inVLC July / August / Sept 2012

the mo st ake M

Free!

15 J ly -14 Suept

y!

in

1 the Valen f o c Communi t ian

VLC

N o 27

Hot crazy & fun!

WITH | Cine-tastic giants go head to head | La Tomatina info | the best of Valencia & the Community | independent reviews | ÂĄaprende inglĂŠs con nosotros!

When you ďŹ nish with your inVLC... pass it on to a friend!

inVLC on... ...Mercury is rising still, turn the fan on high...

The summer is here and already in full swing, time to get down to those plazas and terraces to enjoy a nice cold beer while reading your favourite magazine. There will be plenty of things to do here in Valencia, some of which are really cheap or completely free! (page 5) Trips to the beach have become a must, you find yourself sporting white T-shirts to accentuate your lovely tans and there’s nothing like walking home at night in shorts with a cool summer breeze on your face. Watch out for

In this month’s issue we look at the summer blockbusters due to hit the screens (page 23), we visit Basilico in Russafa (page 11) and there is a showdown between Luís García Berlanga and Gillo Pontecorvo in I heart Valencia on page 8.

In addition to this we have all of the usual news and reviews, picking out our favourite album releases this month, talking about Valencian tomatoes in our recipe of the month (page 25) and lots of other things in a very varied read. We hope you enjoy this month’s issue of inVLC. Don't forget to like us on Facebook to keep up-to-date with what’s going on throughout the city and community.

Enjoy the read!

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.

inVLC is for 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.

Sales Vincenzo Translations Javier Contact information email invlceditor@gmail.com phone 633 822 614 - English speakers phone 628 831 400 - Spanish speakers facebook inVLC If you have any thoughts, comments or complaints or want to advertise, please email or phone us.

Important numbers & Embassies / Consulates Fire | 080 Local police | 092 Medical | 061 General | 112 French | 96 351 0359 USA | 96 351 6973 British | 96 521 60 22 Dutch | 96 341 4633 German | 96 310 62 53 Legal chat We do our very best to strive for accuracy in this magazine but we cannot accept responsibility for unintentional errors or omissions, accuracy of advertisements or contributors’ opinions. We aim at all times not to offend. depósito legal V-816-2006

4 5 6 8 11 12 13 14 15 16 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

N o 27

The latest Hot News keeping you up-to-date crazy & fun!

Hotspots Free in Valencia is loving the festival Holidays and fiestas is messy I heart Valencia is at the flicks Independent review Basilico Independent review Mare Meua Local life inVLCweb A day in the life Sara Davis Let's talk Talking teaching is spotting mistakes Art & culture Map never get lost Music hot new musical releases Live events only the best make it to the list Sport hot news Your photos of summer Read me Sean loves his books Cinema V.O releases in Valencia Lifestyle Green Declan is going back to basics Recipe it's picnic time Health looks at back care Art to see ML knows art Cocktails are icy Charity El Maccarón de Solidario Animal is splatting Events & Classifieds keeps you in the know

1 the Valen of c the mo st ake M

VLC

in

in this issue

Communi t ian

about us

Free!

15 J ly -14 Suept

y!

Intermediate First certificate Advanced

those naughty ponientes, however, these are those hot westerly winds, which make it feel as though someone has got hairdryers pointed at your face. It might be the perfect time to stay in and make yourself a yummy frozen cocktail (page 28).

WITH | Cine-tastic giants go head to head| La Tomatina info | the best of Valencia & the Community | independent reviews | ¡aprende inglés con nosotros!

We use CreatorSilk paper It’s chlorine free & the wood used is from sustainably managed forests. We do this because we’re nice & want to reduce our environmental impact.

15/07/1881 Outlaw Billy the Kid utters his last words "¿Quién es? ¿Quién es?"as he enters a hotel room in Fort Sumner, New Mexico where Sheriff Pat Garrett is sitting waiting for him. He had killed between 5 and 9 people.

Intermediate

3

4

News

F

ire alert | Clearly the main news this month is the two devastating fires that have raged through the Valencian Community starting in Cortés de Pallás and Andilla. Believed to have been started in one instance by solar panels and a fire spiralling out of control in the other, current estimates suggest that a total of 50,000 hectares may have been lost.

To put that in perspective, that is an area of 500 million acres or the size of 80,000 football pitches.

Teams of firefighters valiantly fought round the clock trying to bring the fires under control often putting themselves in danger to try to save others and this was sadly exemplified by the loss of life of José Agustín Nieva Gómez, a helicopter pilot from Zaragoza, who lost his life in the attempt to save others.

Another pilot is in a critical condition after another helicopter accident.

D

ope bust | More regularly in the news because of illegal property scandals the sleepy pueblo of Llíber near Alicante once again finds itself in the public eye. The Guardia Civil there have uncovered the largest marijuana plantation ever found in Europe.

Over 10,000 cannabis plants and 45 kilos of hash that police believe were destined for Belgium and Holland were found just outside the small village. A British man has been arrested over the find.

A

rrest made | A British youth has been arrested and charged with the murder of his twin brother in Vallada, just south of Xàtiva. The body of Michael Goodman was found just metres from the family home that he had disappeared from 14 months ago, by a local man looking for wild asparagus. Previously the accused had made a statement that the deceased had run away to England after an argument concerning the theft of money.

F

lying high | Speaking at the Castellon Chamber of Commerce last month the ex-President of Castellon Carlos Fabra said that the airport in the city will be officially operational on 1 January 2013. This is of course after its official opening in March 2011. What operational means in this context has yet to be defined.

A

job lot | The Spanish Government have approved a €1.3bn plan to try to help fight the (now official) level of 25% unemployment in the country.

It can't be implemented quickly enough with the announcement by Ikea that the Swedish furniture giant received 55,252 CV's for the 380 jobs available in their new store just north of Barcelona. In related news, British finance magazine 'Euromoney' has named Santander as the best bank in the world for the third time in 7 years.

16/07/1809 La Paz, in what is today's Bolivia, declares its independence from Spain during the La Paz revolution and forms the Junta Tuitiva, the first independent government in Spanish America.

W

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, low-cost fun. This month we'll be: 1| hiring a car and heading along the coast. As mentioned last week, the Valencian Community has collected 45 out of the 173 'Q for Quality flags' for its clean beaches, so we're off to enjoy them.

2| making a picnic from the markets and having a sunset picnic. When the intensity from the sun subsides, it's great to sit with friends, and chew the cud.

Try freezing slices of watermelon to enjoy as homemade tasty lollies.

5

Intermediate

Free/cheap in Valencia

3| enjoying the July festival. There are activities all around the city to participate in, watch, and enjoy (see below).

Live Concerts | Park Viveros | July Rubén Blades, Macaco + Julieta Venegas, Vetusta Morla + Zoé, Chambao. www.feriadejulio.com/2012 Traditional music | Parque del Oeste, Jardin de Ayora Dance & theatre | Jardin del Palau Markets | Park del Oeste, Jardin de Ayora, Puente Exposición, Jardines del Palau Bullfighting | Plaza de Toros www.torosvalencia.com

Classical, Flamenco and Jazz | Palau de la Música | 10-17 July.

Terri Lyne Carrington's Mosaic Project Con Dianne Reeves, Miles Smiles tribute To Miles Davis. Wallace Roney, Rick Margitza, Robben Ford, Joey De Francesco, Darryl Jones Y Omar Hakim, Lizz Wright & Raul Midon, Jam Sessions.

Parade | Paseo Alameda | 22 July, 8pm. A dramatic interactive parade of stunning flower enveloped floats.

17/07/1918 On the orders of the Bolshevik Party, Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and his immediate family and retainers are murdered at the Ipatiev House in Ekaterinburg, Russia.

6

Holidays and parties

T

his is the season of the year when a large number of locals disappear to their chalets or beach houses and tourists wander the streets perpetually lost and sweaty.

There will be no major bank holidays during August, but a lot of the restaurants and shops will be closed for holidays.

Feria julio | July | VLC This festival will be on until the last week of July. See page 5 for more info, or last month's magazine for a full schedule. www.feriadejulio.com/2012

La Tomatina | Buñol 4th week of August The main event will be in the tiny town of Buñol.

Celebrations will last a week in honour of San Luis Bertran & the Virgin of the Helpless, the local patrons.

The most popular day is undoubtedly

29 August, when thousands of alcohol and adrenalin fuelled adults hit the streets for a 1 hour tomato fight.

Should you wish to see Buñol in a more festive and civilised mood, pop along on one of the other days of the festival. There are stalls with hand made products, local foods, family activities, parades, dancing and fireworks.

The best day will probably be 26 August - the 'day of music', with parades of lively local bands!

Timetable (29th) 10am| battle to climb the soap stick for the ham.

10-11am| the crowds fill the streets ready for the lorries.

12 noon| a horn sounds and all tomato throwing stops.

12.01pm| locals hose down the stinking participants.

12.02pm| festivities resume, with sangrias, sausages and dancing all day.

Essential information • Take the metro to Valencia San Isidro, then change to the train line.

• Leave early (before 8am).

• Wear clothes that you can throw away as you will never get the smell out - go white!

• Take a change of clothes for the return journey - public showers are near the river (or get showered by a local). You cannot enter buses with dirty clothes!

