inVLC Magazine by inVLC Magazine

the mo st ake M

y la amo.

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the Valen of c

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Valencia holds court! ALSO| A clash of Kings| What’s happening in Valencia| ¡Aprende inglés con nosotros!| and much more...

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Stay on top with Valencia’s News Free in Valencia keeps the budget safe Valencia community - we stop in Játiva I heart Valencia - the kings saddle up! Our bar of the month, L’Ermità Lia’s restaurant of choice, Santa Companya Your photos for ‘happiness is...’ Declan looks to the greener future Learning English - some helpful websites The newcomer John tells us how it is Sport - football, tennis and motor-racing Talking teaching explains phrasal verbs We look at what’s out at the local cinema Expat life - from a different perspective Live music & releases for those wet afternoons We see up and coming artists Art to see - what’s on and where Magnus’s DVDs give us Rainy day relief The healthy Goji Berry might change your life Charity - cycling is the future Books, Competition & Golf Events & Classifieds keep you in the know Our banana bread recipe is a winner We look at the meaning of our animals A big hand to Bradford from Orange Idiomas & designer Dave for their invaluable help!

e can finally see the end of the summer and the beginning of the autumn. Beach trips become more and more scarce as the days go by, but there’s always something going on in Valencia. Check out what’s happening in the sports world on page 16 and, for those of you keeping an eye on the funds, check out the free section on page 5. We’ve gone from strength to strength since taking the magazine over in June and you can see this by looking at the variety of contributors that have joined our team. A big thanks to all of them and to you: the readers. Our new name has given us exactly what we needed in order to finally make the magazine our own and take it into the direction that we want to go. We hope you are enjoying it.

This month we’ve got the usual favourites with I heart Valencia, see the wonderful village of Játiva in the Valencian community section and a huge welcome back to the live music section and our new photos page (don’t forget to send us your photos! - this month’s theme is autumn). We have new advertisers joining us this month, supplying everything you need to visit or live here. Don’t forget to say that you saw their advert in inVLC! For those of you just settling into life here in the Valencian Community, this is the magazine for you. We’ve got a variety of content across 32 pages for you to enjoy over the last of those warm nights with a coffee or a caña. Happy reading, Andy, Kelly & Sean

A lo largo de esta revista encontrarás distintos niveles de dificultad indicados en la parte superior de cada página y recuadros con vocabulario debajo del texto. Para la pronunciación hemos incluido la fonética. Además, cada color se refiere a un determinado nivel como se indica a continuación.

Intermediate First certificate Advanced

A huge thank you to Clara & Javi for proofing the translations!

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 accuracy in this magazine but we do not accept responsibility for any unintentional errors or omissions. Any opinions given in the magazine are just that – opinions – and as such they may differ from the reader’s own. We aim not to offend and do not guarantee the accuracy or reliability of any advertisements placed in the magazine. Deposito legal| V-816-2006

Contact information email| invlceditor@gmail.com phone| 639 740 746 - English speakers phone| 628 831 400 - Spanish speakers If you have any thoughts, comments or complaints, please email or phone us. If you are interested in advertising with us, please use the same details.

We use CreatorSilk paper which is chlorine free & the wood used in this paper is from sustainably managed forests. We do this because we’re nice & 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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nvironmental| Valencia is leading the way once again with the opening of the first Carbon Footprint Office in Spain. It’s primary function will be to advise companies and fu individuals on ways which they can reduce their in ‘carbon footprint’. Carbon footprints are a way of measuring the impact of our everyday actions on the environment. These include not only driving our cars and heating our homes but also take into consideration things such as the environmental damage caused by throwing out rubbish and the energy consumed when making and transporting goods. To assess your personal impact, take the test at www.carbonfootprint.com/calculator.aspx. (VIB News)

ward Winners| We don't often single out businesses for a special mention but we couldn't help but be impressed with local business owners Conor Wilde and Susi Guerra of Spain and Property in Montserrat. At the Europe & Africa Property Awards 2010 gala night held at the offices of Bloomberg TV in London they won the 'Best Property Finder Award' helping to show that Spanish-based businesses can hold their heads high among the very best. The company will now compete in the world finals on November 27th. We wish them all the best. For more information go to www.spainandproperty.com.

ransport| The new AVE high speed train service between Valencia and Madrid will start on 18 December 2010. 13 trains will operate daily with a train every hour in each direction at peak times. Each train is capable of carrying over 350 passengers and reaching speeds of 330kms per hour. RENFE hope that the new line will carry some 2.8 million passengers each year and that travelling times between the two cities will be around 90 minutes. This combined with Ryanair’s increased flights to and from the city from November should provide a welcome shot in the arm for the city’s businesses.

ulture| Mystery surrounds the origins of the Misteri d’Elx (Mystery of Elx) which is the play to be performed in the Basilica de Santa María in the city of Elche from the 29 September to the 1 November (see right). Legend has it that the play was written by angels and washed up in an ark on a beach in May 1266 although more recent scholarly dating attempts seem to think it was more likely in the late 1400s. Usually performed every August, each second year, including this year, it is also performed in the run up to All Saints Day on the 1 November. It promises to be an incredible experience. More information at www.misteridelx.com

14 October 1977. Madrid. Legendary crooner and actor Ba-Ba-Ba-Ba-Bing Crosby drops dead on a golf course. It is unknown if he was going for a ba-ba-ba-ba-birdie at the time.

ant to see the Valencian Community on the cheap? Every month we’ll list some great spots where you can enjoy Spanish culture, nature and have some good cheap fun. You’ll find us: 1| looking at the faces in the old pipe work. See below. 2| going to enjoy the jazz for only €3 at the Botanic Gardens in Valencia on 23rd October at 7.30pm. Go to www.jardibotanic. org/index.php for more information. 3| visiting the new monolith on La Alameda de Jaume I (see I Heart Valencia) in Játiva. This recently constructed piece has been built to welcome tourists to our beautiful city (on page 6).

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Free/cheap in Valencia

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Email us your favourite free spots to invlceditor@gmail.com Visitors to some small Northern English churches will find that their oak pews have been ‘signed’ by the constructor. It’s hard to find any way of saying ‘we did this’ in a church without it looking like crass commercialism, so visitors will be staring, bemused, at a small carved field mouse running along the wood, half hiding as field mice will. In Póvoa de Varzim in Portugal, the pavements and buildings are covered in odd geometrical symbols – stars, crosses, squares and rows of lines. It will take a while to notice the link to the fishing boats: each boat with its symbol representing a particular generation of fishing family.

CALL NOW! 96 131 0522 WE SPEAK ENGLISH! COMPUTERISED SPINAL CHECK IN THE CENTRO QUIROPRÁCTICO DE ROCAFORT

FREE spinal check Plaza San Sebastian, 8 Bajo 46111 ROCAFORT available

Here in Valencia, you will find another example of makers’ marks, as subtle as the mouse. You will need to tear your eyes away from the grand architecture, the wonderful art and the shops, and study the drainpipes from this city’s guttering. There you will find a crowd of tiny faces moulded into the pipe work. Some will be old and worn in, some smoothed by years of paint. Some will be clean and fresh with clear features and bright eyes staring back at you. These distinctions don’t matter; what is important is the many forms these faces take. These are children, women, men, grotesques of seemingly different ages and this is the mark or trade of the foundry that made them.

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!

14 October 1987. Nepal. When his contact fails to show on a flight to Hong Kong, a smuggler flushes 52 gold bars down an airplane’s toilet. Clearly with that amount of hand luggage he wasn’t flying Ryanair.

