A Child Prodigy

A new-born-baby-a new life, a new hope...perhaps a future Prime Minister, perhaps a scientific genius: no wonder even the poorest families lavish care and love on their youngest offspring.

When James and Harriet Mill's first baby was born in 1806, they had a pretty good idea that he was no ordinary child. At the age of three John Stuart Mill learned the Greek alphabet and long lists of Greek words with their English equivalents.

At the age of eight he read as many books in Greek as a modern classics student would read in his first year at university - not to mention all the important history books in English that existed then. At sixteen he tackled advanced mathematical problems and learned to speak fluent French.

John Stuart Mill became the most important economic and philosophical thinker in Britain in the 19th Century. He was a humanist and above all devoted to improving the conditions of the working classes.

Devamını Oku..

The Golden Age

In 1593 Christopher Marlowe was killed in a fight in a pub. He was 29 years old and had been acting as a spy for Queen Elizabeth I. But he had already written some of the finest verse drama in the English Language - plays like Edward II and Dr. Faustus.

Shakespeare was also 29. His greatest play were yet to be written. Ben Jonson the great comic dramatist was 21. He wrote The Alchemist and Volpone, and Shakespeare acted in some of his early plays.

London was the capital of a rich and powerfull nation, and the men of letters were also men of action.

John Donne fought in a naval battle against the King of Spain in 1596. He wrote vigorous love poetry:

'Dear love for nothing less than thee

Would I have broke this happy dream.'

'For God's sake hold your tongue and let me love'

In later life he became Dean of St. Paul's Cathedral, and sometimes lay on his tomb in a shroud, meditating upon death. His religious poetry has the same vigour:

'Death, be not proud, though some have called thee,

Might and dreadful, for, thou art not so.'

Devamını Oku..

No Man Is An Island

'No man is an island' said John Donne, the 17th Century poet. Everything we do has repercussions beyond our wildest imaginings.

An old lady picks a rose and, in so doing, disturb a bee. The bee files through the window of a passing car and stings the driver. A clear case of cause and effect.

Of course if the driver had had a second cup of coffee after lunch, he would not have been passing at that moment... and is a tourist had not asked him the way at the traffic lights, he would not have opened his window... and so on, and so on.

Experts investigating a plane crash recently found that the absence of a rubber washer, worth about 10p had been the cause of disaster. No one will ever know if the true cause was not somebody's second cup of coffee.

Generations of English children have learned this cautionary rhyme:

'For want of a nail, a shoe was lost,

For want of a shoe, a horse was lost,

For want of a horse, a rider was lost,

For want of a rider, a battle was lost,

For want of a battle, a kingdom was lost,

- and all for want of a horseshoe nail.'

Devamını Oku..

The Origin Of Money

'Money doesn't grow on trees', as the saying goes. It is made in the Royal Mint, which is in Wales.

But where does the word money come from? The answer is that it comes from the same place as the word mint. Both words are derived from the Latin word moneta.

The story is more interesting than that, however.

One night in the 4th Century B.C., a band of Gauls (Frenchmen) made a silent attack on the city of Rome. The soldiers on the wall were all asleep, and the Gauls were within a few metres of success when they disturbed some sacred geese on the hilside.

The geese hissed and honked and the guards awoke just in time to repel the attack. The city was saved and the Romans gave thanks to the goddess Juno for using her geese to warn them. They called her Juno Moneta (moneta meant 'who warns'), and they built a new temple for her on the hilside.

The temple was later used for storing treasure and eventually for making money. Soon both the place and the stuff they made there came to be named after the warning geese.

Devamını Oku..

Robin Hood

Robin Hood stole from the rich to feed the poor. He lived in Sherwood Forest, near Nottingham in the centre of England, and his merry band of followers included Little John (a giant of a man), Friar Tuck (a jolly monk), and the beautiful Maid Marian.

Their exploits were related in countless mediaeval ballads. They represented the ideals of the common man in the face of oppressive authority.

Before the Norman conquest at the end of the 11th century, the vast tract of woodland that stretched to the north of the city of Nottingham, was used for hunting by the people of the region, or 'shire' . (In fact the name Sherwood is derived from this Old English word for 'region' - It was the Shire Wood.)

The Norman Kings passed strict laws giving sole use of the forest to their feudal barrons. The common people resented this oppression.

