MERRY CHRISTMAS

In a week we will be celebrating Christmas. In Britain they will be eating turkey and Christmas pudding and children will find their presents under the Christmas tree.

In New Year's eve while we will swallow thirty one grapes they will kiss each other and sing "Auld lang syne", a traditional Scottish song.

Enjoy these videos with some Christmas songs.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and have a good time on holidays.

AIDS DAY

Today,  first of December is the International AIDS day. We remember all the people who have died during the last thirty years and the people who are infected all over the world.

In the richer countries AIDS has become a disease with treatment but in Africa and other places there are many people without access to the medicines. Many women and children are ill and the treatments are very expensive.

We mustn't forget them so we have to try to create a better world.

Here you have a video with interesting ideas. I hope it will make you think.

MORE THANKSGIVING TRADITIONS

As I told some of you on Wednesday, there is a tradition that is repeated every Thanksgiving day in the White House. The President, in this case Barack Obama,  indulted two turkeys and there was a celebration in the gardens with the press and his daughters.

Here you have the video with the actors in the story, including the turkey.

THANKSGIVING DAY

Every year on the fourth Thursday of November people in the United States celebrate Thanksgiving day. It is an old tradition which remember the first harvest that the Pilgrims had in the seventeenth century.

The Pilgrims went to the new land to be free to practise their religion. When they finished the harvest they celebrated it with the Indians. They had a great meal and thanked God for their blessings.

Today it is a national festivity and the families gather round the table to conmemorate the Pilgrims celebration.
In New York there is a big parade and this day is considered the beginning of Christmas.

So this year don't forget to say Happy Thanksgiving day to Lauren, our conversation assistant!

HALLOWEEN

Hello students! In a week we will be celebrating one of the most famous festivities in the anglo saxon world.
On the thirty first of October witches and ghosts walk along the streets and many people remember the dead people of their families.

There are a lot of traditions that people follow on this day. In the United States they dress up and go to parties and play tricks on the neighbours. And in the United Kingdom they play games in the halloween parties.

FRIENDS WILL BE FRIENDS

Well, the end of the year is coming. We have been through many things during these months. I hope you have enjoyed your time in these lessons. And I hope that you have learnt interesting items too.

I have had wonderful experiences and conversations with you and I know I'll always remember these days and that we will be friends for ever.

Thanks to all of you , have a nice summer.

I'll see you around next year. 

BATTLE OF LA ALBUERA

On the 16th of May of 1811 during the war of Independence British, Spanish and Polish soldiers fought against the French in a village called La Albuera near Badajoz.

Nobody won but many people died so this battle is remembered today as having been very cruel. We have to say that many British men were killed in Spanish land and in La Albuera they found their graves. Many poets wrote about the sad event and one of these poems can be seen in the village.

Two centuries after people of La Albuera perform the battle in the streets of the village. Men and women dress as the soldiers and people of that time and there are a lot of tourists that visit the place.

This is a fantastic example of how knowing our history can be very fun.

Watch the video and enjoy it!

ROYAL WEDDING

Yesterday Prince William and Kate Middleton got married in Westminster Abbey.
It was a fine morning in London and hundreds of people were in the streets near Buckingham Palace to see the new couple.
Millions of people around the world saw the event on TV and internet. In the United Kingdom there was a great festivity and everybody had a good time watching their "Royals".

Here you have a video with the happy couple and some photographs.

Congratulations to the new weds!

MALARIA

Today is the international day of malaria. Nowadays there are many people dying of malaria in Africa.
Malaria is a disease transmited by mosquito bites.If people in these areas slept with mosquito nets they would not suffer the disease.

As you are the ones who are going to rule the world in the future it is important that you know these facts.

In this video you have explanations about the disease and treatments.

SUNDAY MORNING

Today we are on holidays, we are very happy. But many times on Sunday mornings you don't feel very well, so this is a song for you.

Next Sunday morning I hope you'll feel all right. The band playing is Maroon 5.The singer is very cute, isn't he, girls? I like them a lot. Enjoy it!

TITANIC

The tenth of April of 1912 the giant ship Titanic left Southampton for a long voyage towards New York. Unfortunately, two days after the ship crashed into an iceberg and sank into the ocean.
One thousand and eight hundred people died that day. As in a miracle, two Spanish women, a lady and her servant survived.
That way the life of the most luxurious and fast of all the ships ended in tragedy.
Now the Titanic is deep in the sea and many pople are trying of find her treasures.


In this video you can see the real ship and the people who travelled in her. And also, scenes of the famous film by James Cameron : "Titanic".

