inVLC September

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Britchat presents...

Se pt / Oct

teach with passion ALSO| I heart Valencia - it’s a clash of cathedrals| Free stuff to do| ¡Aprende inglés con nosotros!| and much more...

4 News

20 Cinema

5 Holidays & parties

21 Music 6 Valencia community 22 Art in the community 8 I heart Valencia 10 Your photos

23 Art to see 25 Shiatsu

11 Free in Valencia

26 Kiva

12 Anita Giro

28 Books, Competition

13 Green living

This issue covers lots of information for what to do in the Valencian Community, and if you’ve just arrived in the September influx of teachers, welcome! We’ve crammed this month’s edition with information and techniques to help you find your feet and make your classes more fulfilling and fun too. Plus there are games all through the magazine for your classes!

& Golf

14 Sport

29 Events & Classifieds

15 Language bonanza

30 Recipe

19 Expat life

31 Animals

Thanks to everyone who wrote the articles this month, they’re fantastic!

Throughout this magazine you’ll find these suggested language levels at the top of the page and accompanying vocabulary boxes beneath the text. For pronunciation we have also included the phonetics. Each colour refers to a particular level as indicated below.

First certificate Intermediate Advanced A huge thank you to Clara for proofing the translations this month.

Important numbers Fire| 080 Local police | 092 Emergencies Medical| 061 General| 112 Embassies/consulates French| 96 351 0359 USA| 96 351 6973 British| 96 521 60 22 Dutch| 96 341 4633 German| 96 310 62 53

Well this might well be the most excited we’ve been yet. With our new name selected by our readers, and a new cover to match it, we hope you’ll love this month’s issue. Thank you to those of you who took the time to phone us, email us and corner us in bars with your suggestions!

Valencia is going into full party mode this month, with el Día de la Comunidad Valenciana and St. Dyonisius both happening on your doorsteps. But when you’re not out partying, don’t miss out on the gems of this Spanish corner to remind you that while Valencia is not the biggest community, or the richest, it’s certainly one of the most interesting places to be.

This issue is dedicated in memory of Darren ‘Duggy’ Duggan, who not only knew how to teach, but also how to welcome, inspire and inject happiness into the lives of those lucky enough to meet him. He was an inspiration to us all!

And to the rest of you, here’s wishing you a great start to the teaching year, and loads of fun in the Community.

inVLC is aimed at all people in the community of Valencia, whether born here, visiting for a day, or living a new life in the sun.

We hope to guide you on what’s going on in the community, help those living in it, and support language learning with a bit of added fun.

If you have any ideas about how we can make it better, we’d love to hear from you.

Legal chat| We do our very best to strive for Contact information accuracy in this magazine but we do not accept email| invlceditor@gmail.com responsibility for any unintentional errors or omissions. phone| 639 740 746 - English speakers Any opinions given in the magazine are just that – phone| 628 831 400 - Spanish speakers opinions – and as such they may differ from the reader’s own. We aim not to offend and If you have any thoughts, comments or do not guarantee the accuracy or reliability of complaints, please email or phone us. any advertisements placed in the magazine. If you are interested in advertising with us, please use the same details.

Deposito legal| V-816-2006 We use CreatorSilk paper which is chlorine free and the wood used in this paper is from sustainably managed forests. We do this because we’re nice and want to reduce our environmental impact.

When you are finished with your inVLC , pass it on to a friend..!

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Welcome to inVLC

News

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Intermediate

Watch the birdie!| Previously if you had a car registered outside of Spain and were flashed at by a speed camera you could safely forget all about it as the authorities did not have the technology to identify and locate you.

However now, with the installation of new speed cameras in Comunidad Valencia, that is all about to change.

Shopping| While the quality may vary widely there is no doubting that when it comes to price, supermarkets can certainly afford to pile it high and then sell it cheap. The National Retail Price Observatory has released figures showing that shopping in the region of Valencia is the cheapest in Spain. 56 cities, 4,135 stores and 187 products were tested across the country and Comunidad Valencia shows itself to be the best value across the board.

The national DGT traffic department recently announced that a series of fixed speed cameras will be equipped to read non-Spanish number plates.

When a car is caught driving over the established speed limit by one of these fixed cameras, the photograph is sent to the León (Castilla y León) headquarters and they will now be able to track you down.

They will operate in a similar way to the mobile radars manned directly by the Guardia Civil.

For example, the results show that the average shop here is now 7.3% cheaper than it was last year against a national average drop of just 2.2%.

In comparison to Santander, the most expensive place to shop, Valencia is some 19% cheaper!

While Valencia is the cheapest place to shop overall it is Castellon which takes the honours in the fruit and vegetable sections.

Valencian chains Mercadona and Consum were found to be the cheapest places to shop with Carrefour (perhaps surprisingly) third. El Corte Inglés and Hipercor were the most expensive.

Watch the giraffe!| Yet again, Bioparc Valencia has triumphed to help us save some Euros. It is offering child day entry prices of €16 for all adults until the end of September.

As the park is big, make the most of it and go early with a picnic. The animals are livelier in the morning so you can see a greater variety of animals before they settle down for a snooze.

Look out for the March-born giraffe, Tumai, and the July-born hippo. And after you can even vote for his new name on Bioparc Facebook.

Av. Pío Baroja, 3.

T. 902 250 340 www.bioparcvalencia.es Bus EMT: 7, 17, 29, 61, 81 and 95.

Metro 3 & 5. 10 minutes from Nou d´Octubre.

16/09/1498 Spain. Tomas de Torquemada. Hated and feared Grand Inquisitor of the Spanish Inquisition dies. He was responsible for 2000 deaths of suspected Muslims and Jews in Spain.

Holidays & parties

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Intermediate

September and October| There are no national fiestas in Valencia Community in September, but don’t panic! Valencia is be going to be wild as it celebrates two free fiestas on one day - el Día de la Comunidad Valenciana and St. Dyonisius on 9th October.

El Día de la Museum and will return to the town hall for another Comunidad Valenciana adrenalin boosting round of mascletà. is the Community of In the evening you’ll see processions of the Moros y Valencia’s National Cristianos marching through the streets of the city Day and is a public accompanied by bands and dancing, and traditional holiday in the whole dancing for an hour in Plaza de la Virgen from 7pm. community. It started October 9th is also St. Dyonisius, which is the in the days of Jaume equivalent of St. Valentines Day as St. Dyonisius II, 1338, as a memorial is traditionally considered to be the patron saint of procession to ask the lovers. On this day men give their ladies, be it wives, forgiveness of crop girlfriends or female family members, a mocadorà, failure famine. a handkerchief. What makes this gift so special is The celebration of this that it is a collection of handmade marzipan sweets, day usually starts on Piuletes and Tronadors, wrapped in a knotted silk the 7th October, with a reconstruction of the scarf. For the days leading up to this, you’ll see cake surrender of Valencia by the Moors centering makers’ windows filled with thousands of colourful around the handing over of the flag to Jaume I. The marzipan figures in preparation for this day. show starts around 9pm and will continue for a couple of hours at the Torres de Serrano.

On the night of 8th October take your cameras for the dramatic firework display in the River Turia.

On the 9th itself the events start at 11.30am at the city hall. The crowds gather for the Anthem, speeches and the monumental lowering of the Regional Flag down the front of the building to the sound of the crowd cheering.

© Jenny Rollo

The flag is lowered down the front of the building The figures range from fruits and vegetables as tradition states the flag should never ‘bow’ before to represent the fertility of the community to vaguely (and not so vague) phallic shapes. anyone.

The flag is then carried in a procession through Should you be lucky enough to receive a mocadorà the streets of Valencia via the cathedral where on this day, ensure you follow the tradition and keep they hold a ‘Te Deum’, which is an early Christian the handkerchief. hymn of praise in thanksgiving to God for a special blessing. The military and civilian procession of horses, bands and ladies in full traditional attire winds through many of the main streets and ends finally with the donation of flowers and laurels at the feet of the statue of Jaume II in el Jardin del Parterre. The regional anthem is then played upon which the procession will take the flag to the History

Check the tourist information closer to the time for confirmation of exact times of the festivities and for any other planned events.

There’s always something fun happening in the towns around Valencia. Check for information www.fiestasdevalencia.com.

Remember public holidays mean fewer buses, and most shops, supermarkets and banks will be closed.

17/09/1987 Russia. A hunter shoots at a flying duck but his bullets hit a fish. The pike he hit appears to have been trying to eat the duck when the duck took off in flight.

Valencia community| Cocentaina

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y first job in Spain was in a quaint little village where I only found out, upon my arrival, that the spoken language was Valencian NOT Spanish/Castilian. During my first six months of trying to learn Spanish, my Castilian was peppered with Valencian words and odd pronunciation that was greeted by smiles and (sometimes) outright laughter. Students knew where I was on Saturday night at 10pm, everybody seemed to know my name and, after 9 months in this little village, I had people shaking my hand in the street. It was an incredible experience and an unexpected induction into Spanish life indeed.