• Bring goggles (or protect your eyes but don't wear glasses).

Tomato in your eye can be really acidic!

• Wear shoes that have a decent grip. No flip flops as you won't see them again.

• Play nicely - don't throw anything hard or heavy, and don't damage clothing.

www.latomatina.es

In the community & neighbouring towns - Alicante (A), Castellon (C), Valencia (V) (Courtesy of www.docv.gva.es) July 16 & 17| Eliana (V) Virgen Del Carmen & Cristo Del Consuelo 16| Manises (V) Santos Justa y Rufina 20| Oliva (V) Moros y Cristianos 23| Albaida (V) Santiago Apóstol 25| Castalla (A), Alcalà De Xivert (C),

26| Quatretondeta, Torremanzanas(A), Albal (V), Alborache (V) Santa Ana 27 & 28| Tollos (A) 30| Albalat Dels Sorells Los Santos De La Piedra, Sagunt (V) Torrent (V) August 1| Xàtiva (V) San Félix

Los Necesitados, Marines (V), Silla (V) 10| Ademuz (V) Asunción De La Virgen, Bèlgida (V) San Lorenzo 16| Burjassot (V) Montserrat (V) 17| Foios (V) Virgen Del Patrocinio 20| Yátova (V) Virgen Del Rosario

Alborache (V), Turís (V) Santiago Apóstol, Quartell (V)

6| Aielo De Malferit (V) Santísimo Cristo, Aldaia (V) Santísimo Cristo De

23| Font D’en Carrós (V), Tavernes Blanques (V) San Roque

24| Montroy (V) 27| Almàssera (V) Santísimo Cristo De La Fe, Gilet (V) Godella (V) San Bartolomé, Mislata (V), Paterna (V) 28| Alfara De La Baronia (V) 30| Buñol (V) San Luis All information correct at time of print.

18/07/1925 Hitler publishes Mein Kampf. He originally wanted to call it Viereinhalb Jahre (des Kampfes) gegen Lüge, Dummheit und Feigheit, or Four and a Half Years (of Struggle) Against Lies, Stupidity and Cowardice.

7

I heart Valencia| Luís García Berlanga v. Gillo Pontecorvo

8

Round 1 | Early life Berlanga was born in Valencia on 12th June 1921 to a landowning family from Camporrobles. His grandfather Fidel was a member of the Partido Liberal de Sagasta and he was a member of parliament in Madrid and Valencia.

His father Luis had political affiliation with the Partido Liberal, became a member of the centre-right Partido Radical but changed to the centre-left Unión Republicana.

Pontecorvo was born in Pisa on 19th November 1919 to a wealthy nonpractising Italian-Jewish businessman.

Gillo was the youngest of three sons.

His brother Bruno was an internationally renowned physicist and his other brother Guido was a geneticist.

WINNER – Berlanga (Immersed in politics before he could even speak).

Round 2 | Early life & studies Berlanga won the Luis Fuster prize in 1943 for an essay that he wrote entitled Fragmentos de una primavera (Fragments of a spring). He initially started out studying Law then changed to Philosophy and the Arts until 1947 when he finally decided to study Cinematography in Madrid. After a number of short films in the late forties, he finally made his first feature length film Esa pareja feliz (That happy couple) co-directed by Juan Antonio Bardem in 1951.

Gillo Pontecorvo

Intermediate

E

very month we take something from the wonderful world of Valencia and compare it with an equivalent from another country. This month we have a cinematic face off as Valencian born director Luís García Berlanga takes on the Italian director Gillo Pontecorvo. Both directors were incredibly political in their work, both lived during the same era and both lived to a ripe old age. However, it's where the differences lie that will decide the winner.

Pontecorvo studied Chemistry at the University of Pisa where he became aware of the politically radical for the first time. He fled to Paris with his brother in 1938 due to growing anti-Semitism without finishing his degree. In Paris he worked for Marxist Dutch director Joris Ivens and film noir director Yves Allegret.

Pontecorvo met a number of notable people in Paris who broadened his mind, amongst them Pablo Picasso, Igor Stravinsky and John-Paul Sartre.

He was particularly affected by a number of his friends leaving to fight in the Spanish Civil War. He joined the Italian Communist Party in 1941 and became leader of the Resistance in Milan from 1943-1945.

Round 3 | Themes Irony and satire are two words that often crop up when talking about Berlanga's contribution to cinema.

Censorship during Franco's rule led to his indirect way of making political and social statements.

Los jueves, milagro has often been cited as very daring in its criticism of the religious institutions at work in Spain at that time. During its production the ending was, in fact, changed due to the sale of the production company to Opus Dei, who were not quite happy with the ending.

Pontecorvo is thought of as a ‘Third World Director’ rather than an Italian director per se. His films borrowed from Italian neo-realism but also have a certain degree of anti-imperialism especially The Battle of Algiers.

He was the first director to use semi-professional actors in his films to achieve a certain degree of authenticity.

Throughout his career he tackled difficult themes, always remaining a selfproclaimed Marxist.

DRAW! – both working towards a common good and addressing important issues.

WINNER – Pontecorvo (The Italian strikes back with some great life experience under his belt).

19/07/1981 French PM Mitterrand reveals the 'Farewell Dossier' to US President Ronald Reagan. It was a collection of documents showing that the USSR had been stealing American technological research and development.

Pontecorvo gave up journalism and filmmaking until seeing Roberto Rossellini’s Paisà (1946) after which he bought a 16mm camera and started making documentaries. He eventually made La grande strada azzurra (The Wide Blue Road) in 1957, which showed themes that would later appear in some of his most celebrated works.

His film Kapò was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film in 1960, but he too was beaten by Ingmar Bergman, this time with The Virgin Spring. La Battaglia di Algeri (The Battle of Algiers, 1966) was a masterpiece that brought him worldwide fame.

He worked with Marlon Brando on Queimada! (Burn!, 1969) and the political film Ogro (1979) which documented the end of Franco’s regime in Spain. He made a follow up to his masterpiece entitled Ritorno ad Algeri (Return to Algiers)in 1992 and was director of the Venice Film Festival from 1992-1994 and a member of the jury at the 41st Berlin International Film Festival. He made 24 films/ documentaries during his career.

WINNER – Pontecorvo takes the lead on the back of what is considered to be one of the most important films of all time.

Round 5 | Legacy Berlanga is widely regarded as one of the greats of Spanish cinema, his films leaving impressions on many current Spanish directors. Most notable successors to his throne were director Álex de la Iglesia (Los Crímenes de Oxford, 2008), who wrote his obituary in El Pais and actor/ director Santiago Segura (Torrente, 1998).

Luís García Berlanga

Round 4 | Notable works Bienvenido, Mr. Marshall (1953) is hailed as a classic of Spanish cinema and established Berlanga as an important j , milagro g name. Afterwards came Calabuch (1956), Los jueves, (1957) and Plácido (1961), which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but was beaten to the finishing line by Ingmar Bergman's Through A Glass Darkly. In 1993 he won the Goya for Todos a la cárcel (Everyone to Jail).

On 25th April 1988 he became a member of the Real Academia de las Bellas Artes de San Fernando – an institution that once had Franciso Goya as its director. Berlanga made 6 short films and 18 feature films in total throughout his career. He won prizes at festivals in Cannes, Venice, Montreal and Berlin.

9

Algiers has been used as a training video for government strategists and revolutionary groups whilst still being a source of pride for Algerians. Its semi-documentary style has spawned a number of imitations and it is constantly referred back to amongst young filmmakers and journalists. There is no doubt that those in current zones of conflict from Afghanistan to Syria, from Iraq to Sierra Leone will have seen it as young film/ journalism student back in the day.

WINNER – Pontecorvo (a much more widely regarded director rather than a local hero).

OVERALL WINNER Pontecorvo 3 – 1 Berlanga The Italian gets a comfortable win against a strong opponent. Either way inVLC recommends checking out the works of both directors if you get the chance.

Fancy seeing some other international films?

Here's some other great Italian and Spanish directors to look out for.

Federico Fellini Sergio Leone Ettore Scola Michelangelo Antonioni

Luis Buñuel Fernando Fernán-Gómez Carlos Saura Pedro Almodóvar

20/07/1977 The CIA releases documents revealing it had engaged in mind control experiments using LSD and other drugs on US and Canadian citizens to find a 'truth serum' for Cold War interrogations.

Intermediate

I heart Valencia| Luís García Berlanga v. Gillo Pontecorvo

10

Learn better with the British Council

How to keep up your English over the holidays

S

ummer holidays are nearly here and your thoughts have already turned to lounging on the beach while you sip a chilled beer!

But how are you going to keep up your English? If you don’t do anything, you may have a shock a when you start your classes again w in autumn, so it’s really important to keep studying. As they say, ‘If you yo don’t use it, you lose it’! This is particularly true when it comes to pa languages. languag SO, WHAT CAN YOU DO? Don’t worry! I You can now get LearnEnglish apps on your mobile phone and tablet! Download our Android, iPhone or iPad, bada, Blackberry and Ovi apps from the store to help you learn English.

HERE ARE A FEW EXA EXAMPLES:

Learn English Elem Elementary;

Download podcasts to

improve your listening.

