New Zealand | Famous sights

Hanmer Springs is a small town in the Canterbury region of the South Island of New Zealand. It is located 65 kilometres southwest of Kaikoura, in the Hurunui District. The town lies on a minor road 10 kilometres north of State Highway 7, the northern route between Christchurch and the West Coast via Lewis Pass. According to the 2006 cencus the resident population is 729.
The town is built around a popular hot spring which was discovered in the late 19th century. The hot springs were produced by the fractured rock bed along the Hanmer fault.
Hanmer Springs' Queen Mary Hospital, the South Island's leading rehabilitation centre for sufferers of drug addiction, was controversially closed in 2003. The premises were purchased by the New Zealand Department of Conservation in 2008.
In 2009, a 4600 square metre extension to the hot pools complex was proposed including “a second [16m high] water-slide, ice-skating rink and relocating and reconfiguring the freshwater pool.During the consent process oppositions were made to it by, among others the Queen Mary Reserve Trust concerning the expansions effect on noise levels and visual impact. Concerns were also raised by former hospital superintendent, Dr Robert Crawford, about the change the development may have on the village’s brand of “slow tourism and relaxation, not wet’n’wild.

New Zealand | Historical people

Richard William Pearse (3 December 1877 — 29 July 1953),son of Cornish immigrants from St Columb near Newquay, a New Zealand farmer and inventor who performed pioneering experiments in aviation.
Pearse supposedly successfully flew and landed a powered heavier-than-air machine on 31 March 1903, some nine months before the Wright brothers flew their craft. The documentary evidence to support such a claim remains open to interpretation, however, and he does not appear to have developed his aircraft to the same degree as the Wright brothers did, in respect of sustained, controlled flight. Pearse himself was not a publicity-seeker and also occasionally made contradictory statements which for many years led some of the few who knew of his feats to offer 1904 as the date of his first truly-controlled flight. The lack of any chance of industrial development, such as spurred the Wrights to develop their machine, seems to have suppressed any recognition of Pearse's achievements.

New Zealand | Traditions

Haka (singular is the same as plural: haka) is the traditional dance form of the Mäori of New Zealand. It is a posture dance performed by a group, with vigorous movements and stamping of the feet with rhythmically shouted accompaniment.
History: Although the use of haka by the All Blacks rugby union team has made one type of haka familiar, it has led to misconceptions. Haka are not exclusively war dances, nor are they only performed by men. Some are performed by women, others by mixed groups, and some simple haka are performed by children. Haka are performed for various reasons: for amusement, as a hearty welcome to distinguished guests, or to acknowledge great achievements or occasions (McLean 1996:46-47). War haka (peruperu) were originally performed by warriors before a battle, proclaiming their strength and prowess in order to intimidate the opposition. Today, haka constitute an integral part of formal or official welcome ceremonies for distinguished visitors or foreign dignitaries, serving to impart a sense of the importance of the occasion.
Various actions are employed in the course of a performance, including facial contortions such as showing the whites of the eyes and the poking out of the tongue, and a wide variety of vigorous body actions such as slapping the hands against the body and stamping of the feet. As well as chanted words, a variety of cries and grunts are used. Haka may be understood as a kind of symphony in which the different parts of the body represent many instruments. The hands, arms, legs, feet, voice, eyes, tongue and the body as a whole combine to express courage, annoyance, joy or other feelings relevant to the purpose of the occasion.

England | Food

Apple pie: An apple pie is a fruit pie (or tart) in which the principal filling ingredient is apples. It is sometimes served with whipped cream on top. Pastry is generally used top-and-bottom, making a double-crust pie, the upper crust of which may be a disk shaped crust or a pastry lattice woven of strips; exceptions are deep-dish apple pie with a top crust only, and open-face Tarte Tatin.







Ingredients: Cooking apples (culinary apples, colloquially cookers), such as the Bramley or Granny Smith, are crisp and acidic. The fruit for the pie can be fresh, canned, or reconstituted from dried apples. This affects the final texture, and the length of cooking time required; whether it has an effect on the flavour of the pie is a matter of opinion. Dried or preserved apples were originally substituted only at times when fresh fruit was unavailable.

The English pudding: English apple pie recipes go back to the time of Chauser. The 1381 recipe (see illustration at right) lists the ingredients as good apples, good spices, figs, raisins and pears. The cofyn of the recipe is a casing of pastry. Saffron is used for colouring the pie filling.In English speaking countries, apple pie is a dessert of enduring popularity, eaten hot or cold, on its own or with ice-cream, double cream, or custard.

