A few months ago I met a Spanish guy living in London who had an interesting explanation for why sooo many people from the rest of the UK, Europe and the whole world decide to come to live in London.

According to his theory, the vast majority of people who come to London give to others (and to themselves) one of the following two reasons. The first one is that they come to learn the language (this is invariably expressed by us Spaniards with the formula “tu imprúf mai ínglis”). The second reason to go living here is that people want to earn more money.

That's rubbish.

Reality is: people come to London just to run away from things. To run away from a job, from a relationship, from a past. From their family, from their environment. From other people. From themselves.

This guy put the high number of gay people in London as an example. Many gays from around the world who feel oppressed in their conservative countries and small towns discover with delight Londoner's open-minded, quasi-indifferent attitude towards them. Massive, anonymous, heterogeneous and vanguardist, no other city takes in people like London.

Now I wonder what I'm running from?

Politics in Spain is dead boring. At least this is so when comparing with other countries.

I first realized this fact the year I lived in Italy. Italian politicians and parties are more diverse, brave and spontaneous than their Spanish counterparts. The ideological range is much wider, from the communists and radicals (Pannella, Bonino) to the nostalgic xenophobic neofascists (Bossi, Berlusconi). Not to mention the permanent inner fights in the leftish and Catholic parties (L'ulivo, La margherita, Prodi) and the fascinating tentacles of the Catholic Church. Many topics that in Spain are sort of taboo or understood ─civil war, gay rights, laicism vs. Catholicism, manipulation in the media─ are passionately discussed in Italy.

Now I find this George Galloway, a British MP that reminds me of Marco Pannella. Via my new flatmate I discovered this TV clip in which Galloway is interviewed in Sky News on the Lebanon vs. Israel crisis.

From Galloway's very first answer it's crystal clear that the interview is going to be anything but boring. This is a completely different point of view on international politics than the one the mainstream media show in their news. And Galloway puts forward his ideas in such a simple and passionate way that you can't but feel empathic with him. (And pity the newsreader who interviews him).

I also found a rough transcript of the debate.

Stimulating at the least, definitely you don't see these things in Spanish TV.

Abrió sin esfuerzo los ojos y retiró un poco la sábana para refrescarse el torso. El radio-despertador marcaba una hora pequeña. Mirando al techo se rascó la coronilla; no tenía sueño. Ella dormía acurrucada dándole la espalda. Rodó por el colchón hasta quedar muy cerca, junto a su cuerpo desnudo, y comenzó a acariciarle suavemente el hombro y el brazo, tocando con su antebrazo el costado de ella. Le gustaba pasar los dedos (apenas la yema) sobre su piel caliente. Contempló en la penumbra su espalda. La escuchó respirar. Después apoyó la cara en su nuca, se inundó de su olor. Cerró los ojos otra vez. Siguió recorriendo con los dedos su cuerpo inmóvil, descendiendo desde la axila y hacia la cintura, y empezó a sentir una tranquilidad infinita. Se detuvo tanto tiempo en esa caricia que volvió a quedarse dormido antes de que su mano llegase a la cadera de ella.