Valencia community| Játiva

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have to admit I had passed through Játiva (or Xátiva) a number of times before I actually managed to get off the train and have a look around. For many people, this is often the case as this small city (population of 30,000) acts as a hub for most onward journeys to Albacete, Murcia and southern Spain. Famous for silk during the reign of the Roman overlooking the valley below. Throughout history, Empire, mentioned by poets Ovid and Catullus, the castle has passed through the hands of various and the first place in Europe to manufacture paper people: the Almoravid dynasty took it in 1092, the thanks to Arabs from Al-Andalus; Játiva is as Governor of Valencia – Marwan Adb-al-Aziz took if from them in 1145, in 1171 it fell into the hands of steeped in history as most places in Spain. One can only wonder how it would look now had the Almohades until Jaume I finally took it back in it not been burnt to the ground by order of King 1244 after a five-month siege. It was two years after Felipe V in 1707. This single act would rid the city Jaume’s victory when he repopulated the area with of most of its rich Muslim heritage. King Jaume I Aragonese and Catalan settlers. Other sights to see in Játiva include el Museu (see page 8) also started his Crusade here in 1239. Briefly a provincial capital until the territorial de l’Almodí. The museum itself occupies two division of Spain in 1822, it had a brief change of buildings: l’Almodí and Mercaderías, both of which name to San Felipe until this was more than likely are fine examples of what Moorish architecture deemed inappropriate after what the place and the was left after Felipe V got his hands on the place. Interestingly enough, this is also where you’ll find a people suffered because of him. Thankfully, the wonderful castle was not portrait in honour of Felipe’s insulting destruction destroyed. It still crowns the top of Mount Bernisa and subsequent renaming of their fair city: a single, and is visited regularly by tourists and locals. If simple painting of the monarch, hung upside down you are lucky enough to still be able to pass as a in the main hall. 15th Century building La Iglesia de student, entry to the castle will cost you a mere San Francisco is also worth a visit as is La Colegiata Euro (likewise if you’re a pensioner). If you’re not Basílica, which is from the same century. Many examples of gothic and baroque able to pull either of these off then you’ll be fishing out €2 so you’d better start saving those pennies. architecture can be seen throughout the city. It’s I will warn you though, it’s quite a walk to the top not too easy to get lost because of the castle, which and I’m not sure how close to the top you can get is always visible wherever you go. If you want to be by car. It’s well worth it though as you can spend a safe, just pop into the Tourist Information office on good few hours looking around. Alameda Jaume I, 50 or you could check out their The castle itself stretches along the mountain website (www.xativaturismo.com) if you like your top and inside there are many buildings and trips to be well planned. gardens to get lost in and various lookout points

1563 15 October 1964. USSR. JFK’s opposite number, Soviet Premier Kruschev is relieved of his duties while holidaying at the Black Sea. Whilst upset at this he was probably happy he wasn’t relieved in the same way the US President was.

Valencia community| Játiva

You won’t be short of places to go out to eat or drink in Játiva either. Local gastronomy consists of the usual Valencian diet: rice. In addition to paella, you’ll find l’arròs caldós (a kind of soupy rice dish), l’arròs al forn (an oven-cooked rice dish with various meats and black pudding) and arròs amb fesols i naps (very similar but with beans and turnips). If you find yourself here in April, you’ll be lucky enough to see the Concurs Internacional d’Arros al forn, which is when the art of making these dishes is celebrated and those who make them well are suitably honoured. If these types of dishes are not your cup of tea, don’t worry! There are plenty of places to grab a pizza or even a McDonald’s if you’re feeling really adventurous. Whatever your culinary preferences may be, Játiva is well worth a visit and a definite ‘must see’ if you’re in this neck of the woods. Just take that step off the train and enjoy. For loads more information on the towns around Valencia, and for an opportunity to practice Spanish, check out www.pueblos-espana.org.

Car| By car from VLC you take the A7 south and take the N-340 exit. From Alicante it’s the same, but go north or you’ll end up in the sea.

Train| (from VLC only) 30-50 minutes. The slow train is cheaper. Return should cost about €10. Return part of the journey is valid for fifteen days. www.renfe.es

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Bus| Check at the bus station for times.

©Jan Harenburg 15 October 1987. UK. Weatherman Michael Fish allays viewers’ fears that a hurricane was coming. “Don’t worry, there isn’t, but ... the weather will become very windy”. Cue the worst hurricane since records began and 17 lost lives.

I heart Valencia

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Intermediate

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 els s There’s been a little bit of a change of direction this month m onth h as, iinstead nstead d off b buildings, uild ild ldiings, we we’re e going to watch two kings fight it out. Jaume de Aragón, who was King off Valencia (1239-7 (1239-76) who wa as Ki K ing ng o 7 and Henry VIII, who was King of England (1491-1527). Round Roun nd 11|| Wives Wive Wi v s - Jaume married d Leonor de Castilla C astilla when whe hen en he he was was fourteen (she was wa a nineteen). Jaume J aum aum umee had had the the marriage marr ma rria rr iage ia ge annulled ann ann nnul ulle ul led le d by Pope Po Gregory an affair with courtier Thomas Culpeper and was with swiftly executed after an investigation. IIX. X. He then married Violante de Hungría Hu His final wife Catherine Parr was originally on whom he had lots and lots of babies wh babie (see next round). After Violante was Teresa Gil de Viadure course to be decapitated because of her religious who he left claiming she had leprosy! beliefs but realised soon enough to keep her mouth Henry VIII was a glutton for punishment. He shut. She was also responsible for reconciling had no less than six wives, starting with Catherine Henry with his two daughters: Lady Mary and of Aragón who Henry had had enough off because Lady Elizabeth who were put back in the line of succession behind their half-brother Edward. of her inability to give him a son. It appears that one of the Queen’s entourage, WINNER – Henry VIII Anne Boleyn, had caught his wandering eye. The marriage was ruled out due to consanguinity and Round 2| Length of Reign - Jaume was King poor Catherine was left to rot in a monastery called of Aragón from 1213, of Valencia from 1239, of Santa María la Real in Las Huelgas. She was even Majorca from 1229, Count of Barcelona from 1213 denied access to her daughter Mary. and Lord of Montpellier from 1219 until he died in Anne wasn’t destined to last to long either. After 1276. the last in a series of failed pregnancies, Anne Henry was King of England from 1509 until he was accused of witchcraft and of having sex with died in 1547. Jaume actually lived longer, which five other men (one of whom was her brother). makes this round a little unfair. Oh well. Anne was swiftly executed and her successor Jane WINNER - Jaume I Seymour was moved into Henry’s quarters. Seymour was able to provide Henry with something that he deeply desired: a son. Prince Edward’s arrival on 24th October 1537 was to prove a bittersweet occasion as Henry’s ‘true’ wife Jane Seymour died during the delivery. A political marriage to Anne of Cleaves was suggested in order to build support against the Roman Catholic Church. A painter was dispatched to paint a portrait of Anne and the King agreed on the basis of this. Upon meeting her, Henry found her completely unattractive and famously called her a “Flanders Mare”. Another divorce was on the cards and was not difficult to get because their marriage (surprisingly) had never been consummated. Roll on number 5: Henry was delighted with Catherine Howard (Anne’s first cousin), but not for long. Henry discovered that Catherine had had

16 October 1902. UK. First institution to house violent young offenders was opened in the village of Borstal in Kent which then became the everyday phrase for this type of home.

Round 3| Legitimate Children - Jaume was a very, very busy man who had many legitimate and illegitimate children for whom he consequently began to divide up his kingdom for their inheritance. With his first wife Leonor, he had Alfonso. With his second wife Violante, he had Pedro III of Aragón (“Pedro el Grande”), Jaime II de Mallorca, Fernando (died young), Sancho (captured and killed by the Moors), Violante de Aragón (married Alfonso X el Sabio), Constanza (married Alfonso X’s brother), Sancha (became a nun), María (also followed a religious path) and Isabel (married Phillip III of France). He also had two with Teresa – Jaime and Pedro, who were in succession to the throne should something happen to all of their many half-brothers. Henry wanted a male heir to the throne because of both vanity and the idea that a daughter would not be able to continue the Tudor dynasty. Of the 5 children that Catherine of Aragón bore him (two sons and three daughters) only Queen Mary (later to be known as “Bloody Mary”) lived into adulthood. Anne Boleyn had Elizabeth (“The Virgin Queen”) and Jane Seymour had Edward (who was crowned King of England at the age of nine). WINNER – Jaume I

I heart Valencia Round 4| Illegitimate Children - After his wife Violante died, Jaume embarked on a series of relationships and had many other children: one with Blanca de Antillón - Fernán Sánchez, one with Elvira Sarroca – Jaume Sarroca and one with Berenguela Fernández - Pedro Fernández. All of whom had various lordships and titles bestowed upon them and were generously looked after. Henry had three illegitimate children. The first of which was Henry Fitzroy whose mother (Elizabeth Blount) was Catherine of Aragón’s maid-of-honour. Henry Fitzroy was later created Duke of Richmond and Somerset. Henry also had two children with Anne Boleyn’s sister whose paternity is debated to this day. Their names were Catherine and Henry Carey. Catherine went on to have 15 children and Henry became a well-respected military leader. WINNER – Jaume I for looking after his own.

