THOUGHTS &
NOTES

A few months ago, while in Uruguay, I bought some lapacho furniture from a guy who brings it straight from Paraguay. He doesn’t have a shop or a showroom. His brand is Señor Lapacho. Not very polished. Just Instagram, a few pictures, and a very clear proposition. The furniture was simple but beautiful, solid, well designed, and half the price of what I would have paid in a high street store. But the most interesting part was not really the price but the feeling after buying.

Last week I was in London, travelling back to Madrid, and before my flight I went into the toilet of the Club Aspire lounge at Gatwick South to change into something more comfortable. In those few minutes, I left my wallet and passport behind. Credit cards, cash, passport, driving licence, ID card. Everything. The frustrating part is that I have a protocol for this. Passport and wallet always go in the same place. Always. No exceptions. It is boring, repetitive and slightly o

After the Filomena snowstorm brought Madrid to a standstill in 2021, I bought a shovel. During the storm, it became painfully clear that we were completely unprepared, much as parts of Northern Europe have recently discovered during extreme heat. At one point, we were removing snow with paella pans, which is either very Spanish or very stupid. Probably both. Once the roads reopened, I went looking for a snow shovel. There were none left, so I bought a proper, all-purpose shov