Turbo Island

There is an area of Barcelona that made me think of home - and, no, I don't mean the Barri Gotic with its splendid squares, like the gorgeous Placa Reial, or the Montjuic area with its parks.

I mean the Raval quarter, which, according to Time Out, was once a no-go area for tourists.

It's still a place with shady characters, prostitutes, dodgy alleyways and graffiti. Bit like Stokes Croft, then!

So, how nice it is to be back in Bristol's 'cultural quarter'. The photo is of local landmark Turbo Island, described by one website as 'a communal patch of grass where the unemployed and homeless gather to drink Ye Olde Scrumpy Jacks and huge bottles of cider'.

It also features 'mini Easter Island-style heads, placed by the People's Republic of Stokes Croft'.

To be fair, the same website also says: "You will see more of the real Bristol (here) than you would at the fake fronts that places more towards the centre seem to offer."

I bet they haven't got Easter Islands heads in Barcelona!