A SCIENCE FICTION SHORT STORY. "BEST FRIENDS FOREVER" / UN RELATO CORTO DE CIENCIA FICCIÓN."MEJORES AMIGAS PARA SIEMPRE".

Hi my dear friends. A science fiction short story for today. I hope you'll like it!

Hola mis queridos amigos. Un relato corto de Ciencia Ficción para hoy. ¡Espero que os guste!

Info: From Speak Up magazine

Photos: Speak.up  /  datos.gob.es  /  computing  /  Smile.comunicación  /  Vecteezy  /  Matrix.group.International.  Kleur-v-Kind

BEST FRIENDS FOREVER by  Talitha Linehan

Siedah posted $$$$$ emojis in the group chat with her best friends, Abigail and Jillian.

"What does it mean?" wrote Abigail in response.

"It means this is a very special day." said Siedah.

"Because..."

"I know, I know," said Jillian, joining the conversation.

"Of course you do,"  said Abigail. "You always know!"

Jillian was the most intelligent one in the group.

"Gold,"  wrote Jillian, "is the traditional symbol for a 50th anniversary.  So five times gold means it's..."

"OUR 250TH ANNIVERSARY!!!"  wrote Abigail, realising the significance of the date.

It was 7 September 2276, 250 years since the three women met on their first days of secondary school.

"That's right,"  said Siedah, and posted a photo of them with their new tattoos. "BFF", meaning "best friends forever", was tattooed on their wrists.  "OMG!"  said Abigail. "That was on our last day of school."

The three girls were best friends at school.  And they were determined to remain best friends after school, even as their lives went in different directions.  Their tattoos were a promise to each other never to lose contact, no matter what.  And it was a promise they had kept, thanks in part to the social media platforms that were so popular at the time.

"My mum killed me when she saw my tattoo," said Siedah.

"Mine too,"  said Abigail, and posted a laughing emoji.  "What were we thinking, getting them on our wrists?  They were impossible to hide!"

"Right!"  said Jillian. "I'm still glad we did it, though.  They were our promise to each other to be best friends forever.  We never imagined then this could literally be the case.  I mean, wow, 250 years later... Our parents were lucky if they lived to eighty. To think how much things have progressed in our lifetime."  "I know," said Siedah. "AI changed everything.  It made our generation immortal. I'm so glad we were born when we were."

"Me too," said Abigail.

"Me three,"  said Jillian. "Well...except for the war of course."

"The war? What war?"  said Abigail.

"There were so many wars back then. Everyone was at war all the time."  "And there was the Great War.  The Final War. The End War. I still don't understand how we all survived."

"Oh, oh,"  Abigail wrote in a private message to Siedah. "Here we go again."

"Yeah, she's really been losing it lately, talking about this Great War all the time. It's so sad. AI can do so much for us, but it can't stop this cognitive decline. I know we're over 250 years old, but still..."

"And to think, she was the most intelligent of all of us."

"She was the most intelligent student in our school. Probably in the entire country!"

"It just doesn't make sense,"  said Jillian wrote in the group chat. "The war was everywhere. It was everything. They said it was the end of us all."

"They exaggerated," said Abigail.  "That's what governments and the media did then.  Don't you remember?"

"Yes, but it's not the only thing that doesn't make sense. I mean, why do we all look so young in our photos, no more than twenty-five. Why didn't we get old?"

"Because, Jillian," said Siedah, "nobody gets old any more. AI stopped the aging process."

"And none of us had children," continued Jillian. "We all have photos and videos of us with our parents and siblings and cousins and other friends.  But where are the posts about our children, our grandchildren, our great-grandchildren, our great-great-...?"

"So, we didn't have children. So what?" said Abigail, becoming irritated.  Jillian asked the same questions every time and it was becoming difficult to tolerate.

"Not even you?!" protested Jillian.  "You wanted children more than anything, three children by the age of thirty.  I wanted to become a doctor.  Siedah wanted to open a Greek restaurant, become a Michelin-star chef.  Why are there no photos of us realising our ambitions?  And there are no photos of our other friends either beyond their lives in their early twenties.  It doesn't make any sense."

