PHILATELY

Philately is probably the most popular hobby outside sport, and it has been so for a very long time. Far from being a spare-time hobby, it would now be a full time job to collect the stamps of the whole world, and most collectors choose to specialise in a few specific countries. Some still prefer not to restrict their collection to a handful of countries and instead choose a theme, probably connected with their own interests.

Every stamp collector likes to have in his collection what is one of the most famous stamps in the world, the PENNY BLACK, an unperforated stamp showing the head of Queen Victoria. This, along with the TWOPENNY BLUE, was the first postage stamp to be issued anywhere in the world. As Britain was the first country to use pre-paid adhesive stamps for its postal service in 1840, it was not considered necessary to include the name of the country in the design, and Britain is still the only country in the world whose stamps do not bear its own name.

British stamps changed hardly at all in their first hundred years. Queen Victoria insisted that the same youthful image of her head should be used throughout her reign but commemorative stamps were issued exceptionally for the 1924 Empire Exhibition at Wembley. This was a time when philatelists found the stamps of other counties far more exotic than the home-grown product.

This state of affairs continued until well into the reign of the present Queen. Although the picture started to change when George VI came to the throne, the Second World War intervened, and only a few commemoratives appeared during his reign.

1966 was quite a year for stamp collectors. It was also the year when the World Cup Football Competition was held in Britain, and the special FOURPENNY STAMP was overprinted with the words "England winners" after the happy outcome.

In the seventies, chemistry, energy resources, broadcasting sailing, sport and social reform were some of the other themes treated in a similar way. But the general trend was towards more naturalistic representation: trees, flowers, horses, dogs, birds.... Famous people also began to figure regularly on stamps: poets, writers, explorers and composers, and the anniversaries of several famous Brithish painters were used as a nice excuse to reproduce in miniature some paintings. Many people think that stamps are the world´s most popular miniature art form. It is definitely cultural and scientific life which British stamps designers choose to represent.

So for many years, British stamps have taken people on a wonderful journey through Britain and its society, celebrating important events and anniversaries, heroic achievments, showing the British way of life. Meticulously researched and beautifully designed, stamp collecting opens a window to the world, and they capture the richness and diversity of British life like no other.

EMILIA PARDO BAZAN

BIOGRAPHY

- Born in La Coruña (Spain) in 1852.
- Raised in a wealthy family with progressive political leanings.
- Very well-educated, particularly influenced by French thought and literature.
- Known for bringing Naturalism to Spanish Literature, for her descriptions of reality and for her role in feminist literature.
- Her work is representative of the styles and concerns of Realism, Naturalism,
Feminism and Modernism.
- Interested in politics and advocate of education and other opportunities for wo-
men.
- Particularly concerned with the representation, in her fiction, of sexual passions
and gender issues as well as social differences and contrasts.
- Wrote extensively in many forms (novels, short stories, essays, articles...)
and on a wide variety of subjects ( literature, technology, theology, social issues,
feminism...)
- Attacked as immoral by reactionary and oppresive elements of Spanish society.
- Proffesor of Romance Literature at the University of Madrid (1916-1921).
- Died in Madrid in 1921.

MAIN WORKS

Emilia Pardo Bazán was universally recognized as one of the chiefs of the new naturalistic movement in Spain. She wrote nineteen novels including: "Pascual López" (1879), "El cisne de Villamorta" (1885), "Los Pazos de Ulloa" ( 1886), "Madre Naturaleza" (1887) and "La sirena negra" (1908).
With "Un viaje de novios" (1881), she tried to introduce into Spain the methods of French Realism. Another naturalistic tale, "La tribuna" (1885), influenced by Emile Zola caused a sensation among the literary groups. Meanwhile the writer´s reply to her critics was issued under the title of "La cuestión palpitante" (1883), a piece of rhetoric value.
"Los Pazos de Ulloa" (1886), probably the best of Emilia Pardo Bazán work, is a painful story of a decadent aristocratic family. The portraits of types like Nucha and Julián are notable. Her merit lies in its pictures of country life, its poetic realization of Galician scenery set down in an elaborate style, which is very effective.

She was also author of hundreds of short stories including: "La cristiana" (1890), "Cuentos de amor" (1894), "Arco Iris" (1895), "Misterio" (1903), "La Quimera" (1905), and "Verdad" (1905).

ALL THE WORLD´S STAGE

This is an extract from a Shakespeare play, "As you like it", written nearly four hundred years ago. It is a famous speech, known as "The seven ages of man", by a character called Jaques.
It is one of Shakespeare´s most famous monologues. He analyzes the great drama of life in a world which is "a wide and universal theatre". The basic idea is that every life is a theatrical performance. Man is just playing a role. Shakespeare divides the life of a man into seven ages or acts, and describes each with a character: infant, school-boy, lover, soldier, justice, pantaloon and second childhood.


Act II, Scene 7," AS YOU LIKE IT" by William Shakespeare.

All the world´s stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
they have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,
Mewling and pucking in the nurse´s arms.
And then the whining school-boy, with this satchel,
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woful ballad
Made to his mistress´eyebrow. then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon´s mouth. and then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lin´d,
With eyes severe, and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slipper´d pantaloon
With spectacles on nose and puoch on side,
His youthful hose well sav´d a world too wide
For his shunk shank; and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends his strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion
sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C68ksx6QYEo


Glossary

mewling and pucking: crying and being sick
whining: making a complaining noise
woful: sad
oaths: swear, rude words
belly: stomach
capon: male chicken fattened for eating
saws: proverbs or sayings
slipper´d: with slippers on
pantaloon: (archaic) in commedia dell´arte, a foolish old Venetian merchant
hose: kind of trousers
oblivion: forgetfulness
sans: without (French word)

SAINT BRENDAN, THE VOYAGER.

