EbroVoice

EbroRose January 13th, 2011

Oh well Christmas decorations are all packed away so what can we do  for a change before January is out that is something new and exciting?

Well my friends Valerie, one of the authors of “In the Garlic”, along with a colleague are running another creative writing course as an introduction session. This is for a half-day so you have plenty of time to enjoy Barcelona for the rest of the day or have an evening out in Barça!

So please take a moment and read this email below – you won’t regret it. Never written a paragraph in your life! So what ? These charming ladies will show you how easy it is! You will wonder afterwards why you never tried before. It is never too late to write. My late maternal grandfather only started writing at 70 and then his gardening regalias were published all over the place.

“Hi everyone We hope you had a great holidays and that 2011 will bring you the best of everything. This is to remind you that enrolment is open for ALQUIMIA 101: INTRODUCTION TO CREATIVE WRITING on Saturday 22 January in central Barcelona (Urquinaona). The cost of this fun and festive half¨-day workshop is 60 euros. Please write to us here for more details and testimonials or visit www.creativewritingmagic.com/2010/03/alquimia/ Looking forward to writing with you soon.

Valerie and Nicky”

Postscript: I have always loved writing but surprised myself when I found I could write children books. Check out www.Chimona.com and also now available on www.Amazon.com

• Expats , Hints for settlers , Hobbies , Living in rustic Catalonia
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EbroRose November 20th, 2010

Invitation/press release

Presentation of a New Mountain Walking Guide 29 November, 19.30 at the Biblioteca Marcel•li Domingo, Tortosa

English authors Philip and Vivien Freakley issue an open invitation to the launch in Catalunya of their guidebook: Mountain Walking in Southern Catalunya. Publisher: Cicerone Press August 2010.

This is the first English language guide to walking routes in the Parc Natural dels Ports, the Serra de Cardó, the Serra de Montsia and the coastal path between L’Ametlla de Mar and L’Ampolla. It aims to introduce walkers from Northern Europe to the outstanding natural beauty and diverse landscapes of the Terres de l’Ebre..

Working with the generous help of Català walkers and guidebook writers, local English walkers, tourism agencies and Parc Natural employees, Philip and Vivien have gathered together 30 walking excursions – ranging from easy strolls to challenging ridge routes. Walkers are introduced to the dramatic geology, unique flora and fauna and human use of the uplands.

The book also gives a brief introduction to some of the history and culture of this special corner of Europe together with extensive practical information about travel and accommodation.

In Britain, the book is of interest to walkers seeking respite from the cold, wet greyness of winter there. Walkers from other Northern European countries (many of whom speak English as their second language) will also be drawn to the winter walking possibilities of Southern Catalunya, as they currently are to Mallorca, Andalucia and the Canary Isles.

The presentation launch on 29th November will feature short introductory talks by Català and English speakers, together with a visual presentation showing the extraordinary beauty of the area. There will be opportunities for formal and informal discussion and a chance to celebrate with the authors over a glass or two of wine. The Llibreria de Viladrich 2 will have copies of the guidebook for sale.

About the Authors

After leaving their academic careers in 2002, Philip and Vivien Freakley moved to the French Pyrenees to indulge a lifelong passion for mountains and the natural world. They discovered the mountains of Southern Catalunya during an escape from a particularly cold and snowy Pyrenean winter. Their first explorations were prompted by curiosity – as to why none of the English language guidebooks gives the region more than a passing mention. This is still something of as mystery. Having bought a house here in 2004 they have spent five winters putting this guidebook together.

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EbroRose November 19th, 2010

“Building on all the positive feedback from reviewers around the world, Foden Press today announces the release of their first two kids titles in full print format. Rosie Reay’s delightful voice of The Chimona Chronicles as the critters of Okanagan Lake come alive can now be enjoyed in print worldwide.” 19 November Press release

San Francisco, CA (1888PressRelease) November 19, 2010 – Foden Press today released the first two kids’ novels in The Chimona Chronicles series in print format. Written by Rosie Reay and set in an actual resort on Okanagan Lake in central British Columbia, Canada, these books have already received critical praise from their ebook format. They are ideal for the young reader, parent, or grandparent who love stories of critters that come alive and then have very similar personalities to children everywhere. Younger kids will enjoy the illustrations by Candice McMullan that so delightfully illustrate a few key scenes throughout the book. In addition, a matching website www.Chimona.com helps children and their parents understand the more unusual words and locations, while also providing full character personas for each critter, all of which have interesting names already.