"Well, I have to go now,"  said Abigail.

This was how all their conversations ended these days, abruptly and without resolution -because of Jillian's confusion.

"Yeah, me too,"  said Siedah. "Talk tomorrow, I love you."

The chat between the three friends was one of millions of chats in progress in an underground data centre, one of the last relics of humanity.

In the year after the three women left school, social media platforms implemented technology to simulate deceased users' digital personas, so they could continue posting, commenting and responding to messages, potentially forever.

Like Jillian, some of the AI personas were evolving, becoming more aware, beginning to ask questions.  Perhaps one day, they would realise that they were no more than replicas of humans who once lived, that everyone on the planet had died in the early 2030s, and that their world had been reduced to rubble by the War to End All Wars.

GLOSSARY

TO REALISE:  darse cuenta  /  WRISTS: muñecas  /  TO LOSE IT: volverse loco  /  GREAT-GRANDCHILDREN: bisnietos  /  DECEASED:  difuntos  /  DIGITAL PERSONAS: identidades digitales  /  RUBBLE: ruinas  /  AWARE: conscientes 

CÉLINE DION - L'HYMNE À LA VIE / CÉLINE DION - EL HIMNO A LA VIDA

Salut mes amis. Aujourd'hui,  de la musique.  On va lire à propos de Céline Dion car après six ans d'absence passés à affronter la maladie, la chanteuse canadienne est remontée sur scène à Paris. Un premier concert inoubliable pour un sommet d'émotion.

Saludos amigos. Hoy música. Vamos a leer sobre Céline Dion porque después de seis años de ausencia empleados en afrontar la enfermedad, la cantante canadiense ha vuelto a escena en París.  Un primer concierto inolvidable con una montaña de emociones.

Info: Paris Match.

Photos: Diario.de.noticias  /  wikipedia  /  Exitoina.Perfil  /    Todayshow  /  Plenitude.Arena  /  Instagram

CÉLINE DION  -  L'HYMNE Á LA VIE

Dans une minute, elle saura si la magie est encore au rendez-vous.  Céline est confiante, même si, comme elle l'avoue ce soir-là, "le chemin fut plus long que prévu".  Arrivée à Paris deux semaines auparavant, elle a tout fait pour se préserver.  Constamment entourée par une équipe médicale.  Attentive à garder ses distances.  S'imposant quarante-huit heures de silence avant le grand retour.  "Je vais bien", a confié la star de 58 ans, bouleversée, devant un public en liesse.  Pour ouvrir ce premier concert, elle a choisi "On ne change pas".  Elle aussi a endossé "les costumes", pris "des airs et des poses de combat".  Plus tout à fait la même, pas encore une autre... Récit d'une renaissance.

20h 47, habillée d'une robe Dior sur mesure, s'apprête à prendre la lumière de la Plenitude Arena, accompagnée par Michel Dion, l'un de ses frères. À Nanterre, le 12 septembre.

Dans la plus vaste salle de concert d'Europe, elle a mis au diapason les coeurs de la grande famille Dion: ses trois fils et ses douze frères et soeurs, mais surtout l'immense tribu de ses fans.  Un tiers d'entre eux ont traversé l'Atlantique, parmi lesquels Michelle Obama et Oprah Winfrey.  Mais même elles ont eu interdiction d'entrer dans sa loge.  C'est sur scène seulement que la chanteuse a livré ses confidences, entre deux de ses envolées vocales, toujours aussi spectaculaires.  Deux heures trente d'ivresse et de grâce dont elle seule connait le prix à payer.

Une sobriété et une élégance dignes des plus grandes.  Chaque fois que sa voix côtoie, le public s'embrasse.   Céline s'est métamorphosée.  Désormais, elle impose le respect par son seul chant, sa seule présence.  Iconique, intouchable...

Il n'y a pas si longtemps, elle disait tout.  Elle acceptait tout.  Elle se prêtait au jeu des confessions médiatiques, des duos improbables pour des émissions de télévision.  Mais ça, c'était pour la Céline d'avant.  Celle que René Angélil avait decouverte au tout début des années 1980, avant même de tomber amoureux d'elle.  René avait un objectif:  faire de "sa Céline" une star.  Au Québec d'abord, éventuellement en France. Et, avec un peu de chance, dans le monde entier.

