History:
The Boat Race was started by two old school friends: Charles Merrivale and Charles Wordsworth.
On February 10 1829 Cambridge University Boat Club wrote to the University of Oxford: “the University of Cambridge hereby challenge the University of Oxford to row a match at or near London, each in an eight-oared boat during the ensuing Easter vacation.”

The first race took place on 10 June 1829 at Henley on Thames.
Oxford won this first race easily and their winning boat can still be seen in the River & Rowing Museum in Henley.

The race was moved to a different part of the River Thames the following year.
For the first twenty-five years, the two teams met irregularly.
During this irregular period there were 12 races, of which Cambridge had won seven and Oxford five.
The Boat Race became an annual event in 1856.

The Colours:
Oxford’s team colour is DARK BLUE and the Cambridge colour is LIGHT BLUE.
People who have rowed for their university are awarded “a Blue”.
One famous ex Blue is Hugh Laurie who rowed for the winning Cambridge crew in 1980.

The Winklevoss brothers (who claimed the original invention of Facebook) were in the losing Oxford team in 2010. Their story was made into a film: “The Social Network”, in which the part of a cox was played by this year’s Oxford cox!

Training:
Competition to get into the team is very fierce. In September, all the hopeful rowers start training. Little by little, the coaches of each team choose their squads. The crews are made up of undergraduates (students who have not finished their first degree) and postgraduates (students who are doing Masters or Doctorates). They have to continue their studies while they are training.

The Course:
The Boat Race course is 6.8 Km long. It stretches between Putney and Mortlake on the River Thames in South West London.
The Fulham/Chiswick side of the course is known as the Middlesex station. The Putney/Barnes side of the course is known as the Surrey station.

To decide which team is going to row on which side, the umpire tosses an 1828 gold coin in the air. The losing side from the previous year call “Heads” or “Tails” (pile ou face).

Thousands of people line the two banks of the River Thames to watch the race. There is a party atmosphere. All the riverside pubs do good business. The race is watched on TV all round the world.

Facts:
The quickest time to complete the course is held by Cambridge (1998), 16mins 19sec.
So far Oxford has won 76 times and Cambridge have won 81 times.

The Rules:
The Umpire is always an ex Blue. This year the umpire was an ex Cambridge Blue. Next year, the umpire will be an ex Oxford Blue.
The umpire’s job is to start the race, then make sure that each crew stays on its own side. If they get too close they will clash oars.

Sinking:
There have been 6 sinkings. In 1912, both boats sank in high winds.
Here, the 1978 Cambridge crew goes down.

April 2012
This year was the 158th race and it was very eventful.
Oxford was on the Middlesex station and Cambridge was on the Surrey station.
Just over halfway in the race, at the point of passing the little island known as Chiswick Eyot (pronounced “eight”), a swimmer was seen in the water between the two boats. Cambridge immediately stopped rowing. The swimmer had to duck under the water to avoid being hit by an Oxford oar.

The Umpire stopped the race and the Police arrested the man. The two boats turned round and went back to the halfway point so the race could start again.
This took about three quarters of an hour. The weather was very cold. The river became dangerous with the movement of the motorized boats in the flotilla following the university crews.

The race started for a second time. The Oxford cox steered her boat very close to Cambridge & the Umpire called a warning several times.

The oars clashed and one of oxford’s oars broke. The Oxford cox tried to get the Umpire to stop the race again – but he insisted that they continue, as he felt that it was Oxford’s fault.

Although Oxford tried to keep pace with Cambridge, it was impossible with one oar missing – so Cambridge won the race.

At this point everyone noticed that one of the Oxford crew had collapsed and was unconscious in the boat. He was immediately taken to hospital.

Normally, there are incredible celebrations for the winning team, with lots of champagne and various people are thrown in the river. But this year everyone was worried about the crew member, and so the celebrations were more sombre.

For more information about the Boat Race, visit the following website:
http://www.theboatrace.org/about-the-race

By the way, the rower who collapsed due to exhaustion and was taken to hospital was fine the following day.

Sissinghurst is a lovely little village in the county of Kent in south east England. It is full of pretty pubs, churches, red brick houses and quaint little buildings which are used as shops and banks.

In this part of Kent you can also see houses with very strange roofs.

These are called "Oast Houses". Originally they were used to dry hops which grow in this area and are used to make beer.

There is also a little castle which was originally built in the middle ages. Since then various owners have added parts to it. At one point it was beautiful and grand enough to invite Queen Elizabeth I to stay there. But later the house fell into disrepair and in the late 17th century it became a prisoner of war camp. The French soldiers who were kept there did their best to destroy the castle. You can still see their graffiti carved inside the castle today.

By 1930 the castle was almost derelict and it was bought by an English woman called Vita Sackville West.
Vita was born in Kent in 1892, the daughter of Baron Sackville.

