English in Madrid

Source:  Curtis Thornton en Unsplash Naps are healthy, scientists say – so why has Spain given up on the siesta? As study shows a daytime doze may help brain’s health, for Spaniards the idea is outdated and cliched News of a study showing that a short nap during the day may help to protect the brain’s health as it ages has resulted once again in frequent deployment of what is, for Spaniards, the dreaded S-word. Although all the recent talk of siestas may call to mind restful visions of daytime dozes, the very notion of a long daily nap in most of 21st-century Spain is as outdated as it is cliched and irksome . In fact – barring anglosajón attempts to add chorizo to paella – there are few surer ways to annoy a Spaniard than to suggest the entire nation crawls into bed every day for a three-hour kip . Far from be ing an indolent slumber , the siesta of old was a much-needed escape from agricultural work in the punishing heat of the summer afternoon. But as time moved on...

Silvio Berlusconi’s memorable quotes and quips Silvio Berlusconi, the outspoken four-time Italian prime minister and billionaire media mogul who died on Monday at the age of 86, had a sense of humour that often landed him in trouble . Here are some of his memorable quotes and quips: DEC 2022: Berlusconi tells players of his Monza soccer team he would bring "a bus of whores into the locker room " if they managed to beat a top Serie A rival. OCT 2022: Despite anger in the West over the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Berlusconi stood resolutely by his old friend , President Vladimir Putin: "Putin for my birthday sent me 20 bottles of vodka and a very sweet letter. I replied with bottles of Lambrusco and an equally sweet letter." NOV 2010: "As always, I work without interruption and if occasionally I happen to look a beautiful girl in the face, it's better to like beautiful girls than to be gay," he tells a meeting at a motorcycle industry show in M...

Source: Pexels (David Riaño Cortés) Colombian ‘miracle’ children found alive 40 days after Amazon jungle plane crash The Indigenous children – one of whom was just 11 months old – are thought to have eaten food dropped by rescuers and used their own ancestral knowledge Malnourished and covered in insect bites , four Indigenous children were rescued alive from the Colombian Amazon on Friday afternoon, 40 days after the plane they were travelling in crashed into the jungle. In a remarkable feat of resilience , the children survived heavy storms in one of the most inhospitable parts of the country, home to predatory animals and armed groups. “They’ve given us an example of total survival that will go down in history ,” said Colombian president Gustavo Petro, calling it “A joy for the whole country!” The four siblings , aged 13, nine, four plus an 11-month-old baby, were from the Huitoto Indigenous community. Although malnourished , none of the children were in serious conditio...