Today, The Morgans and The Grandma had a morning of business closing the purchase of their wonderful castle in the Highlands.
The family has opened a recruitment process to work in their new Scottish residence and the search is being very interesting because the CVs of the first candidates have already started to arrive.
Before attending to these matters, the family has been studying a little English grammar with the ConditionalTense and TheSuperlative and talking about one of the hardest works: finding a good job.
Finally, They have been talking about the Tube, London Underground and its vital importance during the Second World War as a refuge for the population to protect themselves from enemy bombings, a history parallel to that experienced years earlier by cities such as Barcelona, Viladecans or Gavà, among many others.
The London Underground, commonly known as the Tube, is one of the most iconic public transport systems in the world. Serving the city of London and surrounding areas, it is also the oldest underground railway network, with its first line opening in 1863.
Originally built to reduce street congestion, the early system used steam-powered trains running through tunnels constructed with a cut-and-cover method. Over time, technological advances led to the introduction of electric trains in 1890, making it the first electric underground railway.
Throughout the 20th century, different private railway lines were gradually integrated into a unified network, helping shape modern London. The system also played a crucial role during both World Wars, when stations were used as air-raid shelters.
Today, the Underground consists of an extensive network of hundreds of stations and hundreds of kilometers of track, transporting over a billion passengers annually. Although known as an underground, a significant portion of the network actually runs above ground.
Managed by Transport for London since 2003, the system continues to modernize with improved accessibility, new trains, and infrastructure upgrades.
Today, The Stones have visited KāneʻoheBay, one of the most wonderful places in O'ahu where they have received the amazing visit of Jack Sparrow. They have practised diving and they have discovered some placeswhere Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides was filmed.
Before visiting Kāneʻohe Bay, The Stones have studied some English grammar. They have revised Conditional Tense, Demonstratives and Such/So.
Kāneʻohe Bay, at 45 km², is the largest sheltered body of water in the main Hawaiian Islands. This reef-dominated embayment constitutes a significant scenic and recreational feature along the northeast coast of the Island of Oʻahu. The largest population center on Kāneʻohe Bay is the town of Kāneʻohe.
The Bay is approximately 12.8 km long and 4.3 km broad, with a mouth opening of about 7.4 km and maximum depth of 12 m in the dredged channel. It has one of the two barrier reefs in the archipelago, the other being the 27 mile barrier reef of Molokaʻi island, and also has extensive development of shoaling coral reefs within a large lagoon.
Two navigable channels cut across the northern and southern ends of the barrier reef. The deeper, northern channel, located off Kualoa Regional Park, provides entrance from the North Pacific Ocean to a ship channel dredged the length of the lagoon between 1939 and 1945.
The lagoon contains extensive patch and fringing reefs and its southern end is partly enclosed by the Mokapu Peninsula. This peninsula is occupied by Marine Corps Base Hawaii.
There are five named islands or islets within Kāneʻohe Bay. A sand bar (Ahu oLaka), Kapapa, and Kekepa (Turtleback Rock) are all islets on the barrier reef. Two islands within Kāneʻohe Bay are prominent: Mokoliʻi (Chinaman's Hat) and Moku o Loʻe (Coconut Island), the largest of the five.
Mokoliʻi is a volcanic remnant at the very north end of the Bay, site of former Kualoa Airfield. The community on the northern side is called Waikane, or North Koʻolaupoko.
Coconut Island is an isolated volcanic remnant located in the southwest part of the bay.
Coconut Island is owned by the state of Hawaiʻi and home to the University of Hawaiʻi, and Pauley-Pagen Laboratory (SOEST). Coconut Island was used for the opening sequence of the television program Gilligan's Island.
In August 2010, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides was filmed on the bay. Geologically, Kāneʻohe Bay forms part of a former caldera of the Koʻolau volcano. In prehistory, most of the volcano catalysmically slid into the Pacific Ocean, leaving behind only the Range and the Bay.
Yesterday, The Jones visited the Ishiyama Hongan-ji in Osaka because they were interested in knowing more things about samurais and shoguns. It was an amazing trip and the family took lots of photos and bought dozens of souvenirs.
Today, the family is visiting the island of Itsukushima. They must take a boat to arrive there and they have taken profit to review some English grammar like The Conditional Tense, Likes & Dislikes and One/Ones. The family has also read another new chapter of Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray.
While they were sailing to Itsukushima, the family remembered how important is to prevent natural disasters like volcanic eruptions or earthquakes. Japanese scientists work very hard to find solutions to try to understand our planet and predict its movements.
On one hand, architecture is also an important fact to help to construct buildings more secure and better infrastructures. On another hand, the animals' behaviour can help scientists to determinate future catastrophes. Species like dolphins, birds, worms and turtles are decisive to understand Earth's next movements. Tomorrow, The Jones are visiting the Todaiji Temple.
The Ishiyama Hongan-ji was the primary fortress of the Ikkō-ikki, leagues of warrior monks and commoners who opposed samurai rule during the Sengoku period. It was established in 1496, at the mouth of the Yodo River, on the coast of the Seto Inland Sea.
Michelle, Silvia & Claudia Jones at the castle
At the time, this was just outside the remains of the ancient capital of Naniwa, in Settsu Province. In fact, recent archaeological research has determined that the temple was established atop the ruins of the old imperial palace. The city, now called Osaka, has since grown around the site, incorporating the Ishiyama.
Rennyo, the great revivalist abbott of Jōdo Shinshū, retired to the area in 1496, initiating the series of events that would end in the formation of Japan's second-largest city. Contemporary documents describing his retirement site as being on a long slope are the first to call the area by that name, which has changed only slightly over time to Osaka, and become Japan's second largest city. Although Rennyo sought isolation in retiring to this quiet place, he very quickly attracted a great number of devotees and followers.
