'KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON', PROPAGANDA TO SURVIVE

The Stones arrive to the Great Cumberland Hotel

Today, The Stones and The Grandma have stayed at hotel talking about the future. The whole world but Europe in particular is under the effects of a terrible pandemia and The Stones must change their agenda.

When you are in front of a difficult situation, one of the most important things is communication.

Communication must be clear, short and honest. It is very important that population trusts on its goverments but to do this, these governments must be competent and put the security of their citizens over all other priorities.

When The Stones arrived to London, The Grandma chose the Great Cumberland Hotel to stay there. It was not a casual decision. This hotel has been witness of the most important events that London, England, and the United Kingdom have lived in their recent history, especially during the WWII when Winston Churchill chose this place to manage the resistance against the nazi invasion.

As The Grandma has explained before, communication is something essencial during a crisis and because of this, The Grandma wants to talk about the history of a famous popular motto and imperative Keep Calm And Carry On, the motivational poster produced by the British government in 1939 in preparation for World War II.

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It takes its name from the Duke of Cumberland, son of George II 1721-1765, a public house which stood on the site from as early as 1747 until it was demolished at the turn of the twentieth century. The old Roman way from the west of England to London ‚ -the Oxford Road of which Oxford street is a part‚- met the equally ancient Watling Street, now the Edgware Road, near the site of the present Cumberland Hotel. Tyburn Brook, which flowed nearby, was in a district known as Tynburnia which was almost as aristocratic as Mayfair and Belgravia. Alongside the brook were the Tyburn Trees and for generations the trees were used for execution. Later a permanent fixture of gallows was erected where for centuries executions continued to be performed, the last taking place in 1783.

The rural nature of the district began to change rapidly in the early eighteenth century. Cumberland Place had been built in the mid 1700, probably after the Battle of Culloden in 1746, followed by Old Quebec Street in 1770 and Bryanston Street in about 1780. Aristocratic families moved to the district and the Duke of York took a house in Portman Square in 1805. Lord Camelford lived in house on the north side of Oxford Street where it remained until 1913 when it was demolished to make way for a cinema and a block of flats.

In 1901 the island site bounded by Oxford Street, Old Quebec Street, Bryanston Street and Great Cumberland Place, was progressively acquired by Lyons for the erection of the Cumberland Hotel. This was well before the Stand Hotel had been built in 1909. Apart from the complicated land deals, the Cumberland project was formidable.

Keep Calm and Carry On

The excavations alone entailed the removal of over 100,000 cubic yards of material during which historical relics from all periods were unearthed. The architect in charge was F. J. Wills with Oliver Bernard responsible for the public rooms. All building work was carried out by Lyons own staff.

The Cumberland Hotel featured all the latest developments of comfort. It was sound-proofed, double glazed, air conditioned and all 900 bed-rooms had their own en-suite. All air entering the hotel was filtered including the supply to the kitchen areas. Here the exhaust was treated to eradicate cooking smells. The reading lamps in the bedroom were of a triangular design with close fitting metal doors on two faces. In a twin-bedded room therefore, the occupants could adjust the lantern doors to prevent light from affecting the other sleeper if he/she chose to sleep rather than read. With both sides of the lantern closed a pin-head of amber light provided the perfect night-light.

The structure consisted of thirteen floors, ten of them above ground and three below ground. The public rooms, restaurants, banqueting hall, grill room and centre court were located centrally. Part of the hotel backbone was an enormous 100-ton girder which required the world's largest lorry to convey it. Fifteen thousand tons of steel-work was used in the hotel's construction.

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Four hundred thousand square feet of Empire grown timber was used in the making of bedroom furniture. The 50,000 yards of sheets cost £25,000 and the carpets £18,000. Two thousand staff were employed at the hotel and a specially built annex provided accommodation for 300 girls who slept in single or double rooms. There was one bath to every four girls and they ate in their own restaurant on the ground floor of the annex.

The Hotel was visited by the young King George V and Queen Mary two days before the public opening on 12 December 1933 in time for the Christmas trade. The first hotel manager was Proserpi Amilcare who remained in charge until his death in 1947 aged only 59. At fifteen he had started work as a waiter in Cannes and two years later came to England working in the Midland Hotel, Manchester. From 1907 until 1914 he worked in Baden-Baden, Berlin, Vichy, Monte Carlo, and the Savoy Hotel London.

