Tomorrow is the first day of the rest of my life. I know it’s a cliche but it´s true. I cannot act the role of philanthropist for the rest of my life. Onda Cero were most fair in their redundancy package but I have spent the last nine months searching for a Holy Grail that doesn’t exist. I really doubt if we will see another Onda Cero. It was a special time and a special place and I feel very priviliged to have been part of that era.

November came as an almighty jolt to the system. I wasn´t too sure what was to be done and I have had a steep learning curve to accommodate. Along the way I have met the good, the very good, the bad and the ugly in various forms. I have worked diligently and not been paid for my labours. I have two outstanding bills that will probably never be paid to me but I have kept my integrity and I have also been given several really fine opportunities to progress my journey through life. One leg of the journey begins tomorrow.

I have met smiling assassins and erstwhile acquaintances and I have also had the most wonderful bunch of loyal friends who have kept me company via telephone calls, personal visits and e/mails. I have also had definitive proof that there are those who would sell their souls to the devil to get what they want in life. I will never do that and my true friends know me well enough to see through the blarney of others. Money is at the root of most evil and I hope one day we will all see through it.

The recession has been caused by greed. It has been furthered by those in high office who couldn´t give a monkeys about the rest of society and the democratic process has been seen to give office to those who want to steal from those who voted them into their lucrative jobs. Life´s like this. We just have to get on with it.

Please don´t misunderstand me. I have plenty of friends who are extremely wealthy. The friends I keep are the friends who have earned their money or earned the right for us to respect what they have. I have, as we probably all will have done, worked for people who love to make you grovel for what is rightfully yours. The paymaster who wants to make you wait at the end of the gig until he is ready to put his hand in the till. Even whan it has been painful my reaction will always have been to never want to work for that man again.

There is something about a good boss. The boss who thanks you for the work you have done. The boss who offers a token of gratitude. The boss who acknowledges the work that has been done in a good reference or quiet word of recognition.

The recession tends to sort this kind of situation out. Those who offer a good service to the customer and ensure their staff feel wanted and rewarded will stay in business. It´s a pity Parliament doesn´t work this way. The furore has died down. The anger we felt has subsided. The perks will be sneaked back into the system. The MPs have already sneaked a few crafty expenses back into the system. The bankers are still tugging at the bonuses they never should have been given in the first place. The football clubs are still being run on credit. We are still being taken for mugs and we will continue to do so.

Let´s look at the weather.

Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
30° C | 19° C	31° C | 21° C	32° C | 21° C	31° C | 20° C	26° C | 19° C
Clear	Scattered Clouds	Scattered Clouds	Clear	Chance of Rain

We visited Guadalest last Friday and it is a beautiful place when the sun is shining. The bit at the top is well worth paying a little extra to see and the graveyard is a rather privileged place to visit where the inhabitants from bygone years rest in peace. There also appears to be a paupers grave nearby which looks a very lonely part of the castle. The views from the top of the castle give an insight of what the Moors and Christians was truly about.

Tomorrow I will be embarking on a very different course of action for most of my working day. It will involve long hours of planning and preparation and a return to learning. It will not be easy and my wife, Anne, will testify that I am not known best for taking the easiest route. I just hope that those who followed my journey will acknowledge that I tried my best but without great personal resources the task became a little too onerous.

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Word of the Day

Vagar bah-garr’  (Intransitive verb)

to wander, to roam; to loiter

EXAMPLES

Estaba vagando por el bosque cuando encontré una catarata bella. – He was roaming through the forest when he found a beautiful watefall.

Vagamos por el centro toda la noche. – We wandered around downtown all night.

For more information and examples, visit the SpanishDict.com entry for Vagar.

SpanishDict has upgraded! Check out the New SpanishDict.

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Thanks to Chris Wheeler for this offering…….

The 10 Best Caddy Comments

No… 10
Golfer: “I think I’m going to drown myself in the lake.”
Caddy: “Think you can keep your head down that long?”

No. 9
Golfer: “I’d move heaven and earth to break 100 on this course.”
Caddy: “Try heaven, you’ve already moved most of the earth.”

No. 8
Golfer: “Do you think my game is improving?”
Caddy: “Yes sir, you miss the ball much closer now.”

No. 7
Golfer: “Do you think I can get there with a 5 iron?”
Caddy: “Eventually.”

No. 6
Golfer: “You’ve got to be the worst caddy in the world.”
Caddy: “I don’t think so sir. That would be too much of a coincidence.”

No. 5
Golfer: “Please stop checking your watch all the time. It’s too much of a distraction.”
Caddy: “It’s not a watch — it’s a compass.”

No. 4
Golfer: “How do you like my game?”
Caddy: “Very good, sir, but personally, I prefer golf.”

No. 3
Golfer: “Do you think it’s a sin to play on Sunday?”
Caddy: “The way you play, sir, it’s a sin on any day.”

No. 2
Golfer: “This is the worst course I’ve ever played on.”
Caddy: “This isn’t the golf course. We left that an hour ago.”

… And the No.1 best caddy comment:

Golfer: “That can’t be my ball, it’s too old.”
Caddy: “It’s been a long time since we teed off, sir.”.

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Today´s Spanish News

Today´s podcast

Monday 31st August

Another great weekend in sport with both British Formula 1 drivers opting for an early bath and Liverpool hell-bent on giving me a heart attack. Man United were a bit lucky as were Tottenham but Chelsea are looking good. Why on earth did Rafa sell Peter Crouch?  Elsewhere, Happy Days for Warrington in the Rugby League Cup Final.

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As the story of the young lady who has been kept captive in California unfolds I cannot comprehend the wickedness of the captor. He is, of course, paralleled by the other monster in Belgium last year but they are both beyond belief. Whatever is in the minds of these people it gives us a deeper insight to the word ´evil´.

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I think I have found the best ever version of Elvis´hit Wooden heart. I ask all fellow music lovers to follow this link.

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Word of the Day

Plasmar plahs-marr’  (transitive verb)

to capture, to give expression to, to reflect, to represent; to shape, to mold

EXAMPLES

Una foto debe plasmar un momento en tiempo. – A photograph should capture a moment in time.

El alfarero plasma la arcilla en un cuenco. – The potter shapes the clay into a bowl.

For more information and examples, visit the SpanishDict.com entry for Plasmar.

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This is a quiz for people who know everything! I found out in a hurry that I didn’t. These are not trick questions. They are straight questions with straight answers.

1. Name the one sport in which neither the spectators nor the participants know the score or the leader until the contest ends.

2. What famous North American landmark is constantly moving backward?

3. Of all vegetables, only two can live to produce on their own for several growing seasons. All other vegetables must be replanted every year. What are the only two perennial vegetables?

