In a column in this magazine some 20 years ago I coined the term “Britalan” to refer to those British people like myself who had taken up permanent residency in Catalonia. It really caught on… this is, as far as I’m aware, the second time it’s ever been used.

After 30 years of living here, I no longer consider myself an outsider. I eat calçots without wearing a bib and I respond delicately rather than lunging in when people greet me with two kisses. But if there’s one day that proves my fully assimilated Catalan credentials, it’s Sant Jordi’s Day – that glorious, chaotic and deeply Catalan tradition where books, roses and public barging become national pastimes.

On April 23, the streets of Catalonia transform into something between a literary festival and a Black Friday sale at a florist’s.........

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