In 1914 he joined the company at the Popular Cafe and in 1918 became superintendent-in-charge of the Louis Room at the Regent Palace Hotel. In 1924 Amilcare took charge of Lyons' famous Grill Room at the Wembley Exhibition. Then after a short stay as manager of the Trocadero Restaurant he was appointed manager of the Regent Palace Hotel in 1926 where he remained until the Cumberland Hotel opened in 1933. One of his last public appearances, despite his illness, was when he attended the unveiling of Lyons' Second World War memorial at Sudbury, Middlesex, on 9 November 1947. He was laid to rest, in the presence of several Lyons directors and senior managers, in West Norwood Cemetery on, 17 December 1947.

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Keep Calm and Carry On is a motivational poster produced by the British government in 1939 in preparation for World War II.

The poster was intended to raise the morale of the British public, threatened with widely predicted mass air attacks on major cities. Although 2.45 million copies were printed, and although the Blitz did in fact take place, the poster was only rarely publicly displayed and was little known until a copy was rediscovered in 2000 at Barter Books, a bookshop in Alnwick.

It has since been re-issued by a number of private companies, and has been used as the decorative theme for a range of products.

Evocative of the Victorian belief in British stoicism -the stiff upper lip, self-discipline, fortitude, and remaining calm in adversity- the poster has become recognised around the world. It was thought that only two original copies survived until a collection of approximately 15 was brought in to the Antiques Roadshow in 2012 by the daughter of an ex-Royal Observer Corps member. A few further examples have come to light since.

Winston Churchill

The Keep Calm and Carry On poster was designed by the Ministry of Information during the period of 27 June to 6 July 1939. It was produced as part of a series of three Home Publicity posters, the others read Your Courage, Your Cheerfulness, Your Resolution Will Bring Us Victory and Freedom Is in Peril / Defend It With All Your Might.

Each poster showed the slogan under a representation of a Tudor Crown, a symbol of the state. They were intended to be distributed to strengthen morale in the event of a wartime disaster, such as mass bombing of major cities using high explosives and poison gas, which was widely expected within hours of an outbreak of war.

A career civil servant named A. P. Waterfield came up with Your Courage as a rallying war-cry that will bring out the best in everyone of us and put us in an offensive mood at once. Others involved in the planning of the early posters included: John Hilton, Professor of Industrial Relations at Cambridge University, responsible overall as Director of Home Publicity; William Surrey Dane, managing director at Odhams Press; Gervas Huxley, former head of publicity for the Empire Marketing Board; William Codling, controller of HMSO; Harold Nicolson, MP; W. G. V. Vaughan, who became Director of the General Production Division (GPD); H. V. Rhodes, who later wrote an occasional paper on setting up a new government department; Ivison Macadam; Mr Cruthley; and Mr Francis. Ernest Wallcousins was the artist tasked with creating the poster designs.

Detailed planning for the posters had started in April 1939 and the eventual designs were prepared after meetings between officials from the Ministry of Information and HM Treasury on 26 June 1939 and between officials from the Ministry of Information and HMSO on 27 June 1939.

Roughs of the poster were completed on 6 July 1939, and the final designs were agreed by the Home Secretary Samuel Hoare, 1st Viscount Templewood on 4 August 1939. Printing began on 23 August 1939, the day that Nazi Germany and the USSR signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, and the posters were ready to be placed up within 24 hours of the outbreak of war.

More information: The Guardian

The posters were produced in 11 different sizes, ranging from 38×25 cm up to large 48-sheet versions. The background colour was either red or blue. The lettering was probably hand-drawn by Wallcousins: it is similar, but not identical, to humanist sans-serif typefaces such as Gill Sans and Johnston.

Almost 2,500,000 copies of Keep Calm and Carry On were printed between 23 August and 3 September 1939 but the poster was not sanctioned for immediate public display.

It was instead decided that copies should remain in cold storage for use after serious air raids, with resources transferred to Your Courage and Freedom is in Peril.

Copies of Keep Calm and Carry On were retained until April 1940, but stocks were then pulped as part of the wider Paper Salvage campaign. A very few copies do appear to have been displayed, but such instances were rare and unauthorised: an October 1940 edition of the Yorkshire Post reports the poster hung in a shop in Leeds; while a photograph discovered in 2016 shows it on the wall of a government laboratory in Bedfordshire.

The remainder of the Ministry of Information publicity campaign was cancelled in October 1939 following criticism of its cost and impact. Many people claimed not to have seen the posters; while those who did see them regarded them as patronising and divisive. Design historian Susannah Walker regards the campaign as a resounding failure and reflective of a misjudgement by upper-class civil servants of the mood of the people.