Saint Brendan, the voyager, was born in the south west of Ireland in 484. There is little information about his life but he had a very strong influence on the Celtic Church. He founded a number of abbies and monasteries, including the one at Clonfert in Galway (Ireland) where he died in 578.

Saint Brendan is known for his legendary quest to the "Isle of the Blessed". The saint was a wanderer. He left his home as a sign of his spiritual quest. He decided to sail from the Hebrides off the edge of the known world into the west. Although there is no historical proof of his voyage, Brendan is said to have sailed in search of a Paradise with a company of sixty monks. After a long voyage ( 7 years), they reached the Paradise, an island covered with vegetation.

Many medieval manuscripts of the "Voyage of Saint Brendan" still exist and there are versions in Middle English, French, German, Italian, Flemish and other languages. This story was popular in the Middle Ages.

Maps of Columbus´s time often included an island called St Brendan´s Island that was placed in the Western Atlantic Ocean. Map markers of the time had no idea of its exact position but they believed it existed somewhere west of Europe. It was mentioned in a Latin text (Navigatio Santi

Brendan Abatis), dating from the 9th century. It described the voyage as having taken place in the 6th century. Several copies of the text have survived in monasteries throughout Europe. Since the 13th century the legend has appeared in the literatures of the Netherlands, Germany and England.

The narrative in "Navigatio Brendan" offers a wide range for the interpretation of the geographical position of the Paradise´Island: far west of the southern part of Ireland, the Fortunate Isles in the south,....

Soon a new theory arose, maintained for those scholars who claimed for the Irish monk the glory of discovering America because he could only have the knowledge of foreign animals and plants described in the legend by visiting the western continent. Did Saint Brendan travel to America before Columbus? He possibly reached America in the 6th century!!!

Now Saint Brendan is known as the Patron Saint of sailors and travellers. His feast is kept on the 16 May, the day of his death. It is celebrated by Catholics, Anglicans and Eastern Orthodox Christians.

THE STORY BEHIND THE PICTURE

Every picture tells a story and now I am thinking about the terrible story which is represented in ¨The third of May 1808¨painted by Francisco de Goya y Lucientes between 1814 and 1815.

On the second of May 1808, the people of Madrid attacked a group of the mounted Egyptian soldiers (mamelukes) of the French Army. The participants and the witnesses of the attack were punished by arrests and executions continuing throughout the night and the following morning of 3 May. The reality is that hundred of Spaniards were rounded up and shot.

The subject is a scene where French soldiers execute Spanish patriots at Príncipe Pío hill in Madrid. It is recognizable because of the palace on the right-hand side.

There are two diagonal lines: the individualized patriots and the soldiers. The French soldiers are identical, with the same uniforms, swords, hats. They are an inhuman group of men. The central figure, a man with his arms outstretched, reflects the desperation and the terror of the situation which is evident on his face. The brightness of this figure highlights the tragic moment.

This painting is not so much a protest against the French Imperialism. It is a cry against the inhuman brutality in all wars.

STONEHENGE

Stonehenge is a mysterious place. Nobody knows exactly who built the monument on Salisbury Plain. The construction was begun about 5000 years ago, so it is one of the oldest buildings in existence.

There are three circles of stones and some of the stones are very heavy. The extraordinary thing is that a lot of them were brought from places far away. People didn´t have transport in those days, so how did they move them? It is a mystery.

The legend says that Stonehenge was built for sunworshipping but there are different theories as to why Stonehenge was built. Some people think it was a castle, others an observatory from which to watch the stars, and still others a calendar in stone. Speculation on the reason it was built range from human sacrifice to astronomy.

Stonehenge has many visitors every year. It is very popular in the Summer. On June the 21st of every year, the longest day of the year, the sun rises directly above a line drawn between two of the most important stones, and there is a ceremony of sunworshipping at sunrise on Midsummer´s day. People stand inside the sacred circle and there is an amazing excitement at the solstice sunrise.

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/episode/stonehenge-decoded-3372

EXAMS, EXAMS.

Selectivity exam for thousands of students is in the horizon and they are all getting quite nervous. As many teachers know, it is a very important exam for them. It is a period of hard work and study. I know that pieces of advice here can be a bit funny but the only thing I am going to say to all my students is to do their best!

Before the exam:

- Check your equipment, make sure it is in order.

- Don´t cheat or break any rules. Don´t take mobile phones in.

- Make sure you get enough sleep and have a healthy breakfast or lunch.

- Keep your thoughts to yourself and concentrate on the exam.

- Relax and think positively to grow your confidence.

In the exam:

- Take a short breath in through your nose and then let it out long through your mouth.

- Concentrate on what you have to do.

- Have a glucose sweet to give energy to your brain.

- Read the instructions on the exam papers carefully.

- Read the questions before you write anything.

- Use time to choose your questions and write notes to help you remember later.

After the exam:

- Don´t worry about the exam you have just taken.

- Concentrate instead on the next exam.

GOOD LUCK, GUYS!!!