10 December: Barcelona

Today is the feast day of St Eulalia of Merida, Patron saint of Barcelona. 10 things you didn't know about Barcelona, the second largest city in Spain:

1. There's a theory that Barcelona was founded by Hercules and is 400 years older than Rome. There's another which says it was built by Hamilcar Barca, the father of Hannibal, and that it's he who gave the city its name. However, there is no firm evidence for that, and nobody really knows.
2. Barcelona is on the Mediterranean coast and has 4.5 km of coastline with 7 blue-flagged beaches. However, if you'd visited in 1990 there would have been no beaches at all. Back then, the coastline was all an industrial area. The beaches are artificial and were created for the Olympic Games in 1992, with sand imported from Egypt.
3. It's the only city in the world to have been awarded a Royal Gold Medal for architecture by Royal Institute of British Architects. This honour is usually only bestowed on an individual or a small group. Though Antoni Gaudi would have had a significant hand in it; his influence is seen in many places in the city. His La Sagrada Familia, a Roman Catholic Church which was begun in 1882 and at time of writing is still under construction. However, I did see that it might actually be finished in 2026.
4. Fans of the macabre will find some attractions to their taste in Barcelona. Not only are there 12 abandoned Metro stations which are said to be haunted, and you can take a tour; but it is also the only city in Europe to have a museum dedicated to funeral carriages.
5. People in Barcelona like their Football. It's the home of FC Barcelona, whose home ground is the second biggest stadium in the world, Camp Nou, which has a surface area of 55,000 square meters and can accommodate 99,354 people. (FYI the biggest stadium in the world is Rungrado May Day Stadium in Pyongyang, North Korea.) The stadium is also the location of the most visited museum in Barcelona, the one dedicated to FC Barcelona.
6. The city's two most famous streets are Portal de l’Àngel in Barcelona’s Ciutat Vella (Old Town), which is a shopping centre and also the busiest street in Spain with 150,000 people walking down it every day. The other is Las Ramblas, which is a huge attraction for tourists, full of markets and street artists. It's 2km long, though it's actually a series of five smaller streets which blend into one another.
7. Cannabis is legal in Barcelona. Spain has about 700 cannabis clubs, of which more than half are located in Barcelona. You have to be a member, though, and to be a member you have to be a resident of Spain (another opportunity Brex-shit has deprived us of). It's not easy to get accepted, even so.
8. The Eiffel Tower was supposed to be in Barcelona. At least, that was Gustave Eiffel’s initial plan. However, Barcelona rejected the idea, on the grounds it was "too radical” and didn't fit the city’s aesthetics. So it was built in Paris, instead.
9. You've heard of ice hotels, but Barcelona is the only place to have an ice bar on a beach, Icebarcelona on El Somorrostro beach.
10. It being December, if you visit Barcelona you will no doubt see Nativity scenes everywhere, just like in any other Christian city – the baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph, three wise men, shepherds, animals, Angels; plus a special extra figure called the "Caganer" which translates as "The Crapper," which is essentially a bloke taking a dump. The reasons for this are lost in the mists of time, but it may be that it was a symbol of fertility, and a good growing season to come.

A Very Variant Christmas

Last year, Jade and Gloria were embroiled in a bitter conflict to win back their throne and their ancestral home. This year, Queen Jade and Princess Gloria want to host the biggest and best Christmas party ever in their palace. They invite all their friends to come and bring guests. Not even the birth of Jade's heir just before Christmas will stop them.

The guest list includes most of Britain's complement of super-powered crime-fighters, their families and friends. What could possibly go wrong?

Gatecrashers, unexpected arrivals, exploding Christmas crackers and a kidnapping, for starters.

Far away in space, the Constellations, a cosmic peacekeeping force, have suffered a tragic loss. They need to recruit a new member to replace their dead colleague. The two top candidates are both at Jade and Gloria's party. The arrival of the recruitment delegation on Christmas Eve is a surprise for everyone; but their visit means one guest now faces a life-changing decision.

Meanwhile, an alliance of the enemies of various guests at the party has infiltrated the palace; they hide in the dungeon, plotting how best to get rid of the crime-fighters and the royal family once and for all. Problem is, they all have their own agendas and differences of opinion on how to achieve their aims.

Not to mention that this year, the ghosts who walk the corridors of the palace on Christmas Eve will be as surprised by the living as the living are by them.

Themes 

Christmas; superheroes; reunions; parties; life choices; shocking surprises; mistaken identity; kidnap and rescue.

Reasons not to read it

• It's a bit short. You could probably read it in one sitting.
• Most of the action takes place at a Christmas party. In a palace.
• It's all about Christmas but there doesn't seem to be a schmaltzy moral message.
• There are a couple of babies and some small children in it - and one nearly gets eaten.
• Santa appears in it, but he isn't really Santa.
• Superheroes. Again.
• Not to mention a whole bunch of super-villains. Again all new ones and not the ones we know from Marvel or DC.

Available from Amazon and Amazon Kindle