Easter Bonnet Parade; one of my first memories when living in London

If we live for a while with a British family, we'll discover that they are funny people, with some peculiar traditions. You'll love it because learning a language is also taking part into their habits, traditions and parties and eating and drinking what they do. As we say, "a donde quiera que fueres, haz lo que vieres".Don't try to eat "Spanish tortilla" or keep your own habits and traditions, but learn theirs.

My first visit to London was at Easter, lots of years ago. My British landlady acted with me as my "British granma" and I accompanied her to excursions, family parties and so on. So I went to her elderly people club, a Catholic club formed by the parish father. They celebrated the Easter Bonnet Parade: a funny party as they didn't have that sense of "this is ridiculous" that most Spaniards feel when doing something quite peculiar, or simply different.

What did they do and prepare? First of all they spent the previous days at home designing and making the biggest and most surprising hats. They had to include Easter eggs, little chickens, hens, chocolate, ... everything that they thought related to the topic. The day of the meeting in the club, they walked along as in the "Fashion Week" wearing their designs to choose the best one; of course, according to the criteria of "big, funny, peculiar, strange, ..."

Why is this related to "Food and Drink"? This was a party, so when they had chosen the First Prize, they were ready for an Afternoon Too, including cakes, Hot Cross Buns, Simnel Cakes, hot chocolate, tea and a lovely chat with the most marvellous old ladies I can remember. It was shocking while they weren't the old widows in black that I have seen in Spain many times.

But it is celebrated not only by old ladies. Festivities and traditions are learnt from the very beginning. You watch your relatives and continue these traditions and pass them to next generations. For that reason, these two boys have prepared their bonnets and are delighted to be photographed.
It was also taken to America, as many otherBritish traditions, so you can also find information in blogs, newspapers, and so on about the Easter Parade and Bonnet Festival in New York.Now, begin to think about your bonnet, prepare your cake for the party according to the ideas shown in other entries and enjoy with your friends.

See you next year on St. Patrick's Day! (19th March, 2012)

"Everybody is Irish on St. Patrick's. Put on your Green and join us for Drinks!".

Somebody said it and this may be a great opportunity to continue learning "other aspects" of English language and culture: FESTIVITIES and SPECIAL OCCASIONS.

There is always a moment to feel oneself like an Irish. This is it, I think. So, go ahead! Dress yourself up with something green (or you'll get pinch)! Look for the nearest Irish Pub! (Be sure there is one in your neighbourhood). Ask for a Guiness if you are over 18 (a coke if you are younger)! And make friends with those lovely people, the Irish!
When you finish your "Pub Crawl", perhaps is the moment for relatives and close friends at home. Try some lovely games and activities for kids and youngsters, write a limerick and sing with your best Irish accent. Finish cooking a typical Irish dinner to celebrate the day, but... that's another chapter.
Enjoy yourselves and have a lovely day!

Saint Patrick's Day - IES BLAS DE OTERO

 WE ARE BILINGUAL, ... so why don't we celebrate British, Irish or American festivities? Or at least, why don't we learn a bit about them?

That's the reason to decorate our hall for a week with information about this nice Irish tradition, which is also celebrated by Irish communities all over the world.

But first I have to thank to the few students who collaborate with their adornments and posters for the hall and their classes. Thank you!!!

 Posters and adornments are important, but there are other activities including in this celebration and traditions that must be learnt and loved: IRISH MUSIC is fantastic. It doesn't matter if it is a pop music group like "The Corrs" or the typical music you listen to in pubs.

The selection this week included both of them as follows:

On Monday: The Best of Corrs, 2001
On Tuesday: Pub music
On Wednesday: The Corrs, HOME, 2005
On Thursday: Pub music
On Friday: Pub music

Lovely photos of different towns and cities in Ireland / Éireánn / Eire could be seen on the left noticeboard in the hall, so you all could appreciate the marvellous buildings and landscapes all over the country and the famous statue of Molly Malone, in the city centre of Dublin.

Saint Patrick's day / Lá Fhéile Pádraig

There are lots of traditions, sayings and songs connected with St. Patrick's Day.

Try to read them and say them aloud to practice your English and...

Don't forget:

"IF YOU DON'T WEAR GREEN, YOU'LL GET PINCH".

See you next St. Patrick's

Christmas Time again!

We Wish You a Merry Christmas
We wish you a Merry Christmas; We wish you a Merry Christmas;
We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Good tidings we bring to you and your kin;
Good tidings for Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Oh, bring us a figgy pudding;
Oh, bring us a figgy pudding;
Oh, bring us a figgy pudding and a cup of good cheer: Refrain
We won't go until we get some;
We won't go until we get some;
We won't go until we get some, so bring some out here: Refrain
We wish you a Merry Christmas;
We wish you a Merry Christmas;
We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Do you remember this traditional Christmas carol?

I suppose everybody knows it. You all have listened to it very often. Perhaps you have even sung it every year. It is also possible that you are really fed up with it as you have listened and listened and listened to it every year.

But what perhaps you don't know is the connection between this Christmas Carol and the topic of this blog: "Food and Drink...".

Well, I consider it's time for you to get an idea:

The FIGGY PUDDING being considered as a typical British habit and as a new recipe for you to practice.

