The Bedford Language Centre organised a Double Presentation and Social to mark the 80th anniversary of the bombing of Guernica, on 26th April 1937.  This merciless destruction of the Basque town of Guernica by the Luftwaffe, at the behest of Franco, was also an attack on the  symbolic home of Spanish democracy, and inspired Pablo Picasso  to paint his famous anti-war masterpiece.

The opening presentation by Frank Livesey gave a fascinating exploration of the historic background to the Spanish Civil War, and after a Spanish buffet, the audience were treated to a detailed interpretation by Victor Sanchez of the meaning of Picasso’s work of art.  Both talks included a question and answer session, and during the interval the mixed Spanish and English audience enjoyed a lively discussion.

“What a fascinating pair of presentations, which opened my eyes to so many aspects of Spanish culture. It was also a very social evening, and I enjoyed talking to several very interesting people.” Teresa Moon