WELCOME TO PRISON

Source: www.speakup.com.br
Standard British accent
Language level: A2 INTERMEDIATE

WELCOME TO PRISON

This month we experienced life in one of London’s most notorious prisons: The Clink, located in the South Bank district, was a medieval prison infamous for its horrific torture machines.

UNDERGROUND

Where is the Clink? The nearest underground station is London Bridge: this is on the Jubilee and Northern lines. Visitors emerge from the underground station to see the London Dungeon attraction across the road. Ignore the long queues outside the London Dungeon, and walk west to Montague Close. Go past Southwark Cathedral and the recreation on the 16^th century ship, the Golden Hind, and take the narrow back passage named Clink Street. On the left, there is the entrance to the Clink prison. Go through the door and take the dark stairs down to cells bellow. A terrible cry comes from above visitors’ heads as they descend the stairs: it’s a man imprisoned in a metal cage!

INSTRUMENTS OF TORTURE

Was the Clink really a terrible place? Today visitors can walk through the candle lit cells and examine the torture devices which once terrorised prisoners. There’s the whipping post, where prisoners were chained and whipped. Then there’s the torture chair and the thief catcher –a mysterious long metal stick with three hooks. There’s a chastity belt and a horrific “boot,” or foot crusher. Prisoners were forced to put on this boot, which was then filled with water or oil and pieces of wood. The prison keeper the heated the boot and…

HORRIBLE HISTORY

The Clink was used from the 12^th until 18^th century. It was part of Winchester Palace, the home of the powerful Bishop of Winchester. The district, now called Southwark, was famous for its brothels and prostitutes in medieval times. In fact the prison was one of the first to hold women prisoners. Visitors to the Clink can learn the many terrible stories of these times.

SHAKESPEARE

After this traumatic experience, it’s time to relax. Vinopolis is just a minute’s walk away. It offers wine tours with wines from all over the world. Afterwards you can visit other medieval attraction: the recreation of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. It offers guided tours and the chance to see Shakespeare’s plays in an open-air medieval theatre.

LIFE IN THE CLINK

Life in “The Clink” was brutal. Punishments in the prison included torture, solitary confinement and a diet of bread and water. Prison officers beat the prisoners with canes, and used chains to stop them sleeping. Murder was common. Yet prisoners with money, or friends outside, often paid the prison officers to improve their conditions. The officers provided rooms, beds, candles and food for a good price. They also accepted payments to allow prisoners outside to work.

The prison was destroyed in 1450 when angry protesters burnt the building down and killed the prison officials. The rebellion was defeated and a new prison constructed. In 1530 Henry VIII legalised the boiling of women in oil –the punishment for killing a husband. In the 16^th and 17^th centuries the prison was used for both Protestant and Catholic dissenters – many starved to death. A group of Puritans who survived the prison travelled to America on the Mayflower in 1620. The prison was finally destroyed in 1780 by religious protesters.

ADDRESSES

The Clink

1 Clink Street, London SE1 9DG Admission prices: Adult £5, Children £3,50 http://www.clink.co.uk .

Vinopolis

1 Bank End, London, SE1 9BU Tel: +44 (0) 20 7940 8320 

http://www.vinopolis.co.uk .

Shakespeare’s Globe

21 New Globe Walk London, SE1 9DT Tel: +44  (0) 7903 5970

http://www.shakespeares-globe.org .

VILLAGE PEOPLE, ENGLAND

Recomendo esta excelent revista para professores e alunos, preços acessíveis. Para mais informações entre em contato com o site e comece a praticar o idioma hoje mesmo. 

I recommend this awesome magazine for teachers and students, affordable prices. For more info keep in touch through http://www.maganews.com.br/ and take out a subscription and getting started to practise the language right now.

Source: MAGANEWS

When people think of England, many automatically think of London. Here Andrew Fox takes a look at life in a typical English village

   There are many times when people ask me, an Englishman, why I came to Brazil. It is a reasonable question, but normally the way it is asked gives the impression that I did something either very adventurous, or just weird. The real question seems to be, “Why on earth did you want to leaveEngland?”

   I cannot answer that question here, but I can tell you that I did not leave a life of high-energy excitement in the center of London. Many people equate England with London, but this is like thinking that Brazil and the Amazon are one and the same.

