December

December 1

A new month, a new entry, because I think our blog was getting kind of long, wasn't it?

I'm watching BBC News at the moment as President elect Obama has just appointed her former bitter campaign rival Hillary Clinton as the new US Secretary of State. Little by little Barack is unveiling his new team, which is something not to be taken lightly because the world's future political stability is at stake, especially as regards the US policy in Irak, Afghanistan and the Middle East. Wow, I sound like a seasoned political analyst! As a matter of fact, I'm only rambling

on in order to fill the gap of this new entry, because I have no idea how it will affect the blog's layout. So, I'm going to publish it on the Net right away and check what it looks like.


December 3

Hello guys! I'm about to set off for the Würzburg Sports Hall to watch another exciting Avenida match, but before that I was having a look at the blog and thrilled to find out that some of you have been writing more reviews (thanks a lot, Javi and Mila! By the way, Ana, Breakfast with Pluto is a film, not a book) and some really good ones, I must say. Keep blogging, you guys!

Now, there's been another atrocity, to say the least, committed by the Mafia men of ETA, because that's what they should be called, no matter how many times international media like the CNN and the BBC keep branding them as "Basque separatists". Simply outrageous!

Anyway, there's

something else I wanted to say. Surely you remember how yesterday I encouraged you all to listen to as much material as you can so as to get used to the sound of English, its various accents, etc. You know, I sometimes wonder if us teachers are partly to blame for "overexposing" you to "textbook stuff", if you see what I mean, instead of "the real thing". What you must bear in mind is that, however little you may understand at times, is important to keep an upbeat attitude but, above all, practice an awful lot outside the class. I try to provide you with as much "real" both written and oral language , mostly related to the issues we deal with in class, as I possibly can.
Fair enough. If you want to get further practice in listening skills, I can recommend you an excellent website with plenty of different tasks suitable to all levels and interests. It's ca

lled ELLLO (English Listening Language Lab Online) and you can find it here. I'll briefly show you how it works tomorrow and I'm sure you will enjoy it if you visit the site now and then, and, what's more important, you will learn a lot! By the way, don't fail to open your email and find the listening task regarding mobile manners, will you?

Well, I must be going, basketball is waiting for me. Join me again later on ... Cheers everyone!


December 4

Morning pals! Sorry I didn't blog in last night but my energy was drained after another - yet again - thrilling basketball game by our fantastic local team, Perfumerias Avenida. I have the hunch that this season they will achieve something great, but so far so good - history in the making!
Enough sport. Now, let me tell you that I'm going to send back all your corrected reviews by mail (on PDF Format). You will see bits and pieces highlighted in red, which means that you should pay atention to

those chunks of language, either because I've corrected them or simply they sound more natural this way. You see, I'm glad to say that, generally speaking, you've absorbed the lexis related to review-writing wonderfully, but still need to be a little more careful as regards both COHESION and COHERENCE, as well as STYLE (probably because you tend to translate from Spanish into English at times). Also I feel that sometimes you must organize the information in paragraphs more neatly. And last but not least, don't forget to check grammar, spelling and vocabulary. But all in all, I'm really satisfied with the task, and want to encourage you to keep writing regularly.

By the way, talking about reviews and stuff, you might have heard that JK Rowling has released her latest book, a fairytale story called Beedle the Bard , a Harry Potter's spin-off. If you want to find the details, click on this BBC link. You can even see a brief clip of the massive launch in the UK's bookshops. This reminds me that we're (it's my fault too) kind of reluctant to start the class library, you know, lending and borrowing the titles you have been listing on and off (any more books you wish to "donate to the cause?)

OK, this is all for now. I look forward to seeing you guys this evening and talking about these things. Cheerio! And keep blogging!