4. What fruit has its seeds on the outside?

5. In many liquor stores, you can buy pear brandy, with a real pear inside the bottle. The pear is whole and ripe, and the bottle is genuine, it hasn’t been cut in any way. How did the pear get inside the bottle?

6. Only three words in standard English begin with the letters “dw” and they are all common words. Name two of them.

7. There are 14 punctuation marks in English grammar. Can you name at least half of them?

8. Name the only vegetable or fruit that is never sold frozen, canned, processed, cooked, or in any other form except fresh.

9. Name 6 or more things that you can wear on your feet beginning with the letter “S.”

I´ll give the answers a LITTLE LATER IN THE BLOG!

Many of my friends know that I am an exercise junkie. I don´t, however, exercise to slim. I think this article from “WC Douglass, M.D., explains why…..

If “I told you so” was a muscle, I’d have sprained mine ages ago.

By now, I’m used to the funny looks and eye rolls people give me when I tell them they don’t need to exercise to lose weight. But something even funnier has been happening lately: I don’t get those looks as much anymore.

It seems the cat’s out of the gym bag — more and more research shows that pricey gyms and human-sized hamster wheels do little to help you lose weight. Add that together with all the injuries and even deaths that are caused by exercise, and I can’t help but wonder why people voluntarily put themselves through this self-torture in the first place.

Take a recent report in Time magazine — you don’t get much more mainstream than that. Yet there it is, an article titled “Why Exercise Won’t Make You Thin.”

The author of this piece, John Cloud, admits to being a self-punishing workout fiend. But unlike many of his ilk, he’s started to notice something: Working himself into a sweaty lather hasn’t put a dent in that “fat gut” that’s still hanging over his belt.

Now, I know that’s just one man’s experience — so don’t bother sending in a bunch of emails telling me how wrong I am.

The bottom line is that Cloud’s story just highlights what thousands of others experience every single day — and what more and more research is showing, too. Despite the fact that more people are exercising now than in the past, more people are overweight than even before, too.

Take a look at this study published earlier this year in PLoS ONE. The researchers followed four groups of women who did varying amounts of exercise, from none to nearly three and half hours a week.

After six months, the researchers found no big difference in the four groups. The women who exercised may have lost a touch more off the waistline, but their overall body fat was virtually the same as that of the women who didn’t exercise.

I don’t understand why people still stand around scratching their heads over this issue. Sure, you can burn tons of calories when you exercise. But what happens once you step off the treadmill or get home from the gym? You can’t wait to stuff your face!

Your body is simply crying out for something to replace what it lost, and in the end, most folks end up consuming more calories than they would have if they had skipped the gym and watched Jeopardy instead.

That means the bottom line is right where I left it: food.

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Let´s get the forecast for the week ahead

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday
29° C | 20° C	30° C | 19° C	30° C | 20° C	29° C | 21° C	31° C | 21° C
Clear	Clear	Clear	Scattered Clouds	Clear
Hourly

Answers To Quiz:
1. The one sport in which neither the spectators nor the participants know the score or the leader until the contest ends.

Boxing

2. North American landmark constantly moving backward. Niagara Falls (The rim is worn down about two and a half feet each year because of the millions of gallons of water that rush over it every minute.)

3. Only two vegetables that can live to produce on their own for several growing seasons.

Asparagus and rhubarb.

4. The fruit with its seeds on the outside.

Strawberry.

5. How did the pear get inside the brandy bottle?

It grew inside the bottle. The bottles are placed over pear buds when they are small, and are wired in place on the tree. The bottle is left in place for the entire growing season. When the pears are ripe, they are snipped off at the stems.

6. Three English words beginning with dw.

Dwarf, dwell and dwindle. (Isn’t “Dweeb” a word?)

7. Fourteen punctuation marks in English grammar. Period, comma, colon, semicolon, dash, hyphen, apostrophe, question mark, exclamation point, quotation mark, brackets, parenthesis, braces, and ellipses.

8. The only vegetable or fruit never sold frozen, canned, processed, cooked, or in any other form but fresh.

Lettuce.

9. Six or more things you can wear on your feet beginning with “S”.
Shoes, socks, sandals, sneakers, slippers, skis, skates, snowshoes, stockings, stilts.

There are enough people who write about keeping yourself healthy that there would appear to be a certain number of truths common to most writers. The biggest influence to most peoples´health is keeping a healthy mind, emotional health, spiritual health and physical health. It is also said that 80 % of illness is caused by stress.

The majority of what I read seems to suggest that ongoing learning is the key to a healthy mind. I think it is also getting to a healthy point of accepting what is difficult for you after you have tried sufficiently hard enough to master something. Sometimes a basic understanding will suffice. If this were not the case we would all strive to be rocket scientists or even Ronaldo!

Emotional health is the hard one. To forgive when something has blatantly been a wrongoing is very difficult. It is also made more difficult when it is difficult to reveal what has actually occurred. However, I see enough in truly happy people to know where I should be headed. The reverse is also in abundance and therefore there is enough evidence to construct your own destiny.

In today´s world where sex and money rule it is very difficult to get the spiritual bit right. I had a very strict upbringing as did many around the same time. I believe, on balance, that my parents beliefs and mores were correct and just need to be fine-tuned to live in harmony with today´s values. It is important to get a good balance with all things and it is the same with religion. I really cannot fathom out the logic of hating something which is not your own point of view unless it threatens to extinguish your own point of view. This is where it is necessary to apply the first cornerstone of health. Keep learning!

The fourth element is the physical fitness. I think there is a danger of becoming addicted to fitness. I believe you have to take stock of the other parts in your life and apply commonsense. By all means train with the weights but it should complement your training. By all means go on long runs but too many marathons will take their toll on your body.

I have even read articles claiming that we can personally overcome the Swione Flu Virus and other major threats by keeping these four key elements to the fore. I would add in three more. Have a sensible amount of sleep, listen to what your body tells you and don´t watch too much television.

I always enjoy watching travelogues and tonight it was Paul Merton visiting India and seeing the wonderful sights.At one point he was with his guide at a festival commemorating Shiva-a God of fertility.He was being shown various things that could be done with the male appendage including hanging an enormous rock from it. He declined the invitation to join in.

He was being shown all kinds of weird and wonderful things to try and his embarrassment was a joy to behold!  Prior to this he was walking around crowded streets. Not just crowded with people but sacred cows and monkeys sharing the streets. Nearing midnight it was time to smoke Marijuana with the Holy men. Then they joined all the other holy men to enter the temple of Shiva. It was very illuminating to see how many Holy men felt the need to smoke Marijuana then expose themselves to all and sundry. Still, it was a fertility festival!

I watched this after seeing a bit of the Aston Villa match. When I switched on they were winning 2-0 on the night and 2-1 after the first eg had been lost in Vienna. Sadly, the crowd’s joy turned to dismay as Rapid Vienna scored a goal. This meant 2-1 to Villa on the night, 2-2 overall over the two legs and 3-2 to Rapid on the away goal rule. It’s a funny old game!  NB This was Villa’s second game in four days. Poor darlings!