    Last April I went back to England for the first time in over seven years. I stayed in Clarborough, a very small village a few miles outside a very small market town called Retford, in the north ofNottinghamshire County.  Let me tell you a bit about life in a place like this.

Things to do

Not much. Activities are limited to walking the dog, running around fields, or going to either the pub or church (or one, then the other). Churches and pubs are the main focal points of village life, often being found near to each other. Clarborough has the Chesterfield canal running through it, so you can sit next to that and feed the ducks and swans, and take in the air. Relaxation is an art that has to be practiced.

Traffic and Transport

Not a problem. Villages do not have very large populations – Clarborough is home to 1,100 people – so even in the rush hour, it does not get very busy. Having said that, cars are almost indispensable, as bus services tend to be irregular.  

Housing

You will not find any apartments in Clarborough, or any villages like it. England in general is not part of the apartment culture, and people live predominantly in houses of varying sizes and descriptions. A typical house will have 3 bedrooms and is 76 square meters in area. Of course, there are large variations.

 People

All village people are the same: cautiously friendly. Crime is not a huge problem, but it certainly does exist and the days of leaving front doors open and people being happily carefree about personal security are long-gone. There are “Neighborhood Watch” areas in which neighbors are constantly keeping their eyes open for strangers. This is the result of sparse police numbers in rural areas, making neighbors more reliant on each other for early signs of possible problems. One thing is for sure, if you are new in a village, it does not take long for the local residents to hear about you.

Article and Pictures – by *Andrew Fox -

www.maganews.com.br

(*Andrew nasceu na Inglaterra e vive no Brasil há mais de 12 anos, onde trabalha como professor, tradutor e também como redator, revisor e colaborador da Revista Maganews)

Vocabulary

1 reasonable - razoável
2 weird - estranho

3 to equate – aqui = igualar uma coisa com outra coisa

4 a few miles – a algumas milhas

5 county – região

6 pub – típico bar inglês

7 church – igreja

8 Chesterfield canal – rio

9 duck – pato

10 swan – cisne

11 to take in the air - respirar

12 housing – habitação / moradia

13 bedroom – quarto

14 square meter – metro quadro

15 cautiously friendly – cautelosamente amigável

16 front door – porta da frente

17 carefree – tranquilo / despreocupado

18 long-gone – exp.idiom. – há muito tempo (já é passado)

19 neighborhood watch – vigilância do bairro

20 sparse – escasso / pouca (o)

21 reliant - confiante

St. George for England

Source: www.speakup.com.br

Language level: Intermediate

Standard: British accent

Speaker: Justin Ratcliff

St. George for England!

Most people would recognise the English flag, with its red cross on a White background. Some might also know that this is the cross of St. George, the patron saint of England, but how many would know anything about the history of St. George? The flag was an important symbol to the early Christian crusaders, says John Clemence, chairman of the Royal Society of St. George, but St. George really only became part of England thanks to King Henry V:

John Clemence

(Standard English accent):

In my more flippant moments, with regard to St. George, I always refer to him as a very early example of political spin because you see, George became the patron saint of England in 1415, at the time of the Battle of Agincourt. Now we were having a little bit of trouble with France at the time – I mean what changes! – and Henry decided that probably, well I like to suggest that he thought that the patron saints that we’d held before that were a bit of wimps, considering the pressure we were under at that time, and he wanted to look for a more militant saint, one that would more easily identify with allegedly English values. And St. George had appeared in our pantheon of saints from the earlier experience of those who went on the crusades. And he was always held to be a very fair-minded character, in (a) military since he was considered to, not only be fair, but to very brave and he had this reputation of giving his riches away to the poor, which he did before in fact he was beheaded for challenging the then Emperor’s Diocletian’s, request, or requirement, that Christianity cease and that all Roman citizens return to Roman values. So there were a lot of things there about him that then appealed at that time and he’s been our patron saint ever since.

AND THE DRAGON?

Little is known of the real-life St. George. As in the case with King Arthur, the modern-day myth is probably an amalgam of different historical figures. It is probable, however, that he came from the Near East, or Middle East. It is said that George was skilled cavalryman in the roman army who rebelled against the emperor and consequently lost his head on 23^rd April, 303 AD.

Hundreds of years later, obscure George became St. George, and his legend began to spread across the world. The most powerful part of the story is undoubtedly the tale of heroic St. George fighting and killing a dangerous dragon and rescuing a beautiful princess, although this is undoubtedly apocryphal.