Big City Small Worl World;

listen to an entertaining soap London. opera series set in Lon

60 Word Challenge; Challenge 60 Second Word Challenge is a fun vocabulary quiz to help improve and widen your English vocabulary.

Learn English Gramm Grammar; Improve your grammar skills with LearnEnglish Gramm Grammar, the number one educational mobile app.

My WordBook 2; improve your vocabulary with MyWordBook 2, an interactive vocabulary notebook for language learners.

Language Learning; How well do you learn languages? This app will give you some tips to help you learn better.

And finally....for you footb football fanatics;

Premier Skills Inte International;

learn how to talk convincingly about foo football, make friends wherever you go by chatting about football! fo

Have a great summer! www.britishcouncil.es

en end t r

O

indep

eview

ne of the nicest problems to face in life is the completely overwhelming we t i amount of dining choice. A simple lo v e walk in Canovas or Russafa can leave even the hungriest of diners bewildered by the sheer volume of restaurants, tapas bars and take-aways. And so it was that we contacted our nearest and dearest for recommendations for dinner, to help us whittle it down and reduce the risk of receiving dubious service and greasy patatas bravas.

11

C/ de Cádiz, 42, Russafa, Valencia 963 168 369 Summer hours: Thur - Sat 1.45pm-3pm Mo - Sat 8pm onwards

The recommendation we plumped for was Basilico in Russafa. We were told it was "something different and tasty", "lovely" and " They do gorgeous, huge sandwiches and salads and massive desserts too". The feedback on tripadvisor.com was excellent too. We were sold.

Basilico has an unpretentious décor, clean lines and large windows opening out onto the patio tables outdoors.

We were pleasantly greeted, and left to choose a table, so we opted for a window seat, and settled in for the evening.

The inVLC team are particularly keen on good service, placing it on equal terms with the quality of the food in terms of importance. We'll come back to discuss the food, but let's take this opportunity to talk about service.

Alex is one of the owners, and his attention to us was almost insurmountable. He offered the wine menu, described each of the wines, and made a recommendation for a dry white wine from Rueda, which we largely agreed was outstanding (Fuente Elvira, €15).

As we were dining with non-Spanish speakers, he kindly volunteered to explain the menu and wines in English, an appreciated gesture. He also took his time to pay attention to the individual needs of the fussier eaters of the group.

Whilst the food was stunning, it's this detail that has us returning back to restaurants time and time again.

For food he recommended a tapas style menu made by co-owner Arif. We were given high quality starters, main courses and deserts as you'd expect, however they were placed in the middle of the table for sharing, rather than for each person individually. The dishes were perfectly crafted for this purpose, and it was a lovely opportunity to taste more than one dish without imposing on someone else's meal - they certainly satiated our hunger.

Each dish was particularly striking, with the subtle flavours complementing each other nicely, whilst none were over-powering. There was an Asian feel to the dishes, with a duck pancake dish providing a perfect ending to the main course.

For me, no meal is complete without the deserts and these were the ideal end to the evening. Sauces contrasted with sharp fruit compotes, and a chocolate tart with creamy ice-cream left a pleasant taste in my mouth. We left for the night, keen to return.

21/07/2011 NASA's Space Shuttle program ends. The shuttle is the only winged manned spacecraft to have achieved orbit and land, and the only reusable space vehicle that has ever made multiple flights into orbit.

First certificate

Independent review| Basilico

Independent review| Mare Meua

en end t r

eview

First certificate

indep

12

in V L C

I

t was a lazy Tuesday evening, so a group of friends decided to hit the local tapas bar to catch up.

C/ Carlos Cervera 30, Russafa, Valencia Mare Meua

The bar was called Mare Meua, which we translated from Valencian into 'My Mother' or 'Mother of Mine' although there is always scope that we got that wrong. I'd heard some good things about this bar and certainly the last time we had tried to go, it had been busy inside and out (a good sign) and we had ended up having a distinctively mediocre meal with particularly bad service at another place nearby.

The location is cosily situated in central Russafa, an area synonymous with enjoying balmy evenings with friends without the distracting sounds of the tourist touting accordion players of the city centre.

We got there early this time in order to bag a seat, and noted enthusiastically the glass fronted counter sheltering the freshly made selection of cold montaditos. The venue is pleasant but not over-powering with fresh Mediterranean colours on the walls and a smattering of plants here and there. Some knee tapping tunes whirled around us, blending with the increasing chatter, as the tables filled with those also fortunate enough to get a seat.

So let's talk food and wine. The charm of this bar is not the location or plants or the tunes. It's not haute cuisine and you won't be blown away by the fine wine menu or the chef's recent TV appearance. It is in fact that the tapas and drinks are only a euro each. And for a euro, the food and the wines were surprisingly good.

At the tapas counter, like children at a sweetie shop, we excitedly checked out our options. Mare Meua boasts a range of montaditos, with toppings for both savoury and sweet palate. The two girls serving the delights were

great with us, explained the toppings to us, and gave recommendations, which, the group agreed, were excellent choices. The bread was fresh, the flavours complemented each other well, and each topping was distinctively different from the other.

On our second fly past the counter, we saw that the selection had changed almost completely, with 18 new varieties to tempt us. It was pleasing to know that the toppings were fresh, and in high demand. The winner of the night was a spicy topping with herby cream cheese mixed with the mushrooms, crunchy onion pieces and dried chillies. As it actually had heat from the chillies, it was a definite hit.

We took one more trip past before moving on, filled with a selection of tastes, and having experienced a very chilled, low-key Tuesday.

As we left we saw that the terrace, more a row of handily placed chairs and tables outside than any defined area, had also filled in the hour or so that we had been there, leaving us feeling lucky that we had arrived early this time.

Do you want to tell thousands of people in Valencia & the Community about your business?

Advertise with inVLC! Email us invlceditor@gmail.com 24/07/1715 A Spanish treasure fleet of 10 ships leaves Havana heading for Spain. Seven days later, nine of them sink off the coast of Florida. Some artefacts and coins still wash up on Florida beaches from time to time.

Local life|

13

H

ere at inVLC magazine our motto is 'Making the most of the Valencian Community'. We focus on ďŹ nding ways to help out businesses all over the Valencian Community which is no easy thing here in Spain given the current ďŹ nancial crisis. We are keen to help those brave enough to give it a go business wise whether it is through providing advertising opportunities or giving independent reviews of restaurants, bars or shops that we like through the magazine. We believe that with things so tight for many of us we need to work together to see things through.

For the last few months we have been busily working away on a new project which involves the creation of a new internet and print-based service which we believe encapsulates the needs of many businesses in the local area.

inVLCweb has a strong team of specialists to help you out with any web-based or print-led requirements you might have but don't know where to start or how to get the best out of it.

We can help you create a great website for your business whether you want to have it as a shop window for your company or as a fully functional e-commerce shop.

We can advise on how to maximise social media exposure such as the use of Facebook and Twitter to give you the opportunity to get your message out there to your potential customers.

We can assist you in the printing of posters, business cards, wedding invites, T-shirts, pens or anything else you might wish to have done. The list is endless.

On top of this we also provide a translation service to get your business across to the widest range of potential customers e.g. by having your website or printed material translated by one of our multi-lingual translators.

We aim to provide the same professional and honest service through inVLCweb that you get from inVLC magazine.

So if your business needs a boost or you are looking to maximise your marketing then get in touch with us at invlcweb@gmail.com or look us up on at invlcweb.com.

23/07/1992 A Vatican commission, led by (the current Pope) Joseph Ratzinger, establishes that it is necessary to limit the rights of homosexual people and non-married couples.

14

A day in the life | Sara Davis

L

iving in Valencia and the Community is surprising, varied and exciting, and everyone sees something dierent. We thought it would be fun to see what other people see. For one day, a reader will take a photo of what they can see on the hour, every hour for 9 hours. This month, Sara shows us her day out. Contact us if you want to have a go - invlceditor@gmail.com.

11h

12h

13h

14h

15h

16h

17h

18h

20h

22/07/1706 The Acts of Union 1707 are agreed by Commissioners from the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland leading to the creation of the Kingdom of Great Britain.

Talking Teaching with Orange Language Academy

15

T

his month I’ve been correcting exams, rubbing out, getting my red pen out, passing students, failing them, but, astonishingly I’ve been seeing the same mistakes cropping up again and again after going over them again and again across all levels. Here are some of the most common errors that I have come across amongst the work of my students during this year’s course: 1| The people is Nooooooooooooo! Two things wrong with this: 1) when we talk about something in general terms, we do not normally use the definite article, 2) and most importantly, people is plural in English. Why? Because there are never less than 2 people, anything less is a person, which, in turn, is not normally seen in plural (persons) unless we’re talking about rules and regulations. ‘People are’ needs drilling, a lot. Try to explain that it simply means ‘they’ and all verbs should be conjugated accordingly.

2| Double consonants Double consonants are often left out by mistake. Especially words like ‘bigger’ and ‘stopping’ - words that require a double consonant when adding a suffix. How to remedy it?

