IRELAND (Eire)

As this year we are going to visit Ireland it is almost a must to write a post about this unique country.

Ireland

Irish flag

What comes to our mind when we say the word 'Ireland'?
Well, many things, of course, so let's focus on landscape, folk music, drinks and sports.

Irish sheep

What defines Irish countryside is the word 'green' mainly due to the effects of the Irish weather.
But apart from that, if we think about her landscape, we will probably have the image of flocks of sheep grazing the grass calmly...

...or maybe that one of shipwrecks after the fight against a rough sea next to the cliffs of Moher. 

Cliffs of Moher

But this country is more than that. Ireland has also some big cities and industrialised areas which make this place a modernised European country.

Dublin

If we think about Ireland we also think about music. Having the harp as one of the country's symbols, we could say that Ireland is the birthplace of Celtic music and dances. Irish folk music, which has many connections with Galician folk music, is well-known and easily recognizable all over the world. But the proof is in the pudding, so let's watch this!

Irish dance in Tipperary

Irish drinks are also popular worldwide. The most common every day drink is tea but Ireland is also known by her famous whiskey (with an 'e') brands.  Irish coffee, the cocktail style drink, is also popular but Ireland's most famous drink is Guinness. Guinness is a dark beer called stout and nowadays it is more than just a drink. Guinness is a symbol. Guinness stands for Ireland.

A Guinness ad

Apart from soccer, rugby or golf, Irish people play traditional sports such as Gaelic football or hurling. 

It would be pointless trying to explain the rules of this game. Just watch the video. An image is worth more than a thousand words!!

                                                                      Gaelic football

Let's do the same with hurling. Watch the video and pay attention to the differences between both. For example the ball, the stick they play with (called 'hurley'),... 'Camogie' is the name of this sport when the players are women!!

Eventually, it is impossible to write a post about Ireland without mentioning Irish writers and poetry or talking about Dublin. These will be the topics of future posts. Meanwhile, don't forget to check the ones about U2 or St. Patrick's Day they will help you understand this great country better.

TENNIS + KIPLING = WIMBLEDON

Wimbledon is an annual Grand Slam tournament in the tennis competition. The best tennis players in the world come every year with the purpose of stepping on the grass of the Centre Court to play the final. 

During the week it takes place, all England watches this international sports event. Different traditions such as eating strawberries with cream, drinking tea or asking all the tennis players to wear white are followed during the event. 

But, what does Ruyard Kipling have to do with Wimbledon?

Panoramic view of  Centre Court

First of all, let's see who Ruyard Kipling was:

Ruyard Kipling was the first British writer to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, in 1907. He wrote many short stories -mainly for children- that are considered classics in children's literature. Just to give you an example, he is the author of The Jungle Book which, apart from being a novel, was also adapted into an animated film, into cartoons and even the characters have been used for TV advertisements!! 

Ruyard Kipling

But Ruyard Kipling is also known by his wonderful poem If. If is one of the most popular poems in England. In fact, If was chosen the nation's favourite poem in a BBC survey in 1995. It is a poem about everything: loving and hating, victory and triumph, disaster and failure... It also deals with sacrifice, with recovering from failure, with not giving up,... so it is not surprising that two lines of the poem are written in the access to Wimbledon Centre Court in the All England Tennis Club.

Two tennis players waiting to enter Centre Court

Let's listen to the poem. Federer and Nadal will recite it for you!!!

Eventually, here you have If

If you can keep your head when all about you  
    Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,  
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
    But make allowance for their doubting too;  
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
    Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
    And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;  
    If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;  
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
    And treat those two impostors just the same;  
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
    Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
    And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
    And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
    And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
    To serve your turn long after they are gone,  
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
    Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,  
    Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
    If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
    With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,  
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,  
    And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

VAN MORRISON. THE LION IS STILL ROARING.

                                                                       
                                                                         

Van Morrison, born in Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1945 is considered one of the most important singers all over the world. Having started in the world of music as the lead singer of the R&B band Them in the mid-1960s, he began his solo career with the hit single "Brown Eyed Girl" in 1967.

                                                               

Van Morrison started singing with the band "Them"

           

From that moment on, his reputation did nothing but raise with albums such as Astral Weeks(1968), Moondance (1970), which established him as a major figure, Tupelo Honey (1971), Wavelength (1978) and Into the Music (1979). These critically acclaimed albums contributed to create Morrison's classic era together with many great live performances.

                                                                       

This is the cover of one of his most important albums,
Moondance (1970)

Van Morrison has never stopped to release high quality albums, even though they were not always praised by critics. We can't forget, for example, his albums Days Like This (1995), The Healing Game (1997); Back On Top (1999) or Down The Road (2002).