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Round 5| Titles - A nice easy round here. Which of them had the most titles? Well, Jaume was King of Aragón (hence the title), Valencia and Majorca; he was also the Count of Barcelona and Lord of Montpellier. King Henry VIII was King of England, Lord of Ireland and also a claimant to the Kingdom of France. WINNER – Jaume I. More titles even though of smaller provinces rather than countries.

Who is the champion? Jaume I. Well deserved considering that he was up to all of this over 200 years before Henry was. 16 October 1854. Ireland. Famous for his writings, his wit, his jail time for homosexual practices and dying in Paris a broken man, Oscar Wildes mother gives birth to a literary genius on this day.

Bar of the month| L’Ermità

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first visited L’Ermità last year when a friend of mine had arranged to meet some colleagues after work for a few beers and chat. Making our way through the back streets of El Carmen I realised that this is how most people must have found L’Ermità over the years: by being taken there by a friend. C/ Obispe Geronimo is parallel with C/ Caballeros. It’s directly behind the Sherlock Holmes just off C/ dels Borges. It’s tricky to find, but is a great place to go for drinks in the heart of the city. Even though it’s hidden, it’s very often packed at the weekends. Back in the day it was well known as the Café dels temps. L’Ermità is small, but in a cosy way and there are always groups of friends having a laugh huddled together at the tables. There’s always a good selection of music playing in the background and you can also pick up the odd copy of Rolling Stone magazine if you’ve managed to get there before your friends. Or you could just strike up a conversation with owners Lucia, Mauricio and Pablo when they’re not completely run off their feet.

Address| C/ Obispo Don Jeronimo, 4 Beer| €2 caña Wine| €2 vaso Cocktails| €4 (aperitivos), €5 (digestivos), €6 (refrescantes), €4.50 (sin alcohol) Opening hours| 6pm – 1.30am You can enjoy their popular ‘Happy Hour’ from MonSat. Cañas and cocktails (refrescantes only) are on a special 2 for 1 deal from 8–10pm. There is live music blues/swing) every Saturday, at 9 o’clock. They have a cliente del mes’ competition, which is based on points which can be earned by drinking. It’s open every day of the week, so you’ll have plenty of opportunity to get your name on the leader board behind the bar. More importantly, as from 7 November, you’ll be able to pop along to their new intercambio nights (or “tandems” as they like to call them here) on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7–9 pm which they’re hoping to coincide with the happy hour once it’s all up-and-running.

16 October 1978. Rome. Former goalkeeper Karol Wojtyla of Poland becomes John Paul II, the first non-Italian Pope since 1542. John Paul I (his predecessor) lasted just 33 days, after dying from a suspected poisoning.

Restaurant of the month| Santa Companya

ot too far from the Torres Serrano you will find the Santa Companya. A clean, bright interior, with a few seats outside, it’s a small place but doesn’t feel crowded. Inside you can choose to sit on stools at the long bar and watch Diego, the chef, work his magic, or at wooden tables of varying sizes. It might not be a place for a quiet evening, unless you arrive before the crowds, but it’s definitely a place for high quality food in a lively atmosphere. It’s a great place to bring out of town visitors or for a fun meal with friends. The menu is neatly divided into categories and the ingredients are fresh and the flavours are clean; nothing is too heavy or laden with overwhelming sauces. The style is difficult to nail down, but you can think of it as a mix of Italian and Spanish cuisines served in a modern, fresh fashion. Dishes are moderately priced, ranging from €10-15 for most items. Dishes are creatively arranged but the beautiful presentation doesn’t mean you are missing out on taste. We started with a salad of canonigos with buffalo mozzarella, grapefruit and orange slices. While that may sound like an odd combination it was quite Although I am not a carpaccio aficionado, the first delightful and the flavours complemented each time I ate at Santa Companya we ordered a plate of other nicely. The dressing was a peppery olive oil beef carpaccio and I found it to have a surprisingly which added just as much to the dish as the main mild flavour and I would recommend it to someone ingredients. Plenty of fresh, chewy bread was who has been looking for carpaccio in Valencia. The desserts do not disappoint. We had white provided to soak up the oil as we cleaned the plate. The best dish of the evening was a puree of chocolate mousse made with Greek yogurt and potatoes, topped with a disk of foie gras, next to a cream, and dark chocolate mousse made with poached egg covered in gold salt and drizzled with nothing more than cream, served atop a buttery truffle oil. Truffle oil can be overpowering if used in almond cookie and accompanied by a caramel sauce excess, but this dish had just the right amount to and a fruit sauce. It was sweet and satisfied our bring the flavors together and make you want more. sugar craving. Of course you can’t forget the wines. Our next dish was porchetta, which was succulent Santa Companya has plenty of wines to choose from and left me hoping that the Santa Companya owners by the bottle or glass. The dishes are best shared at Santa Companya. decide to open a porchetta stand out of the front window. I’m sure there would be lines around the Not only so you can try different items, but because the flavors of one dish can be both strong and corner at lunch time if they did. delicate and can be more fully enjoyed in small portions. Whether you want to impress someone or just want to have a good dinner, this restaurant merits a visit and perhaps a few return visits as well.

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Lia Wallon reLIAble eats www.reliableats.blogspot.com

Address| C/ Roteros 21, VLC Phone| 963 922 252 Hours| Mon - Sun 7pm-2am Food prices| €10-15 on average 18 October 1926. US. My Ding-A-Ling. My Ding-A-Ling. I want you to play with my Ding-A-Ling. Classic lyrics by birthday boy Chuck Berry. Often touted as the most influential man in rock-n-roll history. And you can see why.

Your photos| Happiness is...

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Kelly Dan

Declan

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... at La

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Jorden Smith

... Sophie

Lenihan

Jeanny Greveli

...pairing drago nfly at your swimmin g pool

ach 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. Next month’s topic is ‘autumn’. Look forward to seeing your pictures.

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Green living| Private car is a dinosaur Intermediate

o say the private car is on the road to © Clix extinction sounds crazy but hear me out. I am sure that any prediction of the decline of the horse and cart when at their peak would have been considered completely idiotic too. Extinction is part of life: dinosaurs, dodos, records, cassettes, B&W TVs, cathode ray tubes, leaded petrol, gas lights, etc. The car didn’t exist 150 years ago yet now it dominates day-to-day living. Step into any street and they are all you see. I believe that the private car will disappear in 50 years, but the decline will begin in the next few years. I hope it will disappear for very real practical reasons and then we can choose a cleaner, healthier and more democratic transport system. Next time you see The next questions a car, look at it with to ask are what a “Air pollution causes 3 times more car can do and how fresh eyes and ask deaths than car accidents” much money is spent “Traffic is the biggest source of pollution” yourself how many resources are used and Levante newspaper, Thursday 23rd Sept 2010 on it every year. For all the money, time how much energy is needed to build it, use it, maintain it and, at the end and energy we spend on a car it can only take of its life, to recycle it. Consider the different metals, things from A to B and back. Most of the time it’s plastic pieces, rubber parts, oil, and petrol made parked somewhere doing nothing. When it has a of finite resources. The first resource to peak and mechanical problem it is just an expensive metal therefore, fall will be oil, which many experts predict box with 2 comfortable armchairs and a sofa. As will happen in the next 5 years. Oil not only powers a society, can we afford to invest our resources on the car but the plastic pieces and rubber parts are transport, which costs us so much money and uses our finite resources so wastefully? oil derivatives. The side effects of the private car are equally damning. Those include the contaminated air, noise pollution, deaths and injuries, pedestrian Top tip for October: stress, our taxes paid to build and maintain What| Reduce your shower time. roads/motorways/traffic lights, paid to police, Why| Heating water produces ambulances, fire brigade, hospitals, and carbon pollution, there’s an discrimination against those who don’t have energy crisis on and Spain cars and illnesses caused by contamination. suffers from water shortages. Personally I believe the transport system of Why not| I love long showers! the future will be a mix of boats, ships, trains, Benefits| Reduce water wastage, subways, trams, taxis, bicycles and walking. The reduce your water and heating bills and reduce your energy output. thing we have to do is get the mix right, each one playing its unique part. The result will be one of the basic building blocks on which we will construct a cleaner Earth. Declan Lehane

18 October 1966. London. The Queen grants a royal pardon to Tim Evans who was accused of committing the 10 Rilington Place murders. Tim Evans wasn’t around to accept it as he was hanged for the crime in 1950.

