Thursday, 11 September 2014

REMEMBERING SEPTEMBER 11, 2001

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Read here and here two articles about the National September 11 Memorial & Museum situated at the site of the former World Trade Center complex in Lower Manhattan, where the “Twin Towers” were destroyed and more than 2,700 lives were lost.

WATCHING OUTLANDER AT LONG LAST!

Outlander is a British-American television drama series based on Diana Gabaldon's bestselling books. It is the story of Claire Randall, a married combat nurse from 1945 who is mysteriously swept back in time to 1743 and she is right away thrown into an unknown world where her life is put at risk. When she is forced to marry Jamie Fraser, a dashing and romantic young Scottish warrior, a passionate relationship starts that tears Claire's heart between two incredibly different men in two irreconcilable lives.

Production began on location in Scotland in October 2013.

QUEEN ELIZABETH I

Called "Gloriana" by Edmund Spenser in The Faerie Queene, Elizabeth I, whose name has become a synonym for the age she dominated (1558-1603), was born on 7 September 1533 to Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. At the time of her coronation in 1558, England was a weak, divided kingdom far outside the mainstream of European power and cultural development, however Elizabeth's political skills and strong personality were responsible for putting England on the road to becoming a world economic and political power and restoring the country's lost sense of national pride. She inherited her father's all-powerful view of the monarchy, but showed great wisdom by refusing to arouse hostility in Parliament. She obtained never-ending devotion from her Privy Council, who were constantly confused by her habit of waiting to the last minute to make decisions - a tactic that she used to advantage. She used the various factions, playing one off another until they came to her to solve their disputes. Few English sovereigns enjoyed such great political power, while still maintaining the devotion of the whole of the country.

Here you can download a biography of Elizabeth I.

Monday, 1 September 2014

SEPTEMBER

Departing summer hath assumed

An aspect tenderly illumed,

The gentlest look of spring;

That calls from yonder leafy shade

Unfaded, yet prepared to fade,

A timely carolling.

William Wordsworth

Saturday, 30 August 2014

PRINCESS DIANA

Born Diana Spencer on 1 July 1961, Princess Diana became Lady Diana Spencer after her father inherited the title of Earl Spencer in 1975. She married heir to the British throne, Prince Charles, on 29 July 1981. They had two sons and later divorced in 1996. Diana died in a car crash after trying to escape the paparazzi in Paris on the night of 30 August 1997. Continue reading here.

Click here to look at some of the most beautiful photos of her life.

I'd like to be a queen in people's hearts but I don't see myself being queen of this country.

Princess Diana

Monday, 25 August 2014

REMEMBERING RICHARD ATTENBOROUGH

Here you can read an article about the actor and film director Richard Attenborough who passed away in London yesterday. He was 90 years old.

Among his many films, my favourite ones are Gandhi (1982) and Shadowlands (1993), an emotionally moving romantic drama, based on the real-life romance, during the 1950s, between the British writer C.S. Lewis and a divorced American poet named Joy Gresham.

Internationally as well as at home, Richard Attenborough was the personification of British cinema. Whether as actor or director — he liked to call himself “actor-manager”, in the old stage style — he remained a star for well over half a century. He was also the fiercest political champion of British cinema, defending it throughout the endless economic and artistic crises that his long career witnessed.

www.thetimes.co.uk

AN INTRODUCTION TO SHAKESPEAREAN LONDON THEATRES

REGARDING RICHARD III

The Battle of Bosworth was fought on 22^ndAugust 1485 and the Wars of the Roses came to an end. Henry Tudor had marched with his army from Milford Haven in Wales where he had landed with about 2000 men. The Battle of Bosworth is one of England’s most significant battles as it ended the reign of Richard III and led to Henry Tudor becoming Henry VII, the first of the Tudor monarchs, a dynasty that lasted to 1603 and included the reign of two of England’s most celebrated sovereigns – Henry VIII and his daughter Elizabeth I.

Here you can read an article on Richard III by eminent literary critic Harold Bloom.

DISCOVERING VIRGINIA WOOLF'S LONDON

Here you can read an interesting article about Virginia Woolf, a born-and-bred Londoner.

Speaking of London, you can enjoy reading the essay, Street Haunting: a London Adventure, written by Virginia Woolf in 1930.

That is true: to escape is the greatest of pleasures; street haunting in winter the greatest of adventures.

Virginia Woolf

Tuesday, 12 August 2014

REMEMBERING ROBIN WILLIAMS

Robin Williams, Academy Award-winning actor, aged 63, was found dead at his home in Tiburon, California in an apparent suicide yesterday.

His wife Susan Schneider paid tribute to her husband: "This morning, I lost my husband and my best friend, while the world lost one of its most beloved artists and beautiful human beings. I am utterly heartbroken.” She also said: “As he is remembered, it is our hope the focus will not be on Robin's death, but on the countless moments of joy and laughter he gave to millions.”

Here you can read an article from The Guardian about one of his most famous movies, Dead Poets Society (1989).

MARY SHELLEY' S FRANKENSTEIN

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Here you can download and read the eBook of Mary Shelley's novel; you can listen to the full audio-book of the novel as well. Click here to read a review of the book.