Teach them rules e.g. if the word ends consonant-vowel-consonant, double the consonant. Except if it has more than one syllable. Some teachers use crosswords to highlight these issues so that students can see where a double consonant is required. For those such as ‘accommodation’ and ‘recommendation,’ they’ll just have to learn them.

3| Para jugar, para ir, para comer For play, for go, for eat. Easily done.

In English we would use the infinitive of purpose, which, surprisingly is the full infinitive with ‘to’. To play, to go, to eat are what you would use. Try to get your students to think ‘Why?’ and encourage them to use the infinitive of purpose. E.g. why do people go to the cinema? To watch films.

4| Is good, is interesting, is exciting Quite an understandable error when considering that the subject in Spanish can often be omitted because the verb ending denotes who or what is being referred to. Not so in English.

Every verb normally has a subject.

There are exceptions – imperatives for example (Shut up! Sit down! Etc.).

5| Actually ‘Actually I’m studying a lot.’ As a stand-alone phrase it seems fine, but is only used to contradict in English rather than explain what the speaker is doing ‘nowadays’ (actualmente).

A false friend that needs to be nipped in the bud for anyone hoping to do the FCE exam in June or December. ‘At the moment’ might also work here, but would normally be used at the end – ‘I’m studying a lot at the moment.’

False friends do exist, but I would always encourage students to take chances with the language as nine times out of ten they will be able to make a correct guess at words.

6| Which Do they know how to spell it?

Ask them. Ask them again and then ask them again class after class. The amount of times I have seen ‘wich’ and even ‘witch’ in compositions has not subsided since I moved here six years ago. Drill this one. Big time!

7| Syntax ‘I’m all day at the office’ is a prime example of incorrect syntax in English. Why? Because syntax is very flexible in Spanish in a lot of ways allowing you to play around with the word order whereas English is much stricter. Time expressions generally go at the beginning or at the end of a sentence. They very rarely go slap bang in the middle of the sentence like this. Sentence parsing is always a good way to combat this (breaking down a sentence in terms of subject, verb, object, etc.). Try using different colours on the board for each part of the sentence. You could even use pelmanism games for simple subject, verb object sentences.

8| Althought Students probably have ‘thought’ in mind when they are writing this word. I honestly wish they would have ‘enough’ or ‘through’ in mind when they wrote it. It was spelt incorrectly in a number of compositions and probably needs the same kind of drilling as ‘which’ (No 6).

9| Stay From ‘I stay angry’ to ‘I stay with my friends’ there seems no end to the madness of this verb amongst Spanish speakers. The most logical reasoning behind this is that it is confused with the Spanish verb estar and all of the errors stem from here. Keep an eye out for this even amongst the early levels.

I know one teacher who put up a sign that read ‘stay does not mean estar’ in red letters although I’m not sure how well that worked.

If you have any articles, requests or suggestions, contact us!

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... hacerle caso a alguien - take heed of/ pay attention to someone e.g. Hazme caso si quieres aprobar este examen.

Pay attention to me if you want to pass this exam.

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 run language exchanges at Portland Ale House (Tues & Weds). www.orangeidiomas.com

25/07/2010 Wikileaks publishes classified documents about the War in Afghanistan, one of the largest leaks in U.S. military history.

16

Valencia map

Scan this code to be taken to all previous versions of inVLC

(c) OpenStreetMap contributors, CC-BY-SA www.openstreetmap.org/

17

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 11 12

La Galeria, C/ Baja, 38 KandABooks, C/ Tapineria, 18 Liverpool, C/ Sueca, 74 La Birra de Brian, C/ Santa Rosa, 3b Lenguas Vivas, C/ Palleter, 43 Il Genovino, Campoamor, 50 El Atelier, Calle Navarra, 7 Portland Ale House, C/ Salamanca, 10 Gusto Nuovo, Av/ Reino de Valencia, 9 Orange Language Academy, C/ Santo Domingo Savio, 68 14 Mad Hatter's Coee Lounge, C/ Serrano Morales, 3 17 British Council, Av. de Cataluùa, 9 20 The Portland Cafe, Paseo de las Facultades, 2 26/0 / 7/20 2 07 7 Shamb bo, o a black Fresian bull that had been ad adop o ted by the local a Hindu com o munity in Wales, and was living in their temple le e as a sacred animal, is controversia ia all llyy slaughtered due to a bovvin i e tuberculosis is infec ecti ec t on in the area.. ti

Music

18

First certificate

E

very month we review the best new music out there and try to keep you up-to-date with those important goings on in the music world. This month we look at what has been keeping Stuart Atkinson awake. If you have heard something amazing, let us know what it is, or write a review and send it to us.

Album To Wear A Bullet-proof Vest To | El-P - Cancer 4 Cure El-P comes from hip-hop royalty, being an original member of the Brooklyn-based band Company Flow who released their groundbreaking album “Funcrusher Plus” in 1997.

With this release, El-P (or Jaime Meline to his mum) brings together a few things from the musical past that many hip-hop and especially rap musicians now sadly lack, the sheer quality and enjoyability of the music, combing this with lyrics which actually say something worthwhile: a soldier haunted by post-traumatic stress, domestic violence, and the consequences of drug addiction. This album, alongside Killer Mike’s “R.A.P. Music” on which El-P collaborates, may prove to be two of the best hip-hop albums of the year.

Standout Tracks: The Full Retard, Works Every Time, Drones Over Bklyn Album To Use Your Hairbrush As A Mic To | Ty Segall Band – Slaughterhouse Following on from last month's review of workaholic Jack White’s new record comes an album from another man, Ty Segall, who can’t seem to stay out of the studio, and can’t seem to get it wrong. The musical polymath has already brought us “Hair”, with White Fence, the album reviewed herein, recorded with his touring band, and the promise of one solo album later in the year.

The album is different from his previous work, full of reverberating guitars and echoey vocals which almost get lost within the dirty loudness of the album, which due to being recorded live, is a visceral listen. The opening track sets up the entire album perfectly, a driving guitar-driven track called “Death”, which emerges from a barrage of feedback noise into 70’s punk genius. The incessant nature of the album generally continues, with the melodic nature of the guitar rising perfectly above the sea of noise, until the last 10-minute “Fuzz War” outro.

Stand Out Tracks: I Brought My Eyes, What’s Inside Your Heart, Oh Mary Album From A Folk Legend | Aidan Moffat / Bill Wells - Everything's Getting Older After its success in Wales, Scotland decided to follow suit and champion its musical heterogeneity and worth through awarding its first Scottish Album of the Year. The first award, announced only recently, was given to Bill Wells (veteran multi-instrumentalist and Aidan Moffat (of Arab Strap fame) for their quietly angry modern-folk album “Everything's Getting Older”.

The album deals with the disquiet of growing into middle age and the banality of life before and after, and the fear and anger that this brings to anyone, bubbling just under the surface of the skin. Although this is definitively Scottish (how good it is to hear someone singing in their own accent!), this album will surely lend itself to any man in any country.

Enjoy or despair!

Stand Out Tracks: Let's Stop Here, The Copper Top, Dinner Time Other releases | Jennifer Lopez, Blur, Bloc Party, Catatonia, Alanis Morissette, Two Door Cinema Club, Muse and more.

News| Bloc Party’s new album ‘Four’ is due for release on 20/21 August in the UK and the US respectively.

The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion is set to release their first new album for eight years. ‘Meat and Bone’ is due for release on September 17.

Reunited Blur are to release new songs on Twitter. The two new songs were recorded on a live stream at 6.15pm on 2 July.

Jack White has told a Dutch television show that a reunion of The White Stripes will never happen.

The Spice Girls are to launch a new West End show called Viva Forever! conceived by Mamma Mia! producer and written by Jennifer Saunders.

Def Leppard plan to rerecord their back catalogue due to disagreements with their label over royalties issues.

27/07/1940 The animated short A Wild Hare is released, introducing the characters of Bugs Bunny and the tormented hunter Elmer Fudd. A surprise hit, it was nominated for an Academy Award.

Like 'inVLC' on Facebook for more live events

Live events

19

E

very month we pick out the best live music in and around the Valencian Community for those of you who want to get out and enjoy music as it should be heard. This month is mostly for the festivals but there are some other gigs on as the city closes down for the month of August. If we hear of anything else, we'll Facebook it.

Feria de Julio in Parque Viveros

Dub Club| Calle Jesus 91, (VLC) Dub Club's motto is 'to play music and not noise'. And if you like reggae and ska then you will agree. www.myspace.com/dubclubvalencia

18/07 Macaco and Julieta Venegas 10pm €18 19/07 Vetusta Moria + Zoe 9pm €25 20/07 Chambao 10pm €22

Café del Duende| C/ Turia, 62 (VLC) Great flamenco every Thu, Fri, Sat and Sun. www.cafedelduende.com

14&15/09 Luis Puig Velodrome Extremoduro. One of the most influential bands of the Spanish hard rock scene and a symbol for their region. The band's name is a pun as literally Extremoduro means 'hard extreme', and is also a straightforward take on Extremadura, the region where the band comes from. €26

Music Box| C/ Pintor Zariñera, 16

27/07 The Last Vivos Y Su Fabuloso

Sala El Loco| C/ Erudito Orellana, Rhythm and Blues 12 (VLC) 20/07 The Delta Saints and The Go! Freaks 10pm €12/15 01/08 The New York Ska-Jazz Ensemble 10.30pm €10/12 www.lococlub.org

Sala Wah Wah| C/ Campoamor, 58 (VLC) Great venue with a jampacked schedule throughout July and the rest of the summer. Nothing has been confirmed at time of print but check their website for more. www.wahwahclub.com

28/08 70's Party Yeah Yeah (free) www.blacknoteclub.com

(VLC) & Radio City| C/ Santa Teresa 19 (VLC) Open daily with visiting DJs and Tuesdays offer live flamenco music at Radio City 11pm €7 w. free drink.

www.radiocityvalencia.com www.myspace.com/themusicboxclub

LA3| C/ del Padre Porta, 4 (VLC) The Sala Matisse| C/ Campoamor, 60 best dance music and coolest DJs. Fri & (VLC) Lots of great music including 20/07 The Cubers Band 10.30pm €5/6.

