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An afternoon at the Globe

Wrong play but my favourite epilogue. The world of the Globe is a very special one; detached from reality allowing you to luxuriate in the glories of Shakespeare. Bliss. Our revels now are ended. These our actors, As I foretold you, were all spirits and Are melted into air, into thin air: And, like the baseless fabric of this vision, The cloud-capp'd towers, the gorgeous palaces, The solemn temples, the great globe itself, Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve And, like this insubstantial pageant faded, Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff As dreams are made on, and our little life Is rounded with a sleep. William Shakespeare From The Tempest , Act 4 Scene 1 To find out more about A Midsummer Night's Dream: http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/theatre/whats-on/globe-theatre/a-midsummer-nights-dream-2013?utm_source=hp&utm_medium=customBlock&utm_campaign=Midsummer_hp

Ad maiorem Dei gloriam...

Latin mass at Farm Street followed by the most glorious of London spring days reminded me of Gerard Manley Hopkin's luminous poem "Pied Beauty." The poet's sparkling reflections on the visible evidence of God's work is a reminder to glory in imperfections ending in a heartfelt cry of exultation which lingers in the mind after long reading. Heavenly. Pied Beauty Glory be to God for dappled things - For skies of couple-colour as a brindled cow; For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim; Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches' wings; Landscape plotted and pieced - fold, fallow, and plough; And all trades, their gear and tackle and trim. All things counter, original, spare, strange; Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?) He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change: Praise him.

Xu Bing - melding language and art

Should you have the general good fortune to find yourself in the vicinity of the heavenly Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, dash with all speed towards the Xu Bing exhibition. If there is no possibilty of getting anywhere close, the miracle of the internet will bring art to you: http://jameelcentre.ashmolean.org/xu_bing Xu Bing explores the interaction between language and the objects it represents. As we know, a word has specific, personal and cultural dimensions. Xu Bing plays with adapting pictograms so they represent both the shape of and the character for natural objects. The exhibition left me questioning the ways in which language is both sufficient and unsatisfactory when we try to describe our environments. Worth more than one visit!

Final prep for our ESB public speaking assessment students

Your Brandon teachers will have prepared you well so don't panic! Use the following as your last minute check list: Presentation Make sure that your poster is designed to be read by an audience (large titles, clear organisation, minimal writing) If you are using cue-cards, number them and clip them together. Be careful not to read! Use your poster to guide you though your speech Poem Memorise...memorise...memorise! Make sure you have learned your introduction: do you have to give background on the poet, analyse the language or say why you chose the poem? Book Ensure that your selection has a mixture of dialogue and narrative Be prepared to introduce your selection, putting it in context Remember not to hold your book in front of your face! Discussion Listen attentively and try to think of questions which will engage the rest of the group Offer your support and encourage other speakers  I took my first ESB assessment at the age of seven and I still remember t

For my wonderful PolyU students: never doubt your abilities

I have just finished teaching two more groups at Hong Kong Polytechnic University and (as usual) have been awed and humbled by their determination. If you ever become cynical about the potential of the next generation, I recommend spending a couple of hours at PolyU observing how the students care about each other, their school and community. It is inspiring. The following comments are directed towards my students: You are all talented and driven individuals with the potential to make a real difference to your worlds. Watching you grown in confidence has been a privilege. Remember: everyone speaks with an accent, there is no one "right way" of speaking. Use your unique speaking voice rather than trying to emulate someone else. Plan. Be prepared to change your plans. Adapt, don't panic. Read your audience and try to understand what will engage them. Run through the skills we have learned and apply the ones you feel are most effective. Good luck and be confiden

Spring from another perspective?

We are familiar with Western poetry about the Spring but English speakers may be less familar with the following poem which has been sensitively translated by TC Lai: Spring - Chun Kwan (1049 - 1100) Spring has sprayed the paths with flowers As scores of thrushes Rishing from the bushes Burst out like fireworks to announce their joy. I lie in the shade of an old oak, drunk. The clouds overhead race; Tigers, dragons and bears Changelings each other chase Till the evening sun steals in and bathes In the quick-gold of the lake unawares. I love the contrast between the poetic flights of fancy which are punctured by the prosaic description of him being"drunk." He goes from this simple statement of condition to musing even more complex imaginings. The juxtaposition of the literary and mundane reminds me of Oscar Wilde's "we are all in the gutter but some of us are looking at the stars" This poem is a glorious snapshot in time which will come back to

Focus on a poem - Fire and Ice by Robert Frost : The Poetry Foundation

One of my all time favourites. A thoughtful, reflective poem about the terrible power of isolation, destructive emotion and absence of love. Understated elegance and a quiet, powerful voice amidst the shrieking and drama of our times. Red this quietly and let the words speak for themselves. Fire and Ice by Robert Frost : The Poetry Foundation