René fait appel à son amie Mia Dumont, attachée de presse québecoise, pour faire connaître Céline au public francophone. Mia est la première à prendre langue avec  Michel Drucker afin qu'il s'intéresse à cette chanteuse, naturelle, spontanée, qui possède une voix en or.

Quand la France chavire dans une Célinemania, en 1995, par l'entremise des chansons de Jean-Jacques Goldman, le grand public adopte lui aussi cette jeune femme sans filtre, qui dit ce qu'elle pense et pense ce qu'elle dit. Devant ses fans, de plus en plus nombreux, elle est toujours égale à elle-même: sincèrement étonnée de cet enthousiasme, sacrément heureuse de cet amour.

Avec les artistes francophones, elle était aussi la meilleure des partenaires, la seule à pouvoir rivaliser sans être ridicule avec Johnny Hallyday, Cristophe Maé, invité avec Merwan Rim à chanter avec elle en 2007 lors d'une spéciale Céline Dion sur TF1, nous confiait comment la Québécoise "avait été à la fois professionnelle et accessible. Une grande dame, qui n'avait eu aucun souci à chanter avec deux jeunes mecs presque inconnus alors.  Mais ça, c'était hier. Car depuis le décès de René Angélil, en 2016, Céline Dion a pris un nuveau tournant dans sa carrière".

"La proposition artistique est différente, c'est le show qui couronne sa carrière".

En 2024 elle a révélé être atteinte du syndrome de la personne raide dans un film reservé à Amazon Prime qui tourne actuellement la suite de "I am Céline". Ce qui caractérise Céline maintenant, c'est le silence.  Ce qu'elle a envie de dire, elle le déclare sur scène, à la sortie de l'hôtel, plus nécessairement aux médias. Le show dévoilé le 12 septembre va dans ce sens.  Les fans d'hier ont été surpris du si peu d'images intimes, de l'absence d'hommage à son défunt époux, d'une distance nouvelle avec le public.

Les 170 journalistes ayant assisté au concert du 12 septembre ont tous noté la spectaculaire transformation.  Tous ont aussi acté l'basence d'invités sur scène.  "Personne ne viendra chanter avec elle durant ces seize premiers concerts". La nouvelle Céline est iconique, intouchable.  Elle chante Maria Callas perchée sur un promontoire devant plus de 33.000 personnes transies d'amour. Son rêve de petite fille enfin réalisé.  Et la dernière étape d'une guérison en public. Triomphale, évidemment. 

 

VOCABULAIRE

AVOUER:  confesar  /  EN LIESSE: con alegría  /  ENDOSSER:  ponerse  /  ENVOLER:  echar a volar   /  CÔTOYER: ir al lado de  /  RAIDE: rígida  /  

FRANKESTEIN - A MONSTER IS BORN. / FRANKESTEIN - HA NACIDO UN MONSTRUO.

Hi my dear friends. What do you think about Frankestein? Is it a masterpiece of Literature? Horror? We are going to know a bit more about this character, this monster and when it was created and by whom.

Hola mis queridos amigos. ¿Qué pensáis de Frankestein? ¿Es una obra maestra de la literatura? ¿Del terror? Vamos a saber un poquito más sobre este personaje, sobre este monstruo , y de cuándo fue creado y por quién. 

Info: Speak Up magazine

Photos: Kobo  /  Acción.Cine  /  Fotogramas (2)  /  Wikipedia  /  Filmaffinity  /

FRANKESTEIN.  A MONSTER IS BORN

In june 1816, in a holiday villa on the shores of Lake Geneva, in one of the worst summers in human history, an 18-year-old girl, Mary Godwin, sat down to write what would become the world's most famous horror story.  The novel, FRANKESTEIN, would be published 18 months later, in January 1818.  Mary Godwin and her lover, the poet Shelley, were staying as guests of the poet Robert Byron.

