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The Christmas / New Year holiday is so long in Spain, and the weather forecast for this year is so bad, that we need something to do indoors, other than watching end-to-end Christmas films and TV repeats. How about reading a good book? Here are The Culture Vulture's suggestions for a festive reading list in no particular order. The writers are American, English, Irish, Norwegian, Ukrainian and two Spanish.

The Spanish celebrate Christmas and New Year differently to most other countries. The month-long 'fiesta' lasts from 8th December, Immaculate Conception, through to 6th January, Epiphany. What happens in between is different also. Paul Whitelock first wrote about this back in 2020, when many traditional events were cancelled because of Covid-19. The original article has been tweaked. Here's the up-to-date version.

The presidente del gobierno (the Spanish prime minister) has been under fire recently from all sides and he is "riding low" in the opinion polls. Pedro Sánchez has been accused of corruption, of nepotism and of other dodgy practices. So, he decided to submit himself to a live interview by TVE, the national TV broadcaster. That was 10 days ago.

The Ronda Valley Hotel at the bottom of the valley just outside Ronda (known to us locals as the Hotel Don Benito) shut suddenly the other day without notice. Nobody seemed to know why. We knew it was going to close on January 15th for reasons which weren't quite clear, but why all of a sudden in early December? Something must be afoot …..

John Lennon, the former Beatle, was shot dead in New York City on December 8th, 1980, by deranged fan Mark Chapman. That was 45 years ago. The world was shocked! It happened in broad daylight outside the apartment block in New York where Lennon lived with his second wife, the Japanese multimedia artist Yoko Ono.

The worst kept secret around these parts is that the Ronda Valley Hotel (formerly Hotel Don Benito) is to close its doors on 15th January 2026. WTF! Why? This hotel is my nearest local, so from a selfish point of view, I think it's a disaster. Talking with other "guiris" who live nearby, it's a catastrophe for them also.

I picked up the latest copy of the Spanish version of National Geographic at the weekend because the portada proclaimed features about Alsace in France and Cordoba, here in Spain, both places I know and love. Imagine my surprise when, on flicking through the magazine, I discovered articles about Alava, Teruel, Cuenca, Picos de Europa, Vigo, Alcala de Henares, Tenerife, Andorra, and la Rioja. There were also features on Vienna, Warsaw, Pompei, Dominican Republic, Egypt, and Antarctica.

Generalisimo Francisco Franco Bahamonde, the fascist dictator who led Spain for 39 years, from 1936 until his death in 1975, "celebrates" the 50th anniversary of his death later this week, on Thursday November 20th. ​He will not be mourned by many. He has been thoroughly discredited for his murderous "reign". What follows is a brief summary of the rise and fall of the only fascist leader of the mid-20th century to die a natural death. Hitler committed suicide and Mussolini was executed by hanging.

From the end of the Civil War in 1939 through to the demise of Franco's fascist dictatorship on his death in 1975, Spain was most definitely a 3rd-world country. Following Spain's return to being a monarchy in 1975 and, from 1977, a constitutional democracy, there was hope that things would improve. The borders opened and from 1986 Spain became a member of the European Union.

The "burning season" has opened in Andalucia. In order to burn garden waste, scrub and clippings you need a permit obtainable free of charge from your local town hall. ​The start date was November 1st, so I made sure I applied for my licencia in good time.

Starting from home in Ronda we headed for the start of the Genal Valley, which begins with the pretty "Enchanted Forest" in Parauta. We then continued on to Cartajima; to the Smurfs' blue village Juzcar; past Farajan; and on to Alpandeire, which celebrates Fray Leopoldo, a recently created saint. Alpandeire was our lunch destination.

We have entered meteorological Autumn and are more than half-way through September. Night temperatures are dropping and the first frosts won't be far away. Time to get ready for the cold winter months. The climate in this part of Spain is defined as continental: "Nueve meses de infierno y tres de invierno."