Only a wee of snow...

In her article Heather Mallick represents an ironic yet friendly attitude to British people. On the one hand, she teases with them and makes fun of their fear of snow. She deconstructed, for example, a famous Churchill's speech and replaced the words "fight" with "shovel". On the other hand, she praised them for their abilities of joking about their own flaws and weaknesses. She even called them unique because of that and to prove it she for example mentioned the joke made by Boris Johnson who said: "Don't all drive in at once!"

How do we archive things..?

                "Libraries"

 I listened to a podcast about the "libraries" that people create for themselves. "Libraries" meaning our private archives, collections we create throughout our whole lives. 
 I especially liked the piece about love letters. The host talked about how they are much more than "just" messages sent to the loved ones, because they also convey a lot of important information about the person that had written them. She also explained why she thought that love letters would never be outdated. She said that phone calls and text messages will never convey as many emotions as love letters because you need to put a lot of thought, time and effort to write them. In comparison to phone calls for example, you can take your time to rethink things you want to say so a love letter is much more meaningfull and thought through.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09hrkwl 

Anorexia should be treated properly

Anorexia - just like any other mental illness        should be treated seriously

In 2012 we could all realise how true was that, when a 19-year-old girl died from this disease. She was failed by the hospitals, doctors and all the specialist units. Only now, 5 years later, her parents have received proper apologies and aswers. 

The continous problem with eating disorders is that they keep being misunderstood and underestimated by the society. It seems as if these illnesses are only about being as skinny as "that girl", or being skinny enough to fit in a pretty evening dress, when it's at the same time as serious disease as schrizophrenia for example. As a result those people not only suffer from a serious mental illness but also from a disorder that's highly disrespected and stigmatised.

I couldn't agree more with the author of this article because I very often observe how people suffering from eating disorders are misunderstood by others. Sometimes even their closest family members don't realise that this is not just a silly teenage struggle but a deadly illness that needs to be treated as quickly and professionally as possible.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/dec/10/averil-hart-death-anorexia-mental-illness-treat-it-like-one

Boys will be boys...

    Is male sexuality brutal by default?

The topic of sexual harassment which is widely brought up in the media these days, has shown that there are still a lot of people who consider men to be brutal by their nature. The author of the article suggests that this kind of mindset is very harmful to men and implies that humans aren't be able to change. "The abstinence-only education", as they called it there, teaches girls to prevent men from being physically attracted to them because "boys just can't help themselves". It basically means that women are blamed for what rapists do to them. What's more it also creates a wrong image of men as if all of them were responsible for harassing women. 

This article interested me because of a few things. Firstly I think there's a lot of misunderstanding about sexual assaults and how important is the role of male nature in these cases. Secondly I agreed with the author that they are not feminists who believe in this image of a man but they are very often conservative people who (maybe without realising that) are creating a picture of a man-monster. I believe that we shouldn't belittle the issue of the mispotrayal of a man and the role of a woman in a sexual harassment.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/nov/28/male-sexual-assault-nature

"Books and authors"

 "Books and authors" is a podcast where the host invites authors or specialists to discuss their recent reads, favourite books or simply talk about what's happening in the world of literature. In this episode they talked about a new book by Ruth Ware - "The lying game", but also (what interested me the most)they talked about Virginia Woolf's work as a publisher and independent writer which interested me because I'm eager to read her novels. Later on they discussed why "Master and Margarita" by Bulchakov is considered to be such a genius novel. I read it two years ago and it still remains one of the best books I have ever read. At the end of the podcast they also mentioned a book called "Madame Bovary of the suburbs" which is a direct reference to a classic - "Madame Bovary". The people invited to the studio shared their thoughts and opinions on these books and authors.
 I enjoyed listening to them talking about literature because it seemed so vivid and passionate and encouraged me to look for some new, interesting books to read. I especially liked what Mark Haddon said about Virginia Woolf's books. He said that her books are like his closest friends. Every time he enters Woolf's book again they both still have some new stories to tell and there's always something fresh about them.



http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p056r8jq

The women who covered Vietnam

                 Forgotten female war correspondets

I've read an article about female war journalists and photographers from the Vietnam War that have been forgotten for many years. Now their stories are  brought back to life. In the article they mention for example how hard it was for them be heard and apprieciated. During that time it wasn't uncommon that the observations those women made were stolen later on by some other journalists and their work seemed to be completely underestimated and pointless. Now it's time their stories will be heard all around the world. In 2018 the production of the upcoming film "On the other side" will begin. The movie will tell the story of a war correspondent, Kate Webb.