Cocentaina (originally called Concentaina) is situated in the north of the Alicante province about 60km from Alicante and 110km from Valencia. It is surrounded by the mountain range la Sierra Mariola which is the subject of a popular song of the same name in Valencian by Claude Gervais: Serra de Mariola Serra de Mariola rota a floretes rota a floretes si, rota a floretes no, rota a floretes enjoying a caña in the afternoon in one of the many bars along the strip.

C/País Valencia is the way in and out of the city although this looks to be short-lived with a new motorway nearing completion. Showing resolve rather than despair, local counsellors have made the decision to turn this road into ‘another Passeig’.

This will hopefully have the positive effect of moving the traffic out of the city without getting rid of the people.

It’s a song that many locals will have learnt by heart at school. The rugged mountain range finishes with Moncabrer (1,390m) which is a Mecca for walkers both Spanish and international who all sign the little book at the top to mark their achievement.

The view from the peak is so impressive that, on a clear day, you can see the sea and the humongous skyscrapers of Benidorm. Many locals venture to the higher parts of the range where many herbs such as Rosemary and Thyme grow.

The centre of Cocentaina is formed by El Passeig and C/País Valencia which both have their own function: El Passeig is where you’ll find nearly the whole village having a coffee in the morning or

Away from the main network of roads that combine to form the ‘centre’ of the pueblo is a vast, sprawling quantity of olive groves and farms. When in season (around March/April), landowners are constantly on the look out for a mini workforce to collect the olives for a modest hourly wage or simply a good meal and a couple of bottles of wine.

The people proudly call themselves socarrats which is the part of the paella which burns, sticks to the pan and requires a rigid scraping off by turning one’s spoon upside down. It is commonly believed that the name comes from the War of Succession when, in 1707, Prince Felipe V’s troops set fire to the village. However, the story goes back even further to 1304, when Al-Abbas (who had served under Jaume

18/09 of 1933 and 1970. ‘All along the watchtower’ connects the birthdate of the writer of this classic song and the death of the man who made it his own. Mumbling genius Bob Dylan and guitar legend Jimi Hendrix.

Valencia community| Cocentaina

II but changed sides to the kingdom of Granada the year before) ordered the sacking and destruction of Cocentaina. The attack was so bloody and caused so much damage that the mayor (Roger de Llúria) waved taxes so that the village could recuperate.

What struck me most during my time there were the colours which were distinctly different to those which I was accustomed to back home. At each hour of the day, the sun painted the rocky landscape a different mixture of oranges and reds that was equally intriguing as it was breathtaking. The symbol of Cocentaina – a military gothic construction called

la teta (the tit) – is a small castle built on top of a mountain in the 14th Century. It peers out over the village, keeping watch, even at night when it is lit up and can be seen from far and wide. No wonder then that the local area is awash with artists, both amateur and professional, whose works can be found in local museums or simply hung in bars and shops. Composer Gustavo Pascual Falcó was born here and wrote Paquito el Chocolatero. This is one of the most famous pieces of music used during the fiesta de los Moros y Cristianos which is celebrated during August.

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Car| 1 hour 20 from Valencia; 1 hour from Alicante. N-7 & A-340 Bus| (from Valencia) €9.45 (one day return), takes about 2 hours TRAVICOI; (from Alicante) €6 (approx.), takes just under two hours www.subus.es Train| (from Valencia only) €7.85 one way, €14 return, takes just under two hours www.renfe.es

18/09/1981 France. The French ban the guillotine. Yes. That’s right. 1981.

I heart Valencia

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ach mo ach mont month nth h we we’r we’re re go goin going ing g to s squ square qu off something famous from Valencia with something else. famous from somewhere else e This month we’ll see two cathedrals go head to head with fingers ccrossed ros ros osse sed se d that that the the result res res esul ultt won’t ul won’ wo n t ki kick ck it it al alll off o like at a Glaswegian derby. Anglican giant Canterbury Cathedral iin n Kent will ll face ll fac ace ce off with our very own (and (a very Catholic) La Seu or La Catedral de Santa María. Over the pre-match sense the tension and excitement. p re-matcch sacramental sacram sa cram cr amental wine, I can already alree Round R ound 1| 1| R Re Religiousness eli eligi liigi giousness - Miracles,, saints, art, hidden h idden codes cod odes odes es and and nd paintings. Surely, holy places Round 3| Age - Canterbury Or is llend end themselves to these kinds of things? th h Cathedral is probably one of Dan D an Brown just a massive liar? Mo Most os Christian the most famous and wellhistorians all over the world claim that all evidence hi known Christian buildings points to the chalice used by Pope Benedict XVI on in England and was founded 9th July 2006 in La Seu as being the actual ‘Holy in 602 by St. Augustine of Grail’. More so than any and every other cathedral Canterbury who was sent by in the world that claims to house it. Thomas Becket Pope Gregory the Great in was famously ‘martyred’ at Canterbury Cathedral 597. Although consecrated in in 1170 after King Henry II called for action against 1238, La Seu was built between this ‘turbulent priest’. Four knights took it as 1270-1300 whilst they were royal order, rolled up to the cathedral on December destroying the mosque above 29th 1170 and hacked off his head with swords. He which it was being built. was the second of four Archbishops to be murdered This was courtesy of Brother and was canonised in 1173 by Pope Alexander III. Andreu d’Alabat who took one look at it in 1262, saw Winner – La Seu. Too much murder in a holy some Koranic inscriptions on place for me! the wall and issued an AlanRound 2| Style - Canterbury Cathedral is English Partridge style “get rid of it”.

Gothic in style and has been built up throughout the Winner – Canterbury Cathedral Saxon, Viking and Norman periods. It has retained its style because of the nave being rebuilt between 1390-1410 by Prior Thomas Chillenden and further changes in the 1830s to replace the Norman northwest tower, which was deemed structurally unsound in the 1700s. La Seu has a number of different styles which define its uniqueness.

Take the doors, for example: La puerta de l’Almoina or del Palau (1262-1270) is Romanesque, La puerta de los Apóstoles (13031354) is French Gothic and La puerta de los Hierros (17031713) is Baroque. Add to this its renaissance-era/ baroque Altar Mayor and the gothic naves in the main building and you’ve got that enviable mixture of culture and history that we’ve all grown to love.

Winner – La Seu

© Hans Musil

18/09/1874 England. Blackpool illuminations are switched on for the first time. 8 million now visit them annually.

Northern angel Robbie Williams took time from his new hobby of UFO watching to switch them on this year.

I heart Valencia

Round 4| Funding - What’s different about La Seu is that it was built using money raised by local bourgeoisie rather than upon the orders of a king.

This was because of the need to ‘mark’ Christian territory quickly after Muslim rule. Canterbury’s rebuild after a huge fire in 1174 was largely thanks to pilgrims visiting the shrine of Thomas Becket (see previous page) and purchasing ‘pilgrim badges’.

Winner – Canterbury Cathedral

Round 6| Founders - Canterbury Cathedral was founded under the direct orders of Pope Gregory I (Gregory The Great) who sent St. Augustine there. Gregory was a scholarly man who once condemned a monk for stealing three gold coins.

His body was then thrown onto the manure heap upon his death along with the three gold coins that he had stolen. La Seu was dedicated to Santa María by Jaume I, the King of Aragón.

Jaume I was educated under the watchful eye of The Knights Templar, was instrumental in the development of the Catalán language, started a full on Crusade which was rained off by a storm, had an interesting personal life and was a lover of both prose and verse.

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Winner – La Seu

Round 5| Historical Importance - The Altar Mayor in La Seu was used to store riches during the Napoleonic Wars, its first mass was led by Jaume I fresh after his conquering of the city and, after being declared a monument of history and art in 1931, had most of its artistic elements destroyed during the Civil War. Canterbury Cathedral is recognised as head of the Anglican church worldwide, poor Tom Becket’s bones are there, as are those of Henry IV and Edward Plantagenet a.k.a.

The Black Prince who was the first English Prince of Wales not to become the King of England.

It also features in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales and was spared during the Second World War after a bomb landed on a nearby monastery.

WINNER! Valencia’s own La Seu sneaks a nice win here against a giant of a contender.

A worthy matching again with Valencia coming out with its head held high.

Draw!

rather than /rɇǗ:ðǟ ðæn/ – en lugar de shrine /ȉrɇaǰn/ - santuario store /stɇǚ:/ - almacenar worthy /wɇǢ:ðǰ/- respetable with head held high – con la frente levantada

pilgrims /pɇǰlgrǰmz/ - peregrinos badges /bɇædgǰz/ - insignias spare /spɇeǟ/ - perdonar come out /kɇȒm aȐt/ - salir

19/09/1975 UK. Fawlty Towers, possibly the greatest UK sitcom ever produced, airs for the first time. Only 12 episodes ever made. Manuel from Bar-thelona becomes the most famous Spaniard in Britain.

Your photos

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e’ve been asking you for feedback, and one of the most requested topics has been on including more photos. So...each month we’ll give you a topic for the following edition.

Email us 1 high-resolution image with a sentence describing your photo to invlceditor@gmail.com by 31st of the month. We’ll choose a few entries to print with your name and photo description.

Please send 1 photo per person & only send your own photo for copyright reasons. There are other terms and conditions - email us if you want to know them.

