Videoblog: "Very British"

Zitat von tagesschau.de:
Nach 20 Jahren berichtet ARD-Korrespondentin Hanni Hüsch wieder aus der Millionen-Metropole London. Zusammen mit ihrer Kollegin Julie Kurz ist sie ... "Very British".

"Very British" - alle Folgen gibt es hier.

Frank Auerbach on the importance of language (?)

I could have sworn that, during the recent (rare) interview with Frank Auerbach, there was a passage in which – in the context of the current migration crisis – Auerbach stressed the importance of language (for integration etc.), but I can't find it now. Something along the lines of "language is more important than looks", I think, unless I'm imagining it?

Further reading:

• Frank Auerbach – Wikipedia
• The painters' painter: A rare meeting with Frank Auerbach
• Frank Auerbach: Is he the UK's greatest living artist?
• Tate Britain: Frank Auerbach exhibition
• Frank Auerbach in the Guardian
• Frank Auerbach page at Artsy

Escher in London for the first time

Surprised to read that a current (autumn 2015) Escher exhibition at Dulwich Picture Gallery is "the first devoted to his work in England".

According to corresponding web page here, the exhibition was in fact organised by the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh and shown there before it moved to Dulwich. See here.

More info in an interesting article by Al Jazeera journalist Jessica Baldwin.

Looks like Escher but may not be. Source: Pixabay

Difference between 'made of' and 'made from'

Have you ever wondered what the difference is between 'made of' and 'made from'?

Cambridge Grammar of English by Ronald Carter and Michael McCarthy provides this helpful and succinct distinction:

‘Made from’ is often used to describe manufacturing processes . . . 

‘Made of’ emphasises the inherent material or qualities of something, and has a meaning similar to ‘composed of’.

Thanks to Jacqui Birnie for the 'research' on this issue.

'Improvements' at Brundholme Road, Keswick

The first eight images below show  Brundholme Road, Keswick, in June 2015. The images were taken from Google Street View and show the street scene with the original kerbstones, before it was vandalised (the official term was probably 'improved') in September 2015.

The next three images below show the replacement 'kerbstones', which were installed in September 2015. Note that they aren't even concrete, but plastic!

The final two photos were taken elsewhere in Keswick, in St John's St, just outside the nice, traditional Alhambra Cinema. These kerbstones are made of concrete, but, significantly, note that they have the traditional shape and size. If the kerbstones in Brundholme Street had to be replaced, why on earth didn't the planners stipulate a more traditional appearance, in preference to their monstrous and indeed rather depressing 'solution'?

Ragtime Rascals

Happened upon the Ragtime Rascals in Penrith on our way back from the Lake District, bless them.

Difference between icon and symbol

An updated version of this blog post can now be found on the HE Translations blog at https://hetranslations.uk/blog/tell-the-difference-between-an-icon-and-a-symbol