She's a witch! FUN listening for Hallowe'en

This is a scene taken from 

 Monty Python and The Holy Grail

A CLASSIC !

and one of my favourite British comedies


For part of the dialogue, CLICK here:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071853/quotes?qt0470589

HAPPY HALLOWE'EN !!!

                    Hellooooooooooooouuuu  ... to all of you! 

I hope that you had fun playing my Halloween password game this week, I did! Thanks to all of you for participating in my planned activities and encouraging and cheering on your teams!

     

So to the Spiders, “ BRAVO! 

and

to the O.. Bats, “ Good job! “

There's nothing like trying and succeeding. As we usually say: «Winning isn't all it's cracked up to be». While participating and giving it all you can, doing your best sometimes brings a greater sense of accomplishment!

Hey! Try to introduce the words:

cauldron, warlock,

skeleton and sorcerer,

while having a conversation with an English speaking person

and you will "knock their socks off",

you will "blow them away".

That's the prize! ...

and a box of SMARTies as a reward!

So, enjoy Halloween with your loved ones and have a great time being there and for some of you, sharing your grandchildren's excitement. Maybe you can even go trick-or-treating with them.

BTW, on Sunday evening, if you see a red-headed and very fashionable witch at your door, that'll be me! The one with the HUGE bag for candies! Please be generous with your treats and forget the money! Give me some candy! 

Coz' I LOOOOOOOVE CHOCOLATE, 

my favourite food in all the world!

NEXT a few Hallowe'en JOKES and CARTOONS:

 Good Advice from the witch-doctor !!!

THEY have a REAL problem 

and YOU complain about your partner's snoring ...!

And, finally, a surprise:

CLICK here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9rt3ZSLBYA

Pumpkin Facts Video — History.com

                        Pumpkin Facts Video — History.com

Hi!

Here is a short video but very fast reading!!!

The objective is to show you that

when you are all about FACTS

the verb tense to use is the SIMPLE PRESENT.

Try to catch up with the key words

INDICATORS (of time)

such as : probably or every year.

GOOD LUCK!!

A published COMMENT from Huguette and about COLLOQUIALISMS

Hi! Everyone                              

Today I'm taking the opportunity to use Huguette's comment as part of my blog.

First I think it's important to publish your effort in writing a comment.

Secondly, it shows that everyone has a space on this blog and that you can use it!

Thirdly, it also shows you how you get a personal response from me, in which I take the time to rephrase  and correct YOUR ENGLISH IS FRENCH! 

It's a great learning tool for all!!!

 Huguette said...

Hi Suzanne,

After read your text, I feel like to see the movie. I liked especially the comparaison between women and flowers. The film show us as It's lovely to see people who believe in something and who implicate themselves , but also he shows us traps of power when people want too. Moreover, the film shows the force of friendship in the difficulties. I saw it twice in french and in english because I didn't understand all the conversation. Espacially the last sentence, I didn't understand what they told. I hope that their french fries was delicious.
Have a nice weekend

*** MY ANSWER to Huguette:

So Huguette ...

After reading my text (Calendar Girls) you felt like seeing the movie... Grrrreat! That was my intention all along, to persuade people to see the movie ... in British English!!

As to the symbolism of SUNFLOWERS, isn't it a nice analogy (comparison)... especially coming from a man!!! And there are a few around!! Men that is , not flowers . OOPS! Sorry Guys! Not the ones in the UTA ESL classes! Just the ordinary ones!

People caring and involving themselves in causes! Yes! There isn't always a positive outcome; there are some backlashes to FAME and to where you put your priorities! True! I agree!

It also shows the STRENGTH of friendship and  who you can depend on in times of hardSHIP (tough/difficult times).

Of course some of the expressions and words used come from colloquialisms, that is Yorkshire regional expressions, just like here in Gaspésie for example. And in the script of the movie, at the end they say 'chips' for French fries  like "Fish and Chips".

Thank you Huguette, once agaoin, for your comments. You are getting there. What progress!!! Keep on reading and keep up your excellent work!