We’re starting easy with next months topic as ‘happiness is...’ and there’s some to get you started below. Look forward to seeing your pictures.

...a taste of home

...looking cool

ity

...seren

...a ca

lm ba

by

19/09/1959 Los Angeles. Soviet Premier Nikita Kruschev angered at being denied entry to Disney due to fears for his safety. Cuban Missile Crisis occurs soon after. Could things have been different if he had got his Mickey Mouse cap?

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ant to see the Valencian Community on the cheap?

You’ve got loads of options. Every month we’ll list some places you can enjoy Spanish culture, nature and have some fun. This roasty, toasty month you’ll find us: 1| competing with my friends to find the most risqué gargoyle or grotesque adorning the roofs of Valencias stone buildings. Aim for any of the old gothic buildings like La Lonja de la Seda or the cathedral and prepare to be surprised.

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Free in Valencia

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2| going down to the beach to check out the posters to see what free exercise they have to join in. Choices include Pilates and Spinning.

3| visiting the Sunday markets. There’s one in the city, which has rows of stalls selling everything from shoes to stamps to paella dishes. There is a lively international atmosphere and you can pick up a couple of great bargains.

Do you have any favorite free spots? Email us them at invlceditor@gmail.com.

If you look up in Valencia, you’ll find many an ugly beast staring back down; some carved into a selection of shocking positions.

Gargoyles are carved figures containing the waterspouts which reduce damage to stonework of old buildings by diverting rain water away from the building, usually through its mouth. The carvings are often animals, and are chosen for specific representations such as luck or foresight.

You’ll also see Chimeras, which are animal and human mixes. The aim of these carvings are to

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scare off and protect the building from any evil or harmful spirits.

Grotesques look similar but can be ornamental only - so a carving without a waterspout is a Grotesque. A Grotesque can be human or animal and can be outright bizarre or a caricaturised image.

Gargoyle comes from the French word, Gargouille meaning throat. This Latin influence is also in the Spanish words garganta which is throat and gárgola which is gargoyle.

Have you ever experienced?

-Stress -Tiredness, lack of energy -Pinched nerves -Migraines, headaches -Stiffness in the neck -Whiplash, neck trauma -Vertigos, dizziness -Tension, shoulder pains -Thoracic or lumbar pain -Chest pain, Asthma -Bad posture -Stomach acidity -Sciatica, pain down the leg -Joint pain, knee pain -Pins and needles, numbness arms or hands -Pins and needles or numbness down the leg If you have experienced one or more of these symptoms, chiropractic could be the solution.

Call now for a free check, it could be the start of a new life!

20/09/1870 Rome. National troops enter Rome to complete the unification of Italy. Rome was previously under Vatican control. Papal powers confined to Vatican City shortly after.

Bar of the month| Anita Giro Intermediate

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ust a minute’s stroll from the Torres de Quart at the edge of El Carmen you will find bar of the month Anita Giro. We discovered it some time in February of this year, and have since then made it one of our favourite places to go. The atmosphere is fun and welcoming, the food is wonderful, the beer is cold, and the staff are great. There is always music playing in the background, and there is always something new around to catch your eye.

When Clare, Puri and Kika, took over this bar more than a year ago, it had been a traditional Spanish sort of place.

Since then, however, the girls have done a lot to make the place original. The bar is laid back and unique. On the walls inside there are art exhibitions, which change around regularly, and the shaded patio outside (our favourite in Valencia) is set alongside vibrant graffiti art.

During the day you can get an amazing Menu del Día for lunch - in fact, it’s also our favourite in Valencia.

You know how sometimes you don’t want a fourcourse meal for lunch? But you kinda want more than a sandwich? And you still want something pretty tasty?

Well, here is the place to go. You get a delicious main course dish, with a drink and a coffee for just five little euros. And by ‘delicious main course dish’, I mean really, really delicious. We have almost never had the same thing twice, and we have never been disappointed.

By night take in the atmosphere along with some of the

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tastiest tapas I know – the tortilla is actually another favourite find! Try the selection of beers, wines and cocktails, in particular the zesty house cocktail, which I can’t seem to get out of my mind!

Sometimes you will find Bingo nights (random, but fun), an acoustic music show on occasion, and Friday and Saturday nights there is a D.J. Having just celebrated their one year anniversary party, Anita Giro is set to get better and better. And if you’re wondering where the name comes from, try out the Spanish pronunciation and think of Bonnie Tyler...

Sinead Maloney

Address| C/ Pintor Domingo 7 Beer| €1.50 caña, €2 doble Wine| €2 upwards Cocktails| €6 Tapas| €4 - €7 Opening hours| 6pm onwards (during the day from October)

21/09/1915 UK. For Sale. Land lot of 30 acres with some rubble in Somerset sold privately for £6,600 at auction.

Rubble is Stonehenge. Luckily for Britains Druids it was bequeathed to the nation 3 years later.

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Green living| Weather Changes Intermediate

here are some people of the opinion that and could you call that ‘good’? countries in the northern part of the Wherever we are; be it Norway, Britain, France, northern hemisphere could benefit from Spain; the weather is the weather. It’s a natural climate change. “We’ll get warmer summers process and we should let it follow its natural so we won’t have to go to Spain for our holidays”. flow without trying to manipulate it, control it or “We’ll be able to grow a wider variety of vegetables”. interfere with it. The Earth is at exactly the right “We won’t have to buy so much winter clothing”, etc. distance from the sun and at the right temperature In the north we also tend to divide the weather into to allow life to exist on this planet. A global change good and bad. Heat, sun and warm are good; cold, of temperature of 2 or 3 degrees is the difference wet and cloudy “Floods cause unprecedented tragedies in Pakistan” between what we are bad. have now and a “Russia suffers the worst drought in 130 years” new ‘Ice Age’, so This seems to me Headlines in El Pais, Tuesday 3rd August perhaps it’s better to be an extremely superficial view of the weather and climate change. not to mess around with the climate or we may live to Declan Wouldn’t it be better to change countries if you regret it. wanted heat, rather than change the weather!

Move to North Africa, to the Sahara desert and Top tip for October: discover how really ‘good’ the sunshine, heat and What| Reduce your high temperatures are. I have just lived through a air conditioning to 22˚. summer in Istanbul where the temperatures were Why| 22˚ is a good temperature for between 35˚ and 40˚ and I can assure you that it us. Air conditioning eats electricity generally wasn’t a very pleasant experience.

- lower temperatures use less Walking down the street in 40˚ without a sniff of electricity. a breeze was like being in an oven. The difficulty Why not| It’s nice to get an icy blast. of sleeping at night, sweating continuously and showering 2 or 3 times a day all made life very Benefits| Less electricity usage means uncomfortable. The heat sapped my energy and lower bills to buy yourself something doing any activity was draining. In Antalya in the nice, plus we can reduce our carbon south of Turkey the temperature was sometimes footprint at the same time. around 48˚. Can you imagine what it was like there

25/09/1818 London. First ever human blood transfusion. Previous transfusions were administered with animal blood.

Sport

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ootball| A big month for Valencia fans this month with the Champions League returning to the Mestalla for the first time since the 2007-2008 season. This month sees the arrival of one of the world’s biggest teams: Manchester United on 29th September. In a group with Glasgow Rangers and Bursaspor of Turkey, ‘Los Ches’ will be hopeful of qualifying for the later stages. Get your tickets for this one early as it is sure to be a sell out. Information can be found at www.valenciacf.com.

Valencia fixtures this month|

19/09 - Hercules v Valencia aelic football in Valencia| For those in the dark, Gaelic football is the most popular sport 22/09 - Valencia v Atletico in Ireland, played all over the country with huge 26/09 - Sporting Gijon v Valencia crowds often attending games. The sport itself has a long history, but wasn’t properly codified until 29/09 - Valencia v Manchester United the late 19th century. It is a fast dynamic sport 03/10 - Valencia v Athletic club and is essentially a mixture of soccer, rugby and basketball, containing elements of all these. Teams have to score goals or points, and both hands and You can buy your tickets at the kiosks at the Mestalla at Avenida de Suecia, from their web feet can be used to pass the ball and score. page, ticketmaster.es, at any of the official Valencia San Vicent Gaelic Football Club was founded in football shops, or even from La Caixa. Just ask for 2007 by a group of Irish expats. Currently there are una entrada. The seats at Grada de la Mar are cheap both men’s and women’s teams, made up not just of and have a good view.

Irish, but players from Spain and all over the world.

The club competes in the Iberian championship as Levante’s big tie this month comes in the shape of Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid who visit the Ciutat well as in European tournaments. de Valencia stadium on 26th September. This is a The sport itself is quite easy to pick up and there are great chance to see the millionaires of the capital weekly training sessions held both in Valencia and being tested by one of La Liga’s newcomers. Can Pucol. All are welcome. No knowledge of the game they pull off a shock? Information can be found at is necessary and some complete beginners have www.levanteud.com. quickly become central members of our teams. So if Levante fixtures this month| you want to try a sport that offers more physicality than football, but isn’t as aggressive as rugby, 19/09 - Levante v Villareal or if you simply want to have fun learning a new 22/09 - Almeria v Levante sport and practicing your English, this is the game for you.

