Filling the Sink

Brexit – Listener questions answered (and more)

Don't know your TIE from you NIE? Or how you can prove residency? Bradley de Abreu from Age in Spain answers questions from British Catalan News readers.
Alan Ruiz Terol on how Catalan businesses are adapting to the new trading relationship with the UK. 
With the UK opting against remaining part of the Erasmus exchange programme, Natacha Maurin asks University Pompeu Fabra and Ramon Llull University what the future may hold for British and Catalan students alike. 
Presented by Lorcan Doherty.

Coronavirus – vaccine rollout, research, and latest measures

Leading coronavirus researcher Dr Bonaventura Clotet on why vaccine research can't stop now, the threat of the UK Covid variant, and some of Catalonia's contributions to the global scientific effort. 
Cristina Tomàs White on the "day of hope" that saw 89-year-old Josefa Pérez make history by becoming the first person in Catalonia to receive the Pfizer vaccine. 
Lorcan Doherty and Natacha Maurin discuss the latest social restrictions in force in Catalonia and look at how the vaccine rollout is going so far. 
CatalanNews.com 

2021 – a look ahead

A preview of what is in store for Catalonia in 2021 and a look back on the last 12 months. Guifré Jordan and Cristina Tomàs White join Lorcan Doherty to discuss the vaccine rollout, the Catalan elections on February 14, and the Covid-19 pandemic and its social and economic consequences.  

Christmas in Catalonia

Who needs Santa Claus? In Catalonia, kids hit a Christmas log with sticks until it poos out presents. And what nativity scene is complete without the traditional figure of a peasant crapping in the corner? It's fair to say that Catalonia has some unusual Christmas traditions. Lorcan Doherty gets the lowdown from Cristina Tomàs White and Guifré Jordan, and Cillian Shields visits the Santa Llúcia Christmas market in this festive edition of Filling the Sink. Bon Nadal!
 
Visit CatalanNews.com for the latest news in Catalonia.

Catalonia's late eating habits - time for a change?

Have you ever tried to book a table for 7pm at a restaurant in Catalonia? Or gone to do a little bit of shopping in the afternoon, say around 3? Well, you might well have run into a little trouble because Catalonia and Spain don't keep the same hours as the rest of Europe. 
Campaigners for timetable reform – reforma horària in Catalan – have long argued that late meal times and long breaks in the middle of the working day are inefficient and unhealthy.  
On episode 7 of Filling the Sink, Lorcan Doherty, Natacha Maurin and Guifré Jordan discuss the origins and effects of Catalonia's day-to-day schedule, and whether the curfew in place since October might lead to more permanent changes in people's habits. 
For the latest news in Catalonia: CatalanNews.com 
Music used: Inspired by Kevin MacLeod [Creative Commons] 

BCN and tourism – a love–hate relationship

Barcelona has a love–hate relationship with tourism, vital for many jobs and businesses but a bane for many residents. And after years of concern about overtourism, the problem has flipped in 2020, with the industry hit hard by a lack of tourists due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Lorcan Doherty is joined by Alan Ruiz Terol and Cillian Shields to discuss the issues, and we hear from two official tourist guides working in the city. Marta Roigé, who set up Pasapas with three friends to provide tours for people who live in Barcelona, takes us on a tour of the Ciutat Vella, or Old Town. Resi Nickl of tour guide association AGUICAT explains the steps she believes need to be taken to ensure a sustainable tourism industry. 
 
For the latest news in Catalonia: CatalanNews.com 

Barça – A Catalan Icon in Crisis

FC Barcelona is one of the world's biggest football clubs. To its supporters it's more than a club, 'més que un club'. But what's behind the current malaise, both on and off the pitch? History, culture and politics are all part of the Barça story, as Lorcan Doherty, Cillian Shields and special guest Ernest Macià from Catalunya Ràdio discuss. They look ahead to the election of a new club president and evaluate the reign of the last one, Josep Maria Bartomeu. Alan Ruiz Terol watches a match online with fellow Barça fan – and Messi fanatic – Ida, an Argentine living in Texas. 
For the latest news in Catalonia: CatalanNews.com

Open Wounds – Dealing with the Francoist Past

How to deal with the legacy of the Civil War and the Franco dictatorship? 45 years after the dictator's death and the Pact of Forgetting, the calls to remember are getting louder. Carles Vallejo, tortured by Francoist police, gives his account. Lorcan Doherty is joined by Cristina Tomàs White and Alan Ruiz Terol to discuss the issues, from mass graves and Francoist symbols, to the annulment of crimes and how history is taught in schools. 
For the latest news in Catalonia: CatalanNews.com
Music used: Inspired by Kevin MacLeod [Creative Commons] 

Mushroom Hunting

Filling the Sink is filling its basket with rovellons, camagrocs and trompetes de la mort as we go foraging for mushrooms. Full-time journalist and part-time mushroom hunter Alan Ruiz Terol heads into the woods with his guide Aniol on a quest to find the tastiest, most unusually-named mushrooms in Catalonia. Forager Brian Russell reveals why, unlike most, he's happy to let people know his favorite mushroom picking spots. Cristina Tomàs White and Guifré Jordan join Lorcan Doherty to discuss the rural-urban divide over mushrooms, how to cook them once you've found them, and some more of the weird and wonderful names that the Catalan language has for the various species.  
For the latest news in Catalonia: CatalanNews.com
Music used: Inspired by Kevin MacLeod [Creative Commons] 

Covid-19 in Catalonia – a snapshot

Lorcan Doherty is joined by Natacha Maurin and Cillian Shields to discuss the current Covid-19 situation in Catalonia and to reflect on the last eight months of living with the pandemic.
Enric Álvarez from the BIOCOM research group at UPC (Polytechnic University of Catalonia) shares some of his insights around the latest Covid data, both in Catalonia and across Europe. 
For the latest on Covid-19 in Catalonia visit CatalanNews.com
Music used: Inspired by Kevin MacLeod [Creative Commons] 

Halloween v Castanyada

In the red corner, the undisputed champion of autumnal holidays in Catalonia, it’s La Castanyada. And in the blue corner, the challenger. It’s got costumes, it’s got candy, it’s Halloween. Which should be celebrated on October 31 in Catalonia? The debate is on. The coronavirus pandemic means this year's festivities won't be anything like normal, but what does the future hold for these two holidays? Lorcan Doherty, Cristina Tomàs White and Alan Ruiz Terol pull no punches as they look at whether Castanyada and Halloween can happily co-exist, or if one of them is doomed to disappear. 
 
Music used: Inspired by Kevin MacLeod [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/] 

Introduction: Welcome to Filling the Sink

Q: What is Filling the Sink? 
A: A podcast in English on all things Catalan.