Kölner Karneval - Carnival in Cologne

On the 16th of February millions of people will be celebrating Rosenmontag in Germany again. Young and old get dressed up in silly costumes and line the streets of many cities to take part and watch huge processions with music, dancers, brass bands, and giant floats from which the carnival princes and princesses throw tons of sweets.
Schools are closed on Monday and Faschings-Dienstag (Fat Tuesday), as in the evenings there are parties everywhere (at least in the more Southern Catholic parts of Germany).
Have a look at these impressions of the carnival in Cologne:



Search for Karneval on the right hand side for more info on this crazy time!

Watch a German news report on Carnival:



Here is a recent procession from Mainz, the second biggest procession. Listen to the people shout Kamelle (the carnival word for sweets) to have them thrown in their direction!

The Christmas truce 1914 - Joyeux Noël film

I'm sure most of you have seen this advert already, based on the (most probably) true story of a very inofficial truce during the first world war, when on Christmas eve 1914 German and British troops sang Stille Nacht/Silent Night together. The next day they played football and exchanged gifts ...forgetting about the war for a day and finding a moment of true humanity.

There is a wonderful film about this magic moment in history, called 'Joyeux Noël'. It is perfect for the multi-linguists amongst you, as there are bits in English, German and French. Here is a trailer:



Try this link for the first part whole film - at moment the entire film is available on youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2RnQXpOZWM




Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Joyeux Noël et Bonne Année.

Fröhliche Weihnachten und ein Glückliches Neues Jahr.

Feliz Navidad y Próspero Año Nuevo.

Kung His Hsin Nien bing Chu Shen Tan.

Shinnen omedeto. Kurisumasu Omedeto.

25 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall

25 years ago, the wall which divided East and West Berlin was finally opened. Germany had been divided since the end of the second world war, and since 1961, a wall had cut Berlin in half, separating families and friends, keeping people from entering the free democratic Western parts. Anyone who tried was short at and over 300 East Germans died in Berlin alone when they tried to escape!

Imagine a wall suddenly appearing between Frimley and Camberley keeping you from seeing your friends and family

Knowing this, you can maybe understand the joy Berliners felt when the heavily guarded border check points were finally opened on the night of the 9th of November 1989. Masses were on the streets and soon people started climbing on the wall and picking at it, trying to tear it down.

Not long after, East and West Germany were unified again and today in Berlin, you can barely see were the wall once stood - apart from a line of bricks in the ground commemorating the cruel division.
As part of the 25th anniversary of the fall of the wall, there was a chain of lit balloons along the site of the wall. On the 9th of November, the balloons were released into the night sky, dismantling the line and making it disappear, like all those years ago.

Have a look at this lovely video of the moment the balloons were released:
http://www.br.de/nachrichten/berlin-mauerfall-mauer-102.html

As a private study idea for A-Level and year 11: have a look at the time line of events from the building of the wall until its fall:
http://www.br.de/nachrichten/mauerfall-berliner-mauer-100.html

Adiós a Paco de Lucía. The Master.

Probably, you will have heard your parents or grand parents mention PACO DE LUCÍA some time. Or maybe not. He was 1 of the greatest GUITARIST in the world. For me, unique.

I am thinking of how to introduce him to you, it's difficult to do it in some lines. So, just some of his own words about FLAMENCO and how he felt it:

"... is the  music around you, made by people you see, the people you make music with. You learn it from your family, from your friends, in la juerga.  And then you work on technique. Guitarists do not need to study. And, as it is  with any music, the great ones will spend some time working with the young  players who show special talent. 

You must understand that a Gypsy's life is a  life of anarchy. That is a reason why the way of flamenco music is a way without  discipline as you know it. We don't try to organize things with our minds. We just live........ music is everywhere in our  lives"

¡Olé qué arte!

CONCIERTO DE ARANJUEZ by el maestro Joaquín Rodrigo, guitarist P. de Lucía

COMO EL AGUA by Camarón de la Isla and Paco de Lucía

De Lucía recorded more than 10 records with his friend Camaron de la Isla, 1 of the premier flamenco singers.

He collaborated with many Spanish and international artists, and received numerous awards like Grammy latinos, National award of Flamenco guitar, Premio Príncipe de Asturias, the Honorary Doctorate from the Universidad de Cádiz and from the Berklee College of Music (Boston, USA)

Paco de Lucía (Cádiz, España, 21 Dec. 1947 - Mexico, 25 Feb. 2014)

  ¡HASTA SIEMPRE MAESTRO!

Happy Chinese New Year 2014!

Kung Hei Fat Choi           Happy New Year

 The Chinese New Year is celebrated in 2014 on the 31 January to welcome the Year of the Horse!

Follow this link if you want to find out about the festivities in London which take place on Sunday 2 February and include artists from China, lion teams and traditional food and craft stalls.  

http://www.visitlondon.com/things-to-do/event/4733685-chinese-new-year-2014-in-london

'Como tu no hay dos' - Spanish Song

HOLA AMIGOS!

Here you have a SPANISH SONG (with lyrics) that was very famous few years ago!

The singer, Beatriz Luengo, is a Spanish actress who was so successful dancing and singing in a popular Spanish TV series (UPA Dance), that then she also became a singer, being very popular in Spain and France as well!

Will you be able to repeat the catchy chorus?

HASTA LA VISTA!

in case the video doesn't work, follow this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxAdD4N1tg8

Year 7 Carol Concert 19.12.13

In December 2013, Year 7 students rose to the challenge of learning/practising a German or French Christmas carol (depending on which language they currently study) for 3 weeks whilst juggling end-of-term assessments. Not only that, they also performed it in the School Hall in front of the rest of their peers and a selected audience of lucky Year 6 Ravenscote pupils.