26/09 - Levante v Real Madrid

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03/10 - Osasuna v Levante

M Get in contact with San Vicent Valencia and see training details at www.valenciagaa.com or call Javi - 699 301 278.

otor racing in Cheste| Round 17 of the FIA World Touring Car Championship is in Valencia on 18th and 19th September at the Circuito de la Comunidad Valenciana in Cheste.

In The Drivers Championship there is British interest with Andy Priaulx and Robert Huff in 3rd and 4th place behind Frenchman Yvan Muller and Italian Gabriele Tarquini.

Entry is free, but if you wish to enter the paddock to get up close and personal with the cars and drivers, tickets start at 15€. This is a great chance to see real cars racing rather than the monsters of Formula 1. www.circuitvalencia.com

25/09/1987 Nigeria. A man finds a grim way for stopping his 12-year-old wife from running away from him. He chops her legs off. Sentenced to life imprisonment.

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Teaching special| A passing trend?

E

l Inglés está muy de moda. English permeates Spanish culture already, through music and entertainment.

A quick search on TEFL.com for jobs available High profile couple Penélope Cruz and Javier shows that Spain is clearly a popular choice to Bardem are currently enjoying the high life in go with that still-warm TEFL qualification Hollywood both with Oscar wins under their belt. in hand: The Beatles are famous just about anywhere; United Kingdom 80 Los Rollings are too, I’m not sure I’d heard of Spain 33 Ken Follett until I moved out here and the less Eastern/ Central Europe 32* said about Mrs. Beckham, the better. Words like China 31 marketing, puenting and (inexplicably) footing *Figure includes Russian Federation, Poland, have all found their way into the Spanish lexicon.

Kazakhstan, Czech Republic, Azerbaijan, It doesn’t stop there. We’ve all seen the headlines Ukraine, Slovakia, Turkey and Uzbekistan. (“very, very fuerte” being my personal favourite) and the ‘Dog’s Cojones’ T-shirt shop in El Carmen. for the job, they still require a teaching qualification Those in the UK for the summer can’t have failed to such as CAP or PGCE and many want a qualification notice the astonishing amount of Spanish teenagers in Valencian as well. At this stage we can’t be sure if wandering around with their “I L o n d o n ” entry into any of these establishments will be easier hoodies and T-shirts on. English is regarded as due to Font de Mora’s plans or if any ‘fast track’ a language equally important for travel as it is for scheme will be set up. Where most of the work business and study. seems to lie is in the private sector, namely private In 2008, President José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero academies, which employ TEFL/ CELTA qualified made the rather ambitious claim that all students in teachers.

Spain would speak English within ten years. It is not As it stands you realistically have 3 ways to go surprising then that in 2009, the regional minister here: academy work, private tutoring, and a combo of sports and culture, Alejandro Font de Mora, of the two. First things first, get used to the idea announced that €151 million would be invested into teaching English and chose 3 colleges in the community of Valencia for a pilot scheme called ‘El plan de Fomento del Plurilingüismo’. If successful, it will be officially approved for the academic year 2011-2012. Font de Mora has promised that English will be the instructional language of certain subjects.

This Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) already happens in many British colleges, which already operate throughout Spain. Spanish children are now starting to learn English at as early as 4-years-old and students are taking the First Certificate Exam (FCE) at as young as 14-years-old.

What does that mean for English teachers?

Well, in short… More work! In order for Zapatero’s goals to be met, more English teachers are required.

A colleague of mine told me last year that “now is the best time to teach English in Spain” boasting of class numbers being at an all-time high and, in some cases, having to turn students down. And this was mid-crisis!

I have a CELTA/TEFL. What kind of job should I expect to find?

It is extremely difficult to get into public schools in Spain due to the dreaded opposiciones (exams for workers in the public sector), as well as private schools (colegios privados) and privately-run schools (colegios concertados) because although they are allowed to employ anyone who they see fit 26/09/1959 Sri Lanka. Normally peaceful, a rogue Buddhist monk shoots and kills Prime Minister Bandaranaike. He was able to do this as monks were not searched like everyone else. They are now.

Teaching special| Getting a job of teaching children. A good 80% of all the work out there will be teaching primary and secondary school children. You may not teach only children but prepare yourself for at least a few hours a week.

9 or 10-month contracts are what you’ll normally be offered which are known as de duración determinada and will consist of a regular, monthly wage agreed upon at the beginning of the year (number of hours, size of classes, rate of pay for overtime, etc.) There are still a lot of companies paying dinero negro (cash in hand) which may seem great at the time but may be misleading.

It simply means that they don’t have to pay your social security at the end of the month, which, if you’re planning to make the move to Spain permanently, is your loss rather than gain as, if you find yourself out of work, you will not be entitled to any unemployment benefits. However, if you are only here for 1 maybe 2 years you may not be interested. Contracted teachers can earn between €600-€1200 net depending on hours, qualifications and experience.

Other negotiating points you should be aware of are paid holidays during the school year (Christmas, fallas, and Easter), hourly wage for in-house work vs. out of academy classes, travelling expenses if you use a car or have to take the train out of the city, use of materials, and of course the expectations of your potential employer (regular staff meetings?, lesson plans?, paper work?, etc...)

Companies will often ask to see your TEFL certificate as well as references. They like a good amount of ‘class hours’ and often show little regard whatsoever for the weekend TEFL qualification.

The number of those tutoring privately without the basic TEFL qualification is quite high with people earning anywhere between €10 to €25 per hour for private tutoring simply because they are native. A good friend of mine eventually built up her own business in a nearby town without any teaching qualification. In places like Valencia, however, where the number of natives is much higher, this kind of business is a lot harder to build up, especially with the amount of intercambio nights in and around the city for those wanting to learn on the cheap. The hours of a freelance teacher are not guaranteed and those opting for this career

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path may find themselves starting out with varying salaries from one month to the next.

A lot of people will find 10-12 hours at an academy and then supplement that with private tutoring.

This will help you have a stable income through the holidays via the academy while at the same time earning a bit more when you do your private hours.

Okay. I’m convinced. Where do I start?

Check out the useful websites below but don’t be disheartened if you can’t see anything right away.

Companies are normally setting things up during September for the start of term in October. There is always a big “September rush” that involves many interviews being arranged and a lot of people “pounding the pavement” looking for last minute work. Some are offered jobs and drop out when something better comes up; others are not taken with the job and leave (this happens a lot during the Christmas break) and, if bookings are up, then more teachers are required than anticipated.

Late arrivals, expect to start with minimal hours initially (weekend work, 10 - 12 hours per week) and then be offered more as and when new work comes in. My advice is to always be prepared to take work on when asked, this way you will be top of the list the next time it happens because they will want someone to agree to do the work as soon as possible to get classes started.

One last piece of advice.

Show interest in your work and be happy.

Your employer will certainly notice and you will benefit from more hours, choice classes, a more flexible boss, and maybe a salary bump or extra special Christmas surprise!

www.thinkspain.com - info on all job sectors in Spain and great for employment advice in English! www.tefl.com - an ‘in’ for many TEFL teachers wherever they may be. www.tefl.net - another one for TEFLers. www.i-to-i.com - offers the infamous weekend TEFL course and also a good place to look for jobs or volunteer work. www.infojobs.net - all in Spanish but with the occasional job popping up. Worth keeping an eye on. www.jobsabroad.com - Everything from au pair to hotel work. Conveniently breaks down into regions.

28/09/1745 England. In response to the Jacobite Rebellion in Scotland a new verse is added to God Save the King.

Previously sung by both sides until the ‘Rebellious Scots to crush’ 6th verse was added. This version still stands today.

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Talking Teaching with Orange Language Academy

T

The good thing about false friends, however, is that they work both ways. How many students have you had running back into the class looking for their carpet (folder - carpeta)? A friend of mine and fellow teacher arrived at their college one day, and was greeted with the sign ‘Assistance is compulsory’.

In a place of learning you would expect assistance to be more than necessary on a daily basis so the sign

Intermediate

his month we’re going to look at something that everybody loves to hate: false friends (or false cognates if you want to get all technical).

There isn’t a single person I’ve met who hasn’t had probably meant to say ‘attendance is compulsory’ their ‘false friend moment’. It could be that you’re a (asistir - attend). Another one that might crop up woman who’s gone into the local market and asked is ‘Teacher. Pablo is molesting me!’ which (for a the shopkeeper for something sin preservativos change) doesn’t have any sexual connotations in (without condoms); or maybe you told that boy you Spanish (annoy - molestar). You’ll often hear ‘rope’ first met that you were very, very hot (which only instead of clothes, the Spanish word ropa being has sexual connotations in Spanish); my first year the culprit here. A rapista is a barber (you can involved me telling a table full of dinner guests that also say barbero if you want to be on the safe side) I was excited (another sexual connotation) let’s not NOT a rapist (violador in Spanish); una ganga forget that old chestnut embarazada (pregnant) is something you’ll find in a shop at a cheap price and embarrassed (tener vergüenza). It’s one of the (bargain) NOT the group down a back alley ready to pitfalls of thinking in your own language before take your wallet (gang); sensible is someone capable speaking in another. I mean, how else are we of feeling (sensitive) NOT someone who has a lot of supposed to learn without someone laughing in our common sense (sensato). It goes on and on. faces every now and then?

