THE METROPOLITAN RAILWAY, THE LDN UNDERGROUND

Today, The Weasleys & The Grandma have decided to read about the world'soldest underground railway, the Metropolitan Railway, that opened between Paddington and Farringdon in 1863.

 

Before, They have practised So/Such and To Be Present Question Tags.

More information: So/Such

More info: Question Tags

The Metropolitan Railway (also known as the Met) was a passenger and goods railway that served London from 1863 to 1933, its main line heading north-west from the capital's financial heart in the City to what were to become the Middlesex suburbs. Its first line connected the main-line railway termini at Paddington, Euston, and King's Cross to the City.

The first section was built beneath the New Road using cut-and-cover between Paddington and King's Cross and in tunnel and cuttings beside Farringdon Road from King's Cross to near Smithfield, near the City. It opened to the public on 10 January 1863 with gas-lit wooden carriages hauled by steam locomotives, the world's first passenger-carrying designated underground railway.

The line was soon extended from both ends, and northwards via a branch from Baker Street. Southern branches, directly served, reached Hammersmith in 1864, Richmond in 1877 and the original completed the Inner Circle in 1884.

The most important route was northwest into the Middlesex countryside, stimulating the development of new suburbs. Harrow was reached in 1880, and from 1897, having achieved the early patronage of the Duke of Buckingham and the owners of Waddesdon Manor, services extended for many years to Verney Junction in Buckinghamshire.

Electric traction was introduced in 1905 and by 1907 electric multiple units operated most of the services, though electrification of outlying sections did not occur until decades later. Unlike other railway companies in the London area, the Met developed land for housing, and after World War I promoted housing estates near the railway using the Metro-land brand.

On 1 July 1933, the Met was amalgamated with the Underground Electric Railways Company of London and the capital's tramway and bus operators to form the London Passenger Transport Board.

 More information: Odd Salon

Former Met tracks and stations are used by the London Underground's Metropolitan, Circle, District, Hammersmith & City, Piccadilly, Jubilee and Victoria lines, and by Chiltern Railways and Great Northern.

In the first half of the 19th century the population and physical extent of London grew greatly. The increasing resident population and the development of a commuting population arriving by train each day led to a high level of traffic congestion with huge numbers of carts, cabs, and omnibuses filling the roads and up to 200,000 people entering the City of London, the commercial heart, each day on foot.

By 1850 there were seven railway termini around the urban centre of London: London Bridge and Waterloo to the south, Shoreditch and Fenchurch Street to the east, Euston and King's Cross to the north, and Paddington to the west. Only Fenchurch Street station was within the City.

The congested streets and the distance to the City from the stations to the north and west prompted many attempts to get parliamentary approval to build new railway lines into the City. None were successful, and the 1846 Royal Commission investigation into Metropolitan Railway Termini banned construction of new lines or stations in the built-up central area.

The concept of an underground railway linking the City with the mainline termini was first proposed in the 1830s. Charles Pearson, Solicitor to the City, was a leading promoter of several schemes and in 1846 proposed a central railway station to be used by multiple railway companies.

The scheme was rejected by the 1846 commission, but Pearson returned to the idea in 1852 when he helped set up the City Terminus Company to build a railway from Farringdon to King's Cross. 

The plan was supported by the City, but the railway companies were not interested and the company struggled to proceed.

The Bayswater, Paddington, and Holborn Bridge Railway Company was established to connect the Great Western Railway's (GWR's) Paddington station to Pearson's route at King's Cross. A bill was published in November 1852 and in January 1853 the directors held their first meeting and appointed John Fowler as its engineer.

 More information: Express

After successful lobbying, the company secured parliamentary approval under the name of the North Metropolitan Railway in mid-1853. The bill submitted by the City Terminus Company was rejected by Parliament, which meant that the North Metropolitan Railway would not be able to reach the City: to overcome this obstacle, the company took over the City Terminus Company and submitted a new bill in November 1853. This dropped the City terminus and extended the route south from Farringdon to the General Post Office in St. Martin's Le Grand.

The route at the western end was also altered so that it connected more directly to the GWR station. Permission was sought to connect to the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) at Euston and to the Great Northern Railway (GNR) at King's Cross, the latter by hoists and lifts. The company's name was also to be changed again, to Metropolitan Railway. Royal assent was granted to the North Metropolitan Railway Act on 7 August 1854.

