Issue 276

Jennifer Lopez has always been a sex symbol in American show business. Her latest film and an interview in this issue of Speak Up show that now she’s into motherhood, one place being sexy does not come first. Jennifer has learned an important lesson from this new chapter in her life, and she now seems happier than ever before. From the football World Cup we learn a bit about England’s best player, who might not be so happy about his team’s performance but continues to carry his “boy next door” persona all the same. And as quickly as football’s biggest tournament ended, the sporting world turns its focus to another World Cup, that of rugby, coming to New Zealand soon. This life seems like a never-ending game, just changing its shape and setting as it rolls on. That’s pretty much what Richard Liddle does with used plastic, trying to make something useful and beautiful out of waste. After all, even the Internet is being overused, and thus causing quiet devastation to the planet. You will find all this and much, much more in our anniversary issue of Speak Up, but the main gift comes with the writing contest results. Many of you sent your contributions and took part in the contest, and we want to offer congratulations. The level of writing was very good! As always in these cases, only one can be the big winner. This time it was Flávia de Almeida Sanches with her brilliant story, but the real winner was your magazine. With so many talented writers, we want to count on all of you to keep this magazine continuously learning from experience, evolving constantly and helping us all enjoy a life with English present every day. Happy anniversary to all of us, and congratulations to Flávia!

Happy viewing!

Karl Kepler