English in Madrid

Source: Marc-Olivier Jodoin en Unsplas h Spanish parents fight for right to name their son 'Wolf'  New parents Ignacio and Maria are furious after be ing told that "Lobo" - meaning Wolf – was not an appropriate name for their newborn son.  Like many new parents, Ignacio and Maria, from the Madrid suburb of Fuenlabrada had already chosen a name for their first son before he made an appearance in the world on July 12. “We decided some months ago to call him Lobo, because of our love for this beautiful animal and because as a name it is unique and full of character. We want to bring   our son up  with values such as respect, love, equality, love of animals and nature, justice, kindness,” the baby’s father explained. But he was informed by the Birth registry in Fuenlabrada that he could not officially name his son Lobo because it “was offensive to the child”. “After ten days arguing with officials we were then told that it is because Lobo is a common s...

Why the heat puts us in a bad mood   Research points to links between hot weather and irritability, anxiety, and even wars We’ve all heard that sunny days get your spirits up , that they create a sense of wellbeing , that life is better in warm countries such as Spain… But what happens when the temperature is so high that you can’t even set foot outside your house, or sleep at night? What happens when you are so overpowered by the heat that you don’t feel like do ing anything at all? Spain has gone through 80 heat waves in the last 40 years, according to a report released a few weeks ago by the Spanish National Meteorological Agency. The worst one on record took place in July and August 2003. It is a well-known fact that the human body suffers in these conditions. In the fourth century BC, Hippocrates described how the wind can affect people, and suggested that epidemics could be linked to weather conditions. The normal temperature of a human body at rest...