THE title of this blog, Spanish Matters, neatly encapsulates its purpose. Not only will it be about matters concerning the Spanish language - castellano, as it is usually referred to by Spaniards, in order to distinguish it from the Spanish of Latin America - but also it will seek to reinforce the importance for us, as English-speakers, of learning sufficient Spanish to engage with local people as we go about our daily lives. Spanish Matters will be of interest to readers who either live in Spain or visit regularly.

Of course, the key to successful development of our Spanish language skills is the ability to listen. This is, after all, how we began to learn our mother tongue, by hearing what was said to us by parents, relatives, childminders, friends and neighbours. If, as foreign language learners, we listen and imitate, not only will we begin to use the correct words and phrases in the correct way, at the right time and in the right place, we will also demonstrate more authentic pronunciation and develop more genuine accents.

Don Pablo is Paul Whitelock, a graduate in Spanish, former UK languages teacher and retired Ofsted school inspector. For the last eight years he has spent his time between Ronda and Warrington in Cheshire, UK. Since taking early retirement in 2005 he has renovated two houses in Ronda, one in Luxembourg and two in the UK. He now lives in the Serranía de Ronda and is a freelance journalist, translator and Plan B consultant. He can be contacted by email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or by telephone on (+34) 636 52 75 16.