ARMISTICE DAY (POPPY DAY)

 Click on pic for more info about this day.

LONDON'S OXFORD STREET PEDESTRIANISED TODAY

From today, one of London's great shopping street has become for pedestrian use only and is free from traffic. Below on link and videos you have more information.

Complete info from "The Londonist":

Oxford Street Pedestrianisation: What's Happening, When, And Where?

 + info on the videos below:

TIMELINE: HOW THE HOUSING CRISIS TURNED INTO A SNAP ELECTION IN SPAIN

Update 7th October: Maricarmen Abascal died.

Video report from CNN

:

Timeline: 23-Sept/5-Oct below

 

Click on pic below to get more info about how it all started on a previous post

Video from ITN News: 

HOUSING CRISIS IN SPAIN: WHEN PROFITS COME BEFORE HUMANITY [Updated with THE TENT CAMP PROTEST @ PUERTA DEL SOL, MADRID]

Taken from "Everything is Boffo" Facebook

 Outside an apartment building in Madrid's Retiro district is still full of neighbours, activists, and cameras. And the story of what happened has become the most human illustration of Spain's housing crisis we have seen all year.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗱 — 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀.

𝗠𝗮𝗿í𝗮 𝗱𝗲𝗹 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝗔𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹 — known to everyone as Maricarmen — 𝗶𝘀 𝟴𝟳 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗹𝗱. This morning she was evicted from the flat at 46 Alcalde Sainz de Baranda Street in Madrid's Retiro district, where she had lived since 1956.

This was the fourth attempt to evict her. Court officials went through with it this time after several postponements. Police cleared hundreds of people who had gathered in an attempt to stop the eviction.

Seventy years. She moved in when Eisenhower was President of the United States, when Franco still governed Spain, when the apartment building was new. She has watched everything that has happened to this country from that address. And this morning, at 87, she was removed from it by court officials while hundreds of her neighbors stood in the street trying to stop it from happening.

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 — 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻.

An 87-year-old woman was forced out of her Madrid apartment after her rent shot up under a new landlord. Police carried out the eviction despite protests and last-minute offers to pay. The case shows how vulnerable tenants are in Spain's rental market.

The building was purchased by an investment fund. The new landlord dramatically increased the rent. Maricarmen could not meet the new price. The legal process that followed took time — three previous eviction attempts were postponed because of her age and the community pushback — but the fourth attempt was carried out this morning regardless.

This was the fourth attempt to evict her. The first three were postponed because of her age and the pushback from neighbors and activists.

The UN had also opposed the decision to evict her. Madrid's Tenants' Union had been present throughout. Left-wing parties across the spectrum have spent the morning calling for emergency housing legislation responses.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁 — 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱.

We have been covering Spain's housing crisis for most of this year. The record rental costs. The property raffle where 40,000 people entered for a €10 ticket. The worst cities to find an apartment. The government's €7 billion housing plan. The data showing that 70% of net wages in some cities goes to rent.

Maricarmen is not a statistic. She is a person with a name and a face and 70 years of daily life in one apartment in Madrid. She is also, as of this morning, a person without a home.

What makes this case the one that is stopping people today — more than the data, more than the policy debates, more than the political arguments — is its complete clarity. An 87-year-old woman. Seventy years in one home. An investment fund. A rent increase she could not meet. Police at the door on the fourth attempt.

There is nothing complicated about that sequence. It does not require expertise in housing law or economics to understand what it means. And that is why the street outside her building has been full of people since early this morning.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗦𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗻'𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲.

We have reported multiple times this year that Spain's rental market is at an all-time high average cost. That Bankinter's own economists said renting is no longer viable for domestic demand. That Barcelona, Valencia, Madrid, and Málaga are all in crisis.

What Maricarmen's case adds to all of that data is the human endpoint of the trajectory. When investment funds buy residential buildings and raise rents to market rates, the people who cannot meet those market rates leave — or are removed. The legal process that removes them is real, functional, and being carried out by court officials in Retiro at 11am on a Wednesday in September 2026.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝗻𝗼𝘄.

It has not been confirmed where she will go. Activists and neighbours have said they will ensure she has somewhere to stay. The formal social services response from the Madrid regional government has not been publicly communicated.

𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘴: 𝘌𝘶𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘴 — 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘌𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 87-𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘳-𝘖𝘭𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘋𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘜𝘕 𝘈𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘊𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘖𝘶𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘚𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯 (𝘦𝘶𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘴.𝘤𝘰𝘮, 𝘚𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 23, 2026) — 𝘙𝘶𝘴𝘴𝘚𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯 / 𝘓𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘳 — 𝘌𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘔𝘢𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘥 𝘛𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘌𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘙𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘛𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘜𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘐𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘍𝘶𝘯𝘥 (𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯.𝘤𝘰𝘮, 𝘚𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 23, 2026) — 𝘌𝘭 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 / 𝘌𝘶𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘢 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 — 𝘔á𝘴 𝘔𝘢𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘥 𝘋𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘋𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘯'𝘴 𝘌𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 (𝘦𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭.𝘦𝘴, 𝘚𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 23, 2026)

+ info @ "The Guardian":

Eviction of 87-year-old puts Spain’s deepening housing crisis in the spotlight

Video from The New York Times:

+ info click on pic

Update October 7th, link on pic below to more recent post on this blog about the topic:

PISA 2025 RESULTS SHOW STUDENTS' LEVEL DECLINING

 The latest OECDPISA results, released today, show that student performance has declined across all three core subjects over the past decade.

