Tales of the unexpected (Roald Dahl)

Hi teacher, Hi friends!

I think this composition could be my last work for this year.
Last week in class we talked about books that we had to prepare for the Reading Exam.
I read “Tales of unexpected by Roalh Dalh. This book is a collected works, which their ends are “unexpected”.
I would like to explain some tales. Perhaps, those stories are not my favourite, but they are full of imagination.
I hope you are going to enjoy when you read them:

LAMB TO THE SLAUGHTER

A loving and submissive wife hopes the arrival of her husband. He is a policeman.
The wife wants to eat something for supper, but he doesn’t .He wants to divorce. She is shocked when she knows the notice and without thinking, she goes to the refrigerator, where she finds a lamb leg refrigerated.
The woman hits strongly to her husband with the lamb leg and he dies.
When detectives arrive at the place of the crime, they find the wife crying.
She had a perfect alibi. Detectives don’t be able to find the homicide weapon.
The loving wife invites them to eat the “delicious supper”.

This tale remembers a film of a Spanish director of cinema. Do you know him?

GALLOPING FOXLEY

A businessman, Mr Foxley, sees broken his daily trip to his work by the presence of a man in his train department.
He doesn’t like this man and thinks that he knows him.
Finally, Foxley recognises the man as a boy who being young had martyred him in the school with physical aggressions and humiliations.
During the trip he remembered all tortures.
In the end of the story, he decides to say him who is he and then, Foxley realises that the man is not the child who had attacked him in the childhood.

SKIN

A poor man goes to an Art Gallery, where an artist shows his works. Years ago he and the artist were been friends.
He reminds when a cool night, they had drunk some bottles of wine.
That night, the painter tattooed his back with the figure of the woman who both loved.
When people of the exhibition know the success, they want to buy the work. (the tattoo).
The owner of the Briston’s Hotel in Cannes buys the “work”.
Weeks later a picture of a woman painted in an unusual manner turned up for sale in Buenos Aires but the fact is that there isn’t Hotel Briston in Cannes.

If you like those stories you can read the book. I recommend it!


Finally I would like to express my satisfaction for the blog experience.
I believe that blog is a way to motive students to WRITE and the feed back created between writer and readers is pleasant.
I’m encouraging you to follow writing!

SAINT GEORGE'S DAY

“...The legend explains that the dragon arrived in the village and scared the people.... The dragon ate animals, girls, boys...and the princess.
But, finally a knight with his lance killed the dragon.-From his blood a rose bush with intense red roses was born The knight took the prettiest rose and gave it to the princess as a present.
The knight was St George!”
...I have listened to this traditional story many times and I think it’s very nice.
I would like to express my feelings about St George’s day.
The 23rd of April is one of the best days for me, because Catalan people celebrate a beautiful tradition: we celebrate the “Day of Love “.
If you walk by the principal streets of Barcelona or Catalonia, you can see an explosion of colours from roses and you can smell them! And you can see hundred of stands of books to buy them.
Some writers sign their works.
Streets fill up with flowers and books.
Man gives a rose to woman and she gives a book to him as a present.
23rd of April is the day of love, the day of feelings!
I hope you enjoyed!

An appropriate present

Henry, an experienced yachtsman was sailing to L’Estartit when there was a storm.
He was shipwrecked on Medes Islands.
Luckily, he had got a mobile and called my husband.
Henry was been rescued.
Weeks later, It was be the Henry ‘s birthday .
My husband gave him a FLOAT as a present.

WELCOME HOME NÚRIA !!!!

MARCH 2006.

There were all the family having a lunch at home : my parents ,my brother, my daughters, my husband, my sister ,my brother- in-law and my little niece Marem.
And then, my sister and my brother- in- law smiled and told us that they were going to have a new baby.
She, my sister, was pregnant!
-What a surprise! I thought.
-When will he arrive? –we said them.
-Our baby will arrive in December –answered
-Great! Just like Christmas Holidays –told my daughter.

The days and months have passed and my sister’s tummy has grown bigger and bigger.
Everything is ready for the baby’s arrival: the cot, the room, toys...

TODAY is 10th of DECEMBER

We still had time to have lunch and go to the cinema in the afternoon, but...
The telephone rings! Surprise! My brother -in- law- called us and said us:
-She’s arrived . SHE is a beautiful girl!

Next day we got into the car and drove straight to the hospital from Lleida.
My sister was lying in bed staring lovingly her baby that had just come into the world and into our lives.
-Hello family! She is Núria, our sweet baby –said my sister. We are very happy!