Construction of the railway was estimated to cost £1 million. Initially, with the Crimean War under way, the Met found it hard to raise the capital. While it attempted to raise the funds it presented new bills to Parliament seeking an extension of time to carry out the works. 

In July 1855, an Act to make a direct connection to the GNR at King's Cross received royal assent. The plan was modified in 1856 by the Metropolitan (Great Northern Branch and Amendment) Act and in 1860 by the Great Northern & Metropolitan Junction Railway Act.

Board of Trade inspections took place in late December 1862 and early January 1863 to approve the railway for opening. After minor signalling changes were made, approval was granted and a few days of operating trials were carried out before the grand opening on 9 January 1863, which included a ceremonial run from Paddington and a large banquet for 600 shareholders and guests at Farringdon. Charles Pearson did not live to see the completion of the project; he died in September 1862.

The 6 km railway opened to the public on 10 January 1863, with stations at Paddington (Bishop's Road) (now Paddington), Edgware Road, Baker Street, Portland Road (now Great Portland Street), Gower Street (now Euston Square), King's Cross (now King's Cross St Pancras), and Farringdon Street (now Farringdon).

The railway was hailed a success, carrying 38,000 passengers on the opening day, using GNR trains to supplement the service. In the first 12 months 9.5 million passengers were carried and in the second 12 months this increased to 12 million.

The original timetable allowed 18 minutes for the journey. Off-peak service frequency was every 15 minutes, increased to ten minutes during the morning peak and reduced 20 minutes in the early mornings and after 8 pm. From May 1864, workmen's returns were offered on the 5:30 am and 5:40 am services from Paddington at the cost of a single ticket.

More information: The Guardian

I just like being on my own on trains, traveling.
I spent all my pocket money travelling
the London Underground and Southern Railway,
what used to be the Western region,
and in Europe as much as I could afford it.
My parents used to think I was going places,
but I wasn't, I was just travelling the trains.

 

Tony Judt

IF THE JONES LOVE ANIMALS, THEY WILL VISIT UENO ZOO

The Jones and their new friends

Today, The Jones have revised First Conditional and Question Tags. They're enjoying their lasts days in Japan and they are sad because they're leaving the Asian country but happy because they're travel to Galapagos Islands. 

The family has visited Ueno Zoo in Tokyo, one of the most important zoos around the world and although they know the importance of these places to help animals, especially those which are under danger of extinction, they prefer to contemplate them in their real environment. They have walked across the entire zoo learning new things about animals and taking lots of photos. They have had the best guide that you can find, Claudia Jones, the member of the family who knows more things about animals and nature.

More information: First Conditional

The Jones talked about lots of things while they were visiting the different areas. They have expressed their opinions about Educational System and about how new generations are the best in technology and digital tools but the worst in effort and argumentation. It's a great challenge for teachers and parents.

Finally, the family have been talking about animals and their preferences about having one of them as a pet.

Tomorrow, the family is going to visit Myoryuji Temple in Kanazawa and they're meeting the ancient world of ninjas and geishas.

More information: Question Tags

 Humans regard animals as worthy of protection only 

when they are on the verge of extinction. 

Paul Craig Roberts

The Grandma is buying the tickets to enter

The Ueno Zoo is a 14.3-hectare zoo, managed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, and located in Taitō, Tokyo. 

It is Japan's oldest zoo, opening on March 20, 1882. It is a five-minute walk from the Park Exit of Ueno Station, with convenient access from Tokyo's public-transportation network. 

The Ueno Zoo Monorail, the first monorail in the country, connects the eastern and western parts of the grounds.

The zoo is in Ueno Park, a large urban park that is home to museums, a small amusement park, and other attractions.

More information: Tokyo Zoo

The zoo started life as a menagerie attached to the National Museum of Natural History. In 1881, responsibility for this menagerie was handed to naturalist and civil servant Tanaka Yoshio, who oversaw its transition into a public zoo. 

Michelle Jones with the flamingos

The ground was originally estate of the imperial family, but was bestowed, onshi, forming the first part of the name in Japanese, untranslated officially, to the municipal government in 1924, along with Ueno Park, on the occasion of crown prince Hirohito's wedding.

In August 1943, the administrator of Tokyo, Shigeo Ōdachi, ordered that all wild and dangerous animals at the zoo be killed, claiming that bombs could hit the zoo and escaping wild animals would wreak havoc in the streets of Tokyo. Requests by the staff at the zoo for a reprieve, or to evacuate the animals elsewhere, were refused. 

