Read all about it! The October Spotlight

The October edition of Spotlight goes on sale on Wednesday, 30 September. Eamonn Fitzgerald spoke to Editor-in-Chief Inez Sharp about the next issue.

Fitzgerald: The cover story is about a Highland journey. We're talking about Scotland, right?

Sharp: Yes. Spotlight correspondent Julian Earwaker recently travelled on the West Highland Railway from Glasgow to the tiny fishing port of Mallaig on Scotland’s west coast and in our travel feature “Iron road to the Highlands” he takes us on that romantic train ride. Scotland may have a reputation for bad weather, but you can enjoy the train trip whatever the conditions outside. In sunshine, you’ll see the colourful Highland landscape and in the rain or mist it'll be wildly dramatic and mysterious. Of course, if you're a Harry Potter fan, the trip will have special meaning: the stretch of line between Fort William and Mallaig is the location for Hogwarts Express!

So, all aboard for a very special train ride.

London and the Lindy Hop

Fitzgerald: In the Lifestyle section, I see that a dance called the "Lindy Hop" is big in London. What is it and why do Londoners love it?

Sharp: The Lindy Hop is an old/new dance craze that actually had its beginnings in Depression-Era America. Lindy is a fusion of a number of different dances styles from the 1920s including the Charleston and the Hop. It can be a very energetic dance, but the attraction of Lindy Hop today is probably the physical closeness. After years of us all dancing around alone at the disco, this is a chance to get up close to your partner and move around to beautiful music. The name Lindy comes from Charles Lindbergh, the popular American aviator, who flew solo across the Atlantic in May 1927. A year later the Lindy Hop made its first appearance on New York's dance floors.

"On course for English"

Fitzgerald: Let's say an English learner is looking for the "right" course. How can we help them to make the correct choice?

Sharp: Having the right teacher and the right type of lessons can mean make or break for a language learner. When you're looking for a course, it can be a bit like going to the doctor. Although it’s all about your needs as a learner, you often come away feeling overwhelmed by the "expert" and confused about what you want. In our language feature "On course for English" we want to give learners all the information they need to find a course that suits them. If you are really brave, you might even ask to meet your teacher before you begin lessons — personal chemistry is really important.

Mridual Baljeka cooks for Diwali

Fitzgerald: What is Diwali?

Sharp: Every year on a new moon between mid-October and mid-November, Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists around the world celebrate the festival of lights — also known as Diwali. This year to mark the holiday, I spoke to the expat Indian cookery writer Mridual Baljekar about how she and her family celebrate the five-day event. In the interview, Baljekar not only explains the Hindu legend behind Diwali, she also described the kind of food she cooks for her family — food plays a big part in the festivities. Find out more and maybe even try a Diwali recipe yourself. The Interview begins on page 28.

"The color of pain"

Fitzgerald: Are there any other highlights of the October issue that you'd like to let us know about?

Sharp: Every month there are a couple of stories that are close to my heart and this month I’d like to focus on one of our World View texts. Now, I hate going to the dentist and every dentist that I have ever visited has complained that I make too much fuss about "the little bit of pain" they inflict. Well, this month while we were searching out World View stories, we came across one that explains my dental fears. Scientist have recently discovered that redheaded people can be resistant to anesthesia. That explains it: my natural hair colour is red, and from now on I will take a copy of our story "The color of pain" with me when I visit the dentist and make him read it — twice — before he gets to work!

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