English in Madrid

Source: Pexels ( Kindel Media)   Carjacked couple spot criminals on holiday 1,200 miles away A Belgian couple on holiday in Spain spotted the armed criminals who had carjacked them at gunpoint a month previously in Liege, 1,200 miles away. The unnamed pair saw Luc Jadoul, 47, and his girlfriend Gaëlle Deloge, 20, on a beach in Alicante. Mr Jadoul and Miss Deloge had threatened the couple with a gun and hijacked their Nissan SUV while making a dramatic escape from a Belgian courthouse just four weeks before. The crime victims were amazed to see Jadoul and Deloge sunning themselves on the Torrevieja beach last weekend. Incredibly, the stolen car was also parked nearby, just yards from where the carjackers were sunbathing. Keeping their heads and showing a “sangfroid” praised by the police, the holidaymakers let down the tyres on the car and called the authorities, who made an “easy” arrest. A firearm was recovered from the stolen vehicle. Both are being held in Madrid before thei...

All people go on holiday in August.  😡 Everyone/everybody goes on holiday in August. 😍 everyone/everybody = singular (present: verb + "s") person (sing), people (plural) so: People are ... 😍, people go ... 😍 I watch too much horror films.  😡 I watch too many horror films. 😍 (They give me nightmares) Too, too much and too many are negative concepts: It is too hot in here.  (I don't like it - open the window) She talks too much.  (It annoys me - she should talk less) We bought too much food. (We didn't need to buy so much - it's a waste!) There are too many people in this class. (I won't learn so much with so many classmates) If we simply talk about the degree/quantity without the negative concept , we'd say: It is very hot in here. She talks a lot. We bought a lot of food. There are a lot of people in this class. Using the above ideas tell me: what you don't like about living in Madrid / about other places what you don...

   Source: Wikipedia (Alan Stanton)   Cameron recalls Parliament as London riots spread David Cameron vows to do “everything necessary to restore order to Britain’s streets as he recalls Parliament and trebles police presence in London. There will be 16,000 officers on patrol tonight. Speaking outside Downing Street after holding an emergency meeting with Cobra, the Government’s crisis committee, David Cameron condemned the ugly scenes of violence sweeping across Britain. He said the “sickening scenes” were cases of criminality, “pure and simple, and it has to be confronted and defeated”. Mr Cameron announced that 16,000 police officers will take to the streets of London tonight, more than double the 6,000 on patrol last night. Mr Cameron said reinforcements have been called in from across the country, and all holiday leave for the Metropolitan Police has been cancelled. Plastic bullets – never used before during UK disturbances – are being considered as “one of the tacti...

Zapatero calls early Spain election amid economic woes Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has called a general election for November, four months earlier than expected. He said this would enable a new government to confront Spain's economic problems from January. Hours earlier, a credit rating agency warned it might downgrade Spain's rating due to weak growth prospects. Source: BBC News   Pope in Spain: Pilgrims in Madrid's protest square Young Catholics have been pouring into the Spanish capital all week and Pope Benedict XVI is to join them on a four-day visit to Madrid. The pilgrims have made their way from 193 countries. For days, they have packed the sweltering city streets sporting matching rucksacks and floppy sun hats. The metro is full of groups singing hymns in loud harmony as they ride. They are here for World Youth Day - actually a week of activities - which culminates in an open-air Sunday Mass con-celebrated by the Pope. But...