More information: Japan Visitor

The animals were executed primarily by poisoning, strangulation or by simply placing the animals on starvation diets. A memorial service was held for the animals in September 1943, while two of the elephants were still starving, and a permanent memorial, built anew in 1975, can be found in the Ueno Zoo.

Marta Jones with Shitty, a funny koala

Shortly after the March 1945 bombings of Tokyo, the Japanese placed U.S. Army Air Force navigator and bombardier Ray "Hap" Halloran on display naked in a Ueno Zoo tiger cage so civilians could walk in front of the cage and view the B-29 prisoner.

The zoo provides animals an environment similar to the natural habitat. In recent years, the old-fashioned cages of the past have been replaced with modern habitats, such as the Gorilla Woods, built after two well-publicized mishaps in 1999.

More information: Matcha

The zoo is home to more than 3,000 individuals representing over 400 species. The Sumatran tiger, and western lowland gorilla head the list of the zoo's population. Ueno has more species on exhibition than any other zoo in Japan.

Ana Bean-Jones with an adult panda

The zoo is also home to zebras, Japanese macaques, red-crowned cranes, white-tailed eagles and king penguins, along with goats, sheep, pigs, llamas, ostriches, and rabbits.

At some point, redistribution of the animals among Tokyo's other zoos, including Tama Zoo and Inokashira Nature Park, left Ueno without a lion. However, in response to public demand, Ueno borrowed a female from the Yokohama Municipal Zoo.

More information: Japan Times

After the death of Giant panda Ling Ling in 2008, Ueno Zoo was without a member of this species for the first time since 1972. Two new giant pandas arrived from the Chinese Wolong Nature Reserve in February 2011. The male panda, Billy was renamed in Ueno to Līlī to emphasize his playful vitality. The female's name Siennyu was changed to Shinshin, referring to purity and innocence. The new names were based on a public poll. The final choices picked by the zoo were, however, not among top choices. Reduplication is very common in panda names.

Some Jones in the entrance of the zoo

Other animals housed at the zoo include Asiatic lions, Polar bears, Asian elephants, gorillas, Reticulated giraffes, Sumatran tigers, otters, red foxes, bats, toucans, tapirs, kangaroos, California sea lions, penguins, flamingos, pangolins, slow lorises, southern three-banded armadillos, fennec foxes, pygmy hippos, hippos, okapis, anteaters, crocodiles, turtles, lemurs, pelicans, puffins and black rhinoceroses.

More information: Giant Panda Global

Claudia Jones has remembered how Ueno Zoo works in collaboration with other zoos around the world and even with museums. She has been talking about The Natural History Museum in London, which is a natural history museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. 

The museum is home to life and earth science specimens comprising some 80 million items within five main collections: botany, entomology, mineralogy, paleontology and zoology. 

Claudia Jones' recent memories in the NHM, London

The museum is a centre of research specialising in taxonomy, identification and conservation. Given the age of the institution, many of the collections have great historical as well as scientific value, such as specimens collected by Charles Darwin. 

The museum is particularly famous for its exhibition of dinosaur skeletons and ornate architecture, sometimes dubbed a cathedral of nature, both exemplified by the large Diplodocus cast that dominated the vaulted central hall before it was replaced in 2017 with the skeleton of a blue whale hanging from the ceiling.

More information: Natural History Museum (UK)

The Natural History Museum Library contains extensive books, journals, manuscripts, and artwork collections linked to the work and research of the scientific departments; access to the library is by appointment only. The museum is recognised as the pre-eminent centre of natural history and research of related fields in the world.

Download Animals Vocabulary

Often extinctions in the ocean occur at the same time as those on land. 

Then again, the ice age extinctions lost many big animals, 

but not many sea faring ones. 

Robert T. Bakker

THE JONES SEARCH THEIR ORIGINS, DON'T THEY?

Past picture of Sant Boi de Llobregat

The Jones have spent another wonderful day in Hogwarts. Today, they have talked about Social English 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.

More information: Must-Mustn't I & II

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.

More information: Should-Shouldn't I & II

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.

More information: Question Tags

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.

More information: Teaching with songs & ESOL Courses

Egypt gave birth to what later 

would become known as Western Civilization, 

long before the greatness of Greece and Rome. 

John Henrik Clarke

THE BEANS: EVERYBODY, EVERYWHERE, EVERTYTHING...

