Need extra maths support for your child?
If you need some extra maths support for your primary school child then I can highly recommend the book “No Nonsense Maths”. It supports the mathematics National Curriculum and gives children plenty of practice with problem solving word questions which is now the way many of the Sat’s questions for mathematics have evolved.
I’m pretty sure I bought mine over the summer in Bookworld Espana in Puerto Banus but you could certainly order it from them. No Nonsense Maths by Bond. My youngest has got big gaps in her learning and this is helping to go over those gaps as well as giving her the work for the week ahead so that when she sees for example negative numbers for the first time she feels a degree of confidence about them and doesn’t panic. Unfortuantely in Primary Schools the mathematics teaching isn’t always good. Teachers have to speed through subjects and if your child has a gap in their knowledge, this is going to give them problems with future learning objectives.
The book I have mentioned is broken into years, so I bought age 8-9 as my child is in Year 4. You obviously would choose the right book depending on your child’s age.
Now recite with me,
1×2 is 2
2×2 is 4
UKs extinct species
There is a list below of the UK’s 492 extinct species. Well call me uncaring but of that list most of the things on it, well, I’m quite glad they have gone.
I don’t fancy walking around the woods of Nottingham and coming across a bear or a wolf or a greater mouse eared bat. I don’t like mice or ears. The “minutest diving beetle” became extinct in 1908, well yes, being the minutest it was just an accident waiting to happen wasn’t it? And who misses the “tawny earwig” that died out in 1930?
The “Agiile Frog” that died out probably thought itself cleverer than it was at jumping and fell off a few too many rocks, it shouldn’t have been showing off and the “scarce swallowtail” did exactly what it was supposed to do. It became scarce and then extinct.
Seems to me that the UK’s extinct species was just natural selection and a rather good one at that.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1257081/The-492-native-species-driven-extinction.html
Healthy eating in restaurants
Why do restaurants keep banging on about healthy eating? When I go out to a restaurant I don’t want to healthily. I want fat, more fat and a huge slice of something that contains chocolate. I don’t want to hand over 25 euros at the end to have digested nothing but low fat, low sugar and large quantities of green things. With all the rain we’ve had since Christmas in Marbella, I don’t want to see anything else that is green. Unless it is a 100 euro bill. Or an emerald….
However for those of you that disagree you may be interested to know that Da Brunos and restaurants in San Pedro are having for the whole of March as…wait for it…asparagus month. That’s really going to get people in through the door. Da Bruno’s has a healthy eating campaign and asparagus is what you are going to get…..some of the dishes they will have on the menu include,
White and Green Asparagus Risotto
White Asparagus with Parma Ham
Sauted Asparagus with Ham and Mushrooms
White and Green Asparagus in Vinaigrette and Salmon Bombs
White Asparagus with Grilled Galician Veal Loin
White Asparagus with Boiled New Potatoes and Hollandaise Sauce
White Asparagus Gratinated a la Parmigiana
So if you are an asparagus fan or rabbit please do make your way over to Da Brunos restaurant. Personally, I’ll just wait for their “chocolate month…” or for a change in their marketing department.
Cyclists in Elviria
The last few days on the way to collect my children from school I have noticed several sporty racing cyclists. Is there a big race coming up?
It’s causing a few problems as traffic slows down to overtake carefully.
I overtake carefully too. Not so worried about knocking them over but one does like to investigate their cycling shorts, all in the name of art.
Mens cycling, rugby and diving are all excellent female spectator sports…..
Green alternative to concrete
I have found a green alternative to concrete.
My shortcrust pastry.
I attempted an apple pie yesterday and although it looked fabulous when it came out of the oven, I struggled to cut it open. In fact I had to get a metal tool and bang it much to everyone’s delight around the table. My cooking always brings mirth to the house.
My husband and son also had bad stomach ache afterwards. They politely said they had overeaten. The real reason was of course that their stomach was having to digest concrete like slabs of pastry. I can’t really call it pastry. It had the texture of something used in the Spanish construction industry.
I can’t even bring myself to throw it out for the birds in case I kill them but it would make an excellent weapon of mass destruction.
Or a very reliable doorstop.
Nivea and Biotherm marked down by Denmark
Denmark’s consumer council has said that Nivea and Biotherm both have ingredients that are suspicious and could cause hormonal disturbances.
Nivea contains four potentially harmful chemicals that are on the European Union list. Of the list produced, Nivea topped all the others, with 28 products in total, including their suntan lotions and face creams. Biotherm had 8 products that had potentially harmful chemicals added.
Biotherm’s parent company L’Oreal responded to the findings, “The ingredients in our products are legal, and even though a product contains an ingredient that is on the EU priority list that you mention, of substances that potentially cause hormone imbalance, that is not the same as saying that the product does cause hormonal imbalance.”
