I first went to Barcelona in 1975 after university, and I stayed for three years. I learnt Catalan because that's what everyone speaks in the mountains. They speak English to foreigners, but what people say to each other is much more important than what they say to you.
Colm ToibinBetween the ages of 8 and 12 it was difficult to know what my father was saying, and he moved very slowly, and then he died.
Colm Toibin