Word of the Day

Chocar choh-karr’ (Intransitive verb) to crash, to collide, to run into; to clash; to surprise, to shock EXAMPLES El camión chocó de frente con el carro pequeña. – The truck crashed head-on with the small car. Me chocó que no me lo dijera de su accidente. – I was surprised that he didn’t tell me about his accident. For more information and examples, visit the SpanishDict.com entry for Chocar. Let’s get the weather forecast for the Costa Blan.

Friday	Saturday	Sunday	Monday	Tuesday
30° C | 18° C	30° C | 18° C	30° C | 18° C	32° C | 19° C	31° C | 18° C
Clear	Chance of Rain 20% chance of precipitation	Clear	Clear	Scattered Clouds

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THIS IS MIND BLOWING (from Alan G)

When you do the sum in your head it works everytime !?!?  Someone needs to figure out how this works! Amazing. To my gifted friends. This stumped me. If you can figure out how she does it please let me know. I never even touched the cursor on my chosen number. Once I did not even follow the directions, I just looked at the number and she still got it! This will drive you crazy! Click here: Regifting Robin

My listeners are at it again……Here´s Jackie C…..

I was in the pub yesterday when I suddenly realized I desperately needed to pass wind. The music was really, really loud, so I timed my wind with the beat. After a couple of songs, I started to feel better. I finished my pint and noticed that everybody was staring at me. Then I suddenly remembered that I was listening to my iPod. ——————————————————————————————————————— Subject: PUTTING YOUR AFFAIRS IN ORDER The doctor, after an examination, sighed and said, ‘I’ve got some bad news.. You have cancer, and you’d best put your affairs in order..’ The woman was shocked, but managed to compose herself and walk into the waiting room where her daughter had been waiting.. ‘Well, daughter, we women celebrate when things are good, and we celebrate when things don’t go so well. In this case, things aren’t well. I have cancer. So, let’s head to the club and have a martini.’ After 3 or 4 martinis, the two were feeling a little less sombre. There were some laughs and more martinis. They were eventually approached by some of the woman’s old friends, who were curious as to what the two were celebrating. The woman told her friends they were drinking to her impending end, ‘I’ve been diagnosed with AIDS.’ The friends were aghast, gave the woman their condolences and beat a hasty retreat. After the friends left, the woman’s daughter leaned over and whispered, ‘Momma, I thought you said you were dying of cancer, and you just told your friends you were dying of AIDS! Why did you do that??’ ‘Because I don’t want any of those bitches sleeping with your father after I’m gone.’ And THAT, my friends, is what is called, *’Putting Your Affairs In Order.’*

Here´s the link to the Spanish News Today´s podcast will be ready by 2 pm

If ever proof was needed that there is a God then the news that Channel 4 is axing Big Brother is the proof we all need. Whoever needed to watch drivel on tap on a daily basis has my genuine sympathy. I used to be an avid video maker or taker when the video cameras first came into our lives.I tried to make my videos interesting for all to see and always felt I needed to edit the rubbish out.Sadly, Big Brother didn’t see the need to edit and the content was awful to start with. So why did the programme become a success? Why did so many people feel they needed to watch the show?

Personally, I saw the whole thing as voyeurism. It was like peeping Toms never being disturbed. I suppose a lot of what I didn’t like was caused by my upbringing. My mum and dad had standards that I was always going to have whether I liked it or not. You will know where I’m coming from if your upbringing was like mine.

The newspapers are criticizing the fact that the turnout was low in the Afghanistan elections. I’d like to make two points. Firstly, if you knew the Taliban were likely to check your finger for ink and then likely kill anyone found with traces of ink would you go and vote?  Then, when we look at our own local elections and people don’t vote often because of apathy then are we to be surprised at a low turnout? Just be true to yourself when answering.

Cassius Clay or Muhummed Ali? It doesn’t really matter to me because the man stood up for his principles. He was also the greatest boxer I have ever seen and that includes Ricky Hatton and Joe Calzaghe. When you see the awe in which these and other great boxers still hold this frail, ageing hero you know we were priviliged to see him fighting at his best.

Wigan beat Aston Villa. Aston Villa beat Liverpool. Blackpool, yes Blackpool beat Wigan. It’s a funny old game Saint. Meanwhile Arsenal and Spurs look ab fab.

Deano used to be one of my rugby heroes. He was great as a player with Leicester and I thought he was doing a good enough job as a coach until the blood spitting incident. What on earth was Dean Richards thinking about? I am even more amazed to remind myself that he was a policeman. Is nothing sacred?

Let’s get the weather.

Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday	Monday
31° C | 18° C	31° C | 18° C	31° C | 18° C	31° C | 18° C	32° C | 17° C

That’s like Olga Corbett getting perfect tens or Torville and Dean getting a set of sixes.Let’s go to our …….

Word of the Day

Hosco oh’-sko  (adjective)

gloomy, sullen; surly, bad-tempered, unsociable

EXAMPLES

Mi hermano es una persona hosca; siempre está enfadado. – My brother is a surly guy; he’s always in a bad mood.

Este lugar es muy hosco porque nunca deja de llover. – This place is very gloomy because it never stops raining.

For more information and examples, visit the SpanishDict.com entry for Hosco.

SpanishDict has upgraded! Check out the New SpanishDict.

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The following has been sent to me and I think you might find it interesting…………

According to recent estimates, nearly 1-in-3 American adults has high blood pressure. But for the Kuna Indians living on a group of islands off the Caribbean coast of Panama, hypertension doesn’t even exist. In fact, after age 60, the average blood pressure for Kuna Indian islanders is a perfect 110/70.

Is it because they eat less salt? No. Kuna Indians eat as much, if not more salt, than people in the U.S.

Is it due to their genes? No. Kuna Indians who move away from the islands are just as likely to suffer from high blood pressure as anyone else!

So what makes these folks practically “immune” to hypertension—and lets them enjoy much lower death rates from heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, and cancer?

Harvard researchers were stunned to discover it’s because they drink about 5 cups of cocoa each day. That’s right, cocoa!

Studies show the flavonols in cocoa stimulate your body’s production of nitric oxide—boosting blood flow to your heart, brain, and other organs. In fact, one study found cocoa thins your blood just as well as low-dose aspirin!

But that’s not all. A Harvard Medical School professor claims cocoa can also treat blocked arteries, congestive heart failure, stroke, dementia, even impotence!

OBITUARY FOR THE LATE MR. COMMON SENSE

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense,who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.

