Saturday 1 September 2012

Itinerants of yore.

George Henry Borrow (1803 -1881).

At Nº 16 (or, there abouts) on Calle de Santiago here in Madrid you will find Despensa de Carmen. I have no idea what Carmen does to her chicken, but it is the most tender, and most delicious chicken in Madrid. €4 for takeaway chicken and chips. Bargain. Plenty of healthier options also. I'm told the tortilla is a bit special.

Above the signage to her cooked food takeaway is a plaque. "Writer, traveller and theologist George Henry Burrow lived here from 1837 -1841 (or, there abouts - I didn't write it down)". "Also known as Don Geordie de Inglese" (or, something like that). I had never heard of him. Seems he outsold Dickens at his height with a book entitled 'The Bible in Spain' - a sort of 19th Century travelogue by a 19th Century Bible basher.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Burrow

His book (The Bible in Spain) is available for free on Project Gutenberg.
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/415

Thanks to the wonders of modern technology I now know all about Señor Borrow and can imagine what his life in Madrid may have been about next time I eat chicken and chips outside Despensa de Carmen on Calle Santiago.


1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hola. He estado hoy por la plaza de Santa Ana en Madrid. Al llegar a la plaza sobre las 8, vi en el suelo un dibujo tuyo en un papel de gran formato. Un dibujo de la plaza, con el hotel dibujado al fondo...

Verdaderamente increíble. Estoy estudiando Arquitectura y ni yo ni gran parte de la gente de la carrera sabe hacer algo como lo que has dibujado. Vi el blog en los laterales y he llegado hasta aquí, y he leído un poco.

Sólo quería decir... gracias. Y ánimo :D