Learn Better with British Council

elcome to Learn Better: the page by British Council Valencia which will help you boost your English language learning by introducing you to online resources that are absolutely free. This month we’re looking at some resource rich sites hosted by the British Council for students and also teachers. The first site is LearnEnglish Central Learn English Central provides English language practice for everyone, but especially for teenagers and adult learners.

www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish

There are lots of things to do here including Listen & Watch, Grammar & Words, Fun & Games, Business & Work and Exams. Go to Listen and Watch for an amusing video about ‘Beans on Toast’! Next up, we have Kids

www.britishcouncil.org/kids

LearnEnglish Kids is for children who are learning English. Find games, songs, stories and lots of activities - and learn English too.

Again there are sections on Games, Listen & Watch, Read & Write, Make and Explore. Go to Games and try the Bookworm game. Fun, but frustrating. For football fans there’s lots to do on this site Premier Skills The Barclays Premier League is home to more than 300 football players from all over the world, whose first language is not English. We asked some of them about their experiences of learning a new language and living in the United Kingdom.

www.britishcouncil.org/premierskills

This site has lots of activities for students and teachers. Try the Players’ Interviews videos in the Teacher’s Area. Another useful site is LearnEnglish Podcasts

www.britishcouncil.org/ learnenglish-podcasts.htm

LearnEnglish Podcasts are a way for you to practise your English language listening skills. You can listen on your computer, or download to your mp3 player. We’ve got something for everyone - from kids to adults and from elementary to advanced level learners. They are free, and if you subscribe we will send them to you every month.

There is tons of material to help you improve your listening! You can chose from a menu of genres including ‘Big City, Small World’ (a soap opera), UK Culture, Stories & Poems and Professional. Teachers should investigate the dedicated teachers site at www.teachingenglish.org.uk. This has sections called Try, Think, Train, Talk and Transform and looks at just about every aspect of teaching. We’ll be back next month with further suggestions to help students and teachers engage with English outside the classroom.

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The newcomer| Part 1

oving to a new country is a difficult process, with personal and practical hurdles to overcome, whilst still trying to maintain a breezy positive personality that will help you find new friends, new work and cope with sticky situations. Newcomer to Valencia John Blakey shares how he’s getting on each month. Prior to moving to Since moving to Spain I had many Spanish Valencia I have been teachers - individuals determined to delve head first into a course who provided of Spanish. I am vocabulary instruction, ¡Hola! currently working pronunciation coaching; at a school teaching and most importantly non-English speakers communicated the joy of to speak English, which Spanish and the romance they do with enthusiasm, and lyricism of the determination and language. Unfortunately gusto. Guilt and Manuel from Fawlty embarrassment can Towers, Bumble Bee man be fierce motivators. from the Simpsons and Learning Spanish was Speedy Gonzales couldn’t one of the reasons to teach me anything to move to Spain, and you make me be understood would be a fool and idiot when I set foot on to think you can learn these shores. by osmosis, in fact you The first thing would be a guy flapping I learned to say in his arms in a pizza Spanish was an apology. restaurant. I can fluently explain So this week I embark that I do not speak on my first Spanish Spanish. This seems lesson with the promise to be a common initial step into the wild, and I have heard many to myself to take my time, to immerse myself in the Spanish people deliver a similar sentence to me language and the culture in order to fully appreciate in my native tongue, the difference being when the adventure of living in this brilliant country. I promise to enjoy the process of learning and they apologise for not speaking English they then go on to speak my language better than enter into it with the enthusiasm of one of the me, whereas I go on to order a chicken pizza students whom I teach. Not only because I owe by miming an Italian waiter spinning dough it to myself, and not only because it would be whilst clucking and flapping my arms like incredibly rude and insulting to a whole nation who have accepted me into their country, but because a rooster. The main problem with my failures in learning speaking Spanish will give me a whole world of Spanish is that I am forever possibilities to meet new people and experience looking for the quick fix. ‘Learn new things; because speaking Spanish is cool, and Spanish in a day’ ‘Learn Spanish because my chicken impression really isn’t very John Blakey while you sleep’, ‘Learn Spanish good at all. with Spiderman’. I have seen all these advertised on the internet and for all of them I have gone ‘ooh that looks good’. I have wasted so much time searching for the quick fix that if I had spent that time learning Spanish I would be fluent by now. 19 October 1862. France. Photographic genius Auguste Lumiere born. He developed the motion picture camera & projector called the ‘Cinematographe’ from the Greek word Kinema for ‘movement’. This led to the word ‘cinema’.

Sport

First certificate

ew balls please| Some of the world’s best tennis players are coming to the city to take part in the second Valencia 500 from 30 October to 7 November at La Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias. Last year’s winner Andy Murray returns to defend his crown against the likes of Soderling, Davydenko, Verdasco and Youzhny who are all currently in the world’s top 10. Despite being ranked as number 1 seed it won’t be easy for the British star with 8 out of the top 15 players in the world competing for the title. Tournament director Antonio Martínez Cascales said “Once again we have made a firm commitment to bring the top players and the level is going to be really high. We are very satisfied because the vast majority of the players who came last year were really happy with the venue and have decided to come back this time around. We also hope that those players who are making their debut here feel right at home at the Tournament.” Matches will be held in and around the newest Ágora building at La Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, making outstanding viewing. Tickets are available from El Corte Inglés with day tickets ranging from €27 for the opening rounds, €38 for the later rounds and €52 for the final days of play. Children get in for €10 every day including the final. www.valenciaopen500.com et your motor running| For those who like to see their sportsmen in leather, the big date for your diaries is 5-7 November and the place to be is the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Cheste. It’s the 18th and final race of the Moto GP season so you can expect a big party atmosphere when the prizes are finally distributed among the teams and the riders of these 800cc motorbikes. This will be enhanced considerably should either of the two current leaders of the Championship race, Jorge Lorenzo or Dani Pedrosa, manage to win it. The reason? They are both Spanish! And with results in many other sports going Spain’s way recently, who would bet against them? Tickets range from €40 to €200 for the day. www.motogp.com

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ootball| Determined to stay on top of the league, Valencia has a lot of work ahead of it this month. If you’re a fan of football, the two teams in Valencia are sure to entertain you with their skill and agility, so try to get yourself a ticket and go along to support them. Valencia fixtures this month| Sun 17/10 Barcelona-Valencia Wed 20/10 Rangers 20 : 45 Valencia Sun 24/10 Valencia - Mallorca Wed 27/10 UD Logroñés - Valencia Sun 31/10 Valencia - Real Zaragoza Tue 02/11 Valencia 20 : 45 Rangers Sun 07/11 Sevilla - Valencia Wed 10/11 Valencia - UD Logroñés Sun 14/11 Valencia - Getafe Levante fixtures this month| Sun 17/10 Levante - Real Sociedad Sun 24/10 Espanyol - Levante Wed 27/10 Deportivo Xerez - Levante Sun 31/10 Mallorca - Levante Sun 07/11 Levante - Deportivo La Coroña Wed 10/11 Levante - Deportivo Xerez Sun 14/11 Málaga - Levante

If you fancy going to a game, the tickets are reasonably cheap, and easy to get your hands on. Buy tickets for Valencia at the kiosks at the Mestalla at Avenida de Suecia, their web page, ticketmaster.es, at any of the official Valencia football shops, or even from La Caixa. Just ask for una entrada. The seats at Grada de la Mar are cheap and have a good view. Our tip for the most exciting game is Valencia v Rangers. We’ll see you there! For Levante check the up-to-date information in www.levanteud.com.

20 October 1960. UK. Penguin books are in the dock over Lady Chatterley’s Lover. The prosecution asked ‘Is this a book you would wish your wife or even your servants to read?’ and the working class jury voted Not Guilty.

