Anyone who knows anything about this area – Las Alpujarras, and in particular Órgiva – will know about Chris Stewart. He’s the best-selling author of Driving Over Lemons: An Optimist in Andalucia and its sequels. The book details…oh, here’s the biography on his own website.
It seems almost every expat we meet knows him (one of us once bumped into Michael Palin filming Full Circle in a remote village in China and they’re best mates).
Rick Stein is a celebrated chef in the UK and we love his TV programmes. He once visited Chris and wife Ana – and this episode is nice to watch. It shows off the area’s natural beauty and that trick where you squeeze lemons through your fingers. Author Gerald Brenan, who blazed a trail many years ago (and who probably didn’t own a parrot), gets a mention.
Chris seems a thoroughly decent bloke – and even drummed in one of our favourite bands, Genesis – although he hasn’t responded to our email, so he’s off our Christmas card list.
On a related note, the brilliant Notes on Spain website has this podcast interview with Chris Stewart from several years ago. It’s definitely worth a listen (download may take a minute or two).
Related posts:
Last Days of the Bus Club – by Chris Stewart (book review)
South from Granada – by Gerald Brenan (book)
Driving over Lemons – by Chris Stewart (book)
Don Quixote – alive and kicking in Órgiva
© con jamón spain
con jamón spain 
Yawn…
Posted by John | December 18, 2013, 9:41 pmYes, of course, Chris Stewart is in no way connected to this area….perhaps we should write about Henry Kissinger instead? Did he ever visit?
Posted by con jamón spain | December 19, 2013, 10:33 amfun! I was just telling someone about him and Driving over lemons and how I read here about his second book and the third. so now I’ve added them to my wish list on Amazon 😉 fun video!!
Posted by tobyo | November 29, 2013, 5:19 am