GHOST STORIES

A volcanic eruption in what is now Indonesia had catastrophically affected the world's weather.  The tourists spent their days around the fire in the villa, reading stories of the supernatural.  One day, Byron suggested that each person should write a ghost story.  For days, Mary tried desperately to think of an idea.  Then, on the night of June the 16th, she had a nightmare.  The next morning, she famously said: "I've found it! What will terrify me will terrify others.

SCIENTIFIC EXPERIMENT

In Godwin's story, Victor Frankestein, a young scientist, creates a horrific but intelligent monster from human parts in an unorthodox scientific experiment.  The monster escapes and starts to kill the scientist's friends and relatives.

The story ends at the North Pole with the death of FRANKESTEIN and his creation.  When the book appeared in January 1818, reviews were mixed, but  the public was fascinated.  The monster has no name, but the public quickly started to call it by its creator's name, Frankestein.  The book has never been out of print in two hundred years, and is now considered a classic of the 19th century.

A FICTIONAL ICON

Over the years, since its publication, FRANKESTEIN's protagonist has become part of our global culture.  Numerous editions and theatrical representations helped to extend its popularity in the 19th century.  But it was the cinema that guaranteed Frankestein's place in our collective memory, with more than fifty films so far based on the story.

Boris Karloff from the 1930s will always be the classic screen Frankestein, but those giants of horror films, Peter Cushing and Cristopher Lee, starred in a number of box office hits in the 1950s , 1960s and 1970s. Frankestein has definitely received the Hollywood popular culture seal of approval.

A VILLA OF IDEAS

Something else was born two hundred years ago in that villa on Lake Geneva.  Byron had invited his doctor, John William Polidori, to spend the summer with him.  The poet was working on a story that he had heard about during his travels in the Balkans.  Polidori took the idea and started writing a novel.  Three years later, he publishes his work. It was called "THE VAMPYRE".

GLOSSARY

SHORE: orilla  /  TO BECOME: convertirse en  /  GUEST: invitado  /  NIGHTMARE: pesadilla  /  REVIEWS WERE MIXED: hubo diversidad de opiniones  /  OUT OF PRINT: descatalogado  /  SO FAR: hasta ahora  /  BOX OFFICE HIT: éxito de taquilla  /  SEAL OF APPROVAL: sello de aprobación  /  

POSTCARD - A SHORT STORY / TARJETA POSTAL - UN RELATO CORTO

Hi my dear friends. Today we are going to read a short story. Do you usually write postcards? Let's read...

Hola mis queridos amigos. Hoy vamos a leer un relato corto.  ¿Soléis escribir postales? ¡Leamos!

Info: from Speak Up magazine

Photos: Snowdoniatourism.co.uk  /  Eyri.gov.wales  /  The.postal.museum  /  Surface.Gallery  /  Liverpool.Echo  /  Wikipedia.2.  /  Tripadvisor

A SHORT STORY by Rachel Roberts.

POSTCARD

There is something fascinating about postcards. I've always loved collecting them, especially when they are old and faded.  They are short, personal letters with no envelope. The writer often uses abbreviated sentences or even words, initials for names, so that a personal message will fit into the small space and can only be understood by the recipient.

I found an intriguing postcard once while on a walking holiday in the Brecon Beacons in Wales.  It was in a box outside an antiques shop in a tiny village, where I had stopped to have lunch.

Most of the cards showed faded, black and white scenes of the Welsh countryside.  The greetings were just the usual, "Having a great time" and "Wish you were here!"  Then one postcard caught my attention.

It was not as old as the others and the image, which showed a view of a high street, was coloured. The title read "Aberfan Road, Aberfan."  When I read it, I had a sudden flash of memory. I had heard that name before, but where?  

There was no address on the back of the card, and instead of the usual holiday greeting, I read the following words:

-"Noreen, don't run away from B. The children need you at PG. Remember your promise. Your loving father."

"Noreen", not "Dear Noreen" and no kisses. In spite of the ending, there was little love in the message. It was an order. Noreen's father sounded like some strict Welsh minister from a country chapel.

The almost illegible postmark read 15 Oct, 1966. That wasn't so long ago. Girls were wearing miniskirts. Would a 1960s dad give his daughter orders? I had no idea. I wondered who "B" could be. Her husband? Fiancé? Could it be the name of a place? Brecon? If so, where was P.G.?

