THE PARALYMPICS - DID YOU KNOW....?

The Paralympic symbol

Excitement is building again in London with only a few hours to go before the Paralympics Opening Ceremony.  It starts at 8.30 pm British time - that's 9.30 pm in Italy - and you will be able to see it on Rai Sport 1 in Italy.

Here are ten facts which you may not know about the Paralympics and the 2012 Paralympics in London in particular:

1.  The word "Paralympics" means that the Games run parallel to the Olympics.

2.  The Olympic Rings are not used as a symbol for the Paralympics.  These Games use three "agitos" [from the verb "to move" in Latin]. They are coloured red, blue and green because these are the colours most often used in the world's national flags.  The motto of the Paralympics is "Spirit in Motion".

3.  For the 2012 Paralympic Games, the four national flames of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have been combined to form one flame which is being carried from Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Buckinghamshire to the Olympic Stadium in London in a torch relay.  Stoke Mandeville Hospital is famous for its pioneering rehabilitation work with people who have suffered spinal injuries.

4.  The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge [Prince William and his wife, Kate] will attend the Opening Ceremony.

5.  The organisers in London expect these to be the first Paralympic Games where all the seats for spectators will have been sold.

6.  4,000 athletes and 150 nations are taking part.

7.  There are 21 different events in the Games.

8.  There is a classification system in place to ensure fairness.  Athletes who have a similar range of movement compete in each event.

9.  The sports of goalball and boccia are exclusive to the Paralympics.

10. The organisers also hope that the 2012 Paralympics in London will help change attitudes towards disability all over the world.

You can find out more on the Guardian Events Guide,  the London 2012 site, and, of course, by watching the Games!

Good luck to all the athletes!

ALL TOGETHER, NOW....

Jeremy Irons - London Pride [BBC Proms, 1999]

London Pride - Lyrics

London Pride has been handed down to us,

London Pride is a flower that's free.

London Pride is our own dear town to us,

And our pride it forever will be.
Whoa, Liza,

See the coster barrows,

 Vegetable marrows and the fruit piled high.
Whoa, Liza,

Little London sparrows,

Covent Garden Markets where the costers cry.

Cockney feet 

Mark the beat of history.

Every street pins a memory down.

Nothing ever could quite replace

The grace of London Town.

There's a little city flower,

Every spring unfailing,

Growing in the crevices,

By some London railing.

Though it has a Latin name

In town and countryside,

We in England call it

London Pride.

London Pride has been handed down to us,

London Pride is a flower that's free.

London Pride is our own dear town to us,

And our pride it forever will be.

Hey, lady,

When the day is dawning,

See the policeman yawning

On his lonely beat.

Gay lady,

Mayfair in the morning,

Hear your footsteps echo 

In the empty street.

Early rain,

And the pavement's glistening,

All Park Lane 

In a shimmering gown.

Nothing ever could break or harm

The charm

Of London Town.

In our city, darkened now,

Street and square and crescent,

We can feel our living past

In our shadowed present.

Ghosts beside the starlit Thames

Who lived and loved and died

Keep throughout the ages

London Pride.

London Pride has been handed down to us,

London Pride is a flower that's free.

London Pride is our own dear town to us,

And our pride it forever will be.

Grey city,

Stubbornly implanted,

Taken so for granted

For a thousand years.

Stay, city,

Smokily enchanted,

Cradle of our memories,

Our hopes and fears.

Every Blitz,

Your resistance toughening.

From the Ritz

To the Anchor and Crown,

Nothing ever could override

The pride

Of London Town.

- Sir Noel Coward

Notes:
whoa - a command, usually used when speaking to horses, meaning "Stop". The speaker or singer is telling his companion to stop for a moment and look around.

coster [archaic]  - a seller of fruit or vegetables 

Cockney - traditionally someone born within the sound of the bells of the Church of St Mary-le-Bow in London. See also this post.

beat - [1] the passing of time [2] the area which a policeman patrols on foot

gay - here used with its old meaning of "happy"!

Blitz [here] - the bombing of Britain during World War II

Ritz - the Ritz Hotel

The Anchor & Crown - name of a pub

London Pride flower
[saxifraga x urbium]
Image:  Picture Esk on flickr

Now, you all have to clap your hands while you sing this one! Are you ready? Go!

