ANA B. JONES, PORTUGUESE SAUDADE & ITALIAN ROOTS

Ana Bean-Jones in Sintra, her hometown

Ana B. Jones. Influencer. Portugal.

I'm Ana Bean-Jones. I was born in Sintra, Portugal, a place considered a Heritage by the UNESCO although my ancestors were from Venice. I love classical music, especially Maria Callas, a person who I adore a lot but as a Portuguese I admire Mísia and her fados and her saudade. I'm an influencer. It's not an easy job because your opinion is important for your followers. You must be very responsible and honest with them. Life is a great theatre and it's important to be a good actor to avoid bad things, and a good spectator to learn good ones. I'm a Bean-Jones and I hope that I had influenced them with my sense of humor and shyness. Follow us with our hashtag #TheJones.

-Good morning, Ana Bean-Jones, and thanks to attend us.

-Good morning. It's a pleasure.

-It's difficult for me, as an interviewer, to sum up some questions about you.

-Why?

-Because of your job.

-Well, I'm an influencer, a person who creates opinion over other people.

-You create opinion, you explain stories, you recommend places... how can I be sure that you are who you say you are?

-You will never know it. It's a risk that you have to choose: believe me or not. Being an influencer is a job. It doesn't mean that you believe in your critics, it means that you defend your position and your point of view because there's an important objective: earn followers and create a positive or negative opinion about something, somewhere or someone.

-How is the life of an influencer?

-A normal one like other people. Influencing isn't only a pleasure or hobby for me, it's also my profession, and then, I must try to do my best every day, even these days when I'm not very inspired.

-What happens these days?

-Well, you must choose your position, maybe an opinion, maybe a suggestion, maybe a negative critic and then you take another look to check if you still think the same about them. If they like you, you use the social net that you consider the best and express these opinions, if you don't like them, you change them and you start again.

-How many times have you started again?

-Every day. Every new day is a new beginning and you must start doing things to fill your life with your interests and hopes.

-Portugal isn't a big country... How can a Portuguese influencer arrive to be the best and the most followed and survive against the Anglo-Saxon competence?

-Creating good contents and writing interesting posts. I don't agree about the idea that Portugal isn't a big country.

-Why?

-Portugal is a great example of surviving and resilience. We suffered a terrible economic crisis and we got over it with public policies which helped the poorest citizens. The rate of unemployment was a shame and now the country is growing again, the unemployment is going down and we're creating workplaces and new opportunities for our young people. This kind of things makes big a country, not the extension or the number of inhabitants.

-How has this success been possible?

-We are great administrators of our resources. We trust in the potential of our citizens because we believe that people are the most important active of a country.

-How do you feel being a member of The Jones?

-It's the same that Portugal. The most important active in our family is every member of it. We're people with great energy and creativity and we must believe in ourselves.

-How is a normal day with The Jones?

-A normal day is a day full of happiness and effort. We laugh a lot but we work very hard. You learn better if you spend good time. It's easier.

-How long have you been studying English?

-Since I was in the school. English has a great presence in Portuguese schools, in our TV and even in the cinema. All the films are offered in original version and this is something that helps people to learn English.

-Then English is not difficult to learn for a Portuguese?

-Well, it's difficult because English comes from German and Portuguese from Latin but if you learn a language in the school when you're a child you have advantage because it's easier for you although we haven't got English spaces to practice it. Perhaps, this is the main problem because if you don't speak a language, you forget it. It seems impossible, but it's true.

-What can you explain about your life with The Jones?

-It has been a great experience, a great source of inspiration to write something in the future, to take profit of our experiences and try to influence in other people.

-Which is your best memory with the family?

-It's impossible to choose only one but I remember two special days: the first, when Maria, an old friend, visited us in Tokyo and sang Un bel di vedremo, an aria of Madame Butterfly. It was the most exciting day with The Jones. There was also another day when I decided to invite my family to eat a cake that I had prepared. It was very important for me. I must admit that food and sweets are also very important for this family. We appreciate good food.

-Which character would you like to influence?

-Maria, my friend. I would like that she returned to sing again because she has the most beautiful voice ever listened.

-Do you like music?

-I'm an influencer. I'm curious. I need to know. I need to discover new things. I love music. Music is the result of the human soul, a mix of feelings and geniality.

-Which is your next project?

-I'm working in a new project with Mísia, the best Portuguese artist. It will be a success. 

-What's the worst nightmare of an influencer?

-I suppose every influencer has his/her own demons, his/her own Frankenstein. The worst nightmare is to have a mistake in an opinion that can damage other people. Likes and follows are an important part of my job but they are only statistics. The most important is that you must influence people in positive things not in negative ones.

-You're an influencer. Can you create a slogan for The Jones?

-Overcoming obstacles.

-Why?

