MERRY CHRISTMAS

                           Christmas

Statue of J. Betjeman
at St. Pancras Station

The bells of waiting Advent ring,
The Tortoise stove is lit again
And lamp-oil light across the night
Has caught the streaks of winter rain
In many a stained-glass window sheen
From Crimson Lake to Hookers Green.

The holly in the windy hedge
And round the Manor House the yew
Will soon be stripped to deck the ledge,
The altar, font and arch and pew,
So that the villagers can say
'The church looks nice' on Christmas Day.

Provincial Public Houses blaze,
Corporation tramcars clang,
On lighted tenements I gaze,
Where paper decorations hang,
And bunting in the red Town Hall
Says 'Merry Christmas to you all'.

And London shops on Christmas Eve
Are strung with silver bells and flowers
As hurrying clerks the City leave
To pigeon-haunted classic towers,
And marbled clouds go scudding by
The many-steepled London sky.

And girls in slacks remember Dad,
And oafish louts remember Mum,
And sleepless children's hearts are glad.
And Christmas-morning bells say 'Come!'
Even to shining ones who dwell
Safe in the Dorchester Hotel.

And is it true,
This most tremendous tale of all,
Seen in a stained-glass window's hue,
A Baby in an ox's stall ?
The Maker of the stars and sea
Become a Child on earth for me ?
                                                                                     
And is it true ? For if it is,
No loving fingers tying strings
Around those tissued fripperies,
The sweet and silly Christmas things,
Bath salts and inexpensive scent
And hideous tie so kindly meant,

No love that in a family dwells,
No carolling in frosty air,
Nor all the steeple-shaking bells
Can with this single Truth compare -
That God was man in Palestine
And lives today in Bread and Wine.

John Betjeman in I like this Poem (ed. Kaye Webb) Puffin Books



Google Doodle paying tribute to the festive season

Reading? Yes, please!

Really not to panic (?!) but Christmas is less than a week away!!!
Though with loads of work waiting to be done (including school meetings, classes yet to prepare) this wintry weather with temperatures well below normal is an invitation to stay indoors by the fireplace, don't you think?
Sooooo, why not make the best of the situation by staying in and reading (more)? Have you bought or ordered any books for yourself or to offer this Christmas? Books are really great gifts but if you don't know what to read next or to offer, try this: 

www.bookseer.com/
Hurry up - we are running out of time till Christmas and always remember...

"TV.  If kids are entertained by two letters, imagine the fun they'll have with twenty-six.  Open your child's imagination.  Open a book." Author Unknown

It certainly applies to all people of all ages and walks of life...

A date to remember...

Today marks a very important date in History: in 1901 the first Nobel Prizes were awarded in Sweden and today Liu Xiaobo, jailed in China, was honored in absentia by the Nobel Committee who had awarded him the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize.
Today is Human Rights Day, a day celebrated annually across the world on 10 December. For this landmark the date was not chosen at random but to honor the United Nations General Assembly's adoption and proclamation, on 10 December 1948, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the first global enunciation of human rights. 
As for Literature, Emily Dickinson, an American poet, was also born on this day in 1830 but, in spite of such relevant events in different fields and around the world, this is also a date to remember for my myself and, above all, for my 6 phenomenal women who successfully completed their EFA course. Indeed, it marks the end of these longgggggggggggggg and very hardworkingggggggggggggg two years for my AE 3 ladies: ALICE, ANA, ISABEL, FÁTIMA, M. CONCEIÇÃO and OLINDA are to be congratulated for having finished their training as TÉCNICAS DE ACÇÃO EDUCATIVA. It was a pleasure to have worked with such a committed and dedicated group; it was the smallest class but, truth must be said, the most hardworking and generous group. It was a privilege to be in charge of such a class and I'm really proud of all of them!

 

Congratulations and all the best, ladies :)
Some final thoughts...I wouldn't like to finish this post though without a thank you word to all my colleagues and member of the school board who took the time to join us and celebrate this date - some even had to travel long distances, so: many thanks to all!!!