The Great Gatsby Turns 100

Posted by Speakeasy News > Friday 11 April 2025 > Celebrate

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is considered the quintessential depiction of the Roaring Twenties and a definite contender for the title of great American novel. On the 100th anniversary of its publication, readers return to the classic, and writers imagine new stories for its characters. Published on 10 April 1925, it was Fitzgerald’s third … Continue reading “The Great Gatsby Turns 100”

Red Nose Day is Celebrating a Big Birthday

Posted by Speakeasy News > Wednesday 19 March 2025 > Celebrate

Red Nose Day is back on Friday 21 March in the UK.  And this is incredibly the charity Comic Relief’s 40th birthday. They’ve been encouraging people to don a clown’s red nose and “do something funny for money” since 1985.  The charity was founded by comedian Lenny Henry and romcom scriptwriter and director Richard Curtis … Continue reading “Red Nose Day is Celebrating a Big Birthday”

Everything You Need to Know About: U.S. Presidential Inaugurations

Posted by Speakeasy News > Tuesday 14 January 2025 > Celebrate

On Monday, 20 January, Donald Trump will become the 47th President of the United States at his second Inauguration in Washington D.C. What does the Inauguration involve, who participates, and what does it cost? The first Inauguration was George Washington’s in New York in 1789. The newly independent United States hadn’t built its new federal … Continue reading “Everything You Need to Know About: U.S. Presidential Inaugurations”

A President Passes

Posted by Speakeasy News > Friday 10 January 2025 > Celebrate

Jimmy Carter served just one term as the 39th President of the U.S.A., but his public service started long before his White House stay and continued to the end of his long life. He has died aged 100. Jimmy Carter often described himself as a Georgia peanut farmer. He was born in 1924 on the … Continue reading “A President Passes”

Edinburgh at 900

Posted by Speakeasy News > Thursday 12 December 2024 > Celebrate Shine Bright Collège

Scotland’s capital is celebrating its 900th birthday! Edinburgh was one of the five royal burghs founded by King David I in 1124. From a small town in the Middle Ages, it has enlarged to a diverse city of 500,000 people. The contrasting medieval Old Town culminating in the Castle high on a volcanic rock and … Continue reading “Edinburgh at 900”

Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Posted by Speakeasy News > Wednesday 11 December 2024 > Celebrate

2024 saw the 60th edition of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Award organised by the Natural History Museum in London. Entries come from amateur and professional photographers from around the world and three of the categories are reserved for children and teenagers. The winning photo above is just one of the amazing images captured … Continue reading “Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year”

Bilingual Book Prize

Posted by Speakeasy News > Tuesday 10 December 2024 > Celebrate

A new literary prize has been awarded for the first time. The Entente Littéraire prize celebrates books aimed at teenagers and young adults translated from English to be published in French or translated from French and published in English. The prize is championed by the UK’s Queen Camilla and France’s First Lady Brigitte Macron, to … Continue reading “Bilingual Book Prize”

James Baldwin Centenary

Posted by Speakeasy News > Thursday 26 September 2024 > Celebrate

2024 marks the centennial of the birth of James Baldwin, novelist, poet, playwright, essayist, civil-rights campaigner and social critic, as well as self-proclaimed American “Native Son”. Born in 1924 in Harlem, New York, Baldwin grew up in poverty, the eldest of nine children. Harlem was home to many black families who had moved from the … Continue reading “James Baldwin Centenary”

Paris 2024 Paralympics

Posted by Speakeasy News > Monday 26 August 2024 > Celebrate

Here’s a quick guide to the 17th Paralympic Games in Paris. Since the first games for disabled athletes in 1948 to the first official Paralympics in Rome in 1960 to today’s games, the size and the exposure of the games has increased enormously. In Rome, 400 athletes from 23 countries participated in eight sports. Since … Continue reading “Paris 2024 Paralympics”