WINDSOR CASTLE

           Windsor Castle  is the world´s oldest and largest inhabited castle. It is one of the official residences of  Her Majesty the Queen, whose personal standard flies from the Round Tower when she is in residence.
          First established by William the Conqueror in the 11th century, it has been successively redecorated, enlarged and rebuilt by monarchs from Henry II, who rebuilt portions of the castle using stone to replace the earlier wood construction, to Queen Elizabeth II. Since then it has been a fortress, a home to medieval chivalry, a prison, a baroque palace and finally a royal residence.
          The castle survived the bombs which fell in the First and Second Wars but the main disaster struck in 1992 when a fire started in the Private Chapel. The fire raged out of control for hours, destroyed many
rooms and the next five years were dedicated to remodeling them.
          Windsor Castle is now reopened to visitors after the restoration and serves as one of the Queen´s private homes. She continues to spend most of her weekends at Windsor Castle, which is regularly used for Ceremonial and State Banquets.
         The Castle contains a significant portion of the Royal Collection of Art and many documents  relating to the Royal Family and British Monarchy over a period of almost 250 years.

The First Thanksgiving Menu

         The First Thanksgiving was celebrated at Plymouth Colony, Massachussets by the pilgrims in 1621. Many of the pilgrims died during the terrible winter of 1620-1621. By Autumn 1621 the survivors of that year of sickness and scarcity had a successful harvest to celebrate and then 90 Wampanoags (local native Americans) joined the 53 Mayflower Pilgrims. The celebration lasted for several years.
         The menu is said to have included clams, oysters, lobsters, fish, waterfowl, wild turkeys, rabbits, venison, beans, squash, turnips, carrots, salad, wild grapes, hasty pudding, thin cakes of bread and popcorn.
          So if you want to have a real Thanksgiving this year, forget about the mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, pies, cakes and beer. Instead serve venison, dried beans and pumpkin. And no football games on TV, either.

POPPY DAY

         Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day) is an annual holiday on November 11th commemorating all those who have lost their lives fighting for Britain.
         Everybody who was born or raised in Britain is used to the annual appearance of  Remembrance Day Poppies and their huge significance. During the  fighting in Flandes in the First World War, one flower that still bloomed in those vile conditions was the poppy. A fact which was recorded in one of the most famous poems inspired by the horrors of the war: "In Flanders Fields", written by a Canadian officer and physician called John McCrae in May 1915. It is one of the most popular and most quoted poems about war.

     In Flanders fields the poppies blow
     Between the crosses, row on row,
     That mark our place; and in the sky
     The larks, still bravely singing, fly
     Scarce heard amid the guns below.

     We are the Dead. Short days ago
     We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
     Loved and were loved, and now we lie
     In Flanders fields.

     Take up our quarrel with the foe:
     To you from failing hands we throw
     The torch; be yours to hold it high.
     If ye break faith with us who die
     We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
     In Flanders fields.

        After World War II, Remembrance Day was recognized as a day of tribute to the veterans and dead of that conflict as well.The poem continued on inspiring others and this is how the poem came to the attention of an American proffesor, Moina Michael who worked effortlessly to provide financial support to disable servicemen and their families by selling silk red poppies. By 1921, she began to wear a red poppy to honour the soldiers who died in conflict. The practise quickly spread throughout the British Empire and the poem and the poppy became important Remembrance Day symbols in the Commonwealth of Nations. Now artificial poppies are sold in honour the brave men and women who serve in the military. 
        Remembrance Sunday is held on the second Sunday in November and special services are celebrated at War Memorials and churches all over Britain. A national ceremony takes place at the Cenotaph in Whitehall, London.

THE BODLEIAN LIBRARY

 
      The Bodleian Library was founded by Sir Thomas Bodley and officially opened on 8 November 1602. It is located at the heart of the historic part of Oxford and it is one of the oldest libraries in Europe and in England is second in size only to the British Library.
   
     With over 100 miles of shelving and holding a copy of every published book in the world, the Bodleian, known to Oxford scholars  as "Bodley" or simply "the Bod", is the research library for the University of Oxford. Under the Legal Deposit Libraries Act 2003, it is one of the six legal deposit libraries (British Library, Oxford, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Dublin and Aberystwyth) for works published in the United Kingdom and under the Irish Law, it is entitled to request a copy of each book published in the Republic of Ireland.

     In its reading rooms, generations of famous scholars have studied through the ages, amongst them five monarchs, forty Nobel Prize winners, twenty-six British Prime Ministers and writers including Oscar Wilde, CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien

          Today, the buidings are still used by students and scholars from all over the world and they attract an increasing number of visitors who are welcomed to see its iconic buidings and learn about the Library´s history and its vast collections.

