English in Madrid

Source: Ave Calvar on Unsplash In Spain, remote work makes comeback amid surge in coronavirus cases   Telecoms and large banks are leading the way and experts hope smaller businesses will follow suit , despite the lack of official government guidelines   The swift spread of the new coronavirus variant is forcing Spanish companies to go slower with their return-to-the-workplace policies .  Telecoms in particular have been the first to give employees the option of 100% remote work, as they did in the early days of the pandemic. Other large companies, such as the banks BBVA and Banco Santander and the insurance group Mapfre, are offering more work-from-home time during the holidays as case numbers continue to soar across Spain.  Government agencies are following suit: the Tax Agency has told its employees to work from home at least until January 10, and the government of Catalonia has made remote work “a priority” for its own workers.  A growing chorus o...

Source: Yuki Dog on Unsplash An Introduction to Dogs   by Ogden Nash  The dog is man's best friend.  He has a tail on one end.  Up in front he has teeth.  And four legs underneath .  Dogs like to bark .  They like it best after dark.  They not only frighten prowlers away   But also hold the sandman at bay .   A dog that is indoors  To be let out implores.  You let him out and what then?  He wants back in again.   Dogs display reluctance and wrath   If you try to give them a bath.  They bury bones in hideaways   And half the time they trot sideways .  Dogs in the country have fun.  They run and run and run.  But in the city this species  Is dragged around on leashes .  Dogs are upright as a steeple   And much more loyal than people.  Well people may be * reprehensibler  But that's probably because they are * sensible r. * more reprehensible /...

Source:  Max Fischer  en  Pexels  Today, as if it was possible to ignore, is Black Friday. I hope, like me, that you are refusing to particpate in the American import. Here are a few previous Black Friday-related blog posts and tweets. Black Friday madness   Bigger than Black Friday   BBC News - Black Friday shopping in US marred by violence http://t.co/gPpjYn8tH9 And this is what they want to import to Spain ... — English in Madrid (@madteacher72) November 29, 2013 How Black Friday came to the UK https://t.co/qMNcPfLVQk — English in Madrid (@madteacher72) November 25, 2016 Black Friday backlash getting bigger - and more consumerist https://t.co/DRdlH5ZmwI — English in Madrid (@madteacher72) November 26, 2016 Take a look at some black-related expressions: a black mark against sb - something that you have done wrong or failed to do which is noticed and remembered by people and affects your reputation in a bad way If I'm late for the meeting, it'll be a...

Here are some more animals to add to the list of expressions. See A - D , E - H , K - M and O - P . Rat Source: Matt Seymour on Unsplash   Like a drowned rat is used to describe someone who is soaking wet and miserable. It started pouring rain and I didn't have an umbrella. I got to the interview looking like a drowned rat . Not very WISE to walk home in THE POURING RAIN without A BROLLY. Now I'M LIKE A DROWNED RAT. More "wet" vocab: https://t.co/0amNJ0sEtk — English in Madrid (@madteacher72) April 4, 2016 I smell a rat. I reckon people are doing this just to get attention and to make money. It's another crime FOR WHICH Spain IS NOTORIOUS. pic.twitter.com/s6yeClD1QU — English in Madrid (@madteacher72) November 16, 2020 Read about The Pied Piper of Hamelin . Rabbit Source: Adrian Pereira on Unsplash If someone rabbits on (about sth) , they talk too long about something that is not important or interesting. He is always rabbiting on about the planets and the ...

Source: Wikipedia (Seedfeeder) Pedro Sánchez: Spanish PM * vows to outlaw prostitution  Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez pledged on Sunday to criminalise prostitution in the country.  Speaking to supporters at the end of his Socialist Party's three-day congress in Valencia, Mr Sánchez said that the practice " enslaves " women. Prostitution was decriminalised in Spain in 1995 and in 2016 the UN estimated the country's sex industry was worth €3.7bn (£3.1bn, $4.2bn).  A 2009 survey found that up to one in three Spanish men had paid for sex.  However, another report published in 2009 suggested that the figure may be as high as 39% and a 2011 UN study cited Spain as the third biggest centre for prostitution in the world, behind Thailand and Puerto Rico.  Prostitution is currently unregulated in Spain, and there is no punishment for those who offer paid sexual services of their own will , as long as it does not take place in public spaces. However, pi...