Suzanne

 P.S. BRAVO for using MOREOVER!!!

TO all of you: DON'T FORGET TO CLICK ON THE TITLE, 

there may be something hiding!!

And if you need HELP reading because the letters are too small

as in the CAPTION of this cartoon,

PRESS the 'ctrl' key on your keyboard and on the '+' icone at the same time.

CTRL+ (+++) 

Autumn and INDIAN SUMMER! Analogy to our lives!

Bob Schieffer (pronounced /ˈʃiːfər/

  Falls for Autumn (Wordplay).

Celebrating New Season, 

Says the Last Part of Anything 

Can Be as Beautiful as the Beginning 

Schieffer is an American jour

Today I'm using someone else's WORDS. 

Bob Schieffer is a very well respected journalist.

I read the following posting on his blog and 

wanted to share it with you because it represents the part of our lives 

that we, most of us reading this, are experiencing right now.

We are in the AUTUMN of our lives! 

Although I would much prefer to say 

the INDIAN SUMMER of our lives. 

I like this analogy much better!!! ... 

much, much better!

So here is what he had to say:  

 "I would guess that more poems have been written about spring than any other time of the year. And it's not surprising; spring is a time of beginnings, of expectations and hope. 

But yesterday I noticed the leaves on my favorite maple tree were beginning to turn. They are yellow now - soon they'll be red. 

I've been watching that tree put on its fall show for many a year now. 

Every year seems better than the one before. 

I love spring, but I've come to like the fall even more, maybe because as we grow older we come to understand that the last part of anything can be as beautiful as the beginning, because only then can we fully appreciate what has gone before. 

Fall brings its special delights - the colors, the crispness in the air, Halloween and Election Day - even though it is getting harder and harder to tell which is which - they are still both worth doing.  I love fall. So far, this has been a really good one!"

And what a great Indian Summer Day were are having TODAY!

 A COINCIDENCE ??!!

See you outside!

Suzanne 

SUNFLOWERS ARE BACK IN MY LIFE ... CLICK on me for more INFO.

Sunflowers 
came back into my life this weekend!

And they are called the Calendar Girls!
This picture is of the original group!

By way of a movie that I had already seen a few years ago.

You probably have seen it also, Calendar Girls. Based on a true life experience, it is the story of a group of women who decide to create a calendar to raise funds for a hospital project in their little town in the English countryside. 

They dropped 'everything' for a good cause!!!

The sale of their calendar became a worldwide phenomenon because they decided to pose nude for the photos even though they were all in their fifties! And by that, raising a million dollars or more for cancer research.

In the movie there is a talk (like a speech) that is given by one of the women in honour of her best friend Annie’s husband John's who died of cancer. She reads what he had written. Here is what he had to say about these women.

The flowers of Yorkshire

Are like the women of Yorkshire.

Every stage of their growth

Is more beautiful than the last.

But, the last phase is always the most glorious

And then …very quickly they all go to seed.

She reads on: “Which makes it ironic. My favourite flower isn’t even indigenous to the British Isles, let alone Yorkshire. I don’t think there’s anything on this planet that more trumpets life than the SUNFLOWER.

For me, that’s the reason behind its name, not because it looks like the sun but because it follows the sun. During the course of the day, the head tracks the journey of the sun across the sky, a satellite dish for sunshine. Where ever light is no matter how weak, these flowers will find it and that’s such an admirable thing. And such a lesson in life! 

IF you get the chance to see

this movie you will find it very uplifting.

It is a generous movie in every sense of the word!

ENJOY!

SUZANNE
P.S. Click on link for the direct quote from the movie
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0337909/quotes?qt0182753
And one of my favorite sites for
ANYTHING and EVERYTHING
to do with the movies!

http://www.imdb.com

LET'S TALK ABOUT .... AUTUMN!!!