In late May and early June 1941, 14,000,000 copies of a leaflet entitled Beating the Invader were distributed with a message from Prime Minister Winston Churchill. The leaflet begins If invasion comes... and exhorts the populace to Stand Firm and Carry On.

The two phrases do not appear in one sentence, as they applied to different segments of the population depending on their circumstances, with those civilians finding themselves in areas of fighting ordered to stand firm and those not in areas of fighting ordered to carry on. Each mandate is identified as a great order and duty should invasion come. The leaflet then lists 14 questions and answers on practical measures to be taken.

In 2000, Stuart Manley, co-owner with his wife Mary of Barter Books Ltd. in Alnwick, Northumberland, was sorting through a box of second-hand books bought at auction when he uncovered one of the original Keep Calm and Carry On posters. The couple framed it and hung it up by the cash register; it attracted so much interest that Manley began to produce and sell copies.

More information: CNN

The truth is incontrovertible.

Malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it,

but in the end, there it is.

Winston Churchill

'RENETTE', CREATING A BRAND TO CONQUER THE WORLD

Rennette Watson's Twitter account

Today, The Watsons have started to work in the creation of a new brand, Rennette Watson. This is the alter ego of Yolanda Watson who is going to represent France in the next Eurovision Song Contest. The family is in total contact with The Grandma by Skype and they work together in this new objective.

They have created a Twitter account for Rennette Watson and they are going to fill it with interesting contents about this character. They invite you to follow her and to share your opinions and ask her as questions as you want to our candidate, who is going to became one of the most popular stars in a closer future.

More information: @rennettewatson

Before creating the Twitter account, The Watsons and The Grandma have been talking about what is branding and which is its history.

In marketing, brand management begins with an analysis on how a brand is currently perceived in the market, proceeds to planning how the brand should be perceived if it is to achieve its objectives and continues with ensuring that the brand is perceived as planned and secures its objectives.

Developing a good relationship with target markets is essential for brand management. Tangible elements of brand management include the product itself; its look, price, and packaging. The intangible elements are the experiences that the target markets share with the brand, and also the relationships they have with the brand. A brand manager would oversee all aspects of the consumer's brand association as well as relationships with members of the supply chain.

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It is defined as the process of creating a relationship or a connection between a company's product and emotional perception of the customer for the purpose of generating segregation among competition and building loyalty among customers.

Brand management is a function of marketing that uses special techniques in order to increase the perceived value of a product. Based on the aims of the established marketing strategy, brand management enables the price of products to grow and builds loyal customers through positive associations and images or a strong awareness of the brand.

Brand management is the process of identifying the core value of a particular brand and reflecting the core value among the targeted customers. In modern terms, a brand could be corporate, product, service, or person.

RNT, Rennette's brand

Brand management builds brand credibility and credible brands only can build brand loyalty, bounce back from circumstantial crisis, and can benefit from price-sensitive customers. The earliest origins of branding can be traced to pre-historic times. The practice may have first begun with the branding of farm animals in the middle East in the neolithic period. Stone Age and Bronze Age cave paintings depict images of branded cattle. Egyptian funerary artwork also depicts branded animals. Over time, the practice was extended to marking personal property such as pottery or tools, and eventually some type of brand or insignia was attached to goods intended for trade.

Around 4,000 years ago, producers began by attaching simple stone seals to products which, over time, were transformed into clay seals bearing impressed images, often associated with the producer's personal identity thus giving the product a personality.

A number of archaeological research studies have found extensive evidence of branding, packaging and labelling in antiquity. Archaeologists have identified some 1,000 different Roman potters' marks of the early Roman Empire, suggesting that branding was a relatively widespread practice.

More information: The Branding Journal

In Pompeii (circa 35 CE), Umbricius Scauras, a manufacturer of fish sauce, also known as garum, was branding his amphora which travelled across the entire Mediterranean. Mosaic patterns in the atrium of his house were decorated with images of amphora bearing his personal brand and quality claims.

In the East, evidence of branding also dates to an early period. From as early as 200 BCE, Chinese packaging and branding was used to signal family, place names and product quality, and the use of government imposed product branding was used between 600 and 900 AD.

In Japan, branding has a long heritage. For many Japanese businesses, a mon or seal is an East Asian form of brand or trademark.

The impetus for more widespread branding was often provided by government laws, requiring producers to meet minimum quality specifications or to standardise weights and measures, which in turn, was driven by public concerns about quality and fairness in exchange. The use of hallmarks, applied to precious metal objects, was well in place by the 4th century CE in Byzantium.

