THE WINSORS & THE GOBLET OF FIRE'S TOURNAMENT

Today, The Winsors and The Grandma have started to prepare their participation in The Goblet of Fire, an interesting tournament that it is going to be celebrated in Hogwarts.

The Winsors have been invited by Albus Dumbledore and it has been a great honour for them to have this chance. The rivals are very powerful and strong but The Winsors are going to offer their best result.

 

The Triwizard Tournament was first established some seven hundred years ago as a friendly competition between the three largest European schools of wizardry: Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang. A champion was selected to represent each school, and the three champions competed in three magical tasks. 

 

The schools took it in turns to host the tournament once every five years, and it was generally agreed to be a most excellent way of establishing ties between young witches and wizards of different nationalities -until, that is, the death toll mounted so high that the tournament was discontinued.

 

Before confirming their participation, The Winsors have studied some English vocabulary about Clothes, Weather and The Body. They have also practised an A2 Cambridge Test.

 

Download Clothes Vocabulary

 

More information: Clothes

 

Download Weather Vocabulary

 

More information: Weather

 

Download The Body Vocabulary

 

 More information: The Body

 

 Download A2 Cambridge Test_02 (Reading & Listening)

 

More information: Exam English

 

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is a fantasy book written by British author J. K. Rowling and the fourth novel in the Harry Potter series.

It follows Harry Potter, a wizard in his fourth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and the mystery surrounding the entry of Harry's name into the Triwizard Tournament, in which he is forced to compete.

The book was published in the United Kingdom by Bloomsbury and in the United States by Scholastic. In both countries, the release date was 8 July 2000. This was the first time a book in the series was published in both countries at the same time.

The novel won a Hugo Award, the only Harry Potter novel to do so, in 2001. The book was adapted into a film, released worldwide on 18 November 2005, and a video game by Electronic Arts.

More information: Wizarding World

Throughout the three previous novels in the Harry Potter series, the main character, Harry Potter, has struggled with the difficulties of growing up and the added challenge of being a famed wizard.

When Harry was a baby, Lord Voldemort, the most powerful dark wizard in history, killed Harry's parents but was mysteriously defeated after unsuccessfully trying to kill Harry, though his attempt left a lightning-shaped scar on Harry's forehead.

This results in Harry's immediate fame and his being placed in the care of his abusive Muggle, non-magical, aunt and uncle, Petunia and Vernon Dursley, who have a son named Dudley.

On Harry's eleventh birthday, he learns he is a wizard from Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and enrols in Hogwarts. He befriends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger and confronts Lord Voldemort, who is trying to regain power.

In Harry's first year, he has to protect the Philosopher's Stone from Voldemort and one of his faithful followers at Hogwarts.

After returning to school after summer break, students at Hogwarts are attacked by the legendary monster of the Chamber of Secrets after the Chamber is opened. Harry ends the attacks by killing a Basilisk and thwarting another attempt by Lord Voldemort to return to full strength.

The following year, Harry hears he has been targeted by escaped mass murderer Sirius Black. Despite stringent security measures at Hogwarts, Harry encounters Black at the end of his third year and learns Black was framed and is actually Harry's godfather. He also learns that it was his father's old school friend Peter Pettigrew who betrayed his parents.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is the fourth book in the Harry Potter series. The first, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, was published by Bloomsbury on 26 June 1997.

The second, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, was published on 2 July 1998. The third, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, followed on 8 July 1999. Goblet of Fire is almost twice the size of the first three books, the paperback edition was 636 pages.

More information: Wizarding World

Rowling stated that she knew from the beginning it would be the biggest of the first four. She said there needed to be a proper run-up for the conclusion and rushing the complex plot could confuse readers. She also stated that everything is on a bigger scale, which was symbolic, as Harry's horizons widened both literally and metaphorically as he grew up. She also wanted to explore more of the magical world.

Until the official title's announcement on 27 June 2000, the book was called by its working title, Harry Potter IV. Previously, in April, the publisher had listed it as Harry Potter and the Doomspell Tournament.

However, J. K. Rowling expressed her indecision about the title in an Entertainment Weekly interview. I changed my mind twice on what the title was. The working title had got out -Harry Potter and the Doomspell Tournament. Then I changed Doomspell to Triwizard Tournament. Then I was teetering between Goblet of Fire and Triwizard Tournament. In the end, I preferred Goblet of Fire because it's got that kind of cup of destiny feel about it, which is the theme of the book.