Across OECD countries between 2015 and 2025:

Reading scores fell by 28 points, the steepest decline of the three subjects.

Mathematics scores dropped by 22 points, equivalent to just over one year of learning.

Science proved more resilient, with scores declining by 7 points.

The results underline the importance of strengthening the knowledge and skills students need for the future. Strong foundations in reading, mathematics and science enable students to think, learn and use AI effectively.

+ info:

PISA 2025: Students’ reading and mathematics performance declined sharply across the OECD

NEW ACCURATE-SIZED WORLD MAP APPROVED BY THE UN

 

Info by BBC:

Thomas Mukhwana,Africa correspondent,and

Wycliffe Muia 

The UN General Assembly has voted to replace the traditional world map with one that more accurately reflects the size of Africa.

The "Correct the Map" resolution, sponsored by Togo and backed by African Union (AU) members, passed with the support of 164 nations, including France and the UK. The US was the only nation to vote against it - while there were six abstentions.

The UN vote is non-binding but will see changes to the maps used by institutions around the world.

The Mercator map, which has been in common use since the 16th Century, has come in for criticism as it shows Africa as being of similar in size to Greenland, even though it is actually 14 times larger.

The Mercator map was designed in 1569 by the Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator to help European explorers navigate across the world.

The distortion of his map is a result of the fact that it is impossible to accurately represent the surface of a globe on a two-dimensional chart.

+ info @ The Guardian:

UN votes to adopt new world map that shows Africa’s true scale

DOLLY PARTON, AMERICAN COUNTRY SINGER, DIES

 + info: click on pic

American country singer and actress, Dolly Parton, died at the age of 80. She's an icon in USA culture. Here are some of her most famous songs:

Video "9 TO 5", Dolly Parton:

Video "I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU", Dolly Parton: (Song originally hers)

Video "JOLENE" (live), Dolly Parton:

Audio "ISLANDS IN THE STREAM", Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers:

BRITISH ACTRESS PHYLLIDA LAW PASSES AWAY

+ info @ The Guardian article (click on pic above)

From film "Much a do about nothing"

From film "Peter's Friends"

Video Phyllida Law & Emma Thompson:

WELSH SINGER BONNIE TYLER DIES

Finally, she didn't manage to get through her recovery successfully and unfortunately Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler has died at the age of 75. She had been in induced coma at a Portuguese hospital, where she lived, after undergoing an intestinal surgery last May.  These official statements were on her webpage, following her health issues:

"[6/May/26] We are very sorry to announce that Bonnie has been admitted to hospital in Faro, Portugal, where she has a home, for emergency intestinal surgery. The surgery went well and she is now recuperating. We know that all of her family, friends, and fans will be concerned about this news and will be wishing her well for a full and swift recovery.

[Update 8/May/26] Bonnie has been put into an induced coma by her doctors to aid her recovery. 

[Update 12/May/26] As of this morning Bonnie remains seriously ill but stable in hospital in Faro, however her doctors are still positive that she will make a full recovery.

[Update 15/June/26] Bonnie is no longer in coma but remains very unwell and in intensive care in hospital in Portugal. Although her condition is improving it is a slow process. Her doctors remain confident that she will make a good recovery but it is going to take time."  

Less than a year ago, on August 2nd 2025, the last time she sang in Coruña .The singer had a new record and was about to start a tour this summer right into 2027.

 It's a heartache, RIP.

+ info @ "The Guardian"

Bonnie Tyler, 80s pop legend known for Total Eclipse of the Heart and more, dies aged 75

Video ABC News:  

Video "IT'S A HEARTACHE", Bonnie Tyler:

Video "TOTAL ECLYPSE OF THE HEART", Bonnie Tyler:

Video "I NEED A HERO", Bonnie Tyler:

Video "THE BEST", Bonnie Tyler:

Video BBC News:

[Cultural Week 2026] CINEMA, AGAIN

It's the second time that the school devotes its traditional annual Cultural Week to the topic of CINEMA. The first time was 7 years ago in 2019, as you can see above on the first poster, below is this year's. This counts as the 16th cultural week set up in the school.

So today we bring a flashback post and on this link CINEMA you can see the English works done by students for that first time. You can also remember the complete information of that first Cultural Week on our library's blog "ARQUIVOS DO TRASNO".

Here's also the flasback to all Rafael Dieste's cultural weeks held up to now, since 2010 to 2026, except for 2020 which had to be put off due to the lockdown. Each of the links show the previous posts devoted on this blog to each of them.

2010 - GREECE

2011 - MULTICULTURALISM & DIVERSITY 

2012 - HISTORY OF THE OLYMPICS

2013 - OUR CULTURAL HERITAGE

2014 - TRADITIONAL GAMES

2015 - HISTORY OF WRITING

2016 - HISTORICAL PIONEERS

2017 - COSMOS

2018 - GASTRONOMY

2019 - CINEMA

2021 - THE SEA

2022 - HEALTH

2023 - CITIES

2024 - CULTURAL MELTING POT 

2025 -

2026 - CINEMA

5 FACTS ABOUT THE FOOTBALL WORLD CUP 2026 AS IT KICKS OFF

Today the 2026 Football World Cup kicks off. The championship is held in Canada, Mexico & USA. Here are 5 facts and some words and idioms connected with football and much more on previous posts linked here.