Source: Andrew Lancaster on Unsplash   Spain announces €400 culture pass ‘birthday gift’ for teens turning 18   Teenagers turning 18 in 2022 will receive a €400 culture pass to spend on anything from books, concerts and cinema tickets, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced Wednesday.  Speaking at Ljubjana’s EU-Western Balkans summit , Sánchez said the measure would improve young people’s access to culture, and at the same time, help the Spanish culture industry, which has suffered great financial losses during the Covid-19 pandemic.  The announcement comes just a few days after the government announced it would launch a housing scheme that would give 18 to 35 year-olds mid-income earners a monthly €250 discount off their rent .  Both measures were announced as part of the Spanish government’s agreed budget for 2022, although this still needs to be approved by the Spanish Cabinet in its meeting on Thursday. It follows similar legislation in ...

Source:  Miguel Ángel Sanz  on  Unsplash Devastating volcano eruption can be used to lure tourists to Canaries, says minister  Tourism minister derided for suggesting La Palma volcano could lure visitors to Spanish archipelago Spain’s tourism minister has been accused of insensitivity after suggesting that a devastating and ongoing volcanic eruption on the Canary island of La Palma could be used as an “attraction” to lure visitors to the archipelago.  About 5,500 people have been evacuated and at least 120 homes destroyed after the eruption in the Cumbre Vieja mountain range , one of the most active volcanic regions in the islands.  Speaking on Monday morning, Reyes Maroto said the government wanted to reassure tourists already on La Palma – or heading there – that the island was still safe despite the eruption, which began on Sunday afternoon.  “The most important thing right now is reassuring tourists who have been affected, and also those w...

Source: Tanya Grypachevskaya on Unsplash Canary Islands: Volcano eruption on La Palma destroys homes, no injuries   The volcano continued to spew red-hot lava and ash into the sky from the island of La Palma. Authorities have evacuated some 5,000 people, while a hundred homes have already been razed . The volcano erupted on Sunday,after a week of heightened seismic activity. It is located on La Palma, the fifth-largest island in the Spanish archipelago that sits in the Atlantic Ocean off the western coast of Morocco.  The eruption has forced the evacuation of about 5,000 people, including some 500 tourists, according to a Monday update from local officials .   Authorities said they were hopeful more people would not need to be evacuated.  Damage only material   Local TV station Radio Television Canaria (RTVC) showed footage of red-hot lava and dust emanating from the Cumbre Vieja National Park in the south of the island.  No fatalities have b...

Source:  Giorgio Tomassetti  on  Unsplash Spain targets energy firms as European bills surge Spain's left-wing government has agreed emergency measures to cut spiralling energy bills as electricity prices climb to record levels.  It aims to channel €2.6bn (£1.9bn; $3bn) in energy company profits to consumers and slash electricity taxes over the winter months .  Energy bills are climbing across Europe as gas prices soar in particular.  Greece is promising subsidies to consumers and Italy is also aiming to review electricity bills.  But it was Spain that moved first on Tuesday. It has seen some of the highest energy prices in Europe in recent weeks, prompting protests over the summer in a number of cities.  'Shock plan'  Wholesale electricity prices rose during the summer months and have continued to climb, with reports of a record high of €172.8 per megawatt hour for Wednesday, 12.6% up on Tuesday.  Socialist Prime Minis...

Source: Wikipedia (Mons. Novell) Spanish bishop quit for love for erotic writer When Spanish bishop Xavier Novell resigned last month, the Roman Catholic Church cited strictly personal reasons without going into detail .  It has now emerged in Spanish media that he fell in love with a woman who writes Satanic-tinged erotic fiction.  In 2010 at the age of 41, he became Spain's youngest bishop, in Solsona in the north-eastern region of Catalonia.  He has backed so-called conversion therapy for gay people and carried out exorcisms.  Seen as a rising star in Spain's Catholic Church, his decision to resign with the Vatican's approval came as a surprise last month. He is said to have met several times with Vatican officials as well as the Pope himself.  Xavier Novell was traditional in his remarks on abortion but his strident views on homosexuality and outspoken support for Catalonian independence were controversial.  It came as a shock when Relig...