I'm very curious about the stories of these women because I think they will be very interesting and moving and I hope they will influence the way we think about the different roles that women get to play in our society. I'm looking forward to find out more about this topic.



 https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/17/opinion/women-journalists-vietnam.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fopinion&action=click&contentCollection=opinion&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=sectionfront

"Comedy of the Week"

        Mae Martin about addiction

I've listened to an episode of "Comedy of the week" about addiction. The topic was presented by a stand-up comedian - Mae Martin. She explained trough her own experience when habits become obsessions and later on addictions and why people tend to be addicted to so many things. She said that addiction means nothing else but compulsive pleasure seeking that has a negative impact on us. Which means that it doesn't always have to be extreme like being addicted to drugs or alcohol, but for example it might mean being addicted to a certain person, film, book, topic etc. Addiction is a very natural human's impulse. We seek something that could reduce our stress and that's one reason why we get addicted to so many things.

I've really  enjoyed listening to this podcast not only because it was very interesting and informative but mostly because it was very funny. I loved the way she was talking about her experiences and it was very hard not to laugh at loud when listening to her speaking. (which might be problematic when you're in a crowded bus). I'm looking forward to next episodes of her series.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05ly7gy

Getting Better Acquainted with Words

In the next episode of " The Invisible College" that I've listened to they talked about how the art of stringing words together is important if you want your piece of writing to be vivid and vibrant. There was feautered a lecture given by Ted Hughes (a british poet)in early 60s in which he explained to students that a good piece of writing is "an assembly of living parts". By living parts he meant the words, the images and the rhytms. He was convinced that if any of these parts are dead a poem or any other piece of writing won't be vivid.  There were also featured speeches given by, for example Charles Bukowski and  Virginia Woolf.

These creative writing lessons are truly interesting to me and I feel that I'm learning a lot from them. I especially liked what Ted Hughes said about the words being alive. He explained that the words that are alive are the words that can be heard, felt, smelled etc. when you read them. And I think that one of the most difficult things to achieve when you're writing something is making the words mean something more than just letters written on paper.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p053dyjg

"Sell your heart"

"Selling" your heart is another step in the               writer's journey.

Today I've listened to the next creative writing "lesson". In this episode the host talked about a very important problem common for many writers. The issue is about difficulty of finding your own voice as a writer, to create something that would truly express how y o u feel and what y o u think, not the artists that you are reading.For example there was mentioned an interview with Ray Bradbury, an author of f.ex.: "Martian Chronicles" or "October Country". The interviewer asked him about his past situation when he had been trying to write something good for 10 years and then suddenly wrote a short story in 1 hour that he was happy about for the first time in his writing career. Bradbury explained that after a long time of trying to be like the authors he admired, he finally found his own style, his own true voice.

I enjoyed listening to this podcast because the problem is very relatable for me. I think that finding that unique and irreplaceable "voice" is probably one of the most difficult struggles you have to overcome if you want to be a good writer. Because it's always easy to try recreate what has been written once, but it's much harder to create something completely diferrent and new. Something that would be truly  y o u r s. In order to do so, you will need to do one thing - sell your soul.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p053dy4h 

"Jane"

    
    A documentary about Jane Goodall's                     life in Africa

  

On October 18th this year a new National Geographic's documentary was released. It's considered to be very special because the film consists of the footage (never shown before)from 1960s when Jane Goodall started observing chimpanzees in Africa. It tells a story about how Jane,as a young woman, overcame other people's discouragement and travelled all the way to Africa to observe chimpanzees. It's also the story about Jane and the cameraman - Hugo falling in love with eachother.
  I was truly happy to see that a documentary  about Jane Goodall has been released because I think she is an inspiration to many, many people. What's also very attractive about this movie is the fact that it's so beautifully filmed, with such a sensitivity and carefulness. I hope the film will be shown in polish cinemas as well because I can't wait to see it!
  



https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/20/movies/jane-goodall-documentary-marriage.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Farts&action=click&contentCollection=arts&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=6&pgtype=sectionfront

Stranger Things phenomenon

         Stranger Things phenomenon

  Matt and Ross Duffer are probably the most famous brothers in tv industry right now. Last summer they released their fisrt tv show "Stranger Things" which to their suprise has become a worldwide phenomenon. Duffer Brothers who are big 80s movies fans themselves wanted to create a tv show/film that would somehow bring back that 80s nostalgia but they never imagined that their show would attract so many young people as well. As they were writing the script they took inspiration from Stephen King's novels and classic 80s movies such as "The Goonies", "Stand by me", "E.T." etc.
  Since I've watched Stranger Things for the first time last year it's become my all time favourite tv show and I've watched plenty of times ever since, but what really makes it so good that you feel that you could spend the rest of your life watching it? Firstly I think it's the incredible recreation of that times. It doesn't seem exaggerated in any way. The characters are realistically created and the story is a perfect mix of drama/Sci-Fi/romance/comedy/coming of age story which I think is the reason why people from many generations are obsessed with it.

