SOME OF THE BEST LOVE SONGS IN THE WORLD

One of the most faithful followers of our blog suggested us publishing a post about love songs in English and we have picked up the gauntlet, that is to say, we have accepted the challenge.

It seemed to be very easy, but it has been the most controversial topic we have dealt with so far. The reasons are quite obvious. Everybody in the department has his/her own favourite love songs and lots of examples come to our minds at every moment.

So, you have here our list. We are sure that we have forgotten many "unforgettable" songs. Help us to remember them. Maybe we can publish a new post with the songs you tell us.

Let´s stop talking! It´s time to listen to the music! Enjoy it!

Fly Me To The Moon

This song written in 1954 was originally known as "In Other Words" and although it has been recorded by many artists over the years, it is most closely associated with Frank Sinatra.

Someone Like You

This popular romantic ballad was written by Northern irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and recorded in his 1987 album, Poetic Champions Compose. Since then, it has become a movie classic that has appeared in films like French Kiss or Bridget Jones´ Diary.

The Way You Look Tonight

This Oscar-winning song in 1936 was originally sung by Fred Astaire in the film "Swing Time". There have been many covers since that moment, some of them by Tony Bennet, Ella Fitzgerald, Rod Stewart or Michael Bublé (the one we include).

Bed of Roses

 Bon Jovi wrote this song in 1993 in a hotel room while suffering from a hangover and the lyrics reflect his feelings at the time. Its power ballad style made it a worldwide hit.

You´re In My Heart

Written and recorded by Rod Stewart in 1977, the song proved a popular single, reaching the top ten of many national charts. The lyrics mention the two Stewart´s favourite football teams: Celtic Glasgow and Manchester United.

I Was Born To Love You

Written by Freddie Mercury in 1985, this song was released as a single and on the Mr. Bad Guy album. It has been on of the greatest hits of Queen.

Too Much Heaven

The Australian band, the Bee Gees, contributed with this song for the "Music for UNICEF" fund in 1979. The song later became a success in many countries around the world.

Love Is All Around

This song was composed and originally performed by The Troggs in 1967. However, it became an international hit when it was sung by the Scottish band Wet Wet Wet for the soundtrack of the 1994 film Four Weddings and a Funeral

Heroes

Written by David Bowie and Brian Eno in 1977, it was a product of Bowie´s fertile "Berlin period". The song tells the story of two lovers who come together in the shadow of the "Wall of Shame". It is one of the greatest Bowie´s hits of all time.

Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?

Carole King made a fantastic cover for this song originally performed by The Shirelles in the sixties. It has been recorded by many artists since then, most notably by artists like Bryan Ferry or Amy Winehouse.


And last, but not least, we offer you a recommendation that a friend has made to us.  
 It´s well worth listening to it! It may even be one of the best love songs you can ever listen to!

"All Night Long" by Rainbow.

PREMIER LEAGUE 2012-13: A NEW TITLE FOR UNITED

Another season has just finished in the English Premier League. We want here to make a summary of this exciting football year. Come with us to see the best of the 2012-2013 season.

These are the 20 teams taking part in the Premier League this season

WINNERS

Manchester United became champions as soon as 22 April 2013 after defeating Aston Villa 3-0 at Old Trafford. It is their 13th Premier League title and 20th English title overall. This has been the last season in charge for Sir Alex Ferguson, after 26 years serving the team. Among the main players we can highlight the Spanish goalkeeper De Gea, defenders Evra, Rafael or Ferdinand, midfielders Carrick or the everlasting Ryan Giggs and forwards Van Persie and Rooney.

United won their 20th league title

 

A tribute to the champions

HONOUR POSITIONS

Last champions Manchester City  qualified along with United for next Champions League. The season has been, however, disappointing for the Citizens, as expectations were really great for this year. In addition, their defeat against Wigan in the FA Cup final has added to make it a year to forget.