December 5

Hi there! First of all, I MUST "apologize" for pestering you with yesterday's "modals" drag (=tostón) which, even if you MIGHT HAVE forgotten by now, was kind of unbearable, wasn't it? Believe me, I've been teaching for 20+ years and I still wonder what's the best way to cope with that dodgy grammar point. The thing is that, as far as I'm concerned, I've always found them dead easy, I mean, I use them quite naturally and, honestly, I try to remember how I learned them myself as a student, either at secondary school or university, and I really don't have the answer. I guess I did hundreds of exercises on modals in my youth and later on I've found them so many times in articles, listening comps, etc. and, of course, in conversation that I've eventually "assimilated" them. But when it comes to teaching, even with the aid of a textbook, I'm never sure if you come to terms with them or get more confused. Sorry!
Listen, my wife s

ays she wants to watch a DVD that I've told her about these days: The Kite Runner (Cometas en el cielo), which is supposed to be a great film, so I'll close now and continue blogging tomorrow morning ...


December 6

Here we go again! It was way past midnight when the film ended and in a couple of hours I'm going to Lumbrales for a family affair so I decided to turn in straightaway.
Let me start by telling you that we loved The Kite Runner. Suffice it to say that my wife and I were moved to tears by the final scene; we don't know why but we COULDN'T 't help looking at each other and start crying. Call us sentimental if you WILL but it is such a

wonderful story, set against the backdrop of both the Russian invasion in Afghanistan and the Taliban rule, sometimes blood-curdling - there's this terrible scene of a woman being stoned to death - sometimes tender, always stirring. The original version mixes Persian with the occasional English and there's no other way to see the flick but with Spanish subtitles if you want to enjoy its real flavour. A cast of unknown actors and actresses does a brilliant job, the cinematography is extraordinary and I can only say it's one of the best films I've seen in months, so I recommend it to you all, because in this day and age, when there are so many big-budget Hollywood blockbusters dominated by action-packed, special effects-oriented mindless stor

ies, The Kite Runner is definitely a breath of fresh air, definitely a MUST-see movie, so I look forward to your orders!

Fair enough. Now back to the modals stuff. As I said on Thursday I want to recommend a few exercises from the Book's grammar practice on pages 126-127, in particular 2, 4, 6 & 8, which doesn't mean you CAN'T do them all if necessary after, of course, going through the language summary on 124-25 should you find the tasks too difficult. Needless to say, I'll send the key to the exercises in due course. And if you are willing to get some further practice on the Net, click on this link for more gap-filling exercises.
Listen guys. I know there's a "puente" ahead, but I guess you still SHOULD devote

some time to English. And one final thing: if you wish to talk to me personally about your corrected review you can do so after the lessons or online. I'll be delighted to help you improve your writing skills.
That's all for now. Enjoy the long weekend and keep blogging ...



December 7

Try this link to see if my new goear.com subscription works ...
It does work! Thanks Ana, now I can upload not only class recordings, but also songs. I think you told me you could even download a music player from the goear site, but if that is so, I don't know how. No big deal, I just wanted to create links to mp3 files on this blog.


December 11
Yesterday marked the 60th anniversary of the UN Declaration of Human Rights, the ones that us "human" beings systematically violate on a daily basis, so I thought I should include the link to the 2-page Chart in English which summarizes the fundamental principles. It's on PDF and easy to read, lest we forget that dignity and respect should be the pillars of our society.
Oddly enough, on such an important date huge controversy arose in the UK: for the first time, a British TV channel (Sky's Real Lives) showed a documentary of an assisted suicide, including the moment of death, of a terminally-ill man. Probably many of you remember Amenabar's film Mar Adentro, which tells the story of Ramon Sampedro, a man who had been 25 plus years confined to bed with a degenerative illness and whose last will was to die with dignity. Well, Craig Ewert's story is pretty much the same. You see, I had watched (and recorded on DVD) the news, when a couple of hours later I received a mail by Javi Becerro telling me about it. The question is: Should a person who is cr

itically ill have the right to choose when and how to die? It's a very sticky (=dodgy) issue with very accute medical, moral, even religious connotations, which the general public hold very strong opinions about.
Well, I wonder if I should play the news in class today ... See you later.


Ana and Almu have taught me to post a player onto this blog but I'm not sure if I'm doing it the right way so I'm going to give it a go with a song by Aretha Franklin (you know how much I like her!). Arguably one of the best soul songs ever, and I dare say I'm not exaggerating (some of you might have even heard it before). So will you listen to it on my brand-new "blog player" do

wn below? Enjoy!



