It’s no secret that Spain is having a tough time at the moment. Since the current government came into power there have been a whole load of austerity measures and cuts all over the place. Every now and again we hear about the shocking level of unemployment (currently 26% overall, and over 50% for young people), but on the streets, at least at first glance, you wouldn’t guess that this is a country caught up in the midst of economic turmoil. My parents were recently in town to visit and they commented on how seemingly affluent a city it was, at least compared to the picture painted by the English media. There are people out every night, eating and drinking, the shops are full of customers and it doesn’t exactly seem like all doom and gloom.

But a couple of weeks ago I felt some of the effects of the…