St. George has never been a high-ranking saint. In 1969, the Catholic Church even downgraded St. George to the lowest category of saints! Nevertheless, he remains patron saint in many countries, including Georgia, Greece and Germany, as well as Lithuania, Palestine and Portugal. St. George is also the patron saint of riders, soldiers and archers, farmers, butchers and Boy Scouts. Wherever he was really born, St. George was certainly not English and never set foot in England. Perhaps this explains why St. George’s Day (23^rd April) has never become as popular with the English as St Patrick’s Day is with the Irish. Or is it just natural English modesty and reserve? There is another factor: the English flag has too often been associated with a more aggressive side of Englishness. But that is changing, says John Clemence:

John Clemence:


Well, I would have hoped that we’d got well past that stage. Yes, of course, it was associated with hooliganism abroad and so on, but only two or three years ago we had the Commonwealth Games here and England, like it or lump it, England puts a team in and they need their own flag and what was very interesting at those games is that you would see people of all religions and backgrounds in this country wrapping themselves in the flag at the success o the game. And that was very encouraging. It’s often said to me that  political movements, British National Party or whatever, run around threatening everybody with the flag of St. George. They don’t, actually they run around with union flag! So it’s unfair, in a way. It may suit one or two politicians not to see a rise of English consciousness, given that the United Kingdom is devolved, but that’s a different matter, but the flying of a flag to say that you’re English cannot be offensive.

More info: (no audio)

The Royal Society of St. George aims to foster a love of England and to spread an understanding of English history, traditions and ideals. Its patron is Queen Elizabeth II and the society currently has 107 branches worldwide including Brazil, in Rio de Janeiro! www.royalsocietyofstgeorge.com . 

Village People

    It's a wonderful and colourful magazine, I recommend it for Students and Teachers from Brazil, the content is bilingual Portuguese/English for more info please check it out http://www.maganews.com.br and take out the subscription, affordable price.

Source: MAGANEWS.  

Village People

When people think of England, many automatically think of London. Here Andrew Fox takes a look at life in a typical English village

   There are many times when people ask me, an Englishman, why I came to Brazil. It is a reasonable question, but normally the way it is asked gives the impression that I did something either very adventurous, or just weird. The real question seems to be, “Why on earth did you want to leaveEngland?”

   I cannot answer that question here, but I can tell you that I did not leave a life of high-energy excitement in the center of London. Many people equate England with London, but this is like thinking that Brazil and the Amazon are one and the same.

    Last April I went back to England for the first time in over seven years. I stayed in Clarborough, a very small village a few miles outside a very small market town called Retford, in the north ofNottinghamshire County.  Let me tell you a bit about life in a place like this.

Things to do

Not much. Activities are limited to walking the dog, running around fields, or going to either the pub or church (or one, then the other). Churches and pubs are the main focal points of village life, often being found near to each other. Clarborough has the Chesterfield canal running through it, so you can sit next to that and feed the ducks and swans, and take in the air. Relaxation is an art that has to be practiced.  

Traffic and Transport

Not a problem. Villages do not have very large populations – Clarborough is home to 1,100 people – so even in the rush hour, it does not get very busy. Having said that, cars are almost indispensable, as bus services tend to be irregular.  

Housing

You will not find any apartments in Clarborough, or any villages like it. England in general is not part of the apartment culture, and people live predominantly in houses of varying sizes and descriptions. A typical house will have 3 bedrooms and is 76 square meters in area. Of course, there are large variations.

 People

All village people are the same: cautiously friendly. Crime is not a huge problem, but it certainly does exist and the days of leaving front doors open and people being happily carefree about personal security are long-gone. There are “Neighborhood Watch” areas in which neighbors are constantly keeping their eyes open for strangers. This is the result of sparse police numbers in rural areas, making neighbors more reliant on each other for early signs of possible problems. One thing is for sure, if you are new in a village, it does not take long for the local residents to hear about you. 