The tiny temple Rennyo built for his own personal devotions was expanded, and many homes and other buildings were erected to accommodate the new residents. By the time of Rennyo's death, three years later, the general shape and size of the Ishiyama Hongan-ji was already in place.
Joaquín, Merche, Ana & Paqui Jones out the castle
After the 1532 destruction of Yamashina Mido in Kyoto, the Ishiyama Hongan-ji acted as the primary temple for the Ikkō sect, from which the Ikkō-ikki had sprouted. Contributions from devotees were collected through a system of brokers, primarily those based in Sakai in nearby Izumi Province.
The cathedral-fortress was considered impenetrable, due largely to its location and orientation. In addition, roughly a hundred monks were on patrol at any given time, and upwards of ten thousand could be summoned to battle simply by ringing a bell.
The monks of the fortress came not only from Osaka and the surrounding areas, but also from the Ikko sect's home provinces of Kaga and Echizen. The monks also had many allies, including the Mōri clan, who supplied the fortress when it was under siege. Ironically, both Uesugi Kenshin and Takeda Shingen, both of whom were rivals of Oda Nobunaga, simply by keeping Nobunaga and each other occupied, did the Ikki a great service.
The Grandma inside Ishiyama Hongan-ji
The Hongan-ji came under siege from the forces of Oda Nobunaga in 1576, but, due in part to its position on the coast, managed to hold out for 11 years, making this the longest siege in Japanese history. In August 1580, the Abbot Kōsa was persuaded to surrender, ending the 11-year-long siege.
At the time of the surrender, the entire temple complex was set aflame. According to some sources, this was done from within, to deny Nobunaga any true material gains from having defeated the Ikki. Though some members of the group fled to KagaProvince to make a final stand, the destruction of the Ishiyama Hongan-ji was truly the killing blow which marked the destruction of the sect as a militant force.
Three years later, Toyotomi Hideyoshi began the construction of Osaka Castle on the same site.
Why did the earthquake and tsunami occur in Japan?
Was it the act of an angry God? No, it was the result of the movement and collision of the Earth's tectonic plates, a process driven by the Earth's need to regulate its own internal temperature.
Without the process that creates earthquake, our planet could not sustain life.
Adam Hamilton
Samurai were the military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan. In Japanese, they are usually referred to as bushi or buke to those who serve in close attendance to the nobility. An early reference to the word samurai appears in the Kokin Wakashū (905–914), the first imperial anthology of poems, completed in the first part of the 10th century.
Samurai
By the end of the 12th century, samurai became almost entirely synonymous with bushi, and the word was closely associated with the middle and upper echelons of the warrior class.
The samurai were usually associated with a clan and their lord, and were trained as officers in military tactics and grand strategy. While the samurai numbered less than 10% of then Japan's population, their teachings can still be found today in both everyday life and in modern Japanese martial arts.
The philosophies of Buddhism and Zen, and to a lesser extent Confucianism and Shinto, influenced the samurai culture. Zen meditation became an important teaching, because it offered a process to calm one's mind. The Buddhist concept of reincarnation and rebirth led samurai to abandon torture and needless killing, while some samurai even gave up violence altogether and became Buddhist monks after coming to believe that their killings were fruitless.
Some were killed as they came to terms with these conclusions in the battlefield. The most defining role that Confucianism played in samurai philosophy was to stress the importance of the lord-retainer relationship—the loyalty that a samurai was required to show his lord.
Literature on the subject of bushido such as Hagakure, Hidden in Leaves, by Yamamoto Tsunetomo and Gorin no Sho, Book of the Five Rings, by Miyamoto Musashi, both written in the Edo period (1603–1868), contributed to the development of bushidō and Zen philosophy.
The philosophies of Buddhism and Zen, and to a lesser extent Confucianism and Shinto, are attributed to the development of the samurai culture.
Yesterday
was a hard day for The Holmes. They
reviewed some modal verbs (Need and Can) and they wrote two Florence’s postcards to MJ. They also practised some Social English and other themes of
English grammar while The Grandma
was explaining a story about an old friend who she loves a lot and once had to
take another path in her life far away from her.
Today, the
family has continued its preparation learning some new things about Adverbs of Frequency in comparative and superlative forms; Relative Pronouns and Conditional Tense. After MJ visit, the
family has been talking about the convenience of doing the Cambridge Exam with advantages and disadvantages.
The Grandma appreciates the huge effort of her family day after
day and trust on them because she knows that they have nothing to lose and the
only possible final is success
Tomorrow, The Holmes will recycle with modal
verbs, count with their little calculators and play bingo with Luisa Holmes, the croupier, like party’s
soul. After this, the family, who is now in Lîdje, are going to travel to London where they’re going to stay some days and where The Queen, an old Grandma’s friend, is
waiting for them, in the same way, that The
Collins who are going to receive them in Downton Abbey.
The family
could reach one of the most important dreams for Karen: sing in the Eurovision
Song Contest. This year, Vienna
was the city which organizes it and The
Collins Family moved from Salzburg to the capital of Austria.
The Song
Contest was amazing and after a hard fight between the local artist, Conchita,
and Karen, who represented Ukraine, our heroine won playing a
beautiful song called “Hou, hou”, a
song which talked about peace and love, obviously.
The Collins
Family continued its English preparation and during this intensive week, they
revised grammar: Must/Mustn’t, Can/Can’t, Could/Couldn’t, Should/Shouldn’t, the Conditional Tense or the Second
Conditional and advanced in its reading about Robinson Crusoe’s novel.
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