December 14

Good afternoon everyone (it's only a manner of speaking, as it's another dreadful wintry day). Let me start by saying that I didn't see Batman's latest adventure last night because my son, who is masochistic enough to watch that deplorable sport called football, insisted on sitting through the Barca-Madrid drag. I mean, an overexcited team pushed by the fans and the media versus a mediocre side who refused to play football except defensively. So much for this "opium of the masses" ... By the way, have you had time to read the El Pais feature on the "clasico"?
Enough sport, so to music now. Do you remember I told you over dinner last Friday (have you already seen Ana's photos?) that Coldplay have been sued by legendary guitari

st Joe Satriani on the grounds of plagiarism for the verse section of their world-famous hit Viva la Vida. Well, I'm posting this YouTube video where you can decide for yourselves:


You see, now I know I can "embed" YouTube clips onto our blog. Not bad!
Anyway, back to the controversy, I'm not a musician but I dare say the two tunes sound pretty much the same. And my son, who is a talented guitarist himself (very fond of Joe Satriani, I must admit) and knows the stuff (he can read music and distinguish music notes) swears the two pieces are almost identical in melody, rhythm and, what's more important, harmony. So, time will tell if Satriani has a case ...

Well, that's all for now. Keep clicking!

December 15

It's official: Christmas has just begun. I mean, wow, what a day! It took me a good hour and 10 minutes to drive from work to home (when usually it's barely 10 minutes). You know, I could

n't see a single guy from the Civil Defence Organization spreading salt on the roads or a local Police or Civil Guard officer organizing the chaotic traffic, NOBODY, and it makes me mad to think that on such occasions we're sort of abandoned to our fate, so to speak. Anyway, as they say, when it snows a lot crops are plentiful (and pockets full). I just hope this snowstorm didn't bring any nasty consequences to any of you, like an unlucky tumble or a minor car crash (I've seen one or two on my way home). The photo? It's just my daughter with her "seasonal" friend (see how I'm drooling?)

Right now I'm watching Wimbledon on and off, since I've seen it before (I've got the ripped DVD if you want to borrow it). Talking about films, I too

k advantage of this snowy day to watch Batman's The Dark Knight this afternoon. An interesting plot, great performances by the late Heath Ledger as the creepy joker and the ever so effective Gary Oldman as the upright police captain, fast-paced action ... in a nutshell, a recommendable flick, if only marred, to my mind, by an excessive length (156 minutes) and too much, somewhat unnecessary, shooting and bombing. All in all, though, the best Batman film. Want to see the trailer? YouTube it!


Well, that's all for

now. I hope some of you are watching Wimbledon. A nice mix of English and American accents ... This reminds we have to agree on a film for Thursday's Xmas farewell lesson, don't we?

December 17

Hi everyone! Here I am, an early riser (it's barely 7 a.m.), to add a little something to our blog. You see, yesterday in class we watched this hilarious Friends episode called TOW Ross steps forward which just came handy with the "what-to-say-in-a-difficult-situation" thing, as an uncommitted Ross cannot properly express his feelings for a girl he's dating due to, so to speak, problems with his communication skills. Of course you can find the stuff on Youtube - in three parts actually, this is the first one -, so have a look:

Then we deal

t with the subject of shy people and did the exercises on page 30 prior to a rather boringly academic listening comprehension activity, in which expert Rosemary Bailey (not related to the famous drink AFAIK) rambles on about ways to improve poor communication skills. We did exercise 4 on page 31, so I've uploaded the recording on goear.com for those of you who didn't come along. I was even wondering if those of you who actually did, would like to listen to the piece again and do exercise 5 as a follow-up task (a TRUE / FALSE exercise). You know, Rosemary has this weird kind of husky voice of hers, but still a standard accent, and it's always a good idea to listen to class material at home again, isn't it?


That's all for now, buddies. I might extend this blog a little longer before tomorrow's "farewell" lessons (we will be in for something extra, a Xmas treat such as a film or some Friends-like TV stuff) so keep clicking!