Season Two premiers 27 October people!




https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/ng-interactive/2017/oct/14/duffer-brothers-spielberg-80s-stranger-things

Kazuo Ishiguro

 The 2017 Nobel Prize in Literature has recently been awarded to Kazuo Ishiguro, an english-japanese novelist who has published seven books so far and is still working on some new ones. There are a few movies that are based on his novels, as well as some japanese tv series. His prize is considered to be special because in recent years the Swedish Academy seemed to be using the award for making political statements and this year they tried to focus only on the artist's literary value.
  I came across Kazui Ishiguro two years ago when I was reading his novel "Never Let Me go" which has remained in my memory ever since. I remeber this book as a very interesting and well written. I was touched by the meaning presented in it and by how vivid and developed the characters were. Even though I wasn't expecting to hear that Ishiguro was awarded the Nobel Prize ,it didn't suprise suprise that much, because after reading his novel I had no doubts the author was an intelligent, creative and sensitive writer. 

The importance of reading

      "If you want to write - read!"

  I've listened to a podcast which is actually a bit like a creative writing class. In the first episode the presenter focused on the very begging of the writing process which is reading a lot books of our own choice. By giving a few examples of writers that value reading almost the most in their lives she also explained why it's so important to spend a lot of time reading before you start writing your own novels/poems/plays etc.

  I've found this podcast very interesting and inspirational. When I've heard how those people talked about developing writing craft by reading so much, I immediately felt inspired to spend the rest of my evening reading. In my opinion poeople (including myself) tend to forget that the best way to learn how to write good content is to first know a lot about the world of literature and to surround yourself with a lot of different kinds of books.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p053dxt7#play

Sana's voice

  Sana Hallaq is a young, Syrian girl who is about 10 years old. Her family lives in Atareb, a small town in Syria. During the war she discovered that singing is her way of "survival". She says that it takes her to another world where she feels safe and calm. Since her family moved there she's given almost 60 concerts and she dreams to do it professionally when she grow up.
  Her story is one of those that remain in your mind forever. It moves me how passionate she is about music and how she overcomes her fears by singing. After watching that video I've realised that it's not war that defines all of those people, but it's their will to live like humans, to find joy and purpose even when every day they're afraid of losing everything, even their own lives. 

http://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-middle-east-41365564/the-syrian-girl-who-sings-through-war

flash fiction again

  .There is this girl that is always smiling.
She will never tell you what's bothering her for she cares too much about not hurting anyone.
  There is this girl that is always dancing on her own. She seems happy yet the ground is constantly shaking under her tiny feet.
  This girl seems tough. And she will be, one day. But for now - she's had enough.

BBC Woman's hour

              Woman's hour

  A few women invited to the programme discussed some issues connected to gender, colour inequality. 

  First spoke Leomie Anderson. She talked about the injustice in the fashion buisness that women of colour like her have to struggle with.

  Later they talked about the campaign which encourages men to let women take some of their sits in the cabinet so that they also have a chance to take part in decision making.

  There was also a discussion about giving and receiving advice

  Lastly the hostess talked to Rae Earl about the social anxiety.

 

  I was very happy that I found a podcast like that but I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did. The subjects that were broached were interesting and relatable to me and I've heard about some things for the first time which is also stimulating me to think more about certain issues. I've especially enjoyed listening to Leomie Anderson because she talked about problems that most people in our society aren't aware of and in my opinion it's important that influencers like her are outspoken and talk about difficult topics as well.

My flash fiction

She always had to wait for him with dinner because he tended to disappear right before it was served. And he always had to listen her scream because she tended to get annoyed easily. There was not a single day without a fight and there were too many days when no one said a three letter word.
They both seemed bored and careless until she fell asleep one day and didn't open her eyes later. Suddenly all of their old habits seemed to be acts of true love that no one else noticed but them.

