Today, The Morgans & TheGrandma have visited one of the greatest actors of all time, Charles Chaplin, who is spending some days in London.
The meetinghas been very emotional and the result of the great work done by SandraMorgan.
The family has asked several questions to the actor, who has not shied
away from answering any of them and which have served to better
understand the most important events in his life.
To commemorate this unforgettable encounter, Xènia Morgan has left her artistic mark on Shoreditch, a creative hub with colourful street art and creations.
Before the visit, the family has written letters of apology for Andrea Morgan'sbehaviour at Tower of London, where she kidnapped a striped polecat, and they have been reviewing some English grammar with Can/Can't and Too-Enough, and talking about another great genius, Marcel Marceau.
Charles Spencer Chaplin (1889-1977) was an English actor who famed in the silent film era.
Chaplin's childhood in London
was one of poverty and hardship. His father was absent and his mother
struggled financially -he was sent to a workhouse twice before the age
of nine.
When he was 14, his mother was committed to a mental asylum. Chaplin began performing at an early age, touring music halls and later working as a stage actor and comedian.
Chaplin
started in the film industry at age 14 and since that moment his career
was meteoric co-founding the distribution company United Artists in
1919andplaying successful films as The Kid, Modern Times, Limelight or The Great Dictator where he satirised Hitler and attacked fascism.
At
19, he was signed to the Fred Karno company, which took him to the
United States. He was scouted for the film industry and began appearing
in 1914 for Keystone Studios. He soon developed the Tramp persona and
attracted a large fan base. He directed his own films and continued to
hone his craft as he moved to the Essanay, Mutual, and First National
corporations.
By 1918, he was one of the world's best-known figures.
Chaplin
wrote, directed, produced, edited, starred in, and composed the music
for most of his films. He was a perfectionist, and his financial
independence enabled him to spend years on the development and
production of a picture. His films are characterised by slapstick
combined with pathos, typified in the Tramp's struggles against
adversity. Many contain social and political themes, as well as
autobiographical elements.
His popularity declined when he was accused of communist and the FBI opened an investigation.
He received an Honorary Academy Award for the incalculable effect he has had in making motion pictures the art form of this century in 1972, as part of a renewed appreciation for his work. He continues to be held in high regard, with The Gold Rush, City Lights, Modern Times, and The Great Dictator often ranked on lists of the greatest films.
Chaplin was forced to leave the US and he settle in Switzerland where he died on 25 December. The king of the smile died
on Christmas Day but his legacy is eternal.
Today, The Winsors and TheGrandma have met William Shakespeare, thegreatestwriter in the English language,and probably, the most universal one.Together, they have been talking aboutEnglish grammar with the StateVerbs and Too/Enough. It has been a midwinternight's dreamcome true.
William Shakespeare(bapt. 26 April 1564–23 April 1616)was an English playwright,poet and actor. He is widely regarded asthe greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often calledEngland's national poet and theBard of Avon (or simplythe Bard).
His extant works, including collaborations, consist of some 39 plays, 154sonnets, three long narrative poems, and a few other verses,
some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every
major living language and are performed more often than those of any
other playwright.
Shakespeare remains arguably the most influential writer in the English language, and his works continue to be studied and reinterpreted.
Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire.
At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three
children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Sometime between 1585
and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer,
and part-owner of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men,
later known as the King's Men.
At age 49 (around 1613), he appears to have retired to Stratford, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare's
private life survive; this has stimulated considerable speculation
about such matters as his physical appearance, his sexuality, his
religious beliefs and whether the works attributed to him were written
by others.
Shakespeare produced
most of his known works between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were
primarily comedies and histories and are regarded as some of the best
works produced in these genres. He then wrote mainly tragedies until
1608, among them Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth, all considered to be among the finest works in the English language. In the last phase of his life, he wrote tragicomedies (also known as romances) and collaborated with other playwrights.
Many of Shakespeare's
plays were published in editions of varying quality and accuracy in his
lifetime. However, in 1623, John Heminges and Henry Condell, two fellow
actors and friends of Shakespeare's, published a more definitive text known as the First Folio,
a posthumous collected edition of Shakespeare's dramatic works that
included 36 of his plays. Its Preface was a prescient poem by Ben
Jonson, a former rival of Shakespeare, that hailed Shakespeare with the now famous epithet: not of an age, but for all time.
Shakespeare was
the son of John Shakespeare, an alderman and a successful glover
(glove-maker) originally from Snitterfield in Warwickshire, and Mary
Arden, the daughter of an affluent landowning family. He was born in Stratford-upon-Avon,
where he was baptised on 26 April 1564. His date of birth is unknown,
but is traditionally observed on 23 April, Saint George's Day. This
date, which can be traced to William Oldys and George Steevens, has
proved appealing to biographers because Shakespeare died on the same date in 1616. He was the third of eight children, and the eldest surviving son.
Shakespeare died on 23 April 1616, at the age of 52. He died within a month of signing his will, a document which he begins by describing himself as being in perfect health. No extant contemporary source explains how or why he died.