-Because The Jones are much more than a family, they are a tool to forget bad moments and discover that you can return to do things that you loved and you believed that you weren't going to do again and this thinking is a big mistake. It is never too late to do something that you like and the most important is that when we have had difficult moments we have overcome them like a family with comprehension, help and effort.

-Thank you very much, Ana Bean-Jones.

-You're welcome.

 I like to dream about Portugal, 

and it's less easy when you are there. 

Maria de Medeiros

MAY GOOD FORTUNE BE WITH NEW JONES' INVESTMENTS

Paqui Jones at Hotel Des Bains in Aix-Les-Bains

Today, The Jones have revised some aspects of English grammar and they have talked about new ones like May / May Not and Countable & Uncountable. 

More information: May

The family has created a little post taking information thanks to the question words and they have decided where they want to travel after leaving Paris, next May 2, and about which new houses they want to buy around the world to use them as their residences. 

More information: A Few / A Little 

After some deliberations, the family has decided to travel to Japan first, and to Galapagos Island later. They have decided to buy some new residences in France: a hotel to refurbish in Aix-Les-Bains in Savoie named Hotel Des Bains; a Templar Castle in Chinon in The Loire Valley; and a classic house in Paris. 

Joaquín Jones at Villa Las Tronas, Sardinia

They have also bought a new summer residence in Sardinia named Villa Las Tronas, which has been a hotel until The Grandma has decided to buy it.

Finally, The Jones have bought a Renaissance palace named Corte Sconta detta Arcana in Venice to live between canals in this dreamed city which has special memories for The Grandma and her great lost lover, Corto Maltese, who share their lives to Venice to search for an emerald known as the Clavicle of Solomon.

More information: Favola di Venecia by Hugo Pratt

Ana Bean Jones in Corte Sconta detta Arcana, Venice

Ana Bean-Jones loves Venice, its canals, its palaces, its people, its food, its art and especially its carnivale and its masks. She also has a great friend who lives in this wonderful city, Maria Callas, and both of them are always happy to share as moments as they can.

A few investments to move the funds, a little money to spend now thinking in the future. May The Grandma be able to enjoy these new homes with her family. May she remain forever young.

More information: How to create compositions (Catalan Version)

Château de Chinon is a castle located on the bank of the Vienne river in Chinon. It was founded by Theobald I, Count of Blois. In the 11th century the castle became the property of the counts of Anjou. In 1156 Henry II of England, a member of the House of Anjou, took the castle from his brother Geoffrey after Geoffrey had rebelled for a second time. Henry favoured the Château de Chinon as a residence. Most of the standing structure can be attributed to his reign and he died there in 1189.

Some Jones have decided to live in Paris

Early in the 13th century, King Philip II of France harassed the English lands in France and in 1205 he captured Chinon after a siege that lasted several months. When King Philip IV accused the Knights Templar of heresy during the first decade of the 14th century, several leading members of the order were imprisoned there.

The settlement of Chinon is on the bank of the Vienne river about 10 kilometres from where it joins the Loire. From prehistoric times, when the settlement of Chinon originated, rivers formed the major trade routes, and the Vienne joins the fertile southern plains of the Poitou and the city of Limoges to the thoroughfare of the Loire. The site was fortified early on, and by the 5th century a Gallo-Roman castrum had been established.

More information: Experience Loire

Claudia Jones in Chinon Castle, The Loire Valley

Theobald I, Count of Blois built the earliest known castle on the mount of Chinon in the 10th century. He fortified it for use as a stronghold. After Odo II, Count of Blois died in battle in 1037, Fulk III, Count of Anjou marched into Touraine to capture Château de Langeais and then Chinon, some 22 km  away. When Fulk arrived at Chinon the castle's garrison immediately sought terms and surrendered. 

In 1044, Geoffrey, the count of Anjou, captured Theobald of Blois-Chartres. In exchange for his release, Theobald agreed to recognise Geoffrey's ownership of Chinon, Langeais, and Tours. From then until the early 13th century, Château de Chinon descended through his heirs.

More information: Travel France Online

The Hundred Years' War in the 14th and 15th centuries was fought between the kings of England and France over the succession to the French throne. The war ended in 1453 when the English were finally ejected from France, but in the early 15th century the English under King Henry V made significant territorial gains. 

Víctor Jones in Chinon Castle, The Loire Valley

The Treaty of Troyes in 1420 made Henry V the heir apparent to the French throne but when the French king, Charles VI, and Henry V died in the space of two months in 1422 the issue of succession was again uncertain. 

The English supported Henry V's son, Henry VI who was still a child, while the French supported recognised Charles VII, the Dauphin of France. Between 1427 and 1450 Château de Chinon was the residence of Charles, when Touraine was virtually the only territory left to him in France, the rest being occupied by the Burgundians or the English.

