English in Madrid

  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...

Source:  Brett Jordan en Unsplash Iker Casillas tells fans 'I hope you respect me - I'm gay' in deleted Twitter post Real Madrid and Spain legend Iker Casillas tweeted he was gay in a short statement on Twitter - adding he hoped fans would continue to respect him - before later deleting the tweet Legendary Real Madrid and Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas said "I'm gay" and asked for fans to "respect" him in a now deleted tweet. Casillas retired from football in 2020 after suffering a cardiac arrest during training with Portuguese side Porto. He is best remembered for his spell between the sticks with Real Madrid and be ing at the heart of Spain's all-conquering international side . The 41-year-old's Twitter account posted on Sunday afternoon: "I hope you respect me: I'm gay." Former Spanish team-mate Carlos Puyol responded to the shot -stopper's tweet, saying: ""It's time to tell our story, Iker...

Spanish PM leads outcry over students filmed chanting abuse at women’s halls Ministers join censure after male student cheered on by mob for calling women in Madrid residence ‘whores’ and ‘nymphomaniacs’ Source: You Tube (Guardian News) Key Words: Students Sexist Insults Madrid Senior Spanish government figures, including the prime minister, have condemned the behaviour of a group of male university students who were filmed cheering and howling after one of them hurled threatening , obscene and sexist insults at female students in a neighbouring block . Footage of the incident, shot on Sunday at the Elías Ahuja hall of residence in Madrid, shows one student calling women in the Santa Mónica hall “whores” and “fucking nymphomaniacs” and telling them to come “out of your dens like rabbits”. His words are met with roars and cheers from dozens of others in the block, who throw open their window shutters in unison to join in . Authorities at the hall, which is run by the Augus...