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Talking Teaching with Orange Language Academy

f there’s a sure-fire way of scaring your students; of having them throw up the barriers, startled in the headlights and looking for the closest exit, simply do this: write P______ V____ on the board and ask them what you’re going to be doing today. Keep an eye out for that shaky hand as it rises thumb over my shoulder to where it was. I didn’t into the air and the words “Phrasal Verbs” are get into the potential meanings of the ‘up’ or uttered and you’ve more than likely lost most of ‘back’ parts of the phrasal verb but it seemed that them before you’ve even started the class. So why the most important factor for his comprehension is it such a problem? And, more importantly, was one thing: context. So can we apply this in class? I’m sure most how do we get around it? I recently had a few friends around for dinner, of you have seen those ridiculous lists that your a mixture of Spanish and British. When a friend students bring in to class to show you. The ones of mine asked where I had put the frying pan, I with about one million phrasal verbs on with replied, without even thinking, “I’ve put it back only a few notes on the first page. Clearly this is up over there”.Fair enough, easily understood not the route to comprehension and then usage. I try to encourage my students to read a by the native speaker I was talking to but, to my astonishment, my Spanish friend was in awe of lot and to get them to what I’d just said. Bear in mind this friend of listen to English being mine is no starter but has almost Proficiency- used naturally even level English. “I would never even think of using though this requires a lot of a structure like that”, he said. “Sorry about self-motivation that, let’s that”, was the reply. He was probably thinking face it, sometimes is just about how much he hated me or, as a student of not there. A lot of books philology, he was probably working out how I had seem to break things just used a three-part, separable phrasal verb. down: by grouping And thinking about it now, I’ve always taught my phrasal verbs into students that three part phrasal verbs are never topics i.e. Health, separable. I’m sure I read it somewhere, didn’t I? T e c h n o l o g y , Sports etc . Wasn’t it in Practical English Usage? However you As much as we may not like or even realise approach it, when we use these Phrasal Verbs as native might speakers, what we are doing is using complex phrasal verbs in class, structures that can be potentially mind-boggling don’t forget context. Without it, your students for a non-native speaker. I asked my friend if he will be lost and who knows, one day they might had understood what I was talking about and he really need to know where that frying pan is. confirmed that he had. He knew what a frying pan was and had probably seen me point my Phrasal verb activity Dictate what you did at the Orange Language Academy has been an American wee kend, each time focussing run language school for the city of Valencia and its on a different set of phrasal provinces since 2005 offering all ver bs. types of language related Get your students to work in services. They also run the pairs and rewrite the passage. Keep it Tues and Weds language short though. Then afterwards they nights at the Portland Ale could use the same phrasal verbs to House. Find out more at talk about theirs. 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… Un grano en el culo - a pain in the arse e.g. That bloke has been a pain in the arse this month. Ese tío ha sido un grano en el culo este mes. 23 October 1987. Texas. A burglar sentenced to 7 years imprisonment made an impassioned plea to a judge on the grounds that 7 was his unlucky number. The judge in a rare show of understanding raised the term to 8.

Cinema

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First Certificate

here’s normally a lull this time of year for film releases (post-Summer, Christmas not far away, etc.) but we’ve still managed to root out ‘ones to watch’ as those gotas frías (rainy spells) become more frequent and a trip to the cinema the more sensible option. You Will Meet A Tall befriend him. Banksy – being Banksy – manages to Dark Stranger (Woody turn the camera around on the shopkeeper himself Allen)| Woody’s back and the results are typically Banksyian. Expect lots (again), bringing with him of shaky footage from handheld cameras and lots one of those tangled tales of people shouting ‘get out of here’. Interesting of love and relationships fact» Banksy’s real name is Stephen Fairey. Insert and everything they entail. girly laugh here. Babel| premiers 15 Oct, times TBC Plus, Wall Street: The plot centres around two Money Never Sleeps relationships in particular: that of Alfie (Anthony (Oliver Stone)| Perplexed Hopkins) and Helena (Gemma Jones) and that of and unsure what to expect their daughter Anne (Naomi Watts) and husband from this film and the fact that Roy (Josh Brolin). Interesting fact» Woody Allen was Shia LaBeouf (Transformers voted one of the 100 sexiest stars in cinema history 1 & 2) plays the lead opposite in 1995 by readers of Empire magazine. Incredible! UGC|12:15/14:15/16:15/18:15/20:20/22:30 & Babel| Michael Douglas (Wall Street), I was intrigued that Oliver Stone was involved. Could it fall flat on 17:00/19:00/23:00 Exit Through The Gift its face as another poor sequel or could it be the Shop (Banksy)| A much- chance to have a pop at the US, the FBI, or anything awaited documentary about else that seems to rub him up the wrong way. the all-elusive street artist UGC|12:00/15:00/18:00/21:00 (NOT the original Banksy is actually the pursuit version) & Babel| 17:00/19:30/22:30 of Banksy by an odd French UGC Cine Cité, www.ugc.es shopkeeper who sets out to Babel www.cinesalbatrosbabel.com

27 October 1901. Paris. The first recorded incident of the use of a ‘get-away car’ when thieves raced away after robbing a shop. One can only imagine the scenes with breakneck speeds at the time of up to 10km/ph.

Expat life| African Expats

s Britchat morphs into inVLC and we look to become more inclusive it struck me that we have been neglecting a section of the English speaking community here in Valencia. English speaking Africans from countries like Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya and Ghana make up a vibrant portion of the Valencian community. While not all use English as a first language, it often serves as the common language ahead of Spanish. With this in mind I sat down with Moses Omuekele, (32), from Nigeria to try and get a feel for what’s going on in the African Expat world. The conversation which followed was nothing short of remarkable. The complexity of Moses’ personal story is more than any summary in these pages can do justice to. It is a story that is a million miles from the experience of us average Europeans. But, there were recurring themes in his life and story which are common to the expat experience. Moses has been through an enormous amount of adversity in his eight years since moving to Spain. There has been extreme hardship, tragedy and exploitation. Moses’ family sold two plots of land in order for him to come to Europe, the expectation being that he would become successful and send money home to improve his family’s lives. Since being here, his mother has died from breast cancer and his younger sister from malaria. He has been home twice in eight years. Where Moses’ story and that of other Africans here is similar to that of other Expats is the support structures and camaraderie which exists. Moses didn’t know anyone in Spain when he came here in

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2002. He tells me that he knew someone in Germany and at the time having little concept of distance or geography in Europe he thought this was enough. ‘Crazy’, he laughs. It was however enough to get him a start. Somebody knew somebody who could help. Moses attends a Pentacostal church here in Valencia. He sees it as much more than just worship, it’s a place where people can go to talk, to socialise, to find support, to get a job or to find a place to live. Unfortunately, here in Europe, African stories are often seen in sweeping terms as they are presented to us in history books and the media. These impressions are often negative; stories which seem barbaric and alien to many of us. These sweeping narratives only serve to distance us from the individual stories of those who live among us. The Nigerian Union here in Valencia, works closely with Africans of all nationalities and the Embassy in Madrid. Their goal is to get as many people registered and working legally as possible. There was a big party on Oct 1st to celebrate 50 years of Nigerian Independence. Like St. Patricks day, it was not limited to one nationality but an international expat celebration. Moses may have faced some tremendous challenges but he remains positive. He wants to succeed, ‘I have a goal to accomplish here.’ His first job here earned him €300 a month, and if the weather was bad he didn’t get paid. His objective now is university. He has been refused a grant to study Business Administration in Madrid but he, “might have another possibility”. He is not about to give up and I for one wouldn’t bet against him. Eoghan Ryan

First certificate

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The ratio of Nigerians to the whole population of Africans. Nigeria’s ranking amongst the largest petroleum producers in the world. The number of years of independence from the UK.

29 October 1618. After bringing potatoes & tobacco to Europe, naming Virginia after his Queen, having a death sentence overturned after being accused of treason, Sir Walter Raleigh is beheaded after his bungle with El Dorado.