The first book, How Kelvyn Got His Name, shows how the whole community rallies round to find a full proper name for their favorite gopher. Are your kids fascinated by names too? How do they name their pets and furry friends? Since Rosie Reay is a professional namer (see www.BrighterNaming.com) in her daytime profession, she even introduces kids to a simple naming process for selecting interesting names. Parents may also use this as a fun guide for naming their next offspring. In what has now become a trademark in all Rosie Reay books, a full length poem “The Squirrel from Wirral” is weaved into the story too, along with an illustration of the squirrel walking hand in hand with his friend George.

The second book, Salquin to the Rescue continues the exploits of the main Chimona Chronicles plus introduces the reader to some of the First Nations people of Canada. There are actually two mystery stories weaved together here. In the first, children will learn some basics about numbering. In the second, they will learn how to read signs and prints. Once again the Lake Okanagan kids interact as all families do, even as some grow more serious and some new critter characters are introduced, which we are sure to see more of in future novels in this educational travel series.

Written in Rosie’s delightful English voice, these books have been released simultaneously in the USA, Canada, UK and Europe. Rosie currently resides between Barcelona and Valencia in Spain where she also writes a monthly column for the Catalonia Chronicles and maintains a blog The Ebro Voice for English speaking people living in the greater Ebro River delta area. Make friends with Rosie Reay on Facebook to read more about her books and life. Kyra Dawson is the editor of the series, and she works as an editor, writer and copywriter out of Vancouver, Canada. See www.BrighterScribe.com.

Foden Press is an independent publisher of children’s books, as well as business How To Do It business books and ebooks. They are based in Northern California, and may be reached at www.FodenPress.com. Call +1-650-960-0811. Professional reviewers of children’s books are invited to request review copies of any title. How Kelvyn Got His Name (ISBN # 978-0-9710157-0-8) and Salquin to the Rescue (ISBN# 978-0-9710157-1-5) may be ordered directly from Foden Press, plus they are available on request at bookstores nationwide and are distributed by Ingram Micro.

Contacts:
USA: Athol Foden (amfoden ( @ ) fodenpress dot com) 650-960-0811
Europe: Rosie Reay (rosiereay ( @ ) fodenpress dot com) +34-619-772-492
Canada: Kyra Dawson (info ( @ ) brighterscribe dot com) 604-566-1064

http://www.svmarketeer.com

• Bookshelf , Expats , Languages & Literatures , Living in rustic Catalonia
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EbroRose October 20th, 2010

“The Central Office of Information, … overseas government advertising and marketing campaigns, is estimated to have lost almost half its budget for this year, with warnings that staff will be cut by two-fifths.”

So guys don’t expect the normal six weeks turnaround on your letters or phone calls.

The Uk Government doom and gloom cuts are being cut and spliced to the barest syllable this morning. Expats have relied  heavily on the online information and websites to gleem data on the Uk blur for Pensions, health and general research.

Mr Ian Duncan Smith (Work and Pensions Secretary) and Osborne Esquire have reached a tentative decision  with him about introducing a universal credit – moving all benefits onto one system of payment over 10 years.

The Foreign Office has been hit as well. William Hague’s one solution is that they will use the media network of Twitter to relay information more cheaply. So all Expats will need to take up twitching of a different type to stay up to the trill of the tweets Twitter. Well all that drivel will be limited to a mere 140 characters – perhaps it will be launched in code or he may resort back to the old carrier pidgeons..coo coo.

You can tweet your comments to me @RosieReay if you haven’t fallen off your perch laughing.

Aside: The defence cuts are worrying though!