Manchester City couldn´t repeat their previous year´s success

Last Champions League winners Chelsea and Arsenal also qualified for the main European competition. Chelsea had quite a disappointing domestic campaign which resulted in the mid-season arrival of manager Rafa Benítez. The "Spanish Connection" between Juan Mata and Fernando Torres finally saved the season for the Blues, when they decisively helped the team to win the Europa League for the first time, defeating Benfica 2-1 in the final.

The Chelsea Spanish Connection
was essential to their European success

Arsenal added another modest season and they got their European ticket only in the last match winning 0-2 at Newcastle United. It was just a new trophyless campaign for Arsene wenger´s team.

The teams which qualified for the Europa League were Tottenham Hotspur, commanded by an outstanding Gareth Bale; Swansea City (after winning the League Cup) and Wigan Athletic (winners of the FA Cup)

Gareth Bale was the best player of the season

TOP SCORERS

Dutch forward Robin Van Persie scored 26 goals to top this list for the second year in a row, this time with Manchester United. Luis Suárez from Liverpool (23) and Gareth Bale (Tottenham-20) were placed on the other two honour positions. We must not forget the fantastic season of Spanish Swansea City forward Michu, who scored 18 goals to get the fifth position in the final chart.

Robin Van Persie was the top scorer
for the second consecutive year

BEST PLAYERS

Tottenham Hotspur´s left winger Gareth Bale has been chosen as the best player of the season for the second time. We must highlight the fact that two Spanish players, goalkeeper De Gea and miedfielder Juan Mata are in the best eleven, together with so important players like Rio Ferdinand, Bale, Van Persie or Luis Suárez.

This is the top 11 of the season

RELEGATION AND PROMOTION

Queen´s Park Rangers and Reading were both relegated some days before the final day and they would be joined by Wigan Athletic, which put an end to their eight-year stay in the Premier League.

On the other way round, Cardiff City achieved promotion to the top flight for the first time since 1960 and became the second Welsh club to play in the Premier League (after Swansea). The second automatic promotion spot was won by Hull City on the final day of the season.

Cardiff City won the Championship to become
 the second Welsh team in the Premier League

Last but not least, the third place to go up into the Premiership will be for the winners of the play-off between Watford (trained by Gianfranco Zola) and Crystal Palace. It will be played next May 27 at 3 p.m. at Wembley. Let us declare our preference for Palace, as we are fans of this South London team since our former conversation assistant Aidan Reeves "infected" us with love for them. We hope they will be a Premier League team next season.

One of the best moments in Crystal Palace history,
defeating Chelsea in the 1976 FA Cup

Crystal Palace is now a Premier League team

FA CUP

Wigan United, trained by Spanish coach Roberto Martínez, won the FA Cup for the first time in its history after defeating Manchester City 1-0. Ben Watson´s injury-time goal gave the "Latics" their first ever major trophy and a place in the group stage of the next Europa League. Wigan is the first team to win the Fa Cup and be relegated in the same season.

Ben Watson celebrates after scoring the winning goal in the Cup final

CURIOUS FACTS

-The number of matches played has been 380 and the number of goals 1.062 (2.79 per match)
-The biggest win was Chelsea 8-Aston Villa 0
-The highest scoring in a match was 10 goals ( Arsenal 7-Newcastle 3 and West Brom 5-Manchester United 5)
-The average attendance has been 35.903.
-Manchester City was the team with most clean sheets (not receiving any goals): 18
-Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson received the Manager of the Season Award for the 11th time.
-The Barclays Golden Glove Award was for Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart.

These are the two videos Aidan told us about. You´re right, Aidan. These two matches had really dramatic ends. It´s almost impossible not to love football after watching them. I had already seen the Watford-Leicester images since Watford´s goalkeeper is Almunia. Thank you very much for your contribution. It´s a real pleasure. GO... EAGLES!!!!!

LONDON UNDERGROUND: 150 YEARS OF HISTORY.

The famous Underground map was created by Harry Beck in 1931

On January 9th, 1863, the world´s first underground train left Paddington Station in London to travel 5.6 kms. to Farringdon Road in "The City" or the financial district of London. Therefore, this year is the 150th anniversary of the oldest, and probably the most famous underground system in the world.