Live events

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Intermediate

f you’re stuck for what to do this month, check out our view of the best live venues in the city and the surrounding areas. Valencia has something on for everyone’s tastes and at prices which even with the crisis you won’t be concerned about. El Palau de la Música| C/ Alameda, 30 (VLC) Jimmy Glass| C/ Baja, 28 (VLC) You’ll get the odd free performance by visiting This place has been a popular jazz bar since 1991 and often features some great talent from the orchestras although some special performances local and international scene. There are duo piano are reserved for members only. Glenn Miller’s sessions every Tuesday at 22:15 and you’ll catch Orchestra will be performing on 5 November (€30the Hans Olding Quartet on 19 October for €10. 60), there’s a free display of guitar performers on 6/7 November and Valencia’s municipal band will www.jimmyglassjazz.net Music Box & Radio City| C/ Pintor Zariñera, 16 be playing on 14th Nov (free/ limited). For further information visit www.palaudevalencia.com (VLC) & Radio City C/ Santa Teresa 19 (VLC) Both are open every day of the week with visiting DJs and are popular with tourists, locals and students alike. On Tuesdays you’ll also find live flamenco music at Radio City (23:00, €7 with free drink). www.radiocityvalencia.com and www.myspace.com/themusicboxclub. Durango| Poligono Industrial La Closa (Meliana) Ever wanted to go to one of those smaller gigs where you all get crammed in and sweaty listening to great music? Well, this is the place. Visiting rock acts both Spanish and international have graced the stages here. Expect to pay €6-10 for a normal night, €12-14 for big local groups and €24-30 for the bigger acts. You need to get metro line 3 to Meliana. The Temple Bar| C/ Mendizábal, 44 (Burjassot) Open Friday to Sunday. Quaint little Spanish-owned Irish Bar with the occasional local live acts on. Inthecisos will be playing on 14th & 22nd Oct (23.30). Sala Wah Wah & Sala Matisse| C/ Campoamor, 52 & 60 (VLC) These places are right next to each other in the ‘student area’. Both places normally open from Thursday to Friday and tickets range from free to €14 depending on the night/ act. A tribute to Fito y Fitipaldis are on at Wah Wah on 29 October (22:30, €7) and check out Matisse’s ‘Noches Movistar’ which are normally free every Thursday and full of fresh Indie talent. You’ll also catch some decent exhibitions and Indie theatre at Matisse too! www.salamatisse.es and www.wahwahclub.com. Sala Loco| C/ Erudito Orellano, 12 (VLC) Worth a mention this month due to the visit Café del Duende| C/ Turia, 62 (VLC) A great place to catch some decent flamenco of psychedelic rockers The Zombies (above) on 6 November (€19-22) but also well worth keeping from Thursday to Saturday from 23:30 onwards. an eye on for rock/indie acts both local and www.cafedelduende.com international. www.lococlub.org

30 October 1938. US. Orson Welles radio production of HG Wells ‘War of the Worlds’ causes widespread panic and at least one death after listeners become convinced martians really have landed.

ach month we’ll bring you the hottest new music releases, re-releases and compilations. This month is a musical treat!

Best Album| Flaws – Bombay Bicycle Club This second album from a painfully young group (they’re about 20-years-old!) has seen them swap their electric guitars for acoustics. The results show a group equally comfortable with either medium. Lead singer Jack Steadman has an incredibly fragile and tender voice, which gives their songs an extra touch of the unique. Homage is paid to the late John Martyn on the track Fairy Tale Lullaby and they’ve even gone so far as to cover Joanna Newsome’s Swansea.

Advanced

Music

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Standout Tracks: Rinse Me Down, Ivy & Gold, Fairy Tale Lullaby, Flaws Blast From The Past| Losing Sleep – Edwyn Collins Better known for his A Girl Like You classic from 1994, this is Collins’ second album since suffering from a brain haemorrhage. Technically his first since Home Again was recorded before his illness and produced/ released afterwards. He has since been awarded an honorary Master’s degree from Buckinghamshire University for contribution to music over the last three decades. It’s interesting to hear his voice on this album which, thankfully, hasn’t been affected too much by his ordeal. Hats off to you, Edwyn. A true testament to the human spirit indeed. Standout Tracks: I Still Believe In You, Searching For The Truth Best Rock Album| Grinderman II – Grinderman Nick Cave’s side project returns this year after a widely acclaimed, self-titled debut album. Nick Cave is on top form here with a powerful, bluesy sound that has littered most of his work with The Bad Seeds. Cave’s lyrics ride over the top of this big sound sometimes mixing the hilarious with the absurd. Either way he goes, he never fails to fascinate by drawing the listener into the lives of his characters and the short stories that he conjures throughout the album. Scary? Genius? Either way, he’s able to rattle off album after album without disappointing. Standout Tracks: Mickey Mouse and The Goodbye Men, Kitchenette World Music Album| Ginga: The Sound Of Brazilian Football – Various ‘Ginga’ is the name given to the famous set of Brazilian football skills that have set the world on fire for years. Often the musical rhythm of samba and the skills have been seen as inseparable. This album is a celebration of that rhythm and captures that warmth and happiness that have become associated with Brazil. Think Mardi Gras, City of God and every Brazilian football fan you’ve ever seen on telly! Standout Tracks: Brasil, Batumata, Goleiro Best Hip-Hop Album| Mixed Race – Tricky That’s right. He’s back with a fresh offering with the dark, whispering and poetic lyrics that we’ve come to expect of him over the years. Among many of the special guests to appear on this album, Bobby Gillespie (Primal Scream) remains the most recognisable. Surprisingly upbeat at times with a mixture of those haunting bass lines we’ve become used to, this is a must listen for those of you wanting to discover Tricky for the first time with his most accessible album to date. Standout Tracks: Every Day, Hakim, Bristol to London 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,

30 October 1974. DR Congo. Ali v Foreman. The Rumble in the Jungle. Very much the underdog, Ali amazingly won by KO in the 8th. Muhammed Ali became The Greatest. George Foreman now sells toasters.

Art in the community

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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. Names| Miriam Esteve Velázquez Ana Laura Núñez Martínez Location| Valencia What’s available| Jewellery made from wire, leather and metal alloy History| Their company Saada was born from an idea of two young entrepreneurs last summer. Although not related to academic jewellery design (Miriam studied Technical Engineering Computer Science and Ana Laura came from Technology in Tourism) they decided to throw themselves into the unknown world of jewellery design. Saada means happiness in Arabic and what they want to convey to each person carrying their collection. They do special orders, unique for each client, as well as orders for weddings and other events.

Website| www.bit.ly/saadaBisuteria Email| saadabisuteria@gmail.com

Phone| 649091993 and 625983335 Prices| From 3€ a 20€

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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Intermediate

alencia is an art lover’s dream with so many different styles slotted into all manner of buildings. If you have any to recommend, let us know. Patriarch Museum| Set in the backstreets of Ampliarte| Lirious Bous 2 Oct - 12 Nov Valencia’s town centre, this converted museum Combining gallery with shop, Ampliarte offers delivers in both art and beautiful architecture. A unique and exciting exhibitions beginning mid personal guide is there to steer you around, straight month. They range from modernesque intricate into an open courtyard which, being the central paintings, to delicate illustration and some quirky point of the building has an overwhelming feeling photography. of vast space with every arch set in Italian marble The artists are up coming and aim to express a new and the outer walls decorated in original coloured style within the Valencian community. This month tiles. Founded by the archbishop of Valencia in the you can see the work of Lirious Bous. 16th Century it now houses his collection of art and “Sometimes we do not need a pen or brush to tell literature, including religious artwork, all authentic a story graphically. and some unrestored. “Simply recycle what we have at our disposal To the left of the building is the Chapel of the to create a three dimensional world to apply to Immaculate Conception, which is surrounded editorial work.” by gold ornate sculptures from floor to ceiling. Lirious Bous work is part of this idea, creating a Stepping into the church, which is mainly open on way of illustration based on modelling, building sets Saturday evenings for a small mass, is like stepping and photography. into a fairytale. Rebecca French

Calle de la Nave, 1. T| 963 514 176 Mon – Sun. 11am–1.30pm Entrance| €1.50

Pl. Miracle del Mocadoret, 10 (corner of Tapinería), www.ampliarte.com T|96 326 72 77 Free entrance Mon - Fri 10.30am-2pm & 5pm-8pm. Sat 10.30pm-1.30pm.

31 October 1926. Montreal. Magician Harry Houdini lectures a group of students about how the stomach can withstand punches. A student then punches him twice without warning. He dies from a burst appendix shortly after.