Rowling mentioned that she originally wrote a Weasley relative named Malfalda, who, according to Rowling, was the daughter of the second cousin who's a stockbroker mentioned in Philosopher's Stone. This stockbroker had been very rude to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley in the past, but now he and his (Muggle) wife had inconveniently produced a witch, they came back to the Weasleys asking for their help in introducing her to wizarding society before she starts at Hogwarts.

More information: Wizarding World

Malfalda was supposed to be a Slytherin and was to fill in the Rita Skeeter subplot, but she was eventually removed because there were obvious limitations to what an eleven year old closeted at school could discover.

Rowling considered Rita Skeeter to be much more flexible. Rowling also admitted that the fourth book was the most difficult to write at the time because she noticed a giant plot hole halfway through writing. In particular, Rowling had trouble with the ninth chapter, The Dark Mark, which she rewrote 13 times.

It was pointed out that bigotry is a big theme in the Harry Potter novels and Goblet of Fire in particular. it was mentioned how Voldemort and his followers are prejudiced against Muggles and how, in Goblet of Fire, Hermione forms a group to liberate Hogwarts' house-elves who have been indentured servants so long they lack desire for anything else.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was adapted into a film, released worldwide on 18 November 2005, which was directed by Mike Newell and written by Steve Kloves.

More information: Screen Rant

Download Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling

 

 

 Dark and difficult times lie ahead.

Soon we must all face the choice between

what is right and what is easy.

Albus Dumbledore

THE FOSTERS & THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS IN HOGWARTS

Today, The Fosters have started to search The Chamber of Secrets, a hidden
place in Hogwarts.

Searching The Chamber of Secrets is a difficult work full of dangers, magic and riddles but the family has accepted this challenge and they are ready to start this adventure.

Altogether, they have listened to the instructions of Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, the best friends of Harry Potter.

 

More info: Harry Potter Harry Potter. The Boy Who Lived, The Chosen One

More information: Hermione Granger, Shrewdness & Intelligence

More information: Ron Weasley, Total Friendship & True Faithfulness

 

Before, the family has been preparing their Cambridge Exam studying some vocabulary about Weather and The Body.

 

Download Weather Vocabulary

 

More information: Weather

 

Download The Body Vocabulary

 

 More information: The Body

Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling and the second novel in the Harry Potter series.

The plot follows Harry's second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, during which a series of messages on the walls of the school's corridors warn that The Chamber of Secrets has been opened and that the heir of Slytherin would kill all pupils who do not come from all-magical families. These threats are found after attacks that leave residents of the school petrified. Throughout the year, Harry and his friends Ron and Hermione investigate the attacks.

The book was published in the United Kingdom on 2 July 1998 by Bloomsbury and later in the United States on 2 June 1999 by Scholastic Inc. Although Rowling says she found it difficult to finish the book, it won high praise and awards from critics, young readers, and the book industry, although some critics thought the story was perhaps too frightening for younger children.

Much like with other novels in the series, Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets triggered religious debates; some religious authorities have condemned its use of magical themes, whereas others have praised its emphasis on self-sacrifice and the way one's character is the result of one's choices.

Several commentators have noted that personal identity is a strong theme in the book and that it addresses issues of racism through the treatment of non-human, non-magical, and non-living people. Some commentators regard the diary as a warning against uncritical acceptance of information from sources whose motives and reliability cannot be checked. Institutional authority is portrayed as self-serving and incompetent.

The film adaptation of the novel, released in 2002, became at that time the fifth highest-grossing film ever and received generally favourable reviews. Video games loosely based on Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets were also released for several platforms, and most obtained favourable reviews.

Rowling found it difficult to finish Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets because she was afraid it would not live up to the expectations raised by Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. After delivering the manuscript to Bloomsbury on schedule, she took it back for six weeks of revision.

More information: Wizarding World

In early drafts of the book, the ghost Nearly Headless Nick sang a self-composed song explaining his condition and the circumstances of his unknown death. This was cut because the book's editor did not care for the poem, which has been subsequently published as an extra on J. K. Rowling's official website. 

The family background of Dean Thomas was removed because Rowling and her publishers considered it an unnecessary digression, and she considered Neville Longbottom's own journey of discovery more important to the central plot.

Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets was published in the UK on 2 July 1998 and in the US on 2 June 1999. It immediately took first place in UK bestseller lists, displacing popular authors such as John Grisham, Tom Clancy, and Terry Pratchett and making Rowling the first author to win the British Book Awards Children's Book of the Year for two years in succession. In June 1999, it went straight to the top of three US bestseller lists, including inThe New York Times.

Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets continues to examine what makes a person who he or she is, which began in the first book. As well as maintaining that Harry's identity is shaped by his decisions rather than any aspect of his birth, Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets provides contrasting characters who try to conceal their true personalities.

Gilderoy Lockhart lacks any real identity because he is nothing more than a charming liar. Tom Riddle also complicates Harry's struggle to understand himself by pointing out the similarities between the two both half-bloods, orphans raised by Muggles, probably the only two Parselmouths to come to Hogwarts since the great Slytherin.

Opposition to class, death and its impacts, experiencing adolescence, sacrifice, love, friendship, loyalty, prejudice, and racism are constant themes of the series. In Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets Harry's consideration and respect for others extends to the lowly, non-human Dobby and the ghost Nearly Headless Nick.

More information: Wizarding World

Immorality and the portrayal of authority as negative are significant themes in the novel. There are few absolute moral rules in Harry Potter's world, for example Harry prefers to tell the truth, but lies whenever he considers it necessary -very like his enemy Draco Malfoy.

At the end of Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets, Dumbledore retracts his promise to punish Harry, Ron, and Hermione if they break any more school rules -after Professor Minerva McGonagall estimates they have broken over 100- and lavishly rewards them for ending the threat from The Chamber of Secrets. Krause further states that authority figures and political institutions receive little respect from Rowling. 

William MacNeil of Griffith University, Queensland, Australia states that the Minister for Magic is presented as a mediocrity. In his article Harry Potter and the Secular City, Ken Jacobson suggests the Ministry as a whole is portrayed as a tangle of bureaucratic empires, saying that Ministry officials busy themselves with minutiaeand coin politically correct euphemisms like 'non-magical community' for Muggles and 'memory modification' for magical brainwashing.

This novel implies it begins in 1992. The cake for Nearly-Headless Nick's 500th death day party bears the words Sir Nicholas De Mimsy Porpington died 31 October 1492.

More information: Screen Rant

Download Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets by J.K.Rowling

 

 

 You will also find that help will always be given
at Hogwarts to those who ask for it.

Albus Dumbledore

ENJOY NYC DOCKS & FERRIES, 25 FERRY PIERS & 6 ROUTES

Today, The Grandma has been visiting New York City from the Atlantic thanks to NYC Ferry, the public network of ferry routes in the city operated by Hornblower Cruises.

 

She has travelled by different ferries enjoying beautiful sights and discovering more interesting stories about this amazing city and its docks.

Meanwhile, The Grangers have been practising some English vocabulary about Weather and The Body.

 

Download Weather Vocabulary

 

More information: Weather

 

Download The Body Vocabulary

 

More information: The Body

NYC Ferry is a public network of ferry routes in New York City operated by Hornblower Cruises. 

As of August 2021, there are six routes, as well as one seasonal route, connecting 25 ferry piers in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island. 

NYC Ferry has the largest passenger fleet in the United States with a total of 38 vessels, providing between 20–90 minute service on each of the routes, depending on the season. One additional route and one new pier are planned as of December 2021.

New York City had an extensive ferry network until the 1960s, when almost all ferry services were discontinued, but saw a revival in the 1980s and 1990s. The city government officially proposed its own ferry service in 2013, which was announced two years later under the tentative name of Citywide Ferry Service. The first of two phases launched in 2017 with service along the East River and to the Rockaways, Bay Ridge, and Astoria. A second phase launched to the Lower East Side and Soundview in 2018. A ferry to St. George, Staten Island, and a stop in Throgs Neck/Ferry Point Park launched in 2021, while a route to Coney Island is planned.

Single-ride trips on the system cost $2.75, with monthly and bike fares also available, but there is no free transfer to other modes of transport in the city. NYC Ferry also provides free shuttle buses, connecting to ferry stops in the Rockaways and Midtown Manhattan. The ferry service was originally expected to transport 4.5 to 4.6 million passengers annually, but the annual ridership estimates were revised in early 2018 to 9 million. Despite its crowding, the ferry has generally received positive reviews from passengers. However, there has been criticism over the highly-subsidized nature of the service, and NYC Ferry's low ridership compared to the city's other public transit modes.

