English in Madrid

  Source: Simone Savoldi on Unsplash Benedict: The Pope who resigned from the papacy Benedict XVI was already 78 when he became Pope in 2005. Age and ill health quickly took their toll , prompting his resignation less than eight years later. No other pope had stepped down since Gregory XII in 1415 and Benedict was the first to do so voluntarily since Celestine V in 1294. When he became 265th Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church it was the culmination of the rapid, and highly controversial , rise of Joseph Ratzinger. Supporters portrayed him as a highly intellectual man who laboured to protect the spiritual inheritance bequeathed to him by Pope John Paul II. To his critics he was the ultimate exponent and guardian of the Church's dogmatic approach to issues like abortion and contraception. The outrage he sometimes caused seemed typical of a man who was never afraid of upsetting people - if he believed something had to be said or done. Joseph Aloysius Ratzinger was born ...

Coat of arms of Felipe de Marichalar, Grandee of Spain and Knight of the Solar de Tejada Source: Wikipedia (Heralder)    King Felipe of Spain’s scandal- plagued nephew under investigation over nightclub knife brawl   The incident is just the latest controversy for the young royal and his family Police are investigating Felipe Juan Froilan de Marichalar y Borbon, nephew of Spain’s King Felipe VI, over his alleged involvement in a fight involving dozens of people – some armed with knives – in a Madrid nightclub, it has been reported.  The brawl is just the latest issue for the 24-year-old, one of the most controversial figures of a royal family that has often been plagued by scandal.  Several of the young royal’s entourage were injured   in the incident outside high-end venue Vandido on 25 November, according to Spanish newspaper El Confidencial. If charged , he could face a prison sentence of up to a year if convicted.  Mr Froilan’s nocturnal...

  Source: You Tube (The Royal Family Channel) I am standing here in this exquisite Chapel of St George at Windsor Castle, so clo se to where my beloved mother, the late Queen, is laid to rest with my dear father. I am reminded   of the deeply touching letters, cards and messages which so many of you have sent my wife and myself and I cannot thank you enough for the love and sympathy you have shown our whole family. Christmas is a particularly poig nant time for all of us who have lost loved ones. We feel their absence at every familiar turn of the season and remember them in each cherished tradition. In the much -loved carol O Little Town Of Bethlehem we sing of how “in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting light”. My mother’s bel ief in the power of that light was an essential part of her faith in God, but also her faith in people and it is one which I share with my whole heart. It is a belief in the extraordinary ability of each person to touch, with goodnes...

    Source: dylan nolte on Unsplash   Spain’s El Gordo lottery dishes out Christmas joy with €2.5bn pot Unemployed mother of two is among winners as world’s biggest lottery hands out prizes of up to €325,000 A Gambian man who crossed from the Mediterranean by boat and an unemployed mother of two were among those rejoicing after the world’s biggest lottery sprayed money across Spain. On Thursday, the country celebrated the Christmas lottery known as El Gordo, or the Fat One, which dished out €2.5bn (£2.2bn) in prize money. The most sought-after ticket – worth €325,000 after taxes – was sold in cities across the country, setting off raucous celebrations that spanned from the north-western city of A Coruña to Almería in the south. As the numbers were called out in Madrid’s Teatro Real theatre, the audience erupted into wild cheers as they realised a member of the audience was among the lucky ones holding a winning ticket. Perla Gavidia, originally from P...

Source: Wikipedia (Balles2601) Salto de Castro: Spanish village on sale for €260,000 For anyone dreaming of sell ing up and moving to the country, how about buy ing an entire village? Salto de Castro, in north-western Spain, is up for sale and the asking price is €260,000 (£227,000; $259,000). Located on the border with Portugal in the province of Zamora and a three-hour drive from Madrid, Salto de Castro has many of the buildings you would expect to find in a small Spanish town. They include 44 homes, a hotel, a church, a school, a municipal swimming pool and even a barracks building that used to house the civil guard. But what it does not have are inhabitants. Salto de Castro has been abandoned for more than three decades. The owner bought the village at the beginning of the 2000s, with the intention of converting it into a tourist spot. However, the eurozone crisis prevented the plan from flourishing . "The owner had the dream of having a hotel here but it was all put...

  Source: You Tube (Daily Mail)   It has been a huge honour to be Prime Minister of this great country. In particular, to lead the nation in mourning the death of Her Late Majesty The Queen after 70 years of service, and welcoming the accession of His Majesty King Charles III. In just a short period, this government has acted urgently and decisively on the side of hardworking families and businesses. We reversed the National Insurance increase. We helped millions of households with their energy bills and helped thousands of businesses avoid bankruptcy . We are taking back our energy independence… …so we are never again beholden to global market fluctuations or malign foreign powers. From my time as Prime Minister, I am more convinced than ever we need to be bold and confront the challenges that we face. As the Roman philosopher Seneca wrote: “It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare . It is because we do not dare that they are difficult.” We simply ca...

Source: Wikipedia ( Editor 28139125) Where Does the Concept of a “Grim Reaper” Come From? For thousands of years, various cultures have had figures to represent death. One of the most common and enduring of these is the Grim Reaper —usually a skeletal figure, who is often shrouded in a dark, hooded robe and carrying a scythe to “ reap ” human souls . But how and when did this imagery come to be associated with death? The Grim Reaper seems to have appeared in Europe during the 14th century. It was during this time that Europe was dealing with what was then the world’s worst pandemic, the Black Death , believed to be the result of the plague. It is estimated that about one-third of Europe’s entire population perished as a result of the pandemic, with some areas of the continent suffering far greater losses than others. The original outbreak of the plague occurred during 1347–51, and outbreaks then recurred several other times after that. So, clearly, death was something that t...

Source: John Cameron on Unsplash 'I have to go to hospital... stop interfering with us!' Furious motorists DRAG   Just Stop Oil protesters out of the road while one eco activist clambers on top of a police van and GLUES himself to it on day nine of protests Eco-warriors Just Stop Oil are protesting for the ninth day in Westminster demanding an end to oil and gas They say they will continue to disrupt roads and the public every day in October until fossil fuel use stops Angry motorists have been pictured today dragging protesters out of the road and shouting at them Protesters have been pictured appearing to be placed in handcuffs and one was filmed sitting on a police van  Furious motorists have been pictured dragging members of the environmental group Just Stop Oil from the roads surrounding Westminster as activists stop traffic for the ninth day in a row , resulting in 45 arrests . Dozens of protesters against the continued use of oil and gas despite their detrimental...