English in Madrid

'Why I queued for almost 24 hours for a jacket potato' On a grey and wet November morning, a queue of more than 150 people - which will later swell to over 400 - is stretching down Fargate in Sheffield city centre. Amelia Sorby, 33, stands proudly at the front of the queue after arriving at 18:30 the previous evening, armed only with a camping chair and a thick winter coat. The hordes of people have braved the weather for the official opening of Spud Bros – a jacket potato business started in Preston which has grown to become a TikTok sensation. Ms Sorby is one of about 4.8 million social media followers of the company's founders , brothers Jacob and Harley Nelson, but, for her, being part of the queue in rainy Sheffield is less about the spuds and more about the "great vibes ". "I didn't sleep last night. I was so excited, I just walked around," she explains. She describes the Nelson brothers as "great people" who " give some...

  Image created by Chat GPT This is Bessie. She literally fell into my life. I noticed her from my flat as I was feeding the pigeons. The only way that she could have got into the garden is from the roof of one of the surrounding buildings - and it's a big drop . She had her hiding place that was impossible for me to reach. It took me ten days before I could catch her. I fed her every day and night, hoping that she would trust me a bit more. I sat in the dark, occasionally with the torch of my mobile phone to see her and talked to her so that she would gain my trust. Eventually , I was successful. I took her to the vet to see if she had a chip so we could discover who her owner was. But she didn't have one. So she has ended up with me. She is only about a year old so she is very playful . She  follows me around like a dog and she is very affectionate . 🐾 Bessie in the Garden She watched me from the ivy ’s shade , Eyes like lanterns, half afraid. I left her food, and wh...

Valencia leader resigns over handling of deadly floods The president of Spain's Valencia region, Carlos Mazón, has resigned after months of pressure over his handling of flash floods last year. A total of 229 people died in towns in the Valencia region on 29 October 2024, with a further eight dying in neighbouring regions , in Spain's worst natural disaster for decades. Many in Valencia blamed   Mazón for the scale of the tragedy because of how he and his government responded that day. It emerged that the regional president had spent nearly four hours in a restaurant with a journalist, Maribel Vilaplana, while the floodwater was wreaking havoc  and he did not attend emergency meetings during much of the day. Mazón's government also failed to  issue an emergency alert to the phones of Valencia residents warning them of the floods and providing advice until after 20:00, by which time dozens of people had already died. "I can't go on anymore... I know that I...

Image created by Chat GPT Spanish Vuelta finale cancelled as police clash with pro-Palestinian protesters in Madrid The Grand Tour event has this year turned into a diplomatic battleground, with multiple days of racing cut short or interrupted as pro-Palestinian protests have taken place. The finale of Spain's version of the Tour de France has been cancelled midway through after clashes between police and pro-Palestinian protesters in Madrid. The Spanish Vuelta's 104km-long last leg was first paused at around 6.20pm local time (5.20pm in the UK) as police attempted to disperse the demonstrators. Some protesters carrying anti-Israel banners had thrown barriers to block where the cyclists were supposed to pass on a finishing circuit for the mostly ceremonial ride into the Spanish capital. The race did briefly resume a short while later, but organisers were ultimately forced to call   the finale off . Organisers said: "For security reasons, stage 21 of La Vuelta ha...

Image created by Chat GPT Spanish government moves to ban smok ing on bar terraces Tobacco law would also prohibit minors from us ing vapes and stop sale of single-use electronic cigarettes The Spanish government has approved a draft tobacco law that would ban smoking and vaping on bar and restaurant terraces, prohibit minors from using vapes and related products, and end the sale of single-use electronic cigarettes. The legislation, which was signed off by the cabinet on Tuesday morning, is intended to “reinforce protections on people’s health and to adapt the law to consumption patterns and to the tobacco-product market”, according to the health ministry. Under the proposed law, electronic cigarettes, nicotine pouches , herbal products, shisha pipes and devices used to heat tobacco and other substances would be treated the same as conventional cigarettes. Their use would be banned in enclosed public spaces and in outdoor areas such as bar terraces, stadiums, sports centres,...

Image Source: Wikipiedia (Andy Scott) Carlo Acutis: From a baptism in London to the first millennial saint A London-born boy has become the first millennial saint, in a ceremony steeped in an ancient ritual presided over by Pope Leo on Sunday. In his short life, Carlo Acutis created websites documenting "miracles" as a means of spreading Catholic teaching, leading some to nickname him God's influencer. His canonisation had been due in late April, but was postponed following the death of Pope Francis. More than a million people are estimated to have made a pilgrimage to the Italian hilltop town of Assisi where Carlo's body lies , preserved in wax . But there is another pilgrimage site associated with Carlo Acutis that has seen an increase in visitors since it was announced that he was to be made a saint - Our Lady of Dolours Church in London. The font at the back of the Roman Catholic church in the Chelsea area was where Carlo was baptised as a baby in 1991. T...

Image generated by Chat GPT Murphy’s Law: Why Things Go Wrong at the Worst Time Have you ever studied all night for a test… only to find out it’s been postponed? Or printed your assignment just before class, and the printer jammed ? If so, you’ve already experienced something called Murphy’s Law . Murphy’s Law is a popular saying that goes: “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.” It’s not exactly a scientific rule, but it feels true in everyday life — especially when bad timing makes things worse! The Origins of Murphy’s Law The term comes from Captain Edward A. Murphy Jr. , an American aerospace engineer working on high-speed safety tests in 1949 . He and his team were testing how much sudden deceleration a person could handle (important for pilots and astronauts). But during one experiment, the sensors were wired incorrectly , ruining the results. Frustrated, Murphy supposedly said: “If there’s any way to do it wrong, someone will.” The project leader, Dr. John Pa...

Image generated with Chat GPT Spanish PM sorry for corruption scandal as opposition demands resignation Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has apologised to the Spanish people after an escalating corruption scandal brought down a senior Socialist party colleague. Sánchez, who has led Spain since 2018, said there was no such thing as "zero corruption" and he sought to put to distance himself from the affair, ruling out early elections. Opposition conservative leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo said it was time for Sánchez to resign: "Survival is no longer an option." A downbeat Sánchez admitted he had been wrong to trust Santos Cerdán, the secretary of his Socialist party, and spoke of his deep disappointment . Cerdán has been asked to testify in court after a judge suggested he may have acted with former party officials in improperly awarding public contracts in exchange for kickbacks . He said on Thursday he was stepping down to defend himself in the Supreme Cour...