SMARTPHONE APPS

With thousands of apps available to download for smartphones,  it can be difficult to find those that are really helpful and of great benefit while avoiding those that just a waste of time.

In this jungle of apps I am highlighting 10 that I find to be the best and most useful. These apps are all available for  iphone, although some are also on other platforms.

Dropbox

 

Access files in the cloud from your smartphone

Dropbox is a cloud based storage solution which gives immediate access to all your photos, docs and videos anywhere and makes sharing them easy.

 

Netflix

Access and watch from your Netflix account
The Netflix app is a mobile portal that allows users to access the full subscription service that the company provides. Users are required to have a Netflix account to access the full array of TV programs and movies but content is available almost instantly thanks to the efficient streaming within the app.

Spotify

App to stream millions of songs
Spotify is a subscription based music service. The Spotify app is a portal for users to benefit from the subscription experience on mobile devices and has features like track searching, playlist creation and even saving tracks for offline use in areas with limited Wi-Fi or cellular data.

Runtastic

The Runtastic GPS Coach is your personal tracking app and all-in-one exercise app for running, walking, biking and other outdoor and indoor sports activities. The app tracks your progress (distance, time, speed, calories, altitude, pace etc.).

Rick Steves Audio Europe

Get the most out of your this travels in Europe with this app that provides cultural and sightseeing information for tracks, self-guided tours, great sights and historic walks in Europe.

NearMe 

The NearMe app is a mobile guide that makes it fast and simple to find out what´s around you.  Whether you are seeking out hotspots, exploring for hidden gems or needing the essentials,  NearMe can find it, tell you about it and get you to it.

XE

                                                                                     

XE currency converter. Convert every world currency with the XE Currency App. It offers live proprietary currency rates, charts, and even stores the last updated rates, so it works wen the Internet doesn’t.

Snapseed

Edit your photos professionally. Snapseed is a photograph editing app with a great user interface. A large array of editing features. Obviously put together by professionals who understand what is needed and that attention to detail shines through.

IMDb

IMDb is the world’s largest collection of movie, TV and celebrity info. The aim is to list every detail about every movie and TV show ever made, including who was in it, who made it, the plot, user ratings, trailers, photos, reviews, quotes, goofs, trivia and much more.

 

World Atlas by National Geographic

Easy-to-use, feature-packed, and containing the world’s best maps, the National Geographic World Atlas enables you to browse, search, and zoom detailed maps of the globe.  Unlike other atlas applications, the National Geographic World Atlas utilizes our highest resolution, “press-ready” images, providing you the same rich detail, accuracy, and artistic beauty found in our award-winning wall maps and bound atlases. 

Written by Marianne Sloth

Visit the FOCUS website: www.focus-info.org 

The Beautiful Game

In this country, football is often referred to as ‘the beautiful game’.  They also say that football is a gentleman’s game played by hooligans and rugby is a hooligan’s game played by gentlemen.  As an American, it is interesting to me that soccer is a sport that cannot compete commercially with the traditional American sports like baseball, football, basketball and ice hockey; as it is a fast-paced, exciting game that only takes two hours!

Having a football-mad Italian husband and two teenage boys that have been brainwashed since birth to be die-hard AS Roma fans, this is usually an activity that I leave to ‘the boys’.  So when a friend of ours informed us of her long-standing support of Liverpool, my husband insisted that a pilgrimage to watch Liverpool play at Anfield Road with the two families was a must. 

We boarded a train from Euston station on Saturday morning and within two hours arrived in the centre of Liverpool.  Located in the Northwest of England, and obviously famous as the birthplace of the Beatles, Liverpool has a lot to offer the weekend tourist.  In 2008, Liverpool was the European Capital of Culture, and has several wonderful museums and churches, including Tate Liverpool and the Maritime Museum, as well as the Liverpool Cathedral and the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King Liverpool.  

