Wednesday 26 October 2011
Thursday 20 October 2011
The Kingdom of Witches
The Kingdom of Witches
At the end of the world
On an island alone,
Lies a city of secrets,
Mortar and stone.
Surrounded by serpents,
Spirits and spells,
The Kingdom of Witches
In mystery dwells.
Through the dungeons and ditches,
Strange shadows and lights
Fill the nooks and the niches
With unearthly sights.
Sultans and sages
From Karth and Darbeen,
Seek the counsel and favor
Of the Witch King and Queen.
Squadrons of crones
On brooms to and fro,
Fly cackling on errands
To the city below.
Each witch house and hut
Holds thrills, chills, and frights,
And plots, pits, and perils,
On long witchy nights.
So, if you would learn
Of each hex, curse, and potion,
And the march of the dead
At the end of the ocean
Then set you a course
To where no compass tells,
And the Kingdom of Witches
In mystery dwells.
Halloween's Short History
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The word Halloween comes from the ancient Celtic expression All Hollows Eve, that is: the night before the Day of the Dead.
The Celtic people lived in the areas which are now Great Britain and Northern France more than 2,000 years ago.
November 1 was considered New Year’s Day, among the Celts and this holiday was called Samhain, honouring Samhain who was the lord of the dead and of the cold, dark winter season.
The Celts believed that on All Hollows Eve night the spirits of all those who had died come back in search of living bodies to possess for the next year. So they built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices; and dressed up in scary costumes and run through the streets holding torches and making noise to confuse the spirits.
Halloween is an old tradition in Ireland and Scotland. In those countries, people dressed up and carried lanterns made of turnips. When people moved from Ireland and Scotland to the United States in the 1840’s, they started using pumpkins because there were no turnips in The United States. This is where the Jack O’Lantern tradition comes from.
Halloween Vocabulary
If you want to learn the main vocabulary for the Halloween Holiday, take a look at this presentation:
The Witch and the Cat (Halloween Story)
Once upon a time a cat fell in love with a handsome young man. The cat went to a witch and asked her to change her into a pretty young woman, so that she might marry the young man.
The witch agreed, for she cared nothing for the young man, nor whom he married.
The cat, who was now a pretty girl, moved into the cottage next to the young man's home and soon they were engaged to be married.
However, the boy's mother, who knew something of witchcraft, did not like the girl. She did not like her green eyes which had black slits like cat's eyes, instead of round pupils as ordinary humans have.
The mother suspected that the girl was really a cat and told her son. However, he would hear nothing against his sweetheart and said his mother was merely jealous.
Determined that her son should not marry a cat, the mother waited until the whole family was seated in the parlour, then she let loose a mouse to run across the room. Immediately the girl, forgetting she was a young lady and only remembering her cat's feelings, pounced on the mouse and shook it in her mouth.
Then the young man believed the girl was a cat and the marriage did not take place; and the girl went back to being a cat and took up her old ways...
Halloween On-line Games
If you want to have fun this Halloween, just click on the links and try a lot of on-line games at:
Halloween Orange
A different way to carve a scary Halloween decoration. Try if you want, the results are impressive!
Wednesday 19 October 2011
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs (Chicago, February 23, 1875 – Encino, March 19, 1950) was an American novelist; creator of Tarzan, Burroughs also published science fiction and crime novels. Burroughs often portrayed Africans, Arabs or Asians as evil or comic, but the stories contain elements that have kept them 'politically correct'.
For more information about the biography of Edgar Rice Burroughs, check these links:
Tarzan of the Apes (Plot)
Tarzan of the Apes is the first of twenty-four novels in the Tarzan/Adventures of Lord Greystoke series by Sir Edgar Rice Burroughs.
Tarzan was born in the African jungle to Lord John and Lady Alice Clayton. After the death of his parents, Tarzan was taken and raised by the ape Kala. Tarzan grew knowing nothing of his "human" life, always thinking that he was an ape. With the help of the books and tools left in what was once the hut where Tarzan's parents lived, he was able to teach himself to read and write, but not to speak.
Years later, an American gentleman and his daughter Jane visited the jungle in hopes of finding buried treasure. Instead, they found Tarzan, who worked to protect them. The Americans and other men in their group did not stay long, they returned to America. Tarzan was so in love with Jane that he followed her to America and once again protected her, but he returned to the jungle when Jane decided to marry another man.
Thursday 13 October 2011
Washington Irving
Washington Irving was an American short story writer, essayist, and biographer who lived between 1783 and 1859.
One of his most famous stories is The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, a small American valley at the beginning of the 19th century, where the superstitious people like to tell strange tales about witches and ghosts. This story follows the schoolteacher, Ichabod Crane, as he falls in love with the beautiful Katrina Van Tassel and tries to separate her from his rival, Brom Bones, until one night Ichabod disappears pursued by a headless horseman.
One of his most famous stories is The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, a small American valley at the beginning of the 19th century, where the superstitious people like to tell strange tales about witches and ghosts. This story follows the schoolteacher, Ichabod Crane, as he falls in love with the beautiful Katrina Van Tassel and tries to separate her from his rival, Brom Bones, until one night Ichabod disappears pursued by a headless horseman.
For more information about the biography of Washington Irving, check these links:
Friday 7 October 2011
Thursday 6 October 2011
The Union Jack
This image shows you the evolution of the British flag.
The Union Flag, popularly known as the Union Jack, is the national flag of the United Kingdom. It is the British flag. It is called the Union Flag because it symbolises the administrative union of the countries of the United Kingdom. It is made up up of the individual Flags of three of the Kingdom's countries all united under one Sovereign - the countries of England,Scotland and Northern Ireland (since 1921 only Northern Ireland has been part of the United Kingdom). As Wales was not a Kingdom but a Principality it could not be included on the flag.
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