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:

Meet Bury St. Edmunds in East Anglia, UK

 

Bury St. Edmunds in East Anglia, UK

Here's a couple of videos of some American visiting my home town, which is about 30 miles from Cambridge, and its famous Beer and Cider festival so that you can get an idea and learn about the Magna Carta.

Explore the bank of England, meet the mayor of London

 

If you fancy going further in depth why not explore the workings of the Bank of England, peruse the Mayor´s mansion or just have a cup of rosy lee (tea) with a born and bred Londoner. Stepehen Fry (comedian, writer and director) explores the hidden side of London.

Shared by Petrina Moir.

British accents

This video about British accents is somewhat generalised, but it gives a good overview of the regions. For example, in my area of East Anglia, there's a big difference for me between the Norfolk and Suffolk accent and even between West Suffolk, where I'm from, and East Suffolk.

Enjoy. Which one do you like the best? Do you recognise any of the accents?

Shared by Aaron Biggs

Tolkien's inspiration in The Lord of the Rings

 These are some of the places which are said to have inspired Tolkien  in The Lord of the Rings:

St. Edward’s Church, Stow-on-the-Wold

This entrance, two yew trees- seems to have inspired the Doors of Durin in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.   

"It’s no secret that the ancient and magical yew trees of Britain have guided us for centuries and are shrouded in an air of mystery.  In fact, you’ll find most ancient yews in churchyards as they have a sacred status. The tree’s ability to regenerate from “deadwood” represents life, death, and resurrection which strongly echoes chapters of Christian texts."

There is a local legend that says that J. R. R. Tolkien visited Stow-on-the-Wold on his many tours of the Cotswolds while he was an academic at Oxford.  His brother lived in the market town of Evesham and they regularly met up at Moreton-in-Marsh at The Bell Inn pub too.

The Tolkien Society has proven that the nearby Bell Inn of Moreton-in-Marsh was used as inspiration for “The Prancing Pony” in the town of Bree. They even had a special print made for the owners!

The Four Shire Stone on the A44 was confirmed as inspiration for the “Three-Farthing Stone”. This is mentioned in both Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit as the boundary marker for The Shire and its four farthings.

Source: https://thirdeyetraveller.com/st-edwards-church-stow-on-the-wold-door/   You will find videos and more information about these sites.