Featured image for “The Cambridge English Scale (2024 Update)”

The Cambridge English Scale (2024 Update)

If you’re applying to do a university course in English and it’s not your first language, they’re probably going to…

James Blore

Featured image for “Great Goulash and a Very Slovak Scandal”

Great Goulash and a Very Slovak Scandal

Greetings, fellow food enthusiasts! Yesterday was a day filled with savoury surprises as Izzy and I embarked on a culinary…

James Blore

Featured image for “On Kapustnica, Home Alone and Mikuliško”

On Kapustnica, Home Alone and Mikuliško

Let’s get this out of the way at the beginning. I don’t like ‘kapustnica’ (’sour cabbage/sauerkraut soup’). I’m sorry. I…

James Blore

Featured image for “The Gingerbread of Blore”

The Gingerbread of Blore

Christmas isn’t Christmas without a bit of gingerbread, and this is the recipe we make every year. It is a…

James Blore

Featured image for “My Chocolate Cake”

My Chocolate Cake

When I was a kid, my mum used to bake me a chocolate cake for every birthday*. It was a…

James Blore

Featured image for “Pohanske, schmohanske”

Pohanske, schmohanske

Vampires, werewolves, ghosts and zombies have fascinated us for generations. In Slovakia, there are čerty (demons), the vodnik (a malevolent…

James Blore

Featured image for “Book Spines”

Book Spines

Notice anything strange about this picture? And no, I don’t mean the slightly random selection of books. Do you find…

James Blore

Featured image for “Lovely Tortillas!”

Lovely Tortillas!

Not long before I came to live in Slovakia, I spent a couple of months travelling in Mexico, Guatemala and…

James Blore

Featured image for “Pasties!”

Pasties!

If there’s one thing missing from Slovak cuisine, it’s the combination of pastry and meat, best exemplified by the wonderful…

James Blore

Featured image for “On Slovak, Bedtime Stories and Audiobooks”

On Slovak, Bedtime Stories and Audiobooks

You just have to talk about a book you like for a few minutes, she said. Sounds easy enough, I…

James Blore

Featured image for “Why did you stay?”

Why did you stay?

It was September 1998. I was 24 and had just arrived in Humenné. I was teaching English for the Akadémia…

James Blore

Featured image for “Why are you here?”

Why are you here?

My students often ask me why I came to Slovakia. And when they learn that I’ve lived here for almost…

James Blore

Featured image for “Fog in Channel: Continent Cut Off”

Fog in Channel: Continent Cut Off

Just under half of those UK citizens who took part in the 2016 referendum voted to remain in the EU.…

James Blore

Featured image for “100% Recognition of C1 Advanced (CAE) in UK Universities”

100% Recognition of C1 Advanced (CAE) in UK Universities

UK 100% of UK universities* accept C1 Advanced (CAE) from EU applicants. The majority of these universities will also accept…

James Blore

Featured image for “The Cambridge English Scale”

The Cambridge English Scale

Things have changed in the world of Cambridge examinations. You may know that CAE is now, in fact, Cambridge English:…

James Blore