Evidence of silver bars marked under authority of the Emperor Augustinian dates to around 350 CE, and represents one of the oldest known forms of consumer protection. Hundreds of silver objects, including chalices, cups, plates, rings and bullion, all bearing hallmarks from the early Byzantine period, have been found and documented. Hallmarks for silver and gold were introduced in Britain in 1300.

In Medieval Europe, branding was applied to a broader range of goods and services. Craft guilds, which sprang up across Europe around this time, codified and reinforced, systems of marking products to ensure quality and standards. Bread-makers, silversmiths and goldsmiths all marked their wares during this period.

By 1266, English bakers were required by law to put a symbol on each product they sold. Bricui et al. have argued that the number of different forms of brands blossomed from the 14th century following the period of European discovery and expansion.

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Branding was more widely used in the 19th century, following the industrial revolution, and the development of new professions like marketing, manufacturing and business management formalised the study of brands and branding as a key business activity.

Branding is a way of differentiating product from mere commodities, and therefore the use of branding expanded with each advance in transportation, communication, and trade.

With the rise of mass media in the early 20th century, companies soon adopted techniques that would allow their advertising messages to stand out; slogans, mascots, and jingles began to appear on radio in the 1920s and early television in the 1930s. By the 1930s, these advertising spots, as the packets of time became known, were being sold by the station's geographical sales representatives, ushering in an era of national radio advertising.

From the first decades of the 20th-century, advertisers began to focus on developing brand personality, brand image and brand identity-concepts.

By the 1940s, manufacturers began to recognize the way in which consumers were developing relationships with their brands in a social/psychological/anthropological sense. Advertisers began to use motivational research and consumer research to gather insights into consumer purchasing. Throughout the late 20th-century, brand advertisers began to imbue goods and services with a personality, based on the insight that consumers searched for brands with personalities that matched their own.

Among the most highly visible and recognizable brands is the script and logo for Coca-Cola products. Despite numerous blind tests indicating that Coke's flavor is not preferred, Coca-Cola continues to enjoy a dominant share of the cola market.

Modern brand management also intersects with legal issues such as genericization of trademark.  Yet, in a sense, reaching this stage of market domination is itself a triumph of brand management, in that becoming so dominant typically involves strong profit.

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Your brand is your name, basically.

A lot of people don't know that they need to build their brand;

your brand is what keeps you moving.

Meek Mill

COVID-19, LAST NEWS FOR THE STONES & THE WATSONS

LAST UPDATE: MARCH, 13 19:29

The Grandma has just received your mails thanks to M, who has been working very hard these last 24 hours to offer new ways to follow our courses during this break provoked by COVID-19.

This evening, The Grandma is going to contact you via mail to propose how to continue with our Sales Course (The Watsons) and our English A2 Course (The Stones).

Take care of our own. You are invited to continue with us until this situation was controlled.

Wait for our news and don't worry.

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LONDON'S EYE & WESTMINSTER ABBEY, PAST & PRESENT

The Watsons are confined at Grandma's home

Today, The Grandma has had an intense day.

On one hand, she has contacted urgently with The Watsons. They are in Sant Boi preparing the Yolanda Watson's campaign to go to Eurovision but because of CODVID-19 they have been confined at Grandma's home.

On the other hand, The Stones are in London with her and the British government has not taken extremely measures yet. For this reason, they continue visiting the capital of England.

The Grandma has created some guides to visit the city and they are enjoying the city, its inhabitants and its culture.

Àngels Stone has invited her new friend Ivan to join to the family during this visit.

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The London Eye or the Millennium Wheel, is a cantilevered observation wheel on the South Bank of the River Thames in London.

It is Europe's tallest cantilevered observation wheel, and is the most popular paid tourist attraction in the United Kingdom with over 3.75 million visitors annually, and has made many appearances in popular culture.

The structure is 135 metres tall and the wheel has a diameter of 120 metres.

When it opened to the public in 2000 it was the world's tallest Ferris wheel. Its height was surpassed by the 160-metre Star of Nanchang in 2006, the 165-metre Singapore Flyer in 2008, and the 167-metre-tall High Roller (Las Vegas) in 2014. Supported by an A-frame on one side only, unlike the taller Nanchang and Singapore wheels, the Eye is described by its operators as the world's tallest cantilevered observation wheel.

The London Eye used to offer the highest public viewing point in London until it was superseded by the 245-metre-high observation deck on the 72nd floor of The Shard, which opened to the public on 1 February 2013.

