In Fuengirola, a place once referred to as Finger-Earhole by a lady who came to a Spanish conversation class I taught, they are soon going to celebrate the Fiesta de Nuestra Señora del Rosario. Esperanza Oña, mayor of that Andalusian town, has declared that the only music to be played during the fiesta has to be flamenco. Who knew that the Virgin was a flamenco music enthusiast?
There are some odd things going on in the world.
A couple from Seville, Ana and Sergio, lost their dog while on holiday in Galicia. Thanks to some pictures they managed to have published in the paper the lost dog was identified in Cangas, just across the bay from Vigo. So they travelled back to Galicia to reclaim their dog. Sergio was a little miffed when the dog ran straight past him to go and greet Ana but he soon got over it. A happy reunion story!
Spanish women in Madrid staged a protest in the Cortes, the Spanish houses of parliament. They were protesting about proposed restrictive changes to the abortion law in Spain. How did they stage their protest? By taking their clothes off. It’s one way of getting yourself noticed.
Still in Spain, a group of 29 tourists were left behind in Malaga airport. They had tickets for an Easyjet flight to Bristol. Their luggage was on the plane. Their boarding cards had been checked. They were on their way to board the plane along with all the other passengers. Suddenly a security person stopped them and pulled a barrier tape across their path. Being mostly British, they supposed this to be something official and waited patiently. Then one of them noticed that the plane had taken off without them. No-one noticed they weren’t on board. How odd is that? It couldn’t happen on a Ryanair flight; they’re all to busy telling you to stow your luggage and sit down as the flight is fully booked, if not overbooked. Actually, I suppose it could happen on a Ryanair flight. But no-one knows how it actually happened.
Meanwhile, back in the UK, there is great concern because English 18-25 year olds have been rated 21st out of probably 22 on literacy and numeracy. Is this a consequence of years and years of tinkering with the system, introducing a “national curriculum” and then changing it every so often? Just what is going on? No doubt our leaders will blame this on the previous government’s way of doing things.
And on top of everything else, the weathermen promise us an approaching cold spell. Whatever next?
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Between 1949 & 1953, my family lived in New Zealand on a 5 year secondment. I remember that most lessons were taught by dictation & we pupils would write down the information. Reading, writing & comprehension standards were far in advance of those in England, as I found out when I started in grammar school upon our return. I was top of the class for two years without doing any work!!!!
ReplyDeleteEducation by rote is still extant in Asia, which would explain their high standards. That & being less stupid.
Cordially,
Perry