WWOOF!

Through an organisation called WWOOF (Willing Workers on Organic Farms) I recently spent some time on a finca in Southern Spain.

Las Nanas, or lullabies, is located in the heart of the Sierra de Aracena and lies between the villages of Santa Ana and Alajar. A mountain stream called El Barranco del Negrito forms the western boundary.

In return for accommodation and food, I worked for several hours a day on the farm; weeding, collecting wood, cooking etc. It provided the perfect opportunity to practice my (limited!) Spanish and experience the real Spain which included my first (and last!) bull fight!

http://www.campozendo.eu/en/index.htm

http://www.wwoof.org/

By Laura

A winning Whale Tale

A whale obsessed author has won the £20,000 BBC Samuel Johnson Prize for non-fiction.
Leviathan, Or The Whale, written by Philip Hoare depicts the authors life long passion for the mammal as he travels the globe in search of the creature.
US journalist Jacob Weisberg, led the panel, "What made Leviathan stand out in a shortlist of wonderful reads was Philip Hoare's lifelong passion for his subject and his skill in making his readers share it," he said. "His prose is dream-like and rises to the condition of literature."

To find out more about Leviathan, Or The Whale, visit http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts_and_culture/8127527.stm or to purchase a copy of the award winning book go to http://www.guardian.co.uk/buybooks