On 6 March 1429 Joan of Arc arrived at Château de Chinon. She claimed to hear heavenly voices that said Charles would grant her an army to relieve the siege of Orléans. While staying at the castle she resided in the Tour du Coudray. Charles met with her two days after her arrival and then sent her to Poitiers so that she could be cross-examined to ensure she was telling the truth. Joan returned to Chinon in April where Charles granted her supplies and sent her to join the army at Orléans.

More information: Loire Valley France

In 1562 the château came briefly into the possession of the Huguenots and was turned into a state prison by Henry IV of France. Cardinal Richelieu was given the castle to prevent it from coming under the control of unfriendly forces, though he allowed it to fall into ruin. Château de Chinon was abandoned until 1793 when, during the Reign of Terror, the castle was temporarily occupied by royalist Vendeans. Soon after, the castle lapsed back into decay.

May the good Lord be with you down every road you roam.

May sunshine and happiness surround you when you're far from home.
May you grow to be proud, dignified and true.
May good fortune be with you.

May your guiding light be strong.
May you never love in vain.

 Rod Stewart

VERSAILLES, THE 'ANCIENT RÉGIME' HAS COME BACK

Merche Jones climbs Vermell del Xincarró, Montserrat

Today, The Jones have revised Countable & Uncountable before visiting the Palace of Versailles. The family has visited this amazing palace and has rested in its gardens sharing personal experiences and talking about their preferences in literature, music and places.

More info: Uncountable List

The Grandma has remembered that today, April 27, is the festivity of our Mary of Montserrat, patron of Catalonia, a black virgin very adored and respected by its populations, believers or not, that represents more than a religious symbol. Montserrat is also a symbol of cultural resistance during the darkest years of prosecutions and disctatorships.

More information: Abbey of Montserrat

If you didn't visit Montserrat, The Jones would recommended to do it. You will enjoy of one of the most incredible natural landscapes, full of activities to do; one of the most libraries around the world; and a spiritual place to rest for believers. Montserrat is much more than a mountain, it's the spiritual symbol of a whole culture which has resisted and survived along the history and which is alive and showing its black virgin to the world.

More information: Alpinist

Joaquín Jones and Ildefons Cerdà's Plan

Versailles is a place of contrasts. For one hand you can visit the Palace but for other hand, in the same city stands up one of the biggest banlieues of Paris.

The family has been talking about last French colonies in North Africa and its results nowadays in architecture, urbanism, immigration, social policies and human rights.

Joaquín Jones has offered his knowledge about Ildefons Cerdà's Urbanistic Plan in l'Eixample in Barcelona, an incredible plan which searched the convivence between all the social classes offering the possibility of living together, offering facilities to everyone and avoiding social exclusion.

More information: Failed Architecture & The Guardian

The Jones have decided to rest in Versailles gardens and talked about their preferences and wishes. They have recommended some books. Ana Bean-Jones has chosen, Banana Yoshimoto's books and Claudia Jones has proposed Màxim Huertas with No me dejes-Ne me quitte pas. 

Some members of The Jones and their preferences

Moreover, Merche Jones has talked about Fernando Aramburu's Patria and Michelle Jones about Masterchef's books. 

Finally, Joaquín Jones has recommended Eduardo Mendoza's No word from Gurb and Aldous Huxley's Brave New World while The Grandma has chosen Herman Melville's Moby Dick and Faïza Guène's Kiffe kiffe demain.

The family has also talked about places to visit. Next week, they're going to leave Paris and their destination is unknown. Paqui Jones has recommended Aix-Les-Bains, a commune in the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. It's as a beautiful place to visit although the family has talked about other interesting places like China.

Download Brave New World by Aldous Leonard Huxley

Joaquín Jones is very interested in laboural conditions in this Asian country, especially now when May, 1st is arriving, and The Grandma, who is a great fan of human towers, has expressed her surprised about Chinese culture and its capacity to adapt to new goals without any kind of problems explaining the case of the Xiquets of Hanzghou as a example.

Download Moby Dick by Herman Melville

Ne me quitte pas. Il faut oublier tout 

peut s'oublier qui s'enfuit déjà.

If you go away on this summer day, 

then you might as well take the sun away.

Jacques Brel / Barbra Streisand 

The Palace of Versailles, in French Château de Versailles, is a royal château in Versailles in the Île-de-France. It is now open as a museum and is a very popular tourist attraction.

King Louis XIV in the Palace of Versailles

When the château was built, the community of Versailles was a small village dating from the 11th century. Today, however, it is a wealthy suburb of Paris.

Versailles was the seat of political power in the Kingdom of France from 1682, when King Louis XIV moved the royal court from Paris, until the royal family was forced to return to the capital in October 1789, within three months after the beginning of the French Revolution. 