APRIL FOOL'S DAY

The first of April is celebrated in the anglo saxon countries as a day when it is allowed to make fun of your friends, family and even teachers. People prepare jokes and they laugh a lot. It is an old tradition and it is similar to our "Día de los inocentes". Jokes can be seen in newspapers and in the streets of many cities.

Here you have two videos with charming little animals that take part in two jokes. Have a happy day and watch out!

ELIZABETH TAYLOR

Here are more news about Liz Taylor's death. She has been buried in California but Richard Burton's family is accepting her in his grave, so finally they will be together.

You can see her in a video when she was awarded an oscar. By the way, she received a third oscar for her actions in favour of people suffering AIDS.

ELIZABETH TAYLOR

Today one of the best and most famous actresses in Hollywood has died at the age of seventy nine years old.
She was born in London in 1932 and being a small child her mother took her to castings and ballet lessons.
She went to Hollywood and soon became a film star. She was awarded two Oscars and many other prizes.
Apart from being a good actress she was famous for her romantic life. She married seven times, twice to the actor Richard Burton. He was his partner in "Cleopatra" and she declared that he was her true love. She will be probably buried next to him.

In this video you can see photographs of her films. She appeared on screen with Richard Burton, Rock Hudson, Montgomery Clift and others.

NEW ZEALAND

New Zealand is an island next to Australia famous for its landscapes and its rugby national team.
It was part of the British Empire so in culture it is very similar to Australia.
The native inhabitants of the islands are called Maori. They were isolated when the British arrived in the eighteenth century. However, they  are  now trying to define its tradition and to integrate it in the modern New Zealand. One example of this is the Maori dance the rugby national team perform before the matches. The purpose of this dance was to intimidate the enemies and it really works!
Nature in New Zealand is extraordinary. It is very varied and with a lot of different species of plants and animals.
The most famous bird is the kiwi and the people of the island call themselves with this name.
Mountains, rivers, one volcano and tropical forests make New Zealand one of the most fascinating places in the world. That is why Peter Jackson chose the island as a location for his trilogy : "Lord of the rings". I am sure Tolkien would have been very satisfied of seeing his adventures in this land.

St PATRICK'S DAY

Happy St Patrick's day ! As I said yesterday today there are celebrations all over the world. Everybody is happy in Ireland and in many other countries.
Today in Dublin all the lights are going to be green and thousands of litres of Guinness are going to be drunk. In every house and pub there is something green and even in Madrid we are going to have a celebration. This evening the lights of the famous Puerta de Alcalá are going to be green as well.
I hope St Patrick will take care of us and next year we'll celebrate his day too.

St PATRICK'S DAY

As tomorrow is St Patrick's day here you have a video to show you how the Irish people celebrate the most important day of the year in Ireland. Everything is green and they dance and drink the famous beer called "Guinness".
St Patrick is celebrated in the United States as well because there are a lot of people who have Irish ancestors.
They organize big parades in the streets of cities as New York and many others. In Boston the river is dyed in green.
In this video you can see three Spanish girls having fun in Dublin.We would like to be there tomorrow , wouldn't we?

AGATHA CHRISTIE

When I told my students about the mysterious dissapereance of Agatha Christie in the twenties I mentioned that I have something in common with her. Apart from our outstading use of the English language, both have an archaelogist as a husband.
These days Agatha Christie is in the news because the Bristish Museum has bought some ivory pieces that she and her husband found in Siria. She enjoyed a lot being in the archaelogical sites and she even worked in the excavations. These ivory pieces that are going to be exhibited were cleaned by her using her cosmetic creams. I don't know if the modern archaelogists would approve of her methods but it is true that she did her best to become one of the most remarkable writers of her time and a good amateur archaeologist.

This is one of the pieces of the collection and there are some more. Well, she wrote about crimes, but she knew how to find art too.

THE OTHER SIDE OF JAPAN

On Friday we spoke about Japan in class because Dani was telling us that many people speak English in Japan. It was a premonition because on that same day Japan was in all the news all over the world. They have suffered the worst earthquake and tsunami of their history.
Everybody knows Japan because its top technology, but they have a lot of traditions that make Japanese one of the most philosophical people in Asia and in the rest of continents. So this is the other side of Japan: meditation, relax and philosophy. Good examples of these are the ceremony of tea and the temples with the cherry trees in blossom in the city of Kyoto.

A DREAM WITHIN A DREAM

This is a love poem by Edgar Allan Poe. Allan Poe was a writer and a  poet from the United States and he lived in the second part of the nineteenth century. He is very famous for his thrilling stories which are still used in films. He had many problems all his life and the circumstances of his death have not been resolved yet.

A dream within a dream
Take this kiss upon the brow
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow
You are not wrong, who deem
that my days have been a dream,
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream

I stand amid the roar
Of a surf tormented shore
And I hold within my hand
Grains of the golden sand
How few! yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep
While I weep, while I weep
O God! can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?