Today, The Fosters & TheGrandma have visited Tower of London, where they have celebrated a party with the greatest criminals, villians and bad creatures of the world.
Before this terrorific party, the family has studied some English grammar with Enough & Too.
Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower ofLondon, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separated from the eastern edge of the square mile of the City of London by the open space known as Tower Hill.
It was founded toward the end of 1066 as part of the Norman Conquest.The White Tower, which gives the entire castle its name, was built by William the Conqueror in 1078 and was a resented symbol of oppression, inflicted upon London by the new Norman ruling class.
The castle was also used as a prison from 1100 (Ranulf Flambard) until 1952 (Kray
twins), although that was not its primary purpose. A grand palace early
in its history, it served as a royal residence. As a whole, the Tower is a complex of several buildings set within two concentric rings of defensive walls and a moat.
There
were several phases of expansion, mainly under kings Richard I, Henry
III, and Edward I in the 12th and 13th centuries. The general layout
established by the late 13th century remains despite later activity on
the site.
Tower of London has played a prominent role in English history.
It was besieged several times, and controlling it has been important to
controlling the country. The Tower has served variously as an armoury, a
treasury, a menagerie, the home of the Royal Mint, a public record
office, and the home of the Crown Jewels of England. From the early 14th century until the reign of Charles II in the 17th century, a procession would be led from the Tower
to Westminster Abbey on the coronation of a monarch. In the absence of
the monarch, the Constable of the Tower is in charge of the castle. This
was a powerful and trusted position in the medieval period.
In the late 15th century, the Princes in the Tower were housed at the castle when they mysteriously disappeared, presumed murdered. Under the Tudors, the Tower became
used less as a royal residence, and despite attempts to refortify and
repair the castle, its defences lagged behind developments to deal with
artillery.
The
zenith of the castle's use as a prison was the 16th and 17th centuries,
when many figures who had fallen into disgrace, such as Elizabeth I
before she became queen, Sir Walter Raleigh, and Elizabeth Throckmorton,
were held within its walls. This use has led to the phrase sent to the Tower.
Despite its enduring reputation as a place of torture and death,
popularised by 16th-century religious propagandists and 19th-century
writers, only seven people were executed within the Tower before the World Wars of the 20th century.
Executions were more commonly held on the notorious Tower Hill to the north of the castle, with 112 occurring there over a 400-year period. In thelatter
half of the 19th century, institutions such as the Royal Mint moved out
of the castle to other locations, leaving many buildings empty. Anthony
Salvin and John Taylor took the opportunity to restore the Tower to
what was felt to be its medieval appearance, clearing out many of the
vacant post-medieval structures.
In the First and Second World Wars, the Tower
was again used as a prison and witnessed the executions of 12 men for
espionage. After the Second World War, damage caused during the Blitz
was repaired, and the castle reopened to the public.
Today, Tower of London is one of the country's most popular tourist attractions.
Under the ceremonial charge of the Constable of the Tower, operated by
the Resident Governor of the Tower of London and Keeper of the Jewel
House, and guarded by the Yeomen Warders, the property is cared for by
the charity Historic Royal Palaces and is protected as a World Heritage
Site.
Victorious at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, the invading Duke of Normandy, William the Conqueror,
spent the rest of the year securing his holdings by fortifying key
positions. He founded several castles along the way, but took a
circuitous route toward London; only when he reached Canterbury did he
turn towards England's largest city.
As the fortified bridge into London was held by Saxon troops, he decided instead to ravage Southwark before continuing his journey around southern England.
A series of Norman victories along the route cut the city's supply
lines and in December 1066, isolated and intimidated, its leaders
yielded London without a fight.
Between
1066 and 1087, William established 36 castles, although references in
the Domesday Book indicate that many more were founded by his
subordinates. The Normans undertook what has been described as the most extensive and concentrated programme of castle-building in the whole history of feudal Europe.
They were multi-purpose buildings, serving as fortifications (used as a
base of operations in enemy territory), centres of administration, and
residences.
William
sent an advance party to prepare the city for his entrance, to
celebrate his victory and found a castle; in the words of William's
biographer, William of Poitiers, certain fortifications were
completed in the city against the restlessness of the huge and brutal
populace. For he [William] realised that it was of the first importance
to overawe the Londoners.
At the time, London was the largest town in England; the foundation of Westminster Abbey and the old Palace of Westminster
under Edward the Confessor had marked it as a centre of governance, and
with a prosperous port it was important for the Normans to establish
control over the settlement. The other two castles in London -Baynard's
Castle and Montfichet's Castle- were established at the same time.
The fortification that would later become known as Tower of London was built onto the south-east corner of the Roman town walls, using them as prefabricated defences, with the River Thames
providing additional protection from the south. This earliest phase of
the castle would have been enclosed by a ditch and defended by a timber
palisade, and probably had accommodation suitable for William.
