Among many other special qualities, Queen Elizabeth II has two birthdays every year: the real one on 21 April (she was 95) and her official one on the second Saturday in June. That is marked by one of the great moments of British pageantry: the Trooping the Colour ceremony. Since 1748, the monarch’s official birthday … Continue reading “Trooping the Colour”
Ireland has a rich literary heritage and is fond of honouring it. On 16 June every year, it is author James Joyce who is remembered, as Joyce fans all over Ireland and the world celebrate Bloomsday in honour of his novel Ulysses. Ulysses, published in 1922, consists of 18 episodes mirroring Homer’s Odyssey and takes … Continue reading “James Joyce and Bloomsday”
Author and illustrator Eric Carle passed away on 23 May at the age of 91. He had enchanted children the world over with his colourful picture books, and especially the best selling The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Carle was born in New York state in 1929 but his German immigrant parents were homesick and they returned … Continue reading “Death of Eric Carle, Enchanter of Childhoods”
Jazz singer Billie Holiday’s 1939 recording of “Strange Fruit” has become one of the most potent protest songs in U.S. history. Its images of lynched African Americans accompanied the civil-rights movement but still evoke uncomfortable truths today. The song was written by a Jewish Communist high-school teacher, Abel Meeropol. It was originally a poem, written … Continue reading ““Strange Fruit”: a Searing Protest Song”
23 April is a day for celebration in England. It’s the national day, in honour of England’s patron saint, St George. It’s both Shakespeare’s birthday and death day. Each of the British home nations has a national day associated with its patron saint: George for England, David for Wales (1 March), Patrick for Northern Ireland … Continue reading “St George’s Day”
On 15 April every year, all professional baseball teams in America celebrate Jackie Robinson Day, in honour of the player who “broke the color bar”, becoming the first African-American player in Major League Baseball. In post-WWII U.S.A., professional baseball, like so many other things, was segregated. African-Americans could only play in the Negro Leagues, not … Continue reading “Celebrating Jackie Robinson Day”
The Black Lives Matter movement has been awarded Sweden’s Olof Palme civil-rights prize, and has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. The Olof Palme Prize was created in memory of the Swedish Prime minister and human-rights advocate who was assassinated in 1986. Its jury noted that although Black Lives Matter was founded in 2013, … Continue reading “Black Lives Matter Honoured”
Since 1988, British charity Comic Relief has been encouraging people to don a clown’s red nose and “do something funny for money”. Red Nose Day is back on Friday 19 March and this time, it’s plastic free! In 2019, for the last Red Nose Day, Comic Relief received hundreds of letters from children and schools … Continue reading “Red Nose Day is Back!”
The St Patrick’s Day Parade in Dublin was one of the first victims of the COVID pandemic last year and it’s been cancelled again this year for the same reason. But never fear! Let’s face it, most of us were not going to get to Dublin to celebrate Paddy’s Day on 17 March, but we … Continue reading “St Patrick’s Festival 2021”
World Book Day is on 4 March this year. In the UK, schoolchildren receive a £1 book token they can spend on a selection of books chosen for the day. The authors have recorded ten-minute readings great for classroom use. Here’s a selection. The readings are part of a project to share stories by recording … Continue reading “Ten-Minute Stories for World Book Day”