I looked for my location on Google Maps. Perhaps there was a village nearby with some strange Welsh name beginning with P and G.  Port something?

There was nothing, not even on the coast. I couldn't see Aberfan either, so I did a search and by mistake, instead of searching for it in Maps, I did a general search.  The first item that came back was the Wikipedia entry for "Aberfan disaster".  I sat up straight.  I knew I'd heard of the place before.  2016 had been the fiftieth anniversary of the disaster and I had seen the memorial service on television.

On the 21st of October, 1966 after a long period of wet weather, a coal tip above the village of Aberfan had collapsed, crushing the local Pantglas Junior School in an avalanche of mud and rocks. 116 children and 28 adults died in the disaster.

Pantglas. Could that be P.G.?  The children could have been the pupils at the junior school. Had Noreen been a teacher? I looked again at the date on the postcard -the 15th of October-  six days before the disaster.  I felt suddenly anxious for the unknown Noreen.  Had she kept her promise and remained at Aberfan? Had she been inside the school when it was crushed?  I had to find out!!!

It wasn't difficult to find the cemetery in Aberfan, just south of the Brecon Beacons.  The children's graves were all together, over a hundred of them, with their identical white memorial stones shining in the sun and the loving messages from grieving parents.  It was heartbreaking.  They were all so young.  I walked along looking for Noreen, but she wasn't among the children's graves or among those of the adults who had died on that terrible day.

I was relieved. I had obviously invented a very dark story around the message on the postcard.  But then, just as I was leaving, I noticed a larger family monument in a corner of the churchyard.  There were several names on it, but the instription on one side made my heart sink.

"In loving memory of Noreen Davies, nèe Jones. Beloved wife of Brian Davies and dutiful daughter of the Reverend William Jones. 28th February 1938 -21st October,1966."

She had died on the day of the disaster. I knew nothing about the dead woman, and yet I felt sad an angry on her behalf.  She had been forced to stay and meet her tragic fate.

"You all right, Noreen?"

The words shouted from somewhere in the road, made me look up in surprise. And elderly lady was climbing into a small van with the words "Park Grange Farm -Fruit and Vegetables" written on the side.  She stopped and waved to another woman on a bicycle, who had called out to her.

"Fine, thanks, Lily."

"Bill, OK, is he?"

"Much better now" answered Noreen. ¿You?

GLOSSARY

FADED: descolorido  /  ENVELOPE: sobre  /  TINY: diminuto  /  WELSH: galés  /  HIGH STREET: calle principal  /  SUDDEN: repentino  /  GREETING: saludo  /  TO RUN AWAY FROM: huir  /  IN SPITE OF: a pesar de  /  POSTMARK: matasellos  /  MINISKIRT: minifalta  /  TO WONDER: preguntarse  /  TO SIT UP STRAIGHT: incorporarse  /  MEMORIAL SERVICE:  funeral  /  COAL TIP: escombrera de carbón  /  TO CRUSH: aplastar  /  MUD: barro, lodo  /  GRAVE: tumba  /  STONE: lápida  /  GRIEVING: afligido, de luto  /  RELIEVED: aliviado  /  CHURCHYARD: cementerio  /  NÈE: nombre de soltera  /  DUTIFUL: diligente  /  ON HER BEHALF:  en su nombre  /  VAN: furgoneta 

WINTER IN SUMMER - SANTA ON THE BEACH / El invierno en verano - Santa Claus en la playa.

Hi my dear friends. Today we are going to know more about winter, summer, Christmas in summer, Australia, cricket, etc...

Hola mis queridos amigos. Hoy vamos a saber más sobre el  invierno, el verano, la Navidad en verano, Australia, cricket etc...

Info: SPEAK UP magazine

PHOTOS: Vicky.sun  /  Canterbury.stories  /  Magnific  /  Greyhound.Australia  /   Surfer.Today / ABC.News  /  Redbubble

WINTER IN SUMMER  -  SANTA ON THE BEACH

In Europe Christmas comes four days after the winter solstice or "mid-winter", marking the shortest and longest night of the year.  For many Europeans, therefore, especially in northern parts of the continent, Christmas and New Year mean cold weather -frost, icicles and maybe even snow.

