Well, these Olympics have certainly been one of the most memorable of all time, but this is for both good and bad reasons!
One young Olympian sadly died before the games had even started after crashing during a training run on the luge course. This tragic event did cast a shadow over the Olympics at first. A minute’s silence was observed at the opening ceremony and the 21 year old’s Georgian teammates wore black armbands as a mark of respect.
Soon enough though, the competitive spirit kicked in, the tiny lack of snow problem was resolved (snow was shipped in!) and we were in for a fantastic few weeks of sport!
Along with some of my sport loving friends I have been glued to the TV every night watching the Olympics and I mean VERY late every night. I have the Canada-UK 8 hour time difference to thank for my recent lack of sleep! Even unlikely sports like curling have kept me interested, who would have thought a simple game of rolling weights on ice could actually be kind of… exciting!?
Snowboarding has always been my favourite of the winter Olympic events and they didn’t disappoint this time around either. The fast races down the Vancouver slopes were also amazing to watch and the painful looking falls suffered by some of the Olympians kept me at the edge of my seat.
We were very disappointed that Great Britain only managed to clinch one medal at these winter Olympics but at least it was a Gold one!
Without a doubt the host nation Canada overshadowed every other county competing, winning 14 gold’s altogether. It’s obvious that the Canadian team gave these games everything they had – they were under the most pressure but I think they performed incredibly in front of their home crowd who were keen to show their support very loudly!
I just hope that Team GB will shine as brightly when they compete in front of their home crowd in the London 2012 Olympics… watch this space!
At the end of 2009 the UK launched an Inquiry into the 2003 Iraq war. This should hopefully answer some of the controversial questions people here in the UK have – like why did we really go to war? How was it conducted? And were our soldiers properly prepared?
Key players of the Iraq War like our former Prime Minister Tony Blair gave evidence recently. It was the moment we had all been waiting for.
Had the leader we once loved actually lied to us about the reasons for war? The families of some of our dead soldiers had turned up to hear his explanations and jeered him when he said that he had no regrets about his decision and would do it all again. Hundreds of demonstrators waited for him outside and he faced heckles of ‘murderer’ when he finished giving his evidence.
It now seems that we did not go to war for the reasons our leaders told us – Saddam Hussein did not have weapons of mass destruction. There was no chance any weapons could be rocketed towards the UK in 45 minutes. In other words we were all made to worry for no reason!
Many members of Parliament have now come forward and admitted they did not support the war and that some of them felt pressured to go along with the prime minister.
It’s also come to light that our armed forces did not have the right equipment for the mission they were sent on and we don’t seem to have had a decent plan of action for rebuilding Iraq either.
This all seems quite obvious now that we can all see the mess we’ve left abroad for ourselves. Most of all I feel really sorry for the relatives of soldiers injured and killed in the war – who now know that things might’ve been different if we’d been better prepared and that we might not have needed to go to war at all.
There’s still some time to go until we hear the result of the Inquiry and whether it’s deemed legal or not but whatever the outcome, it would be very interesting and controversial. So watch this space…
Reality TV is a big deal in the UK right now. Believe it or not sometimes there’s really nothing better to do on a cold evening but to relax on the sofa and watch other people live their lives!
I’ve always thought programmes like X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent were a bit of a waste of time but have to admit that I end up hooked watching the entire series even when I try my best to avoid them!
Maybe it’s because I find the auditions hilarious or just can’t resist Simon Cowell’s funny but very rude comments, whatever the reason, I absolutely love watching (and sometimes laughing) at other people on TV.
And it looks like we in the UK are not the only ones to develop a thirst for reality TV. America has its own version of America’s Got Talent and Strictly Come Dancing – where celebrities learn dance routines and compete with each other. Other fantastic programs like The Weakest link and Total Wipeout have been copied all over the world and are also thoroughly entertaining!
Shows like Big Brother have grown in popularity too, especially the celebrity version but sometimes I wonder why exactly we enjoy watching absolutely pointless conversations between people.
So it looks like reality TV is here to stay. I think we find it fascinating when we look into other people’s lives. Simply watching people do embarrassing and funny things is always entertaining.
Check out Japan’s version of Hole in the Wall (Human Tetris) and you’ll know what I mean!
One of the best movies I have ever seen in my life… And let me tell you, I’ve seen a lot of films!
Avatar is pretty much as good as it gets and after watching it I can now understand why it took 10 years to make. There has been a lot of hype about this movie here in the UK. We’ve all been waiting for it, especially since Avatar posters have taken over most of our billboards for the last few months! Everyone’s been talking about it so I had to see what all the fuss was about…
I saw this film on New Year’s Day at the IMAX Cinema in London which has a huge screen – apparently the biggest screen in Europe in fact! The only showing I managed to get tickets for was at 00:20am (yes, I went to see it in the middle of the night!). Every other showing was compleeeetely sold out – even the ones at ridiculous times like 3:30am and 6:45am, just going to show how popular Avatar has been here.