December 19

Hi again! Can you picture someone "babysitting" for three kids while watching School of Rock? Well, that's my son and daughter and myself right now with a spe

cial guest: my nephew Pablo.
I've just read Ana's comment on the blog, which says: "As some of you know I have a blog too.. then I would like if you contribute with something.. maybe in English would be a good idea, but you can write in Spanish if you want to..." I mean, MAYBE? Send in what you want AS LONG AS it is in ENGLISH. You know, you can also contribute to Ana's blog in either language, but I'll be very jealous (ha ha, only joking!). My dear Ana deserves some recognition too.
So, want to send your Xmas wishes? Tell your pals what you're doing these days? C'mon, join our blog! Let me set an example. What do you think of this traditional Irish blessing?

May the songs of the Season rise to greet you
May the Winter wind be always at your back
May the Frost shimmer soft upon your fields
And, until we meet again, may the Love of the Christ Child shine warm upon your Home

I know, I'm not supposed to be carried away by the merriment of the festive season, but what the heck, it's Irish and in English!
By the way, talking about Irish things, would you like to listen to The Rare Old Mountain Dew, the traditional tune I mentioned yesterday which the Irish often sing when they are ... pissed-off. I think I told you it was about Guiness - that's what someone told me once in Dublin - but apparently not: I read it's about an alcoholic beverage called poitin. Comes handy for the festive season (ha ha!). And that peculiar brogue Irish accent!
No worries, here's goear.com to help you: press PLAY below for a cover version featuring The Pogues themselves and the mythical Irish folk band The Dubliners ...


And with slight variations, these are the lyrics:

Let grasses grow and waters flow

In a free and easy way

But give me enough of the rare old stuff

That's made near Galway Bay

And policemen all from Donegal,

Sligo and Leitrim too

We'll give them the slip and we'll take a sip

Of the real old mountain dew.

There's a neat little still at the foot of the hill

Where the smoke curls up to the sky

By a whiff of the smell you can plainly tell

That there's poteen boys close by.

For it fills the air with a perfume rare

And betwixt both me and you

As home we roll, we can drink a bowl

Or a bucketful of mountain dew.

Now learned men as use the pen

Have writ' the praises high

Of the rare poteen from Ireland green

Distilled from wheat and rye

Away with your pills, it'll cure all ills

Be ye pagan, Christian, or Jew

So take off your coat and grease your throat

With a bucket of the mountain dew.

Well, that's all for now. I have to put my kiddos and my nepwhew to bed. Look forward to your Xmas "linguistic gifts" and stuff ... Cheerio


December 23

Morning everyone! It's only one day before Xmas Eve, so let me ask you first of all: how was the lottery? Any luck? Well, for

me there was only a minor prize: 20 euros in a ticket from my kids' basketball club. You see, basketball is a great sport!
But honestly I've never believed in gambling, so I bet on the State lottery exclusively at Christmas. And if Lottery Day is traditionally called the "dia de la SALUD", well, let us pray to the gods for lots of it!
How are you enjoying your Xmas hols anyway? For me and my family it was a bit of snow and skiing in La Covatilla yesterday. I mean, it was them who skied, my wife and I just watched them now and them sliding downhill. Can any of you ski? I guess it must be great fun and perhaps I might give it a go ...
Listen, I'd love to hear from you guys. It seems only Ana "Cleo" is writing in the comments. I mean, are you practicing any English at all these days? Any articles you're reading, or films you're watching, or even workbook exercises you're doing?
You know, last night we (as a family) watched Mamma Mia. Based on Abba's stage musical, this "film" is a piece of FLUFF. So sickly-sweet, even extremely naff (=hortera) at times, but still good fun. I mean, it's not a movie in a way, but just entertaiment, a musical featuring most ABBA's classic hits a

nd starring the likes of Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Julie Walters, who sing the songs themselves. Sometimes the vocal performances are awful, the choreography really tacky, but as Ana said when talking about Miguel Bose's gig, and I CAN'T AGREE MORE (= I totally agree), music is all about EMOTIONS. I've never been a diehard fan of the Swedish four, but their music brings back so many teenage memories (who doesn't have their Greatest Hits album, at least in my generation?), so eventually you can't help humming the tunes in the film and tapping your feet. In a nutshell, an outstanding cast singing their hearts out. As ABBA would say, take a chance on Mamma Mia and dig the dancing queen ...
There you have it. Why don't you send it your comments if have seen a film during this holiday or read a book? ANYTHING! Keep your English alive and well, will you guys?
I must leave you now, I have a busy morning I'm afraid. But I'll get back with more tomorrow and try to send a Xmas Eve greeting. Happy day!