So, how do we get around them? It could be that a simple list to remind your students that these similar looking words don’t have the same meaning in English as they have in their language. A good way to do this is, at the beginning of the year, simply have a list on the wall where your students can see it and add to it throughout the year. It might be the case that you’ll have to teach them what the word means in English AND the word that they’re actually looking for. This way, they will (hopefully) remember two words instead of one. Remember to elicit this from your class, as one of your other students might already know it. By the end of the year, you will have compiled a long list of false friends, which you can then type up and hand out to your students. You’ll find that most students will have copied the list into their notebooks anyway, but those teenagers can never be relied upon to take the bull by the horns! It’s also a good way to improve your Spanish too. Or why not even plan a class around the whole thing? These are the kinds of classes that are bound to make your students laugh.

Orange Language Academy has been an American run language school for the city of Valencia and its provinces since 2005 offering all types of language related services.

They also run the language intercambios on Wednesdays at the Portland Ale House.

Find out more about them at www.orangeidiomas.com For those of you who really want to get down to learning the language, we’ll be bringing you an expression each month. This is our job. Your job? Get out there and use it! Then tell us how you got on… más vale tarde que nunca – better late than never e.g. Andy se ha cortado el pelo. ¡Más vale tarde que nunca!

Andy has had his hair cut. Better late than never!

26/09/1955 England. Perennial kids favourite The Fish Finger is seen for the first time. Until then it was not known that fish had fingers.

Teaching method| The direct method

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The direct method of learning a language involves almost 100% oral work and lots of repetition. Typically the teacher works from pre-prepared material, asks questions speaking at normal conversation speed, and gets the student to reply using the same words but in a statement form. Initially the replies are hesitant, but after two or three repetitions, fluency can develop remarkably quickly. In fact the Callan slogan is “English in a quarter of the time!”

The direct method came about at the turn of the 20th century in Germany and France as an alternative to Grammar Translation, which was criticised for being impractical. The CALLAN school has carried the torch for the direct method all these years, but recently direct teaching has made a big comeback, led by Vaughan, the American giant, whose programmes you can see on Spanish TV everyday.

The direct method has mainly been used for teaching English, where the grammar is introduced in small chunks in the oral work. It contrasts dramatically with the way that Spanish is taught as Spanish teaching is all about grammar which is very difficult for the typical English speaker, whose language is grammatically much easier.

Generally, the method itself is based on the principle that accuracy is paramount and this can be seen by watching any of the teachers on the Vaughan Systems TV programme. Any errors (with syntax, pronunciation, etc.) made by the learner are corrected and drilled through repetition before moving onto the next stage. Rather than explicitly teaching grammar, the teacher simply acts as a model and then builds up more complex interactive situations after starting with a simple sentence or concept i.e. “I used to live in Spain”, “I didn’t use to have long hair”, “Maria. Did you use to have short hair”, “Tell me something that you used to enjoy doing during your childhood”. As you can see, each task becomes more complex but is not attempted until the previous has been completed successfully.

It’s this kind of practical language learning that seems to be missing in Spanish classes with what appears to be a real need for a Direct Method Spanish. Please contact info@centralpoint.es to find out more about or be involved with Direct Method Spanish or visit www.callan.co.uk for more information on the Direct Method itself.

Monday| Group| Intermediate + Sales patter.

The aim is to encourage your students to use new language in a persuasive manner and to develop confidence in asking questions.

Firstly choose the theme e.g. selling a holiday destination and work with the group to identify any key language and grammatical construction required. If the group falter, have a selection of language ideas in your head for them.

Once your class feels comfortable with the language, give holiday brochures to the student sellers, and give them a couple of minutes to choose 2 locations which they want to sell (but they must not reveal the name of the country to the buyers).

Peter Heskett, Central Point & Sean Arnett

Your buyers must listen to the sellers patter, and ask relevant questions about the locations.

At the end, each buyer chooses the holiday destination they prefer.

28/09/1894 Yorkshireman Tom Spencer and Polish Simon Marks go into business partnership. Shopping for underwear is never the same again.

Expat life| What’s in a word?

First certificate

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L

et’s be honest, we love division, don’t we? Us against them, nation, language, province, football team, political leaning (whatever it is); division gives us identity and a sense of place and belonging. Every bird thinks its nest is the best.

My father was born in a working class area on the north side of Cork City in the 1950s. He has three sisters. One of them moved to Paris and married a Frenchman with a Russian name, another married a Presbyterian from Cardiff, the third stayed at home.

My Dad however crossed a different border - he married a Southsider. When I was a kid my mother often joked that she was more of an outsider in my grandparents’ house than the two foreigners. The north-side/ south-side divide in Cork is not what it once was, but back then it was a big enough stick to bash someone with.

We like to categorise people and, like as not, most conversations in the expat world will usually begin with the question: where are you from?

Southsiders, pueblerinos, foreigners, Madrileños, gays, blacks, poms, yanks, whatever the obvious category we are quick to grab a label and use it. For us expats here in Spain, like as not, we’re likely to be stuck in the extranjero or guiri box.

There is more to these words than just literal translation. Extranjero means foreigner but is linguistically close to extraño the Spanish word for strange, stranger or odd person. This theme is universal in the expat world. In Korean the word for foreigner is waygook, which literally means a person from outside, ironic then that gook (person) was the word the Americans adopted during the

Korean war as a derogatory slur for Koreans.

Most people will tell you that the word guiri is not an insult and that it doesn’t refer to expats who live here, but rather to the stereotypical tourist, sunburnt and wearing socks and sandals. However, few people would call someone they don’t know very well a guiri to their face.

So, is calling someone a guiri insulting or just playful? Like a lot of language it comes down to context and realising that words don’t always mean exactly the same thing from one person to another.

It is worth asking though why we feel the need to use these words. Is it just about classification, a reference point to identify someone, or is it more about consolidating one’s own position within the home team?

Consider how you would like to be labelled. Would you prefer the label to be more specific? Many people seeking to classify us English speakers politely will refer to us as, well, English. This is almost always met with a correction, but as we seem to need to categorise so much, isn’t it a fair, if annoying, error? As an extranjero living here in Spain one might wonder if you can ever step out of that classification. In Ireland I’ve come across people who have lived in the country for decades and are still referred to as ‘blow-ins’ and I suspect that things here are not often that different.

For years my mom felt she was regarded as an outsider with my dad’s family. Was this really because she was a Southsider? Not at all, but it was an easy way to set her apart and isolate her, an easy way for people to mark their territory.

By Eoghan Ryan

29/09/1547 Spain. After losing his left hand in battle and surviving capture by the Turkish, Miguel de Cervantes returns to his homeland. Goes on to write the most famous Spanish novel of all time - Don Quixote.

Cinema

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‘O

Advanced

verkill is underrated’ – what goes for the A-Team’s Hannibal Smith goes doubly for this year’s summer blockbusters (and, of course, ditto for those of last year, and the next, and the one after that). Because blockbusters are greenlighted by corporate (men in) ‘Suits’ who think the more money you throw at a film at production stage the more money it will gross, the assumption being whatever made money before will do so again.

Consequently, familiarity is in, personal and yet immensely originality is out: This summer commercial. Best-known for has seen sequels (Toy Story 3, his Batman reboot and its Shrek 4, Twilight 3, Sex in the sequel his very own touch is City 2, Wall Street 2, Cats & more obvious in ‘Memento’, Dogs 2, Resident Evil 4, Iron ‘Following’ and ‘The Prestige’.

Man 2 etc) and ‘Reboots’ (the Like them, ‘Inception’ dips into new fancy term for remakes, the realms of surrealism, M.C. really: Predators, The A-Team, Escher, time travel, Freud and Karate Kid) while so-called the films of Terry Gilliam and original films are anything Alfred Hitchcock. It’s also an but (Salt, Knight and Day, action-thriller (with plenty of Mercenaries). Figures show both) that will stay with you that box office revenue has long after the lights come back grown this year only thanks on. Prepare to be dazzled. to increased ticket prices for If you’re after something 3D features. Actual attendance altogether different you could has gone down. The Suits start do worse than ‘I Love You to sweat…

Phillip Morris’. And no, it’s

Don’t get me wrong: when it’s 40˚ outside, humidity at 80% and the beach is too crowded or invaded by Jellyfish there are few things I’d rather do than dive into a cool, dark multiplex, bag of popcorn in one hand and ticket stub in the other. There are worse things than being entertained.

For me, at least, bigger isn’t better. However there is one blockbuster this summer that is as clever as it is loud, as brilliant as it is expensive and as original as it is starry; it’s called ‘Inception’. If you haven’t seen it already – treat yourself. Or watch it again.

With all its marquee names (DiCaprio, Cotillard, Caine) it is impossible to talk about this film without mentioning director Christopher Nolan.