The London Underground is the oldest in the world

From then on it has grown dramatically, as the city of London has also done, up to the 270 stations (11 lines) it has nowadays. It is the fourth largest metro system in the world and the first in Europe.

This poster by Alfred Leete (1927)
 is an iconic image now

 In these 150 years, many important things have taken place there. During the Second World War it became a night shelter for people because of the Blitz, the German bomb attacks on London. More recently, on July 7th, 2005, there was another bomb attack by islamist terrorists in underground trains across the city.

The Underground stations were used as night shelters
 during the German bomb attacks in the Second World War

CURIOUS FACTS ABOUT THE LONDON UNDERGROUND

-The London Underground carries every year more than 1.1 billion passengers.

-It has got the nickname "The Tube", which comes from the fact that the trains were of a circular shape and that the tunnels were deep.

A poster commemorating the 150th anniversary

-The total length of the Underground network is 402 kms.

The Underground lines are
 represented with different colours

-Waterloo is the most crowded station, with 82 million passengers a year. During the morning rush hour, the average number of passengers at Waterloo is 57,000.

Waterloo is the busiest station

-Around 1,000 people a day accidentally leave something on the tube. The list of the strangest objects includes Samurai swords, false teeth, dead bats and a 4-metre boat.

The warning "Mind the Gap" is associated to the London Underground

A video by three Norwegian boys teaching
 tourists how to use the underground



This young man visited every underground
station in London. Amazing!!!



ALFRED HITCHCOCK. THE MASTER OF SUSPENSE.

Whenever you hear Alfred Hitchcock´s name, one word comes into your mind: Suspense. And it´s logical since he made more than fifty films and even one popular television series, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, where he pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres.

You may have seen the 2012 film Hitchcock, where Anthony Hopkins plays the role of the British film director. The film centers on the relationship between Hitchcock and his wife during the making of Psycho, the controversial horror movie he filmed in 1959 that became one of the most acclaimed and influential works not only in his career but also in the history of films.



Regarded as the greatest British filmmaker, the magazine Moviemaker has described him as the most influential film director af all time. Each new generation takes the same pleasure in rediscovering his films, which are now treasures of our artistic heritage.

Hitchcock was always very fond of black humour

If you haven´t been lucky enough yet to see some of his best films, we give you some details of our favourite ones (in chronological order). They could be a good starting point for you to discover one of the most brilliant filmmakers in history.



Hitchcock used to appear at some moment of his films.

Here you have a video with his "cameos".

REBECCA (1940)

This film was an adaptation of Daphne Du Maurier´s novel of the same novel. Starring Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine, it was Hitchcock´s first Hollywood movie and his only one to receive a "best picture" Oscar.

Mrs. Danvers will try to break up
Mrs. De Winter´s marriage

The film is a gothic tale about the persisting memories of the title character, Maxim De Winter´s dead first wife, which continues to hunt Maxim, his new bride and the housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers. All in all, the film is a blending of detective story, gothic romance and psychological drama.

"Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again",
 the film begins with this female voiceover



VERTIGO (1958)

This psychological thillers stars James Stewart as a former police detective who was forced into early retirement due to vertigo and clinical depression. he is hired as a private investigator to follow a woman, Kim Novak, who is behaving strangely.

The protagonist will have to fight against his fear of heights

The film has been considered by the 2012 Sights an Sound magazine as the best film of all time. It marked the peak of Hitchcock as a director. It even popularized the so-called dolly zoom, a camera effect that distorts perspective to create disorientation, to show Scottie´s (J. Stewart) acrophobia. This effect has been called since then the "Vertigo effect".



NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959)

This movie was translated into Spanish with the improbable title of "Con La Muerte En Los Talones". Starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and James Mason. Cary Grant is truly superb as the advertising executive Roger Thornhill, whose identity is mistaken for a spy and who is then pursued across the United States by agents of a mysterious organization.