BBC Global News 10

            Cattle slughter banned
  The Indian government has recently announced a banning on selling cattle for slaugther on animal markets. Cattle here means not only cows but also camels, bulles, buffalos etc. It is supposed to protect cattle from the cruelty that they had been experiencing.
  It's finally some good news. I think bans like that should have been brought in much earlier but despite that, it's still very good that things start to slowly change in the case of animals' rights!

-cattle animals, such as cows, bulles

People in India won't be able to sell their cattle on animal markets anymore.


-to pop out to appear suddenly 

Groups that fight for animals' rights were the first ones that pop out to say that they strongly supported that banning.

-to bring in to introduce something new for example law

The government bring in a new law that will protect the cattle from the cruelty.

BBC Global News 9

82 kidnapped girls are released!

  Eighty two nigerian girls that were kidnapped more than three years ago were released two weeks ago and now they have come back to their families. It's been a very emotional reunion of girls and their parents that were extremely worried about them during all these years. 
  The girls won't immediately come back to the lives they had had before kidnapping. They will first go through medical and phycological treatment. They will also have to catch up with the school material that they had missed. 
   I'm so happy that after all of those horrible things that happened to the kidnapped girls they finally get to go back to their families and start their lives again. I hope the nigerian government will also succed to find and release other girls that had been kidnapped.

-to catch up with to do all the work that you missed for some reason

After a few months absence I will have to catch up with the school material that I missed.

-to come about to happen unexpectadly

I'm not sure how the whole thing with that accident came about.

-jubilant very happy 

The reunion of kidnapped girls and their families was a very jubilant event.

BBC Global News 8

Fast asleep?
 Zimbabwean president, Robert Mugabe who is 93 years old was accused of constantly falling asleep during important political meetings. However his spokesman claimed that Mugabe only kept his eyes closed because he can't stand bright eyes. Some people are still worried that something might be wrong with Mugabe's health. Despite the controversy around this topic Robert Mugabe prepares himself for next years presidential elections.
 In my opinion Mugabe should consider leaving politics at his age and take more care about his health. I find it unimaginable that he still wants to get involved in such an important job, that is being a president.

-spokesman a person who represents for example a president in press etc.

President's spokesman announced that the president would be absent for today's brefieng.

-increasingly when something grows, becomes bigger etc.

My brother became increasingly anxious before his exam.

Was Mr.Keating a good teacher?

Mr.Keating was for sure an unusual and extraordinary teacher. Some people might consider him to be eccentric and reckless. However I wouldn't agree with such an opinion. I think he was an amazing, inspiring teacher who encouraged his students to discover what their passions and abilities were. Because of his love and dedication to his work and to literature in general, those young boys realised that there is something more in poetry that just trite patterns that are the same for everyone. Mr. Keating showed them the power of creative and individual thinking. He wanted them to be intelligent and sensitive to what art brings to everyday life. 

BBC Global News 7

Titanium Stresser
A teenage hacker will be sentenced next week for creating  a computer programme called "Titanium Stresser". The software was in fact a cyber weapon used for about 2 million cyber attacks. The hacker was selling it to criminals and earned over half a million dollars. The programme attacked for example Cambridge University, Sony Playstation and Xbox. The hacker first used his software to attack his own school.
I think it's good that information like that is published in the news because it might warn all of us of the possible cyber crime that we may experience in the internet.

- cyber attack
If you use the internet you need to be prepared for a possible cyber attack you might experience.

-to be sentenced 
It's possible that the hacker will be sentenced for a few years in prison

- a hearing
The hearing of the teenage hacker will take place in London this week.

BBC Global News 6

Why music intros are now shorter?

 In mid 80s average intros to songs were about 20 seconds long and now they're usually not longer that 5 seconds . Research showed that it happened because of the online streaming of music which is so popular now. The musicans and producers are so desperate to grab the attention of listeners because it's so easy to switch to another song. That's why the vocals appear so quickly, they are supposed to interest the listener. 

 I remember that when I was little, long intros always annoyed me very much, but now I've started to appreciate them more and more, because they help you to get into a certain theme or melody. It's a pity that now intros are so short but on the other hand I understand the problem that music producers struggle with... people might be very fussy sometimes.

-diminishing when something becomes lower

Nowadays music intros are diminishing drastically.

-down to sth

Songs intros are now usually down to 5 seconds.

 

-to grab sb's attention to get somebody's attention, to interest somebody with something

Quickly appearing vocals in the songs are supposed to grab our attention and interest us.