He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as: Knowing when to come in out of the rain; why the early bird gets the worm; Life isn’t always fair; and Maybe it was my fault.
Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don’t spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge). His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6 year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. It declined even further when schools were required to get Parental consent to administer Calpol, sun lotion, or a band-aid to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband; churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense took a beating when you couldn’t defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason.

He is survived by his 3 stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, Someone Else Is To Blame, and I’m A Victim. Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing.

Spanish News and today’s podcast around 2.30 pm

There was trouble at the West Ham versus Milwall match last night. A 44 year old man was stabbed and this is not acceptable. The police have enough to do without this hooliganism returning to football. Let´s hope this will be the exception and not the rule. There was also a farcical match at Swansea last night.The details have to be read to be believed!

The world has lost Senator edward Kennedy and a lot of history at the same time. Many will remember Chappaquidick and many will remember that it was supposed to be the end of Edward Kennedy´s political career.I can even remember the name of Mary Jo Kepechne and it is amazing how obscure facts come back to life when they are not really needed in the first place. It always has amazed me that Edward Kennedy got away with the incident which killed Kepechne. It is well reported that he probably lost the chance to become the President of the USA but I was always surprised that he was able to rebuild his political career. He has undoubtedly been a successful man and his support for Obama has helped the new president. There is certainly a lot to be said for being a member of a powerful political dynasty.

From my early memories of being caught speeding in my nice red Borgward Isobella TS car when I would have been around 20 years old it is obvious that the British police found me speeding a lot quicker to bring to book than the discovery of a body in the boot of my car.

The producers of Holby City must think we´re all as thick as two short planks. I thought it was just me. The scene was in the operating surgery. As ever in such shows the actors were using the appropriate vocabulary and sounding very medical but the operation on the patient’s stomach looked more like a comedy than serious drama. It looked like a man with a cardboard box halfway down his body. It was farcical. I think the producer was working from a very tight budget and trying to see what he could get away with. The rest of the drama was passable however, if nothing else, I enjoyed the adverts!

It is true that, as in radio shows, a lot of the jingles and adverts are much better than the programmes. I like to see really clever adverts and gauge how the public will react. Sometimes I’ll discuss the adverts with friends. It is interesting and important to get other people’s reactions. Very often we all seem to like or dislike the same adverts. Let’s see if you like the following.

I like the Meercats advert. My missus isn’t really into computers so she has a bit of a problem in understanding this advert. Obviously, not as simples as the advert claims. I just love the accent used to denote a Russian Meercat. It appeals to my sense of humour. Moreover, I love the character in the background allegedly masquerading as a boffin. Simples!

I loved the Hovis advert which was being run a few months ago. The young lad running through the streets which were changing through the decades as he turned street corners. The background changed as the decades progressed but the loaf of Hovis was stable. Very clever advert. Nothing too yuppy but a great concept.

Do you remember the transformer adverts? These were great monster skaters which skated first then transformed into a car. Was it the Renault? Was it a Citroen? Was it a good advert but not a great message?

The Specsaver adverts are really good. The two pensioners sitting down on a seat to eat their sandwiches in a theme park is a great advert. They are just innocently sitting and ready to enjoy the moment when the safety harnesss locks them in and they are whisked up high into the air on a ride. The final scene shows them both staggering away and the old man asking, “What did you put in those sandwiches?”

The other, equally good, Specsavers advert sees Virgil from Thunderbirds being chased by a baddie. Both are in monoplanes and Virgil manages a lasst-gasp manoevre to avoid crashing into a mountain. The baddie doesn´t see the danger and his plane explodes. The message….He should have gone to Specsavers

Of the adverts I really dislike there is usually the in-house cheapo version that sticks out as a bad offender. The E-Sure showing just how bad an actor Michael Winner cann be is a prime candidate. He really is the worst person to have on this advert. Then there´s the Admiral Insurance advert with a stupid parrot and an equally bad admiral.

The insincere testimonial adverts tend to grate a bit and thenm there are many adverts where you switch off. I don´t mean in the literal sense but your mind can be on many other things when these bland adverts come on. Let´s link to picking up a penguin ….to coin a phrase. Have you ever wondered what happens to a dead penguin. Why are there  no dead penguins on the ice in Antarctica- where do they go? Wonder no more!!!

It is a known fact that the penguin is a very ritualistic bird which lives an extremely ordered and complex life. The penguin is very committed to its family and will mate for life, as well as maintaining a form of compassionate contact with its offspring throughout its life…

If a penguin is found dead on the ice surface, other members of the family and social circle have been known to dig holes in  the ice, using their vestigial wings and beaks, until the hole is deep enough for the dead bird to be rolled into and buried. The male penguins then gather in a circle around the fresh grave and
sing…………………………………………….. “freeze a jolly good fellow.”

Let´s look at the weather for the Costa Blanca.

Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
32° C | 18° C	30° C | 18° C	31° C | 18° C	32° C | 18° C	30° C | 18° C
Chance of Rain 2

There was a storm last night. It appeared to centre itself over the sea and towards Calp which meant we escaped it. Here´s the link to the Spanish News.

Word of the Day

Añejar ah-nyeh-harr’  (transitive verb)

to grow old; to become stale

EXAMPLES

Quiero añejar contigo. – I want to grow old with you.

El pan casero añeja rápidamente. – Homemade bread becomes stale quickly.

For more information and examples, visit the SpanishDict.com entry for Añejar.

Today´s podcast will be ready by 2 pm

Once again we’ve had a lovely day and the sun shone brilliantly across the Costa Blanca. Liverpool were live on Spanish TV last night but I wish I hadn´t been watching. I have to say it became painful as Aston Villa won 3-1 and we continue to make a bad start to the season. Voronin should be sent to the Knackers Yard and Lucas Laver certainly wouldn´t make the local pub team. As if we don´t have enough problems our neighbours, Everton, copntinue to show the true meaning of the word loyalty via Lescott and his imminent move to Manchester City. The world is now almost entirely just about money and I´m sick of the lack of morals and ethics and I´ll bet I´m not the only one feeling this.

They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself. – Andy Warhol, 1928-1987

Now you should know I use Twitter and it is a very powerful communicator. Most days I pick nup onj something going through the Tweet deck that might not have been intended strictly for me. That is the beauty of the site. Here´s an unusual user.

* Holy Tweet: Twitter Site Offers Visitors Direct Line to God *

An Israeli university student has opened a Twitter site where visitors can tweet private prayers to be placed in the crevices of Jerusalem’s Western Wall, a Jewish holy site that faithful believe provides a direct line to the Almighty.

“I take their prayers, print them out and drive to Jerusalem to put them in the Western Wall,” Alon Nir, a resident of Tel Aviv, told Reuters.

Go here for complete news story.

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My friend Tom who owned the Lobster Pot Hotel in Newquay used to often tell me about his theories regarding tap water. I always felt he was on to something and here´s an interesting item that turned up in my mailbox.