27/07 El Niño De La Hipoteca 10.30pm €6 www.salamatisse.es

Sat nights.

www.la3club.com

Excuse me| C/Tomasos 14 (VLC) Two floors with a mix to keep you dancing.

Pop Club Deluxe| C/ Poeta La Caverna| C/ Cuenca, 70 (VLC) A Mas y Ros, 42 (VLC) Pop Club Deluxe very cosy venue with mad gigs!

Intimate setting for live music.

Café Mercedes| C/ Sueca, 27 Mya| Popular dance club down at the Sala Mirror| San Vicente Martir, 200 (VLC) One of our favourite venues for Arts and Sciences buildings.

(VLC) Dance music lovers and DJs. www.discomirror.es

Jimmy Glass| C/ Baja, 28 (VLC) There's always something smooth on.

18/07 Jerry Gonzales / Javier Colina Trio 9.30pm €15 (reservation) 20/07 Piano Duo Sessions €4 25/07 Nicole Henry Qet from Philadelphia €14 (reservation) 27/07 Piano Duo Sessions €4 www.jimmyglassjazz.net

Black Note Valencia| Calle Polo y Peyrolon, 15 (VLC) From Jazz to latino sounds. Mon - Jam sessions, Thurs - Sex & Rock & Roll (beer discounts).

20/07 Jah Macetas 11.30pm (free) 21/07 Three Pack 23/07 Tonky Jam Session and Thomas Troussier Harp (free) 25/07 Fiesta Academia Musical Jose Mano (free)

jazz and a number of other styles of music. www.cafemercedes.es

Ubik| C/ Literato Azorín, 13 (VLC) Book

Xtra Large Playground| Av Germanias 21. New buzzing dancefloor in Ruzafa.

readings, films, intercambios and music.

Festival information Low Cost Festival| Alicante 27-

El

Palau

de

la

Musica| 29/7 €50, VIP €125 Kasabian, Suede

(VLC) Beautiful classical music but not always open to non-members.

15/07 The Mosaic Project €23 16/07 Miles Smiles €23 27/07 Trio Los Panchos €15 www.palaudevalencia.com

www.lowcostfestival.es

Durango| C/ Llanterners 35, Poligono La Closa (Meliana) Heavier rock club. 20/07 The Delta Saints - Not confirmed. €tbc www.durangoclub.es

Rototom Sunsplash | Benicassim 16-22/08 All things Reggae-tinged. €60/2 days, €150/ full week

Arenal sound | Burriana 2-5/8 Two Door Cinema Club, The Kaiser Chiefs, Love of Lesbian, The TingTings, Lori Meyers & The Wombats. €30 www.arenalsound.com

www.rototom.com

Rock City| Tavernes Blancas. Rock.

21/07 Motorizer €6 www.valenciarockcity.com

28/07/1973 600,000 people see The Band, Almann Brothers and The Grateful Dead perform at Watkins Glen, New York.

That means 1 in every 350 people living in America at the time were there.

20

Like 'inVLC' on Facebook for more sports news & events

Sport

a Liga | La Liga returns after the summer Euro 2012 championships. The league kicks off on August 18 and Real Madrid will be hoping to reclaim the title they won last year. It's all change at Barcelona with Pep Guardiola being replaced as trainer by Tito Vilanova who will be hoping that he can produce the same results as his predecessor.

Mauricio Pellegrino © VCF

Intermediate

L

Valencia CF also have a new manager, ex-VCF player Mauricio Pellegrino, who has taken over from Unai Emery.

Levente UD will be looking to consolidate their great performances of last season when they finished 6th and managed to qualify for European competition this season.

O

lympics 2012 | All eyes will be on London this month as the Games of the XXX Olympiad (better known as the 2012 Summer Olympics) take place there between the 27 July and 12 August.

Over 190 countries will be sending a combined total of 10,500 athletes to try to come home with a much vaunted medal from one of the 302 events due to take place. Add to this 8 million spectator tickets, 10,000 police officers, 13,500 members of the Armed Forces and some 70,000 unpaid volunteers, the Olympic Games truly is the greatest sporting show on earth.

A total of 4,700 medals for the Olympic and Paralympic Games have been produced by the Royal Mint.

The medals each weigh 375–400g and are 7mm thick, with the sport and discipline engraved on the rim. The front of the medal features Nike, the Greek Goddess of victory, stepping from the Parthenon while the reverse features the Games logo, the River Thames, and a series of lines symbolising the energy of the athletes.

Wenlock and Mandeville (the two mascots of the Games) are animations based on the depiction of two drops of steel from a steelworks in Bolton.

1914

They have been named after the Shropshire town of Much Wenlock, which held a forerunner of the current Olympic Games and Stoke Mandeville, a village in Buckinghamshire where a forerunner to the Paralympic Games were first held.

The games will be officially opened

by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. A short James Bond film starring Daniel Craig will be screened during the television coverage of the ceremony and Sir Paul McCartney has also announced he will perform at the close of the games.

The year that the Olympic flag was created.

The five interconnected rings represent the friendship of the five significant continents.

At least one of each of the colours appears on the flag of every country in the world.

29/07/1981 A worldwide television audience of over 700 million people watch the wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Spencer at St Paul's Cathedral in London.

Your photos | Summer

21

E

ach month we’ll give you a topic for the following edition. Email us 1 high-resolution image with a sentence describing the photo by 31st of the month. We’ll choose a few entries to print and the editor's favourite wins a prize. This month's favourite is by No Se Puede VLC!

Kayte Johnson | Observing

Gail Mann | Bright sky

WINNER!

Ne Se Puede VLC | Summer

Katy Mann | Joshua Mann in 'summer mode'!

Please send 1 photo per person & only send your own photo for copyright reasons. There are other terms and conditions - email us for them. Next month’s topic is 'water’. Look forward to seeing your pictures. invlceditor@ gmail.com 30/07/1866 New Orleans's Democratic government orders police to raid a Republican Party meeting which results in the deaths of 40 people and injuries to over 150.

22

Read me | Salman Rushdie

Advanced

Midnight’s Children - My knowledge of Salman Rushdie used to consist of the infamous fatwā, a ban from the recent Jaipur book festival and the much-celebrated Midnight’s Children (1981). The latter being regarded as his best work, I decided to further my knowledge of an author whose work had, until then, completely escaped my attention. It turned out to be quite an adventure.

Saleem Sinai is born on the stroke of midnight on August 15, 1947, the exact moment of India’s independence. Saleem’s birth links him with a number of other ‘midnight’s children’ throughout the country all of whom possess powers of varying strength depending on how closely they were born to midnight. The novel does not begin on this exact date, however, instead delving further back into the past at the precise moment when his grandfather Aadam Aziz returns to his Kashmiri village as a newly qualified doctor from a western university. This gives the author the opportunity to paint his audience a picture of India before and after its independence.

Saleem represents India itself on both metaphorical and literal levels. Indeed, the Saleem telling us the story by the end of the novel is, like India, physically falling apart. We are aware of this from the very first page.

Like 'kandabooks' on Facebook for more on books

These asides and distractions take place throughout the novel as Saleem tries to appease Padma and tell the story as it needs to be told. Herein lies the struggle of any author except here we are allowed to see it; we are given the privilege of watching the narrator choose where the story goes and how he wants to tell it.

The multitude of characters within the gigantic novel are as resplendent as I have always imagined India itself to be, each of them telling their own story about the new India.

Pavarti the witch is Saleem’s only true friend, Saleem’s sister the Brass Monkey who becomes Jamila Sinai – the most famous singer in Pakistan, Tai the boatman and his prophetic advice, the sinister Shiva the knees, the ghost Nadir Khan, the communist and political radical Joseph D’Costa and his sweetheart Mary Pereira, whose decision, borne out of a need to impress Joseph, is nothing if not fatalistic for Saleem.

