1. When I was in primary school, handwriting was a very big deal – we spent hours practising our letters. Years of keyboard work later, I can now hardly write a legible sentence. Just as well I learnt to read before I lost the ability to write, it seems, according to this article on the ScienceAlert website  https://www.sciencealert.com/handwriting-is-better-than-typing-when-learning-to-read-study-finds

Here’s a piece on The Importance of Teaching Handwriting from the Reading Rockets website https://www.readingrockets.org/article/importance-teaching-handwriting

2. Here’s a free set of learning materials from Nik Peachey, Image Scenarios – The Phone Call, designed to enable students to develop influencing skills and deal with unpredictable situations https://payhip.com/b/fS8K Enter the code PHONE to get them free.

3. Last thing on football for this month, promise, without further comment: https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/jul/13/england-euro-2020-chaos-wembley-european-press-review

4. This week’s phobia, courtesy of my colleague Marta, is the self-fulfilling hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia – nothing to do with hippopatam(i)(uses)!

5. And, finally, now I’ve run out of Zambian music, here’s Efe Ce Ele from Argentina https://youtu.be/bq1jPwjJ92s