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Spanish Practices - Real Life, Real SpainAuthor: John Metson
This is our real life, in real Spain. Ten years of adventures since swapping our glorious Victorian House in leafy Essex for a tiny flat in a wild Andalusian village. I was once a Radio Producer in London, not a great one. I sacked Richard Hammond for not knowing enough about cars. Was rude to J.K. and binned her rubbish first edition new kiddies book. Told the man behind Amazon when it launched in the UK that nobody wanted to shop online for books. So I ran away to Spain with my other half and our big ginger cat. This Podcast is about that brash, colourful passionate country - Spain. Oh and the odd celebrity encounter from my radio days. Some real events have been fictionalised to protect the innocent. Language: en Genres: Comedy Fiction, Fiction, Places & Travel, Society & Culture Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it Trailer: |
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Lucius and the Stink of Rotting Fish, Expat life Spain
Episode 130
Friday, 30 January, 2026
What did the Romans ever do for Almuñécar? Apart from inventing takeaway food, apartment living, public baths, complaining about politicians… and making the entire town smell like fermented fish. In this episode of Spanish Practices, we travel back to Roman Sexi (modern-day Almuñécar) to follow one entirely unremarkable man: Lucius. He is not a general, senator or emperor. He is a garum worker — which means his job is stirring rotting fish in the sun and smelling so bad even his own family stands upwind. Through Lucius's aching back, noisy apartment block, chaotic streets and daily visits to Roman "takeaways", we discover that ordinary life in Roman Spain looks suspiciously like expat life in modern Spain. People live in cramped flats. Neighbours argue loudly. Bureaucracy is baffling. Everyone eats out. The bars are noisy. The water is questionable. And everyone is convinced society is in decline. There are fish guts. There is urine-based laundry. There are public baths with better gossip than hygiene. There are gladiators, amphitheatres, dodgy wine, and a reminder that tourism is really just garum with better marketing. From Roman food factories to modern beachfront apartments, this episode explores how little the rhythm of Spanish life has changed in 2,000 years — and why Almuñécar has always known how to turn sunshine into a living. History, humour, and the unmistakable stink of fermented anchovies.