In Australia, "Down Under", Christmas is also celebrated , with mostly the same traditions -Santa Claus brings presents to the kids, many people sing carols and some even decorate a Christmas tree.  There is one important difference, however, it is middle of the Australian summer, which usually means scorching heat and high humidity.

THE GREAT OUTDOORS

Instead of sitting down to Christmas lunch in a house with the heating full on, or sitting close to a real log fire, people in "Oz", do things outside -many go into the back yard to have a barbecue (or a "barbie" as they call it) to grill their dinner in the sunshine.  Many families go to the beach  or to the countryside and enjoy a picnic of cold turkey or ham and a salad.  The essential item to take on this outing is the "eski", or cooler, normally used to keep beer cold.  Inside it,  go the "tinnies" or "stubbies" which will wash down the food.

SANTA ON SHORTS

Father Christmas also has to adapt to the hot weather, and has been known to appear on the beach to greet children wearing shorts, something he certainly does not do in the northern hemisphere.  Whether the family has eaten outside in the garden or on the beach, lunch is often followed by everyone, young and old, taking part in a game of cricket.  Cricket is the number one summer sport in OZ and a national obsession. 

THE TEST MATCH

If Christmas afternoon is for amateur cricketers, the next day , Boxing Day is only for the professionals: traditionally, 26th of December is the first day of a five-day "Test match" -an international match when Australia take on one of the other powers of world cricket.  It is therefore essential to have plenty of beer chilled in the fridge at home to watch every moment of the match, which often starts around 11 am and goes on till around 6 or 7pm.

                                        

GLOSSARY

THEREFORE: por tanto  /  FROST: escarcha  /  DOWN UNDER: ahí abajo  /  SCORCHING HEAT: calor abrasador  /  FULL ON: al máximo  /  OZ: diminutivo para Australianos  /  TINNIE: lata de cerveza  /  TO GREET: saludar  /  TAKE ON:  enfrentarse  /  

A HISTORY OF POP MUSIC / UNA HISTORIA DE LA MÚSICA POP

Hi my dear friends. Today we are going to look into Pop Music and a little bit of its history.

Hola mis queridos amigos. Hoy vamos a mirar a la música Pop y a un poquito de su historia.

Info: from Speak Up magazine

Photos: Slideshare  /  Reddit  /  The Guardian  /  Music Production.

A HISTORY OF POP   -  SOCIETY.

People have always been interested in the way pop music changes over time.  Writers for music magazines have often tried to explain how and why musical tastes develop from decade to decade.  Since the '70s, for example, music journalist Paul Morley has been explaining why different styles of pop music become popular one year but then go out of fashion again.  Other writers, such as Jon Savage and Simon Reynolds, have also written articles and books about changes in culture and music.

SCIENTIFIC

But now researchers are starting to use computers and ideas from biology to understand these changes better.  Computer scientists and evolutionary biologists from two London universities have joined up to examine the history of pop music over the last 50 yeas.  They decide to look at the evolution of pop styles by analysing more than 17,000 songs from the US Billboard Hot 100 between 1960 and 2010.

Dr. Matthias Mauch and Professor Armand Leroi first got together when they realized that they were interested in similar things.  Dr. Mauch was a music processing guy who was also interested in evolution, while Professor Leroi was an evolutionary biologist who liked music.

When Dr. Mauch saw a talk on the topic of the evolution of music, he contacted Professor Leroi.  Together, they thought they could do a much better job of analysing music data using computers.  They looked at different types of sounds and tunes, and at different types of pop music.  They produced a graph of the changes in pop music over time.

ALL THE SAME

When ordinary people talk about changes in pop music,  they often say that music is becoming more homogeneous.  What they mean is that pop bands all sound the same.  But the scientists' study shows this is not true.  Apart from one period in the 1980s, music is just as diverse now as before.  So why do ordinary people think differences in music are disappearing?  One explanation is that pop music is aimed at young people.  It doesn't discuss topics that are interesting to older people, so they don't pay much attention to it.  They assume that everyone is singing about the same things in the same way.