December 24
Merry Xmas Eve everyone!
I guess you must have received by now dozens of emails, featuring flashy e-cards, witty Powerpoint presentations, personalized elves, funny Excel montages, you name it. Well, I was tempted to send you such stuff until yesterday when, quite by chance, I came across something that made me change my mind and go for something, so to speak, less "merry" and more "christmasy English". You see, I had just taken my car to a garage for a bothersome adjuster's report and was on my way to take the bus back home when I saw the latest issue of Gratis, the free newspaper. As I soon as I popped on the bus I started reading it to find the "lost Soul" section, published in English, and to my pleasant surprise I found out that it dealt with, what else, Xmas! Immediately a heading caught my attention: What a load of B*****KS (=bollocks, a term whose primary meaning is "testicles", but here stands for "nonsense, crap"). The author simply intends, in a funny way, to list the things that indicate we're sick and tired of the Xmas season (as it usually happens to me!). Furthermore, there was this feature on the traditions behind the festive celebration and, last but not least, the famous, yet incomplete, poem by Clark Moore popularly known as The Night Before Christm

as. My mind went bing rightaway and I thought: many of the guys - I mean you, of course - probably read Gratis but some others don't, including those who are away, so hey presto, no sooner had I arrived home, I scanned the full page. Moreover, I remembered I had somewhere in my PC's hard disc the recording of the poem (the full version) so I said to myself: what a nice Christmas "English" gift this could be!
So, down below you can see the text of the poem and the mp3 player for you to listen to it in the voice of Mike Barlow, a British actor who predominantly does cinema trailers. I do hope you enjoy it (and not find it too difficult!). There's something I must confess: I would have loved to record my own voice, but the task takes quite a long while and today I have lot of guests both for lunch and dinner so my time is limited. But still it's my personal way to wish you all a happy day and a joyous Xmas Eve in the company of your loved ones. Un abrazo fuerte y besos para todos-as ...

PS: Open your mails to find the rest of the Xmas stuff. Otherwise, this entry would be way too long!

A VISIT FROM SAINT NICHOLAS (more commonly known today as THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS) by Clement Clarke Moore

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;

And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,

Had just settled down for a long wi

nter's nap,

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,

I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash,

Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow

Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,

But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,

I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.

More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,

And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;

"Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!

On, Comet! on Cupid! on, Donder and Blitzen!

To the top of the porch! to t

he top of the wall!

Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,

When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,

So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,

With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof

The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.

As I drew in my hand, and was turning around,

Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,

And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;

A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,

And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.

His eyes -- how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!

His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a che

rry!

His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,

And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,

And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;

He had a broad face and a little round belly,

That shook, when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly.

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,

And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,

Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,

And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,

And laying his finger aside of his nose,

And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,

And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.

But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,

"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night."

December 25

Morning and Happy Xmas Day! First of all, I want to really thank those of you who have visited our blog these days, but very specially Milagros, Ana "Cleo", Kike and Mª José for their lovely comments.
Well, how was last night? Too much to eat and drink? Overwhelmed by too many phone calls and SMSs (the latter even from people you hadn't heard from for a long time, or the occasional anonymous sender who, to make matters worse, struggles to make the message sound original but you still think "how tacky"?) I mean, that's Christmas after all. But it is good fun anyway, isn't it?
Now, I don't kn

ow if you will get any presents from Santa today, so I thought I might send you mine: some musical "gifts", that is. You see, there's these classic Christmas songs that linger in popular culture after years and years. And the first one is this tune by my worshipped Frank Sinatra (to me the best male crooner ever) which you might have heard before. Sheer class!