She led an interesting life, travelled extensively and got married at the age of 21 to a man who was a diplomat as well as a novelist & gardener. They had children, but as she and her husband had “an open marriage” she also had passionate love affairs with several prominent women (such as the novelist Virginia Woolf) throughout her adult life. She wrote many books and poems, but is probably best known as a gardener.

She bought Sissinghurst castle in Kent with her husband when she found she was unable to inherit her father’s house simply because she was a woman (it went to her uncle instead). Losing her family home broke her heart, but buying Sissinghurst made up for it a bit.

As well as the castle they also bought the surrounding farms and land and set about creating some beautiful gardens.

Her husband laid out the garden as a series of different “rooms” each with a different colour or theme and Vita, who wrote regular gardening articles for the Observer newspaper, did the planting. She is renowned for starting the fashion of having a “white” garden.

By 1938 the garden was open to the public, and it has remained one of the most loved and visited gardens in England. It was taken over by The National Trust in 1967

For further information about visiting times & prices visit the National Trust site below.

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-sissin...

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Congratulations to the new Duke and Duchess of Cambridge!

May their marriage be a long and happy one.

*Kate's stunning wedding dress was designed by the British fashion house "Alexander McQueen".
*Westminster Abbey was decorated with trees!
*William had a hard job getting the ring on her finger. (It was difficult)
*The guests at the wedding included Elton John, David Beckham and Rowan Atkinson (Mr Bean.)

*After the wedding, William drove his father's Aston Martin sportscar from Buckingham Palace to Clarence House, while his friends from the Royal Airforce flew a helicopter overhead.

*There were street parties all over the country, including one in Downing Street (where the Prime Minister lives).
*People came from all over the world to see the event.
*There were more than 1,000,000 people who came into London. They were in Trafalgar Square, Hyde Park, The Mall and Whitehall. They set up tents, they had picnics,they drank champagne, they waved flags and they sang "GOD SAVE THE QUEEN".

*Everyone had a great time!

Wish I'd been there.

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It doesn't happen very often, but when it does the British like to do it in style!

I'm talking, of course, about THE ROYAL WEDDING.

Yes - it's Prince William of Wales and Miss Catherine (Kate) Middleton

Here's some vocabulary:

The Wedding: The wedding will take place in Westminster Abbey on 29th April
Wedding day: Everyone hopes that the wedding day will be warm & sunny
Wedding dress: There is a lot of excitement about what sort of wedding dress Kate will wear.
Wedding ring: Will the wedding ring be made of Welsh gold?
Engagement ring: William has given Kate his mother's saphire and diamond enagement ring.

Bouquet (pronounced to rhyme with O.K): I wonder what colour flowers will be in the bouquet. Will it be large or just a small posie?

Bride: The woman who is getting married - Kate
Groom: The man who is getting married - William
Best Man:The Groom's friend (who has the wedding ring) - Prince Harry
Bridesmaid:Little girl who attends the bride
Pageboy: Little boy who attends the bride
Maid of Honour: Woman who attends the bride (and may hold her bouquet during the ceremony). It will be Kate's sister - Pippa.

Verbs: To get married: William & Kate will get married on 29th April
To be married: The Queen & Prince Philip have been married since 1947

The Brits love Royal occasions: it's an excuse to have a street party!

And this year will be no different!

If you are a secret Royalist and are interested in this very British event - then you can get lots of details here:

http://www.officialroyalwedding2011.org/tag/homepage/page/1

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British historical drama starring Colin Firth.

This film has been nominated for 12 Academy Awards including Best picture, best actor, best supporting actress, best supporting actor, best director and best original screenplay.

The characters:

For those of you who find the names & titles of the British Royal Family confusing – here are some of the important characters in the film:

King George V
Prince of Wales (David) (later King Edward VIII)
Prince Albert (Bertie), Duke of York (later King George VI)
Duchess of York (later Queen Elizabeth)

[George VI and Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mother) were the current Queen’s parents. So you see Queen Elizabeth II as a little girl in the film, when she was Princess Elizabeth.]

The Plot

It is 1925 and Prince Albert, Duke of York, who is the King’s second son, has to give a speech to close a large exhibition. Unfortunately he has a terrible stammer so giving speeches is an embarrassing ordeal for him.

His wife, The Duchess of York, persuades him to see an Australian speech therapist who she has met in London. However this therapist has some very unusual and controversial methods.

The real Duchess of York (who later became The Queen Mother)

When King George V dies, his eldest son, The Prince of Wales, becomes King Edward VIII. But before he is crowned king, he causes a constitutional crisis by insisting on marrying an American divorcée – Wallis Simpson. The British government cannot accept this marriage, so King Edward is forced to abdicate and his younger brother, the Duke of York, becomes King George VI.

The real King & Queen

As the Second World War develops, the King obviously has to give more and more speeches to the nation, which he finds extremely difficult, but he manages to achieve this with the help of his therapist, the love of his wife and his own determination and willpower.

The film examines the relationship between the King and the speech therapist as well as possible causes of stammering. It is based on archive material and notes taken by the speech therapist at the time, including what was actually said to and by the King. It is considered by historians to be historically accurate.