Article and Pictures – by *Andrew Fox -

www.maganews.com.br

(*Andrew nasceu na Inglaterra e vive no Brasil há mais de 12 anos, onde trabalha como professor, tradutor e também como redator, revisor e colaborador da Revista Maganews)

Vocabulary

1 reasonable - razoável

2 weird - estranho

3 to equate – aqui = igualar uma coisa com outra coisa

4 a few miles – a algumas milhas

5 county – região

6 pub – típico bar inglês

7 church – igreja

8 Chesterfield canal – rio

9 duck – pato

10 swan – cisne

11 to take in the air - respirar

12 housing – habitação / moradia

13 bedroom – quarto

14 square meter – metro quadro

15 cautiously friendly – cautelosamente amigável

16 front door – porta da frente

17 carefree – tranquilo / despreocupado

18 long-gone – exp.idiom. – há muito tempo (já é passado)

19 neighborhood watch – vigilância do bairro

20 sparse – escasso / pouca (o)

21 reliant - confiante

A Secret part of England

Source: www.speakup.com.br

Language level: Advanced

Standard: British accent

A SECRET PART OF ENGLAND

IF you’re looking for an original way to see the English countryside, then we suggest you should rent a narrowboat and spend a few days travelling along part of the country’s extensive canal system. And you might want to visit the village of Stoke Bruerne in Northamptonshire, which has a canal instead of high street. The village is home to Lynda Payton, who explains how she first discovered England’s inland waterways:

Lynda Payton

Standard: British accent:

I discovered the canals in the late ‘60s, when I was still at school, and I lived in London and we had a photographic project and London was changing a lot then because it was, you know, post-war, a lot of building going on and a lot things disappearing, and I discovered there was a canal running very close to where I lived. And I never knew what a canal was. And I set out to photograph it before it disappeared because that’s what was happening, it was being built over. And by doing that, I suddenly discovered there was this sort of entirely different parallel universe, where there were all these waterways going off to different parts of the country and it was just totally separate from the rest of life, if you like, and no one knew about it. It was like discovering a secret part of England, really, and I soon, in researching it, for this school project, discovered that it was full of history and heritage and industrial archaeology and it was a fascinating place to be.

ANOTHER WORLD

I you take a canal holiday, you will only travel a few miles, as the pace is very slow but, as waterways enthusiast Brian Collings explains, that is a big part of the attraction:

Brian Collings

Standard: British accent

You don’t realize just how much you’ve unwound until you get off your boat and try and cross a dual carriageway, to get to the chip shop: you suddenly realize how much in the slow lane. There’s so much to enjoy as well, whatever your interests are, whether it be historical, wildlife, nature, or just leisure, or even getting from one pub to the next! It’s all there for you. And the beauty, again, you go along, and you go from one bridge to the next, you go round the next corner and the view is completely different. You see the world from a completely different point of view.

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Winchester

Source: Speak Up

Language level: Basic

Standard: American accent

Winchester

Winchester, a beautiful city in the south of England, will host Mayfest 2007 from May 11^th to 20^th. This is a folk festival with dancing, music and street entertainment. Saturday 19^th is a day for the family. You can take part in workshops about Ceildh, a Scottish form of dancing, and learn to write songs, sing and dance. On Saturday there will be a service at the United Church, followed by a Blue session at a pub along the banks of the River Itchen.

SONGS AND FILMS

Winchester’s most famous attraction is the Cathedral. In 1996 the New Vaudeville Band even recorded a hit song, “Winchester Cathedral,” which was later sung by Frank Sinatra and Petula Clark. You can visit the Cathedral’s beautiful gardens, climb the tower for spectacular views, or explore the crypt. Some of the scenes in Ron Howard’s film The Da Vince Code, were shot here, so you can see the Cathedral’s exhibition “Cracking the Code,” were shot here, a tour of images and icons similar to those mentioned in the book.

WRITERS AND PLACES

Next visit the 12^th century Great Hall, the last remnant of Winchester Castle, and see its legendary Arthurian Round Table. After that you can follow Keats Walk along the River Itchen past the buildings that inspired his poem “Ode to Autumn:” these include Winchester College, Wolvesey Palace and St Cross Hospital. Another famous writer, Jane Austen, lived at Chawton House, where she wrote the novel Pride and Prejudice. Today it is a museum. You can visit her grave at Winchester Cathedral. 

winchester Mayfest:

For more info visit: http://www.winmayfest.co.uk

E-mail: info@winmayfest.co.uk

Tickets available from:

Box Office, The Theatre

Royal Winchester

Tel: 0044(0)1962 84040

Winchester Cathedral

Visit: http://www.winchester-cathedral.org.uk

Tel: 0044(0) 1962 857225

Jane Aunten's House

Chawton, Alton, Hampshire

GU341SD, England

Tel: 0044 (0) 1420 83262