Nereyda Bean and occupational hazards

Today, The Beans have continued with their English classes. They have revised som aspects of grammar like Future Continuous (Be going to), Question Tags, Demonstratives, All-Both-Neither and Some & Any Compounds.

It has been an intensive morning and the family has been talking about the present problems of some great cities: the increasing price of homes and the way to regulate the massive tourism.

More information: Demonstratives & Some-Any Compounds

The Beans have written some messages of hope, love and friendship in their Venice banners and have congratulated Nereyda Bean who has passed another level of her favourite mobile app: How to survive at work without being damaged.

After the breakfast, the family has listened an interesting Anton Bean's story about The Coco Island and The Grandma has been talking about chemistry and how satellites are helping to find human remains witnesses of wars and genocides.

Finally, they have decided to buy The Coco Island and built a little resort for all the members of the family because Anton Bean is sure that the island still keeps three hidden treasures and The Beans want to find them.

This afternoon, The Beans have visited the Golden Gate Bridge, perhaps the most popular symbol of San Francisco.

More information: Universitat de Barcelona I & II

 

The Beans on the top of the Golden Gate Bridge

The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the one-mile-wide 1.6 km strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. The structure links the American city of San Francisco, California, the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula, to Marin County, carrying both U.S. Route 101 and California State Route 1 across the strait. 

The bridge is one of the most internationally recognized symbols of San Francisco, California, and the United States.  

It has been declared one of the Wonders of the Modern World by the American Society of Civil Engineers.

The Frommer's travel guide describes the Golden Gate Bridge as possibly the most beautiful, certainly the most photographed, bridge in the world. At the time of its opening in 1937, it was both the longest and the tallest suspension bridge in the world, with a main span of 1,280 m and a total height of 227 m. 

Today, the Golden Gate Bridge is neither the longest nor the tallest in the world, but remains the tallest bridge in the United States.

More information: Golden Gate

San Francisco has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate characteristic of California's coast, with moist mild winters and dry summers. San Francisco's weather is strongly influenced by the cool currents of the Pacific Ocean on the west side of the city, and the water of San Francisco Bay to the north and east. This moderates temperature swings and produces a remarkably mild year-round climate with little seasonal temperature variation.

Grandma's memories in the 30's

Among major U.S. cities, San Francisco has the coolest daily mean, maximum, and minimum temperatures for June, July, and August. 

During the summer, rising hot air in California's interior valleys creates a low pressure area that draws winds from the North Pacific High through the Golden Gate, which creates the city's characteristic cool winds and fog. 

The fog is less pronounced in eastern neighborhoods and during the late summer and early fall. As a result, the year's warmest month, on average, is September, and on average, October is warmer than July, especially in daytime.

More information: History.com

Because of its sharp topography and maritime influences, San Francisco exhibits a multitude of distinct microclimates. The high hills in the geographic center of the city are responsible for a 20% variance in annual rainfall between different parts of the city. 

They also protect neighborhoods directly to their east from the foggy and sometimes very cold and windy conditions experienced in the Sunset District; for those who live on the eastern side of the city, San Francisco is sunnier, with an average of 260 clear days, and only 105 cloudy days per year.

It’s an odd thing, but anyone who disappears 

is said to be seen in San Francisco.
 

Oscar Wilde

THE BEANS ADOPT A PET: COMPARING SOME OPTIONS

The Beans' pets

Today, The Beans have continued their English classes rewieving some examples of question tags in present simple and the comparative adjectives.

The Grandma has explained a story about the possible origins of Saint George and the Black Virgins and the family has thought about it in their compositions.

Download Animals Vocabulary

The day after visiting the zoo, the family has another goal to reach. They have adopted some new pets with particular characteristics and they need to find a better place from them. It's not an easy work but it's easier if you have enough money to cover their needs.

More information: Question tags & Comparative Adjectives

This afternoon, The Beans have visited the Brooklyn Museum. David Bowie left us in a day like today two years ago and the Museum is preparing a new exposition in his honour next March. The Grandma, who is a great fan of Bowie, still remembers his fantastic concert in the Madison Square Garden in 1997.

Past and present in the Brooklyn Museum

The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum located in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. At 560,000 52,000 m2, the museum is New York City's third largest in physical size and holds an art collection with roughly 1.5 million works.