The Business - Maybe it's Because I'm a Londoner

Maybe it's Because I'm a Londoner - Lyrics
Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner That I love London so Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner That I think of her wherever I go I get a funny feeling inside of me Just walking up and down Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner That I love London town
- Hubert Gregg
Note:Towns and countries are sometimes referred to in the feminine gender.  This is mostly a poetic usage these days.
ENJOY THE LONDON OLYMPICS, EVERYBODY!

ORANGES AND LEMONS

Do you know this nursery rhyme?  It is based on the words that the bells of six famous London churches seem to be saying:

KiddieOK - Oranges and Lemons

A farthing was a pre-decimal coin with the value of one quarter of an "old" [pre-decimal] penny.  The farthing was removed from circulation on 31st December 1960.  The "penny-farthing" bicycle got its name because its big wheel and little wheel reminded people of a penny and a farthing.

Image: Wikimedia Commons

AN OLYMPIC WORDSEARCH

The excitement is mounting in London this week so here is an "Olympic" wordsearch for you:

AN OLYMPIC WORDSEARCH

LONDON OLYMPICS, 2012

P E S R F G R S D A U P H S T

F O Z C N E C E R I E A N T R

S U W I I I N C L Q R R O A A

C U W E P T H C U A R A L D C

Z O C M R E E E I N Y L H I K

R P Y S R L S L N N R Y T U G

V L W Y I T I S H Z G M A M N

O S C R R D M F J T V P I M I

F G N I L C Y C T B A I R K V

Z M A R A T H O N I C C T H I

J N K T O R C H E F N S I M D

L L A B Y E L L O V S G E C G

L O O P A L T A R T H D M O P

F F W L A G Q S S V A G C W N

Z S U S T O Z F H L I W B I N

ARCHERY

ATHLETICS

CYCLING

DISCUS

DIVING

EQUESTRIAN

FENCING

MARATHON

MEDAL

OLYMPICS

PARALYMPICS

POOL

POWERLIFTING

RELAY

ROWING

STADIUM

TORCH

TRACK

TRIATHLON

VOLLEYBALL

COCKNEY RHYMING SLANG

Johannes Brahms
Image: Wikipedia

In this BBC video, some US Olympic athletes are trying to pronounce Cockney rhyming slang.  They are also trying to use a London accent.

A Cockney is a term used to describe someone born in the East End of London and traditionally the person should be able to hear the Bow Bells from the place where he or she is born.  Cockney rhyming slang is a kind of slang [gergo] based on words that rhyme and often the second word of the phrase is omitted: for example, a speaker will just say "Dog" for dog and bone, which means "telephone".

No one really knows how Cockney rhyming slang originated but one likely explanation is that workers used it so that their employers would not be able to understand what they were talking about!

The sentence the athletes are trying to pronounce is:

"I'll stick on the Hansel and Gretel and make us a nice cup of Rosie Lee."

Hansel and Gretel means "kettle" [bollitore] and Rosie Lee means "tea" so the speaker is saying he's going to put on [accendere] the kettle and make a nice cup of tea for everybody.

Just for fun today, see if you can match up the following Cockney rhyming slang expressions 1 - 8 with their meanings a - h.  You will find the answers at the end of the post.

1.  apples and pears

2.  trouble and strife

3.  Ruby Murray  [She was a popular Irish singer.]

4.  plates of meat

5.  Adam and Eve

6.  Sweeney Todd

7.  Barnet Fair  [Barnet is a town near London.]

8.  Brahms and Liszt


a.  feet

b.  wife

c.  hair

d.  pissed [also slang, meaning "drunk" [ubriaco]

e.  believe

f.  stairs

g.  curry

h.  Flying Squad [a branch of the London Metropolitan Police Service]

Franz Liszt by Pierre Petit
Image: Wikipedia

Highlight the space below to see the answers:

1f  2b  3g  4a  5e  6h  7c  8d

Now, what does the following sentence mean?

The singer Ruby Murray

"I'm going to take the trouble out for a Ruby after she's had her Barnet done."

Again, highlight the space below to see the answer.

"I'm going to take my wife out for a curry after she's had her hair done."