We stayed in a lovely hotel on the Docks, and the 4 teenage boys in our party were thrilled to learn the opposing team, Tottenham Hotspurs, were staying there too.  Plans were hatched on how to disturb the players in the night so that they wouldn’t play well the next day, but thanks to a full day of sightseeing, they were too tired to carry out the dastardly deeds.  They did, however, do a fair amount of stalking the players throughout the hotel, and managed to secure the odd autograph.  

Sunday afternoon finally arrived, and we bundled up (it was a freezing 0 degrees, with snow flurries and an arctic wind blowing from the east) and headed off to the stadium.  Anfield Road is a relatively intimate stadium, seating just over 45,000.  It was a surprisingly orderly crowd and the atmosphere within was electric.  The anthem, ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’, written by Rogers & Hammerstein for the musical Carousel, but made popular in the early 1960s by Gerry and the Pacemakers; is played over the loudspeaker and sung by all fans at the beginning of every home match.   

Then the action began!  Liverpool got off to a cracking start and scored a goal early in the first half – the crowd went wild.  Subsequently the Spurs retaliated and by half-time the score was 1-1.  Early in the second half the Spurs scored a second goal, and the atmosphere was certainly dampened.  Shortly thereafter there was another goal by Liverpool and they were back in the game!  With just under 10 minutes left to play, Liverpool scored a third goal and the crowd was electrified – could they keep the lead for the last few minutes?  The final score was 3-2 for Liverpool and the fans were thrilled, especially as their rival team, Everton, had lost the previous day.  

Before heading back to the train station, we had a bite to eat in an Italian restaurant.  As it was Mother’s Day, the place was packed, and once again, the boys were thrilled to learn that a player was seated behind our table, this time from Liverpool.  While they wanted to ask for an autograph, they realised that he was out for a special occasion with his wife and baby.  They discreetly asked the headwaiter if he would ask for the autograph, and they were told to wait until the end of his meal.  Once the player had finished eating, the boys sheepishly approached him, and he graciously signed their programmes on the page with his picture.  Another success!

We arrived back in London Sunday night, exhausted, but satisfied.  It was a great weekend trip filled with food, culture and sport!

Written by Eva Stock

A passion for reading

If you saw some children today dressed up in funny or plain clothes , you are probably asking yourself: why are they not in their school uniforms? Is it carnival? Are they on holidays again?  The answer is today WorldBook Day  is celebrated in the UK and many schools encourage their pupils to dress up as their favourite book characters. The children take their favourite books to school and talk about their choices. They also receive National Book Tokens that can be used to pick one of eight exclusive and completely free books or they can use it to get £1 off any book. This is a great initiative to promote reading for children.

Wherever I go, I see Brits reading: on holidays, on the tube, on airplanes, on buses…. They seem to read more than any other nationality. I believe the habit develops because children in the UK are encouraged to read a lot from a very young age. The choice of children's books is incredible and there are certainly many events to boost their passion for reading.

I recently went to a fun event with my 11-year-old son: the Imagine Children’s Festival at the Southbank Centre. The event was an interview, questions and answers session followed by book signing by David Walliams, author of Ratburger. The Queen Elizabeth Hall was completely full! There were kids from a variety of backgrounds, all with a passion to read. During the same festival there were other events with children’s authors, some at the 900 seat and some at the 300 seat auditorium, but all completely sold out events.  It was quite amazing to see all those kids with their books, putting their hands up to ask questions. My son had already been to a similar event with Anthony Horowitz. When my daughter was young we met Angelina Ballerina and her author Katharine Holabird and illustrator Helen Craig and also Felicity Wishes’ author Emma Thomson. My daughter still remember those encounters!

If you want to develop your child’s passion for reading, there are many other events across the UK .  You can find more information on the following websites:

http://www.bookeventsforchildren.co.uk

http://babbleabout.co.uk/events/

by Ana Beatriz Alencar

Visit the FOCUS website: www.focus-info.org