Until the 19th century, when the first fixed crossings were put in place across the city's waterways, there were many ferries traversing the area.

More information: Ferry NYC

New York's first ferries date to when the city was a Dutch colony named New Amsterdam, which comprises modern-day Lower Manhattan. 

A ferry across the East River, between New Amsterdam and modern-day Brooklyn, was created in 1642 by Cornelius Dircksen, who was reportedly the earliest ferryman of whom the records speak.

By 1654, New Amsterdam's government passed ordinances to regulate East River ferries. The first ferry to New Jersey was founded in 1661, traveling across the Hudson River from Manhattan to Communipaw, now part of Jersey City.

Ferries along the Harlem River, between uptown Manhattan and the Bronx, started in 1667, and a ferry to Staten Island was started in 1712.  The number of ferries would grow, and by 1904, there would be 147 ferry services operating in New York City waters.

As of 2020, there are five routes and one seasonal route that make up the NYC Ferry system. There was a phased introduction of these routes.

-Phase 1. Covered the routes implemented in 2017 and provided new service to the Rockaways, Bay Ridge, Sunset Park, Roosevelt Island, and Astoria in addition to areas already served by the East River Ferry.

-Phase 2. Covered the routes implemented in 2018 and provided new service to Soundview, Yorkville, Kips Bay, and the Lower East Side.

In 2019, the summer weekend extension of the East River and South Brooklyn lines to Governors Island was eliminated due to complaints about the confusing routing patterns, and replaced by a new Governors Island shuttle route. The Governor's Island route is seasonal and only operates during summer weekends, and was launched in the summer of 2019. Two additional routes, to Coney Island, Brooklyn, and to St. George, Staten Island, are expected to start operating in 2021.

There are two main Manhattan terminals at Wall Street and East 34th Street.  The Lower East Side route was discontinued in 2020.

More information: Archives NYC

 I commuted an hour and a half each way
to high school in N.Y.C. I took a bus,
a ferry, then a subway.

Colin Jost

CYNDI LAUPER & THE BEACON THEATRE, TIME AFTER TIME

Today, The Grandma has visited an old friend of her, Cyndi Lauper, one of the best singers of all time, who has accompanied her to visit the Beacon Theatre, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City.

 

Meanwhile, The Newtons have been preparing their Cambridge Exam. They have studied some vocabulary about Weather and The Body.

  

More information: Weather & The Body 

 

Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper Thornton (born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist.

Her career has spanned over 40 years. Her album She's So Unusual (1983) was the first debut album by a female artist to achieve four top-five hits on the Billboard Hot 100 -Girls Just Want to Have Fun, Time After Time, She Bop, and All Through the Night- and earned Lauper the Best New Artist award at the 27th Annual Grammy Awards in 1985.

Her success continued with the soundtrack for the motion picture The Goonies and her second record True Colors (1986). This album included the number one single True Colors and Change of Heart, which peaked at number three. 

In 1989, she had a hit with I Drove All Night.

Since 1983, Lauper has released eleven studio albums and participated in many other projects. 

In 2010, Memphis Blues became Billboard's most successful blues album of the year, remaining at number one on the Billboard Blues Albums chart for 13 consecutive weeks.

In 2013, she won the Tony Award for best original score for composing the Broadway musical Kinky Boots, making her the first woman to win the category by herself. The musical was awarded five other Tonys including Tony Award for Best New Musical. 

In 2014, Lauper was awarded the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album for the cast recording. 

In 2016, the West End production won Best New Musical at the Olivier Awards.

Lauper has sold over 50 million records worldwide. She has won awards at the Grammys, Emmys, Tonys, the New York's Outer Critics Circle, MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs), Billboard Awards, and American Music Awards (AMAs).

An inductee into both the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Lauper is one of the few singers to win three of the four major American entertainment awards (EGOT).

She won the inaugural Best Female Video prize at the 1984 VMAs for Girls Just Want to Have Fun. This music video is recognized by MTV, VH1 and Rolling Stone as one of the greatest music videos of the era.

More information: Cyndi Lauper

She is featured in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's Women Who Rock exhibit. Her debut album is included in Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, while Time After Time is included in VH1's list of the 100 Best Songs of the Past 25 years. VH1 has ranked Lauper No. 58 of the 100 Greatest Women of Rock & Roll.

Lauper is known for her distinctive image, featuring a variety of hair colors and eccentric clothing, and for her powerful and distinctive four-octave singing range.