London born and raised he has in just over ten years created an impressive body of work that is highly underrated /Ȓndǟrɇeǰtǰd/ - subestimado ditto /dɇǰtǟȐ/ – lo mismo gross /grɇǟȐs/ – tener una entrada bruta de sequels /sɇi:kwǟlz/ – continuaciones dive into /dɇaǰv ɇǰntu:/ – abocarse de lleno starry /stɇǗ:rǰ/ – estrellado dip into /dɇǰp ɇǰntu:/ – echar un vistazo realm /rɇelm/ - mundo dazzle /dɇæzǟl/ – deslumbrar performances /pǟfɇǚ:mǟnsǰz/ – interpretaciones deny /dǰnɇaǰ/ – negar

not a sequel to ‘Thank you for Smoking’ but a moving and occasionally very funny love story between two men. The lead performances by Jim Carrey and especially Ewan McGregor are outstanding.

The Suits were not impressed and the film was denied distribution in the US. But this reviewer was.

Magnus Stanke Cinemas in Valencia with the Original Version| UGC Cine Cité, AV. Tirso De Molina 1, VLC. www.UGC.es Babel C/Vicente Sancho Tello 10, VLC. www.cinesalbatrosbabel.com

30/09/1609 Spain. First Moors are transported back to North Africa from Spain and are attacked by recipient locals.

In Valencia the Moors rebel against this expulsion for a month but it is in vain and they are sent to their fate.

E

ach month we’ll bring you the hottest new music releases, re-releases, compilations and news and this month we’ve got some corkers!

Best Album| The Suburbs - Arcade Fire The third outing for the Canadian septet has had them compared to Radiohead with another excellent album. Typical melodic shifts backed by a chorus of strings, the album combines the solemn with the energetic. The range of different tunes on here is remarkable although you still get that ‘Arcade Fire’ sound which consists of shifts in tempo and rousing choruses. These are largely courtesy of Win Butler and Régine Chassagne. It would be wise to catch them live at the peak of the powers at one of their November shows in Madrid (20th) or Barcelona (21st).

First certificate

Music

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Standout tracks: The Suburbs, Ready To Start, Wasted Hours Jazz Album| Bitches Brew – Miles Davis A celebration of its 40th anniversary for Miles Davis’ groundbreaking album is treated with a good, old-fashioned collector’s edition. “Don’t play what’s there. Play what’s not there” he once reportedly said. Davis’ persona and music have passed into legend although the man himself hated that word. Unashamedly, I have no idea what to say or how to describe what this album is like. Any true jazzer will do the following right now: tut and shake their head, close the magazine, fix themselves another snifter of brandy, stick the 26m 59s title track on and savour in the fact that my life will be forever unfulfilled for not understanding.

Bitches Brew?

Standout Tracks: I literally have no idea. John McLaughlin?

Debut Album| Man Alive - Everything, Everything Word of mouth has spread after a gruelling tour schedule throughout the UK and Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and myspace have all been bubbling with anticipation.

EE mix it all up with a combination of three-part harmonies, twanging guitars, 80s pop beats, whistles, beats and synthesisers. Keep your eye on these guys!

Standout tracks: Suffragette Suffragette, My Keys, Your Boyfriend, Schoolin’ World Music Album| Tradition In Transition - Quantic & His Combo Bárbaro Quantic (or Will Holland as his mother would probably call him) has always been pushing the boundaries when it comes to making music. His sound has always been evolving and he has never been afraid of taking risks in this pursuit. Having recently settled in Cali (Columbia’s third biggest city), he has managed to set up his own studio and assemble an international cast of musicians with the sole purpose of reviving, revitalising and preserving this incredible sound from the Americas which would be a loss for music lovers everywhere. The music has been allowed to develop organically by using a group of talented musicians together and this shows when you listen to the finished product.

Standout Tracks: Un Canto A Mi Tierra, I Just Fell In Love Again Compilation Album| Croweology – The Black Crowes Not so much a rerelease or a bog standard compilation as a matter of fact. This is a collection of the groups greatest hits performed acoustically across two CDs. What can’t be argued with here are the 30 million albums over a period of 26 years. Brothers Chris and Rich Robinson are still going strong despite the changes in the line up over the years. The arrangement of the songs is interesting as it moves away from their (normally) heavy guitar sound which came from a keen interest in the Stones and Faces before they started out. Classic songs such as Jealous Again and Hard to Handle don’t lose any of their power or impetus despite this. Chris Robinson’s voice is absolutely amazing!

Standout Tracks: Jealous Again, Hard to Handle, She (cover of the Chris Ethridge/ Gram Parsons song) So there you are for this month. If you hear of anything that you think other please let us know by emailing us at invlceditor@gmail.com.

inVLC readers would like,

03/10/1995 US. OJ Simpson acquitted of murdering his ex-girlfriend. Must be a good guy then? Well - he is currently serving a minimum of 9 years in jail for armed robbery and kidnapping.

Art in the community

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W

e want to support new and up-and-coming artistic talent in the Valencian Community.

Each month we’ll choose one artist at random and devote a page to that artist and a sample of their work.

Name| Juan Carlos Pedrón Rico Location| Valencia What’s available| Paintings, drawings and illustrations.

History| Studied at la Facultad de Bellas Artes de San Carlos in Spain and Bellas Artes de Dijon in France, specialising in painting and drawing.

Website| www.carlospedron.carbonmade.com Email| soyocarlos@gmail.com Phone| 666 641 939 Prices| €500 - €2000 depending on the format.

If you or anyone you know would like to feature in our art pages, contact us at invlceditor@gmail.com.

Art to see

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V

Intermediate

alencia is an art lover’s dream (and most galleries are nice and cool). This month we focussed on one of Valencia’s greatest collections.

The Museum of Fine Arts, Museo The square towers are located on de Bellas Artes, is one of the elite the other side of the Turia river Spanish museums renowned bed, set over 2 floors, rooms for owning a vast collection of linking from one to another, renaissance artwork. It has over from century to century following 2000 piece of arts following the an array of different themes, specialising in the 18th century evolution of centuries and their Gothic style. I was captivated themes (including many pieces by the opening gallery; it was from the golden age). It includes a “master of arts” set in gold the collection of magnificent embossed altarpieces from the artwork from the baroque movement, including local Valencian Miguel March 15th century renaissance period. Within this era (above). Many upcoming artists take inspiration painters were able to develop their art with new from his work, including one based in London, techniques and experiment with new structures.

Andrei Bairov (below).

It allowed artists to paint a range of religious and historical images within one piece. Although set in The museum was started as an academy of painting, the renaissance period, the Gothic style is clear to sculpture and architecture in 1753; in 1837 the see from the decorative ornate frames. government confiscated all the artwork from churches and As well as the works of art, it monasteries and grouped them also exhibits a vast collection together to form the current of drawings and engravings, collection. In recent years it has interesting archaeological had a boost; renovations and material and sculptures from expansions began again in 1986 the times of the Romans to the and continued until 2003 with Visigoths. If you enjoy your art, the final construction of the you will love this. pavilion on the west wing.

Rebecca French San Pio V, 9, VLC. T.963 870 300

www.museobellasartesvalencia.gva.es

Tues - Sun 10am-8pm

06/10/1941 Florida. Two men go to the electric chair. They were named Will Burn and Frizell. They lived up to their names.

A little help

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Tuesday| Group| Intermediate +

Wednesday| Group| Lower-intermediate

Rhyme and usage.

Descriptions.

Note 6 words on the board and divide your students into two or more teams.

Identify an object, e.g, a pencil and divide your students into groups. Give each group the object, or a good description of the item.

Each team has 5 minutes to find a word which rhymes with the words on the board, and invent a sentence where the word is used.

After the time is up, each student reads the word and the sentence, and writes it on the board. 1 point is given for a correct word, and 2 points for the correct use of the word in the sentence.

Each group must identify and write down as many uses for the object as possible. Encourage them to think creatively.

Award points for the team with the most uses or the most creative answers.

After points have been given, correct the sentences and discuss.

06/10/1988 Italy. A lion tamer tries to stop two lions mating during a live show. Anyone who has tried to stop two dogs doing this will realise how dangerous this would be with lions. Luckily he survived the attack.

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Health| Shiatsu

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uropean attitudes are changing due to a growing interest in using non-chemical options to improve health and reduce the likelihood of future health problems. As one option is Shiatsu, we met up with Shiatsu Practitioner Magnus Stanke to find out more.

1. So tell me, in layman terms, what is Shiatsu?

7. Irrelevant?

Shiatsu is a massage technique that was developed Look, if you in Japan in the 1970s. It combines aspects of have a headache Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) with Western and you take an Anatomy and Physiology, as well as Psychology. aspirin – do you 2. So it’s ‘Alternative Medicine’? feel better?

