Tag Archives: writing

dodging the rain drops

06 Thursday Mar 2025

Posted by in climate, health, markets, sevilla, spain, substack, writing

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , ,


What a week. I had so much research planned for my next Substack article on local markets, which meant visiting some further-out markets I hadn’t been to for a while, plus one I have never visited. BUT the forecast was (and still is) for pretty much non-stop rain for at least the next ten days or so. And as we all know, walking with crutches AND an umbrella is basically impossible.

But… it’s turned out that other than on Wednesday the rain has mostly been happening from mid-late afternoon until morning, leaving midday free for me to get out there. And so I have been, wielding my old lady bus pass (I’m really getting to know the bus routes around here). Just a couple more markets to visit to finish up. Here’s a pic of the clouds heading back in as I hobbled home today.

tapas vs pintxos

04 Tuesday Mar 2025

Posted by in sevilla, substack, work, writing

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , ,

So I’ve had a couple of guest writers on my Substack (HAVE I MENTIONED I HAVE A SUBSTACK???) such as Paul writing about Jazz in Sevilla and Alexis giving us tips on how to buy olive oil in Sevilla, but this is the first time I’ve done a full-on collab. And of course it had to be with my pal Jeffrey XtremeFoodies, who is also my substack twin (we started there at the same time). The topic, as you can see, is Tapas vs Pintxos.

Jeffrey was Team Pintxo (San Sebastián) and I was Team Tapas (Sevilla) and it was, as they say, an EXPERIENCE. We are both really pleased with the end result and we also learned a lot along the way. And I think we also got to know each other a bit better, always nice. So there will be more collabs in the future, but for now please enjoy this one. And don’t forget to give it a Like, or even a Share, and if you really liked it please consider becoming a (free or paid) subscriber…

Xtreme Foodies – Tapas vs Pintxos
Bitesize Sevilla – Tapas vs Pintxos

100 substack subscribers!

04 Tuesday Feb 2025

Posted by in sevilla, spain, substack, work, writing

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , ,

Yay! I’ve reached 100 subscribers (with 5 paid ones!) in my first month on Substack. If you haven’t done so already please go have a look at this new project of mine and, if you like what you see, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Free subscriber numbers do make a difference in terms of visibility on the site, so they are also very appreciated (if you don’t mind me popping into your email inbox every now and again). I’m actually having a lot of fun with this. Hope others are enjoying it too.

BITESIZE SEVILLA

adios twitter, hola substack!

02 Thursday Jan 2025

Posted by in articles, bluesky, sevilla, social media, substack, work, writing

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, ,

substack

New year, new stuff going on. Yesterday I bid farewell to Twitter, or what’s left of it. I’d been cross posting with Bluesky for the past year and a half but until recently I was still interacting more on Twitter. That began to change when Bluesky suddenly exploded in November after the US election. I noticed that even with far fewer followers on Bluesky there was a lot more engagement, and I was meeting a lot of new and interesting people. So it felt like time to move on and yesterday I tweeted for what will probably be the last time.

It’s a bit sad as I have been there so long, first with my Azahar account (March 2007) and then Sevilla Tapas (February 2009), and I’ve had so many great experiences and met so many wonderful people, but it’s also a bit of a relief. Because it hasn’t been Twitter since it was turned into X and, well, it’s time to go.

Meanwhile, I finally took the plunge and published my first Substack post yesterday. I’ve been lurking for ages and I’m subscribed to several accounts there, but so far I haven’t been sure what to do there. And well, I’m still not sure what I’m doing, but I decided if I didn’t get started then I’d just keep putting it off.

Substack is a platform that people use to promote their writing and to also monetise their content. Most offer a basic free newsletter and then “premium content” if you pay a small monthly fee. This is what I’m still thinking about, what I want to write about and if any of it would be considered “premium” by anyone. BUT I do need to move forward with both writing and making a living, especially as I haven’t been able to do the food tours since last summer because of my KNEE.

My good friend Thane Prince, renowned cookbook author and food writer, gave me some encouragement back in November, saying I need to just go for it. When I expressed all the usual insecurities she said… “Doesn’t matter, you can write about Seville, Sherry, Spain. Don’t do yourself down. Charge a modest €6 a month, get 100 folk, job done.” She suggested I could use the next month or so to plan for a launch in January.

And then suddenly it was January and I hadn’t done any planning (!!!) other than in my head. And so that’s why yesterday I just said FUCK IT and went for it. It’s an introductory post but it has made me visible and also holds me responsible to keep my word. And so, if any of you have any idea of what you think I should write about… I’m all ears!