Easter Egg hunt

Eggs in Easter are a symbol of spring and new life.

In the UK before they were replaced by chocolate Easter eggs real eggs were used, in most cases, chicken eggs. 

They were hard-boiled and dyed in various colours and patterns. The traditionally bright colours represented spring and light.

Nowadays people give each other Easter eggs made of chocolate, usually hollow and filled with sweets. On TV you will see adverts for Cadbury's Creme Eggs, a very sweet confectionery. The catching phrase for the adverts is "How do you eat yours?" 

And Britain children hunt for (chocolate) Easter eggs hidden about the home or garden by the Easter bunny.

Could you tell an Easter tradition in your country?

Happy Easter!!!

Notting Hill Carnival

 As you know, in February we're celebrating Carnival in lots of places around the world. Some of the best-known Carnival festivals take place in Brazil and Canary Islands. But today, we'd like to tell you about Notting Hill Carnival, a festivity also recognised worldwide.  

The Notting Hill Carnival is the largest street festival in Europe and originated in 1964 as a way for Afro-Caribbean communities to celebrate their own cultures and traditions. Taking place every August Bank Holiday weekend in the streets of London W11, It is an amazing array of sounds and colourful sights.

During these days, people have time to get dirty, adventurous or just to dress in a comical or carnivalesque outfit. Jouvert allows music lovers to jive along the streets to African drums or steel bands.The last day of festivities is when you can see the

The Grand finale showcasing, a sea of vibrant colours as 60 bands in magnificent costumes dance to the tantalising rhythms of the mobile sound systems or steel bands.

It's a time to get a taste for the fantastically diverse attractions of food, tunes and other fun activities, all adding to the Carnival’s one of a kind atmosphere.

Have you ever heard about Notting Hill Carnival?

Black Friday: The biggest shopping day of the year?

Black Friday is the Friday following Thanksgiving Day in the United States, the fourth Thursday of November. 

Since the early 2000s, it has been regarded as the beginning of the Christmas shopping season in the US, and most major retailers open very early (even during overnight hours) and offer promotional sales.

Two years ago, retailers in Spain started to put forward promotions and specials offers the day after Thanksgiving as a way to promote shopping and business, so now we also have the possibility to enjoy Black Friday in our country.  

Here you have a short article and a video from the telegraph about BLACK FRIDAY 2014:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/black-friday/12003630/Black-Friday-2015-What-is-it-when-is-it-and-where-are-the-best-bargains.html

What do you think about this initiative? In your opinion, is it a good opportunity to get some bargains? Have you ever enjoyed a promotional sale in Black Friday?

Please, let a comment with your personal view.

The tell-tale heart

Hi everyone!!

As HALLOWEEN is coming… in today’s post we’ll tell you about a very famous ghost story;

The tell-tale heart is one of the most well-known stories written by Edgar Allan Poe:

An unnamed narrator opens the story by addressing the reader and claiming that he is nervous but not mad. He says that he is going to tell a story in which he will defend his sanity yet confess to having killed an old man. His motivation was neither passion nor desire for money, but rather a fear of the man’s pale blue eye. Again, he insists that he is not crazy because his cool and measured actions, though criminal, are not those of a madman. Every night, he went to the old man’s apartment and secretly observed the man sleeping. In the morning, he would behave as if everything were normal. After a week of this activity, the narrator decides, somewhat randomly, that the time is right actually to kill the old man.

When the narrator arrives late on the eighth night, though, the old man wakes up and cries out. The narrator remains still, stalking the old man as he sits awake and frightened. The narrator understands how frightened the old man is, having also experienced the lonely terrors of the night. Soon, the narrator hears a dull pounding that he interprets as the old man’s terrified heartbeat. Worried that a neighbor might hear the loud thumping, he attacks and kills the old man. He then dismembers the body and hides the pieces below the floorboards in the bedroom. He is careful not to leave even a drop of blood on the floor. As he finishes his job, a clock strikes the hour of four. At the same time, the narrator hears a knock at the street door. The police have arrived, having been called by a neighbor who heard the old man shriek. The narrator is careful to be chatty and to appear normal. He leads the officers all over the house without acting suspiciously. At the height of his bravado, he even brings them into the old man’s bedroom to sit down and talk at the scene of the crime. The policemen do not suspect a thing. The narrator is comfortable until he starts to hear a low thumping sound. He recognizes the low sound as the heart of the old man, pounding away beneath the floorboards. He panics, believing that the policemen must also hear the sound and know his guilt. Driven mad by the idea that they are mocking his agony with their pleasant chatter, he confesses to the crime and shrieks at the men to rip up the floorboards.

Due to the length of the real one, we can only publish a summary of the story but we encourage you to read the complete work because it will really scare you!

Do you know any other ghost story or legend? Have you ever had a supernatural experience? Have you seen a ghost? We invite you to tell us about your experience or about a scary story you know. 

Yummy!

PLUM, HAZELNUT & CHOCOLATE CAKE

Here you have a recipe with ingredients you can easily find during this season.  If you follow the instructions accurately, you´ll get a delicious cake!

Ingredients

-  175g butter, plus extra for greasing 

- 500g plums

- 175g light muscovado sugar or brown sugar

- 175g self-raising flour

- 175g ground hazelnuts

- 3 eggs

- 1 tea spoon of baking powder

- 50g dark chocolate (70% cocoa), chopped

- 2 spoons hazelnuts

- 2 spoons redcurrant, damson or plum jelly

Method

1. Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Butter and line the base of a round 20cm cake tin. Halve and stone 4 plums, set aside for later, then roughly chop the remaining plums.

2. Put the sugar, butter, flour, ground hazelnuts, eggs and baking powder into a large bowl and beat with a wooden spoon or electric hand mixer for 1-2 mins, until smooth and light. Stir in the chopped plums and chocolate, then tip into the prepared cake tin and smooth the top.

3. Arrange the halved plums over the top of the mixture, pressing them down lightly, then scatter over hazelnuts. Bake for 40-50 mins until the top is golden and the cake feels firm to the touch. Cool in the tin for 10 mins, then turn out, remove the paper and cool on a wire rack. Heat the jelly, then brush over the top of the cake before serving.

Now your cake is ready to be tasted! Enjoy!!!

Perhaps this is not a very healthy recipe, but at least once, TREAT YOURSELF!

Will you try it? Do you know any other recipe with seasonal products?? 

AUTUMN SONGS

As you know, the autumn season began on September 23rd. If you think about it, there are many songs related to this season. However, it's important to point out that you may hear the word fall instead. That's because fall is the American word for autumn.

Here you have the links to 3 autumn songs:

September song Tony Bennet 

Wake me up when September ends Green Day

California Dreamin' The Mamas & The Papas

• Did you know any of the songs?
• What's your favourite one? Why?
• Can you add one more song related to autumn/fall?

10 DID YOU KNOW FACTS

1. French fries are originally from Belgium.

2. August has the highest percentage of birth.

3. Australia was originally called New Holland.

4. You burn more calories sleeping than watching TV.

5. Apples are more effective at waking you up in than coffee.

6. Your foot and your forearm are the same length.

7. Lemons contain more sugar than strawberries.

8. 96% of candles sold are purchased by women.

9. Hilton was the first international hotel chain.

10. Only female mosquitoes bite.

• CAN YOU ADD ONE MORE TO THE LIST?
• WHICH FACT SURPRISED YOU THE MOST?