Writers Abroad Magazine Issue 4 | Page 31

WRITERS ABROAD MAGAZINE: THE THIRD SPACE From Here… Featuring Chris Nedahl What brought you to Spain, when and from where? I hail from Treorchy in the Rhondda Valley, South Wales. I grew up during the decline of the coal industry and my childhood home was the centre house of a mining terrace. I am told it was the last to be built in that row, watched as it took shape by my maternal great grandfather, himself a miner. I now live in another valley, Almanzora, in south-eastern Spain. My rural village of Arboleas, with its almond, olive, orange and lemon groves, lends itself to the famous mañana lifestyle. It is the second time I have lived in this lovely country. The first time, I was on the Mijas Costa, arriving in 1989. I returned to the U.K. after six years and retired to this quiet backwater, so different from the Malaga area, in 2008. What are the advantages of living in Spain for a writer? The village alone has given me a wealth of material to use creatively. From the colour of the skies to the wild foliage at my feet. More so, it is a gateway to many historical and cultural experiences from the Romans and Moors through to the Catholici