A coin to mark Henry VIII anniversary

The Royal Mint is marking the 500 year anniversary of King Henry VIII’s reign by making a limited edition 5 pounds coin. The “coins are fit for a King” because they are made out of four different materials: platinum, gold, silver and cupro- nickel, so everyone can buy one according to what their wallet allows. The coins will cost between 9 pounds 99 to a whopping 4,400 pounds. The coin will also show the words Rosa Sine Spina, meaning “rose without a thorn”, which featured on coins in 1509. This coin will honor the “love him or hate him" monarch that is famous for having been married six times and his very large appetite.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8089561.stm




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It looks like a very nice coin. I watched the series "The Tudors" and it gave met the chance to learn about Henry VIII. He was very young when he became the King of England and made a lot of mistakes. He changed the history of England forever and reinvented the church. As Thomas More said in The Tudors, “When the lion knows his own strength no man can stop hem” and that is what happened after Henry VIII realized that he was the King and that people had to listen to him. A lot of people were killed because they did not want to accept that Henry VIII was the King and the head of the Church.

Mum finds missing son via Facebook

Avril Grube is a mother whose son was abducted 27 years ago, but they have been reunited thanks to Facebook. In 1982 her ex- husband Joseph Paros told her that he was going to take their son to the zoo but, instead he took him on a plane to Budapest where they disappered. Avril was devastated and contact the British and Hungarian embassies without any success.
Last October her sister Beryl Wilson tapped his name into Facebook and found him. Mother and son have meet and are making up for lost time, the only problem they face now is the fact that the does not speak English and that they have to use a translator.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article6386101.ece



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This is a story with a happy end and shows, how important this community websites are in the society of today. I also have a Facebook page and I use it to keep contact with my friends in America en Europe. You can find anyone you want and the fact that you can put pictures and chose who you want to be your friend helps you keep it the way you want. My best friend Ana Catarina lives in America and we keep track of each other via de Facebook. I also found a lot of my childhood friends and we keep very good contact because of this community website.

Gurkha veterans can settle in Britain

The Gurkha are people from Nepal who, take their name from the eight century Hind warrior Saint Guru Gorakhath.The Gurkhas have been part of the British Army for almost 200 years, but they receive a much smaller pension (at least six times less ) than British soldiers, on the grounds that the cost of living is much lower in Nepal. But today Home Secretary Jaqui Smith announced that the Gurkhas that have served for al least four years in the British Army are welcome to live in Britain and have the right to get the same pension has the rest of the Army.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article6333820.ece





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I was very sad to find out that the British Government did not treat all this veterans the same way. I already know that there were some differences when I read the book “White Teeth” because, there was an Indian war veteran that did not get the respect he deserved from the Army solders because of the is background, but now I realize that the book was not all fiction. This article made me realize that Britain is more racist than I thought, and the people from Nepal and India were helping the English to protect there colonies or there nation. Because of that they should be treated with the same respect and any British officer.

To much talent in one team

Sir Alex Ferguson has been the manager of Manchester United 20 years. He just won the English Premier League and is ready to play against F.C. Barcelona in the final of the UEFA Champions League Cup in Rome on Thursday the 21 May at the Camp Nou. He is ready for the challenge but has at the moment important decisions to make about the future of two of these star players Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez. If the keeps Ronaldo he will have to let Tevez go but there are not a lot of managers with this luxury problem because both players are in outstanding form and he has to let one go. Sir Alex is used to make this hard decisions because in let David Beckham go in 2003 to Real Madrid and he was like a son to him, he will always do what is best for this team.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/5304825/Carlos-Tevez-and-Cristiano-Ronaldo-rekindle-spirit-of-George-Best-with-protests.html





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I really admire Sir Alex Ferguson because he has been the manager of Manchester United for almost 20 years. He has been also very successful with the team and had a lot of good players in this team. Manchester United seems like big family were there are rules that need to be respected by the players and that keeps them out of trouble and there lives in the right track. About Ronaldo and Tevez I think that it is time for Sir Alex to let Ronaldo go, because he has been very disrespectful to this team and the manager by talking to the media about some private issues of the team. Let him go and see how long he is going to stay on top without the rules and discipline of Sir Alex.

Promoting new writing and reading for children

Cristy Burne and the runner-up, Ruth Paterson.

The Francis Lincoln Diverse Voice Children’s Book Award is an attempt to promote new writing for children, especially by or about people whose culture and voice are currently under-represented.
Children need to learn about the lives and concerns of others, and reading seems a very good way to achieve that in the classroom or at home .Learn to connect with classmates whose lives experience are very different from the one’s they have. Reading is fun and children can learn a lot about themselves and others. The world is made of all sorts of children and the diversity will contribute to social and cultural tolerance.
http://timesonline.typepad.com/schoolgate/2009/05/should-childrens-books-be-more-multicultural.html




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I had no idea that people in Britain did not read books about other cultures. If you go down in the article and read the comments of the people some of them are very aggressive. I think that you should read what you like and be open to other cultures. The world is made of people and children and the diversity is what makes the human species successful. Why should you not give children the chance to learn about other cultures and people without seeing any color? Teach children to read about other so they have a better understating of the world we live in.

Four British soldiers killed in Afghanistan

It was a bloody day for the British Forces in Afghanistan, three soldiers and one Royal Marine died. The troops died in three separate incidents, two of them in a suicide bomb attack, another during a reconnaissance patrol with the Afghan army and the last soldier in his Jackal vehicle when it was hit by a roadside bomb. The number of deaths of UK service personnel since 2001 is now 156. Many of the attackers come over the border from Pakistan after having been trained in al-Qaeda camps run by jihadists. According to a head of the British arm” it is going to be long difficult summer fighting a campaign against the Taliban
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/defence/5296520/Four-British-soldiers-dead-in-Afghanistan-as-Army-chief-warns-of-difficult-summer.htmlv



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How many soldiers still have to died for the Government to realize that it is time to let the Afghan people deal with there problem with the Taliban. So many children are going to grow up without a father because someone decided that all Taliban’s are terrorists. Why can we just try to find a way to solve the problem without sending so many good men to there grave. Start talking to the Taliban and get a peaceful solution. A new generation is going to grow up without a father and with a lot of hate for the Muslim world. They are going to miss an important person in their lives because of this War were nobody is winning. Children are losing one of their parents and what are we winning? Nothing, let the troops come home.

One more unexpected rising star in Britain’s Got Talent

Britain’s Got Talent latest singing sensation is a 37 year old pizza delivery man named Jamie Pugh He wowed the judges with his performance of” Bring Him Home” from “Les Miserable”. Although he was very nervous he managed to amaze the judges and got three yes. According to Simon Cowell the only thing that he has to do is to learn to believe in himself and he has a good chance of winning. Just like Boyle he gave a tear jerking performance and is just a normal person with an incredible talent. Britain’s Got Talent final is going to be very interesting with singing talent has Susan, Jamie, little Hollie and more special performance it is going to be an amazing television night.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1177761/Exposed-Britains-Got-Talent-star-Jamie-Pugh-performed-West-End.html



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I am very excited to see who is going to win because there is a lot of talent this time.
Susan Boyle and Jamie Pugh are not the only talent that has been discovered in the show. There is also the 10 year old Hollie Steel a small little girl with the voice of a grown up women. She is just fantastic and has a long way to go. This television show is about the talent and not how old you are. For some people is not fair that Hollie a 10 year old girls will compite against Susan Boyle a much older woman, but it is not about the age but about the talent and that is what makes this show such a success. I can wait to see the program and get amazed about this real talented people let the best one win.