GRAND NATIONAL 2012

Last Saturday the famous Grand National Horse Race took place in England.  The Grand National is a  race where horses run for more than seven kilometres jumping big walls.

The race is held in Aintree, a village near Liverpool. It is a very important event and many people watch it all over the world. People in Great Britain like it not only for the amazing view of the horses, but because they can bet for the winner and they can win a lot of money. Nowadays with Internet you can easily bet online.

The bad part of the race is that an average of two horses die every year. This time it was not different. Unfortunately, the race is very hard and two horses broke their legs. Afterwards, these horses were killed.

There have been many writings against the danger of this race and probably there will be changes in the future.

Here you have a video about the two dead horses. I hope you like it, though it is very sad. And there are two pictures. One of the winner of the race and other of the elegant people who go to the race.

TITANIC, CENTENNARY

On the tenth of April this year the city of Southampton remembered the story of the Titanic. It was one hundred years ago when the ship left this city on a luxurious voyage to New York.

As you know the Titanic never arrived to her destiny and sank in the ocean. Many people died and it became one of the most famous tragedies on the sea.

Here you have a video of the events held in Southampton with family of the dead throwing flowers on the sea as a hommage to the victims.

OSCAR CEREMONY 2012

   Yesterday the Oscar ceremony took place in Los Angeles. All the most important people in the film industry was there.

This year some things were different. The best film of the year is French and mute. Nobody speaks in this film called "The artist". And it is in black and white too, so it is quite strange in the Hollywood world.


The supporting actress award was for a black actress and the supporting actor for Chistopher Plummer, who is eighty two years old. Other remarkable facts in the Oscar ceremony history.

Here you have a video with the red carpet and an interview with one of the winners.

BRITISH MUSIC AWARDS

Yesterday the British music awards were given in London. Many famous singers and bands were in the ceremony and some of your favourite artists received prizes.

Adele received the best album award and Rihanna the best foreign singer. And Coldplay the best pop band, as always.

They remembered Whitney Houston and Amy Whinehouse and there were live performances by Adele and Rihanna. Even the Spanish footballer, Cesc Fábregas was there to give a prize.

My favourite was Bruno Mars who sang a very romantic melody. Here you have the video when he received the prize of best male pop singer. I hope you like it.

ST VALENTINE'S DAY

  On the fourteenth of February we celebrate St Valentine's day. In Spain the tradition is quite recent, since the sixties of the last century, but in the United States they have been sending love cards since the nineteenth century.

It is a day when people celebrate love and friendship and they give and receive cards and presents. They even have special food , for example heart shape cakes.


It is not important to spend a lot of money in your gift. And it is not necessary  to have a boyfriend or girlfriend, you can send your love to a friend or a member of your family.

Here you have two videos. In the second you can find original ideas for this day.

Happy St Valentine!

CHARLES DICKENS

Yesterday ,seventh of  February, it was the bicentenary of Charles Dickens's birth. Dickens was one of the best and most famous novelists of the XIX century in Britain.

He was born the seventh of February of 1812 in Portsmouth and he died the nineth of June of 1870 after being in a train accident. During his childhood he had terrible experiences. First, his father went to jail because of financial problems. So, at the age of twelve Dickens had to work in a factory. He and other boys worked in dreadful conditions. They were in very small places under stairs and there were a lot of rats around them. Dickens suffered a lot and he used what he lived in those days in his books, for example in" David Copperfield."

The family received some money and he finally could go to school. Later he began working in newspapers and writing stories. These stories were published in episodes and very soon his writings became very popular.
Many of his books are a reflection of the difficulties of the working class during the Industrial Revolution as in "Little Dorrit" and "Oliver Twist".

"A Christmas Carol" is a very famous short story which was very popular in the United States, where Dickens travelled twice.

Here you have two videos. In the first you can see Dickens's house in London and in the second the social environment of his time.

SUPERBOWL 2012

Hello students. Yesterday night there was a huge festivity in the United States. There was the final of the Super bowl. The final of American football, one of the most popular sports in the USA. The Giants from New York versus The Patriots from Boston. This time the winners were the members of the team of New York

Many people went to the stadium, but most of the people watched the match on TV, at home or in bars. The typical food this day is chicken wings, hamburgers and beer, of course. One of three people were yesterday in front of the TV, even  in the White House there was a reunion to watch the match.

There is always a performance of a famous singer between the two parts, and this year Madonna has been the star. Here you have a video to see her. She promised to be a good girl, so she wasn't very provocative this time.The sound is not very good, but you can see the amazing dances and lights.

REMANDO AL VIENTO

The other day we were speaking about films. Now I want you to know a very beautiful and strange film: Remando al viento. It is a Spanish film from 1987. Why is it interesting for us? Well, the story is about some British people and it was shot in English. British actors like Hugh Grant and Elizabeth Hurley took part in the film and Spanish actors like Aitana Sánchez Gijón and José Luis Gómez. They all spoke in English. The director is Gonzalo Suárez and the film was quite famous when it was released.

The film is about some British poets: Lord Byron and Percy B. Shelley and his wife Mary. They were famous poets in the time of Romanticism and  their writings are considered some of the best in the English language.

Mary Shelley wrote a short novel which was later very well known: Frankenstein. In the film Mary tells the other writers how she created the monster and how she suffered from it.


You have two videos here. In the first you can see the names of the actors and see the atmosphere of the film. I n the second you see one of the last scenes. I hope you'll like them.

GLOBE AWARDS

Yesterday night there was a huge celebration in Los Angeles: the ceremony of the Globe Awards. Actors and actresses, films and TV series receive awards every year.

It is said that the people and films that win in the Globe awards have many possibilies of winning an Oscar.

The presenter of the show has made a lot of jokes, some not very polite. He said that he could not understand Antonio Banderas speaking English. So, study English, you could be the next.

Anyway, here is a video with the best moments of the show.Enjoy it.

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".