The tradition of housing the Crown Jewels in the Tower of London
probably dates from the reign of Henry III (1216-1272). The Jewel House
was built specifically to house the royal regalia, including jewels,
plate, and symbols of royalty such as the crown, sceptre, and sword.
When money needed to be raised, the treasure could be pawned by the
monarch. The treasure allowed the monarch independence from the
aristocracy and consequently was closely guarded. A new position for keeper of the jewels, armouries and other things
was created, which was well rewarded; in the reign of Edward III
(1327-1377) the holder was paid 12d a day. The position grew to include
other duties including purchasing royal jewels, gold, and silver, and
appointing royal goldsmiths and jewellers.
Today, The Grandma has been walking across CentralPark. She loves this place, and she has remembered when she wasthere onSeptember 19, 1981 listening to Paul Simon and ArtGarfunkel in an unforgettable concert where they played one of her favourite songs, Aheart inNew York.
Meanwhile, The Grangers have continued preparing their Cambridge Exam. They have studied Too/Enough and Comparative of Equality.
The Concert in Central Park is the first live album by American folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel, released on February 16, 1982, by Warner Bros. Records.
It was recorded on September 19, 1981, at a free benefit concert on the Great Lawn in Central Park, New York City, where the pair performed in front of an audience reported at the time as 500,000 people.
Later
estimates determined that the maximum number of people who could fit in
the park space was 48,500. A film of the event was shown on TV and
released on video. Proceeds went toward the redevelopment and
maintenance of the park, which had deteriorated due to lack of municipal
funding.
The concert and album marked the start of a three-year reunion of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel.
The concept of a benefit concert in Central Park
had been proposed by Parks Commissioner Gordon Davis and promoter Ron
Delsener. Television channel HBO agreed to carry the concert, and they
worked with Delsener to decide on Simon and Garfunkel as the
appropriate act for this event. Besides hit songs from their years as a
duo, their set-list included material from their solo careers, and
covers.
The show consisted of 21 songs, though two were not used in the live album. Among the songs performed were the classics The Sound of Silence, Mrs.Robinson, and The Boxer; the event concluded with a reprise of Simon's song Late in the Evening.
Ongoing personal tensions between the duo led them to decide against a
permanent reunion, despite the success of the concert and a subsequent
world tour.
The album and film were released the year after the concert. Simon and Garfunkel's
performance was praised by music critics and the album was commercially
successful; it peaked at number six on the Billboard 200 album charts
and was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association
of America (RIAA).
The
video recordings were initially broadcast on HBO and were subsequently
made available on Laserdisc, CED, VHS and DVD. A single was released of Simon and Garfunkel's live performance of The Everly Brothers's song Wake Up Little Susie, which reached No. 27 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1982; it is the duo's last Top 40 hit.
New York City's Central Park, an oasis that functions as the city's green lung, was in a state of deterioration in the mid-1970s. Though Central Park
had been designated a National Historic Landmark in 1962, at the start
of the 1980s, the city lacked the financial resources to spend an
estimated US$3,000,000 to restore or even to maintain the park. The
nonprofit Central Park Conservancy was founded in 1980, and began a successful campaign to raise renovation funds.
The concert took place on Saturday, September 19, 1981, on the Great Lawn, the central open space of Central Park. The first spectators, many carrying chairs or picnic blankets, arrived at daybreak to secure a good spot.
The
Parks Department originally expected about 300,000 attendees. Although
rain fell throughout the day and continued until the start of the
concert, an estimated 500,000 audience members made this the
seventh-largest concert attendance in the United States in history.
Later estimates determined that the maximum number of people who could
fit in the park space was 48,500.
The Jones have spent another wonderful day in Hogwarts. Today, they have talked about SocialEnglish and they have revised some aspects of grammar like Too-Enough, Questions Tags and Modals Verbs (Should and Must).
The family is working hard enough to reach their objectives and they don't hesitate in her effort to learn every day. After the grammar explanations, The Grandma has talked about the possible origins of Sant Boi de Llobregat a beautiful and historic town near Barcelona.
This city has been very important during all the history, since the Prehistorical ages to recent ones although its inhabitants are too shy to talk about how important and wonderful the town is. The city is blessed by a beautiful natural environment which must be protected; important industry, which should be improved and nice inhabitants, who must be well-known around the world.
The Llobregat river, the Montbaig range, the agricultural lands, the Capuccins, the Romans, the Via Augusta, the thermes, The Succession War, Antoni Pujadas, Antoni Gaudí, the fight against the dictatorship in the 20 century, Manel Esteller, the Gasol brothers, the Marquis of Samà or the mental hospitals are some examples of a historical place, which doesn't invest enough efforts in being an important cultural and natural reclaim for visitors.
Finally, The Jones have played The Goose Game in an oral way in an attempt to join leisure and stories. The Jones have also talked about Saint George and the Black Virgins, two concepts that hide incredible stories that come from Egypt.
Tomorrow, the family is going to spend a free day and visit the outskirts of Hogwarts. It will be a beautiful trip to enjoy and play without limits before Easter arrives.
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