BBC Global News 5

Saving the elephants

Late last year, in December the chinese government decided to close most of the ivory shops and factories. On Friday half of them were supposed to be oficially closed down by the end of the day. And the rest of the shops and factories should be closed by the end of this year. The chinese government, and the representatives from Africa hope this action will help to minimise illegal poaching in Africa and to bring the elephants from the brink of exintction.

I was so happy to hear that news because I think it is the issue that should have been solved ages ago. In my opinion industries shouldn't use animals in such a cruel way, especially if there is a danger that these species are in danger of extinction.

ivory - elephant's bone

The ivory trade was very popular for a long time.

poaching - the illegal hunt of animals

There are many activist that fight with the poaching.

to close down 

The factories that were producing things made of ivory are now closing down.

BBC Global News 4

Smartify app

 Recently there have been created a new app that is supposed to help people discover more about the artists and paintings they see while visiting art museums. It's very easy in use and much cheaper for museums than electronic guides as claims the employee of the art museum in the Central London. She believes that it will be easier for smaller art museums to use the app than to create special guides.
 I was very suprised by hearing this piece of news because just a few days earlier I was visiting the National Museum in Warsaw and that was exactly what I needed. If I only had it on my phone that day! I think it's a great possibility to inspire people and help them understand the art a little bit more.

smirk - a kind of smile
The man on the painting had a superior smirk on his face.
instantly - immediately
The description of the painting you're interested in instantly appears on your phone's screen.
hold sth up 
You don't have to take a picture of the painting, just hold your smartphone up and it will work properly. 

BBC Global News 3

Are you getting enough sleep?
 March the 17th is the international Sleep Day and a scientist, dr. Nayantara Santhi does a research on how the lack of sleep does harm both our physical health and mental health. Dr. Santhi carries out a very interesting experiment in which she attaches electrodes to the scalp of a woman  and then observes how her brain works during the sleep. The scientist claims that when you're sleep deprived you will have problems with your memory, tension, metabolism or even decision making!
 This news item is interesting for me because I personally very often experience the consequences of the lack of sleep, but I didn't realise that they might be as serious as that.

scalp - the skin that covers the head
The electrodes were attacheted to the woman's scalp.

carry out sth  
The scientist carries out a crucial experiment in the laboratory.

deprived of sth - without sth
When someone is sleep deprived they will find it difficult to concentrate and focus on something.

BBC Global News 2

The chinese government wants more children.
 After decades of making chinese people to have only one child, the government in Shanghai starts to encourage them to have more children. The problem is that raising a kid in China is very expensive, and women are afraid of losing their jobs after having a second baby. The government's solution is that there will be built many nurseries in the companies where parents work. Even though it might seem like a convincing idea it will be very difficult for chinese families to suddenly change the structure of the family.
 Not allowing people to have more that one child and then wanting them to change that completely is for me an obvious example of not respecting people and treating them as objects that are only used for achieving government's plans.

concern = interest, matter, anxiety
The chinese politicians try to respond to citizens' concerns by establishing some nurseries.

frankly = freely, plainly, openly
So frankly, it's expensive to have a second child.

covered by = funded by, supported by
Health care and education are covered by the government but it's still not enough.

BBC Global News 1

Maram's miracle

 2 months ago a british surgeon, David Nott operated upon a Syrian baby girl. She was gravely injured in a bomb attack in which her whole family had been killed.The wound on her leg was so deep than both her bones were sticking out. Even though dr. Nott did surgeries of a lot children from Allepo, the one patient he could not forget was little Maram. He missed her so much that recently he visited her again, and was suprised by how good does she look like.

  David Nott operated Maram just a few days before Christmas, at the time when most of people would give up because of being "busy". He took a great risk and saved life of an innocent girl that was left without family in the middle of the war. I'm so happy that stories like that are spread because they can give others hope that brave and altruistic humans still exist on this planet.

gravely injured = seriously/deeply/horribly

A little girl was gravely injured and needed an urgent surgery.

artificial embryon = annatural/fake embryon

Scientists are still working on creating human artificial embryons.

fertility treatment = curing infertility

Recent scientific reaserch is meant to improve human fertility treatment.

TED vocabulary

-impious-

The speaker assured the audience that he didn't mean to be impious.

-secular-

There is nothing wrong with secular people celebrating Christmas and Easter holidays.

-sermon-

Every Sunday there is a sermon during the mass.

Why do people love London?