Next is Frank again, this time joined by another music giant, Big Crosby, in a perennial duet extracted fro

m one of the various Holiday Specials they recorded. How many times millions of people across the globe must have sung along! It's only a shame you can't see the video, just some snapshots. Boy isn't it wonderful to hear them phrase the lyrics in such perfect English that it's impossible not to understand. I mean, it's a true language lesson. but in case you don't understand bits and pieces, you can find a scroller with the full lyrics after the Youtube clip:




Lyrics | Frank Sinatra - The Christmas Song lyrics

Well, that's all for now. I hope you enjoy my Xmas presents, even if it's only for the sake of English. I send them with all my heart ...
Keep clicking!

December 27

How's Xmas life? The first holiday stretch is over, now we're all looking forward to New Year's Eve, or are we?
Anyway, Ana (Cleo, that is, I hope you don't mind me calling you this way!) wrote me an email saying she wasn't feeling that well. So, to cheer her up a bit, I decided to send her a PDF with a lot of Xmas jokes, most of them one-liners. Let me post a few examples:

What did Adam say on the day before Christmas? It's Christmas, Eve!

What do monkeys sing at Christmas ? Jungle Bells, Jungle bells.. !
What does Father Christmas write on his Christmas cards?
ABCDEFGHIJK MNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
No-L

Find them funny? I do think some of them are really witty, so why don't you check your mail and open the attachment? You know, I wonder if most of you are actually visiting this blog these days, but in any case I keep blogging ... I can't see that many comments.
Well, I must close now. Have a happy day!

PS: By the way, Javi (Becerro), if you're reading this, remember to post your comments on the latest entry, December, so that the rest of the guys can read them.


28 December

Happy Fool's Day! Though in the English world it's celebrated on April 1st, here in Spain is right today. You silly fools!

But listen guys, I really appreciate your good intentions to "save" this blog. It tells me how much it means to you. Ha ha!

By the way, has anyone played a practical joke on you? Or have you read any news in the papers or heard something in the media that you positively knew was an "inocentada". Then why don't you share it with us all in this blog?

Yesterday it was a few jokes, today it's a little "email prank" ...

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it and had a laugh, like the guy below, the foolest politician on the face of the earth ...

December 31st

Hi folks! Back from some late NYEve shopping (I keep wondering, where the heck is the crisis?), I want to add a final entry to the this last day of 2008, and I'd like to start by wishing you all, from the bottom of my heart, a very blissful Nochevieja, whatever you will be doing, whoever you'll share it with tonight.
Well, the year is about to "die", and people usually assess these twelve months, with their good and not so good moments. Let's hope at least things don't get any worse in 2009!
Anyway, a teacher is always a teacher, and I thought even today I could organize something suitable to this special date. You know, EP English has featured in its New year's Eve edition for the last four-five years a rather challenging quiz to check how much you remember of the dying year's many memorable moments. So if you open your mail you will find a 2-page PDF file that will test your memory (Pit your wits, it is called) of the last 12 months. It consists of 60 questions concerning the fields of politics, business, culture, sport, society and Latin America. So would you like to participate and have the chance to win a prize? You just need to read the questions and send me a mail with a Word attachment containing as many answers as you can possibly guess right (don't forget to number them correctly in each category). If you deliver the goods and get the most spot-on answers, you'll be the winner. The deadline? January the 5th @ midnight, as I'll be forwarding you the "key" on the Dia de Reyes. The prize? Well, you see, we're in dire straits these days, aren't we, so unfortunately I cannot offer a weekend in London, all expenses covered, for you and your partner. But yesterday I was watching the news bulletin in A3 and I heard this report about the biggest box-office hits in movie theatres across Spain in 2008. The top 3, they said, were Indiana Jones's latest adventure, Batman's The Dark Knight, and the Abba-based musical Mamma Mia. So that's precisely what you will get. A luxuriously ripped DVD of your choice. Exciting, eh? C'mon guys, it's all for the sake of the competition ... and a bit of English! Give it a go! Only requirements are: NO google-ing, or wikipedia-ing, JUST YOUR HONEST MEMORY, do you promise?
So that's it, mates. Let me just finish by saying, once again, loud and clear, ¡FELIZ NOCHEVIEJA PARA TODOS!
More surprises tomorrow, my hangover permitting, ha ha! No, seriously, I've already drafted my New Year's Day entry so no worries, I can booze and get really pissed off tonight ... keep clicking!