                                                                       

His great live performances helped to make him a legend

The Belfast born singer is well-known for his innovative style, fusing R&B, jazz, blues and Celtic folk with his unequaled vocal style.

                                               

Van Morrison always had an unmatched voice

He has received six Grammy Awards and has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Sogwriters Hall of Fame. Some of his albums, specially Astral Weeks and Moondance are included in the list of the best All-Time albums and his influence on many other great artists has been enormous. This influence includes icons such as Bruce Springsteen or Elvis Costello, the Irish band U2, Rod Stewart, Sinead O'Connor and a neverending list of other singers and musicians.

He sang together with the best musicians in the world

It´s time now to listen to the Lion of Belfast roar. Tell us which one is your favourite.

Written by Van Morrison at only 18, this song, with its simple and memorable chorus "GLORIA", has been sung or covered by countless music giants including Jimmy Hendrix, The Doors, Patty Smith or U2.

"BROWN EYED GIRL", Morrison's catchy pop song has been played on radio more than 10 million times. Did you know that it was originally called "Brown Skinned Girl"?

"INTO THE MYSTIC", a song from the brilliant Moondance album (1970). According to Morrison himself: "The song is just about being a part of the universe".

"CARAVAN", another song from Moondance that has been a concert highlight for decades. This is the song Van Morrison sang in The Last Waltz, the concert film Martin Scorsese made about The Band in 1976.

"TUPELO HONEY", the most sublime, heartfelt and affecting love song that Morrison has ever recorded. It was written in 1971, while he was living with his first wife, Janet Rigsbee, "an angel of the first degree". "She's as sweet as Tupelo honey, just like honey, baby, from the bee".

"CRAZY LOVE", this tender and soulful 1970 ballad has been one of the most covered songs throughout the years. Ray Charles had the pleasure of inducting Van Morrison into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by singing this track with him.

"BRIGHT SIDE OF THE ROAD", this song is tribute to his mother, who had been a jazz singer. It is quite catchy and wonderfully upbeat, isn't it?

"DAYS LIKE THIS", "When all the parts of the puzzle start to seem like they fit / Then I must remember there will be days like this". Morrison was 50 when this late and optimistic song was released (1995)

"DOMINO", with this upbeat song Morrison pays tribute again to one of the greats (Fats Domino). "Domino" (1970) holds the distinction of being the singer's highest charting track ever.

"NO RELIGION", another song of the album Days Like This (1995), It is another example of the spiritual meaning of many of Van Morrison's songs.

"WILD NIGHT", written in 1971, this is one of those songs that make you think that without Van Morrison Bruce Springsteen might never have existed.

THE SHOW MUST GO ON

School year 2014/15 has already come!!!
Let us first thank all the students who have been participating in the blog all these years and, above all, those who have finished their studies at Álvaro Yáñez. Good luck to all of you!!!
Secondly, let's thank all the teachers that have been working in the blog. It is obvious that they have done a very good job and we hope that they keep on writing more posts for the school. Thanks Manuel!!
Eventually, as you can see the level in the bolg is high so we must count on you and work hard if we want to "remain the same" or, at least, if we don't want to let you down!!
Welcome back everybody!!!

CLOSING TIME

It's time for me to say goodbye. When I started to write in this blog, I could not imagine it would be so pleasing. I only hope it has also been satisfying or at least entertaining for most of you.

Not so many weeks ago, a person I really admire reminded me that what matters in life is not the final destination, but the road, the people you meet and the friends you make on it. I leave the school full of unforgettable memories.

 Thanks to all the students at Álvaro Yáñez and to all the teachers in the English Department. I have spent here six wonderful years. I'll carry all of you in my heart.

I'm sure that the blog will go on in the next years. And it would be nice to be able to participate in some way on it. As I don't like farewells, I'll post a song and a poem which speak for me.

This goodbye leaves a big hole in my heart, but as the song says: "we must carry on". Thank you for helping me fill my hole up.


                                                                     

OXFORD. MORE THAN A UNIVERSITY TOWN

Oxford is one of the most famous university towns in the world

There is no doubt that Oxford is one of the most famous university towns all over the world. It is even possible to say that most people have heard about Oxford University without being aware that it is located in a beautiful town in central southern England.

With a population of about 165.000 people, Oxford is not only its university. It has a diverse economic base, with industries including motor manufacturing, education and publishing along with many information technology and science-based businesses.

The City of The Dreaming Spires seen from a near park in Winter

Oxford is one of the most attractive places in Britain for tourists. The poet Matthew Arnold called it "The City of Dreaming Spires" and the town really lives up to such a beautiful name. It refers to the harmonius architecture of its university buildings.

