Gerald Brenan

During my stay in Malaga I have discovered that the writer Gerald Brenan was buried at the city's English Cemetery, just 500 yards from the apartment where I am staying.

I am interested in Brenan for two or three reasons. Firstly, he wrote the 1957 classic, South from Granada, which I absolutely loved. It is about his journey of discovery as he immerses himself in village life in Andalucia.

Secondly, this book fascinates me because of what the Guardian described as 'more or less explicit criticism of his native country. Where Westminster was distant from the daily preoccupations of the voters, the village caciques derived their power from their ability to do useful things for their clients. Where the British lived their lives behind closed doors, the people of Yegen lived theirs on the street and everyone knew everyone's business. And this, in Brenan's eyes, was clearly how it should be'.

Finally, Brenan interests me because he spent some time at the Tolstoyan Whiteway colony at Miserden, near Stroud, the town where I lived for 25 years.

It is intriguing and exciting to find this link between Stroud and a beautiful little cemetery in Andalucia. It is located in a busy part of the city, but this morning it was a peaceful place, warm in the early spring sunshine and with the white gravestones covered in dappled shadows.

Brenan's last resting place was easy to find and it was lovely to discover that it is alongside that of his wife, Gamel.

I discovered one other interesting fact this week. Apparently Brenan donated his body to university science research, but he was so respected that no one could bring themselves to use it. After 14 years, his body was finally buried at the English Cemetery in 2001.

I love his epitaph: 'Escritor Inglés, Amigo de España'.