The London Eye adjoins the western end of Jubilee Gardens, previously the site of the former Dome of Discovery, on the South Bank of the River Thames between Westminster Bridge and Hungerford Bridge beside County Hall, in the London Borough of Lambeth.

Carolina & Juan Stone in the London Eye

The London Eye was designed by the husband-and-wife team of Julia Barfield and David Marks of Marks Barfield Architects. Mace was responsible for construction management, with Hollandia as the main steelwork contractor and Tilbury Douglas as the civil contractor. Consulting engineers Tony Gee & Partners designed the foundation works while Beckett Rankine designed the marine works.

The rim of the Eye is supported by tensioned steel cables and resembles a huge spoked bicycle wheel. The lighting was re-done with LED lighting from Color Kinetics in December 2006 to allow digital control of the lights as opposed to the manual replacement of gels over fluorescent tubes.

The wheel was constructed in sections which were floated up the Thames on barges and assembled lying flat on piled platforms in the river. Once the wheel was complete it was lifted into an upright position by a strand jack system made by Enerpac. It was first raised at 2 degrees per hour until it reached 65 degrees, then left in that position for a week while engineers prepared for the second phase of the lift.

More information: The London Eye

The project was European with major components coming from six countries: the steel was supplied from the UK and fabricated in The Netherlands by the Dutch company Hollandia, the cables came from Italy, the bearings came from Germany (FAG/Schaeffler Group), the spindle and hub were cast in the Czech Republic, the capsules were made by Poma in France and the glass for these came from Italy, and the electrical components from the UK.

The London Eye was formally opened by the Prime Minister Tony Blair on 31 December 1999, but did not open to the paying public until 9 March 2000 because of a capsule clutch problem.

The nearest London Underground station is Waterloo, although Charing Cross, Embankment, and Westminster are also within easy walking distance.

Connection with National Rail services is made at London Waterloo station and London Waterloo East station.

London River Services operated by Thames Clippers and City Cruises stop at the London Eye Pier.

More information: Visit London

When I was a youngster my grandparents
took me sightseeing and we went on the London Eye.

Stuart Broad

Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is a large, mainly Gothic abbey church in the City of Westminster, London, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster.

It is one of the United Kingdom's most notable religious buildings and the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English and, later, British monarchs. The building itself was a Benedictine monastic church until the monastery was dissolved in 1539.

Between 1540 and 1556, the abbey had the status of a cathedral. Since 1560, the building is no longer an abbey or a cathedral, having instead the status of a Church of England Royal Peculiar -a church responsible directly to the sovereign.

According to a tradition first reported by Sulcard in about 1080, a church was founded at the site, then known as Thorn Ey, in the seventh century, at the time of Mellitus, a Bishop of London. Construction of the present church began in 1245, on the orders of King Henry III.

Visiting Westminster Abbey with Ivan & Joseph

Since the coronation of William the Conqueror in 1066, all coronations of English and British monarchs have been in Westminster Abbey. There have been 16 royal weddings at the abbey since 1100.

As the burial site of more than 3,300 persons, usually of prominence in British history including at least sixteen monarchs, eight Prime Ministers, poets laureate, actors, scientists, military leaders, and the Unknown Warrior, Westminster Abbey is sometimes described as Britain's Valhalla, after the iconic burial hall of Norse mythology. A late tradition claims that Aldrich, a young fisherman on the River Thames, had a vision of Saint Peter near the site. This seems to have been quoted as the origin of the salmon that Thames fishermen offered to the abbey in later years -a custom still observed annually by the Fishmongers' Company.

The recorded origins of the Abbey date to the 960s or early 970s, when Saint Dunstan and King Edgar installed a community of Benedictine monks on the site.

More information: Westminster Abbey

The abbot and monks, in proximity to the royal Palace of Westminster, the seat of government from the later 13th century, became a powerful force in the centuries after the Norman Conquest.

The Abbot of Westminster often was employed on royal service and in due course took his place in the House of Lords as of right.

Westminster School and Westminster Abbey Choir School are also in the precincts of the abbey. The Choir School educates and trains the choirboys who sing for services in the Abbey.

Westminster Abbey is renowned for its choral tradition, and the repertoire of Anglican church music is heard in daily worship, particularly at the service of Choral Evensong.

