"WHAT THE DICKENS?" by Interacting

Another year, another theatre play by INTERACTING and another stunning success!
Laugh while you learn is their motto and couldn't really be more appropriate. Indeed, it's already the fourth time / year they have come to Soure to delight us - teachers and students of Martinho Árias - with a funny and educational theatre play and let me tell you that, this time, there were ONLY 210 students and seven teachers. What about that, hem?
This year's play - as the title suggests - had to do with Charles Dickens (1812-1870), the most popular English novelist of the Victorian era and one of the most popular of all time. Charles Dickens published over a dozen major novels, a large number of short stories (including a number of Christmas-themed stories), a handful of plays, and several non-fiction books. Some of his most popular novels are "The Adventures of Oliver Twist", "A Christmas Carol", "David Copperfield", "Hard Times", "A Tale of Two Cities", "Great Expectations" to name just the most famous ones. And what did the two actors on stage do? They used many of the characters to play different roles and to ask for your participation ;)
Also important when talking about Charles Dickens is, of course, Dickens London - the time of the industrial revolution - when it was both a city of change and of stark contrasts.
But what about the title (of the play) itself??? Charles Dickens had, as a contemporary critic put it, a "queer name" and the name Dickens was used in interjective exclamations like "What the Dickens!" as a substitute for "devil"...

If you are curious about Charles Dickens and Dickens London, click on
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_dickens
and if you would also like to get some more info on Interacting, please click on
http://www.interacting.info/index.html
where you will find not only lots of information about their projects but also news. However, if you wish to get in touch with this Educational Theatre Company, you can write to them on
hello@interacting.info
and even plan a drama course in Ireland. Have you ever thought about that????

On behalf of Patrick Deas (the person in charge of Interacting), you are to be congratulated on your good behaviour and excellent contribution for the success of another play.

Now ENJOY and then take a minute or two to write down your comment / your opinion on this particular activity.

World Food Day

Today is the day - The World Food Day!

My suggestion for today / your task (if you wish) is to

1. describe the picture below and / or

2. write down a caption.

Now have a look!

16th October - World Food Day

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations celebrates World Food Day each year on 16 October, the day on which the Organization was founded in 1945.

The objectives of World Food Day are to:
· encourage attention to agricultural food production and to stimulate national, bilateral, multilateral and non-governmental efforts to this end;
· encourage economic and technical cooperation among developing countries;
· encourage the participation of rural people, particularly women and the least privileged categories, in decisions and activities influencing their living conditions;
· heighten public awareness of the problem of hunger in the world;
· promote the transfer of technologies to the developing world; and
· strengthen international and national solidarity in the struggle against hunger, malnutrition and poverty and draw attention to achievements in food and agricultural development.

History
World Food Day was established by FAO's Member Countries at the Organization's Twentieth General Conference in November 1979. The date chosen - 16 October - is the anniversary of FAO.
World Food Day was proclaimed in 1979 by the Conference of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). It marks the date of the founding of FAO in 1945. The aim of the Day is to heighten public awareness of the world food problem and strengthen solidarity in the struggle against hunger, malnutrition and poverty. In 1980, the General Assembly endorsed observance of the Day in consideration of the fact that "food is a requisite for human survival and well-being and a fundamental human necessity" (resolution 35/70 of 5 December 1980).

SOURCES:
http://www.fao.org/getinvolved/worldfoodday/en/
http://www.un.org/en/aboutun/index.shtml

We all know we live in a world of contrasts.
Watch the following award-winning film: it is about the hunger and poverty brought about by Globalization. There are 10,000 people dying everyday due to hunger and malnutrition. This short film shows a forgotten portion of the society.
Just think how fortunate we (all) are...




Your challenge(s) now is / are to think about the following...
1. What feelings does this short film arise?
2. Having it in mind and as a starting point, think about as many pairs of opposites as you can. I'll start: rich / poor

Please go on!!!!