25th DECEMBER CHRISTMAS DAY:

Today we are all the family having a Christmas lunch. Núria is sleeping in her cot .Marem the big sister is playing with a baby doll. We smile looking them!
It’s Christmas and... Núria is the best present for us!
Congratulations Sister!

LA PEDRERA: GARGALLO'S EXHIBITION

A Sunday morning I went to “La Pedrera” to see “Gargallo’s Exhibition”. I liked the exhibition very much.

Pablo Gargallo was born in Maella (Zaragoza) in 1881, but in 1888 his family moved to Barcelona, where he trained as a sculptor at the La Llotja school of Fine Arts. Some time around 1900, he began to frequent the circles of artists and intellectuals that gathered at Els Quatre Gats café. It was here that he met Picasso, Nonell, among others.


In 1903, a grant enabled him to travel to Paris, where he studied the work of Rodin. He soon returned to Barcelona where, in 1906, he had his first solo show at the Sala Parés. He was also working at the same time as an assistant to a number of sculptors and collaborated with the architect Lluís Domènench i Montaner on the sculpted decoration of the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau and the Palau de la Música Catalana concert hall.


Gargallo is one of the most important sculptors in the avant-garde movements of the 20th Century. His works followed the postulates of Noucentisme . In their works He used metals that sculptors didn’t use like iron, copper, sheet…


He experimented with denser materials and he integrated the void as a sculptural element.
I would like to point out to the wonderful works called “THE PROPHET” and “THE DANCERS”.
“The dancers” are a beautiful work that Gargallo built with models, using cardboard cut-out templates.
Then, he finished these sculptures building them like a jigsaw. It’s impressive!
If you want to know Gargallo, there are some guided routes organised by the Fundació Caixa de Catalunya around Gargallo’s public Art works route.

People will learn and will visit a lot of sculptures which are in the most important buildings of Barcelona city as Palau de la Música, Plaça Catalunya, Hospital de Sant Pau and others…

BERLIN CAFE

DATE: Friday November 17th
TIME: Ten o’clock.
PLACE: Berlin Café Esplugues.

I went to “Berlin Café” in Esplugues and I listened to poems and music together, like a symbiosis between music and words.
Some poets from different countries like Germany, France, Spain and Catalonia have used that space to show people their poetry.
Last Friday was the first recital. People, who were siting in the Bar having a drink, could listen to Germany and Catalan languages a lot of poems, accompanied by a music man, who played saxophone, flute, and percussion.
I could see the feelings that Germany poet wants to send us trough their words.
I didn’t understand his language although his voice and his face showed us the intensity their verses.
I would like to congratulate the music man. His sounds full of magic that place. The union between poems and music was wonderful!
People enjoyed and hope next Friday to listen again.

If you are a poet or if you feel like him, go to Berlin Café, during four weeks you can participate in this event.
But... Don’t miss this opportunity!!
Friday: 15th of December a great Catalan poet named Joan Margarit ,who was born in Lleida and lives in Sant Just Desvern is going to close the event. He has written works like “Joana” dedicated to his died daughter. This poems’ book is full of feelings and reminders towards his daughter Joana.
Other important work is “Càlcul d’Estructures”.

It talks about Old people.
That day, someone special for me is going to recite their own poems that show us emotions about her, with music of percussion, played by a music man from Senegal.

I hope it will be a nice and special night!

HENRY MOORE

Last week, I visited with my English classmate “The Henry Moore Exhibition” from Caixa Forum.
I was very impressed when I went inside the Museum and I could see the wonderful sculptures there was in that place.
I didn’t know anything about Henry Moore works so, nowadays I can say they are very nice sculptures.
It was very interesting for me ( I am a teacher), when I read that Moore decided to became a sculptor encouraged by his school teacher, who introduced him to the work of Italian Artist. Then, He has been one of the most important Contemporary sculptors. This event should show us the influence of the school in the society.
When people walk around the Moore’s sculptures, they can see abstract monumental works. The subjects are usually abstractions of the human figure, typically mother –and- child or reclining figures.
The works always show us the connection between human being with the nature.





This picture consists in a big half bronze work. If you pay attention to the sculpture, you can see two shapes:

First: All the sculpture show us a ” Reclining Figure” with an abstract female figure with voids. In it we can observe her head, shoulders, knees, legs…who lies peacefully.
Second: So, If you are situated in front of this sculpture, you can interpret the undulating forms of this reclining figures as references to the landscape like hills or caves excavated in the stones.

Wonderful works and Fantastic sculptor!

To know Henry Moore sculptures means to go into the abstracted World of the Art.