Turning water into wine is a great idea, but how about turning wind into water? I have always loved windmills. Their graceful form and natural motion have always fascinated me. However, I know that many people also hate the sight of them as yet another of man’s intrusion upon a beautiful landscape. However, now that a new era of limited fuel supplies is upon us, harnessing the wind to provide a cheap and sustainable source of fuel to feed our unending desire for electricity seems much more attractive.

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© Barrie Mahoney 2026

Moving to another country to live and work is a challenge in so many ways, but if you have specific dietary needs or happen to be a vegetarian or, heaven forbid, a vegan then ‘challenge’ can take on a whole new meaning...

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© Barrie Mahoney 2025

The Canary Islands are often rich in public announcements and presentations to the press, but whether well-meaning projects will actually happen is quite another matter. Over the years, I have attended many lengthy press conferences, and often with impressive audio-visual presentations from earnest members of island governments, city mayors and experts about exciting and imaginative plans for the development of these islands. Sadly, there are now numerous abandoned projects that litter my ‘Intending Projects’ folder, which include an island railway, a futuristic spaceport and a Chinese Village, to name just three on my list. Sadly, these are merely dreams that have disappeared into the ether, which I doubt will never actually come to fruition...

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© Barrie Mahoney 2025

Authorities in Spain’s Valencia region are considering a ban on the cremation of bodies that are too fat, simply because the burning process generates too many toxic emissions. Well, I guess it is a fair point, but was not something that I had previously considered. Many of us will be aware of trying to reduce carbon emissions; for example, in the amount of flying that we may do when going on holiday or when using our cars, but have we seriously considered being too fat when we die?
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© Barrie Mahoney 2025

Now here’s an essential question to start the day. Are you sufficiently worthy to have an airport named after you, and presumably after you die? Alternatively, if you don’t consider that you meet these high specifications, do you know someone who does?

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© Barrie Mahoney 2025

Many people do not realise that the Spanish Civil War of 1936 actually began in the Canary Islands. Francisco Franco was General Commandant of the Canary Islands, who was based in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. It was here that Franco plotted his strategy, well away from the rest of Spain, before he headed to the Spanish Peninsular. It was under his watch that Spain became divided into two factions: ‘Republican’ and ‘Loyalists’.

If you enjoyed this article, take a look at my websites: http://barriemahoney.com and http://thecanaryislander.com or read my books, podcasts and blogs about living and working in Spain and the Canary Islands.
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© Barrie Mahoney 2025

I heard a UK economist on the radio this week complaining about high employment levels in the country. Apparently, high employment is bad for the economy, since it forces wage and salary levels upwards, which is bad for UK exports and the overall economy. Conversely, high unemployment level is preferable, according to this economist, since it creates “a competitive employment background”, which results in wage stability and even a reduction in production costs.

© Barrie Mahoney 2025

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Anyone who has travelled across these islands and has driven through some of the older road tunnels, carefully crafted through the centre of some of the volcanic mountains, will appreciate the impressive engineering skills demonstrated by the talented workers of earlier generations. I was reminded of this once again when it was reported that the authorities in St Petersburg, the second largest city in Russia, announced their decision to dedicate a bridge on the tributary of the Neva River in honour of the Canary Islands engineer, Agustín de Betancourt, who worked for Tsar Alexander I.