Semantically speaking, I prefer the term Sometimes. ‘complementary’. There is no question of replacing Exactly. But that Western Medicine. For anything acute, a broken doesn’t mean you arm, a ruptured appendix, there is no ‘alternative’. stop believing However, as complementary treatment Shiatsu in aspirin, does works a treat. It boosts our body’s own immune it? What you system and helps heal all kinds of injuries, interior believe or not is or exterior. Generally speaking, Western Medicine totally personal. is good for short-term, and TCM based therapies ASA, the active ingredient of aspirin, causes certain (i.e. Shiatsu, Acupuncture) are excellent for long- physiological reactions in our body, and so does term treatments. But the real strength of Shiatsu Shiatsu. If your headache is caused by thickened lies elsewhere. blood then ASA will make it go away. If it was 3. The suspense… Go on, tell us! caused by anything else…

The concept of disease/health is radically different 9. So if you press the right pressure points, Shiatsu in China. You don’t go to the doctor because you’re will work likewise? ill but because you want to stay healthy. The theory Yes. And no. Zen Shiatsu is highly individualised. is that if you deal with energetic imbalance before It doesn’t treat the complaint but the person who is it turns malignant, you avoid getting ill. So a bad complaining. So yes, treating the correct points will Chinese doctor would have many sick patients while bring improvement, but a practitioner determines a good one would have mostly healthy ones. which points to use as much according to the person 4. And when you say ‘energetic’ you mean…? as the symptoms. …a sophisticated web of energy channels 10. Is Shiatsu ‘Acupuncture without needles’? (meridians) that cover our entire body. In perfect In a nutshell, yes. We treat the same points balance, energy runs smoothly along and between but, unlike acupuncturists, we also work on the these meridians. In reality there is always a leak or a Meridians between the points. blockage somewhere.

11. Do you use oils?

5. How would this manifest itself?

No. Shiatsu is applied through clothing. The receiver Aches, pains, head–neck–shoulder tension, mood lies on a futon or sits on a stool. swings, sleeping disorders, anxieties, period pains, 12. How can I find a good Shiatsu Practitioner? lack of appetite, digestive problems, hormonal The academic recognition of Shiatsu in the issues, irritability… the list is virtually endless. UK is improving all the time. The qualification 6. What if I don’t believe in New Age cures? from the Zen School of Shiatsu where I studied To be frank: that’s totally irrelevant. is now recognised as a full University degree.

Unfortunately, in Spain we’re still years away from any comparable recognition. My advice would be to rely on a mixture of qualification (the practitioner’s) and gut instinct (your own).

13. And finally, what does it feel like?

For most people it’s very relaxing. A fellow therapist reminded me recently that we can only improve people’s well-being as much as they themselves want to get better. In other words: people who take responsibility for their own bodies and their own health tend to be happier, healthier and less reliant on chemicals.

Magnus Stanke, www.shiatsuvale.com Facebook: Shiatsu Vale Valencia 07/10/1956 England. A year after he introduces Fish Fingers their creator Mr. Birdseye dies. It is unknown if the two things are related.

Charity|Microfinance - KIVA

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Advanced

There has been a litany of humanitarian disasters over the past decade, be they natural or man-made, they have generally had one thing in common: the people least capable of dealing with catastrophe are the ones faced with it - namely the poor.

With each fresh appeal for public donations comes the media suggestion that potential donors are suffering from ‘compassion fatigue’. This horrible phrase is the media’s way of saying that the angry ‘Live Aid’ generation have become desensitised in the face of increased suffering around the world.

The explosion of microfinancing in the last decade would suggest otherwise. Perhaps this generation is looking for a more productive and sustainable method of supporting people in need.

Microfinancing or microlending is a model, which provides the working poor with access to credit that they would normally not be able to source.

At the forefront of this movement is KIVA (www. kiva.org). Kiva means ‘support’ or ‘agreement’ in Swahili and over the last five years this San Francisco-based NGO has facilitated more than $156 million in loans for the working poor.

Kiva have taken the corporate model of outsourcing and applied it to nonprofit lending.

Kiva facilitates the transfer of loans (donations) to entrepreneurs in developing countries through field partners. In other words, when you make a donation ($25 minimum) you select the entrepreneur you wish to donate to. The entrepreneur will receive the agreed loan amount (your donation plus those of other lenders to make up the full amount) and will have to repay the loan over an agreed term. When the loan is repaid it is credited to your Kiva account and you may choose another entrepreneur to lend to.

Kiva do not charge interest on the loan or fees to the lenders. They have come in for some criticism due to the high interest rates charged by their field partners, however this is due to the cost of administrating the loan and because the loans are often very small in percentage terms the interest rate can seem very high.

The World Bank estimates that there are now more than 7000 microfinancing organisations working worldwide in an industry worth $2.5 billion.

To date, Kiva have helped more than 400,000 entrepreneurs in over 200 countries and have a 98.85% repayment rate.

A cursory glance will show that loans primarily go to women in developing countries, a statistic

© John Briggs that bucks the trend. 82% of Kiva loans have gone to female entrepreneurs whereas normally NGO programs favour male projects at a hugely disproportionate level.

Kiva feels that improving the status of women in the family and community in areas where women have little mobility and power sends a strong message.

‘Women have become more visible and are better able to negotiate the public sphere. Women own assets, including land and housing, and play a stronger role in decision making.’

Kiva operate on the basis that, ‘people are generous by nature, the poor are highly motivated if given the opportunity and that by connecting people beyond financial transactions they can help to build a global community; expressing support and encouragement.’

At a time when the word ‘finance’ seems tainted, the non-profit world of microfinance wishes to promote, ‘dignity, accountability and transparency’. Perhaps we can combat compassion fatigue, renew our generosity and put our money somewhere where it can have a long-term, sustainable impact.

By Eoghan Ryan

A little help

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Y

ou can’t always do everything yourself. So if you’re making changes this summer, from small jobs in the home to something more dramatic, here are some companies for you to consider.

Thursday| Group| Intermediate Give instructions.

Split your group into pairs. One member of the group is to give instructions, the other to follow the instructions. The person following instructions cannot do anything unless s/he is told to.

Give your students an activity which they must carry out - e.g. write a letter, put it in an addressed envelope, and seal it.

If you want your business to be seen by members of the Valencian Community, please contact us to discuss how we can help - invlceditor@gmail.com

Competion & Golf

Books

S

cience: A History – John Gribbin

When I was at school my science teacher would embark upon a new experiment with this dreamy smile on his face that convinced all of us that he was either: a) weird and possibly insane b) on drugs and probably insane c) some sort of genius and definitely insane. Either way, that smile freaked me out as I could not understand how such a boring subject as science could produce such a blissed-out response in my teacher – he was high on photosynthesis, drunk on the Periodic Table, inebriated by Brownian motion...and I was turned off science – it seemed for a lifetime – by his inability to transfer his passion for the subject to us - his students.

So after half a lifetime of ignoring science in favour of the arts, it was a pleasure and a surprise to discover writers like Carl Sagan, Richard Dawkins and the less-known John Gribbin. What all of these writers have in common is the ability to write about science, not as a dry and abstract academic subject only accessible by experts, but as a living, evolving and fascinating ongoing adventure in understanding our world and our place in it.

Gribbin’s ‘Science: A History’ starts in the 15th Century and takes us from the Renaissance and the Enlightenment right through the history of scientific ideas and the people who developed them up to the present. Along the way we meet such giants of thought as Galileo, Newton and Darwin of course but also lesser-known figures such as Priestley (who discovered Oxygen), Cavendish (who weighed the Earth in the 1790s!) and Mendel (the pioneer of Genetics).

Gribbin makes his subject come alive by explaining difficult concepts in terms that can be understood by a non-expert like me (a scientific dumbo I admit). He also describes the lives of the individuals who devoted themselves (often with little reward or recognition) to the mammoth task of understanding the world in all it’s infinite complexity. Science boring? Who was I kidding? The story of science is a dramatic adventure and Gribbin is a master storyteller. You want a great plot? Read the story of the air you breathe, the water you are made of, and the space you inhabit – it’s a page turner.

Iain Armstrong

W

ow, for the name the magazine competition we had the most competition entries so far. Some of you had over 20 suggestions each for our new name. Thank you so much to everyone who emailed us, called us and cornered us in the shop and the bars!

After lengthy discussion and based on the views of a mixed selection of our readers, we have chosen a name which is a combination of two suggestions from one reader. So we’ve a lot to live up to as we start a new chapter with our new name, inVLC. Congratulations to our winner Guy Alexander Bell from Lliria, we hope you enjoy your prizes.

It’s a big step to alter the name to inVLC, and we hope that you are happy with the choice, and continue to look for the magazine each month for information, news and entertainment in the Valencian Community. We made this change based on your views, and we’re always happy to hear your opinions and ideas on how we can make this magazine better for you.

T

his month’s competition| the prize goes to the name drawn from the hat for the answer to the following question - what is the official name given to the handsome fellow on the front cover? Answers to invlceditor@gmail.com by 31st September.

Friday| Group| 1st Certificate Word association.

Student 1 thinks of a word eg, Dog. Student 2 must think of an associated word eg Cat, then student 3, student 4 etc.

To add excitement, set a time limit of 5 seconds for each person to think. If the person can’t think of a word, you could set a forfeit.

The results of the competition played with the Edetania Golf Society at El Bosque in September.

09/10/1940 England. Moderately successful musician John Winston born to Mr. and Mrs. Lennon in Liverpool. ‘All you need is love’ he once sang. Apparently not - you also need a bullet-proof vest.

