This old Christmas song was the hightlight of the Home Alone movies and lifted the spirits of a generation of kids as Kevin got ready for his 'visitors'.
Rockin' around the Christmas tree
And another one for good measure. Before people were doing the rock 'n roll, they were jiving.
MERRY CHRISTMAS ! Happy dancing!
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| José, Ascen and Biddy |
Bye and best wishes as José, Ascen and Biddy turn over the running of the association to the new board.
We are happy to congratulate Laura, Juan and Jesús as they assume their new roles.
The Film Festival For Human Rights will take place in El Teatro Adolfo Marsillach in San Sebastián De Los Reyes from Nov 24 until Nov 27.
This window on the world is an opportunity to learn about life in different countries and here in Spain and about the great difficulties some people have to surmount.The festival starts with La Vida Era Eso on Wednesday 24th Nov. The director of this film David Martin de los Santos and the actress Petra Martínez will be there for a colloquy with the audience at 19:45h.
See our facebook page for the programme or go by la Universidad Popular, Avda Baunatal, San Sebastián De Los Reyes and pick up the brochure about this event.
Cine Doré Madrid 29th November 2021 at 20h.
The Irish Embassy in Madrid is hosting an
event to mark International Human Rights Day with the screening of the Irish
film The Queen Of Ireland (with Spanish subtitles) on 29th November,
a documentary about the most famous Irish Drag Queen Pantibliss.
This widely acclaimed film explores the
history of Drag Queens in Ireland and the advancement of LGBTQ rights in
Ireland.
The event is supported by The Irish Film
Institute, The Arts Council of Ireland and Culture Ireland.
Register for tickets
Contact us for more information
asedow@gmail.com
Many will be making travel plans while we are being cautioned to stay in our bubble as the only effective way to fight climate change as well as COVID.
Maybe that is why on top of the security measures adopted in the face of terrorism we now have to add all the proper travel precautions to stop the pandemic from spreading...to make travel as difficult and unpleasant as possible.
Add to that the tricky negotiations at the airport where cabifies, ubers and private cars all have to vie for the same space to pick up and drop off passenger, leading to frayed nerves.
Let's hope that 2022 will be the year that sensible measures will be taken and that there will be a breakthrough at long last in clean energy which will allow us to cross continents as freely and harmlessly as the birds in the sky.
Exposición Sala Martín ChirinoAUTORES Agrupación Fotográfica San Sebastián de los Reyes
Del 5 al 27 de
octubre de 2021
You will find this beautiful exhibition on the ground floor of
La Universidad Popular
San Sebastián De Los Reyes
Metro Baunatal
Don't miss it!
In the same building on the first floor you will find us enjoying a lively discussion on Wednesdays at 18:30h.
Just knock on the door and ask for information. We will we happy to oblige.
There are books in English that you can borrow, DVDs too. We organize walks and talks.
If you are looking for a pleasant environment where English is spoken, this is the place for you.
All for an annual fee of 15€
Or if you prefer, write to us at asedow@gmail.com
It is interesting to note that the population of robin redbreasts in Spain increases with the wintering birds that visit from Northern Europe. Here in Spain this bird is the bringer of good news so when you see one you can be sure it has been sent by a loved one from afar to say hello. Possibly for that same reason they are on Christmas cards and stamps all over Europe.
Our good news is that on Wednesday September 22nd we will renew our weekly conversations. Same place same time
Universidad Popular
Sanse
18h to 20h
Eighteen months later there are signs that life is getting back to normal and one is that we have been given permission by the local authorities to renew our weekly get togethers in La Universidad Popular San Sebastián De Los Reyes from September 15th on.
If you want to join us to talk about everything under the sun, you will find us there every Wednesday from 18h to 20h.
Our email address is asedow@gmail.com
😃
From September 10th to September 26th 2021 indulge in a trip to Madrid's beautiful city centre. Make your way to the sumptuous Retiro Park and you will stumble on The Madrid Book Fair.
The wonderful blue skies and the beauty of the area will make your trip worthwhile, even if you do not get to meet your favourite author. This year there will be a very strict protocol.and you need to check the times and place on the Book Fair's website.
https://www.ferialibromadrid.com/feria-2021/firmas-2021/
TOKYO 2020
The Olympic
Games of 2020 are being celebrated from July 23rd until August 8th 2021 due to the
pandemic that has affected our lives worldwide. It is a welcome change to have
news headlines celebrating our glorious youth. Each day the countrymen and women
of big and small nations see that dreams can come true.
A case in point is the Olympic silver medal in taekwondo that seventeen year old Adriana Cerezo is bringing home to Alcalá de Henares, Spain which happens to be the birthplace of Miguel de Cervantes.
It is an incredible achievement for such a young girl. The Hankuk International School of Taekwondo San Sebastián De Los Reyes where she trains must be very proud of this remarkable success.
To compete in the Olympic Games is to be among
the world’s elite, an achievement in itself but to win a medal is awesome.
With hard
work, joy and dedication, believing is
seeing.
Children who love this sport will be inspired
to follow her footsteps.
Others will be inspired to follow their dreams.