England | Famous sights

Big Ben is the nickname for the great bell of the clock at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, and is often extended to refer to the clock or the clock tower as well. Big Ben is the largest four-faced chiming clock and the third-tallest free-standing clock tower in the world. It celebrated its 150th anniversary in May 2009 (the clock itself first ticking on 31 May 1859), during which celebratory events took place.

Clock: The clock faces are large enough that the Clock Tower was once the largest four-faced clock in the world, but this has since been outdone by the Allen -Bradley Clock Tower in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. However, the builders of the Allen-Bradley Clock Tower did not add chimes to the clock, so the Great Clock of Westminster still holds the title of the "world's largest four-faced chiming clock". The clock and dials were designed by Augustus Pugin. The clock faces are set in an iron frame 7 metres (23 ft) in diameter, supporting 312 pieces of opal glass, rather like a stained-glass window. Some of the glass pieces may be removed for inspection of the hands. The surround of the dials is gilded. At the base of each clock face in gilt letters is the Latin inscription: " DOMINE SALVAM FAC REGINAM NOSTRAM VICTORIAM PRIMAM " Which means O Lord, keep safe our Queen Victoria the First.

England | Bands

The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in 1962 in London when guitarist and harmonica player Brian Jones and pianist Ian Steward were joined by vocalist Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards. Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early lineup. Stewart, deemed unsuitable as a teen idol, was removed from the official lineup in 1963 but continued as the band's road manager and occasional keyboardist until his death in 1985. After signing to Decca Records in 1963, the spelling of their name changed from "the Rollin' Stones" to "the Rolling Stones."
In 1963 Jagger and Richards formed a songwriting partnership and eventually took over leadership of the band as Jones became increasingly troubled and erratic. After recording mainly covers of American blues and R&B songs, every studio record since the 1966 album Aftermath has featured mainly Jagger/Richards songs. Mick Taylor eplaced Jones shortly before Jones's death in 1969. Taylor quit in 1974, and was replaced in 1975 by Faces guitarist Ronnie Wood, ho has remained with the band ever since. Wyman left the Rolling Stones in 1992, and Darryl Jones, who is not an official band member, has been the primary bassist since 1994.

Australia | Food

Damper is a traditional Australian soda bread prepared by swagmen, drovers and other travelers. It consists of a wheat flour based bread, traditionally baked in the coals of a campfire. Damper is an iconic Australian dish. It is also made in camping situations in New Zealand, and has been for many decades.
Damper was originally developed by stockmen who travelled in remote areas for weeks or months at a time, with only basic rations of flour, sugar and tea, supplemented by whatever meat was available . The basic ingredients of damper were flour, water, salt and sometimes milk. Baking soda could be used for leavening. The damper was normally cooked in the ashes of the camp fire. The ashes were flattened and the damper was placed in there for ten minutes to cook. Following this, the damper was covered with ashes and cooked for another 20 to 30 minutes until the damper sounded hollow when tapped. Alternatively, the damper was cooked in a greased camp oven.
Damper was eaten with dried or cooked meat or golden syrup, also known as "cocky's joy".
Damper is also a popular dish with Indigenous Australians. Aboriginal women had traditionally made bush bread from seasonal grains and nuts, which they cooked in the ashes of fires.
It also became a popular dish for recreational campers and has become available in bakeries. Many variations and recipes exist, some authentic, others using the name to sell a more palatable bread product to the urban public.

Australia | Famous sights

Kangaroo Island is Australia's third-largest island after Tasmania and Melville Island. It is 112 kilometres (70 mi) southwest of Adelaide at the entrance of Gulf Saint Vincent. At its closest point to the mainland, it is 13 kilometres (8 mi) offshore from Cape Jervis, on the tip of the Fleurieu Peninsula in the state of South Australia. The island is 150 km (93 mi) long and between 900 m (980 yd) and 57 km (35 mi) wide, its area covering 4,405 km² (1,701 sq mi). Its coastline is 540 kilometres (340 mi) long and highest altitude is 307 m (1,010 ft). It is separated from Yorke Peninsula to the northwest by Investigator Strait and from Cape Jervis to the northeast by Backstairs Passage.




