Showing A Load of Bull: An Englishman's Adventures in Madrid by Tim Parfitt

A LOAD OF BULL is the hilarious true story of an Englishman finding his way in one of the most perplexing, anarchic and exuberant cities on earth: Madrid.

In the late eighties Tim Parfitt blagged his way into a job at Conde Nast in London and from there into a six week stint in Madrid to help launch Spanish Vogue. Six weeks turned into nine years, and helping out turned into running the company. Along the way, Tim Parfitt discovered the real 'real' Spain. He never saw a Costa and he certainly never bought an olive grove. Instead, he discovered a booming city in hedonistic reaction to years of fascism, where sleep was something you only did at work and where five hour lunches invariably involved a course of bull's testicles. Tim Parfitt's rise from unwanted guest to paparazzi-pursued mover in Spain's glamorous social scene is a hilarious comedy of errors. Frothing with a language designed to make foreigners dribble, hospitalized by tapa-induced flatulence and constantly frustrated by the unapproachable beauty of the women parading through the Vogue offices, he nevertheless falls in love with a city, a country and its people - despite the fact he hasn't a clue what they're on about.

'A hugely entertaining memoir ... frequently laugh-out-loud funny' (The Daily Express)

'Parfitt is no ordinary Englishman. His light touch and neat line in self-deprecating humour perfectly suits this entertaining urban spin on the old tale of Brits having fun under the Spanish sun' (The Sunday Times)

'A love letter to Madrid ... brilliantly captures a truly eccentric and hedonistic place' (The Daily Mirror)

'Vivid yet affectionate … fascinating, escapist stuff' (OK! Magazine)

'A fast-paced, tapas-fuelled, sleep-deprived ride through Madrid before it was even a glint in David Beckham’s eye' (East Anglian Daily Times)

'Will do for Madrid what ‘Driving over Lemons’ has done for Andalucia' (Spain Magazine)

'No te pierdas … Madrid, a través de los ojos de un inglés' (Vogue España)