The bells at the abbey were overhauled in 1971. The ring is now made up of ten bells, hung for change ringing, cast in 1971 by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry, tuned to the notes: F#, E, D, C#, B, A, G, F#, E and D. The Tenor bell in D (588.5 Hz) has a weight of 30 cwt, 1 qtr, 15 lb (3403 lb or 1544 kg).

The Westminster Abbey Museum was located in the 11th-century vaulted undercroft beneath the former monks' dormitory in Westminster Abbey. This was one of the oldest areas of the abbey, dating back almost to the foundation of the church by Edward the Confessor in 1065.

More information: Visit London

Westminster is a piece of this city's energy,

something the contemporary world has forgotten.

Alessandro Michele

COVID-19, A MESSAGE FOR THE STONES & THE WATSONS

LAST UPDATE: MARCH, 12 16:36

M & MJ are preparing a message for our beloved families about the consequences of COVID-19. They are working on it. In a few hours, we are going to update this post with the latest news, some advice and some proposals to continue the courses with The Grandma.

Don't worry, take care of yourselves and trust on M & MJ. They are going to active new ways to not lose the yarn of our respective courses.

The Grandma has asked your mails. She is going to be in contact with you on line as soon as possible.

Wait for our news and don't worry.

More information: @salutcat

THE SCIENCE & NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUMS IN LONDON

Joseph de Ca'th Lon is waiting for The Stones

I am Joseph de Ca'th Lon. I am 55. I was born in Switzerland, an amazing beautiful country situated in the confluence of western, central, and southern Europe. It is a federal republic composed of 26 cantons, with federal authorities seated in Bern.

Nowadays, I live in Terrassa, Barcelona. I speak seven languages Romansh, Italian, French and German that I learnt in my native country thanks to my work as a banker in the Swiss National Bank; Catalan and Spanish that I learnt thanks to live in Terrassa after my retirement and English because of my work.

I love Archaeology and Astronomy. They are my life and my great passion. I also like diving, trekking and looking at sky.

I have got few but excellent friends. I am a shy person who prefers staying at home reading. I met The Grandma in Saint-Tropez (France) where we enjoyed our money and our prestigious social position every summer. Some years later, she arrived to Switzerland to open a bank account in my bank office. She was looking for someone to trust on. She did not want to invest her money to earn more, she only wanted to have her money safe and secure.

We are good friends. At the beginning, we had different points of view but we have changed. We are that that we live.

More information: Joseph de Ca'th Lon, Swiss Personality

Today, The Grandma has asked me to travel to London to visit the Science Museum in the afternoon and the Natural History Museum at night with her new family, The Stones. I have accepted. She has told me she was going to delay a little because she wanted to do business alone in the City. It is a post Brexit age and we are under a pandemic situation. The stock exchanges are going down and this is a good moment to invest. Remember! There are always people who take beneficts from disasters. It is sad but it is true.

I am here, waiting for the arrival of The Stones firstly, and The Grandma later. The Grandma has explained me that this morning, they have been studying some English before preparing their visit to the Museum. They have been creating a transport guide to arrive to South Kensington using prepositions of time and they have checked the tube map while The Grandma has been reading Occitan poetry while she was waiting for being attended in the Bank of England.

Welcome to these wonderful museums. I hope you like them.

More information: Prepositions of Place

More information: The Tube

The Science Museum is a major museum on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, London. It was founded in 1857 and today is one of the city's major tourist attractions, attracting 3.3 million visitors annually.

Like other publicly funded national museums in the United Kingdom, the Science Museum does not charge visitors for admission, although visitors are asked for a donation if they are able. Temporary exhibitions may incur an admission fee. It is part of the Science Museum Group, having merged with the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester in 2012.

The museum was founded in 1857 under Bennet Woodcroft from the collection of the Royal Society of Arts and surplus items from the Great Exhibition as part of the South Kensington Museum, together with what is now the Victoria and Albert Museum. It included a collection of machinery which became the Museum of Patents in 1858, and the Patent Office Museum in 1863. This collection contained many of the most famous exhibits of what is now the Science Museum.

In 1883, the contents of the Patent Office Museum were transferred to the South Kensington Museum. In 1885, the Science Collections were renamed the Science Museum and in 1893 a separate director was appointed. The Art Collections were renamed the Art Museum, which eventually became the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Carlos Stone, our parachuter, with the Apollo 10

When Queen Victoria laid the foundation stone for the new building for the Art Museum, she stipulated that the museum be renamed after herself and her late husband. This was initially applied to the whole museum, but when that new building finally opened ten years later, the title was confined to the Art Collections and the Science Collections had to be divorced from it.