She has been celebrated for her humanitarian work, particularly as an advocate for LGBT rights in the United States.

Lauper was born in Brooklyn, New York City, to a Catholic family. Her father, Fred, was of German and Swiss descent. Her mother, Catrine (1930-2022), was of Italian descent (from Sicily). Lauper's siblings are her younger brother Fred (nicknamed Butch), and older sister, Ellen. Lauper's parents divorced when she was five. Her mother remarried and divorced again.

Lauper grew up in the Ozone Park neighborhood of Queens and, as a child, listened to such artists as The Beatles and Judy Garland. At age 12, she began writing songs and playing an acoustic guitar given to her by her sister.

Lauper expressed herself with a variety of hair colors and eccentric clothing, and took a friend's advice to spell her name as Cyndi rather than Cindy. Her unconventional sense of style led to classmates bullying and throwing stones at her.

On October 14, 1983, Lauper released her first solo album, She's So Unusual. The album became a worldwide hit, peaking at No. 4 in the U.S. and reaching the top five in eight other countries.

The video for Girls Just Want to Have Fun won the inaugural award for Best Female Video at the 1984 MTV Video Music Awards, and made Lauper an MTV staple. The video featured professional wrestling manager "Captain" Lou Albano as Lauper's father, and her real-life mother, Catrine, as her mother, and also featured her attorney, her manager, her brother Butch, and her dog Sparkle.

In 1984-85, Lauper appeared on the covers of Rolling Stone magazine, Time, and Newsweek. She appeared twice on the cover of People, and was named a Ms. magazine Woman of the Year in 1985.

In 1985, Lauper participated in USA for Africa's famine-relief fund-raising single We Are the World, which sold more than 20 million copies since then.

In 1985, Lauper released the single The Goonies 'R' Good Enough, from the soundtrack to the movie The Goonies, and an accompanying video which featured several wrestling stars.

Lauper was described by AllMusic's Lindsay Planer as an iconoclastic vocalist who revolutionized the role of women in rock and roll. Over her 40-year career, she influenced multiple recording artists including Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Vanessa Paradis, Tegan and Sara, Kim Petras, and Yelle.

Due to her success and influence Lauper has been inducted into both the Hollywood and Songwriters Hall of Fame.

The Beacon Theatre is an entertainment venue and former movie palace at 2124 Broadway, adjacent to the Hotel Beacon, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City.

Opened in 1929, the Beacon Theatre was developed by Samuel "Roxy" Rothafel and built as a movie palace, with 2,894 seats across three levels.

It was designed by Walter W. Ahlschlager with decorations inspired by the Renaissance, Ancient Roman, Ancient Greek, and Rococo styles. The theater is designated as a New York City interior landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The facade is relatively plain and is made of brick and stone, with a marquee above its entrance on Broadway. The outdoor ticket booth leads to a vestibule and a multi-story rotunda lobby under the hotel, with a mural by Danish artist Valdemar Kjoldgaard in the lobby. The auditorium is in an adjacent structure on the eastern part of the site, near 75th Street and Amsterdam Avenue.

The auditorium's side walls have ornate arched doorways and murals, while the multicolored ceiling has a chandelier. The proscenium arch has Greek columns and is flanked by large statues. The orchestra pit has a Wurlitzer organ, one of three in Manhattan.

The theater was originally proposed in January 1927 as the Roxy Midway Theatre. Roxy severed his involvement and Warner Bros. took over the theater, opening it on December 24, 1929.

The Central Amusement Corporation took over the Beacon in 1932, and Brandt Theatres assumed operation in 1944, running it for three decades. The theater started presenting live entertainment in 1966, and Steven Singer and Barry Kerr renovated it into a rock venue in 1974. After Singer's bankruptcy, Kazuko Hillyer turned the theater into a performing arts center in 1976.

Following a failed attempt to convert the Beacon into a nightclub and restaurant in 1986, the theater remained in use as a live music and entertainment venue. Madison Square Garden Entertainment took over in 2006 and renovated the Beacon shortly afterward.

Over the years, the Beacon has hosted numerous concerts. Some acts have appeared for extended residencies, including the Allman Brothers Band. It has also hosted other types of live performances, including dance troupes and plays. The Beacon has additionally been used for broadcasts, tapings, films, and ceremonies such as the Tony Awards.

More information: Instagram-Cyndi Lauper

The more you practice and study,
the better you are...
so I still practice and study all the time.

Cyndi Lauper