When I say the word AUTUMN  ...

what is the first word that comes to mind ?

season, fall

trees, leaves, colours

afternoon, Indian Summer

festivals, harvest

outdoor markets

apples and apple pie

pumpkins and Hallow’een

change, weather, cool, rain

TEMPO’s (just kidding!)

Many words come to mind and many images do also. 

This is what is called ASSOCIATION!

Put all these words together and you get 

A STORY ABOUT AUTUMN.

Sounds like the title of a movie, doesn’t it? Actually it is in fact the reminder that in English, Autumn is a girl’s name, just like Winter is, and Summer and Spring as well. There are  April’s, May’s and June’s too.

But let’s concentrate on the word AUTUMN which is the name of a season, one of the four temperate seasons. Autumn marks the transition from summer into winter, from hot to cold, weather that is! The synonym being FALL. Which of course comes from LA CHUTE DES FEUILLES: falling autumn leaves and we get, fall foliage and fall colours. These are all expressions used while talking about autumn.

You have song lyrics and poems that celebrate this colourful season. There are novels and short stories too. You also have visual art forms, paintings and photographs and videos that show many of our fall colours. These are the ones used to best describe them: red, yellow, orange, gold and crimson, rusts and browns, and all the different hues of each. The most spectacular presented by the sugar maple tree!


You also have the sounds of fall: the Canada geese flying over, the rustling of leaves on the ground, the sound of the cool wind in the trees, the little squirrels running around gathering their nuts for the winter. And what about the smell of woodsy dying leavesand the cool fresh air hitting your nostrils. All your senses are sollicited!!!

So, no wonder that autumn is so much 

a part of our lives here in Québec …

YOU CANNOT MISS IT!!!!
You can SEE it, SMELL it and HEAR it!
You can also EAT some of it
But mostly be TOUCHED by all of it!

I WISH YOU ALL A GREAT FALL
and
A HAPPY AUTUMN!

SUNFLOWERS... .................TOURNESOLS .......... which follow the sun!!!

What a great fall sunny day!

The perfect time to talk about 

SUNFLOWERS.

Thinking of the last summer flowers

my thoughts go to 

this amazing  flower head.

Click on the title 

and you can read some facts

about this amazing plant

of American origin.

When I see a sunflower my imagination automatically shifts to VINCENT VAN GOGH who painted a series of these flower heads, one in Paris but the most popular  while he was in the Provence region of southern France, in Arles.

I like to think that they are associated with fall. They seem to pop up everywhere, these days in all shapes and sizes. You see them in fields, in home gardens, in country and city markets. I personally thionk that they represent the more feminine side of the autumn harvest. If you consider all the root vegetables and the great pumpkin!! 

This fall while I was still at the summer cottage in September, I decided to pay hommage to this great flower and to Van Gogh. I created a flower arrangement which I named "The Last Bouquet".  I also took some photographs. 

                           These are what I wanted to share with you today!!

I cheated ... with the colors!!

I hope you enjoyed reading about the SUNFLOWER!

This winter when you are feeling the cold and the winter 'blues'

you can always nibble on some sunflower seeds!!!

Suzanne

AUTUMN LEAVES sang by Édith Piaf (click on title)

Good afternoon!

With yesterday's wind and rain,

 the naked trees outside my window 

would probably want to sing 

these very powerful and nostalgic lyrics 

about the loss of a loved one 
symbolized by the end of summer
and the arrival of fall.

A little poetry with music!

And an interpretation by one of THE BEST!!!

ÉDITH PIAF

The falling leaves drift by the window

The autumn leaves of red and gold

I see your lips, the summer kisses

The sunburned hands I used to hold

Since you went away the days grow long

And soon I'll hear old winter's song

But I miss you most of all, my darling

When autumn leaves start to fall

P.S. The French lyrics are by Jacques Prévert.

The English ones by Johnny Mercer.

The music by Joseph Kosma
BELOW: the link to the French and 
translated to English lyrics.


What do you observe?
http://www.johnnymercer.com/FAQ/Autumn%20Leaves.htm


Another version that I love 
 by Eva Cassidy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--xW8HPJRY0&feature=related