On 26 June 1909 the Science Museum, as an independent entity, came into existence.

The Science Museum's present quarters, designed by Sir Richard Allison, were opened to the public in stages over the period 1919–28. This building was known as the East Block, construction of which began in 1913 and temporarily halted by World War I. As the name suggests it was intended to be the first building of a much larger project, which was never realized.

However, the Museum buildings were expanded over the following years; a pioneering Children's Gallery with interactive exhibits opened in 1931, the Centre Block was completed in 1961-3, the infill of the East Block and the construction of the Lower & Upper Wellcome Galleries in 1980, and the construction of the Wellcome Wing in 2000 result in the Museum now extending to Queen's Gate.

More information: Science Museum

The Science Museum now holds a collection of over 300,000 items, including such famous items as Stephenson's Rocket, Puffing Billy (the oldest surviving steam locomotive), the first jet engine, the Apollo 10 command module, a reconstruction of Francis Crick and James Watson's model of DNA, some of the earliest remaining steam engines, a working example of Charles Babbage's Difference engine, the first prototype of the 10,000-year Clock of the Long Now, and documentation of the first typewriter. It also contains hundreds of interactive exhibits.

At the front of the museum to the east is Exhibition Road. Immediately to the south is Museum Lane and the Natural History Museum. To the rear is Queen's Gate and to the north is Imperial College.

During the visit to The Science Museum, Àngels Stone has been a little distracted. She has met an interesting man, Ivan, from Japan, and it seems that it could be the beginning of a great friendship.

More information: Visit London

For me too, the periodic table was a passion...

As a boy, I stood in front of the display for hours,

thinking how wonderful it was that each of those metal foils

and jars of gas had its own distinct personality.

[Referring to the periodic table display in the Science Museum, 

London, with element samples in bottles]

Freeman Dyson

The Natural History Museum in London is a natural history museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history.

It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum. The Natural History Museum's main frontage, however, is on Cromwell Road.

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.

With the Diplodocus, National History Museum

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. 

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.

More information: Natural History Museum

Although commonly referred to as the Natural History Museum, it was officially known as British Museum (Natural History) until 1992, despite legal separation from the British Museum itself in 1963. Originating from collections within the British Museum, the landmark Alfred Waterhouse building was built and opened by 1881 and later incorporated the Geological Museum. The Darwin Centre is a more recent addition, partly designed as a modern facility for storing the valuable collections.

Like other publicly funded national museums in the United Kingdom, the Natural History Museum does not charge an admission fee. The museum is an exempt charity and a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, is a patron of the museum. There are approximately 850 staff at the museum. The two largest strategic groups are the Public Engagement Group and Science Group.

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A scientific man ought to have no wishes,

no affections, -a mere heart of stone.

Charles Darwin

A TRAVEL TO LONDON, A NEW VERSION OF 'THE ODYSSEA'

Loli Stone, Homer & Juan Stone, Triangle in Ithaca

Today, The Stones have spent their last day in Ithaca. It has been an amazing short Greek travel that has helped them to meet each other better and to share beautiful unforgettable experiences in Ulysses's homebirth.

It has been a special travel for Loli and Juan Stone because they have decided to take some days to think about their future together. Whatever it happened, Juan is going to remember Loli every day because she was as united to him as a shadow, although he is an adventurous brave man and he trusts on love.

The family has been shocked with this news and they have tried to convince Loli using some English grammar (Imperative & Should) but it has been impossible. Carlos Stone has said that Ithaca remembers him Agatha Christie's And then there were none, but The Grandma has thought about another Christie's novel, Triangle at Rhodes.

More information: Should-Shouldn't I & II

More information: Imperative I, II, III & IV

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The Grandma has explained some stories to try to cheer the family up but they were astonished with Loli's departure. She has been talking a little about King Arthur and about the figure of the Sibyl trying to search a relation between Ancient Greek and Sant Boi de Llobregat with the Romans as a nexus.

The sibyls were oracles in Ancient Greece. The earliest sibyls, according to legend, prophesied at holy sites. Their prophecies were influenced by divine inspiration from a deity; originally at Delphi and Pessinos. In Late Antiquity, various writers attested to the existence of sibyls in Greece, Italy, the Levant, and Asia Minor.

She has talked about the presence of some ancient caves in Sant Boi and their possible relation with ancient hermits who also lived in caves, as the ancient Greek Sibyls and finally, she has explained some facts about The Song of the Sibyl, a liturgical drama and a Gregorian chant, the lyrics of which comprise a prophecy describing the Apocalypse, which has been performed in some Mediterranean churches, on Christmas Eve nearly uninterruptedly since medieval times. It was declared a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO on 16 November, 2010.

