English in Madrid

Source:  Timon Studler en Unsplash The other day while I was in the gym working out , I heard this song. I think it is a good version of Elton John's classic and certainly is one of those songs that makes you feel good. Check out this other post on feel-good songs .   Source: You Tube (93Zone4) Key Words: Billy Paul Your Song Your Song - Billy Paul It's a little bit funny , Lord, this feeling inside I'm not one of those who can easily hide I don't have much money but, boy , if I did I'd buy a big mansion where we both could live If, if, if I was a sculpture, Lord honey But then again who knows (then again who knows) Or a man who makes potions in a travelin' show I know it's not much, I know it's not much But it's the best I can do You gave me a gift Lord, and I'm gonna sing it for you And you can tell everybody That this is your song (this is your song) It may be a quite, quite simple, but that's how it's done...

Source: Wikipedia (Cjorsch )   Next time you're scoffing a yummy hot cross bun dripping in butter remember that at one time they were banned in England! It's not just in England that we bake yummy breads at Easter in fact throughout the world , many cultures have special celebratory breads that are traditionally baked at this time of year. These breads are often rich with eggs, butter and spices and packed with fruits and nuts. These days with supermarkets and modern conveniences we take these ingredients for granted , but at one time they were very expensive and hard to find. This meant that this kind of food was reserved for holidays and special occasions. Hot cross buns at Easter are a metaphor for the resurrection of Christ - flour comes to life and transforms itself to bread. But hot cross buns actually pre-date Christianity. They were originally used in pagan ceremonies and rituals and the Christian Church attempted to ban them. But they were jus...

Source: Shalone Cason on Unsplash   Fewer Confessions and New Sins The Vatican has brought up to date the traditional seven deadly sins by adding seven modern mortal sins it claims are becoming prevalent in what it calls an era of "unstoppable globalisation". Those newly risking eternal punishment include drug pushers , the obscenely wealthy , and scientists who manipulate human genes. So "thou shalt not carry out morally dubious scientific experiments" or "thou shalt not pollute the earth" might one day be added to the Ten Commandments . MODERN EVILS Environmental pollution Genetic manipulation Accumulating excessive wealth Inflicting poverty Drug trafficking and consumption Morally debatable experiments Violation of fundamental rights of human nature The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that "immediately after death the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin descend into Hell ". The new mortal sins were listed...

Two million e-mails are sent every minute in the UK. That is almost three billion each day. But what is the real cost of this information overload ? We can spend up to  half our working day going through our inbox, leaving us tired, frustrated and unproductive. A recent study found one-third of office workers suffer from e-mail stress. And it is expensive, too. One FTSE firm estimated that dealing with   pointless e-mails cost it £39m a year. Now firms are being forced to help staff deal with the daily avalanche in their inboxes. Some hire  e-mail consultants, while others are experimenting with e-mail free days. Ray Tomlinson is not a household name , but perhaps he should be. Ray was responsible for the e-mail revolution. In 1971, he developed the code that enabled him to send an e-mail between two computers for the first time. He says: "I do feel proud of this accomplishment. In some sense it was such a simple thing to do at the time, but it has had ra...