If you are studying English at level B2 or C1, I highly recommend that you see it in VO.

It is on at La Garenne in Vannes this week.

http://vannes-garenne.cineville.fr/programmes.php?salle=vannes

Showings of The King's Speech:

Wednesday: 14:05 / 18:00 / 20:30, Thursday: 14:05 / 18:00 / 20:30, Friday: 14:05 / 19:45 / 22:10, Saturday: 14:05 / 16:45 / 19:45 / 22:10, Sunday: 10:40 / 14:05 / 16:45 / 20:30, Monday: 14:05 / 18:00 / 20:30, Tuesday: 14:05 / 18:00 / 20:30

Beatrix Potter was born in London in 1866. Her family was wealthy (rich), she was educated at home and did not often see other children. The family spent their holidays in The Lake District and Scotland. Beatrix loved the countryside and painted the plants, insects and animals she saw in detail.

Her parents did not encourage her education, but she became very interested in mycology (the study of fungi ) and her drawings, paintings and observations became well respected in botanical circles.

She is best known for her lovely little bookThe Tale of Peter Rabbit which she published when she was in her thirties. After the success of Peter Rabbit, she became a full-time writer and illustrator of children’s books.

This gave her enough money to be independent of her family and she was able to move away from her father’s house and buy a farm called “Hill Top Farm” in the beautiful Lake District in Cumbria.

She continued to write books, and with the proceeds she bought more land and more farms. She became a farmer and sheep breeder and when she was 47 she married a local solicitor who had helped her buy all her property.
She published 23 books, and when she died in 1943, she left most of her land and property to The National Trust, therefore keeping it safe for future farmers.

When her husband died, all her drawings, paintings and manuscripts also went to The National Trust, which now displays her work in The Beatrix Potter Gallery.

Here are some of her most famous little characters which are loved by children all over the world:

PETER RABBIT

MRS. RABBIT, AND PETER’S SISTERS: FLOPSY, MOPSY AND COTTONTAIL

BENJAMIN BUNNY (Peter’s cousin)

MRS TIGGYWINKLE

SQUIRREL NUTKIN

JEMIMA PUDDLEDUCK

For more information about National Trust properties and The Lake District, which is in the north of England, click on the links below.

The National Trust: http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/

The Lake District: http://www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/

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London 1.1.11

An estimated quarter of a million people came to London and waited in freezing conditions to see this incredible firework display.

Richard & Bronwen wish you all a very happy, healthy, peaceful and prosperous New Year!

The words of this song were written down by Scotland's most famous poet - Robert Burns in 1788, although the poem is probably even older than this - as Rabbie used to travel around Scotland collecting old poems and songs which had never previously been written down and then slightly adapting them. He himself claimed to have learnt this old poem from an old man.

This famous song is now sung in many countries around the world at midnight on New Year's Eve - 31st December.

There are two different melodies - the above version is not so well known, but is considered to be the original (and I think more beautiful) tune.

The words are difficult to understand, as they are in old Scots, but we can translate the title as meaning "For Old Time's Sake".

Should auld acquaintance be forgot
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
And days of auld lang syne?
Refrain
For auld lang syne, my dear
For auld lang syne
We'll take a cup o'kindness yet
For auld lang syne

HAPPY TWENTY - ELEVEN!

(Intermediate B1)

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.

The "Ode of Remembrance" is taken from Laurence Binyon's poem "For the Fallen", which was first published in The Times in September 1914. These four lines will be repeated at services of remembrance all over the country, both today and on Sunday.

Remembrance Day – also known as Poppy Day or Armistice Day commemorates the sacrifices of members of the armed forces and of civilians in times of war since the First World War.

It is observed on 11 November to recall the end of World War I. On that date in 1918 major hostilities of World War I were formally ended "at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month" of 1918 with the German signing of the Armistice.

Although this is not a public holiday in the UK, many people try to observe two minutes of silence at 11 o’clock.

This morning, people stood in silence in public places such as Trafalgar square, in railway stations and in schools as well as at official services at war memorials.

Instead of having a public holiday, there is always a service on Remembrance Sunday in Whitehall in London where members of The Royal Family, politicians and old soldiers lay their wreaths at The Cenotaph.

If you go to the UK at the beginning of November you will see almost everyone wearing a red flower – a poppy- made from paper. The poppies are made by ex-soldiers and they are sold to raise money for injured soldiers and their families. The poppy was chosen as a symbol of remembrance as so many soldiers died in the poppy fields of Flanders in Northern France during the First World War.

The “Poppy Day Appeal” is organized by The Royal British Legion, a charity which raises money for old or injured members of the armed services.

http://www.poppy.org.uk/ .

http://www.britishlegion.org.uk/

To read more about Poppy Day, visit this wonderful children’s website:

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/Remembrance.html

Remember remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
Fot there is no reason why gunpowder and treason
Should ever be forgot!

If you want to know what happened on 5th November 1605 click here.