Events & Classifieds

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I

f you’ve got an event coming up, drop us an email and we’ll try to give it a mention in the next issue.

Markets| 8.30am-1pm Tues Montserratt and Lliria, Thurs Alaquas, Friday & Sat Torrent.

Rastros| Rastro Montroy| 3 Oct| Calle La Pau, Cindy/Nicolas, 960 80 25 13 or 695 100 540.

Olocau Rastro| Social Club Centre, Urb, La Lloma, Olocau, Last Sun of the month 10am-2pm, local charity fund raising, food & refreshments available. Tables not supplied.

Carolyn 962555819 or 664809608.

Masia Rastro| Sun 19th Sept, Mas Pavia Restaurante, Masia Pavia Urba, Nr Monserrat Pitches are FREE, just turn up, Stallholders from 9.15am. Amanda 625819734 or sparklesinsunshine@gmail.com.

29th October, rock concert at the Centro Socio Cultural de L’Eliana. The Dragon bar in L’Eliana is arranging a concert featuring local groups to raise funds for Medicos Sin Fronteras (a charity with which the bar works closely).

Entrance €7.50. Contact csnogard@hotmail. com or Facebook - The Dragon L’Eliana.

The monthly bike meeting of VLC will take place as usual on the first Friday of the month. This aims to promote bikes and bike safety in VLC. Place| Plaza de la Virgin, VLC 7.30pm

Are you bored of waiting for customers to come to your business?

Advertise with us!

Email invlceditor @gmail.com

A

re you buying, selling or donating? You can put a free advert in here for a month.

Just email us at invlceditor@gmail.com and we’ll try to get it into the next issue.

Cement mixer - nearly new. €80 685878640.

Upright, tall, Gas Patio Heater hardly used, in perfect working order. €80.

962129410/628146802.

Table, 5 foot round, rare South African yellowwood with 8 chairs, €400. Matching lazy suzy, €540.

Doug 962127771 Villa Contents Sale. Sun 26th Sept. 10am -1pm.

No earlier. Furniture, tools, TV, cupboards, kitchen equipment, DVD’s, books...

Directions: On the CV 50 Turis end, heading towards Montroy. 1km from Turis Co-Op. Round sharp right bend, take left narrow turn. Just after the left turn, sign says 60.5. Look for arrows.

Precaution, there is a narrow track towards the villa. Park on grass.

Delivery service provided at a charge.

Refreshments & cakes avail. Amanda 625 819 734 or sparklesinsunshine@gmail.com.

2 x large electric fires, 2000W, 3 bedside lockers, white garden table, 4 folding chairs for same, sun umbrella, reclining sun bed (white) electric document shredder, fan @ heat controls with blower, 2x tool boxes with 3/4 draws.

Various contents, mechanics sockets, spanners, screwdrivers, files, hacksaws, micrometers, 2 x electric drills, 1 heavy duty Bosch, 1 lighter weight brand new in box. Many other tools, garden & mechanics.

Monserrat, Avda Ribera Alta, 962999036

09/10/1967 Vallegrande Bolivia. Asthmatic Argentinian doctor, motorbike enthusiast and left wing revolutionary Ernesto Guevara shot and killed in schoolhouse by the CIA sponsored Bolivian army.

Recipe| Sailor’s Clams 1 kg clams (Serves 4 people.)

4 cloves of garlic, minced 1 spoonful of flour 3 spoonfuls of olive oil 150-250 ml white wine Handful of parsley, finely chopped 400g spaghetti or linguine cooked al dente Bread for soaking up the sauce!

We are lucky here in Valencia to have access to a variety of fresh seafood. If you walk into any grocery store or market you are bound to find tidy mesh bags of mussels and clams, succulent octopus, fresh squid, and plenty of fish.

Sailor’s Clams, otherwise known as (Almejas a la marinera) is a simple dish that you can prepare quickly with minimal ingredients.

Clams are high in protein, a good source of Vitamin A, and an excellent source of iron, Vitamin C, and Vitamin B12. These are all good things to give you or your kids a strong start heading back to school.

Vitamin A is good for eyesight, Vitamin C can help your body resist illness, Vitamin B12 plays a role in producing and releasing energy, and the protein will keep your stamina up for the long nights of study!

The major bother with eating clams is the crunch of sand that often comes with each bite. The best way to make sure that your clams are sand-free is to let them sit in the fridge for 24 hours in salted water. When you are ready to cook them, lift the clams out of the water (don’t pour the water over the clams as it’s full of sand!). Put the clams in a bowl of unsalted water for 30 minutes before cooking.

|30| Directions| Rinse the clams well with fresh water and drain in a colander before cooking (see previous column). Heat the olive oil over low to medium heat in a large frying pan. Add garlic and sauté for 3-5 minutes. Just as garlic begins to brown (do not let it burn!) add flour and continue to cook while stirring for 2-3 minutes. Now add the clams and 150 ml of the white wine. Turn heat to medium-high. Once the wine is boiling the clams should begin to open and should finish cooking in 5-10 minutes. Stir occasionally while cooking to make sure clams receive even heat.

The sauce should be the consistency of broth. Add more wine if you need to thin the sauce and cook for a few more minutes to cook off the alcohol.

Remove clams from heat.

Any clams that have not opened or have opened only slightly should not be eaten. It can indicate that they were not alive when you bought them and might not be safe to eat. Discard them before serving.

Mix clams and sauce with cooked spaghetti in a large serving bowl and sprinkle with parsley.

When serving make sure each person receives plenty of clams and some of the delicious sauce!

Lia Wallon reLIAble eats www.reliableeats.blogspot.com

Wow factor| People think cooking seafood is

difficult, but this dish will prove them wrong!

Effort| Easy. Very little hands on preparation.

I

n Sudoku, every row & column of 9 numbers & 3x3 box must include all digits 1-9 in any order.

For the number puzzle, each letter is represented by a number 1-26. Crack the code! 3 letters are already in place to get you started.

12/10/1968 Mexico. First Olympics to introduce sex testing for women and also the first to see an athlete disqualified for drug taking. The drug in question was alcohol!

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S

ince the days of Little Red Riding Hood, wolves have been plagued with bad press.

And now their profiles have raised again with the popularity of the Twilight books and films. Rather than break the mould, writers have cast these canine pariahs yet again into the traditional role of all things evil and dark. Greater than the worry that there aren’t enough positive role models in the wolf acting arena, is the concern of any new wolf backlash.

In northwestern Spain, a small pocket near us in Sierra Morena and in northern Portugal there are the last remaining Iberian wolves (Canis lupus signatus).

The name Signatus stems from ‘marked’ to reflect the light and dark marks on the tail, legs and mouth). This striped breed live in the forests and enjoy hanging out in small packs.

There used to be Iberian Wolves in most of the Iberian Peninsula but in 1816 Spain, the Principality of Asturias passed an act paying out for their deaths at 160 reales for an adult wolf and 32 for a wolf cub.

Extermination campaigns during the 1950s and 60s reduced numbers down to 0nly 400 and the continued hunting in northwest Spain is keeping the figures reduced.

There are calls to end the hunting and to protect the animal but they’re struggling against the reputation

Animals of evil, and the desire for pest and disease control.

In some countries wolves are hunted for their fur, or their medicinal effects - in Mongolia sprinkling food with powdered wolf rectum is said to cure haemorroids. There is talk however that the Iberian Wolf population is defying the hunters with slight growth and expansion to the South and East.

There are some benefits to keeping the wolf alive - in their food chain they hunt and kill the growing numbers of the Lion King favourite, the aggressive wild boar, in turn helping the animals which the boar prey on.

Even in language it is ingrained with negativity, such as the reference to sexually aggressive men (unlike the sleeker, better PR’d fox), or to describe a rather vulgar eating method ‘wolfing it down’ (eat food hurriedly). Perhaps a new marketing for the shy but family orientated and loyal animal is required.

Although unlikely, should you actually meet a real wolf, your chances of survival are high. The advice is to step towards it shouting, singing loudly and waving in the air (to appear bigger). The shy creature will probably try to outstare you, then it will run like the clappers in the opposite direction.

Names| Pup Age| 6 months Health| Vaccinated and castrated.

Size| Large.

Personality| Bright, friendly, faithful.

Appearance| German Shepherd / Husky More info| P.E.P.A on 650 304 746 www.pepaspain.com

Finished with your inVLC ? Pass it on to a friend..!

ENGLISH COURSES 2010-2011 OCTUBRE A JUNIO

CURSOS GENERALES Cursos de inglés general para niños, jóvenes y adultos

CURSOS ESPECIALES Cursos de Conversación y Business English

FECHA PARA CONCERTAR CITA a partir del 1 de septiembre FECHA DE MATRÍCULA a partir del 14 de septiembre T 96 339 29 80, Avd Cataluña 9 46020 Valencia

www.britishcouncil.es

BRITISH COUNCIL — 70 YEARS IN SPAIN

UNIVERSIDAD DE CAMBRIDGE Cursos preparatorios para los exámenes de la Universidad de Cambridge