It was the first full 3D film I’ve ever seen so I wasn’t sure what to expect and it did take me a little while to get used to the 3D glasses. But once I did I could hardly believe how fantastic the special effects were – it almost felt as though I was on another planet. I was completely immersed, it was an unforgettable experience, and I thoroughly enjoyed all 162 minutes of it!
I loved the story as well and really warmed to some of the characters too. I’ve decided I now want to be an Avatar lol.
So as long as you fancy something different (and don’t suffer from motion sickness!) I advise everyone to have this 3D experience for themselves and on the biggest screen around!You will not regret it!
Yes, we Londoners are used to our cold wet weather but in the last couple of weeks we actually had full on snow to deal with too! I was so excited to see the blanket of white outside – for me, snow is the only thing that makes cold weather worth bearing! We might have had big plans for how we would spend our time enjoying the snow -but the snow had other plans for our cities…
All around the country people were almost literally snowed-in. The roads were dangerously icy and caused many accidents and breakdowns for people brave enough to take their cars out and bus and train services were not running well. It was practically impossible for some people to get to the end of their roads let alone across the city to many schools closed for the day (not that the children minded!) Our transport system failed for a few days, the Eurostar disaster was a clear example of that!
The Eurostar tunnel provides the quickest way to travel between France and the UK and we love it! Well we used to… it hasn’t served us very well recently – it didn’t cope well with the snow and many trains broke down and were stuck underground for hours. Carriages had to be evacuated and people walked miles to get out to safety. Sadly,all of this chaos happened right before Christmas and people were struggling to get to their destinations in time for the festivities. Many trains were delayed for DAYS not hours and flights abroad suffered most of all – most had to be cancelled.
So my conclusion: the UK doesn’t ‘do’ snow well! We never seem to be prepared. Roads always become ice rinks – and I always manage to fall (seriously, always!). But no matter how frustrated we get with the snow, we all manage to have some fun in it and there’s no better excuse to stay at home and enjoy it – there’s no day like a snow day!
Hello everyone Let me take this opportunity to tell you a little about myself… I turned 23 this year. I recently qualified as a Barrister and – most importantly – I live in the wonderful city of London!
OK, so maybe there is a bit more to me than that. I live at home with my lovely family and our fat cat, at the heart of the United Kingdom and have 2 brothers and 1 sister who are all younger than me. We get along fantastically well and I really enjoy their company especially after a long day at work. My job is based in the city of Oxford at the moment, so I am doing a lot of travelling right now because that’s about 60 miles away! It’s definitely been worth it though as I truly enjoy helping to prosecute Criminals for the Crown Prosecution Service. Oxford is definitely one of the most beautiful parts of the country to work in.
I love sports, especially cricket and have a lot of fun helping to coach a local cricket team made up of school children. It’s very satisfying when we beat another team! I also enjoy going to the cinema, listening to most types of music and trying to cook different dishes from around the world (although I don’t seem to be very good at this just yet!) Most of all, I take pleasure in meeting up with friends and family, the majority of them are based in London but I make a special effort to catch up with others around the country too. It’s a great chance to see different parts of the UK but I have to admit that ,when I am away ,I appreciate my hometown even more.
London is most definitely the place to be! I’m very happy here and look forward to updating you on what is going on in one of the greatest cities in the world…
Unless you have been living under a rock these last few weeks you probably know all about the latest Twilight craze! Yes, the books and the films have got everybody talking and I have to admit that I am a fan too.
I went to the cinema to watch the Twilight sequel New Moon on it’s opening night in London. The theatre was fully packed with die-hard Twilight fanatics (also known as ‘Twihard’s’!) It was really entertaining to see some people came along in full vampire costumes complete with fake blood… gross, I know.
So the four books follow the crazy life of an ordinary American high school student who falls in love with a vampire and to make things even more dramatic, has a werewolf for a best friend! The story is a bit of an emotional roller coaster and once you’ve got started reading it’s very difficult to put the books down. (It was for me anyway!)
The star of the film really has to be the main vampire Edward Cullen who is played by Britain’s very own Robert Pattinson. Yes, the girls in the UK and I’m sure around the world, are all falling over themselves for the new star Robert and are ‘ROBsessed’ in other words!
Fans here have become divided over the latest film though. Some side with the vampire in this saga and others love the werewolf Jacob. The split camps are calling themselves ‘Team Edward’ and ‘Team Jacob’.
I thought I was ‘Team Edward’ after reading the books but the new film has warmed me to Jacob Black and I’m tempted to change sides. At the moment I’m still in between Teams desperately waiting for the next Twilight film. The real question is which Team are you with..?
