Ireland

This month on Spotlight Audio: Travel to romantic Ireland. Practise similar sounds you might confuse. Dialogues at a Christmas market. Better reading in English. And much more.

The Burren Slow Food Festival starts with a tasting of smoked salmon and beer from a local brewery. The fun continues with cookery demonstrations, talks and tastings by hotel chefs and food experts, and an all-day market run by farmers and artisans.

Voters punished the ruling Fianna Fáil party, in power since 1987, for its role in, and handling of, Ireland's massive financial crisis. Talking about the election, Irish politicians used interesting allegories, expressions and idioms. Let's look at some of them. 

When did vampires start eating vegetables and driving fast cars? When Stephenie Meyer began writing about them in her hugely successful Twilight series. But as every Dubliner knows, Bram Stoker is much older than Bella Swan.

India's growing middle class is being targeted in a campaign to bring more of the country's golfers to Ireland. Arjun Atwal's win in the US last weekend has focused attention on a market that is potentially one of the biggest in the world.