VAYA CON DIOS

As two of my students like this song, I dedicate this video to them. A Spanish name for a band: Vaya con Dios. The band itself is from Belgium. But of course they sing in English.
I always say in my classes: with English you can go everywhere and it is the best way to communicate your ideas or your music. This song is a good example. Enjoy it.

GLASGOW GOTHIC NECROPOLIS

Nowadays many young people like being gothic. This is a good example of a gothic place. The gothic cemetery of Glasgow. It was built in the nineteenth century on the hills of the city of Glasgow in Scotland.
It is full of plants and trees and you can walk along the many paths that lead people to the different graves.
There are beautiful sculptures decorating the tombs and some of them are real works of arts.
You have to cross a bridge to enter the place and at the end of it you will find the city of dead. But, be careful because in misty days a mysterious lady can be seen wandering through the graves. People say that she is looking for her lover's tomb. If she asks you tell her: "It's the second on the left" and she will leave you without a word.

ROYAL WEDDING

Elton John has been invited to the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.Why has he been invited ? Apart from being a very famous singer, he was a dear friend of Lady Diana, Prince William's mother.He sang "Candle in the wind" at her funeral in September of 1997. This song was first dedicated to Norma Jean, that is Marilyn Monroe. He changed some words to adapt it for Lady Diana.
Here is a video with him singing that sad day.He began the song saying: goodbye England rose. You can also see the huge amount of people who were outside the Westminster Abbey praying and crying.  On the 29th of April Lady Diana will be remembered all over the world because as the song says: her legend never ends.

STONEHENGE

Stonehenge is an archaelogical site in the south of England. It is a very esoteric place and has got lots of legends and mysteries. It was built around the year 2800 before Christ. The archaeologist John Aubrey was the first who studied this place. We don' t know exactly the purpose of building Stonehenge. Many people think it is a kind of temple for druids and for astronomical observations. On the solstice days there are lots of people who visit the site and have celebrations. If you go to England try this different trip and you will be impressed.

SHAKESPEARE SONNETS

Here you have a beautiful sonnet by Shakespeare. Instead of reading them you can listen to them. This is easier, don't you think? Shakespeare is more famous for being a playwriter but he was a very remarkable poet as well. Enjoy it even if you don't understand everything.

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

Today we celebrate the centenary of the international women's day. This anniversary began in 1911 with the name of Working women day. As women work 365 days a year it was clear that the name had to be changed. We have to remember all the women that have claimed equal rights and who are still working for them. So, congratulations and we'll do it next year.

An English teacher in Valdemoro: International brigades

An English teacher in Valdemoro: International brigades

http://www.international-brigades.org.uk/

INTERNATIONAL BRIGADES

I want to write today about young men and women who came from all over Europe to fight for freedom during the Spanish Civil War. The ideology of these people is not important now. Most of them were left wing but many, as George Orwell, abandoned the Communist Party after knowing what Stalin was doing in the Soviet Union. My idea is to remember their courage , their ideals and their suffering. They came from Britain, Ireland, the USA and many other countries to die in Spain, to die very near where we live. The Jarama battle had a terrible episode in Morata de Tajuña, very near Valdemoro. Many of these men died there and I want you to know them, the members of the International Brigades and to give an hommage to them because they fought for liberty.I enclose a video where you can see real photographs and a very famous song.

AND THE WINNER IS

A second video about the Oscars ceremony where you can see Sophia Loren saying the old expression: and the winner is. So you notice the difference between the old sentence and the new: and the oscar goes to..

AND THE OSCAR GOES TO

Do you know that the expression:And the oscar goes to is quite new?. Until 1988 the presenter used to say:and the winner is...Why do you think they changed the sentence?. Well, if there is a winner there is a loser, and this expression was created to avoid this situation. This way nobody is hurt.Curiosities of the language

THE THIRD MAN

The third man is an old movie based on a novel by Graham Green. It was made in 1949. Orson Welles was one of the stars in the film. He was one of the most powerful men in the Hollywood of the time. In this trailer you can see some scenes and the music, which is very original. The film is set in post war Vienna and though it is in black and white, the beauty of the city is in all the film.

LOVE QUOTATIONS

Still life and_quotations

This is a beautiful list of love quotations to use with your loved ones. Enjoy it

MY DEAR STUDENTS

My dear students, I hope this blog will be interesting for you and you will find topics and curiosities in order to provide material to speak in your class and on your holidays in Rome.Welcome again and enjoy it.

WELCOME TO MY NEW BLOG

Welcome to my new blog. This blog is created for all type of people. If you are interested in the English language and its culture this is your opportunity of learning more. Try it and enjoy yourself.