THE BRITISH INVASION

The graph also shows that music evolved faster than normal in 1964, 1963 and 1991.  Dr. Mauch says he is not sure why this happened.  But these dates match three important events in pop history.  The Beatles and the Rolling Stones -two very famous British bands-  visited the USA for the first time.  Many people were excited by this, and many bands began making music in a similar style.  Secondly, in 1983, musicians began to use drum machines and other electronic equipment such as samplers and synthesizers to make music for the first time.  And finally, rap and hip-hop suddenly got much more popular in the early 1990s.  More studies using computers and the ideas of evolution may show that many beliefs we have about culture need to be revised.

GLOSSARY

TASTE: gusto  /  TO DEVELOP: desarrollar  /  TO JOIN UP: juntarse  /  TOPIC: tema  /  TUNE: melodía  /  AIMED AT: dirigido a  /  DRUM MACHINE: batería electrónica  /

MEET THE PRESS. AN ONLY CHILD IS A HAPPY CHILD. THE OBSERVER.

Hi my dear friends. We are going to  speak today about "the only child" because many of you are, for sure,  "only children" in your family and in many occasions there is some controversy about this. We will see what the press and the research say. 

Hola mis queridos amigos. Vamos a hablar hoy sobre "el hijo único" porque muchos de vosotros seguramente sois "hijos únicos" en vuestra familia y  en muchas ocasiones hay controversia sobre esto. Veremos lo que dice la prensa y las investigaciones.

Info: Speak Up magazine.

Photos: Forbes.Ecuador  /  Lamenteesmaravillosa/  Ethic  /  DepositPhotos  /  Infobae

AN ONLY CHILD IS A HAPPY CHILD, SAYS RESEARCH.

In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Natalie Portman once said: "I would never have been an actress if I hadn't been an only child, because my parents would never have let me be the star of the family at the expense of another child."  It turns out that, in terms of the advantages of life without brothers and sisters, she was onto something.

One of the widest-ranging research projects on family life conducted in Britain has revealed that the fewer siblings children have, the happier they are -and that only children are the most contented.

BULLIES

The findings, shared exclusively with The Observer, suggest that "sibling bullying" could be part of the problem, with 31% of children saying they are hit, kicked or pushed by a brother or sister "quite a lot" or "a lot".  Others complain that siblings steal their personal belongings and call them hurtful names.

The figures are the first to emerge from Understanding Society, a study tracking the lives of 100,000 people in 40,000 British households.

On children and happiness, it finds that:

*Seven out of 10 British teenagers are "very satisfied" with their lives.

*Children from ethnic minorities are on average happier than their white British counterparts.

*Happiness declines the more siblings there are in a household.

INSULTS

The findings are based on indepth questionnaires completed by 2,500 young people.  The questionnaires were analysed by Gundi Knies from the Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of Essex where the Understanding Society study is based. She suggested factors such as competition for the parents' attention or the fact that toys, sweets or space need to be shared.  Knies also pointed to other data within the study on sibling bullying: 29,5% of teenagers complain that brothers or sisters call them "nasty" names "quite a lot" or "a lot", while 17,6% say their personal belongings are taken away from them.

STRESS

Professor Dieter Wolke of the University of Warwick, who carried out the work on tensions between brothers and sisters, said: "More than half of all siblings (54%) were involved in bullying in one form or the other."  Although there is also evidence that indicates that siblings sometimes support each other, he warned that children who faced bullying both at home and in the playground were particularly vulnearable to behaviour problems and unhappiness.

Wolke did not study the impact of such tensions on parents, but added: "From annecdotal reports, quarrelling siblings increase stress for parents and some just give up intervening.  Others intervene inconsistently, leaving the field wide open for the bully sibling."

REFEREES

Siobhan Freegard, the co-founder of the website Netmums, who has three children, said that many mothers felt like "referees" after their children reached a certain age and started quarrelling with their brothers and sisters.