Rainy day relief

y prediction for this autumn: Rain. Less than wherever home used to be, but still rain. For me this is as good an excuse as I need to catch up with some of the best writing, directing and acting the Americans produce these days. And it’s all on TV/ DVD. We have been living in a Golden Age of Television for at least ten years, ever since the ‘Sopranos’ flickered across our boxes (to be sure, there had been forerunners, examples of how satisfyingly intelligent the medium can be when it takes its audience seriously, like ‘Twin Peaks’ or ‘Buffy’) and led the charge. Unlike a movie, a modern series can develop storylines that take weeks, months and even years to unfold. Things didn’t always used to be that way. Before box sets, before VHS and way before Play-on-Demand, if you missed an episode of your favourite show, that was that. If you didn’t plan your life around a TV schedule (and hopefully you didn’t), the type of continuity it requires to follow say ‘The Wire’ just couldn’t be achieved.

|24| The change came slowly, from the mid-1980s onwards when domestic video technology became widely affordable. At the start of the new millennium it was official: TV had come of age. Below are my top 5 favourites from the Noughties: 5. The Sopranos (7 seasons) – cojones! to the Corleones – here comes Tony. 4. Lost (6 seasons) – Love it or Hate it. But watch it from the beginning lest the Black Smoke get you. 3. The Wire (5 seasons) – HBO with all its hallmarks: strong characters, great writing and complex storytelling. Not an easy watch but highly rewarding. 2. Mad Men (currently in season 4) – slow burning but absolutely compelling. The time: 1960s; the place: an advertising agency in Manhattan. The times were a-changing. 1. Deadwood (3 seasons) – I tend to start rambling at this point…. HBO…foul mouthed…Shakespearian dialogue… crude… Calamity Jane…Wow. Needless to say, feel free to disagree. Rent yourself a boxset and indulge. Magnus Stanke

1 November 1988. Gotham City. After a readers’ poll in DC Comics, Batman’s Robin was blown up by the Joker after 48 years of being a fairly useless side-kick. Ker-BLAM!! Batgirl was killed off in the late 60s. Ker-POW!

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Health| The Goji Berry

t a recent intercambio we discussed what we would invent to make our lives better. The answers varied from language pills to body changers to money makers, but on the way home I started thinking about what already exists that improves our lives. The shops are stuffed with gadgets and gizmos, cancer and help the immune system. There have been exaggerations of the healing including those that we now take for granted. As I stuffed my fourth set of washing into the machine, I powers of this wonder fruit, found myself complaining about the time it takes to but there’s no doubting wash clothes. But go back 60 years and I would view its high vitamin and naturally my sheets with a greater disdain. So what is there helpful occurring chemical that we don’t yet use that could improve our lives? My newest adventure this week is into the Goji content. So while (or Wolf) berry. Having seen them in the health and you’re thinking of veggie shops I often wondered what they were but the gizmo that will never took the plunge. The greengrocer gave me a improve your life, don’t sheet filled with wild statements about this magical forget that nature gives you lots fruit, and although I bought them, I was still cynical of magic, and it’s in your local shops. about the marketing that I had been fed. But a Vitamin & chemical content Milligrams per 100g closer investigation actually redeems these little Calcium (bones & teeth) 112 mg (8-10% Daily ‘red diamonds’. They are generally believed to be Recommended Intake). a superfruit which can prevent illnesses, improve Potassium (blood pressure) 1,132 mg (24% DRI). your health and still taste good. Iron (develops energy, 9 mg (100% DRI). Eaten cold in deserts or mixed into something brain, immune system) savoury, simmered in tea or even made into wine Zinc (skin & immune 2 mg (18% DRI). and beer, it’s possible to benefit from this fruit in system) many ways. Generally in Europe you’ll find it dried Selenium (immune system 50 mg (91% DRI) into a little red currant form. They’re not as unusual & may prevent some as you might think, as although the commercial cancers) berries are grown in China, the berries are in many Riboflavin (vitamin B2) 1.3 mg (100% DRI) hedgerows in the UK. And they’re in the same family (develops energy) as the good old potato and my friend: the tomato. Vitamin C (immune system, Range from 29 mg 148 mg (32% - 163% DRI). They’re touted to be good for their nutrient value prevents some cancers) and antioxidant content. But what does that mean? Beta-carotene (eye-sight) 7 mg (no DRI) Well, antioxidants help prevent some diseases and Zeaxanthin (reduces sun From 2.4 mg upwards improve general health, and the belief is that Goji damage to eyes) (no DRI) berries have some benefits against cardiovascular Polysaccharides (aid blood 31% of pulp weight and inflammatory diseases, vision-related diseases sugar levels, intestine, (no DRI) develop energy) (such as age-related sight problems), have neuroprotective properties, reduce the risk of As always, check with a doctor before changing your diet.

2 November 1903. UK. A new daily paper aimed solely at women is launched for the first time. It was called the Daily Mirror. This is 100% true despite what you may be thinking.

Pedal Powered Hope - Bikes without Borders Intermediate

alencian authorities have put a renewed importance on bicycles in recent years, with the provision of additional bicycle lanes and the Valenbisi project. The importance of the bicycle has come to prominence worldwide for a number of reasons in recent years. The obvious one being the environmental impact of traffic in urban areas and the green alternative provided by a bicycle. In these leaner economic times, many professionals are leaving the car at home and opting for the cheaper and healthier mode of daily transport. Beyond our urban existence there is even more reason to turn to the bicycle. Bikes without Borders, is a relatively new NGO, based in Toronto, Canada, which is providing ‘Pedal Powered’ solutions to poor rural areas in Malawi. Malawi, one of the poorest countries in the world has huge public health problems, especially with HIV/AIDS. Its education system is completely inadequate and its infrastructure almost non-existent. Bikes without Borders provide bikes to Community Health workers and bicycle ambulances to remote rural villages. This improves access to basic health services. BWB’s Project Manager, Kristen Corbet, has just returned from their seven-month pilot project, Pedal Powered Hope, in Malawi. “We are focused on empowering community health workers and providing improved access to health care services. In the villages, health centres are difficult to access and are on average 15km away which is a great reason to not access care and therefore spread disease or illness throughout a community.”

Bikes without Borders can be found at www.bikeswithoutborders.org Unpaid Community Health Workers often walk up to four hours a day, providing basic health services such as HIV/TB screening, emergency services, health awareness and check ups. Since February, Bikes without Borders have been, “providing each Community Based Organisation with a bicycle ambulance and 1-2 bicycles that they can rotate amongst the members to more effectively reach their patients. It is very motivating for the Community Health Workers, who are very dedicated to their job. Obviously we cannot supply for the entirety of the demand but we are now well established in Zomba district and hope to expand next year if we are financially able.” Bicycles can make a huge difference when it comes to education too. With distances again the main prohibitive factor in poor rural areas, a bicycle can greatly reduce the amount of time spent by children travelling to and from school. This can mean that they don’t have to choose between school and providing for themselves and their family so they can remain in education longer. Eoghan Ryan

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A little help

ou canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t always do everything yourself. So if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re making changes this summer, from small jobs in the home to something more dramatic, here are some companies for you to consider.

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

First certificate

Books

Competition & Golf

he Great Gatsby – by F. Scott Fitzgerald I was thinking about this month’s book review and wanted to write about a classic novel that both native and non-native speakers of English could read and enjoy. I decided on ´The Great Gatsby´ as it is a wonderful novel – one of my favourites – deceptively simple in construction, beautifully written, but unquestionably one of the great American novels of the twentieth century. The Great Gatsby takes place in Long Island (near New York City) in 1922. It describes the lives of a group of rich socialites from the perspective of the narrator - an outsider, Nick Carraway – who observes them as they party, conduct love affairs and generally live life to the full, seemingly unaware of the world outside their materialistic lives. Nick meets the mysterious Jay Gatsby, a neighbour who hosts hedonistic parties that last for days. Outwardly Gatsby is affable, likeable, talked about by everyone – the centre of this self-obsessed community. Yet Nick alone seems to detect a sadness within Gatsby, regret perhaps, an ironic self-awareness that is barely perceptible beneath his confident exterior. Gatsby is in love with the ethereal Daisy Buchanan - a married woman – and has been for years. The unobtainable Daisy is perhaps the

cause of Gatsby’s quiet melancholy, or might it be something else? Some secret from the mysterious Gatsby’s past? Who is this man? Where did he come from? What really happened to him during the war? Is what he says about himself the truth, or is his life a façade – as the rumours suggest? The Great Gatsby is a short novel, yet in two hundred pages Scott Fitzgerald manages to create an incredibly vivid world. His characters are utterly human, full of the contradictions and complexities of real people. Read this novel and you will be unable to read again much of the terrible stuff that gets published nowadays – The Great Gatsby is simply so good, that everything else pales in comparison. This is a novel to read again and again, which will make you marvel at the power of words and the mastery of its author – a modern classic. Yet, it’s so simple! It’s not a difficult read – in terms of vocabulary and grammar The Great Gatsby can be enjoyed in its original version by not only native speakers of English, but also by anyone with an Intermediate/Upper Intermediate level of English. The only depressing thing is that - for those of us who aspire to write - The Great Gatsby represents such a pinnacle of writing perfection that we can only shrug and think “If only I could produce something half as good as that”. What a novel! Iain Armstrong