I could go on and on. The novel consists of three books and each book brings with it a new set The achievement of this of characters as old ones novel is remarkable in die off, making way for terms of ambition. Rushdie those future generations manages to combine the of Indians and Pakistanis magical and the historical that all bring with them seamlessly. It’s as though, through their political views and opinions, "I hate admitting that the crumbling narrator Saleem, constantly at odds with each other – my enemies have a point." poisoned, as Rushdie points out, by we are listening to India itself as it is reborn and broken up. Saleem the prejudices of their parents. himself struggles to tell the story and can often be seen apologising, restarting, rethinking, taking us backwards Recent Twitter posts from Rushdie have detailed visits to and forwards through time whenever it takes his fancy. We a film set in Canada where the movie is now in production. sit alongside his beloved Padma, his ‘lotus goddess,’ who Indian director Deepa Mehta is at the helm and the movie often makes those interjections that we ourselves might is due for release some time this year. Quite how well the want to make throughout the story whether unconvinced book will transpose to celluloid is yet to be seen, but it by the apparent unbelievability of it all, astonished or even might be worth a watch having waited 31 years for flabbergasted by the stories we are hearing. an adaptation.

Bikes| 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 Time| 7.30pm

31/07/1703 Author of Robinson Crusoe, Daniel Defoe is placed in a pillory for libel after publishing a politically satirical pamphlet. However instead of stinking and rotten fruit he is pelted with flowers.

Cinema

23

T

his summer promises to be one of the best ever in terms of blockbusters and, not ones for resting on our laurels, here at inVLC we have decided to sift through the long list of releases to bring you our most hotly anticipated flicks for the next couple of months.

06/07 The Amazing Spiderman (Marc Webb) Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans Peter Parker (Garfield) discovers something that might explain the mysterious disappearance of his parents when he was younger. His investigation leads him to his father’s old business partner Dr. Curt Connors, who has his own secret identity himself.

To make things even more complicated he’s dating Gwen (Stone) whose father – chief of police Captain Stacy – seems hell bent on capturing the elusive Spiderman. A fuss was kicked up when Tobey Maguire, director Sam Raimi and Kirsten Dunst announced that none of them would be involved in the fourth of this current Spiderman series. Will this deter punters from filling the seats this summer? Only time will tell.

20/07 The Dark Knight Rises (Christopher Nolan) Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, Jason GordonLevitt Eight years after taking the rap for Two Face’s crimes in the last installment, Gotham City finds itself under the rule of the terrorist Bane (Hardy) who seems intent on destroying the city.

Batman (Bale) finds himself back in the city that has disowned him, working with Catwoman (Hathaway) and Commissioner Gordon (Oldman) in order to stop him.

Christopher Nolan’s take on the Batman franchise has been applauded by critics worldwide and it was unsure where he would go after the tragically premature death of Heath Ledger. Promises to be one of the ‘must-sees’ of the year and definitely worth a trip to the cinema.

10/08 Prometheus (Ridley Scott) Noomi Rapace, Logan Marshall-Green, Michael Fassbender What could be more anxiously anticipated than a film set in space directed

by Ridley Scott himself? Add that to the fact that he hasn’t been back there since his seminal work Alien in 1977 and you can see why the hype. Will it just be a rehash of Alien again? Or will he bring to it something new?

Let’s not forget that between 1977 and now he has made Blade Runner (1982), Thelma & Louise (1991), Gladiator (2000) and the more recent American Gangster (2007).

Will he bring to his second outing into space something he has learnt throughout a long and fruitful career as a director? Or will it fall into his other category of (ahem) lesser films (White Squall, 1996 & G.I. Jane, 1997). All eyes will certainly be on him this summer.

20/07 Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter – based on a novel by Seth Grahame-Smith we see the chin-strapped president moonlighting as a vampire slayer. Brilliant!

03/08 The Bourne Legacy – Damon out and Hurt Locker’s Jeremy Renner in for the next in the series.

17/08 Total Recall – remake of the 1990 Schwarzenegger classic starring Colin Farrell.

Brave – animated film about a princess (voiced by Kelly McDonald) who brings a curse upon her kingdom.

Cosmopolis – new offering from Cronenberg starring Twilight’s Robert Pattinson.

24/08 ParaNorman – another animated film about a boy who can communicate with the dead.

31/08 Lawless – Depressionera film about bootleggers starring Tom Hardy.

Keep yourself upto-date with the latest films by liking us on Facebook.

Filmoteca, Pl. del Ayuntamiento, 17 www.filmoteca.es Yelmo Cines, Av. Tirso de Molina, 16, www.yelmocines.es Babel, C/ Vicente Sancho Tello, 10, www.cinesalbatrosbabel.com Kinepolis, Av. de Francisco Tomás y Valiente, Paterna www.kinepolis.es

01/08/1800 The Act of Union 1800 is passed which merges the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

First certificate

Like 'inVLC' on Facebook for more cinema information

Green living | A house of straw

24

Advanced

I

t's been a busy couple of months here in Valencia, with the Feria Alternativa being the highlight of many a person's agenda. The inVLC crew went down and joined in with the fun, bought some great tasting food and learnt a little too.

The Feria Alternativa was as enjoyable and interesting as ever this year. It is normally held on the first weekend of June every year down amongst the trees between the Calatrava bridge and the Flower bridge and this year was no exception. There were about 5 different sections in all, but one of the most popular was of course the food aisle. It had many mouth-watering types of organic and vegetarian meals and during the lunch period there were queues so it was important to get there early to avoid the rush. To quench the thirst, there were a variety of organic fruit juices, organic beer and also organic horchata, our very own local drink from Alboraya. The prices were reasonable for the quality of the food - you could get a main course, a drink and a dessert for about €9.

Straw Bale Building We all know the children's bedtime story about the three little piggies and how the little pigs who built their houses with straw and sticks had their houses blown down by the big bad wolf and were subsequently eaten by him. The third piggie who built his house with blocks withstood the best efforts of the wolf to blow it down and survived.

This story was obviously invented by the construction industry to promote blocks, but nowadays it seems that straw bale buildings are made of a lot sterner stuff. In the Feria I found a group called OKAM BUVA Coop (www.okambuva.coop) who were explaining to people how bioconstruction works and in particular straw bale building with cane. They provide many services to those who want to use alternative building (wood, mud, straw bale, etc.) such as architects, legal advice, designs, courses, and workshops.

The hand-made/artisan products area was the biggest and had the variety of products available. Furthermore the creativity and imagination involved was impressive. It included paintings, shoes, jewellery, lampshades, percussion instruments, all types of clothes, oils and perfumes... There was a stage which had many musicians, DJs and different types There is another web page (www.casasdepaja.org) of music going on all day and late into the available on straw bale building. On this site you can put night. Two Non-Governmental Organization your name forward to gain experience areas had a strong presence. One included by volunteering to help someone else animal rights, Greenpeace, Ecologistas en to build their house and then when Acción, etc. and all things to do with the you are ready to build your own, you protection of the environment. can look for volunteers or paid workers The other was more political and to help you build yours. I know a couple included the Anarchists, Unions, May 15th from Madre Tierra near Chiva who have movement, etc. demanding changes built their own straw bale house from in our political system. scratch and it turned out to be solid Overall it was a very enjoyable and beautiful; cool in the summer and weekend, I had two meals there, visited warm in the winter. Previously there were nearly all the stands, met a lot of friends legal problems regarding safety with and the atmosphere was really cool and straw bale construction but according © casadepeaja.org laid back. What stood out out for me was to the people on the stand those have a stand that I hadn't seen before, called all been sorted out and it's easy to get "Straw Bale Building". permission now.

Declan Lehane A little goes a long way What| Close the windows blinds to keep out the extreme heat during ponientes and the peak heat hours.

Why| You'll reduce your air-con bills and be cooler.

Why not| Your rooms will be darker!

Benefits| All electricity comes at a price, financial to you and environmental to everyone.

02/08/1937 The Marihuana Tax Act is passed in America. The Act levied a tax of nearly one dollar on anyone who dealt commercially in cannabis, hemp, or marijuana.

F

or this special summer issue, I’ll give you a recipe for a vegetable that will be in season for the whole summer. You can of course buy tomatoes all year round, but most of the winter ones don’t come from the land, but from a greenhouse. No, now is the time for a truly delicious tomato from the local area: the Valencian tomato!

The Valencian tomato is, surprise surprise, grown in the Valencian region. It’s not only one of the tastiest tomatoes in the world, it’s also one of the prettiest.

The Valencian tomato is quite a bit bigger then your average supermarket tomato. When you buy them, they probably still have an uneven green-red colour. They are delicious at this stage, even though they might not look fully ripened. When the tomatoes ripen further, they become truly red – and they soften a bit. So if you like your tomatoes a bit firm, like I do, use green-red ones.

25

What to buy| 4 people 500-800 grams of Valencian tomatoes, washed Good olive oil Balsamic Vinegar 2 cloves of garlic, in thin slices Bunch of fresh parsley, washed Salt & pepper Optional: good black olives (may be from a glass jar but not from a tin!)