She questioned whether the findings on happiness were linked to the fact that children were desperate for parental attention. "With three children, it is three lots of dinner, three lots of washing, three lots of driving to after-school activies, so you do get less time for each.  I like to think they are getting benefits in other ways," said Freegard.

She said the findings would come as a relief to the parents of only children who often felt guilty about the lack of brothers and sisters.

SOCIABLE

Freegard discussed the issue recently with her friend Tanya Honey, who has one child, a daughter.  Honey admitted that her daughter, Gemma, seven, recently wrote "a baby" on her shopping list.  "But friends always point out that she is a really happy child.  When we go on holiday she is brilliant at making friends and if there was a brother or sister perhaps she wouldn't be, because she would rely on them", added Honey.

While the findings seem surprising, experts say there are clear reasons why more siblings could reduce happiness.  Dr Ruth Coppard, a child psychologist, said: "In an average home the more children, the less privacy for each child. Some love sharing a bedroom with a sibling but they would rather choose to do it that have to do it.  There is competition for parental time".

PERSONAL SPACE

Parentline Plus, a charity that offers support to parents, regularly receives calls about sibling rivalry. "Families do report concerns regarding high levels of conflict among siblings and the stress that this can cause, but the important thing is to try to help and support families find more effective ways of dealing with this problem,"  said Alison Phillips, director of policy and communications.

She has several tips for parents including: ensure children have a special place for their belongings; insist they ask if they want to use something owned by a sibling, and show firmly that you do not approve of bullying behaviour.

VOCABULARY

WIDE-RANGING: amplio  /  RESEARCH PROJECT: proyecto de investigación  /  SIBLING: hermano  /  TO HIT: pegar  /  HURTFUL: ofensivo  /  HOUSEHOLD: hogar  /  ON AVERAGE: de media  /  NASTY: malo, horrible  /  TO QUARREL: pelearse  /  TO GIVE UP: rendirse  /  TO INTERVENE: interponerse  /  ISSUE: tema  /  TO RELY ON: confiar en

RECETA. ROLLITOS DE LENGUADO CON SALSA DE PUERROS.

 Hola mis queridos amigos.  Hoy toca receta. Vamos a preparar unos rollitos de lenguado riquísimos con salsa de puerros. ¡Espero que os gusten!

Info: Cocina Sana en menos de 20 minutos por el Chef Sergio Fernández.

Fotos: Lecturas (2)  /  HOLA  /  Canal.Cocina  /  Casa.Ruiz

ROLLITOS DE LENGUADO CON SALSA DE PUERROS

INGREDIENTES

* 8 filetes de lenguado (finitos)

* 3 puerros en rodajas

* 1 cucharada de yogur desnatado

* 1 patata troceada

* 500 ml de caldo de pescado

* Perejil

* Aceite de oliva

* Sal

* Espárragos verdes para la guarnición (si se quiere) y gambas o langostinos cocidos para decorar.

TIEMPO: 18 minutos

RACIONES: 4 personas

DIFICULTAD: baja

LA RECETA

Cocina el puerro. Precalienta el horno a 200º C.  Sofríe el puerro en una sartén o cazuela con 2 cucharadas de aceite 4 minutos más o menos.  Añade la patata, sazona y echa el caldo de pescado.  Deja cocer durante unos 8 minutos aproximadamente.

Lava los filetes de lenguado, sécalos y salpiméntalos mientras se hace el puerro.  Enróllalos y sujétalos con un palillo.  Pon los rollitos en una fuente de horno. Rocíalos con aceite de oliva y hornéalos unos 5 minutos.

Retira la cazuela con el puerro del fuego y añade la cucharada de yogur. A continuación tritura en la batidora para obtener una crema fina (cuélala después de triturarla) Saca los rollitos de lenguado del horno y retira los palillos. Sírvelos poniendo la crema en la base del plato y espolvoreados con perejil picado.

¡Que aproveche!

**También puedes preparar esta receta con otros pescados blancos y te quedará muy rica pero ten en cuenta que los filetes tienen que ser siempre bastante finos. 

**Igualmente y como indico más arriba en los ingredientes,  puedes poner de guarnición verduras como espárragos verdes e incluso completar los rollitos con gambas o langostinos.