The position The Great Gatsby enjoys in the Modern Library’s list of the 100 Best Novels of the 20th Century.

ompetition results| The prize is winging its way to Clive Horton for identifying the handsome felly on the front of Octobers issue of inVLC as the griffin who is one of the four ‘Los Guardianes de Puente’ in Valencia. Thanks to all who took part. ovembers competition| This months treat will go to the name drawn from the hat for the answer to the following question - what’s the name of Jaume I’s second wife? Answers to invlceditor@gmail.com by 31st October.

he results of the competition played with the Edetania Golf Society at El Bosque in October.

5 November 1919. Rudolph Valentino, the worlds greatest screen lover, finally marries. However he finds that his new wife has locked him out of the bridal suite and refuses to even talk to him. The marriage lasts less than 6 hours.

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Events & Classifieds

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| Mon - Montroy, Tues - Monserrat & Turis, Weds Piccassent, L’Eliana & Villamarchante, Thurs - Alaquas & Lliria, Fri - Turis, Torrente & Chiva, Sat - Real de Montroy & Torrente, Sun - Alborache Rastro Montroy|7th Nov| Calle La Pau, Cindy or Nicolas, 960 80 25 13 or 695 100 540. Olocau Rastro| 31st Oct| Social Club Centre, Urb. La Lloma, Olocau. 10am-2pm. Raising funds for charity, food & refreshments available, Pitches are FREE, tables available €1 each. Carolyn 962555819 or 664809608. Masia Rastro| Sun 17th Oct, Mas Pavia Restaurante, Masia Pavia Urba, Nr Monserrat Pitches are FREE, just turn up, Stallholders from 9.15am. Amanda 625819734 or sparklesinsunshine@gmail.com. 29 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

Looking for customers for your business in the Valencian Community? Contact us on invlceditor@gmail.com ¿Estás buscando clientes para tu empresa en la comunidad valenciana? Ponte en contacto con nosotros invlceditor@gmail.com

23rd October. ABBA ELITE (tribute band) live at Magpies, Camp Lliria. €5 or €10 with a meal. Also a Halloween party on 30th with Fancy Dress & Karaoke, Prize for best costume.

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. Hi! I have recently moved to Valencia from the UK and am a mum with 2 little girls. I would like to meet other parents to go to parks, days out, have coffee etc. My email is nealandrosie@fsmail.net and my number is 698593963. Get in touch if you fancy joining us. Rosie. Casita for sale with beautiful picturesque mountain scenery in Tarragona. €60,000 or nearest offer. For more information, Christine on 651883751 or cbstarryeyes@ yahoo.co.uk for pictures. Fiat Cinquecento 1996, 900cc, good condition, low mileage, very economical and reliable. €650 ono. 657549430 7 November 1783. London. The last public hanging takes place at Tyburn, near Marble Arch. The hanging didn’t stop then, they just moved them indoors where it was warmer.

55g butter, room temperature (soft enough to mix easily, but not melted) 200g sugar 2 eggs 2 large spoonfuls of milk 200g flour 1 teaspoon of vanilla sugar or vanilla extract 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder (equivalent to ½ package or 8gs) ½ teaspoon of baking soda Pinch of salt 1 teaspoon of cinnamon 2 medium or large, very overripe bananas

lthough overripe bananas may not be pretty to look at, they can produce a tasty treat, the uglier, the better. Overripe bananas give banana bread its sweet flavour and make it moist. A fresh loaf of banana bread should be kept in the fridge during hot months but may be left on the kitchen counter during colder months. It also freezes well. Just wrap it in plastic wrap or foil and freeze for up to 1 month. Even if you’ve never tried baking before, banana bread might be a way in. You can serve this bread at room temperature or toasted with butter and jam. For a real treat try spreading Nutella on a slice! You can make this recipe with a small electric mixer, but mixing by hand using a wooden spoon works just as well. Preheat oven to 180º Celsius. Grease a 23cmx12.5cm (9inx5in) loaf pan with butter or vegetable oil (no need if your pan is non-stick). In a large bowl beat together the butter and sugar until thoroughly mixed together. It will seem like it is not mixing together at first, but don’t worry! It will. Add eggs, one at a time, and mix well after each

|30| addition. Add milk and vanilla sugar or extract, and stir until blended. Set mixture aside. In a small bowl, use a fork to mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Peel the bananas and put them in a bowl or on a plate. Using a fork, mash the bananas until they have a slightly lumpy texture, but have mostly disintegrated into an unsightly mash. Now, stir the bananas into the liquid mixture. Next, add the flour and stir until incorporated. Be sure to mix from the bottom of the bowl, and not just around the sides, as the flour tends to hide down there. You don’t need to mix vigorously; too much mixing will result in less tender bread. Pour the batter into the loaf pan. The bread will take approximately 50 minutes to bake. Check for browning after 30 minutes. If the top of the loaf has reached a dark golden brown, lightly cover it with a piece of aluminum foil. After 40 minutes check for doneness by inserting a toothpick or butter knife into the middle of the loaf. If it comes out clean, the loaf is ready. If it comes out with batter stuck to it, the loaf needs more time. Another indication of doneness is to see if the edges of the loaf have shrunken away from the sides of the pan. Let it cool in pan for at least 1 hour before serving. Lia Wallon reLIAble eats www.reliableats.blogspot.com

Wow factor| Impress people with an interesting way to use bananas. Effort| Easier than you think!

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. 9 November 1965. US. The 2nd biggest power-cut in American history occurred in New York City and nine other states. I wonder what the increase in births was 9 months later.

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eptember’s inVLC featured a section on the gargoyles and grotesques that often adorn buildings worldwide. These often feature animals which is no mere coincidence. Each animal was carefully chosen to represent a moral meaning. The moral meaning of some animals has changed over time so you need to understand what was thought of the animal at the time it was chosen. The lion is a case in point. Originally a symbol of Greece, it symbolised strength and protection from evil spirits. Later it symbolised various kings & Jesus as when it erases its tracks with its tail it signifies Christ’s ability to elude the devil. Believed never to close its eyes when sleeping, the lion face found its way onto doors and churches for its vigilance. Sadly it then had a change of image and became a symbol of pre-Christian evil when holding a lamb or supporting pillars of a door. Things didn’t improve in the Middle Ages when it represented one of the seven deadly sins as Pride. Cats are rare due to their link with witchcraft and Satanism, but the household dog has had more constant support. As loyal creatures they symbolized protection as watchdogs. With wise minds and the ability to reason, they also symbolised the priest

Animals whose priority was to care for the congregation and to prevent the devil from entering the buildings or affecting his flock. As with its relative the wolf, the dog aims to frighten away evil forces. The curlyhorned ram also represents a priest leading his trusting flock through life’s dangers. The cunning & deceitful fox rarely has good press. It often symbolised negative traits & ultimately, death. It’s nice to see goats progress from incredible tree climbs onto our roofs, and demonstrate all-knowing wiseness, but male goats were also said to be chronically lustful. Monkeys represented all things evil and the fall of mankind. Eating a monkey is said to overcome evil & many are seen on Valencia’s roofs. Chimeras and griffins have bird wings, and eagles represent an ability to see far. Not a real animal, but frequently used is the dragon. As menacing and destructive animals they are compared to demons and the devil whose strength is said to be in his tail. But when he eats his tail it’s a symbol of re-creation.

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