German New Year's Eve Tradition: Bleigießen

Bleigießen (pronounced Bligh - geese -n) is a tradition popular in Germany and other Nordic countries to predict what the future holds for the New Year.

Silvester (New Year's Eve) is usually celebrated with friends at big parties or a dinner party with card games. 

Popular meals for these occasions are those that can span several hours, often with a French origin, like fondue (where each person has a skewer to cook a piece of meat in a pot of broth on the table) or raclette (where you melt cheese over vegetables and breads in a special table top grill). 

Just before midnight, you have to count down the seconds, of course, and after shouts of 'Frohes Neues Jahr!' (Happy New Year!), you do 'zuprosten' (raise and touch your glasses of champagne or sparkling wine and say Prost! (cheers). Then you go outside and watch the Feuerwerk (fireworks), or set them off yourselves. Hundreds of Raketen (rockets) light up the sky and loud 'Böller' (bangers/firecrackers) are supposed to chase away evil spirits.

For good luck, many Germans also eat a Krapfen or Berliner (jam filled dougnut) after midnight.

After that, in the early hours of the new year, many people do Bleigießen.

Also known as molybdomancy (if you like a fancy word for your next round of Scrabble!), it is the the technique of predicting the future from molten metal. The literal translation is 'lead pouring'. 
People do this together at their Silvesterparty to see what the new year might bring!


In Germany, you can buy kits for this:
They contain small light figures made of lead  (or zinc, which is less toxic), a spoon and a list of interpretations.

You melt one of the figures in the spoon over a candle, and then pour the liquid into a bowl of cold water. The resulting  'sculpture' then needs to be identified (you probably need quite bit of imagination for this!) and interpreted according to the list.

A pig or a frog, for example, could mean you might win the lottery, while a sword could mean 'problems in your job'.

The tradition of reading the future from molten metal goes back to Roman times, but these days it's just a bit of party fun and few people really believe in it.

 Follow this link to see a video what it looks like:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEaiuKCh9wI

As the kits are hard to get in England (and lead can be dangerous if you breathe in the fumes anyway) why don't you try the same thing with wax (ask your parent's permission and guidance if you're underage)

Get a candle, a bowl with water, and old spoon and some wax. Melt a small blob of wax in the spoon and then throw it in a bowl of cold water.
Use your fantasy to make out what the 'sculpture' is and make up what you think it means...

Here is a German website with interpretations for the different shapes: go on the letters at the top - and use an online dictionary...

http://www.bleigiessen.org/


Alternatively, if you have a smart phone there are even apps for Bleigiessen - check it out, but beware - you might have to pay!

Viel Spaß!

und einen guten Rutsch ins Neue Jahr!

(literally: have a good sliding into the new year...)

‘The City of the Three Cultures’ - A walk in Toledo city -

Toledo, World Heritage

¡Hola amigos! ¿Dónde habéis pasado las vacaciones de verano?

How was your summer holiday? Did you travel to other countries?

What do you know about the city of Toledo?

- I went to Toledo (in Spain) and it was so beatiful and interesting that I took some pictures to show you.

Before that, here is some basic information:

-      > Toledo is an unique place in the heart of the Iberian Peninsula. It is the capital of Castilla La Mancha (1 of the 17 Autonomous Communities of Spain).

-      > Castilla La Mancha has 5 provinces: Albacete, Ciudad Real, Guadalajara, Cuenca and Toledo (both last cities declared World Heritage by the UNESCO).

-       > Population: 84. 019

-       >  Area: 232. 1 km

-       >  River: Tajo

-       >  It was the former capital of Spain in the Visigoth era.

-      >  Traditional sword-making and Steel-working center since 500 BC. It came to the attention of Rome when used by Hannibal in the Punic Wars. It was standard source of weaponry for Roman Legions.

-      > Its School of Translators opened the city and became the capital of European culture, of splendid intellectual activity, which promoted the King Alfonso X the Wise.

-       ‘Don Quijote de La Mancha’  was written by the famous Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes in 1605. 

      The novel chronicles the adventures of a noble knight in La Mancha.

It is considered the most influential work of literature from the Spanish literaty canon. It appears high on international lists of the greatest Works of fiction ever published and it is cited as the best literary work ever written.

Toledo is well known for its peaceful historical co-existence of Christian, Muslim and Jewish cultures, so it is known as ‘The City of the Three Cultures’. This tolerance and respect among different cultures was a historic and very important event which Toledo is proud.

It offers an immense cultural heritage, spectacular natural areas, delicious gastronomy, delicate crafts and ancestral popular festivities.

The handmade art of ‘Yesería’, is a technique of carving plaster for decorating buildings.

Walking through the streets, if you are lucky, you can see a real workshop.

Un típico ‘patio toledano’

La Catedral de Santa Maria

Museo de la Iglesia de Santo Tomé. You can visit some pictures of the painter, sculptor and architect EL GRECO; where is his finest work  The Burial of the Count of Orgaz

Handmade crafts about Don Quijote y Sancho Panza, etc. Artesanías

 Jewish symbols in the streets. Símbolos del paso de la cultura judía por Toledo

Arquitectura árabe

A ‘Botijo’ is used in summer to keep cool water

Toledo is well known for working wrought iron and other metals. 

The arsenal, weapons and armors of The Lord of the Rings film were made in Toledo

 Plaza de Zocodover is the heart of the city

 Tajo river around Toledo city





 Do you know El camino de Santiago in Galicia? In Toledo you can walk La ruta del Quijote!

 The Queen Isabel I de Castilla.

‘Isabel La Católica’ was the mother of Juana de Castilla y Catalina de Aragón (Catherine of Aragon) who was queen of England from 1509 until 1533 as the first wife of King Henry VIII

Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes, built by the Catholic Monarchs