The real story behind the global fertility problem

Dear Friend,

You know that old saying, “be careful what you wish for?”

Well, the elites have been wishing for decades that they could control the world’s population. And it looks like they may have succeeded too well.

A new film “The Demographic Bomb: Demography as Destiny” looks at what’s in store down the road. And it’s not the wild, unsustainable population growth they’ve tricked you into worrying about.

In fact, it’s just the opposite.

The generation we’re raising now is facing some serious hardships as entire economies are about to run into people shortages. Already, Shanghai is trying to reverse China’s one-child mindset as the city’s leaders sense a disaster in the making.

Too little, too late.

Reducing fertility is a heck of a lot easier than raising it again, especially when you hear the shocking truth behind the global fertility problem.

That’s something even these experts still won’t talk about, not on the record anyway.

But I will.

The elites out there want you to think the planet is heading for some kind of population catastrophe. This shadowy ruling class has worked behind the scenes for decades to limit our population growth — both socially through one-child policies in some nations, and in other more sinister ways that are tough to swallow. Literally.

There is evidence to believe that these fanatics are using the water supply to reduce fertility rates — and it’s working. Sperm counts are down dramatically, more men are shooting blanks, and more couples are having problems conceiving.

If you think all of this is a paranoid delusion, then I have some facts — not opinions, but cold, hard science — that will blow your mind in the September issue of the Douglass Report. Like the fact that the same drugs given to men undergoing sex-change operations have been turning up in your drinking water.

Trust me, once you read this important issue, you’ll never take another gulp of your tap water again.

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Word of the Day

Pirrar pee-rrarr’  (transitive verb)

to be pleasing/awesome to someone

EXAMPLES

Me pirra la comida auténtica de Perú. – I just adore authentic Spanish food.

Le pirra por ver lo que hará de forma diferente el presidente nuevo. – I’m keen on seeing what the new president will do differently.

For more information and examples, visit the SpanishDict.com entry for Pirrar.

Let´s get today´s weather forecast.

Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
31° C | 18° C	32° C | 19° C	30° C | 19° C	31° C | 18° C	31° C | 18° C
Clear	Partly Cloudy	Clear	Clear	Clear

After the dust has settled on the Ashes (dreadful pun intended), little boys in Englaqnd and elsewhere will be remodelling themselves on their new heroes. Freddie Flintoff might well be the new hero for anyone wishing to enter the field of knee surgery but in all seriousness he has been a role model for young cricketers for many years. Before Freddie there was Ian Botham and my own cricketing heroes included Geof Boycott, Ken Barrington, Jim Laker and Cyril Washbrook. Am I kidding you?

I had quite a few football heroes. My best was Stanley Mathews then when I wanted to be a goalkeeper it was Frank Swift. As a lad I used to spend my pocket money on a trip to Prenton park to watch Dave Hickson, who was a guest on my show, and George Payne who was Tranmere´s goalkeeper. Little did I know that later in life I would be in the Mersey Showbiz Team and playing with people like Roger Hunt, Ian St John, Ian Callaghan, Chris Lawler, Brian Labone,  most of the 70s Liverpool legends and Dave Hickson.

Dave was playing well into his 70s and has only recently had to cut down on his activities because of his health. What a role model was Dave and what a thrill to know him as a colleague in a team. Now here´s a chance to find out who truly is your hero.  DON’T SCROLL DOWN YET!! FIRST, DO THE SIMPLE MATHS BELOW, THEN SCROLL DOWN TO FIND YOUR HERO.  You will be amazed at the accuracy in this exercise.

1) Pick your favorite number between 1-8
2) Multiply by 3 then
3) Add 3
4) Then again Multiply by 3 (I’ll wait while you get the calculator…..)
5) You’ll get a 2 digit number…..
6) Add the digits together

Now Scroll down
………………

With that number, see who your ROLE MODEL is from the list below:

1. Einstein
2. Lincoln
3. George Washington
4. Ronald Reagan
5. Bill Gates
6. Gandhi
7. Mother Teresa
8. Babe Ruth
9. Vince Tracy
10. JFK
Please tell me that you have done this honestly. I know… ..I just have that effect on people…..one day you, too, can be like me…..Believe it!
P.S. Stop picking different numbers!!
I AM YOUR HERO, JUST DEAL WITH IT!!!!!!
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A LITTLE THREE YEAR OLD BOY IS SITTING ON THE TOILET. HIS MOTHER THINKS HE HAS BEEN IN THERE TOO LONG, SO SHE GOES IN TO SEE WHAT’S UP. THE LITTLE BOY IS SITTING ON THE TOILET READING A BOOK. BUT ABOUT EVERY 10 SECONDS OR SO HE PUTS THE BOOK DOWN, GRIPS ONTO TO THE TOILET SEAT WITH HIS LEFT HAND AND HITS HIMSELF ON TOP OF THE HEAD WITH HIS RIGHT HAND.

HIS MOTHER SAYS: “BILLY, ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?YOU’VE BEEN IN HERE FOR A WHILE.

BILLY SAYS: “I’M FINE, MOMMY.. I JUST HAVEN’T GONE ‘DOODY’ YET.”

MOTHER SAYS: “OK, YOU CAN STAY HERE A FEW MORE MINUTES.BUT, BILLY, WHY ARE YOU HITTING YOURSELF ON THE HEAD?”

BILLY SAYS: “WORKS FOR KETCHUP.”

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Here´s the link to the Spanish news and my podcast will be ready by 2.30 pm

I received a very interesting message from a Twitter user.

He is a scientist and if you know my views on the medical people giving out far too many drugs then here is the ultimate in compelling evidence that unless it´s definitely structural we need to be very careful about taking medicines.

We have enjoyed another fabulous weekend of sport. When those who don´t like sport see the way a whole nation can be uplifted by a few balls being bowled and a few catches being taken and a man who could hardly walk was seen successfully throwing a ball at the stumps then I defy them to still deny the relevance of sport.

Whilst all this was going on, there was also another major event in which the UK won quite a few medals. The European Athletics Championships also showed that Spain was no pushover. If you saw the incident then I am certain you will agree with me that the Spanish lass had nowhere to go and should be reinstated.

Lisa Dobriskey and the men’s 4x400m relay team boosted Great Britain’s medal haul to six on the final day of the World Championships in Berlin.

Dobriskey was handed 1500m silver after Natalia Rodriguez of Spain was disqualified for pushing Ethiopian Gelete Burka, who fell on the last lap.

Jenson Button still leads the table in the Drivers´Championship whilst Lewis Hamilton was choosing his words very carefully at the end of the Valencian Grand Prix. His team had not made the success of the last pit stopm and this was to lose him the race.