Versailles is therefore famous not only as a building, but as a symbol of the system of absolute monarchy of the Ancien Régime.

More information: Château Versailles

Especially under Louis XIV, the senior nobility were pressured to spend large amounts of time at Versailles, as a form of political control. Louis XIV evolved a rigid routine of court life as a performance, much of which took place in front of large groups of people, at some points in the day including tourists. 

Château de Versailles and its gardens

Building the château and maintaining the court there was phenomenally expensive, but did a good deal to establish the dominance of French style and taste in the whole of Europe, giving French luxury manufacturing advantages that long outlasted the fall of the Ancien Régime.

Louis XIV's expansion of the building was begun around 1661, with Louis Le Vau as architect. 

It was not completed until about 1715, having been worked on by architects including François d'Orbay, Charles Le Brun, interiors especially, Jules Hardouin-Mansart and Robert de Cotte. 

André Le Nôtre began the gardens and structures in them. There were a range of satellite buildings around the grounds. While the main château building remains essentially intact, though without much of its contents, some of these other buildings have been destroyed.

Download Château de Versailles by The Grandma

It is legal because I wish it. I am the state. 

Louis XIV

"APERI MURUM QUAE INIT AUTUMNALIS QUA!"

Minerva & The Jones in the Sorting Cerimony

Open the wall,

that arrives in fall!

The Jones are welcome in Hogwarts. In their first day in the school, they have been received by the masters, Albus Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall and Severus Snape. 

They have been talking about rules and imperatives  inside Hogwarts and about the routines in their day by day using the Adverbs of Frequency. They have also talked about Prepositions of Time, something very important when you are living in a place where space and time are not determined.

More information: Adverbs of Frequency

The family has revised Present Simple and written a common plot about the first book of the saga, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (or Sorcerer's Stone in the USA version). They have also created some spells to knock down walls, something very interesting if you want to enter in a place and the door is closed.

After participating in a Bingo Contest, where Merche Addams-Holmes-Jones and Ana Bean-Jones have been the winners and Carla Bean a fantastic speaker, the family has worked the auxiliaries in Present Simple, the structures in questions and the W's: Who? What? Where? When? Why? and How? which are very necessary to create good compositions.

More information: Prepositions of Time

Finally, The Jones have assisted to 'The Sorting Cerimony' with Minerva McGonagall to know which is going to be their school during their staying in Hogwarts.

It's a dark street. Two old people carry a baby. Some years after, the baby is a boy who loves snakes and speaks with them. Once, he receives a letter. Lots and lots of letters arrive under a terrible storm.

A giant visits a couple in the middle of the night. Two gentlemen talk to a boy named Harry Potter. The giant shows several places to the boy, until he reaches the magic shop where he gets his first wand. Then he remembers his parents. He begins his adventure. He crosses the platform and shows his scar to his new friends in the train destination to Hogwarts, a prestigious school of magic.

Ron Weasley, Harry Potter and Hermione Granger

Harry Potter and two friends look a picture. The cat, suddenly, leaps up and transfigures into a professor. Harry Potter puts a magic hat. During the dinner, the head of a ghost appears on the plate. A man waits the arrival of the train. All students listen like the teacher talks about the nest competition. Harry Potter and his friends have dinner while hundreds of candles float in the air.

There are some boys at school. Draco Malfoy finds a clear ball. Harry and his friends are looking for something throughout the school. Behind the door, there is a dog with three heads. They find a trunk. Suddenly, appears a troll at the school.

Harry and his friends wear scarf while they are talking. They put the uniforms to play a quidditch match. Harry receives a kind of clock at Christmas. Harry and Ron rescue Hermione in the bathroom because Ron uses his wand. Harry walks across the corridor with a light. Harry receives a broom for Christmas.

In the dark night, the man observes a little dinosaur. Meanwhile, harry Potter is looking for something in Hogwarts. At the same time, the blond boy sees a big centaur through the window. Finally, Harry Potter finds the object that he was searching. This object is a shiny mirror. In the next morning, he walks with his friends to magic class and the teacher shows them the place where people can see the magic potions. Last, they read the secret recipe of Nicolas Flamel about how to make a Sorcerer's Stone.

The four intrepid boys enter into a cave and discover three dark monsters. When they try to leave, they find magic flying beings which guide them to a large chess board and become a game. When they make the movement, the boy enters into another room with a mirror that through time takes him to see his ancestors.

He fights against a sorcerer. He's wounded in combat. He recovers in the infirmary. A few days after recovering, there is an event in the dining room of Hogwarts. In his farewell, for returning to his home, he receives a gift but not really...

More information: Word Order I, II and III

Words are, in my not-so-humble opinion, 

our most inexhaustible source of magic.

Albus Dumbledore