incompetence of trying to get a telephone line installed.

© Barrie Mahoney 2012

This article is part of the book 'Expat Survival' by Barrie Mahoney. 

You can find out more about the author and this book by clicking here

Tradition has it that on New Year’s Eve in Spain and the Canary Islands, twelve ‘lucky grapes’ known as ‘Uvas de la Suerte’ grapes have to be eaten around the stroke of midnight. It is important to eat one grape at a time with each stroke of the clock and, of course, washed down with liquid refreshment, usually a lively Spanish bubbly wine called Cava. It is believed that this tradition came from ancient wine growers; well, after all it does fuel the sale of grapes on New Year’s Eve doesn't it?

© Barrie Mahoney 2012

This article is part of the book 'Expat Survival by Barrie Mahoney. 

You can find out more about the author and this book by clicking here

Who likes trifle? It is strange how the Christmas and New Year period reminds us of times past. I guess that as we get older, incidents and memories that seemed so unimportant and irrelevant to us years ago, gain in both colour and importance as time passes. For me one of these delightful memories is my Mum’s Christmas trifle.

© Barrie Mahoney 2012

This article is part of the book 'Expat Survival' by Barrie Mahoney. 

You can find out more about the author and this book by clicking here

Gay Pride is always a huge event in Gran Canaria – after all, it is the second largest Pride event in Spain and one of the biggest such events in the world. The very first Gay Pride in Maspalomas took place in May 2001 and we have seen the festival get bigger and better each year. Each year thousands from the gay community worldwide, have fun in the sun, culminating in the shows and street parade of the big weekend. This year’s Pride also will be a week of parties, cultural events and shows. Those tourists and residents who are new to the island may well be asking themselves, “What is all the fuss about?” 

© Barrie Mahoney 2013

This article is part of the 'Letters from the Atlantic' series by Barrie Mahoney. 

You can find out more about the author and this book by clicking here

This ‘shot’ is often a local Canarian Honey Rum, known as Ron Miel, which is made from a centuries old tradition of blending aged rum and honey. It is a sweet drink, but not as sweet as you might at first think, and certainly not as sickly to the taste as some liqueurs. It also includes a remarkable ‘kick’ if you drink too many, and it may also be wise not to accept your ‘shot’ if you are the driver!

© Barrie Mahoney 2012

This article is part of the book 'Message in a Bottle' by Barrie Mahoney. 

You can find out more about the author and this book by clicking here

I am not a violent man, and I detest violence of all kind. However, I do make an exception for just one day each year in the Canary Islands - Dia de Los Indianos (Day of the Indians).

© Barrie Mahoney 2012

This article is part of the book 'Message in a Bottle' by Barrie Mahoney. 

You can find out more about the author and this book by clicking here

I admit to being a proud European. Although English born and bred, and I still love the United Kingdom, including Scotland if it remains part of the Union, I do not regard myself as being particularly English or British, but European. I know it is not a particularly popular concept at the present time, but I am proud to be European.

© Barrie Mahoney 2012

This article is part of the book 'Expat Survival' by Barrie Mahoney. 

You can find out more about the author and this book by clicking here

Visitors to the Canary Islands and Spain will notice that the flying of flags is a popular pastime. Public and government buildings, as well as many private organisations, usually proudly display three flags in the Canary Islands: the Spanish flag, the Canary Islands’ flag and the flag of the European Union, and we even have another that is specific to the island of Gran Canaria. Yes, despite the usual negativity and cynicism of many Brits, the European Union is still a popular and welcome concept in many European countries. Spain’s recent victory in the European Cup has also seen a flurry of Spanish and Canarian flags adorning the homes, cars and bodies of many islanders, and has been a delight to see.

© Barrie Mahoney 2012

This article is part of the book 'Message in a Bottle' by Barrie Mahoney. 

You can find out more about the author and this book by clicking here

This book reflects upon the experiences that David and I encountered on our return to the UK, during a time of Brexit uncertainties, rapidly followed by lengthy Covid lockdowns, amidst a rapidly changing political and social landscape with a potential war in Europe on the horizon. 

© Barrie Mahoney 2023

This article is part of the book 'Travelling Hopefully' by Barrie Mahoney. 

You can find out more about the author and this book by clicking here

One of the many things that I love about our island in the sun is the ‘live and let live’ attitude of most of its people. No, I don’t mean the thousands of tourists, but the true Canarian people, those who were born here and have stayed in this little corner of Paradise. As long as it is broadly legal and does not interfere with anyone else, in the main, anything goes. For many of its present day expat population, with its heady mix of faith, culture, colour and sexuality, it takes time to get used to not being judged. Maybe this stems from the time, it is said, when Spain’s General Franco, intolerant of gay men in the military, would ship them off to Gran Canaria, which became a kind of penal colony for homosexuals. Whether there is real historical substance to this claim or whether it is an urban myth, I do not know for sure, but it sounds reasonable enough to me, although I am quite sure that the Yumbo Centre wasn’t there then!

© Barrie Mahoney 2012

This article is part of the book 'Message in a Bottle' by Barrie Mahoney. 

You can find out more about the author and this book by clicking here

I felt a special affinity to this part of London. The Canary Islands are now my home and I am well aware of the banana trade and the impact that it made upon Canary Wharf. Bananas from the Canary Islands were once unloaded right in the centre of what is now London’s vibrant financial district, which takes its name from the No. 10 Warehouse of the South Quay Import Dock, built in 1952 for the Canary Islands’ fruit trade. This grey glass and steel paradise proudly retains the name Canary Wharf to this day.  
© Barrie Mahoney 2012

This article is part of the book 'Message in a Bottle' by Barrie Mahoney. 

You can find out more about the author and this book by clicking here

We stood in white-faced silence as the woman vet continued to tap enthusiastically on her keyboard, whilst making that sharp sucking in of breath sound that I do so detest in Spain - it always means trouble. We then entered the fantasy and frightening world of surgery - complete with anaesthetics, drugs, treatment and recovery times. Did we also want specialist heart and blood tests before the operation? she barked. We were told that this was essential in case Bella was not fit enough and would die during the operation.

© Barrie Mahoney 2012

This article is part of the book 'Escape to the Sun' by Barrie Mahoney. 

You can find out more about the author and this book by clicking here

An introduction to 'Travelling Hopefully' by the author, Barrie Mahoney 

After many years living and working in Spain and the Canary Islands, Barrie and his partner David return to start a new life in the UK. Challenges that they had not expected were waiting for them; Covid lockdowns, political and health challenges were just the start of it. The UK had shifted significantly to the right of politics, more jingoistic, flag waving, suspicious and unwelcoming of ‘foreigners’ and had become more divisive and inward-looking following Brexit. The UK was in an identity crisis.

This book, part of the Letters from the Atlantic series, is a humorous account, comparing Barrie’s life in Spain and the Canary Islands to his new life in the UK. It is hoped that this book will be of help to those considering a new life in Europe, as well as those returning to the UK.

© Barrie Mahoney 2023

This article is part of the book 'Travelling Hopefully' by Barrie Mahoney. 

You can find out more about the author and this book by clicking here