Fires: Lightning strikes on Thursday 6 December 2007 caused several fires on the Island. Before being contained on 16 December 2007, over 900 square kilometres (or 20% of the Island) had been burnt, principally within National Park and Conservation Reserves. The most serious outbreak occurred in Flinders Chase, with 630 square kilometres (or 85% of the total Park area) having been burnt.

Australia | Tradition

Australia Day (previously known as Anniversary Day, Foundation Day and ANA Day) is the official national day of Australia. Celebrated annually on 26 January, the day commemorates the arrival of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove in 1788, the hoisting of the British flag there, and the proclamation of British sovereignty over the eastern seaboard of Australia.
Australia Day is an official public holiday in every state and territory of Australia and is marked by the Order of Australia and Australian of the Year awards, along with an address from the Prime Minister.
Although it was not known as Australia Day until over a century later, records of celebrations on 26 January date back to 1808, with Governor Lachlan Macquarie having held the first official celebration of the formation of New South Wales in 1818. In 2004, an estimated 7.5 million people attended Australia Day celebrations and functions across the country.

Ireland | Jeremy Irons

Jeremy John Irons (born 19 September 1948) is an English actor. After receiving classic training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Irons began his acting career on stage in 1969, and had since appeared in countless London theatre productions including The Winter's Tale, Macbeth, Much Ado About Nothing, The Taming of the Shrew and Richard II. In 1984, he made his Broadway debut in Tom Stoppard's The Real Thing and garnered a Tony Award for Best Actor.

Irons is also an occasional television actor. He earned his first Golden Globe Award for his television debut in BBC's series Brideshead Revisited(1981). In 2006, Irons starred opposite Helen Mirren in HBO's miniseries Elizabeth I, for which he received his second Golden Globe Award and an Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actor. In pop culture, He is also known for lending his voice to the Disney character Scar in The Lion King(1994).

Ireland | Food

Irish stew is a traditional irish stew made from lamb, beef or mutton, (mutton is used as it comes from less tender sheep over a year old and is fattier and more flavourful) as well as potatoes, carrots, onions and parsley. The essence of Irish stew is summed up in the recipe's entry in The Joy of Cooking: "This famous stew is not browned."






Recipe :

Ingredients
4 cups of water.
1 lb of diced/chopped mutton.

4 med size carrots.
2 med size onions.
A tablespoon of parsley.

5 med size potatoes.
2 stock cubes, or 1 pint of homemade/prepared stock.
Black pepper.

Method

Boil the mutton alone for about 1 hour.

Strain off most of the fat.

Chop the vegetables to spoon size.

Put all ingredients in a big pot including the stock, and bring to boil and simmer for 1 1/2 hours.

Ireland | Famous living person

Paul David Hewson, born 10 May 1960, most commonly known by his stage name Bono, is an Irish singer and musician, best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2.Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his future wife, Ali Hewson and the future members of U2. Bono writes almost all U2 lyrics, often using political, social, and religious themes. During their early years, Bono's lyrics contributed to U2's rebellious and spiritual tone.As the band matured, his lyrics became inspired more by personal experiences shared with members of U2.












Rock Band U2: On 25 September 1976, Bono, David Evans ("The Edge"), his brother Dik, and Adam Clayton responded to an advertisement on a bulletin board at Mount Temple posted by fellow student Larry Mullen Jr. to form a rock band. The band had occasional jam sessions in which they did covers of other bands. Tired of long guitar solos and hard rock, Bono wanted to play Rolling Stones and The Beach Boys songs. Unfortunately the band could not play covers very well, so they started writing their own songs.

USA | Sport

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The goal is to score by hitting a thrown runs ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot square, or diamond. Players on one team (the batting team) take turns hitting against the pitcher of the other team (the fielding team), which tries to stop them from scoring runs by getting hitters out in any of several ways. A player on the batting team can stop at any of the bases and later advance via a teammate's hit or other means. The teams switch between batting and fielding whenever the fielding team records three outs. One turn at bat for each team constitutes an inning; nine innings make up a professional game. The team with the most runs at the end of the game wins.

