Anyone else lose track of time during lockdown? Spain is now slowly easing its way out but as we head into the ‘new normal’ I can’t quite get my head around the fact that another month has come and gone. So, here’s May’s Friday Favourites… on a Saturday.
May has been a month of new seasons, and I don’t just mean the weather changed, even though Seville summer heat has hit us hard and early this year.
This month I’ve been excited to continue watching the adventures of some favourite characters on screen and listening to new conversations about the marketing world, or the previous king of Spain, among other topics. Plus, I’m sharing some of my favourite art produced during the covid-19 pandemic, so make sure you read to the end to see that.
Screen Time:
The Last Kingdom, season 4. The adventures of Uhtred of Bebbanburg continue, with new characters, new battles and new adventures. I must confess, this series has me hooked to Netflix for a little bit of binge watching. Stiorra, Uhtred’s daughter, I loved especially and I’m looking forward to see where the story takes her next.
El Ministerio del Tiempo, season 4. This Spanish TV series is based at the fictional Ministry of Time in Madrid and follows its agents from multiple time periods as they travel through the ages to make sure Spanish history doesn’t change. It’s funny, can be quite self critical and the cultural blunders made by historical characters in the present is a feeling any expat can identify with.
There are many cultural references and can sometimes be hard to follow if you’re not familiar with all the events or characters. Because as history and the present merge, so do fact and fiction, but the end product is a show well worth watching, especially if you want to learn more about Spain, its history and all the famous characters we otherwise only ever meet in textbooks.
On the pod:
Influence podcast, season 2. I spoke about this podcast when I discovered season one. Now its back with new conversation on the good, the bad and the ugly within the advertising industry.
XRey. This one is in Spanish. Two journalists look into the abdication of Juan Carlos I. Through a series of interviews these 4 episodes talk about the king and the man and what led him to relinquish the throne in favour of his son Felipe VI. I’m not usually one for royalty but the format and the way this is narrated made for an interesting listen.
Covid-art:
The global pandemic has brough out the creatives in a lot of us. I’ve been following several Instagram accounts during lockdown and enjoyed the positive side we’ve decided to show in the face of such tragedy and loss of life.
Girls of Isolation: This account was started by the poet Olivia Gatwood after taking a self portrait during lockdown. Many people identified with the sentiment and started sending her their own portaits. It soon turned into a curated collage of photos showing women as they wanted to be seen in their space. The account has grown quickly and at the time of writing has over 16k folowers. Here are just a few:
Postcards from quarantine: This account pairs photos with texts received during covid-19. They seem to capture some of the moods from lockdown really well.
Covid Art Museum: Has a whole collection of random art produced during this pandemic. There is a bit of everything and some clever representation of this time.
Finally, here is a collection of art produced to help stop covid-19, inform the public, raise awareness and bring a little joy and solidarity into the pandemic by different artists. As ever, I had to include something by WeTransfer (no, this is not sponsored, I just love their content) and this list has been curated by WeTransfer and United Nations.
What about you? What art have you created or discovered during the pandemic? Do you have any favourites you’ve enjoyed this month? I’d love to hear about them!
The Spanish Berry 