Some of the main buildings in the centre of the town

However and, in spite of not being only a university town, we must recognise that Oxford would not be what it is nowadays without its university, which is the oldest in Britain and in all the British-speaking world. The city of Oxford was founded by the Saxons in the IX century. Its name, meaning "Ford of the Oxen", makes reference to an oxen crossing over the river Thames.

Bicycles are an important part of the daily life

The University of Oxford dates back to the XII century. As the University took shape, there were serious problems with the students who lived how and where they wanted and this led to laws stating that all the students would have to live in approved halls. The halls would later become the colleges around which university life has been based since then.

In this picture, you can see how a College is organised

There are 38 Colleges at present, some of them having been founded in the XIII Century, as St. Edmund Hall, University College, Merton or Balliol. Throughout its history, many people who have been Oxford students have become notable, among them 47 Nobel-prize winners (in all six categories); 26 British Prime Ministers ( Gladstone, Attlee, Thatcher, Blair or the current one, David Cameron among them). Many other international leaders have been educated in Oxford.

There are 38 colleges, like the one in the picture.

The list of the famous ex-alumni is endless: Scientists like Edwin Hubble or Stephen Hawking; writers as Oscar Wilde, Lewis Carroll, J.R.R. Tolkien, P.B. Shelley or T.S. Eliott; People related to arts like actor Hugh Grant or film director Ken Loach; economists like Adam Smith or Amartya Sen; or philosophers such as William of Ockham, Thomas Hobbes, or John Locke.

Aerial view of Oxford

As you easily see, the prestige of Oxford University is firmly established and makes it one of the most important educational institutions all over the world. It would be enough for a post on the university alone.

A ceremony at University

But we don´t want you to think that Oxford is only its university. The city is today a bustling cosmopolitan city, full of shops, commercial centres and pubs. In addition, it´s a city with a lively and vibrant cultural life with lot of museums and theatres.

The centre of the town is full of shops, pubs and restaurants

Nobody gets bored in Oxford. A University town which is much more than a University town.

MICHAEL JACKSON: HIS BEST TEN SONGS

Michael Jackson, or the "King of Pop" is considered to be one of the greatest artists of the whole twentieth century. With no doubt, Michael Jackson has become one of the most important icons of popular culture over the last four decades.

His contributions were not only to music but also to dance and fashion although quite unfortunately, he will also be remembered by the scandals that appeared along his life.

Michael Jackson will never be forgotten and neither will be the dance techniques that he popularized such as the robot or the moonwalk. His sound and style have been a great influence on later hip-hop, disco, R&B, pop and rock artists.




BILLIE JEAN

This song appeared in Jackson´s sixth solo album, Thriller (1982). This worldwide success was based on "groupies" Jackson said to have encountered along his life.

                                                       















BEAT IT

The third single of the same album, Thriller (1982). The song was promoted with a short film in which Jackson brought two gangs together thanks to the power of music and dance.

       


                                             
BLACK OR WHITE

The first single from Jackson's eighth album, Dangerous (1991) has one of the best-known guitar riffs in ythe history of pop music.

                                                         

THRILLER

This song had a 13-minute music video and was released in December 1983 and it is still considered the most influential pop music video of all time.

SMOOTH CRIMINAL

The seventh single of Jackson's 1987 Bad album. The lyrics of the song talk about a girl called Annie, who has been attacked in her appartment by a "smooth" assailant.

THE WAY YOU MAKE ME FEEL

Another single from Jackson's Bad album, this song quickly became one of his greatest hits. It showed Jacson pursuing and dancing with a woman.

             The Way You Make Me Feel

BAD

Jackson said about this song that it was influenced by a real life story he had read about. In the video-clip made by Martin Scorsese, Jackson and a group of background dancers did some dance routines in a subway station.

                                 Bad

MAN IN THE MIRROR

One of the most acclaimed songs by Michael Jackson, it contains a gospel choir and speaks about the need to change oneself first  in order to change the world later.

                      Man in the Mirror

HEAL THE WORLD

This song of 1991 showed childrem from countries suffering unrest and hunger. Jackson also created the Heal The World Foundation, a charitable organization to improve the lives of children.

                           Heal The World

YOU ARE NOT ALONE

This R&B ballad was perhaps the last hit of Michael Jackson and it was an instant commercial and critical successs. It's a fantastic song about love and isolation.

                  You are not alone

MISSISSIPPI RIVER: THE BIG RIVER THAT CROSSES AMERICA.

                                                               

The Mississippi River, one of the most famous rivers in the world, forms the largest drainage system in North America, flowing southwards along 3.730 kms. from Northern Minnesota to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico.

                                                                                 

 It is the second longest river in North America, slightly shorter than its tributary the Missouri River. At its widest point, the Mississippi River stretches out over 11 kms. in width.