El orgullo no esta en Cuarentena 2021 - YouTube
La Embajada de Australia y la Embajada de Irlanda en Madrid os invita al evento virtual 'El Orgullo no está en cuarentena' el 24 junio a las 17:00h
The conversation will be in Spanish.
We thank the two Embassies for showing their support of individual rights.
A walk in La Dehesa Boyal
Wednesday
16th June 10:a.m.
Meeting Point: Punto
de Encuentro La Dehesa Boyal Sports
Centre
San Sebastián De Los
Reyes
Las charlas y los paseos han sido muy bien acogidos.
Las Lecturas Compartidas nos acercaron a la
literatura inglesa, irlandesa, americana y africana y tuvimos la suerte de
estar acompañados por personas de diferentes países que teníamos en común
nuestro amor por la lectura. Esto contribuyó a lograr más socios.
Los Pub Quiz
Aprender
compitiendo y disfrutando en un bar de la localidad con preguntas de
conocimiento general con premios incluidos. Una diversión más.
Salidas
En Madrid tenemos la suerte de tener actores que montan obras en el idioma inglés en distintos teatros y el apoyo y la colaboración de la Embajada Irlandesa que nos informa de distintas iniciativas culturales durante el año. Hemos aprovechado para que nuestros socios tengan conocimiento de estos eventos y de la oferta cultural interesante de nuestra localidad San Sebastián De Los Reyes. Nuestros socios nos han sugerido visitar exhibiciones preciosas y lugares de interés.
Las Subvenciones
Nos
hemos reunido con distintas autoridades locales durante este tiempo y nos han apoyado.
Hemos recibido varias subvenciones, pero hemos comprobado que el dinero no es tan necesario como la buena voluntad de la gente para nuestras iniciativas. No hemos creado puestos de trabajo sino un espacio de ocio. Si fuera trabajo, no habríamos disfrutado tanto. Muchísimas gracias a todos por acompañarnos.
And here are the results of The Eurovision Song Contest 2021.
A rock band from Italy came first singing Zitti e buoni
France came second with a a song called Voilà.
Switzerland came third with Tout l'Univers.
The official languages of Switzerland are French, German and Italian and they have a fourth language, Romansh but this beautiful song was sung in French.
The last time Spain did very well in Eurovision was in 1995 when Anabel Conde came second in Ireland singing Ven, ven, vuelve conmigo.
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| Trophy |
In the 1970s a song called The Israelites by Desmond Dekker and the Aces became a big hit. The singer from Jamaica came on the scene with a reggae sound. The sadness and disappointment many of us feel watching the horrendous images on TV prompted me to see what the song The Israelites was about.
It turns out that Rastafarians consider themselves one of the lost tribes of Israel.
In the midst of all the horror some good news.
If only they were the intermediaries to find a middle ground where Palestinians and Israelis could reach a long lasting peace. If only they could all get together. If only they could open their hearts and their ears and let the words of Bob Marley and the Wailers sink in.
The Eurovision Song
Contest 2021 will be held on Saturday May 22nd 2021 and singers
from many countries choose to sing in English. With globalization English is
the new lingua franca or bridge language just as Latin and Greek were in the
past.
What is surprising is
that the option of putting subtitles to the song in this day and age has not
been explored at all.
Hearing other
languages is very exotic and the European Song Contest is a showcase for our
diversity.
It would be a more inclusive approach for each
country to put the subtitles of the songs in their own language.
Maybe the lyrics would
influence the voting, as they should.
It is a missed opportunity if people are not even given the chance to hear other languages.In the past the host countries used their own language, English and French. Let's hope it will be the same in Rotterdam this year as in the semi finals we only heard English.
Wolfwalkers was nominated for an Oscar this year.
Wolfwalkers / Espiritú de lobo did not win the Oscar but no one can take away the achievement of reaching such heights.
It s a beautifully illustrated storybook of a film.
There is a remarkable exhibition of ink paintings by Francisco Goya in La Universidad Popular de San Sebastián De Los Reyes depicting terrible scenes from the early 19th century.
We have etchings from the Disasters of War and his acidic criticism of the foolishness of the society he lived in from Los Caprichos.
The focus of this exhibition which ends on April 23rd is on women, in many cases the terrible suffering of women.
The seanchaí or story teller was always a very welcome guest in Ireland and families would sit around and listen enthralled to his stories.They were the custodians of ancient lore and tales of wisdom.
Whether it is a gift or a technique, there is no doubt that story telling is pure entertainment and today we have the opportunity to enjoy stories in Spanish at the local library.
Biblioteca Marcos Ana
Metro Baunatal
Friday 16th April 2021 at 19:30h
Easter is a movable feast governed by the first full
moon after 21st March.
The first Sunday after that full moon is Easter
Sunday, between the two extreme dates of 22nd March and 25th
April.
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| Picture by Peter Mc Kee |
HELP IS ON
ITS WAY
Vaccines which have been approved to protect against
COVID 19 are being rolled out.
There is an international commitment to deliver
vaccines to low and middle income countries that comprise 60% of the world
population. The term they use is COVAX which
stands for Covid Vaccines Access.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVAX
The ACT
Accelerator Its aim is to accelerate access to tests, treatment
and vaccines.
