English in Madrid

Image created by Chat GPT As I've started the gym again for the umpteenth time , I thought I'd look back at my history through my tweets. With the help of Chat GPT, I have translated some of them into Spanish (so don't blame me if you find mistakes). I would like you to translate them back into English and let's compare them to the original tweets. If you click on the red expression, you'll see the original tweet. You can reply to some in Twitter. Todavía estoy lleno después de la comida de hoy. De verdad tengo que ponerme a dieta y volver al gimnasio. Mi barriga solo crece y crece… No he ido al gimnasio en unos 4 años, pero hoy superé mi reticencia y me apunté otra vez. Estoy orgulloso de mí. Conseguí una buena oferta para el gimnasio. Incluso hay una pista de atletismo. Es interesante observar la diferente etiqueta del gimnasio aquí.  http://t.co/bdMliptS   Del 8% al 21% de IVA: ir al gimnasio ahora es un lujo. Aun así, nos mantendremos en forma caminando a ...

Doctor warns Dry January will 'never work' to help really 'detox' the body - and instead reveals the ways to reduce booze intake across the year Doctor Alasdair Scott has likened the effects of dry January to a ' crash diet ' It is a challenge that requires a person to stop drink ing alcohol for a month New year, new me - or so the saying goes, and there's no better time to commit to a month devoid of booze. Or is there?  Doctor Alasdair Scott, director of London health care service Selph, has branded Dry January a 'myth', while adding that you can't simply 'detox' your body of alcohol within one month .  Dry January is a popular personal challenge that requires a person to refrain from drinking alcohol for a month - often in the hopes of cancelling out the effects of a very boozy Christmas.  The medical expert and surgeon likened the trend to a 'crash diet', while revealing that it had very few health benefits, a...

Source: Martin Sanchez on Unsplash Madrid mayor decries partying Spaniards as Covid lockdown ends   Calls for restraint as thousands gather to celebrate lifting of nation’s six-month state of emergency   The mayor of Madrid has appealed for people to behave responsibly after thousands of people greeted the end of Spain’s six-month state of emergency by taking to the streets of towns and cities across the country in spontaneous celebration.  At the end of October last year, the socialist- led coalition government of the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, declared a state of emergency that included a nationwide overnight curfew , restrictions on travelling between regions and a ban on gatherings of more than six people.  As the clock struck midnight on Saturday and the state of emergency ended, fireworks were let off in Madrid and people congregated in Puerta del Sol, the central square where revellers traditionally gather to see in the new year...

Source: Possessed Photography on Unsplash Man runs marathon on 7-metre balcony during French lockdown   Elisha Nochomovitz wanted to pay tribute to medics and show it’s possible to stay fit at home In the age of Covid-19 confinement, Elisha Nochomovitz has figured out   a way to keep occupied by running a marathon on his balcony. Nochomovitz ran 42.2km (26.2 miles) back and forth ,   never leaving his 7 metre-long (23 feet) balcony. He saw it as a physical and mental challenge , and also shared images of the feat   online as a way to extend his support to medical personnel who were doing an “exceptional job”, he told Associated Press from his apartment in Balma, a suburb of the southern French city of Toulouse. Like athletes who ran around their Wuhan apartments or cyclists who found ways to train in their locked-down Abu Dhabi hotel rooms, Nochomovitz wanted to show that it’s possible to stay fit as virus containment measures tighten around the world. ...

Source:  Fusion Medical Animation on Unsplash Coronavirus: Spain’s tourist industry braces for big losses at Easter  Sector particularly vulnerable as people cancel travel plans and major events are cancelled Spain’s tourist industry is braced for huge losses over the Easter period and beyond as people cancel travel plans and major events are postponed as a result of the coronavirus. Last year, nearly 84 million people visited Spain, 18 million from the UK. Tourism is the nation’s third biggest industry, accounting for 11% of GDP . Even before the severe restrictions, including schools closures and bans on large public events, announced in the Madrid area, bookings were down . According to the Spanish hotelier s’ confederation, reservations were already down 20-30%, in particular for holidays in Catalonia, Valencia and the Balearic and Canary Islands, in February compared with last year. Hotel bookings were down 24% in Madrid and 20% in Barcelona. “ The imp...

Source:  Keith Hardy on Unsplash Dry January withdrawal symptoms : What happens when you stop drink ing alcohol? There are plenty of reasons why many of us will give up alcohol for the first month of the New Year, and new decade. After the excesses of Christmas, Dry January is always a welcome challenge – whether done as a money saving method, a detox for your post-Christmas skin or for charity.  However, amidst all the many benefits, the sudden withdrawal of alcohol might have some worrying side effects on your body. If you cut drink out cold turkey , what symptoms should you expect? Alcohol withdrawal symptoms WebMD lists some of the common effects of alcohol withdrawal, starting with cold sweats and having a racing pulse. Other symptoms, depending how much you drank on a regular basis to begin with, can include: Nausea  Vomiting  Shakes   Anxiety  Severe (but more uncommon) symptoms include seizures or having halluci...

Source:  Estúdio Bloom on Unsplash Avocados: Spanish company launches low-fat variety From Instagram posts to morning smoothies , you cannot seem to escape the avocado in 2017. But the fruit could soon become even more popular after a Spanish company announced it is launching reduced-fat avocados for the first time. Isla Bonita claims their Avocado Light has up to 30% less fat than ordinary fruits. They also say it ripens faster, and oxidises - or goes that weird shade of brown - slower. The avocados are grown under special soil and climate conditions to provide the same nutritional benefits with less fat, according to the company's website. Avocados are a foodie hit for their rich and creamy texture caused by their high fat content - an average fruit has between 20-30g of fat. Most of this is monosaturated fat, which has been linked to the reduction of cholesterol and lowered risk of cancer and heart disease . But your morning avocado on toast could...

Source: Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash Drinking a cup of coffee may add nine minutes per day to your life  It has become a national pastime but our obsession with drinking coffee could be having unexpected health benefits and even increasing our lifespan by up to nine minutes a day, new research suggests .  Two new studies , including the largest ever conducted into coffee drinking, have found that imbibing even a single cup a day reduces the risk of dying early from any cause, and dramatically cuts the chance of death from digestive problems.  People who consumed just one 350ml cup each day slashed their risk of dying early by 12 per cent over 16 years, while three cups reduced the risk by 18 per cent. Prof Sir David Spiegelhalter, Winton Professor for the Public Understanding of Risk at the University of Cambridge, calculated that, if causal, it meant a cup of coffee a day extended the average life of a man by three months and a woman by a month. “Pro-r...

Eight in 10 middle-aged Britons 'are overweight or exercise too little' Public Health England launches campaign aimed at 40 to 60-year-olds, 83% of whom weigh too much or drink above guidelines Eight out of 10 of middle-aged people in the UK weigh too much, drink too much or do not exercise enough, analysis from Public Health England (PHE) shows. Modern life is harming the health of the nation, according to the organisation, which has launched a campaign, One You, aimed at the 83% of 40 to 60-year-olds – 87% of men and 79% of women in this age bracket – who are overweight or obese, exceed the chief medical officer’s alcohol guidelines or are physically inactive. Obesity is one of the biggest problems for this group: 77% of men and 63% of women in middle age are overweight or obese. Obesity in adults has risen by 16% in the past 20 years. Research shows that many people cannot identify a healthy body, suggesting being overweight has become the new normal. Prof Sir...

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...