I must admit that it isn't my favourite British food. I haven't tasted it very often either. Although I'm interested in all aspects of British culture, I prefer our typical Spanish "polvorones" and "mazapanes". But, here you are. If you want to cook and taste it, try the following instructions and make any comment about its ingredients, the level of difficulty, if you consider it is tasty or any comparison with any other Christmas cake you like.

Go ahead, watch the video and follow the instructions carefully and share your information with all of us.

OTHER COOKERY WEBSITES:

http://homecooking.about.com/od/dessertrecipes/r/bldes108.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8w3kVpGjhA

http://thefoody.com/pudding/figgypudding.html

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-figgy-pudding.htm (including information for Diabetics and people on a diet)

the Great Irish Famine

Mine is a blog about food and drink, isn't it? Yes, of course. But dealing with the topic, it is also important to talk about the consequences that food and agricultural problems can (or could) have on population.

The first idea that comes to my mind about this topic is Ireland and potatoes. Why? If you have ever been to any city, town or village in Ireland, you'll discover that potatoes are basic when cooking anything: a steak or a fillet with a side-salad or vegetables and... fried potatoes and boiled potatoes, smashed potatoes and a grilled great potato, ... altogether.

If you think about it, the result is that when potato crops failed in older times, poor families had really "nothing" to eat. Then they decided to migrate to a new place where they thought there would be no problems: America. It happened between 1845 and 1952.

Bad crops were a frequent problem all over Europe. But the catastrophe was worse for Ireland as one third of Irish population was entirely dependent on potatoes for food.

The importance of the Great Irish Famine is so great that the famine became part of folk memory and it produced as a consequence nationalist movements. It is also recognized as the worst human disaster of 19th century, with 8,5 million people dead (al least one million in terrible conditions), one million people as refugees.

The Potato Blight is often considered as the greates wave of Irish immigration to America, when half a million had arrived in America to start a new life. Due to this fact, many families from Irish origin took Catholic religion (St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York) , Irish traditions (St. Patrick's) and well-known names to different aspects of American life (The Kennedys in politics are a good example). You will learn more about the Potato Famine in Ireland and the Irish immigration to America and how Americans accepted the immigrants in the Web and in other entries in my blog.

The importance of potatoes in the UK and Ireland

You cannot spend a single day in the United Kingdom or Ireland without realizing the importance of this product in all meals. It is a basic ingredient in their dishes and a side- in most of them. That is why there are so many recipes and websites about this topic which include all kinds of information about it: crops, different kinds of potatoes, recipes, nutritional information, official websides by the Government to support this industry or potato crops and so on.

If you haven't spent some time with a British or Irish family, this will sound quite strange; but my experience has made me learnt that this is true: a typical Irish dinner including fish or meat, peas, carrots, SMASHED POTATOES and BAKED POTATOES altogether, not as options. I must thank Marlene Moran, my Irish landlady while I was staying in Dublin for my "Spanish teachers of English" in 1992, who always cooked typical Irish dishes for her guests from all nationalities.

You'll find lots of websites (I'll show you some in the future) including recipes of all kinds, but basically is potatoes, potatoes and more potatoes every day.

Ir a: http://www.potato.org.uk/ supporting the British Potato Industry

Ir a: http://www.britishpotatoes.co.uk/ (supporting the B.P.I. and lots of recipes and information for children

Ir a: http://www.potatoesforcaterers.co.uk/ (B.P.I. and nutritional information)

Ir a: http://www.potatoesforschools.org.uk/ (for schools and teachers, to grow, to cook, ...)

Ir a: http://www.lovechips.co.uk/ (more original, about the Potato Week in February 2009)

Ir a: http://www.foodsafety.gov/ (an official website about alerts, consumer advise and education, ...)

Easter in Great Britain

When we think about something special at Easter in Spain, we usually think of Easter eggs (like the one in the photo to the right). Of course, there are "torrijas" all over the country. There are also lots of different cakes, sweeties and so on, according to the place where you spend your Easter holidays.


What about Great Britain and Ireland? What's the meaning of Easter for Britons? Remember they are not a Catholic, but an Anglican country. Even the name is from Anglo-Saxon origin, a goddess of fertility and springtime.


Easter in Britain and Ireland is similar throughout all four countries and, as in Spain, involves traditional cooking and baking with the highlight of the weekend of festivities involving copious amounts of chocolate eggs. Have you ever thought that Spaniards and Britons shared customs and traditions?


The two important cakes at Easter are the Simnel Cake and Hot Cross Buns. They were my first contact with Easter traditions in Britain during my first stay with my "British family" at Alice's. I must say that they were a Catholic family, a minority in London.


Hot Cross Buns are marked with a cross and were eaten by the Saxons to honor their goddess Eostre - it is thought the bun represented the moon and the cross the moon's quarters. To Christians, the cross symbolizes the crucifixion and traditionally eaten warm with butter on Good Friday (on the photo on the right).


The Simnel Cake signifies the end of Lent but as it was originally made on Mothering Sunday, I consider it deserves an entry apart.


Anything else important about Easter? Any other memories to share with you? Yes. It's nothing to do with food and drink, but all the same, you must know that British people share some traditions, as chocolate eggs and that they are not all so shy and reserved and you may think of them. "Easter Bonnet Parade" is a good example.

Ir a: http://www.visitbritain.co.uk/things-to-see-and-do/interests/food-drink/features/easter-food-traditions.aspx (about all kinds of traditions)

Ir a: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/ (news about 2009 Easter)