Located near the Prospect Heights, Crown Heights, Flatbush, and Park Slope neighborhoods of Brooklyn and founded in 1895, the Beaux-Arts building, designed by McKim, Mead and White, was planned to be the largest art museum in the world. 

The museum initially struggled to maintain its building and collection, only to be revitalized in the late 20th century, thanks to major renovations. Significant areas of the collection include antiquities, specifically their collection of Egyptian antiquities spanning over 3,000 years. The museum also has a Memorial Sculpture Garden which features salvaged architectural elements from throughout New York City.

More information: The Brooklyn Museum

In the evening, The Beans are going to watch the NBA basketball match between the New York Knicks and the Chicago Bulls in the Madison Square Garden. Edgar Bean, who is a great sportman, is very excited with this proposal because he's a great fan of Carmelo Anthony and in his opinion, the Knicks are better, more original and twenty years older than the Bulls. The Grandma still remembers those incredible nights with Pat Ewing.

Michael Jordan & Pat Ewing, the best

The Knicks are an American professional basketball team based in New York City in the borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the NBA as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. 

The team plays its home games at Madison Square Garden, located in the borough of Manhattan. They are one of two NBA teams located in New York City; the other is the Brooklyn Nets. The team, established by Ned Irish in 1946, was one of the founding members of the Basketball Association of America (BAA), which became the NBA after merging with the rival National Basketball League (NBL) in 1949. Along with the Boston Celtics, the Knicks are one of only two original NBA teams still located in its original city.

 Anxiety and spiritual searching 

have been consistent themes with me, 

and that figures into my worldview. 

But I tend to make my songs 

sound like relationship songs. 

David Bowie

LAST DAY IN BERLIN: MUSINGS OF THE BONDS

Jaume Bond

Imagine...

The Bonds are in Berlin. They visit as monuments as they can and enjoy the city. They learn History and they talk about the recent events in this incredible city.  They're together and spend all days doing different and interesting things. Eli Bond is at home again. She feels happy and wants to remember her childhood in the capital of Germany. They are special days for her. Mariona Bond practises German everywhere. She's from Luxembourg, German is very easy for her.

More information: Present Simple

The Bonds don't forget their English classes. They talk about Present Simple and its uses in Future and Past. It's an interesting verb tense. They write down some rules and clues about this Present and its Question Tags. The course continues with some important preparations: create a profile, write a postcard and talk about Social English. They use hypothetical deduction method, like Sherlock Holmes. They practise with Who is Who and listen some new Grandma's stories. She talks a lot. She hopes they start to talk and don't feel ashamed. This is Grandma's goal.

Juanjo Bond wants to travel to The USA because a closer orange friend of him is going to do something important. The family joins him.

Life is beautiful and fantastic in Berlin with The USA in mind until an unexpected thing happens: Jaume Bond is not with the family. Where's Jaume?

Think... 

I have a lot of great memories, but I can't imagine 

anything more exciting than the life I have now. 

Rob Lowe

VENETIAN CARNIVAL, W. CHURCHILL & LONDON TUBE

Mind the Gap

I believe our countrymen will show themselves capable of standing up to it, like the brave men of Barcelona, and will be able to stand up to it, and carry on in spite of it, at least as well as any other people in the world.

He nothing common did or mean, upon that memorable scene.

Winston Churchill - June 18th 1940

The Collins Family was exhausted after an intensive weekend enjoying the Venetian Carnival, sailing in gondola, singing Venetian songs and drinking and eating local products with the great company of Eva and Corto. It was fantastic. We took lots of photos which, one day, perhaps we can publish.

Yesterday, three of our members, Laura, Miriam and M. Carmen worked very hard for passing some tests while the rest of the family was writing about sharks, preparing an informal invitation and reviewing English grammar: connectors, countable & uncountable, question tags…

More information: Write Express

Today, we’ve reviewed the Perfect Tenses (Present & Past); we’ve written a formal letter addressing to Nestlé Company and we’ve talked about the relation between Winston Churchill, Barcelona’s citizens and London Tube. In fact, it could seem a sad story but it’s a great demonstration of courage, strength, survival, resistance and resilience of our ancestors and how the common work can help to save lives.

Finally, we’ve prepared a journey for visiting the most important places in London City by underground and we’ve talked about bitly.com an interesting tool for Twitter and we’ve seen other material.

More information: Bitly.com

We’re expecting because Montse Paris and Montse Pottery have work interviews and we’re hoping the best news.

 We shall never surrender - Winston Churchill