Before we go to the weather, Roger Federer is back in business, Andy Murray is still playing well and Rafa Nadal is on the mend. This is still without mentioning a weekend of superb soccer action in which Man United bounced back, Michael Owen score his goal and Burnley saw off Everton. Chelsea, Tottenham, Arsenal and Man City seem to be the form teams so far. Liverpool play Villa tonight.

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
31° C | 19° C	31° C | 19° C	32° C | 20° C	30° C | 19° C	31° C | 19° C
Cle

I try not to be too contentious although there are certain pieces of information that leave very little room for manouvre. I have received the following mail which is very disturbing. Please MAKE YOUR OWN MIND UP ABOUT THIS.

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I know that was a bit heavy so let´s see if I can put a smile on your face with the Best Smart Ass Answers of 2008 !! These were sent to me by Ian K from Benidorm. It was mealtime during an airline flight. ‘Would you like dinner?’ the flight attendant asked John, seated in front. ‘What are my choices?’ John asked. ‘Yes or no,’ she replied. ———————————————————————————– A flight attendant was stationed at the departure gate to check tickets. As a man approached, she extended her hand for the ticket and he opened his trench coat and flashed her. Without missing a beat, she said, ‘Sir, I need to see your ticket, not your stub.’ ———————————————————————————– A lady was picking through the frozen turkeys at the grocery store but she couldn’t find one big enough for her family. She asked a stock boy, ‘ Do these turkeys get any bigger?’ The stock boy replied, ‘No ma’am, they’re dead.’ ———————————————————————————– The police officer got out of his car as the kid who was stopped for speeding rolled down his window. ‘I’ve been waiting for you all day,’ the officer said..The kid replied, ‘Yeah, well I got here as fast as I could.’ When the cop finally stopped laughing, he sent the kid on his way without a ticket. ——————————————————————————— A truck driver was driving along on the freeway and noticed a sign that read: Low Bridge Ahead. Before he knows it, the bridge is right in front of him and his truck gets wedged under it. Car s are backed up for miles. Finally a police car comes up. The cop gets out of his car and walks to the truck driver, puts his hands on his hips and says, ‘Got stuck, huh?’ The truck driver says, ‘No, I was delivering this bridge and I ran out of gas.’ ———————————————————————————– A college teacher reminds her class of tomorrow’s final exam. ‘Now class, I won’t tolerate any excuses for you not being here tomorrow. I might consider a nuclear attack or a serious personal injury, illness, or a death in your immediate family, but that’s it, no other excuses whatsoever!’ A smart-ass student in the back of the room raised his hand and asked, ‘What would you say if tomorrow I said I was suffering from complete and utter sexual exhaustion?’ The entire class is reduced to laughter and snickering. When silence was restored, the teacher smiled knowingly at the student, shook her head and sweetly said, ‘Well, I guess you’d have to write the exam with your other hand.’ ———————————————————————————– Summer vacation was over and Little Johnny returned back to school. Only two days later his teacher phoned his mother to tell her that he was misbehaving. “Wait a minute,” she said. “I had Johnny with me for three months and I never called you once when he misbehaved!” ——————————————————————————— A woman is standing nude looking in the bedroom mirror. She is not happy with what she sees and says to her husband, ‘I feel horrible; I look old, fat and ugly. I really need you to pay me a compliment.’ The husband replies, ‘Your eyesight’s damn near perfect. ———————————————————————————–

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
31° C | 19° C	31° C | 19° C	32° C | 20° C	30° C | 19° C	31° C | 19° C

There is a bit of rain about especially in the north of Spain and this is reflected in the Tuesday and Wednesday scenario.

Our Spanish word for the day is La alcurnia ahl-koor’-nya (noun) lineage, bloodline, ancestry

Here are EXAMPLES of how the word is used….. Mi abuela es una francesa de noble alcurnia. – My grandmother is of a noble French ancestry. Quiero trazar la alcurnia de mi familia de Inglaterra. – I want to trace the lineage of my family from England. For more information and examples, visit the SpanishDict.com entry for La alcurnia. Here´s their website for translations and learning Spanish.

Here´s the link to the Spanish News and my podcast should be ready by 3 pm

Well, he´s done it again. The phenomenon that is Usain bolt has smashed the World Record for the 200 metres and made other champions look mere mortals.

I have been fascinated by lightning for many years and was always told that a bolt of lightning never strikes twice. Well, he´s done it! He is absolutely wonderful and not only is ha a brilliant athlete but he has a great sense of fun. He is already a media personality and probably one of the best known characters on the planet.

We were shown a clip of video shot when he was groing up in Jamaica. He is such an ordinary lad with an absolutely prodigious talent. However, he is in the process of being upstaged by a rather weird event at the Berlin World Championships. Usain is definitely a man and can claim to be THE Man. However, South African running sensation Caster Semenya is also making the headlines. She is being asked to undertake a gender test. It would appear that what had been seen as something a bit odd about the young female athlete had to be taken a bit more seriously now she had got to the final of the world championships,

What on earth were the officials thinking about. Surely this should never have got t6o the final rounds of a world championships. Was the gender thing never an issue when there were no medals to be won? But she had won medals. Semenya had won the 800 metres at the Commonwealth Youth Games last October. Had nobody seen anything amiss then?

She is being tested at the moment but she is due to receive her medal on Thursday. What an ordeal. One way or another the whole thing is a mess. If she is declared male then the medals will be revised. If, however, the results stand the world of athletics will have another problem in the future. She is definitely going to win a medal again if her final was anything to go by!

Incidentally, does anyone else think the mascot is trying to build himself a role? He certainly seemed to have got Bolt´s attention and was in on a few of the champion´s photographs. He had also dropped Melaine Walker after she had won gold in the 400metres. Berlino the Bear is making an impact.

Let´s check the weather.

Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday	Monday
30° C | 20° C	30° C | 19° C	30° C | 19° C	29° C | 19° C	28° C | 17° C

This looks rather good. We´ve got the sunshine but it would appear to be getting a little cooler. Will they get a full week of play in the Test Match?

Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday	Monday
24° C | 12° C	22° C | 11° C	23° C | 14° C	26° C | 16° C	24° C | 13° C
Chance of Rain 20% chance of precipitation	Chance of Rain 30% chance of precipitation	Chance of Rain 20% chance of precipitation	Clear	Chance of Rain 20% chance of precipitation

I  won´t be surprised if the weather doesn´t have a big part to play in the Final Test at the Oval. As usual the British media manage to overlook most of the team and make it a one man event. Of course it would be churlish of anyone to overlook Freddie Flintock´s past contribution but this is supposed to be a team game. If he doesn´t get the support of the wicket´keeper and fielders he can´t take the wickets no matter how good he is. I am also wondering why do the cricket scores today appear much lower than in previous Test series? Where are the days of the 900 runs and Jim Laker taking almost everyone´s wicket? Will the England team be up to the job?  Lovers of the English language might enjoy thisposer How do non-native speakers of English ever learn all the nuances of English?

