"I STILL CALL AUSTRALIA HOME" unnoficial anthem of Australia

 

Shared by Michael Church:

This is a stunning ad for Qantas airline, showcasing some famous Aussies and Australia´s landscapes, flora and fauna.

The song featured is considered to be Australia´s unofficial anthem.

Power Politics by Margaret Atwood

 

Zenda Libros has just published a bilingual edition of some poems included in Power Politics, which she wrote in 1971.They have different lengths and some can be used in the classroom:

https://www.zendalibros.com/5-poemas-de-posturas-politicas-de-margaret-atwood/

These poems occupy all at once the intimate, the political, and the mythic. Power Politics refers to what happens between two people, in a personal relationship. Is there power and politics in a love story? And if so, why is there?
As Margaret Atwood effectively writes, “If I love you, is that a fact or a weapon?”
The idea of an unbalanced relationship, why power may be given up to the other person are versed about in Power Politics. 

The violent surprise of this poem is typical of Atwood’s imagery, and it contains her famous simile: 

You fit into me

like a hook into an eye

a fish hook

an open eye

Fond of strawberries? Try Eton Mess

 

ETON MESS ORIGIN

There are a number of stories about how the Eton Mess dessert originated. Some are fact and some are fiction – and this all adds to the fun of the stalwart English pudding. A traditional Eton Mess consists of a mixture of strawberries, broken pieces of meringue and whipped cream. It is also sometimes served with bananas or other pieces of soft fruit too.

Of all the stories relating to the origins of Eton Mess, it’s the story of the dog and the pavlova that is the most commonly recounted. Legend has it that a cricket match was taking place at Eton College in the 1920s. The story goes that a strawberry pavlova was waiting in a picnic basket as an after-match treat for the boys, when an overexcited Labrador sat on the basket and squashed it. Apparently the boys didn’t mind the fact that their dessert had been ruined and ate it anyway!

It’s a fun story to believe, except it has one major flaw…Eton Mess had already been mentioned in old documents almost 30 years before in 1893!

Source : https://www.runnymedehotel.com/blog/the-history-of-eton-mess/

Hello,

Strawberries are  available all year round in our markets, but since February until August (at least in our region) are at their best.

This is one of the most typical English desserts, easy to make (my favourites).

Purists would insist Eton mess should only contain strawberries, but other British summer berries like raspberries, red and rose currants and even cherries have a touch more sharpness which pairs perfectly with the sweet meringue and rich cream. These homemade meringues are a doddle, but you can also buy them which turns this dessert into a 10-minute-pudding.

Ingredients

1. 1 box strawberries
2. a dash of sugar
3. meringues, broken up
4. cream, softly whipped

Instructions

1. Start by making meringue, or get some at the store.
2. Cut the top of the strawberries and place them in a kitchen bowl. Mash them up along with some sugar. You could also save a few pieces to place on top of the dessert at the end. You can also add some liqueur or other kind of alcohol to the strawberries if you want, but I made mine alcohol free so everyone could enjoy it.
3. Whip the cream. It's important your bowl and whisk are clean, otherwise your cream will not thicken. Add a couple of teaspoons of sugar, and beat it. Remember, it should be softly whipped, which means soft peaks.
4. Get out the glasses you want to serve the Eton Mess in, or get a big bowl everyone can help themselves from. I chose individual glasses.
5. Start by breaking up some meringue and placing it in the bottom of the glass. Then add some cream, and then some crushed strawberries. Add a bit more meringue, a bit more cream and some more strawberries. Top with some fresh strawberries and serve.
6. This dessert should be served immediately, because the meringue will get soft if it's soaking up the moisture from the cream and strawberries. The whole point of adding meringue to this dish, is to add some crunch and texture against the soft cream and strawberries.

By House of Treats

Once assembled the mess should be eaten straight away – the meringue will soften and become chewy rather than crisp if left sitting in the cream.

