London's ''Big Ben''

Hello everybody!

Our topic today is something that I hope everybody is familiar with, London's "Big Ben".

Big Ben is one of London’s most famous landmarks. It is located in the center of the city. Big Ben is actually the name of the great bell of the clock, but it is mostly used to refer both to the clock and to the tower. Big Ben is the world’s largest chiming clock consisting of four faces. It is part of the Palace of Westminster and it is 316 feet high. Although the public is not allowed to get inside, there are great views from the nearby London eye. The tower was known as Clock Tower until 2012 when it was renamed as the Elizabeth Tower as it is now officially known.

Let's continue with some historical aspects of Big Ben. The clock tower was built between 1843 and 1858 when it was completed and had its 150th anniversary on 31 May 2009 which was widely celebrated. 

Sir Benjamin Hall

Benjamin Caunt

Big Ben was either named after the Commissioner of Works, Benjamin Hall, a man well-known for his large size or after a heavyweight boxing champion at that time, Benjamin Caunt, also known as “Big Ben”.






SOME INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT BIG BEN!

• The minute hand weighs approximately 220 pounds and it is over 12 feet long. The bell is over 7 feet tall and it has the weight of an elephant.
• There is still a crack in the bell from 1859 which could not have been repaired at that time.
• At the bottom of the four clock faces, we can read a Latin inscription written in gold letters saying “Domine Salvam Fac Reginam Nostrum Victoriam Primam” which means “O Lord, keep safe our Queen Victoria the First”.



Latin inscription

• The clock tower appears in dozens of movies and series, including Walt Disney’s Peter Pan, and Mary Poppins, Doctor Who and 28 Days Later. In Shanghai Knights and the 1978 version of The 19 Steps the hero appears hanging from the clock hands.

The Thirty-Nine Steps, 1978

Here, I added some worksheets you can do in you free time. They are categorized according to their level of difficulty.

~for Elementary Students~

~for Advanced Students~

Feel free to send me your answers by e-mail on vasiliki.achl@gmail.com or you can share them and exchange opinions in the comment section below.

For more information on the history of Big Ben, you can click on the following links:

Uk Parliament-Big Ben

Big Ben Facts

Or you can watch the following video which I found on youtube and highlights the main historical events that are related to Big Ben:

If you have any other comments, remarks or questions, feel free to leave your messages.

Thank you for reading, see you soon with another interesting aspect of the British culture.

Halloween Activities

Halloween Vocabulary Picture Quiz
Match the words with the pictures:
http://www.esolcourses.com/content/topics/autumn-festivals/halloween/uk-english-picture-quiz.html


Halloween Alphabetical Order
Sort these Halloween words into aplphabetical order:
http://www.esolcourses.com/content/topics/autumn-festivals/halloween/alphabetical-order.html


Spelling Halloween Words
Unscramble these jumbled Halloween words:
http://www.esolcourses.com/content/topics/autumn-festivals/halloween/spelling.html

Halloween Vocabulary

 


 bat

bonfire toffee

candies

coffin

ghost

pumpkin

pumpkin pie

skeleton

spider

sweets

witch

Halloween

Halloween, also known as Hallowe'en, Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve is an annual holiday celebrated on October 31. Halloween has its origins in pagan festivals in the countries of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. The very word “Halloween” has Christianic origins and means "hallowed evening" or "holy evening". Regarding the historical background of the festival, people thought that during that period, the spirits of the dead were supposed to come alive and walk among the living. Therefore, they used to wear different kinds of costumes so as to protect themselves from those spirits when walking outside.

Halloween Today

On October 31, people gather together and hold parties to celebrate the Halloween festival or watch horror movies either at home or in the cinema. Common costumes that people wear for the festival are ghosts, skeletons, vampires, witches and other scary suits and the main symbols of Halloween are jack-o'-lanterns which are carved pumpkins with monstrous faces, spiders and bats.  Another common tradition associated with this festival is “Trick or Treat”. Many children dress up in different costumes and visit other people’s homes. They knock on their doors asking for some treat (candies or other sweets) and those who refuse to do so get some kind of a trick instead.

Traditional Food

As regards the traditional food of this particular day, according to certain Western Christian religious groups people should avoid to eat meat during that day and should prefer vegetarian food instead. Some types of food associated with Halloween are candy and caramel apples, bonfire toffee, pumpkin pie, soul cakes.

 

Here you can watch a video summarizing the main points regarding the Halloween festival, the associated traditions and customs.

For further information on Halloween festival and its traditions, you can visit http://www.history.com/topics/halloween.

Welcome

Welcome everybody!

My name is Vasiliki Achladioti and I am an English language teacher. This particular blog will present different aspects of the English culture. The main objective is to enhance students´ knowledge of the English culture  and give them a closer look at English way of living, customs, people and lifestyle through watching videos, learning new vocabulary or doing exercises about different cultural features. The blog can be used by either students or other teachers who want to incorporate its material in their class.