English Without End

You know, sometimes, just by chance, you find a film that makes you feel something special. This film is usually not a blockbuster so the fact that you see it is just fate. A friend of mine told me about Once , an Irish film I had never heard of, and I realised that I have to pay more attention to the not so famous and popular films we are usually encouraged to go to the cinema to see. This 2007 Irish musical film is set on the streets of Dublin. Featuring Glen Hansard from the Irish band "The Frames", it tells the story of a busker (street musician) and a Czech immigrant during an eventful week as they write, rehearse and record songs that reveal their unique love story. Once received enthusiastic reviews and awards such as the 2007 Independent Spirit Award for best foreign film. Hansard and Irglová's song "Falling Slowly" received a 2008 Academy Award for Best Original Song and the soundtrack as a whole also received a Grammy nomination. To know more about t...

Hello, everyone. I don't know if you're on a Christmas mood or not but watching a Golden Girls episode is always a good choice. I hope you have a good time. This episode from season 2 is divided into three parts: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

I say, I say, I say, Knock! Knock!Who's there?Robin.Robin who?Robin' you! So hand over your money!. For other Robin Hood jokes, click here (you'll find here most of the jokes used in the Robin Hood Xmas Pantomime we saw last Friday). As ABBA said, 'money, money, money, always sunny in a rich man's world'. Why is money so important? Can't we just live with bare necessities? Well, money doesn't buy happiness (but does it help you to be happy?) In this post, you are going to do some revision exercises about cleft sentences ( Exercise 1 , Exercise 2 and Exercise 3 ) and learn more things about Nauru (Nauru's natural phosphate reserves once made millionaires of the entire population. Now they're among the world's poorest countries). Some recommendations about films dealing with this issue will be provided. Nauru: lonely planet Nauru Official Tourism Website Paradise Lost is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John ...

On 27 November 1895, Alfred Nobel signed his last will and testament, giving the largest share of his fortune to a series of prizes, the Nobel Prizes. As described in Nobel's will, one part was dedicated to "the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses". But why did the inventor of the dynamite gave his fortune to these prizes? Surely he is a controversial figure: pacifist or "merchant of death"? Learn more. I'm afraid another subject of endless controversy is that Barack Omaba was awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize last Friday. This is bound to open a serious debate as to whether the award was deserved. The US president himself expressed his surprise and said he would accept it as "a call to action". Would you like to read some articles about this? msnbc CNN The New York Times BBC News Learn more ab...

Did we enjoy yesterday's panto? Yes, we did.!!! We cheered the goodies, booed the baddies, sang along, shouted out and enjoyed Robin Hood a lot. We ahhed when Robin kissed Maid Marian, laughed with Bear Necessity, and were shocked when Friar Tuck almost said "Triar F***!!! Thanks, MadridPlayers for a wonderful evening. A Christmas pantomime is a musical-comedy play found in the UK. Traditionally performed at Christmas, with family audiences consisting mainly of children and parents, British pantomime is now a popular form of theatre, incorporating song, dance, buffoonery, slapstick , cross-dressing, in-jokes, audience participation, and mild sexual innuendo. There are a number of traditional story-lines, and there is also a fairly well-defined set of performance conventions. Panto story lines and scripts typically make no reference to Christmas. Plot lines are often 'adapted' for comic or satirical effect, and certain familiar scenes tend to recur, regardless of plo...