Source: https://houseoftreats.org/eton-mess/

Donald Jackie Hinkson, Caribbean artist

Donald Jackie Hinkson is one of the Caribbean's most talented artists. His art is influenced by the lively colours and lighting of his island environment. 

Watch and listen to Jackie Hinson retelling the beginning of his humble upbringing on discovering he is to become a scholared artist. Jackie gives a wonderfully vivid perspective of his visions as an artist. 

Very English murders

 

I would like to recommend you this book set England. 

The island where the murder happens reminds me of Mount St. Michel very much, as you can see here:

"... So he built his house—a sturdy house too, as it needed to be, on the little windswept gull‐haunted promontory— cut off from land at each high tide."...

"The sturdy house was added to and embellished. A concrete causeway was laid down from the mainland to the island. ‘Walks’ and ‘Nooks’ were cut and devised all round the island."

In this article you can find Agatha Christie's novel settings. It has become a habit to buy one of her books when I visit one of them, that's how my collection started.

In this article you can find Agatha Christie's novel settings. It has become a habit to buy one of her books when I visit one of them, that's how my collection started.

https://internationalcrimefiction.org/2021/01/20/agatha-christie-one-hundred-years-of-confinement/

MICROWAVE PAVLOVA

 

Shared by Petrina Moir:

As a foodie, I am always sharing recipes. 

Some of you maybe had the pleasure of me doing this live last year on one of the online courses! It was quite a feat but I did it! 

Have a look at the video, it is definitely worth a try for those unexpected visitors, three minutes and you leave your dinner guests speechless, sugary enough to satisfy any sweet tooth!  Enjoy!

The Old Operating Theatre Museum

 

Shared by Melina Rellán:

London is amazing!!, I've been there several times. Behind every corner or in the different streets you can find amazing places and people. 

I can remember some years ago when I went there with one of my colleagues and a few of our students, we visited "the Old Operating Theatre Museum & Herb Garret" (https://oldoperatingtheatre.com), it's the oldest surviving operating theatre of Europe, and it's a great experience when visiting it. 

Housed in the attic of the early eighteenth-century church of the old St Thomas’ Hospital, this atmospheric museum offers a unique insight into the history of medicine and surgery. 

The original timber framed Herb Garret was once used to dry and store herbs for patients’ medicines and in 1822 an operating theatre was included.

Predating anaesthetics and antiseptics, it is the oldest surviving surgical theatre in Europe.

Unveiling Zimbabwe

 

Shared by Michael Church

Language Lessons and Spanglish: the experience of learning and living a foreign a language

 

There are many films about learning a language and Language Lessons is a good example of Zoom learning in pandemic.

INFORMATION ABOUT THE FILM

Directed by Natalie Morales and written in collaboration with her co-star Mark Duplass, this charming and award-winning comedy follows a Spanish teacher and her student whose online connection takes on far more importance than either could have anticipated.

For his 45th birthday, wealthy Californian Adam (Mark Duplass) receives a surprise gift from his choreographer partner: 100 weekly Spanish lessons with Cariño (Natalie Morales), a vivacious expat who teaches virtually from her home in Costa Rica. Adam's unconvinced at first; a self-described “creature-of-habit”, he’s unsure about where or how this new element will fit into his carefully-structured routine. But after unexpected events turn his life upside down, Cariño becomes a lifeline he didn’t know he needed, and a complicated emotional bond develops...

Upending classic meet-cute tropes, this clever and unassuming film effortlessly shifts between comedy and pathos, echoing the ups and downs of life. Bittersweet, honest and fresh, LANGUAGE LESSONS is a disarmingly moving exploration of friendship and connection.

Source: https://www.palacefilms.com.au/language-lessons

Another interesting film about both languages and the people and culture in them: Spanglish, starred by Paz Vega. I went to see it with 2nd year bachillerato students and it was a source of many debates about the many layers of the film: migration, wroking in another country, 2nd generations, languages, bilinguism...
Here's a reminder: