Language exchange

ARE you struggling to learn the lingo? Do you need to practise your Spanish? The best way to learn is to practise with native speakers who in turn can practise their English with you. With free entry there is no excuse not to join the interna­ tional community for a Language Exchange, Intercambio de Idiomas, on Tuesday evenings at 7.00pm at the Robin’s Irish Pub on Calle Virgen del Socorro, 66, 03002 in Alicante. For more information pop in to the bar or call (+34) 632 777 678.

THE brains behind The Written Word Group and author of The Old Man of Tiritiri Matangi, Berni Albrighton, has shared an insight into her inspirations.

“On a warm summer evening in 2008, I was nearing 50 and had been married to my husband, Steve, for 20 years. We sat playing music, drinking wine and having an intense conversation about life.”

One of us asked: “Will we always live here in the UK?”

It was the catalyst for events that saw the author leave her home, husband, teenage son and dog to take up a managerial position in Auckland, New Zealand.

Berni added: “Steve and my son agreed that I would go and lay the foundations of a new life for us, they would follow in a few months. No one knew the timing could be