  Beacuse the first semester is pretty much gone I decided to sum everything up and do a little research about why do people love London so much? Why it's such a popular place to visit? And why so many people can call it "home"? I will write only about 5 reasons but there are definately a lot more...

1 London is the most diversed city in the whole world. There live people of all nations, there are over 3000 languages spoken so in London you may experience and discover many many cultures - not just the british one. Londoners admit that the great advantage of that is the food: being in just one city people can try food from all around the world.

2 Another thing that Londoners love about  their city is the Underground or simply: 

The Tube. It's the world's first underground railway, opened in 1863. 

3 Almost neverending amount of parks is also one of the advantages of living in London. The capital of UK has more "green space" than any other major city in the world. And there are so many of them that everyone can find the one that suits them best.

4  London is a place full of a lot secret and quiet spots where you can enjoy your free time hidden from the noise and curious people. One of such places is Gibbon's Rent near the London Bridge.

5  A lot of people claim that there is no other city that looks so incredible at night as London does. 

Sources: (interesting!)

http://now-here-this.timeout.com/2015/02/28/rachel-claire-of-i-love-london-town-reveals-her-top-five-secret-london-spots/

http://www.londons-gardens.com/blog/

https://www.buzzfeed.com/lukelewis/36-reasons-to-love-london?utm_term=.gd95LvD15#.quzoN9Kxo

http://www.timeout.com/london/things-to-do/39-reasons-why-londoners-love-london

Portobello Road Market

 If you visit London one of the "must-do" is definately visiting Portobello Road Market.
 Portobello Road is a street in Notting Hill, in west London. Until 1740 it was known as Green's Lane. Portobello Road Market is now one of the most famous tourist destinations in London. But not many people realise that it was originally a farm named after Puerto Bello located in Caribbean - it was a town captured by Admiral Vernon in 1739.  

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portobello_Road

http://portobellomarket.org/history

TED vocabulary

-overturned-
After 20 years of studies the picture of babies' mind was completely overturned.

-yuck!-
Yuck! That was disgusting!

-to inch-
I was so afraid I inched to the next exit doors.

I'm a Prime Minister

The world outside is small and loud today
I see those faces looking up at me
I close my eyes and breathe the air of May
Is this who I'm supposed right now to be?
The scream of hopeless crowd is what I hear
Complains,requests,regrets is what I see
I can't recall the last time I was near
And saw the glorious colour of the sea
I try to make a little step outside
Afraid of falling into furious hands
I wish I could be white just as a bride
Naive enough to call them all my friends

Instead of this I watch the stressing scenes
Believe or not but never spill the beans

TED vocabulary

-startling-
The progress my sister did in drawing is startling to me.

-to floor-
I was floored by the information that my aunt was getting married.

-to utter-
I was to petrified to utter a sound.

Big Ben

  If there is one thing that tourist love to photograph the most in London, it's definately Big Ben.
  On 16th October 1834 a large fire destroyed Westminster Palace and 13 months later the Parliment set up a special comittee that would organise rebuilding of the palace. They announced a competition for desings and the one that eventually won (Charles Barry's project) orginally didn't have a clock tower included. Big Ben first rang on 31st May 1859 but only 4 months later the bell cracked. It was replaced by the lighter one which we can still hear today.

Sources:

http://bigbenfacts.co.uk/history/index.html
http://www.visitlondon.com/things-to-do/sightseeing/london-attraction/big-ben#p0yYGQkM3AhY3Z19.97

The Globe

 


 The Globe Theatre which was the theatre where famous William Shakespeare preseted his plays is now one of the most popular places to see when someone is visiting London. Its history begun in 1599 when it was built by Shakespeare's playing company in Southwark.
  But what makes this building so special and interesting nowadays is its original construction. 

  It was shaped in a big O and it didn't have any roof that could cover the centre of the circle,so automatically those seats that were under the roof were much more expensive than those that weren't protected from the weather in any way. That's why the only time when plays were presented was a period from May to October, when the weather was relatively warm and bearable. What's also interesting is the way the theatre informed people about what kind of play is going to be presented. If it was a tragedy the theatre's flag was black, if it was a comedy it was white, if a history play, the flag was red. 
  

Even after so many years The Globe is still one of the most famous theatres in the world and it didn't change its shape, even though nobody builds theatres that way anymore. 
 The Globe will definately on my "to see" when I will be in London in the future.

Sources:

http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/about-us/history-of-the-globe/original-globe

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globe_Theatre#History

A lecture our class has been listening to today.