Cricket, which is one of England’s most popular sports, is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players. In this sport, each team takes turns batting and attempting to score “runs“. This phase is called an “inning” and usually each team has one or two innings per game. The so-called “bowler” throws the ball to the batsman who tries to hit the ball with his bat so far that he can run to the other end of the pitch, and therefore score a “run”. The batting...

Valentine’s Day is celebrated on the 14th of February in many countries around the world. It is a day on which people usually express their affection towards their loved ones and exchange cards and gifts with each other. The origin of Valentine’s Day goes back to a Roman priest called Valentinus who was imprisoned for performing weddings for persecuted Christians and soldiers forbidden to marry. When his actions were discovered by the emperor Claudius II, Valentinus was sentenced to death...

The Flag of the United States of America The American flag consists of thirteen horizontal red and white stripes  and a blue rectangle in the top left  corner with fifty white stars. The stripes stand for the thirteen British colonies that declared independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain and became the first states in the Unión. The stars each represent  the 5o states of the Unites States of America. The flag was created by Robert G. Heft in 1958. The Flag of the United Kingdom of...

Bushfires are a severe threat in Australia, particularly in summer and autumn (from December to March) when there is a hot and dry climate. Last October´s bushfires in the state of New South Wales were the most severe since the 1960s. And in recent weeks, more than 20 homes have been lost due to bushfires in the Perth Hills area in Western Australia. Common causes of bushfires include lightning, accidental ignition from agricultural clearing, campfires, arson, cigarettes and dropped...

Every year, on the third Monday of January, Martin Luther King Jr. is celebrated in the U.S.A. by a federal holiday, the so-called Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It was established as an American federal holiday in 1986 marking his birthday. Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta on 15th January 1929. He is known as the American leader in the African-American civil rights movement, especially respected for using non violent civil protest. One of his most famous speeches is the “I Have a...

In the United States, children often leave a plate of cookies and a glass of milk together with a little note for Santa in front of the fireplace on Christmas Eve. The following morning, Christmas Day, the cookies and milk are gone and instead there are some presents under the Christmas tree. Where does this tradition come from? There are different theories concerning the origin of this tradition, one being the following: In medieval Germany, people used to make so-called “paradise trees”...

There is no mistaking that Christmas has arrived in the U.K.… Christmas lights are everywhere, and the melody of Christmas carols can be heard in the air, and mince pies have arrived on the supermarket shelves. These sweet pastries, filled with sticky fruit (the mincemeat in mince pies is fruit not meat), are traditional at Christmas time, and absolutely delicious…  They are quite difficult to find in Spain, so why not make your own! Recipe for Mincemeat   Ingredients    - ...

If you are planning on travelling to Scotland this summer, don´t miss the Fringe Festival, which takes place in the country´s capital, Edinburgh every year. Along with the Edinburgh International Festival, the Fringe is one of Scotland´s most famous festivals.  It is held every August, and is a festival of the Arts, with buskers, street perfomers, theatre plays, and comedy shows. Unlike the Edinburgh International Festival, at which only professionals perform, it is not necessary to be...

On Sunday 7th July 2013, Andy Murray made history by becoming the first British man to win Wimbledon for 77 years, Britain´s most famous tennis tournament. Murray, ranked number 2 in the world, beat Djokovic, ranked number 1 in the world, in straight sets and both gave truly great performance. Every year, the British public and media puts great pressure on its home players to win the championship. After Fred Perry´s win in 1977, many British men have attempted, but failed to emulate...

The British love to talk about the weather – that is the stereotype at least, and, truth be told, it is not entirely false, particularly when it comes to bad weather. Whereas the Inuit have 50 or so words for different types of snow, the Brits have a colourful collection of expressions to talk about the rain. Below are some of our favorites… when your teacher asks you to describe the wet weather outside, don´t settle for “it´s raining”, use one of these expressions...