Harsh but true

Do you recall what Boabdil’s mother said to him? Boabdil, or Muhammed XII of Granada, was the last Moorish ruler of Granada and as other parts of the Moorish empire in Spain fell to the Castilleans only Granada was left in 1491. Boabdil had to cede the city to Ferdinand and Isobella but was allowed…

Looking forward to reading this

I’m very much looking forward to reading this book when it comes out on 10 August this summer. David Cobham is a vice president of the Hawk and Owl Trust and I very much enjoyed his earlier book on birds of prey, A Sparrowhawk’s Lament (reviewed here).  

Swift dilemma

Swifts are slightly unwelcome at the Alhambra, it seems. I’d have thought that they had been rubbing along with the fantastic Moorish architecture for a good few centuries but it appears as though tolerance is running out. There are still these lions though… …and loads and loads of House Sparrows. On the Gran Via on…