English in Madrid

Source:  The Good Funeral Guide on Unsplash Stickers on coffins There's nothing cheerful about a coffin - until you cover it with colourful pictures. The idea of decorating caskets is helping some people come to terms with that only sombre certainty we all have in life. When Mary Tomes dies, she doesn't want a plain wooden box. "I want a bright yellow coffin, one that says something about me. One brown box doesn't fit all. It doesn't show your personality or your sense of humour. My husband told me not to be so daft ." That was four years ago. Now Mary, a 62-year-old grandmother, not only has a sunshine-yellow coffin for when she meets her maker , but runs Colourful Coffins in Oxford, which prints customised paper wraps to stick onto caskets. Her initially reluctant   husband Kevin, 58, is chief designer, and the pair use their skills as printers to turn 3,000 caskets into visual representations of those inside. "We've had...

Source:  Marten Bjork en Unsplash What if we all walked to work? It's Walk to Work Day, but what would Britain be like if we all passed up road and rail for the humble pavement? Steve Tomkins ponders the potential consequences of letting our legs do all the work. Planes, trains and automobiles. Most people's commute to work features at least one of these forms of transport - possibly all three for some. But it doesn't have to be this way, according to the pedestrian campaign group Living Streets - organisers of Walk to Work Day. Our belief in motorised transport is somewhat dented when you consider that, in central London, for example, there are 109 journeys between Tube stations that are quicker to walk (taking into account time spent waiting for trains). Campaigners say if you'd walked to work today it would have helped (1) improve congestion, parking, air quality, health, noise and the local economy - apparently pedestrians are "more likely to...

Source: You Tube Associated Press   Priest Missing On Helium Balloon Flight A daredevil priest who used hundreds of helium balloons to try to smash a flying record has gone missing off the coast of Brazil Rescuers in helicopters and fishing boats are searching off the southern coast of Santa Catarina state, where pieces of balloons were found. Rev Adelir Antonio de Carli, 41, took off from the city of Paranagua on Sunday afternoon, wearing a helmet , thermal suit and a parachute. He was reported missing about eight hours later after losing contact with port officials. Carli had a GPS device, a satellite phone, and is said to be an experienced skydiver. The Roman Catholic cleric wanted to break a 19-hour balloon flying record to raise money for a spiritual rest stop for truckers in Paranagua. A video showed the priest soaring into the air to cheers from a crowd below. He soared to 20,000ft and then descended to about 8,200ft for his planned flight to ...

Source:   Biel Morro en Unsplash Spanish language row over Allen film Woody Allen 's latest film, starring Scarlett Johansson and Javier Bardem, will not be shown in Spanish in the strongly nationalist region of Catalonia. Audiences can see Vicky Cristina Barcelona, which is * due out  in Spain in September, in the original English-language version with Catalan subtitles or dubbed into Catalan. Jaume Roures, co-producer and head of the powerful media company Mediapro, told Spanish radio station RAC-1 the film will not be shown in Spanish, despite the fact that Spanish is the mother tongue of two of its stars, Penélope Cruz and Bardem. Elsewhere in Spain, it will be shown in English with Spanish subtitles. The move is sure to anger some who will see it as politically motivated in a region which sees itself as apart from Spain. A linguistic law fines companies who do not show signs in Catalan. The regional government recently announced a €7.4m (£5.9m) film...

Spain is well known as be ing one of the noisiest countries of the world, so it will be interesting to see just how successful the International No Noise Day proves to be on Wednesday. To celebrate the date the Spanish Acoustic Society (SEA), together with the Ministries for Housing and the Environment has called a minute’s silence at noon. It will be held at the Tres Olivos College in Madrid, where there are specialist facilities for those with hearing difficulties. The slogan for the day is ‘Let’s take care of the acoustic environment’, and the hope is that for a minute at least we can appreciate the sound of silence which can surround us. Source: typicallyspanish   Source:  Fede Casanova en Unsplash I live in a neighbourhood that is often afflicted by noise - Malasaña. I live a stone's throw from Plaza Dos de Mayo and you can just about hear the noise of people chatting at the outdoor cafés but it doesn't really  bother me. What I re...

Source: Ministerio de la Presidencia. Gobierno de España (Pool Moncloa) Women dominate Spain's new cabinet   The cabinet of Spain's re-elected socialist government was sworn in on Monday with women forming a majority for the first time. José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, the Prime Minister, consolidated his position as an avowed feminist with a round of new appointments stating : "I feel very proud that there are more women ministers than men." The nine women in the 17-strong cabinet include Carme Chacon, 37, who is seven months pregnant and Spain's first female defence minister. She immediately pledged to boost the number of women in Spain's armed forces, which first allowed female members in 1988. "The fact that a woman has taken over the defence ministry shows that Spanish society has identified with the armed forces," said Mrs Chacon. She said she would "improve the preparation and motivation" of the armed forces, and ensure...