Robin Hood is a true English Legend and one of my favourite characters of all time! There is not a single person in the UK who doesn’t know who this man is.
His true identity was never really discovered, but his story has been with us since the Middle Ages. I still remember first finding out about this outlaw when I was just a child. The animated film about him (as a Fox!) stealing from the rich to help the poor was one of my favourite films ever. Then I later discovered Kevin Costner’s version of Robin Hood and I loved this hero with his bow and arrow even more.
Robin Hood is a true English Legend and one of my favourite characters of all time! There is not a single person in the UK who doesn’t know who this man is.
His true identity was never really discovered, but his story has been with us since the Middle Ages. I still remember first finding out about this outlaw when I was just a child. The animated film about him (as a Fox!) stealing from the rich to help the poor was one of my favourite films ever. Then I later discovered Kevin Costner’s version of Robin Hood and I loved this hero with his bow and arrow even more.
His rugged look with green tights and hoody make him unmistakeable. And considering his band of ‘Merry Men’, the beautiful Maid Marion and larger than life Friar Tuck – it’s understandable why the Robin Hood story is loved beyond belief.
I think that the idea of someone taking the law into their own hands to help those that can’t help themselves is definitely loveable, no matter what country you are from!
It is quite strange though – that an English outlaw can be seen as such a great Hero. After all, he stole, committed many other crimes and generally ignored the rule of law. But it seems that it’s okay to do all of those things as long as the King in charge is a tyrant – and because King John was treating everyone so terribly at the time it was necessary for Robin Hood to be bad… in order to be good!
Maybe it was the Hollywood glamour placed on this character which made him even more of a British Hero but no matter what you think of the legendary Robin Hood, there’s no denying: he was feared by the bad and loved by the good!!
(In the picture Robin Hood with his favourite weapon of choice from www.guardian.co.uk)
Guy Fawkes Night went off with a BANG here in London. We kept up tradition on the 5th of November, gathering around a huge bonfire and enjoying a fabulous firework display at our local park! It was freeeezing but I had lots of fun with family and friends. The atmosphere was amazing with hundreds of people enjoying this show together.
This occasion is celebrated all over the United Kingdom and even in some places around the world, but I didn’t always understand what was so special about the date.
This year I learnt about the real story behind Guy Fawkes Night .Guy was an Englishman who was plotting to blow up the Houses of Parliament with a group of thirteen people in the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. They hoped that they would kill the King and some Members of Parliament and do some damage to the government in the process. So they planted barrels of gunpowder in the basement. But their careful plan to blow up the building was stopped when some members of the group had second thoughts. The explosion never happened and the King was so happy to be alive that he ordered to set off fireworks in celebration. Guy Fawkes was burnt at the stake.
This is why every year on the 5th of November we burn a bonfire and enjoy fireworks! People are not really celebrating that Guy was killed but instead, the fact that the King was saved. This year my friends and I even bought a few glow in the dark Star Wars light-sabers and had fun play fighting in the dark and eating traditional toffee apples, yum! I realised that whatever the story behind Guy Fawkes Night, most of all we love it here in the UK because it gives us an excuse to act and feel like a kid again.
Florence Nightingale is a name that the British know well. Whenever you walk into a hospital here, there is usually an entire Wing dedicated to her. She was one of the most influential women of her time and her work is still being appreciated today!
Although she was born in Florence, Italy, she was raised by her upper class family in England. Women of her background were never meant for jobs such as nursing – this was supposed to be a job for poor women. Her family (and general society) disapproved, but she believed that God was calling her to nursing and fought to spend her life improving the terrible hospital conditions.
In the 1800’s women were not treated as men’s equals but that didn’t seem to be able to stop her from her success. She completely renovated the hospital system here. She made them cleaner, more efficient and organised. I learnt about Florence Nightingale in school. One of the things I remember most was the time she was sent to a Turkish hospital where the British Army was being treated. She was so appalled by the conditions there that she spent her OWN money to buy new bandages, better food and cleaning tools. She even watched over patients during the night and walked from bed to bed with her lamp. That’s the reason why her patients called her ‘the Lady with the Lamp’.
But it wasn’t easy for Florence and that’s why we love her for carrying on with her fantastic work. Some men were threatened by her as she was changing so much of the hospital system and to them she was ‘just’ a woman nurse!
They tried to get rid of her but her patients- the people she had been caring for day and night – stuck up for her and even raised money for her to carry on with her work.
Florence Nightingale dedicated her life to caring for the sick in harsh conditions and fought against people’s disapproval of what she was doing. She transformed the hospital system for us and for that we will always be grateful.
Let me take this opportunity to tell you a little about myself… I turned 23 this year. I recently qualified as a Barrister and – most importantly – I live in the wonderful city of London!
