Wimbledon 2021 Videos

Posted by Speakeasy News > Monday 28 June 2021 > Webpicks

The summer holidays are approaching, and it’s time for tennis with the Wimbledon tournament. These short videos will make an entertaining end-of-term activity. Wimbledon is a British tradition, even for people who are not sports fans. But that doesn’t mean they have to take themselves too seriously, as this short trailer shows. A nice opportunity … Continue reading “Wimbledon 2021 Videos”

Time for Tennis at Wimbledon

Posted by Speakeasy News > Monday 28 June 2021 > Celebrate

For two weeks every summer, London is the world capital of tennis. Wimbledon is more than just a tennis tournament. It’s a national institution with some typically British eccentricities. This year’s tournament is from 28 June to 11 July. British tennis players have not dominated world tennis historically. Andy Murray has rectified that somewhat in … Continue reading “Time for Tennis at Wimbledon”

What’s the Score?

Posted by Speakeasy News > Monday 28 June 2021 > Celebrate

Tennis has a very idiosyncratic scoring system, and no one is sure why. Most sports count points by ones. But in a game of tennis, the players don’t start at zero, they start at “love”. If one player then scores, they have 15. The next score is 30, so you would probably expect the following … Continue reading “What’s the Score?”

Trooping the Colour

Posted by Speakeasy News > Wednesday 09 June 2021 > Celebrate

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”

St George’s Day

Posted by Speakeasy News > Wednesday 21 April 2021 > Celebrate

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”

Happy St Patrick’s!

Posted by Speakeasy News > Tuesday 09 March 2021 > Celebrate

St Patrick’s Day, 17 March, is the Irish national day. But there are many communities of Irish origin around the world and on St Paddy’s Day, everyone is Irish! There is a large Irish community in the U.S. and the parades in Chicago and New York are famous. The Chicago River, and the Liffey in … Continue reading “Happy St Patrick’s!”

Presidential Poet

Posted by Speakeasy News > Friday 15 January 2021 > What's On

The line-up for the Biden-Harris Presidential Inauguration includes an extraordinary young poet. Andrea Gorman was named the country’s inaugural National Youth Poet Laureate in 2017, at just 18. The Inauguration swearing-in ceremony traditionally includes a religious invocation and blessing, given by Father Leo J. O’Donovan and Reverend Dr. Silvester Beaman, a recitation of the Pledge … Continue reading “Presidential Poet”

Inauguration Day

Posted by Speakeasy News > Thursday 07 January 2021 > Celebrate

Assuming that anything happens as planned in this extraordinary election campaign, Joe Biden will be sworn in as the 46th President of the United States, and Kamala Harris as Vice-President, on Inauguration Day, 20 January, 2021. The ceremony and traditional celebrations that follow will be much smaller than in previous years because of the coronavirus … Continue reading “Inauguration Day”

Ho, Ho, Ho, Christmas Jumper Day is Back!

Posted by Speakeasy News > Friday 11 December 2020 > Celebrate

As Boris Johnson said as he announced a new lockdown: “‘Tis the season to be jolly careful”. But it’s nice to know that some festive traditions have survived the pandemic. Friday 11 December is the ninth Christmas Jumper Day, organised by Save the Children U.K. Normally, people wear a Christmas-themed jumper to work or school … Continue reading “Ho, Ho, Ho, Christmas Jumper Day is Back!”

Guy Fawkes Webpicks

Posted by Speakeasy News > Thursday 08 October 2020 > Webpicks

To “remember, remember the fifth of November”, as a children’s rhyme says, A1+-level pupils can view a video, read about the tradition, and do an interactive activity. At A2-A2+, useful links can be made with the history curriculum, with an online game and fireworks to round off the subject.  It’s worth giving pupils a few … Continue reading “Guy Fawkes Webpicks”