If you are a woman and have suddenly discovered that you have grown a beard maybe try products with less chemicals from a family business based in Spain, www.lujos.co.uk. Lovely soaps, eye creams and facial creams with fresh ingredients and locally sourced.
Intersport closing down
Intersport, the large warehouse part of La Canada is closing down and most things in there are now reduced by 50%. Very little left but lots of trainers and some clothes, Roxy bags etc.
We had 20% off rollerblades, so just 25 euros and discounted from 19.95 euros were the knee/pad/elbow pads down to just 5 euros.
Bicycles are also discounted. Good quality, suitable for children 11-14 years, down from around 170 euros to 142 euros. Lovely lilac colour in stock for girls.
So put on your running shoes and get down to Intersport fast because stock is going, going gone.
Week Saturday is their FINAL day.
I wonder what will take their place……
Survivors Chicken
I call this recipe Survivors Chicken because I’ve made it five times, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and so far I haven’t killed anyone. Although my husband hasn’t come home yet and it has gone 8pm…..
Now with me, you must remember that I cannot cook. Therefore when I give you a recipe you can guarantee that you won’t have to find some peppery spice that is only grown on top of Mount Everest and sold only on one website whose server is always down. You also won’t need any Jamie Oliver cooking utensils and all my recipes are best made after downing half a bottle of any Lidl red wine. It helps with the nerves.
This costs about 6.00 euros for the whole meal and feeds 5 people and looks REALLY amazing when it goes into the oven ( make sure your mum in law sees it) and looks just as good when it comes out. It is also one of those meals that you don’t have to do very much, the oven does all the work, so ideal if you have guests or hungry children.
Ingredients
5 portions of chicken ( Mercadona sell them for under 5 euros)
2 large onions
1 sweet red pepper
coarse sea salt ( look at me sounding all pro…., pepper and sage ( the word for sage in Spanish is salvia)
Olive oil to drizzle
Method
THIS IS SO EASY.
Place your 5 chicken portions on a baking tray so that they are only just touching.
Chop into quarters your onions and place on tray with chicken.
Slice into thickish pieces your red pepper, not too small otherwise it will burn.
Sprinkle lots of sea salt, some black pepper and sage onto the chicken.
Drizzle a small amount of olive oil onto chicken.
Place into a hot pre heated oven at 180 degrees for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, baste at least once if you can…..
Voila, food cooked, looks great, onions will taste divine and your mother in law will be placated if not stuffed.
Celebrate….
My wise dad has always said to me, “celebrate when you feel like it and not when you feel that you should.” In other words, open that dusty bottle of Moet when the feeling comes over you, don’t wait for that special occasion which may never come. Enjoy your life here, now, in this moment and don’t wait for tomorrow….
Well today I felt like celebrating. I don’t have any dusty bottles of Moet, I don’t even have a bottle of Sprite lying around, so I’ve eaten a full bag of Leys Salt and Vinegar crisps, a whole bar of chocolate and a full can of coca cola. Full sugar too I’ll have you know. You can’t get high on aspartame.
The reason I feel like celebrating…..its Friday, its raining and my Spanish house is still standing.
Reach out…
For the chocolate bars at the supermarket today as we have three days of rain forecast.
There are some good points to being drowned on a daily basis.
1. You don’t have to clean your windows as there is no sunshine to show up the smears
2. You can eat more chocolate as you can get away with wearing baggy jumpers for longer. Bikini season may not happen unless it involves swimming through the tunnel at Puerto Banus to rescue car drivers who thought they were driving a Range Rover and not a Fiat Panda.
3. You can easily now figure out the build quality of your house. If it is standing excellent quality. If it has collapsed, not so good build quality.
4. Less tourists means more car parking spaces.
5 You have time to daydream about garden centres like you used to when you lived in the UK. All your plants have drowned and rotted away so you are going to need to buy a whole garden full when the sun does make an appearance.
6. You can have conversations about the weather to strangers, yourself and the dog ( or in my case the hamster)
7. Fashion no longer matters at the school playground. If you can manage an umbrella that hasn’t blown inside out and an anorak you are winning.
8. The children won’t moan next time you take them to the beach because they have all forgotten what it looks like.
9. You no longer need to shave your legs, arms, or back. Hairy bodies provide warmth and waterproofing. ( No, I don’t shave my back, but if I did would you love me less?)
10. We get to see rainbows. (Well I have only seen one this year, and it almost made me crash my car because I could only see it via the rear view mirror) Rainbows are pretty special and you only get to see them if it rains. ( Oh and if you do blah blah blah, which has something to do with science and prisms. My son tried to tell me but I fell asleep.)
Voila….see…..happy times…..we just love the rain.