Nice fresh bread for tomatogarlic tostadas

Wow Factor| Delicious and best eaten on a long summer night with friends and a good glass of wine Effort| Easy, but pay attention to the details

Cantina Marina www.cantinamarinacatering.blogspot.com

How to make the dressing and the tomatoes | one Start with the dressing: pour about 6 spoons of olive oil in a nice bowl or (terracotta) deep plate and add about 2 spoons of balsamic vinegar. You can use a bit more or less depending on the amount of salad you’re making, but keep in mind that you should use a ratio of oil to balsamic of 3:1. two Add garlic and freshly ground salt and pepper. Salt enhances the taste of everything and is quite important in this dish, so don’t be sparing with it. three Choose one of the softest tomatoes and slice one half into very small bits. Keep the other half for the tostadas. Add the tomato slices - including excess liquid to the dressing. four Cut a big handful of parsley (can also be done with scissors) and add this to the dressing. five Give everything a good stir and put the dressing away in the fridge for at least half an hour. six Cut the tomatoes into little wedges or slices (depending on artistic preference). seven Have a little patience and maybe a sip of wine. eight Test the dressing and if you’re not satisfied add a bit more salt, pepper, oil or vinegar. nine Add the tomatoes to the dressing and let it all stand (in a cool place but preferably not in the fridge) for at least half an hour. ten If you want, add some black olives. These will be quite salty so keep that in mind when seasoning your dish.

How to make the tostadas | one While you are waiting for all the tastes to intensify, you can make the tomato-garlic tostadas. Cut the bread in half - sideways. two Pour on some olive oil. three Rub one clove of (peeled) garlic over the bread. Do this quite thoroughly so the garlic crumbles a bit. four Rub the soft tomato half over the bread and add a bit of salt and pepper. five Put under the grill and toast both sides for about 2-4 minutes. six Serve the salad with extra cut parsley on top and make sure you dip up all the nice dressing with the fresh and toasted bread!

7500

The number of types of tomatoes which are grown internationally. The most common are the Globe tomatoes, which are used in everyday cooking and salads.

12

The temperature in Celsius at which tomatos cannot ripen further. Below 5 degrees their cell structure will be damaged which destroys their taste.

So for the best flavour, don't keep tomatoes in the fridge.

03/08/1492 Christopher Columbus sets sail from Spain, aiming for Japan. He misses and finds himself and his crew in the Bahamas which eventually starts the process of Spanish colonization.

First certificate

Recipe | Tomato & garlic tostadas

26

Health | Beating back pain

Y

ou’ve tried everything. You sleep with pillows under your legs…tried punishing therapy…you are half conscious from taking painkillers all day…you’ve even tried painful injections that gave you only temporary relief at best…and maybe your doctors are now even telling you that you may need surgery because nothing else has worked.

For most back pain sufferers, the worst fear is that the pain will continue to get worse, leaving them unable to work during these difficult economic times or, even just being able to get through the day taking care of the family or simple things like being able to be self-sufficient and take care of oneself.

There’s good news though. No one has to live with back pain. Life can be pain free. It's possible to stop running from doctor to doctor, rying medication after medication and doing exercise after exercise without finding relief.

One of the options available to you now is chiropractic. It works by relieving nervous system pressure and muscle tension through gentle adjustments to the spine, fixing structural and mechanical problems that are often causing pain. As a result, chiropractic 'triggers' the body’s own miraculous healing system naturally and without having to rely on potentially dangerous treatment options.

One of the benefits is that chiropractic can have immediate effects…and it can work for most cases of back pain. That means that in just a short period of time (often just a few weeks) backpain sufferers could be back to doing the things that they enjoy most in life…pain free and feeling great again.

For those back pain sufferers, this can mean the realisation of riding the bike again, being able to exercise, enjoying long walks, spending quality time with the family on a weekend, being able to be productive again at work, simply being able to be self-sufficient again and most importantly, enjoying life again without the controlling back pain.

ASK YOURSELF THESE QUESTIONS Most people who try chiropractic are actually amazed to discover 1. Are you stiff as a board when you that correcting their problems and wake up in the morning? getting out of their pain is often NOT as complex as they might think. In 2. Is it a challenge just to bend over fact, they are astonished when they and put your shoes on? get results after only the first few treatments, even when they’ve tried 3. Have you lost nights of sleep every other medical option available because of your pain? without results.

4. Has your back pain kept you from doing your normal everyday activities?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, back pain has a grip on your life.

After only a few adjustments (sometimes after only one), sufferers may feel the immediate relief of pain and 'vice like grip' pressure in backs and joints. They may also feel the intense tension melting away in their muscles as tight spasms release.

They will see and feel their ability to bend and move return and feel strength and stability finally start to return.

In fact, I’m confident that this may actually change the lives of those who have been suffering in pain and haven’t been able to find real relief… no matter what they try.

Richard Millo

And, if you’re wondering just who else relies on chiropractic care - Olympic and professional athletes, movie stars, top politicians and, most likely, many of your neighbours, relatives and friends.

1895 The year Canadian, Daniel David Palmer founded chiropractic in the US.

45,601 The number of ConsumerReport subscribers who took part in a survey about medicine. Of those, 65% of people who had used chiropractic for back pain said it "helped a lot".

10/08/1793 The Musée du Louvre is officially opened in Paris, France. Containing 380,000 different objects, it is the most visited art museum in the world recording 8.8 million visitors in 2011.

Like 'inVLC' on Facebook for more art to see

Art to see

27 27

" Collage is like a hall of mirrors.

Every direction you look, you see something different and visually stimulating." Nita Leland) Composing discomposure (IVAM until 19th August) As a modern art museum, IVAM rarely disappoints, and its Pieces Patterns Lines - a superb collection of collage - is outstanding. Exhibiting a vast selection of works from a host of artist, the show completely dispels any misconceptions about the mastery of this process or its rightful place amid the more conventional or readily acknowledged modern art forms. By putting leagues between what we can see and the familiar notions of collage, principally safety scissors, sugar paper and PVA glue, this welcome aberration enthrals in terms of diversity of medium, theme, content, narrative, composition and execution. As for those responsible for this particular collection, their efforts are truly laudable. Each piece is an extraordinary amalgam; each assembly more expressive; excessive than the next. Although some pieces appear polite and clean-cut, others are rough and dishevelled and brash and just back from a merciless night out. A perceptibly noisy exhibition of involuntary cries, uproarious laughter and distorted whispers, this is clearly what atonal music would look like if it chose to take a form.

I like pre-empting an exhibition about as much as I like snacking before dinner, and hence rarely gen up pre-visit for fear of spoiling my appetite. Not one spare component. Nothing garnered from before or hoarded for later. Neither a line too many nor too few in these images of chaotic exactitude. I left feeling neither hungry nor glutted, indicative of how IVAM’s acute sense of equilibrium ensures that it continues to rival the best art museums in Europe and beyond.

IVAM, C/ Quevado, Guillem de Castro 118 | 96 386 30 00 | Tues-Sun: 10am-8pm | www.ivam.es | Free!

Can you see wha ri tiz yet? (La Nau, Sala Estudi General until 16th September) Long, long ago in the land of children’s TV there lived an artist. His name was Rolf Harris, and despite some artists’ derisory comments regarding his graphic impressionism and his inability to produce a true reproduction of what he saw before him, everyone secretly loved Rolf. He was passionate, artistically intelligent, interesting and very, very funny. With a few stokes of a brush, he produced, what were to the eyes of budding young artist and their parents alike, masterpieces. Consequently, it was with great joy that I fortuitously stuck upon an exhibition at La Nau by a (for me) hitherto unknown artist, Rosa Torres. Bosques y montañas is mesmerising, for here is an artist happily and expertly depicting everyday aspects of the natural world with as much easy and economy as great artist such as Monet, Renoir and, of course, Rolf himself.

At a glance, these beautiful abstractions appear to be huge reproductions of images created not with acrylic paint, but Pantone pens – the only clue to their true rendering being that of a few stay bristles stuck to the massive canvasses.

What’s more, like many a good beer, more than four colour ingredients are rarely used as there’s just no need. A closer inspection of the accompanying catalogue reveals the prolific nature of Torres’ work and includes examples of still lives and figurative paintings. Postcard-size sketches offer added insight and complete the exhibition experience. It’s hardly surprising, therefore, that the work of artist such as Torres grace the walls of great institutions like La Nau while others do not. Well worth a visit.

ML La Nau, Centre Cultural de la Universitat de Valencia, C/ Universitat, 2 | 963 98 34 69 Tues-Sat: 10am-2pm, 4pm-8pm, Sundays/holidays 10am-2pm| www.uv.es | Free!

04/08/1693 Date given to Dom Perignon's invention of Champagne, although he actually did not have anything to do with sparkling white. Wines at the time were red and non-fizzy.

28

Charity | El Maccarón Solidario

First certificate

M

anuel had prepared paella for Sunday lunch when his son called to say that they were going to eat with their mum. Not wanting to waste the food, Manuel and his partner Paula, put the food in old Chinese take away pots and took them down to the park. They asked some homeless people if they had had lunch and fed ten of them. The next week they fed 18 and over the last three years the number of people who receive a Sunday lunch has grown to between 80 and 120.

Manuel and Paula decided that economically, paella wasn’t the best idea and so switched to macaroni, hence the name. They recruited friends to help out and petitioned support from local businesses to offset the costs. A friend at a hotel freezes bread that they don’t sell for their use, a Coca Cola rep gives them drinks and they get discounts on sauce and packaging.

Included in the weekly volunteers are teenagers from the American School of Valencia. Working on a rota basis different kids come each week to help out. Manuel sees this as a key part of their work. "Very often we have more volunteers than we need to get the work done, but the important thing is to get these kids involved, to get them to see a different side of life."