There is a two-letter word that perhaps has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that word is “UP.”   It’s easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP?

At a meeting, why does a topic come UP? Why do we speak UP and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report? We call UP our friends and we use it to brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver, warm UP the leftovers, and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house and some guys fix UP the old car.

At other times the little word has real special meaning. People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses. To be dressed is one thing but to be dressed UP is special. UP is confusing: A drain must be opened UP because it is clogged UP.

We open UP a store in the morning, but we close it UP at night. We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP!

To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP, look the word UP in the dictionary. In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4 of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions.

If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don’t give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more. When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding over. When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP. When it rains, it wets the earth. When it doesn’t rain for a while, things dry UP.  One could go on and on, but I’ll wrap it UP, for now my time is UP, so … Time to shut UP!

Spanish w ord of the Day

Peludo peh-loo’-doh  (adjective)

hairy, furry, bushy

EXAMPLES

Prefiero un perro peludo, como un goldendoodle. – I prefer a furry dog, like a goldendoodle.

Mi abuela me dijo que estoy demasiado peludo y que necesito un corte de pelo. – My grandmother told my I am too hairy and that I need a haircut.

For more information and examples, visit the SpanishDict.com entry for Peludo.

Here´s the link to the Spanish news.  Podcast ready by 2.30 pm.

Let´s find a few funnies to lighten the load…….

The elderly priest, speaking to the younger priest, said, “It was a good idea to replace the first four pews with plush bucket theater seats. It worked like a charm. The front of the church always fills first now.” The young priest nodded, and the old priest continued, “And you told me adding a little more beat to the music would bring young people back to church, so I supported you when you brought in that rock ‘n’ roll gospel choir. Now our services are consistently packed to the balcony.”

“Thank you, Father,” answered the young priest. “I am pleased that you are open to the new ideas of youth.”

“All of these ideas have been well and good,” said the elderly priest, “but I’m afraid you’ve gone too far with the drive-thru confessional.”

“But, Father,” protested the young priest, “my confessions and the donations have nearly doubled since I began that!”

“Yes,” replied the elderly priest, “and I appreciate that. But the flashing neon sign, ‘Toot ‘n Tell or Go to Hell,’ cannot stay on the church roof.”

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A woman, on meeting a psychologist at a party, made a pitch for some free professional advice. “What kind of toy would you suggest giving a little boy on his third birthday?” she asked.

“First I’d have to know more about the child,” the psychologist hedged.

The woman took a deep breath. “He’s very bright and quick-witted and exceptionally advanced for his age,” she said. “He has good coordination, expresses himself very well…”

“Oh, I see,” the psychologist said. “It’s YOUR child!”

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We have another glorious day here on the Costa Blanca. If you don´t plan how to cope with the heat it is a touch hotter than comfortable but if you´re busy then the air con will help.

I spent most of last night trying to make excuses to get home and watch the football but I wasn´t successful. The results show frailty exists at Man Utd., Tottenham look impressive and Liverpool have shown a bit of form. It could be an interesting season but they are early days. I caught a little of the Real Madrid game and they were not awesome nor were Barcelona in theirn friendly with Man City. We can also now expect less again from Sven.

Let´s get the weather forecast.

Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday	Monday
30° C | 20° C	31° C | 19° C	29° C | 19° C	28° C | 19° C	29° C | 19° C

This is really looking good. As Britain is complaining (BBC TV) about the conker season coming too early we can see a great result for anyone booking a late season flight to the Costa Blanca. It really will be a beautiful week as the temperatures are set to drop back to 29 as a high.

Word of the Day

Chismear chees-meh-arr’  (Intransitive verb)

to gossip, to tell tales, to misrepresent, to tattle

EXAMPLES

Mi madre siempre esá chismeando con las mujeres del barrio. – My mom is always gossiping with the ladies in the neighborhood.

No chismee, niño. Es mala costumbre. – Don’t tattle, child. It’s a bad habit.

For more information and examples, visit the SpanishDict.com entry for Chismear.

I hope these words are helping. I try to learn a little every day and I would still say that Spanish is not an easy language to learn. We can improve little by little but it is not so much what we want to say that is the difficulty. I wonder whether you will agree? I find it more difficult to tune into the variety of different ways that Spanish is spoken here. For example, I have little problem in understanding the news bulletins. I can also check what I have heard against an English version later in the day.

However, we have living near to us many nationalities all speaking their different versions of Spanish. Then there are the Spanish themselves who have many different ways of pronouncing the same words. Here in Valencia we even have another language-Valenciano. I lived for three months avidly watching Canal Nou before twigging that it was not in Castellano. Am I daft for not recognising this?

In my defence, the presenters uise Valenciano and when they interview their guests approximately 80 percent of their interviews are in Castellano. It is a good exercise mentally sweitching between languages but it is also extremely frustrating trying to improve the target Castellano.

For anyone visiting our area youn must also be aware that Canal 3 is a Catalan channel and this might sound a bit like Valenciano but it certainly is a distinct language. The academics here in Spain agonize over which of the two languages is the parent. Obviously, in terms of power and acceptance Catalan must be the more widely used but you dismiss Valenciano at your peril especially if you live in the Valencian Community.

Things are improving greatly but when we first got here in 2002 there was a notice in the Health Centre that you had to take your own translator with you if you didn´t speak Spanish. The receptionista would then speak in Valenciano in an attempt to not communicate freely with you. Many complained and our current mayor has made great progress in integration.

Why shouldn´t the Valencian people be proud of their language and wish to use it? They have had to struggle against Madrid to engage their autonomy and this is a great part of being autonomous. If we think back to Britain we will all have experienced those who were/are bigoted against those who do not speak English. My own answer to this localised problem is to pick up a few words here and there and drop them into my Castellano in order to show I respect the difference.  I also hope this shows I respect their efforts when speaking to me in Castellano when they could use Valenciano.

Here´s the link to the Spanish news and the podcast will be posted by 2 pm.

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Terra Natura in Benidorm will be the location of a birthday party being held for one of their star animals, Elefanta Petita. Actually, her birthday is Sunday but the organisers have a surprise in store…..the following is from Spanish Vida

Petita was initially rejected by the rest of the elehants in the park, because they considered her to be too thin and ugly. Over time, one young elephant, Luka, started to make friends with her, which slowly allowed her to be welcomed back into the group.

The big surprise at the party is a guest performance by singer Paula Dalli, who beat over 5.000 people to win the Disney Camp Rock title on the television program. Organizers have said that they advanced the celebrations to tomorrow “to have the presence of the artist from L’Alfas del Pi, who will perform at the amphitheatre in the park.”