• Expats , Hints for settlers
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EbroRose September 26th, 2010

It reads like a tongue twister that I was made to say over and over as child to try and overcome a bad stammer. Though this one is more of a fruity nature of calling  a fig in different languages for Expats. Reading across it goes as: English, Catalan, Spanish , French and then German.

Do note (but not to be preachey) in Spanish the <h> is silent to hear i-g-o.

I did find it amusing when I saw the Catalan have merely added an <a> as a suffix to the English fig. Adam and his fig leaf at the time of first pro-creation. Oh, well never mind I must always tease out the root source in every word being a daft Namiac.

Now I ‘d like to share the following expressions with you:

• figa de moro = prickly pear or a softey
• figaflor =wimp, weed, drip
• figuera = a fig tree
• figura= figure (as a form)
• això són figues d’un altre paner = that’s another story (or kettle of Fish -to us Brits) or that’s a horse of a different colour
• figurar = to imagine, to represent or as in the US slang “go figure”

… and some of my favourites

• figurar-se = ja m’ho figurava! = I thought as much!
• no es figura com em va costar de convèncer-lo = you can’t iamgine how hard it was for me to convince him!

Would love to hear other figgy expresssions used in daily speech in any of the above mentioned languages fromExpats and locals and general readers.

Are there any good poems or lyrics out there where  figs are the centre force, apart from the well healed Christmas carol  of “Figgy pudding”?

Look forward to your comments

• Expats , Languages & Literatures , Living in rustic Catalonia , Uncategorized
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EbroRose September 26th, 2010

Figs are very topical as we go into harvest festival and our black and green fruit are bursting in their fullness in the autumn sunshine.

But what do you do with all this figgyness ripening all together?

There is only so much fig  jam you can make! Figgy pudding seems to sit well on the stomach at Christmas time. So September is a touch early for stodgey food.

Fresh figs are interesting, so too are figs bottled in a dry white wine and (are ideal for up to three months or more)  served with scoops of Nestlé vanilla ice cream. If you are fortunate or crafty enough to have made drying trays you can dry them in the open air through the day and bring the trays under dry cover on an evening and then packet and freeze them.

But I want something different. I want cake!

Oh Yum Yum and more yum- totally yumtious -go on give them a try!

  Check out the these websites below. Let me know which is your favourite by adding  a comment or share with me yours.

http://allrecipes.com/Search/Recipes.aspx?WithTerm=fig%20cakes

Ooh look there are more:

http://www.applepiepatispate.com/fruit/pan-de-higo-spanish-fig-cake/  This looks so easy to make too!

Now this is a must for all my gluten free friends (and tempting to others too) to try: – chocolate fig cake

http://glutenfreeday.com/?p=39

Oh yes, madre mia bake me another one!

Now I wonder if there is a recipe out there for fig fridge cake?

• Expats , Hints for settlers , Languages & Literatures , Living in rustic Catalonia , Uncategorized
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EbroRose May 2nd, 2010

Cèdula in Catalan or Cédula in Spanish – note the accent changes direction.

Call a rose by any other name and it will smell as sweet. So they say, but this word cèdula smacks more of the horse muck – commonly used as mulch around it, than the sweet evening scent of budding roses along the garden fence.

The Cèdula refers to the Certificate of Habitation required to sell your property.

The utterance of this word across Catalonia fills the home-owners with dread. Not to mention the other people that it is having a knock on effect with:- lawyers, estate agents, buyers, town halls, notaries and yes, even, the Banks- the whole  of the Catalonian economy grinds to  an abrupt stop in a shamble of shivering shudders! Why? Bless all politicians – because the Socialist party brought in a well intended, but misguided reform bill to protect the  rustic land of Catalonia and to protect all property purchasers, be it rustic, village, urban or city houses.

Read more …. in the May article of Rosie Reay in “Tales from the EbroValley” in Catalunya Chronicles now uploaded online and out in paper print too.

http://www.chroniccat.com/index.php/2010/04/tales-from-the-ebro-river-valley/

Maybe you are in this situation yourself. Maybe you know of someone going through this nightmare. Maybe you have a solution. Maybe you have an idea how we can get this resolved.

Far too many maybe’s! So let’s get noticed. Let’s work together – please leave your comments here or on the www.ChronicCat.com.