One of the most famous scenes of the film takes place at Mt. Rushmore

It is one of those films with multiple readings; conspiracy paranoia, Freudian nightmare or parable on modern America in which the protagonist finally escapes down the face of Mt. Rushmore. This scene is really unforgettable as it is also difficult to forget the desert biplane encounter. All in all, This movie is a real classic.



PSYCHO (1960)

One of the most famous suspense/horror films of all time,  starring Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles, John Gavin and Janet Leigh. It was based on Robert Bloch´s novel Psycho, loosely inspired by the crimes of the murderee and grave robber Ed Gein. It is considered to be "the mother" of all modern horror/suspense films.



Janet Leigh screams when discovering that
there was someone else behind the shower curtain

The film´s plot centers on the encounter between  a secretary, Marion Crane (Janet leigh), and an isolated motel´s disturbed owner-manager, Norman Bates (A. Perkins). She had robbed money from her employer and takes refuge in the wrong place. Everything seems to be calm and quiet at the small motel and in the nearby house where Norman Bates lives with his mother, but things are not what they seem.



THE BIRDS (1963)

This horror/suspense film was also based on a Daphne Du Maurier´s novel. The film, starring Tippi Hedren and Rod Taylor, depicts Bodega Bay, California, where violent birds start to attack people suddenly and for unexplained reasons. In fact, the reason for the attacks will never be discovered.

A poster of the film



There are many other fantastic films made by Alfred Hitchcock. It is possible that you prefer films like The Man Who Knew Too Much, Jamaica Inn, Shadow of A Doubt, Rope, Rear Window or Suspicion. If you know some of them, don´t hesitate to tell us! If you haven´t seen any Hitchcock films yet and you really love movies,  don´t lose more time. You´ll never regret!





SIR ALEX FERGUSON: "THANKS FOR EVERYTHING, BOSS"

Sir Alex Ferguson, a legend of Manchester United

On 8 May 2013, Sir Alex Ferguson announced his retirement as manager of Manchester United, after serving them for more than 26 years (since November 1986). This incredible fact (something impossible to believe here in Spain) has made him overtake a United´s legend such as Sir Matt Busby.

Alex Ferguson was a good forward who played for some Scottish teams

Sir Alex Ferguson was born in Glasgow, Scotland on 31 December 1941. He played as a forward for several Scottish teams like St. Johnstone, Dumferline Athletic, Glasgow Rangers or Ayr United before retiring as a footbal player in 1974.

Alex Ferguson scores a goal for Ayr United in 1973

He started his coaching career in Scotland  in teams such as St. Mirren and Aberdeen. Ferguson took Aberdeen to the greatest success of its history, defeating Real Madrid 2-1 in the European Cup Winners´ Cup in 1983 on a day I will never forget (unfortunately for me).

In November 1986 he was appointed manager of Manchester United. With this team he has become one of the most successful football coaches in Europe. Among the competitions he has won are: 13 Premier Leagues (including this last one); 5 FA Cups; 4 League Cups; 2 Champions Leagues (1999 and 2008); 1 Cup Winners´ Cup (apart from the one with Aberdeen); 1 UEFA Super Cup and 2 World Club Championships.

Ferguson has won lots of trophies.

In addition, he has won a great number of individual awards as a manager, including winning Manager of the Year most times in British Football History. He was even knighted in 1999 for his services to the game.

Sir Alex Ferguson was knighted in 1999 for his services to the game

All in all, he has become one of the most admired and respected managers in the history of the game. It is not strange that the announcement of his retirement has shocked everybody who likes football. It will be extremely difficult to replace him and almost impossible to fill in the gap he leaves behind.

Some newspaper headlines announcing Ferguson´s retirement

As Cristiano Ronaldo, who played for Manchester United for six years,  said when he heard the news: "Thanks for everything, Boss".

Cristiano Ronaldo has admitted that Alex Ferguson was like a father for him

 In 1999, he lived probably his best moment in football. They came from back to win Bayern Munich 2-1 in the last two minutes. He then pronounced one of his most famous sentences:

                          "I can´t believe it, I can´t believe it. Football. Bloody Hell!"



And this is a tribute to Sir Alex Ferguson. The world of football will never forget him.