Boris Johnson at Number Ten

Posted by Speakeasy News > Wednesday 24 July 2019 > In the News

Britain has a new Prime Minister. After a two-month voting process following Theresa May’s resignation, the Conservative Party announced the name of its new leader on 23 July. On 24 July the Queen invited Boris Johnson to form a government. The new government has just over three months to try to find a solution to … Continue reading “Boris Johnson at Number Ten”

Rip van Winkle

Posted by Speakeasy News > Friday 19 July 2019 > Ready to Use

This A2 activity is based on a short presentation of Washington Irving’s short story Rip Van Winkle,  which was first published in 1819, two hundred years ago. Although it was inspired by a German traditional story, Irving gave it a clearly American context as the eponymous Van Winkle magically falls asleep for 20 years, completely … Continue reading “Rip van Winkle”

Keith Haring: Fast Art

Posted by Speakeasy News > Thursday 18 July 2019 > Shine Bright Lycée What's On

Keith Haring grew up in small town Pennsylvania reading, watching and drawing cartoons. When the 20-year-old arrived in New York City to study art in 1978, his fast, cartoonish style was soon recognisable all over the city. A retrospective at Tate Liverpool, then going onto Brussels, shows the astonishing output of his short life. Haring … Continue reading “Keith Haring: Fast Art”

Singing for Freedom

Posted by Speakeasy News > Thursday 18 July 2019 > In the News Shine Bright Lycée

South African singer, musician, dancer and activist Johnny Clegg has died at the age of 66. His music was an influential part of his participation in the anti-Apartheid campaign. His songs “Asimbonanga” and “Scatterlings of Africa” took his message of protest but also of unity around the world. Johnny Clegg was born in England. His … Continue reading “Singing for Freedom”

Digital Democracy in Hong Kong Protests

Posted by Speakeasy News > Wednesday 17 July 2019 > In the News Shine Bright Lycée

Hong Kong citizens have been protesting for weeks against a law they say would stifle political opposition by allowing activists to be extradited to mainland China for trial. In the face of surveillance, activists in the former British colony are turning to web apps to anonymously organise protests, or even vote on their next actions. … Continue reading “Digital Democracy in Hong Kong Protests”

Landing on the Moon

Posted by Speakeasy News > Monday 15 July 2019 > Celebrate

NASA is marking the fiftieth anniversary of the first Moon landings. Fifty years after Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the Moon, and 47 years after the end of the Apollo program, the U.S. space agency is preparing to go back to the Moon by 2024. On July 20, 1969, Armstrong and Aldrin boarded … Continue reading “Landing on the Moon”

WWI: They Shall Not Grow Old

Posted by Speakeasy News > Wednesday 10 July 2019 > Shine Bright Lycée

To mark the centenary of the end of the First World War, Peter Jackson has restored old black-and-white archive footage of British servicemen’s life in the trenches. “They Shall Not Grow Old” takes its title from a 1914 poem and this resource fits perfectly into Shine Bright 1re Advanced File 2: “War will Not Tear … Continue reading “WWI: They Shall Not Grow Old”

Virginia Woolf Love Story

Posted by Speakeasy News > Wednesday 10 July 2019 > Shine Bright Lycée What's On

A new biopic, Vita and Virginia, tells the story of author Virginia Woolf’s relationship with aristocrat Vita Sackville-West, which resulted in one of the most innovative novels of the early twentieth century, Orlando. Apart from an interest in literature and writing, nothing destined Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West to meet, never mind form a relationship. … Continue reading “Virginia Woolf Love Story”

Visible Woman

Posted by Speakeasy News > Tuesday 09 July 2019 > Shine Bright Lycée What's On

Caroline Criado Perez’s thought-provoking book Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men does exactly what it says: shows the hundreds of ways in which the needs of women (and anyone who isn’t a 1.77m tall,  76kg white male) are ignored in all aspects of our society. The author will be giving a … Continue reading “Visible Woman”