Robin Hood's sworn enemy was the Sheriff of Nottingham, one of the king's men. His title, too, is derived from the Old English word shire; as head man of the region, he was the Shire-reeve.

The shires of England became know as counties under the Normans (the French word is comte). But the word shire still exists in county names like Hampshire, Yorkshire and of course Nottinghamshire.

Devamını Oku..

Friends For Britain

It is no secret that the British Council wants to win friends for Britain. It spends hundreds of millions of pounds doing it. It is also no secret that when a finance minister authorizes spending on that scale, it is not just for the sake of a smile in the street.

A friend is someone who understands your point of view - a great asset in world diplomacy. And, as every shopkeeper knows, friends are often good customers too.

The British Council has offices all over the world - and they like to get visitors. They will lend you books in English; they will arrange for you to see videos (educational films, documentaries, and also feature films); and they will give you any information or advice that you may need about Britain.

If you want to study Britain, they are the first people to get in touch with. Write to them, telephone them or, even better, drop in at the office. They will explain the system and put you in touch with the right people.

Devamını Oku..

The Massacre Of Glencoe

One cold winter's day an old man struggled through the snow in a desolate Scottish valley to sign a piece of paper.

He didn't arrivve in time.

The consequence was the most treacherous massacre in British History.

In 1691 William III was to be crowned King of England. His first task was to gain the loyalty of the clans in the north-west of Scotland. Many of them were supporters of the exiled King James and they hoped for a French invasion to reinstate him.

William distributed thousands of pounds in bribes to the clans. He also insisted on an oath of allegiance. The chiefs had to sign it by New Year's Day.

Everybody signed except Macdonald of Glencoe. He had left it to the last minute as an act of defiance. But the walley was blocked by snow and he didn't make it in time.

One hundred soldiers of the loyal clan Campbell, were immediately sent to Glencoe. The unsuspecting Macdonalds received them with traditional hospitality. The Campbells stayed for more than a week. They ate, they drank and they shared in their life.

Then it the middle of the night the soldiers carried out the King's cruel orders. They butchered their hosts.

The memory of this treacherous betrayal of hospitality has never died in Scotland.

Devamını Oku..

The British Press

The Times is read by the people who run the country.

The Daily Mail is read by the wives of the people who run the country.

The Daily Telegraph is read by the people who used to run the country.

The Financial Times is read by the people who own the country.

The Daily Express is read by the people who think that the Conservative Party ought to run the country.

The Daily Mirror is read by the people who think that the Labour Party ought to run the country.

The Guardian is read by the people who think that they ought to run the country.

The Sun read by the people who don't care who runs the country as long as she has got a good figure!

Devamını Oku..

Trespassers Will Not Be Prosecuted

You cannot fool children with long words. By the time they are big enough to climb over a wall, they have learned that the sign that the sign that says "Trespassers will be Prosecuted" is an empty threat.

Tresspass is not a crime in England, and you can only prosecute someone if they cause damage to your property - whoever you are.

In 1982 a young Londoner called Michael Fagan decided to pay an uninvited call on a woman he admired greatly, Queen Elizabeth. In the middle of the night he hopped over the wall of Buckingham Place, shinned up a drainpipe and slipped through an open window.

He helped himself to a glass of wine in the kitchen and then made his way to the royal bedroom, where he chatted to the surprised and sleppy Queen for a quarter of an hour.

The place detectives eventually led him away. But he was prosecuted for only one offence - stealing a glass of wine.

Devamını Oku..

The Master Of Suspense

The name Hitchcook means 'suspense' and 'horhor'. He was the master. At a time when people used to go to the cinema to see their favourite film stars, they went to see Hitchcook films because of the director.

Alfred Hitchcook was born in England in 1899. He was educated by Jesuits, then went into the film business in 1920. His first job was to do the lettering and design the backgrounds for silent film titles.

His first important film was made in Britain, in 1927 a tale of murder and suspense. Because of a shortage of extras, he also appeared in it himself.

In every film after that, a brief glimpse of Hitchcook's plump figure was always one of the sly jokes.

He went to Hollywood in 1939 and for the next 35 years made the films on which his reputation rests.

Intellectual critics have written many things about his 'Art'. But Hitchcook himself was very unpretentious. He saw himself simply as a skiled entertainer. He certainly was.

Devamını Oku..