      On November 8th, the Bodleian Library in Oxford will celebrate the 410th anniversary of its opening.

WHAT TO SEE :

 . The old schools Quadrangle with its magnificient buildings and monumental Tower of the Five Orders of  Architecture.            
 
.The Divinity School, the oldest teaching room and the first examination school of the University of Oxford.

 .The 17th-century Convocation House, where Parliament was held during the Civil War, and Chancellor´s Court.

 .The medieval Duke Humfrey´s Library, the oldest reading room.

 .The Radcliffe Camera, the first rotunda library built in Britain.

 .The Gladstone Link, the former underground book stack beneath the Radcliffe Square and the tunnel between the Bodleian Library and the Radcliffe Camera.

GUY FAWKES´ NIGHT.

            
              "Remember, remember!
               the fifth of November!
               The Gunpowder treason and plot;
                I know of no reason
               Why the Gunpowder treason
               Should ever be forgot!" (English Folk Verse).

           

              Bonfire Night is also known as Fireworks' Night or Guy Fawkes' Night. It's a British tradition dating back to the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, when Catholic conspirator Guy Fawkes tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament and King James I.

              In 1605 King James I was on the throne. He was very unpopular with Roman Catholics. Some of them planned to blow up the Houses of Parliament on 5th November of that year, when the King was going to open Parliament. Under the House of Lords they had stored 36 barrels of gun powder, which were to be exploded by a man called Guy Fawkes. He was discovered, arrested and later hanged.

             Since that day the British traditionally celebrate 5th November by burning a dummy on a bonfire, whilst at the same time letting off fireworks.This dummy is called a "guy" (like Guy Fawkes) and children can often be seen on the pavements before 5th November saying " Penny for the guy", then they buy some fireworks.

              

TEA DRINKING.

Anna Maria Russell, the 7th Duchess of Bedford, is reputed to have originated the idea of afternoon tea in the early 1800s. She conceived the idea of having tea around four or five o´clock in the afternoon to ward off the hunger pangs between lunch and dinner. She found a light meal of tea (usually Darjeeling)and cakes or sandwiches was the perfect balance. Some time earlier, the Earl of Sandwich had the idea of putting a filling between two slices of bread. These habits soon became a good reason for social gatherings, and started a trend. Afternoon tea quickly became an established and convivial repast in many middle and upper class households.

As the popularity of tea spread, it also became an essential part of people´s entertainment outside the house. Tea gardens then opened all over the country, with tea served as the high point of the afternoon. Dancing was included as part of the day´s festivities so from the tea gardens came the idea of the tea dance which remained fashionable in Britain until World War II, when they lost popularity.

But rapid urban growth in the early 1800s led to the closure of the gardens and the only places left serving tea were the inns, taverns and hostelries. Tea now began to play an important role in the temperance movement´s battle against the very high levels of alcohol comsumption.

Between 1741 and 1820, industrialists, landowners and clerics tried to put a stop to the tea break, maintaining that tea drinking and rest made working people slothful. Nowadays. it is believed that regular tea breaks are a vital part of the day and help to maintain a positive balance and good health.

KING ARTHUR: FACT OR MITH

The legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table has been very popular in Europe for more than a thousand years. The Knights of England wanted to choose a new king. They found a huge stone with a sword in it. There was a golden writing on the sword which said: "the man who can pull the sword out of the stone will be the king". Young Arthur, who was a boy at the time, pulled out the sword Excalibur from the stone, which no one except the next king could do. Then he became king. Arthur lived in the castle of Camelot, the ideal court. It was famous for bravery, chivalry, romantic love and magic, which was practised by Merlin, the magician.

But England and Arthur began to lose power when Arthur learned about the love affair between his wife, Guinevere, and his best friend, Sir Lancelot. Then Arthur began the search for the Holy Grial (the wine cup used at Christ´s last meal) which Sir Galahad finally found and brought back.

Arthur grew strong again and he went into battle to save England from his evil cousin, Mordred, whom he liked. But Arthur himself was seriously wounded in the great battle. Before he died, he gave his magic sword, Excalibur, to his friend, Bedivere. He told Sir Bedivere to throw the sword into the lake. The hand of the Lady of the Lake came out of the water and caught the sword. Three beautiful queens took Arthur´s body away in a boat to the magic island of Avalon, his resting place.

Did Arthur really exist? It is said by some people that he may have been a Celtic leader of the 6th or 7th century. It is claimed by some that many stories of the Arthurian legend were invented by Geoffrey of Monmouth. But it is believed by others that Arthur really existed, and there are many places in Britain which claim to have connections with the story or to be the actual site of Camelot. The legend says that one day Arthur will return if England is ever in danger again. Perhaps we will never know, unless England is in trouble and Arthur reappears with his Knights to rescue it from danger.