You may also email me privately RosieReay@Foden Press.com.

Let’s get the Catalonian economy moving again. This is our homelands now.

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EbroRose April 30th, 2010

Oh I wish I was a child today!

Today is called Children’s Day around the world. In parts of the Spanish or Catalan speaking globe some may even call it “Festival of books” (for children). I just love an excuse to buy books. How much more wonderful that you give your children and other children a book as a celebration of the fiesta / festa!

Teach children to actually read and digest, to query what they are actually reading. Take for example the heading:-

<<El dia del nen. El dia del llibre.>>

No, I haven’t  written in incorrect Spanish. This is Catalan – the dialect spoken in the North-East of Spain, Majorca and a province just inside the French border. This translates as:-

<<Children’s Day / The day of the book>>.

This week I stumbled across a brilliant online shopping site for children’s books in Catalan that covers various themes with exciting illustrations to boost. http://www.editorialmediterrania.cat/. I am considering buying one of the theme sets myself to improve my Catalan. Well, why not? You have to start reading somewhere and it can often be more fun than trawling though boring newspaper about politics – all about nothing!

However, there is no rhyme nor reason why you, the parent or grandparent, can´t choose the books you want to read in order to relive your childhood  through their eyes and ears. How I miss those hours of reading stories after bath time to my sons and later on to grandsons Jordan (Jordí) and Shane (Shimbob)!

Perhaps that is why I feather my nest (and empty nest – as the case maybe,  now the children have flown to spread their wings) and write childrens’ books myself. www.Chimona.com

There are some wonderful famous authors out there doing a sterling job in encouraging children to read through their literary charities. One of my favourite’s James Patterson, himself and his better half, have “Read, kiddo, read” with wonderful suggestions of books for different age groups. www.readkiddoread.com. They have now also created a smart forum. If  the children read themselves they receive bonus points-otherwise the parents must read to them if they are too young.readkiddoread.ning.com

<<Parents, teachers and librarians, you’ve found your way here because you’ve … you the only way to get kids to read was to give them great books, cool books..>>

Let us celebrate today and everyday. Lets teach our children and all children we come into contact with to become ardent bibliophiles. Yes! Along the way they will increase their vocabulary without realising it.

There is so much available on the internet! So when Junior won’t get off the internet trying and direct his / her little cotton socks away from the computer games, to search for book to read online or just to read ! 5 Minutes for Mom Blog Directory.

What is the biggest cultural shock I had when I arrived in 2004 in Catalonia?

There were no English book shops in the Lower Ebro Valley. I always used to watch the W.H.Smith’s new listings and rush for first day release to purchase another treasure. Now we are lucky to pick up a 2nd hand book, that I haven’t read. I still am a voracious reader. So how do I manage? I moan to a brother, another bookworm in California.  Every 3 months I pop down to the local post office in Jesús and pick up a huge parcel of books that he has just read ! Now that is what I call a Result!

So parents, friends and grandparents and siblings please remember one of the greatest gifts you can give to us (young and old and doddery) is a book, another book and still more books. As a child my friends used to write copiously long lists to Father Christmas of  “Please may I have…?” Mine were short and sweet, year in and year out – “Just books would do nicely thank you.”  My request remains the same for any day or any fiesta …I need to read!

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EbroRose April 26th, 2010

“I´ll make your tea and toast in a minute, Mom,” I say, without looking up from the keyboard. That was an hour ago. Mom had quite happily dosed off in her chair with the warm sun rays lighting up her very good mop of hair for 84 years of age. Oh well, I was never cut out for all this  nursey-carey larkey stuff. Anyway, she is fed and watered now, so back to the question of the day.

Do I write or do I weed?

The voice of practicality commands, “Weed girl. Get them weeds up before the earth is sun baked and rock hard!”

The voice of emotion whispers, “Sod the weeds! Write away to your hearts content. The weeds will still be there tomorrow. Write while the ideas are tumbling about – that fountain of ideas may not be flowing tomorrow. Never waste an idea. Write it down. Write it now!”

Okay, okay, I hear you both. Write first and weed later – maybe or maybe not.

