Tag Archives: writing

Justo’s DIY Cathedral

Students' Corner,

Sent by Manuel Torga Rubio

I remember when we were studying unit 2, we talked about Rock Gardens of Candigarh in India and the name of Justo Gallego , a man from Mejorada del Campo,sprang to mind. He is believed to be a madman.He was born in 1925 and wanted to be a priest but when he was at the monastery, he came down with a serious illness and he was made redundant. Afterwards, he promised his mother to build a cathedral, to the greater glory of his God. He sold family’s lands and began to build the cathedral without an architect’s university degree.Everybody in the village laughed at him but he had a” can do” attitude, an eye for detail and he was passionate about his new job, he was keen on doing his labour of love.
Anyway, he used bits of rubbish from the buildings sites, waste material, bricks, lumps of concrete, girders; he recycled anything he could find, he had his daily job satisfaction as a workaholic. When he finished his money, he started to receive money from his neighbours. For more than 40 years he has dedicated all his physical efforts to fulfilling that vow, canvassing local support, donations and eventually some people helped him doing voluntary work When his buildings started to become real then some people changed their mind about him. Actually, he was building a cathedral, similar to other cathedrals.
In the end, he represents the perseverance, the idea that all you wish for can happen, you must onlt work hard. I was there and I know that´s true….
Cheer up, Don Justo!!!

Do you think it’s good to be an only child?

Students' Corner,

This article has been sent by Ana Rebollo. Thanks a lot.
There´s always some good and bad in everything. I´m an only child and I think that the main advantage is that if you are an only child your parents are able to provide you with all the needs, financial or otherwise. And they can afford a really good education for you. You don´t have to share your toys or wear hand-me-downs and you always have your own room. But on the downside, only children tend to be spoiled getting everything they want because parents don´t have to divide among other kids. Only children get the full attention of their parents and that can create self-centredness and that could be a problem in the future because they would not be able to accept other points of view. I think when you are an only child you are more independent and more mature as they often only have adults at home to socialize with. One of the advantages of being an only child is that you don´t have anybody to fight with and you are never compared to a brother or sister. However, it can be boring when there is nobody else to play with when your parents are too busy to entertain you so sometimes only children can be quite lonely. I think that if you have siblings you are more sociable and you can learn how to get along with people a bit more easily and you also learn to share, not to be selfish and to put yourself in someone

Piano Man

Music, Students' Corner,

Sent by Mario Pelaez, one of my students. Thanks a lot, Mario.

“I’ve liked this song since I was a child” Mario says. It was released in 1973. The title track is one of Joel’s signature tracks and a seminal song in piano rock. It remains a concert standard, and is the source of Joel’s nickname, Piano man.

About the song…well, I think it’s so moving. It’s a song about people who are disappointed with a part of their lives, about people who still believe in their dreams even thought they haven’t been able to make them come true, and the central character of the song is the pianist, the “piano man”, who plays to alleviate their pain, to make them forget about their lives for a while…

Roald Dahl

Listening, , , ,

Roald Dahl was one of the world’s most beloved children’s authors. Not only did he create such memorable characters as Willy Wonka, Danny the Champion of the World and The BFG, but he also had a very successful career writing short stories for adults. Many of his stories, such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach, have become classics in their own time.

He was born in Llandaff, Wales. His parents were Norwegian. He did not have a very happy time at school. As soon as he could, he went abroad, first to Newfoundland at 18, and then to East Africa, to train with the Shell Oil Company.
In World War Two Dahl became a Royal Air Force pilot, fighting Italian planes over the Libyan Desert. He started writing after his plane was shot down, and the description of this adventure was so successful that he became a full-time writer in the US.
He was a successful screenplay writer, working on movies like James Bond’s You Only Live Twice. Dahl moved back to England in 1960’s.
If you want more information about this author, click here to visit his website, one of the funniest I’ve ever visited.

http://www.roalddahl.com/

There is also a listening activity which you might want to try in my website. Click here

Designer Clothes

General, Students' Corner,

Sent by Estela Ramon Garcia, 4th year student


First and foremost, I have to say that I’m not the kind of girl who is hooked on shopping and on designer clothes because I’m convinced that you don’t have to wear brand clothes to be dressed up or to be cool, actually, a lot of brand items aren’t cool at all. I mean, usually, while I’m looking through some magazines I realise how spaced-out film stars are, because they put on such ugly gear that they look really scruffy and badly-dressed, don’t they?
On the one hand , having brand clothes is surpassing the boundaries because as far as I know, there are people who blow their money on buying these clothes instead of saving it for a rainy day, and in the end they are broke. From my point of view they just do this to boast and pretend they are wealthy.
On the other hand there are well-off people who can afford to purchase these trendy clothes because of their huge wages. This kind of people usually splash out their money on having everything from a designer name. I believe that people usually fall into the mistake of thinking that if you don’t have expensive clothes you are laid-back and not cool at all. Nevertheless, the truth is the opposite thing, because you are more likely to be spaced out and spoiled if you have loads of expensive things. In my opinion, this sort of people isn’t cool or fashionable , they are posh.
To me being posh it’s not just buying designer clothes, it’s the way you behave, the thoughts and feelings you have…it’s everything! I have to say that as far as I’m concerned purchasing brand gear doesn’t make me posh or spoiled because I’m really down-to earth and sensible and I know that I’m not cooler because I wear one thing or the other. Besides, I often go shopping to unknown places, although to be honest, I have to say that I usually tend to be appealed by brand clothes because I like their designers much more than the bargains I come across in cheap shops, so that’s the reason why I have some fancy gear.
To sum up ,I have to say that in my case, I go for trendy clothes because I like to be cute and dressed up, and I can’t help going window shopping, but this doesn’t mean having everything from a well-known brand. I believe that is a complete waste of money buying a plain shirt which costs you a rip-off and you pay through the nose just because it has a tiny label on it. In these cases I would rather buy one in an unknown shop or at least during sales.