Happy Talk

 TOKYO 2020

The Olympic Games of 2020 are being celebrated from July 23^rd until  August 8^th 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.

 

Gay Pride

 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.

Walk and talk

 A walk in La Dehesa Boyal

Wednesday

16^th June 10:a.m.

Meeting Point: Punto de Encuentro La Dehesa Boyal  Sports Centre

San Sebastián De Los Reyes

Nuestras andanzas

Las charlas y los paseos han sido muy bien acogidos. 

 

              

                               

                                  

El intercambio de nuestros libros en la biblioteca sorprendió. No hay muchos lectores de libros de inglés en este pueblo y, sin embargo, nuestra colección se ha enriquecido y es más ecléctica ahora.

                                   

 

El concurso de relatos también fue una experiencia increíble. Comprobamos que la participación fue tanto de niños, como de jóvenes y adultos, escribiendo unos relatos fantásticos a pesar de lo que supone escribir en inglés.

 

 

 

                                       

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 cuentos y actividades para los peques nos mostraron el disfrute de los niños y el interés de los padres en acompañar a sus hijos en este viaje al mundo de habla inglesa, primando la naturalidad y el buen ambiente.

                                        

   

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.

 

 

 

 

Muchísimas gracias a todos por acompañarnos.

It pays to sing in your own language

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.

Trophy

Musings

 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 Euro English Song Contest

 

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.

A beautiful film

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.

Travelling Exhibition

 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.

https://www.canalnorte.org/videos/un-acercamiento-a-las-mujeres-de-goya-en-la-sala-martin-chirino-de-sanse/