The 31st August is another day in the calendar for most people. It's the end of summer holidays for many people. That day is also to rememember something for a few people.
We could start from any year in the Christian calendar, but if we have a look to web encyclopedias as wikipedia there are many references to celebrate. This is one of the reasons for my article today and for the blog itself.
I'm talking about events and news of the world, which affected, affect or will affect, somehow, the culture, way of life,...worldwide, but overall in the English spoken world. So, anybody who reads this article or the previous one, and, of course, anyone in my classes is invited to take part in it, with the only condition I said in the cover of the blog: respect for anyone who may read the article and the correct use of English language. Finally, there will be a success for everyone as we can learn from each other and I am sure there will be very interesting articles.
To go on with this one, as I have been saying I could have started at any date, as it was the day Mary Ann Nichols is murdered in 1888. She is the first of Jack the Ripper's known victims. Or I could have chosen the year 1920, when first radio news program were broadcast by station 8MK in Detroit, Michigan. Events which accomplish my rules, but they may not be very motivating for most of us, for the relevance or the distance in time.
I could have devoted this article to talk about when Nazi Germany mounted a staged attack on Gleiwitz radio station, creating an excuse to attack Poland the following day, starting World War II in Europe in 1939. Or I could have talked about some of the independence celebrations of small countries which were created after the end of that war like the Federation of Malaya (now Malaysia) in 1957 or Trinidad and Tobago in 1962 from the United Kingdom.
But , for me, and this is the main reason of my article, 31st August started to have a meaning in 1997 when I was preparing for my final exam in the University of Salamanca to get the degree in English Filology and I heard and watched the news of Diana's death , Princess of Wales, her companion Dodi Al-Fayed and driver Henri Paul in a car crash in Paris.I had a feeling it could be the topic of my essay: death or murderer? That's still a debate in the British media and people!
I may say Diana is "guilty" of my success and somehow of what I am now in my proffesion.
Therefore, I have many things to thank for the 31st August, and you may choose your topic for anyday. It could be a event, as I did, or the celebration of a birth on that day. Here there are some of my like:
1945 – Van Morrison, Northern Irish musician
1948 – Rudolf Schenker, German guitarist (Scorpions)
1949 – Richard Gere, American actor
1955 – Edwin Moses, American athlete
1970 – Queen Rania of Jordan
1976 – Roque Júnior, Brazilian footballer
1982 – Pepe Reina, Spanish goalkeeper (footballer)
And my article could have been dedicated to any of them, and you may have other sources and add more celebrities who were born on that day.Or, on the other hand, we may have to mourn those who died on 31st August, like:
1422 – King Henry V of England (b. 1387)
1867 – Charles Baudelaire, French poet (b. 1821)
1869 – Mary Ward, Irish scientist, first automobile accident victim (b. 1827)
1888 – Mary Ann "Polly" Nichols, widely believed to be the first victim of Jack the Ripper (b. 1845)
1969 – Rocky Marciano, American boxer (b. 1923)
1973 – John Ford, American film director (b. 1894)
1997 – Diana, Princess of Wales (b. 1961) and Dodi Al-Fayed, Egyptian film producer (b. 1955)
2006 – Mohamed Abdelwahab, Egyptian footballer (b. 1983)
Most of them could have been a subject for my article, as they are part of the Englishspoken culture or have any relation with my interests or are related to actual news like the death of Mohamed Abdelwahab, who died on the pitch after a heart attack or collapse, like Antonio Puerta, or recently Daniel Jarque.
As some of you know, any article about football, and overall Osasuna is welcomed!
GORA OSASUNA!
Well, that's all folks, and we'll meet in the blog!
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