The party starts at 12:00 noon with a spectacular show. Next, The action will take place in Circus area, followed by songs from Paula Dalli. Then, the activities will be moved to the Asia area to deliver Petita with a giant ice cream cake full of fruits whilst the traditional birthday song will be led by Paula Dalli.

Petita´s best friend Luka is expected to share the party with her. If you are a Facebook user, you can become friends with Petita too, and show her that she is loved.

On a lighter note Alan G has sent me the following………………………………………………………………

This really works…!

If you don’t believe it, just try this experiment.

Put your dog and your wife in the boot of the car for an hour.

When you open the trunk, which one is really happy to see you?

I´ve just been watching the Champions League match between Celtic and Arsenal. The ground was packed and it was quite a good game. It just amazes me that football seems to be so recession proof! The weather has been a little different today. We have had around 30 degrees celcius and a few clouds here and there. We even had a light dusting of rain. Let´s quickly see what the rest of the week has to inspire us. The forecast looks very similar to the row of perfect sixes given to people like Torville and Dean.

Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
30° C | 20° C	30° C | 21° C	28° C | 20° C	28° C | 18° C

I don´t think you could ask for anything better than this! It seems aliens don´t appear to be active in the hot weather! When the sun is really hot we don´t get many UFO stories and they do seem to come thick and fast in the summer when the journalists are having their holidays. However, I was reading that there is now a wealth of evidence to suggest alien activity.

I showed you the video clip in my blog last week where Breakfast TV in the north-east of England actually had a UFO on their screens whilst broadcasting. The footage shot by a lady in Kent is an equally baffling object travelling at immense speed. It´s not just down south as they say as there are pictures from St Helens in Lancashire. It would appear that Parliament has had a visit and the MPs might just take this matter more seriously.

The trouble for me is that reading a serious piece in the Sun is undermined by their trailer links to other stories.

I´d just finished reading the evidence on the UFO possibilities and glanced up to find a plethora of the usual idiot Sun puns which are about as funny as an attack of diarrhoea. It´s akin to Ken Dodd giving a serious message after getting you to laugh uncontrollably for an hour or so. Personally, I think there is something there but why does Britain get all the attention. I don´t see the same attention to UFOs in Spain. Remember the wind turbine that was hit in Lincolnshire?

However, they do exist. Here´s an extract from Wikipaedia.At the dawn of November 12 of 1976, at the Base Aérea de Talavera la Real (Talavera la Real Air Base), located at the province of Badajoz, Spain, the soldiers José María Trejo and Juan Carrizosa Luján allege to have seen and shot a being of unknown origin.

From Wikipaedia again and the year is 1979…

A TAE’s (former airline) Supercaravelle was the first aircraft involved in the incident. Flight JK-297 had taken off from Salzburg (Austria) with 109 passengers on board, and had made a refuelling stop in Majorca before setting course towards Las Palmas.

Halfway through the flight, at about 23:00h, Pilot Francisco Javier Lerdo de Tejada and his crew noticed a set of red lights that were fast approaching the aircraft. These lights appeared to be on a collision course with the aircraft, alarming the crew. The captain requested information about the inexplicable lights, but neither the military radar of Torrejón de Ardoz (Madrid) nor the flight control center in Barcelona could provide any explanation for this phenomenon.

In order to avoid a possible collision, the captain changed altitude. However, the lights mirrored the new course and stayed about half a kilometer away from the plane. Since the object was violating all elementary safety rules and an evasive manoeuvre was deemed impossible by the crew, the captain decided on going off-course and made an emergency landing in Manises’ airport. This was the first time in history in which a commercial flight was forced to make an emergency landing because of a UFO.

It would appear that UFO sightings are on the increase and the biggest list I have seen for UFO activity is on this link. What of the canny Scots? Have they seen any UFO activity? First there is video evidence offered then the following from Wikipaedia…….

The hill is used mostly for forestry plantations, and it was here in 1979 that Bob Taylor, a forestry worker had an alleged encounter with a UFO in a clearing, which he claimed dragged him along the ground. Police were called in to investigate, and found odd marks and indentations on the ground, but these did not correspond exactly with Taylor’s claim, and it has been said that they had been made there by other workers, who may have stored ladders and equipment on the site. It is, however, still considered one of the most significant “Close Encounters” on Scottish soil, and often referred to as “the Livingston Incident”.

Are the Welsh receiving any visitors? Are you kidding? Did you really think there wouldn´t be a Welsh person with a video camera lurking somewhere on top of a distant mountain in Wales? We´d be mad not to consider the possibilities now. However, let´s just sink a pint of Guinness and see what Ireland has to offer.

Knowing how easy it is to manipulate graphics with a computer this is a little difficult for me to believe. Let´s finish with two perspectives. Here´s the possibly true clips. These are not so true.

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Word of the Day

Mandón mahn-dohn’  (adjective)

bossy, imperious, domineering

EXAMPLES

Me gusta mi jefe porque no es mandón. – I like by boss because he isn’t bossy.

Mi hermana mayor es muy mandona. – My older sister is so bossy.

For more information and examples, visit the SpanishDict.com entry for Mandón.

You can find the Spanish news at this link and the podcast should be ready by 3 pm. To lighten the load we have another offering from my contributors wishing to become marriage guidance experts……

How a marriage works

·A newlywed couple had only been married for two weeks.  The husband, although very much in love, couldn’t wait  to go out on the town and party with his old buddies .
·So, he said to his new wife, ‘Honey, I’ll be right back.’
‘Where are you going, honey bunch?’ asked the wife.
‘I’m going to the bar, pretty face. I’m going to have a beer.’
The wife said, ‘You want a beer, my love?’
She went and opened the door to the refrigerator and showed  him 25 different kinds of beer brands from 12 different  countries: Germany, Holland, Japan, India, etc.

The husband didn’t know what to do, and the only thing that he  could think of saying was, ‘Yes, lolly pop…but at the bar…you know…they have frozen glasses…’
He didn’t get to finish the sentence, because the wife interrupted him by saying,
‘You want a frozen glass, puppy face?’
She took a huge beer mug out of the freezer, so frozen that she was  getting chills just holding it.
The husband, looking a bit pale, said, ‘Yes, tootsie roll, but at the Bar  they have those hors d’oeuvres that are really delicious… I won’t be long,
I’ll be right back. I promise. OK?’
You want hors d’oeuvres, poochi pooh?’ She opened the oven and took out  5 dishes of different hors d’oeuvres: chicken wings, pigs in blankets,  mushroom caps, pork strips, etc.
‘But my sweet honey… At the bar… You know…there’s swearing,  dirty words and all that…’

‘You want dirty words, Dickhead? Drink your ***ing beer in your  Goddamn frozen mug and eat your ***ing snacks, because you are  Married now, and you aren’t  ***ing going anywhere! Got it, A**hole?’
So he stayed home……………….and, they lived happily ever after.