                                                                   

The Mississippi River watershed is the fourth largest in the world, extending from the Allegheny Mountains in the East to the Rocky Mountains in the West and including all or parts of 31 states and two Canadian provinces.

                                                                       

It goes across ten US states: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana and it was used to define borders between them.


                                                                   

The word Mississippi comes from the French rendering of the Native American name for the river, Misiziibi, (Great River). It would not be until 1541 when the first European reached the river (Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto). Later colonization of the areas bordering the river took place in the following centuries, carried out by French and British.

                                                                     

We cannot speak about the Mississippi River without referring to the Steamboat era (between 1830 and 1870). During all these years, steamboat transport, both of passengers and of freight was a viable industry and contributed to give the river one of its most legendary images. Modern ships finished this era, which is probably the most iconic one in the history of the river.

                                                                       

                                                                     
The main cities to be crossed by the "Big River" are Minneapolis, St. Louis, Memphis or New Orleans. The first bridge across the mississippi River was built in 1855, in Minneapolis.

                                                           

View of downtown Memphis with the Hernando de Soto Bridge
over the Mississippi River

                                                      When The Levee Breaks (Led Zeppelin)

                                                                         Big River (Johnny Cash)

                                                                       

                                                             Mississippi River (JJ Cale)

                                                                    The Great Flood of 1927

AMERICAN FOLK MUSIC FROM THE 60s and 70s. DYLAN & Co.

The USA is such a big country that when we want to talk about American folk music we have to precise the period and, many times, even the 'place'. Yes, the place. This entry will deal with the great singers of the sixties and seventies, most of them songwriters as well, who lived not only in the USA but also in Canada.

BOB DYLAN (Minnesota, 1941. USA)

Robert Allen Zimmerman (Bob Dylan) is one of the greatest songwriter singers of all times. He has written more than 500 songs about politics, war, religion, human rights, loneliness, hate, love,... His lyrics are just poetry. In fact, he has been nominated for Nobel Prize in Literature and most of his hits have been recorded over and over again. It is impossible to select just one of his songs because all of them are very popular so we will pick one that we are sure you all can recognize even without knowing anything about Dylan.

Some bands such as Peter, Paul and Mary, became popular thanks to Dylan's songs, among other merits. Listen to the version of Blowing in the Wind (1962). Even when the look of the trio may seem funny, they were very trendy at that time!!!

Others, as the great Jimi Hendrix with All along the Watchtower (1967), made them number one. Legend says that when Bob Dylan listened to Hendrix, he was so astonished with the performance that he refused to play it for many years.

More or less the same happens with Like a Rolling Stone (1965), chosen the best song ever by Rolling Stone magazine. Let's listen to Their Satanic Majesties' version.

CAROLE KING (New York, 1942) and JAMES TAYLOR (Boston, 1948)

You've got a friend (1971) is one of Taylor's number one hits. In fact, the song was composed by Carole King but they have recorded it together so many times that it is very difficult to guess who the composer of the song is. The lyrics are devoted to friendship. 

The recording we have selected has been taken from the concert in 2010 at the Troubadour, the legendary club placed in L.A. where many singers from the 60s made their debut.


CARLY SIMON (New York, 1945)

Carly Elizabeth Simon rose to fame in the 70s. She has won Grammy and Academy Awards as well as Golden Globe Awards. Her best known song is You're so vain (1972) and, apart from being one of the greatest songs of the early seventies, it has become very popular as she has never revealed who the song was devoted to. Carly has never let the cat out of the bag!!!
Just one more thing, her first husband's name has already been mentioned in this post and both their children are singers!!

  
KRIS KRISTOFFERSON

Kris Kristofferson (Texas, USA, 1936) is just mentioned in this article for being the composer of Me and Bobby Mc Gee. But as you may imagine, the video we are going to select is Janis Joplin's version of it. The story of Kirstofferson, Joplin and the song belongs to the mind boggling stories that make up the mixture between the history and the legend of music.

CANADA

JONI MITCHELL (Alberta, Canada, 1943)

Roberta Joan Anderson is considered an artist in many fields: music, painting, literature,... Her songs have poetic lyrics, and listen to Mitchell singing them. It is something out of the ordinary. Her voice has got such a range of registers that I should advice: Don't try Mitchell in the Karaoke!!!! Don't try A Case of you.

GORDON LIGHTFOOT (Ontario, Canada, 1938)

Gordon Meredith Lightfoot does not have the appearance of a songwriter. At first sight, he looks like a "lorry driver", but once you listen to his songs you realise his touching lyrics go straight to your heart. We cannot finish this post without giving you chance to listen to If you could read my mind.

Eventually,  those who love this type of music can feel jammy as all of the composers mentioned in this post are still alive (and kicking!!)