Rules and gameplay:A game is played between two teams, each composed of nine players, that take turns playing offense (batting or hitting) and defense (fielding or pitching). A pair of turns, one at bat and one in the field, by each team constitutes an inning; there are nine innings in a game. One team—customarily the visiting team—bats in the top, or first half, of every inning; the other team—customarily the home team—bats in the bottom, or second half, of every inning. The goal of a game is to score more points (runs) than the other team. The players on the team at bat attempt to score runs by circling, or completing a tour of, the four bases set at the corners of the square-shaped baseball diamond. A player bats at home plate and must proceed counterclockwise to first base, second base, third base, and back home in order to score a run. The team in the field attempts both to prevent runs from scoring and to record outs, which remove opposing players from offensive action until their turn in their team's batting order comes up again. When three outs are recorded, the teams switch roles for the next half-inning. If the score of the game is tied after nine innings, extra innings are played to resolve the contest. Children's games are often scheduled for fewer than nine innings.

USA | Tradition

Origin of name : The word Halloween is first attested in the 16th century and represents a Scottish variant of the fuller All-Hallows-Eve, that is, the night before All Hallows Day. Although the phrase All Hallows is found in Old English (ealra hálȝena mæssedæȝ, the feast of all saints), All-Hallows-Even is itself not attested until 1556. Thus there is no evidence of the term for this day before the 16th century Reformation.

Costumes : Halloween costumes are traditionally those of monsters such as ghosts, skeletons, witches, and devils. They are said to be used to scare off demons. Costumes are also based on themes other than traditional horror, such as those of characters from television shows, movies, and other pop culture icons.

Foods : Because the holiday comes in the wake of the annual apple harvest, candy apples(known as toffee apples outside North America), caramel or taffy apples are a comm on Halloween treat made by rolling whole apples in a sticky sugar syrup, sometimes followed by rolling them in nuts.

USA | Food

McDonalds's is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast good restaurants, serving nearly 47 million customers daily. The business began in 1940, with a restaurant opened by brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald in San Bernardino , California. Their introduction of the "Speedee Service System" in 1948 established the principles of the modern fast-food restaurant. The original mascot of McDonald's was a man with a chef's hat on top of a hamburger shaped head whose name was "Speedee." Speedee was eventually replaced with Ronald McDonald by 1967 when the company first filed a U.S. trademark on a clown shaped man having a puffed out costume legs. McDonald's first filed for a U.S. trademark on the name McDonald's on May 4, 1961, with the description "Drive-In Restaurant Services", which continues to be renewed through the end of December 2009.

Scotland | Traditions

The kilt is a knee-length garmet. Today Scotsman regard kilts formal dress or a national dress. Although there are still a few people who wear a kilt daily, it is usually owned or hired to be worn at weddings or other formal occasions. It is also worn on some sport events, and for example Highland games, but it has also been a part of Fashion. The Kilt first appeared as the "Great kilt", a full-length garment whose upper half could be worn as a cloak raped over the shoulder, or brought up over head as a cloak. The Scottish Kilt is unique in its appearance(design, construction). There are also accessories for Kilt: belt, jacket, kilt pin, sgian dubh(black knife) and so on.

Scotland | Sports

Golf is a club-and-ball sport. Players are called "Golfers". Players use different types of clubs (each club is composed of a shaft with a lance (grip) on the top end and a club head on the bottom. "Long" clubs are those meant to propel the ball a comparatively longer distance and "short" clubs a comparatively short distance.)and attempt to hit balls into holes. In the Rules of golf, golf is described as "playing a ball with a club from the teeing ground into the hole by a stroke or successive strokes in accordance with the Rules." It isn't known where golf came from. A golf course consists of a series of holes. The hole is highlighted with the pin and a cup. Typically a round consists of 18 holes that are played in a certain order. The player that does the less strikes to hit all the holes, is the winner. One intresting thing about this sport is that players use motorized carts to drive from one hole to another.

Scotland | Historic people

Sir William Wallace (1272-1305) is nowadays known as a patriot and a national hero. He was one of the two great people who defeated the English army at the battle of Stirling Bridge and he became Guardian of Scotland. Not much known about Wallace's family. The Wallace family may have originally come from Wales or Shorpshire as followers of Walter Fitzalan. There is a tale about Wallace's family. The tale (invented by Blind Harry) says that Wallace's father was killed along with his brother John in a skirmish at Loudoun hill in 1921 by the notorious Lambies, who came from the clan Lamont. Wallace himself was executed on 23th August 1305. He was stripped naked and dragged through the city at the heels of a horse to the Elms at Smithfield. He was there hanged and cut very brutally.