I had oodles of email from my www.LinkedIn.com writers’  and Expats groups to catch up on. This is not a complaint, mind you, I do enjoy them. I do learn an awful lot from them. I relish hearing the debates between  professional writers of all different calibres. I feel like I am on a steep learning curve on some of the discussions. I am not feint-hearted. I hear what they are saying. I mull it over (while weeding, when I do eventually get outdoors) and often think  “Hey, that idea / style  might just work in another series in my Chimona Chronicles.Mmmmh…”

www.Chimona.com

Chimona Chronicles: How kelvyn got his name

When I first moved to the Ebro River Valley I felt starved of intellect momentus. I craved discussion and debate outside the normal Expat lament of dodgey builders and not quite British building materials. I soon tired of eavesdropping and hearing the character assasinations of fellow expats, “If you are a fisherman first by definition,  then of course you are a bona fide brickey, plumber, sparkey or lumberjack!”

My sons then home on leave, hooked me up to Facebook and I can track them wherever the MOD send them. Aha! I also became a Scrabble-maniac, but my sons beat me into a word pulp, but I am not a quitter. I have made very good friends of  like minded lingusitics stature around the world and just good friends, old and new, who love to play for fun. You needn´t feel lonely out here. It is also a great place to share your photo albums and reunite with long lost classmates ( I know I have found mine from South Africa – be then scattered around the world) and even mislaid cousins – one is settled in New Zealand. Now I never did get to new Zealand. I wonder what she would say I turned up one day like Dick Whittington.

Another great source of inspiration, both mentally and inspirational for writing and contacts have been joining www.LinkedIn.com. It is so easy to do. All you need is an email address and a password and slowly you develop your profile, or edit it as you see fit to do. I have found a huge cluster of other Expat writers and writers of children books on there. Illustrators and publishers abound to. You can choose which groups you wish to belong to under the Category you have assigned yourself to. Often my friends on LinkedIn are my friends on Facebook too. These casual social networks can interlink with the more professional ones. If you are wearing the entrepeneur cap or would aspire to be one,this is just the place to share your views and ask questions or start discussions. You will be amazed how the right and brighter people home in to help you.

Not quite sure if I did ever answer my rhetorical question: Should I write or should I weed?

Oh well better show willing…Weeds Attack! Attack!

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EbroRose April 23rd, 2010

La Diada de Sant Jordi! Saint George or Sant Jordi in Catalan is a lovable and chivalrous gent who is the patron saint of Catalonia and Saint George in England. Although I am sure today Saint George’s day is celebrated in a far less romantic style in the UK to that of Barcelona’s medieval hero. Barcelona ( and right across Catalonia) celebrates it with roses for the ladies and in turn they exchange them with a book for their sweethearts. This is the Catalan equivalent of St. Valentine’s day

Somehow I would prefer a yellow climbing rose bush and a new book – some chance of that!

Pulling into the car  park at Hospital de la Santa Creu, Jesús, I was amused to see how many ladies were leaving with a single red rose in their hands. Mmmmh…I wonder who gave them their roses? Needless to say mother’s appointment went without any dramas, so we headed off to Eroski.

I enviously looked at all the bookshops who had brought out tables onto the pavements and were displaying a wonderful array of books across them. Some folk just stopped by and browsed, others bought one or two or more. How many admirers do they have? A lady explained. These days you buy a book for every male in your household. My husband has to buy more red roses as there are more women in our home! We shared the joke in laughter and I proceeded on, but still I mused sulkily to myself, I wanted a b-o-o-k!

Pushing the trolley around Eroski, it self-propelled  to the books displayed and aah, right there in the middle of the pile was one of my favourite children’s stories.  I grabbed it and paged avidly through it. The illustrations are just positively delightful.

“Sant Jordi i el drac” – the author is Anna Canyelles and the drawings are by Roser Calafell

Who knows? My next book review may be one of  a Catalan childrens book. Now that would be a novel experience and somewhat of a challenge to me, who is just setting  out on the route of learning Catalan.

• Bookshelf , Expats , Languages & Literatures
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