One of the regular volunteers summed up the experience as we returned from the park. "Sometimes it’s hard to drag my ass out of bed on a Sunday morning but that ten minutes there, as we gave out the food, that’s a good feeling, that’s why I come back."

Once the food is distributed the multi-national team return to Manuel and Paula’s apartment and have lunch together. Solidarity indeed!

Eoghan Ryan

Many of the people who rely on El Maccarón are immigrants who have no way of supporting themselves.

Manuel describes how they had everything organised, and were feeding upwards of 120 people every Sunday when the police started to intern the African men who parked cars in the neighbourhood. He says it was hard to locate people after that. "We went down to the Turia and walked up and down until we started to meet some familiar faces.

They were nervous, but bit by bit we got the message out that if they came back to the park at a certain time we would have lunch for them."

In 2011, El Maccarón de Solidario won the Barclay’s Individual Achievement of the Year for Europe.

The organisation relies on a network of volunteers, some come every week, others sporadically. Manuel and Paula manage the volunteers through their Facebook page. (elmacarronsolidario) They have just set up a donation system through Teaming, which allows supporters to donate 1 euro a month. Their overheads are not huge but like everything they add up and something like this will allow for regular income to keep the project going.

05/08/2010 Copiapó mining accident occurs, trapping 33 Chilean miners underground for 69 days. An estimated global audience of 1 billion people watched the subsequent rescue.

Cold as ice cocktails

29

K

eep cool this summer with inVLC's selection of the finest frozen cocktails. As always you can stick to the set recipe or if you are feeling creative make your own signature cocktails by tweaking them to your preferences (or just to what you have at home)!

one Rock Lobster

two Chi-Chi

1 cup of ice 30ml light rum 15 ml banana liqueur Dash of grenadine 1/2 ripe banana (peeled) Dash of pineapple juice Dash of orange juice Dark rum to top

1/2 cup ice 60 ml vodka 15 ml blue curaçao 15 ml coconut milk 1/2 cup fresh or canned pineapple Scoop of vanilla ice cream Chunk of pineapple for garnish

three Piña Colada

Pour all ingredients except the dark rum into a blender.

Blend until smooth.

Pour into a chilled glass.

Top with the dark rum.

Pour all ingredients into a blender.

Blend until smooth.

60 ml white rum 180 ml pineapple juice 45 ml coconut liqueur or coconut milk 30 ml cream/nata Maraschino cherry for garnish Pineapple wedge for garnish

Garnish with pineapple.

If the mix turns out too thick add juice; too thin add ice cream.

Blend all ingredients in a mixer with approximately 2 cups of ice.

Strain into a hurricane glass.

Garnish with the cherry and pineapple wedge.

Serves 1

Serves 1

Serve in a large cocktail glass.

Serve in a tall glass.

Serves 1 Serve in a highball glass.

Cocktail glassware is not just for aesthetics.

Each glass' characteristics, can affect your drinking experience.

For example, a glass with a stem can reduce heat from your hand passed to the cold drink. Other times you may want to heat the drink. You should have Collins, old-fashioned and cocktail glasses in your cabinet.

30

Animals | Roaches

Advanced

O

ne small beast is quite often overlooked when a 'What are you scared of?' question arises, but this little creature is probably responsible for more screams across Spain throughout the summer months than those induced from the sight of the usual answers of mice, rats and spiders combined. It is that of the Blattaria or Blattodea order of insects - the good old, panic-inducing cockroach. In summer they seem to appear when you least expect them, but perhaps that's not really a surprise as it is estimated that there are 4,500 dierent species, and of those, 30 species regularly come into contact with humans. That may make you wonder where the rest of them are all hiding, but then we'd probably not want to know the answer and even less likely want to go looking for them.

Cockroaches can grow up to 3cm long but may appear larger due to the large antennae that they have protruding from their heads and while they can adapt to almost any living condition they can be found primarily in tropical and sub-tropical climates such as here in Spain.

Here are some facts that may help and may disgust you as we ďŹ nd out a little bit more about these insects that co-share our homes.

They are mainly nocturnal and will run away when exposed to light. Leaving your light on however does not mean that they will not try to get into your food cabinet. Tests have proven that they are able to associate the scent of vanilla and peppermint with a sugar treat. The fact that they see this as a sugar treat does not bode well for what they will make of your actual bag of sugar. Make sure you keep that kind of food in an airtight container.

Cockroaches leave chemical trails in their droppings as well as emitting airborne pheromones for swarming and mating. These chemical trails transmit bacteria on surfaces.

Other cockroaches will follow these trails to discover sources of food and water, and also discover where other cockroaches are hiding. A very good reason to keep all your food preparation surfaces clean.

Foster/ permanent homes URGENTLY required Name| Roxy Age| 11 months Size| Small/Med Appearance| Labrador type Personality| Gentle, non-aggressive, good with dogs & cats Health| Health vaccinated and sterilised Info| P.E.P.A - 650 304 746 www.pepaspain.com

Female cockroaches can produce an extremely high number of eggs in a lifetime, and in some cases a female needs to be impregnated only once to be able to lay eggs for the rest of her life.

Perhaps most alarming/amazing is their propensity to survive. Cockroaches are among the hardiest insects on the planet. Some species are capable of remaining active for a month without food and are able to survive on limited resources like the glue from the back of postage stamps.

Some can go without air for 45 minutes, and in one experiment, cockroaches were able to recover from being submerged underwater for half an hour.

But we end on a positive note. It is a popular misconception that if you stand on a pregnant female the eggs are scattered all over the room or stick to your shoe and then hatch later. This is simply not true, so if you do feel like squashing it rather than catching it and throwing it out the window then you can do that with the sureďŹ re knowledge that hundreds of babies will not take the mother's place.

06/08/1926 Harry Houdini performs possibly his greatest feat, spending 91 minutes underwater in a sealed tank before escaping. He died just 2 months later from a ruptured appendix.

Events & Classifieds

Rastros | Montroy | 5 Aug, 2 Sept (1st Sun monthly)| C/ La Pau, 625 674 906 Sagrario Masia | 21 July, 18 Aug (3rd Sat monthly * Note day change!) Mas Pavia Restaurante, nr Monserrat. Eng 625819734/ Spa 616399372, sparklesinsunshine@gmail.com.

Events & networking groups| Cooking friends| New group who meet, cook and eat. In one evening you will be cooking a dish, have dinner in 3 different houses and meet 12 new people. Great way to meet new people and have fun. www.cookingfriends.es IWC| Monthly coffee mornings. An independent organisation offering: Support, Friendship, networking... NO MEETING IN AUGUST!. Hipercor - C.Comercial Ademuz, Av. Pio XII, 51 VLC, top floor restaurant. www.iwc-valencia.ning.com 2nd Friday lunch| A get together group for lunch and chat. 2pm. The venue changes. mm@centralpoint.es.

Internations events| A monthly meet up of international people. www.internations.org

Lliria | 11 Aug, 8 Sept (2nd Sat monthly) | Bellamy's Bar, 18 Avenida Polideportivo, Domeño, Tables free. 962728368, Lyn 625217777 magpiesbar@yahoo.com Turis| 19 Aug 3rd Sun Monthly Town Hall/ Market Square: Pl. Vicente Ribes, 1€ p/m, Eng 635090651/ Span 652 447 927

31

Markets | Mon-Montroy, Tues-Monserrat & Turis, Weds-L’Eliana Piccassent & Villamarchante, Thurs-Alaquas & Lliria, Fri-Moraira, Turis, Torrente & Chiva, Sat-Real de Montroy & Torrente, Sun-Alborache

For sale| Portable Air Con unit - excellent condition - 45€ (Lliria 961105196) Panasonic TV 32" (old style). Good condition - works very well, but no remote. 20€ (Lliria 961105196) For sale| MONTSERRAT AREA : Free Standing Air Conditioning Unit (h:82cm, w:36cm, d:40cm) 60€. New Ceramic Shower Tray (120cm x 70cm) 70€. White Free-standing Cooker (h:88cm, w:50cm, d:52cm) 50€.

Child's Booster Seat (15kg+) 5€. Selection of Sky Boxes (price on asking). Tel: 637004816 / 962110171.

Business for sale| Bookshop in city centre, Valencia is up for sale due to changes in personal circumstances. Great business opportunity. Call for more information 633 822 614.

Games Cryptograms have a hidden quote but every letter of the alphabet has been changed. Start with 1, 2 & 3 letter words. Remember the most common letters in the English language are E-T-A-I-O-N. In Sudoku, every row & column of 9 numbers & 3x3 box must include all digits 1-9 in any order.

Cryptogram

OGB ZYY, XJ RXKY, RGDZ GK HYGHRY EJGV VCFD DG UG, ABD KYV HYGHRY FSDBFRRO UG VCFD DCYO EJGV. EJGVXJT XZ JGD YJGBTC! OGB PBZD DFEY FSDXGJ. - ANTHONY ROBBINS

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

32

ENGLISH COURSES 2012-2013 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 6 de septiembre FECHA DE MATRÍCULA a partir del 17 de septiembre T 96 339 29 80, Avd Cataluña 9 46020 Valencia

www.britishcouncil.es

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