  Source:  engin akyurt en Unsplash Fake divorce to get school places Spanish family court judges believe parents are divorcing to increase their children's chances of gett ing into their preferred state school . Spain is certainly not the only country where the government-funded school system is regularly under the spotlight over concerns about the quality of the education and the need to improve standards. Finding a good state school can be very difficult for parents. But Spanish parents are going to extreme lengths to get their children into the school of their choice. Family Court Judges in the city of Seville have noticed that the divorce rate has increased significantly and suspect that parents are faking divorce to help get their children into local schools. A change in the law, effective from the beginning of last year, means a child receives extra points if they live in a single parent home. In most cases, the children in this category ...

Source:  Ekaterina Shakharova en Unsplash 70% of Spanish grandmothers care for young Lack of state care in Spain for children under three is forcing grandparents to forget the idea of a relaxing retirement and has led to the rise of the so-called super abuela or "super granny". A government report yesterday says 70% of Spanish women over the age of 65 care for their grandchildren and 22% of them do so every day. Of the 1.5 million children under the age of three in Spain, 45% have a place in a state or private playschool . The rest are cared for by family members, usually grandparents. The report by the Institute for the Elderly and Social Services (Imserso) warns that many grandmothers may say they enjoy the experience of looking after grandchildren but in fact put themselves under extra stress . Anna Freixas, an education specialist at the University of Cordoba, said grandmothers who looked after their grandchildren did not help the bigger problem of sexual ...

We can use 'as ... as' with adjectives to say two things are the same. His French is as bad as mine. You are almost/nearly  as tall as your Dad. Let's buy the cheaper one. It's just as good . (= equally good) We  use 'not as ... as' to say that two things are not the same. The day was not as bad as I had expected The King is not quite as popular as his father. (= His father is a bit more popular) I am not nearly as fit as you. (= You are much fitter than me) Comparatives  are used to compare differences between two things. Most comparatives are formed by adding -er to the adjective. Phil is short er than his brother. I completed this marathon faster than the previous one. If an adjective ends in -e , then we just add -r . I live closer to the office than my colleagues. (cute r , blonde r , polite r , white r etc.) If the adjective has one syllable (consonant + vowel + consonant), the final consonant is doubled. April is usually wetter than Octo...

Source:  Matt Seymour on Unsplash   Muslim is spared a speeding ban   so he can drive between his two wives When it comes to avoiding a ban for speeding, the courts hear every excuse in the book . But yesterday one motorist offered what must be a unique reason why he should keep his licence . Mohammed Anwar said a ban would make it difficult to commute  between his two wives and fulfil his matrimonial duties . His lawyer told a Scottish court the Muslim restaurant owner has one wife in Motherwell and another in Glasgow - he is allowed up to   four under his religion - and sleeps with them on alternate nights. He also needed his driving licence to run his restaurant in Falkirk, Stirlingshire. Airdrie Sheriff Court had heard that Anwar was caught driv ing at 64mph in a 30mph zone in Glasgow, fast enough to qualify for instant disqualification. Anwar admitted the offence, but Sheriff John C. Morris accepted his plea not to be banned and a...

Source: Wikipedia (Diliff)   Britain's oldest foundry marks the day it made Big Ben 150 years ago One of Britain's last bell foundries marked the 150th anniversary Thursday of its biggest creation - the massive bell whose bongs sound the hour at the Houses of Parliament in London. It was made by (1) the Whitechapel Bell Foundry, which also made Philadelphia's Liberty Bell and the Bell of Hope, given to New York by (1) Londoners on the first anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The 15-ton Big Ben was cast on April 10, 1858, at the foundry in east London, although it was another year before it first rang out . Big Ben has given its name to one of London's most famous landmarks - Parliament's 19th-century neo-Gothic clock tower, designed by (1) Charles Barry. The tower is popularly known (1) as Big Ben, although the name actually refers only to the Great Bell inside. " We are going to (2) toast Big Ben's health ...

Source: Wikipedia (LLuisaNunez)   Recipe Prepare a large bowl with 1kg of thinly sliced potatoes and sprinkle plenty salt over them and work it down to the bottom of the bowl. In a large frying pan heat about ½ cm of olive oil. When it's very hot add the potatoes from the bowl and start to fry them. Be sure to keep stirring them so that they don't stick or start to brown. After about 5 minutes add half an onion to the potatoes. This should be chopped very fine. Stir the contents of the frying pan then cover it. Now break 8 large eggs into a bowl and add a pinch of salt and beat them. Keep check ing the frying pan to be sure that the potatoes aren't turning brown . Turn down the heat if necessary. Keep stirring. Once the potatoes break easily under the touch of the stirring spoon they are ready. So now add the potato/onion mix to the bowl of beaten eggs. Drain away any excess that's left in the frying pan oil at this point . ...