THE BEANS, FADOS & BRITISH LEGENDS IN LISBON

I must ride with my Beans to defend what was, 

and the dream of what could be.

Excalibur, Thomas Malory

The Beans, King Arthur & The Round Table Knights

Today, The Beans have enjoyed another wonderful day together. It's very difficult for The Grandma to write a post today because although she knows that it's the end of a season, it's also the beginning of another one full of hope, effort and common help in the distance.

The Grandma has tried  to share her knowledge with The Beans during some months and she's very happy with the effort and commitment demonstrated by all of them. Listening to old stories, remembering personal memories, talking about literature, history or music, she has tried to cheer them to start again in the wonderful adventure of learning. 

Download King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table

Without temporal goals and without pressure only with the idea of enjoying every moment and giving the best of everyone; without the obligation of demonstrating anything, only with the intention of having an open mind to discover new cultures, countries and stories, The Beans have demonstrated that they are ready to confront whatever they want if they have the strong idea of doing it and the most important, that they are not alone in this difficult and long way to find a success route that determinates the closer future. 

It's very important to trust in yourself to be ready to get over the difficulties but it's also very important to know and reaffirm that you are doing this travel rounded by your special family, fourteen different people with different characters, points of views and origins  but with the same objective: learning new things every day and enjoying every moment, because it's not important where they come from but where they are going to arrive. 

One day, a Bean will come, and the sword will rise... again.

Excalibur, Thomas Malory

Every member of the family has offered her/his colour to a multicultural family that has been able to work very hard every day. Every one of them is important and necessary because The Beans are a sum of all of them and they have left his/her footstep in this wonderful family that is called to do something fantastic in the closer future. Teamwork is the secret of their success, feeling important as a part of a totality and being missed when you're not with them, this family has shined a light in every colour of our hearts.
 

That's no way to say goodbye

The Grandma is sad and staying in Lisbon is a good way to try to change this sadness to joy. She loves fado and admires Mísia, one of her favourite female singers. They have a lot of things in common: both of them are adult, both of them have a life full of incredible stories, both of them have common Catalan origins and both of them like poetry and literature. The most importance difference between them is that Mísia has one of the most incredible voices around the world, and The Grandma has big ears to listen to her fados.

More information: Ancient

Some people say that The Beans don't exist and all is a legend although all the legends have a true base. These same people explain that this legend has been transmitted from generation to generation in an oral way across the Via Rubricatus towns with different versions talking about different families with different surnames: The Collins, The Addams, The Holmes, The Poppins, The Bonds or recently, The Beans.

Princess Leia and R2D2

All the versions of this legend have points in common, a reduced number of people who worked very strong to find something they thought they have lost: trust in themselves and force to continue fighting; an old woman with an undetermined age over the 90's, very rich, who loved explaining old-fashioned stories and was a fan of the Middle-Age, -especially Ramon Llull and King Arthur novels- and contemporany fiction like Star Wars films and The X Files Series; and who tries to follow their teachings. 

From Ramon Llull, she learnt to think and question things without believing in official versions; from King Arthur, the value of the Round Table: honour, courage, loyalty, teamwork and enough imagination to create their own universe to protect themselves from the enemy; from Star Wars, she learnt to fight against the dark forces; and from The X Files to not give up searching the truth.

This is not the end, this is the beginning of a new season because the best is always ready to arrive.

Ask ev'ry person if he's heard the story;

And tell it strong and clear if he has not:
That once there was a fleeting wisp of glory
Called The Beans Family.
The Beans! The Beans!

Camelot, Alan Jay Lerne

Fado is a music genre that can be traced to the 1820s in Lisbon, Portugal, but probably has much earlier origins. Fado historian and scholar Rui Vieira Nery states that the only reliable information on the history of Fado was orally transmitted and goes back to the 1820s and 1830s at best. But even that information was frequently modified within the generational transmission process that made it reach us today.

Although the origins are difficult to trace, today fado is commonly regarded as simply a form of song which can be about anything, but must follow a certain traditional structure. In popular belief, fado is a form of music characterized by mournful tunes and lyrics, often about the sea or the life of the poor, and infused with a sentiment of resignation, fatefulness and melancholia. This is loosely captured by the Portuguese word saudade, or longing, symbolizing a feeling of loss, a permanent, irreparable loss and its consequent lifelong damage. 

