Now that the World Cup is over (¡viva la roja!), I thought it might be a good time to talk about a sport other than football. And what better sport to discuss than the quintessentially English game of cricket. Cricket has been traced to shepherds in England who started playing the early forms of cricket sometime in the 17th century. It is a team sport for two teams of eleven players each. A formal game of cricket can last anything from an afternoon to several days.    The first laws of...

TAVIRA!! By coincidence, two members of the English department in Seville spent the weekend on an island of paradise on Portugal’s Southern coastline. Both found that it would be a great place for their students to have fun and practice their English.  They share their experiences here: DAVID, Director of Studies We stayed in a sprawling resort complex with tennis court, swimming pool, two restaurants, bars, and lots of room for our kids to run around. We marveled at the lush grounds...

The Scottish Highlands is an open, rugged area of mountains, islands, wildlife and very few people.  It is more or less the size of Belgium, but is one of Europe’s most sparsely populated areas.  This week I have been on holiday here with my family in the Highland village of Glenelg, near the Isle of Skye.  We are surrounded by wildlife. Behind our house last night we saw deer running through the trees, and we have also seen wild horses, eagles, seals and even otters.  Of course,...

Now that the heat is becoming more unbearable it’s especially important to keep yourself cool, and what better way than a trip to the beach. Except…in Madrid, there isn’t one. While we love Madrid, we do recognise its biggest downfall: the lack of beach (and water in general, unless you count the Manzanares, and I don’t!). But fear not, there are plenty of ways to keep cool in Madrid, and you don’t need to get sand in your sandwiches to have a good time! Use my guide to see what you...

I was talking to my old china from Poor man’s gruel and he said he didn’t understand a word I said. I said he must be a bit mutton or it might be my Quentin Crisp or maybe because he’s not a David Hockney and doesn’t understand the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. So I taught him the basics and he learnt pretty fast and now the Mickey Mouse has got it, even if it is a bit currant cakey. So he said Baked potato I said Spanish Waiter and off he went having just learnt what we call...