WELCOME AUTUMN!

Today (Sept. 22) marks the end of summer and the beginning of fall, also called the autumn equinox, in the Northern Hemisphere.

The autumn equinox occurs today at 4:44 p.m. EDT (20:44 UTC) when the sun is directly in line with Earth's celestial equator, or the equator projected onto the sky. Day and night last about equally long on Sunday, with about 12 hours of light and 12 hours of dark. This same phenomenon occurs on the spring equinox, which will next occur on March 20.

The date of the fall equinox (and its spring counterpart) varies slightly each year, sometimes falling on the 23rd or 24th depending on the quirks of the calendar, along with Earth's slightly irregular orbit. Here are five surprising facts about fall and the autumn equinox.

From: Livescience.

PERSONAL PRONOUNS AND POSSESSIVES_ 2º ESO

POSSESSIVE   'S

This is PepeÉste es Pepe		This is Pepe's BarÉste es el Bar de Pepe

En inglés, el genitivo (relación de propiedad o posesión) se forma de dos maneras:

1. Mediante la preposición of, (de), que se usa normalmente cuando el poseedor no es una persona:

The window of the house (La ventana de la casa)

2. Cuando el poseedor es una persona, se emplea una forma particular, que se conoce como genitivo sajón (por su origen). Al nombre del poseedor, se añade un apóstrofo y una s ('s) y figura en la frase delante del nombre de la cosa poseída:

My brother's car (El coche de mi hermano)        John's dog (El perro de John)

También se emplea con nombres de animales, nombres de países, ciertas expresiones de tiempo, espacio, distancia, peso, etc..

The cat's ears (Las orejas del gato)        France's cities (las ciudades de Francia)
Yesterday's meeting (La reunión de ayer)    A mile's walk (Un paseo de una milla)

REGLAS DE LA 'S DEL GENITIVO SAJÓN 1.Cuando el poseedor es solo uno, el orden de la frase es:  Poseedor Apóstrofo + S La cosa poseída

Paul's heart (El corazón de Pablo)

Cuando el nombre termina en s, se añade otra s

Charles's bicycle (La bicicleta de Carlos)

2. Si los poseedores son varios, el orden de la frase es:

Los poseedores (plural) Apóstrofo La cosa poseída

My brothers' clock (El reloj de mis hermanos)

 

(Cuando el nombre en plural no termina en s se aplica la misma norma que para un solo poseedor):

The women's books (Los libros de las mujeres)

Cuando detallamos nombrando a los distintos poseedores, solamente el último refiere el genitivo:
That is John, Jim and Paul's flat (Ese es el piso de John, Jim y Paul)
¡Cuidado!. Fíjate en la diferencia:
John and Ann's cars  Los coches son de ambos
John's and Ann's cars  Cada uno tiene su propio coche
Combinado con of puede servir para distinguir el sentido de propiedad
A photo of Peter's (Una foto de Pedro, la foto es de su propiedad)
A photo of Peter (Una foto de Pedro, de su persona)

FROM MANSION DEL INGLÉS

Personal pronouns and possessives

Grammar and Vocabulary_ Starter Unit

MAYFLOWER

On 16 September 1620, the Mayflower sailed from Plymouth, England, to Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States. On board were 102 men, women and children and a small crew, a large group of whom were Puritans (who become known as the Pilgrim Fathers). Their hope was to reach the New World, where they could have religious freedom, and continue using their native language, culture, and customs. After 65 grueling days they dropped anchor off Cape Cod on 21st November, before landing on the coast of Massachusetts on 21st December 1620 at a spot now called Plymouth Rock, where they established their own government.

Why did the passengers feel they needed to leave England?

On the death of Queen Elizabeth 1st, James 1st became king and adopted a moderate Protestant faith as the one true religion for England and Scotland, all other religions were discouraged or barred.

Why are the Pilgrim Fathers important?

The Pilgrim Fathers were the first permanent European settlers in America and therefore are often said to be the founders of the United States.

REMEMBERING 9/11_ 14th ANNIVERSARY

The skies over Lower Manhattan lit up Thursday night with twin beams of blue light honoring the nearly 3,000 victims of the September 11 attacks, thus bringing to a close a somber 13th anniversary of the tragedy marked by tributes, name-reading ceremonies and moments of silence.

Along with the 'Tribute in Light' art installation honoring the dead, the newly completed skyscraper known as One World Trade Center shone brightly, towering over the city's scintillating skyline. 

On Thursday morning, as victims' relatives gathered at the World Trade Center site for the traditional name reading ceremony, in the nation's capital President Obama spoke solemnly outside the Pentagon, where 184 people lost their lives.

'It has now been 13 years,' Obama said. 'Thirteen years since the peace of an American morning was broken; thirteen years since nearly 3,000 beautiful people were taken from us; thirteen years of moments they would have shared with us; thirteen years of memories they would have made.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article

OUR LADY OF VICTORY_ 8th SEPTEMBER

Our Lady’s birthday is generally celebrated by the Catholic church on the 8th September and so this date has been adopted as an opportunity to honour the different images of Mary. In Malaga, people celebrate the feast day of the patron of the city, ‘Our Lady of Victory’.

As her name would suggest, the ‘Virgen de la Victoria’ is venerated due the the role she is believed to have played in various military victories.

The first was in 1571 at the battle of Lepanto, near Greece, when the Holy League (made up of Spain and the Papacy among others) fought the Ottoman Empire. Christians prayed the Rosary in St. Peter’s Square in Rome in the hope that Mary would intercede for them, winning them God’s help in keeping the Muslim Empire out of Western Europe. A miraculous victory was won.

In Malaga itself, a statue of Our Lady of Victory is thought to have been kept in Ferdinand’s chapel in the military encampment during the siege when Malaga was re-conquered by the Catholic King and Queen. In 1867, Pope Pius IX appointed this image of Mary as patron of the city.

Thus the 8th September is a local holiday. On the last Sunday in August, in preparation for the feast day, the image of the ‘Virgen de la Victoria’ is taken to Malaga cathedral where a novena (a particularly powerful way of praying the Rosary) is said in devotion to Our Lady. On Sunday there will be a procession much like those one sees during Semana Santa, during which the image is carried to the Santuario de la Victoria in the Plaza Santuario, near the Plaza de la Merced. 

GREAT FIRE OF LONDON

At one o'clock in the morning on 2 September 1666, Thomas Farriner was asleep over his bakehouse in Pudding Lane, in the City of London, when a servant rushed in to wake him. The bedroom was full of smoke and the staircase was already in flames. He and his wife and daughter , with the servant, escaped through a small window and watched the blaze spread to his neighbours timber houses. The Great Fire of London had begun. What started as a small small fire raged for four days as an enormous fire, destroying two thirds of the City: 13,200 houses, 430 streets and 89 churches. The fire could be seen from forty miles round the capital. 

How do we know so much about the Fire of London?

The reason why we know so many details about the fire is that two men who were alive at that time kept diaries in which they described the dramatic events. The names of these two people were Samuel Pepys and John Evelyn.

Fire Prevention

To prevent such a disaster happening again King Charles ll commanded that all new houses in London should be of stone and brick not wood. Christopher Wren constructed St Paul's Cathedral (between 1675 and 1711) as well as many churches.

 Monument

Not long after the fire a momument, designed by Sir Christopher Wren, was erected between 1671 and 1677, as the City's memorial to the Great Fire in 1666.