More information: Mísia Official Website

This connection to the music of a historic Portuguese urban and maritime proletariat: sailors, dock workers, port traders and other working-class people in general, can also be found in Brazilian modinha and Indonesian kroncong, although all these music genres subsequently developed their own independent traditions.

On 27 November 2011, fado was added to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists. It is one of two Portuguese music traditions part of the lists, the other being Cante Alentejano.

More information: UNESCO

Try not to become a man of success, 

but rather try to become a man of value. 

Albert Einstein

HAVE YOU EVER SEEN ANTONI GAUDÍ IN SANT BOI?

Eli, Irene & Olga Bond have gone shopping

Today, The Bonds have practiced Present Perfect with Already, Just, Yet, Ever and Never. Thay have also talked about the modal verb Need/Needn't and the normal verb Need to/Don't need to.

The Grandma has totally crossed and she has needed some caffeine to be a person. Yesterday, she had an ugly incident with some Russian teenagers in the streets of Paris and today she was remembering it. She has had an introspective day and she has started to remember old stories which aren't interesting but can save you if you're able to connect them with whatever you want.

More information: Already, Just, Yet

After these stories, the family has made an homage to Sant Boi, a beautiful and important city next to the old Via Rubricatus and Via Augusta, talking about the importance of its popular people, like Pau Gasol or Marc Gasol and famous ones like Manel Esteller.

Finally, the family has talked about the Phi number and its importance in our universe. The number was an inspiration to our greatest genius, Antoni Gaudí, who was working in Sant Boi before building The Sagrada Família.

More information: El banc de proves de Gaudí (Catalan Version)

The family is still in Paris enjoying these last days before travelling to Kiev where they're going to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest. 

More information: Gaudí i l'Hospital de Sant Boi (Catalan Version)

Good luck family!

The science of today is the technology of tomorrow. 

Edward Teller

THE POPPINS: BORN TO WIN

Sant Boi de Llobregat

Today, The Poppins are closing their circle. It started last April and during these months they have been working very hard to improve their English. They have created a big and unforgettable family and, obviously, they will continue their lives across different paths returning to the beginning and reconnecting with their dreams and proposals again.

The Grandma is preparing her summer holidays in Andorra, her hometown. She’s very proud of the Poppins and she knows, because she lived the same situation, that days like today seem very hard and difficult but they’re exciting because the most important is arriving to the exam and do it. This is the real prize, this is the fantastic triumph and this is the real meaning of this family: do things because we can do them, don’t resign in front of difficulties and don’t give up. Never give up.

We don’t know anything about our closer future but we can guess that it will be difficult, as difficult as it was for other generations but if they survived, we are going to do it, too. 

Some centuries ago, some little villages and towns started to grow up along an important and brave river: the Via Rubricatus. This Latin name was adopted because of the red colour of its water. One of these little towns became very popular and famous because of its natural beauty and the importance of its Roman terms. Years later, the city was an important site during the Succession War in the 18th Century and nowadays is recognized for being the Antoni Gaudí’s testing ground that helped him to create his wonderful buildings. The city is the result of a mix of cultures, like all its country, a directly consequence of growing up between the Via Augusta and the Via Rubricatus. 

Perhaps, some people know its famous doctor who battles against cancer day by day, its historical rugby player who practised this sport for the first time in the town, its popular fashion designer or its two famous NBA players but the History, in capital letters, will write that this city was the hometown of The Poppins, an intelligent, brave and funny family that has become unforgettable.

Come on Poppins! We have born to win!

 

Your town is very important - The Grandma

FIRST STOP: NAPLES AND SURROUNDINGS

Charles Dickens

Today, The Holmes have started a new book: Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol and have played a little with The Little Prince and his memo.

After talking about the importance of Sant Boi de Llobregat along the history, they’ve listened to a new story about the relation between Via Rubricatus (the Llobregat River) and Via Augusta (the Roman way). Nothing is closed and different theories are accepted nowadays.

Finally, they’ve worked together in the elaboration of an Italian tour. The family is going to travel around this wonderful country with the company of their two horses. Tonight, they’ve arrived to Naples where The Grandma has lots of friends. It will be an intensive week.

By the way, The Grandma is excited because tonight is aired the second part of The X Files season premiere episode. Again, she is with her heroes: Fox Mulder & Dana Scully. Welcome again, friends!

The most important thing in life is to stop saying 'I wish'

and start saying 'I will.'

Consider nothing impossible,

then treat possibilities as probabilities.

Charles Dickens