More information: Eremistisme a Sant Boi de Llobregat? (Catalan Version)

More information: The Song of Sibyl, The Day of Judgement

Paying attention to the Sibyl -or to random-, the family has chosen to prepare their next travel to London. The social situation with a health crisis can do that this new travel was an Odyssey, because of this; The Grandma has decided to offer some rules and advice:

-Don't be panic

-Follow the official channels

-Trust in the British government

-Take your passport always with you

-Don't go alone (we are a family)

-You shouldn't be worried, you should enjoy the travel

-You should use your credit card (unfinished credit) to avoid touching notes and coins

-You should talk to everyone to practice English (it is a fantastic opportunity)

-You should use your new IPhone11, if you have any kind of trouble (911)

-Take a lot of photos and share with the family by Signal

Roll of the dice! (Alea iacta est!).

More information: National Health Service (NHS)

The Odyssey, in Greek Ὀδύσσεια, is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other Homeric epic. The Odyssey is fundamental to the modern Western canon; it is the second-oldest extant work of Western literature, while the Iliad is the oldest. Scholars believe the Odyssey was composed near the end of the 8th century BC, somewhere in Ionia, the Greek coastal region of Anatolia.

The poem mainly focuses on the Greek hero Odysseus, known as Ulysses in Roman myths, king of Ithaca, and his journey home after the fall of Troy.

It takes Odysseus ten years to reach Ithaca after the ten-year Trojan War. In his absence, it is assumed Odysseus has died, and his wife Penelope and son Telemachus must deal with a group of unruly suitors, the Mnesteres, in Greek  Μνηστῆρες or Proci, who compete for Penelope's hand in marriage.

Carlos, And then there were none & The Odyssey

The Odyssey continues to be read in the Homeric Greek and translated into modern languages around the world. Many scholars believe the original poem was composed in an oral tradition by an aoidos (epic poet/singer), perhaps a rhapsode (professional performer), and was more likely intended to be heard than read. The details of the ancient oral performance and the story's conversion to a written work inspire continual debate among scholars.

The Odyssey was written in a poetic dialect of Greek -a literary amalgam of Aeolic Greek, Ionic Greek, and other Ancient Greek dialects- and comprises 12,110 lines of dactylic hexameter. Among the most noteworthy elements of the text are its non-linear plot, and the influence on events of choices made by women and slaves, besides the actions of fighting men. In the English language as well as many others, the word odyssey has come to refer to an epic voyage.

The Odyssey has a lost sequel, The Telegony, which was not attributed to Homer. It was usually attributed in antiquity to Cinaethon of Sparta. In one source, the Telegony was said to have been stolen from Musaeus of Athens by either Eugamon or Eugammon of Cyrene.

Odysseus' name means troubl" in Greek, referring to both the giving and receiving of trouble -as is often the case in his wanderings. An early example of this is the boar hunt that gave Odysseus the scar by which Eurycleia recognizes him; Odysseus is injured by the boar and responds by killing it. Odysseus' heroic trait is his mētis, or cunning intelligence. He is often described as the Peer of Zeus in Counsel. This intelligence is most often manifested by his use of disguise and deceptive speech.

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As he sails away from the island of the Cyclopes, he shouts his name and boasts that nobody can defeat the Great Odysseus. The Cyclops then throws the top half of a mountain at him and prays to his father, Poseidon, saying that Odysseus has blinded him. This enrages Poseidon, causing the god to thwart Odysseus' homecoming for a very long time.

The Odyssey is written in dactylic hexameter. It opens in medias res, in the middle of the overall story, with prior events described through flashbacks or storytelling.

The events in the main sequence of the Odyssey, excluding Odysseus' embedded narrative of his wanderings, take place in the Peloponnese and in what are now called the Ionian Islands. There are difficulties in the apparently simple identification of Ithaca, the homeland of Odysseus, which may or may not be the same island that is now called Ithakē (Ιθάκη).

The wanderings of Odysseus as told to the Phaeacians, and the location of the Phaeacians' own island of Scheria, pose more fundamental problems, if geography is to be applied: scholars, both ancient and modern, are divided as to whether or not any of the places visited by Odysseus, after Ismaros and before his return to Ithaca, are real

Download The Odyssey by Homer

 A man who has been through bitter experiences

and travelled far enjoys even his sufferings after a time.

Homer