St Andrews day 30th November

2025年11月17日

 

Saint (St.) Andrew has been celebrated in Scotland on the 30th November for over one thousand years, with feasts being held in his honour as far back as the year 1000 AD. However, it wasn’t until 1320, when Scotland’s independence was declared with the signing of The Declaration of Arbroath, that he officially became Scotland’s patron saint.

Since then, St. Andrew has become an integral part of Scottish society. The flag of Scotland is the saltire, also known as St Andrew’s Cross, and the ancient town of St. Andrews was named due to its claim of being his final resting place. (see below)

The story goes that Andrew, was a Galilean fisherman who was singled out to be Christ’s first disciple, preached the Gospel in the lands around the Black Sea and in Greece and was eventually crucified on an X-shaped cross in Patras.

St. Andrew is also the patron saint of other countries as well as Scotland. His association with Scotland, a land he never sets foot on is, not surprisingly, based on several conflicting legends, the most colourful of which is the story of St. Regulus.

Three hundred years after Andrew’s martyrdom the Roman Emperor Constantine, himself a Christian, ordered that the saint’s bones should be moved from Patras to his new capital city of Constantinople.

Before the order was carried out a monk called St. Regulus (or St. Rule) had a dream in which an angel told him to take what bones of Andrew’s he could to ‘the ends of the earth’ for safe keeping.

St. Regulus duly took what he could, presumably in a swift and frantic raid on the tomb, and after an epic journey, he was finally shipwrecked on the east coast of Scotland. He must have thought that he had indeed reached the ‘ends of the earth’!

 

The resting place of the relics of St. Andrew are now kept at St. Mary’s Catholic church in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Richard

What Do You Call Someone From …?

2025年11月10日

English, as with any language, is full of quirks that cause fits for those learning it. Whether its silent letters, inconsistent pronunciation, irregular verbs or unusual plurals, there is always something that is just waiting to bring an English learner some angst.

One of those has to do with demonyms which are the words used for a person who is native or lives in a particular place. While you can say, “I met a Canadian” or “I talked to an Israeli”, you can’t say, “I met a Japanese” or “I talked to an English.” This stems from whether or not the word can be used a demonym and an adjective or solely as an adjective. From the above sentences, Canadian and Israeli can be used as both demonyms and adjectives while Japanese and English function as adjectives and not demonyms. Those nationalities that are adjectives and not demonyms need to be followed by a noun: “I met a Japanese woman” or “I talked to an Englishman.” Here are a few points to help you use these words correctly.

‘-an’ and ‘-i’ endings are both adjectives and demonyms: a Mexican, an Italian, a Pakistani, a Bangladeshi
‘-sh’ or ‘-ch’ endings need man or woman: an Englishman, a Frenchwoman, a Dutchman, an Irishwoman, a Welshman
‘-ese’ endings need to be followed by a noun: a Taiwanese man, a Portuguese person

The final grouping are demonyms that are different from the adjective with many of them coming from Europe.

Country                 Adjective                          Demonym
Croatia                  Croatian                            a Croat
Denmark               Danish                               a Dane
Finland                  Finnish                              a Finn
Iceland                   Icelandic                           an Icelander
The Philippines       Philippine                           a Filipino
Poland                    Polish                                a Pole
Scotland                 Scottish                             a Scot
Serbia                     Serbian                             a Serb
Spain                      Spanish                             a Spaniard
Sweden                   Swedish                            a Swede
Turkey                    Turkish                              a Turk

While we mostly associate demonyms with countries, they can also be used for regions, states/provinces, cities, etc.
Regions: Scandinavia – a Scandinavian, The South (in the U.S.A.) – a Southerner
States: Washington (U.S.A.) – a Washingtonian, Quebec (Canada) – a Quebecer
Cities: Tokyo – a Tokyoite, Hong Kong – a Hong Konger, Sydney – a Sydneysider,
London – a Londoner. Paris – a Parisian, Madrid – a Madrilean

As can be seen, talking about nationalities in English is the polar opposite to the simplicity of Japanese where simply putting ‘-jin’ at the end of a place suffices. So, what am I? I am an American, an Arizonan, a Prescottonian, a Shisuiite and a citizen of Heaven. What are you?                  Erik

The Olde Pink House

2025年11月3日

Today is Halloween, so I thought I would share an actual haunting from my hometown. The Olde Pink House, a historic mansion in Savannah, Georgia, is one of the city’s most famous haunted locations. The most prominent spirit is believed to be the original owner, James Habersham Jr., a Revolutionary War figure.

Legend suggests Habersham Jr. died in the house in 1799, with rumors circulating that he committed suicide in the basement after learning of his wife’s unfaithfulness. His spirit, often seen wearing colonial clothing, is said to frequent the basement tavern, where he is seen observing customers, ordering drinks that disappear, and even lighting candles.

Other spirits reportedly include a Revolutionary War soldier who offers ghostly toasts at the bar, a sobbing woman on the upper floors, and most distressingly, the playful, mischievous ghosts of enslaved children who reportedly died of yellow fever on the property. Staff and guests have reported poltergeist activity, such as wine bottles flying off shelves and doors mysteriously locking, particularly in the basement bathrooms. The house’s tragic history, compounded by family discord and the presence of slavery, is said to have instilled it with a lasting haunted atmosphere.                                     Rick

Talent Doesn’t Guarantee Kindness

2025年10月28日

We often assume that talent and goodness go hand in hand — that someone who creates beautiful music, inspiring words, or revolutionary technology must also be a kind, admirable person. But history repeatedly shows that brilliance and decency don’t necessarily coexist. talent and personality are entirely separate; genius in art, leadership, or innovation tells us nothing about empathy, ethics, or decency.

Talent is part luck and part skill; morality is a choice.

Take John Lennon for example. He was born almost exactly 85 years ago, on Oct 9th, and some consider the guy a talented musician. I think Beatles music is just a step above annoying noise but I digress. In reality, Lennon was a despicable human being, a wife beater, a violent man who abandoned his first son and often made fun of disabled people. You didn’t know that about him, did you? He sang about not having any material possessions while has was a millionaire. Upstanding morality…

 

How about Mahatma  Gandhi, the champion of non-violent resistance? The man was a racist and a pedophile, who preferred to sleep with very young girls.

Then there is Michael Jackson, “the king of pop”, do you remember him? He revolutionized music and dance but faced serious allegations of child abuse, he was clearly a big fan of very young boys and regularly slept with them in the same bed. A grown man with underage boys in the same bed? Curious at least….

 

Do you remember Charlie Chaplin? Have you ever seen any of his movies? Supposedly a comic genius, but had a history of manipulative relationships with underage women, he married his second wife at the age of 16! He sure liked ‘em young…

Let’s switch to technology. Steve Jobs. You must know him if you have an Apple product.  He is considered a revolutionary innovator, while the guy couldn’t write a single line of computer code. He was an absolute disgrace, an appalling human being and a thief.

He cheated his best friend out of money, refused to pay child support to his ex-girlfriend and was a control freak and a horrible boss. Yet people somehow idolize him. He was clearly a psychopath in a turtle neck.

 

Of course there is more, the line is long of people who were supposed to be nice, decent, trustworthy but in reality were abhorrent. A lot of the Catholic priests come to mind who have been accused of pedophilia, over 3,000 of them actually….

But that’s another story for another time.

These examples remind us that brilliance in one area doesn’t equate to moral goodness. Idolizing someone for a single extraordinary ability blinds us to the full truth of who they are. Admire the art, respect the innovation but always separate the talent from the person behind it.                                                                                                                                  Alex

2025年10月21日

Henley Royal Regatta (or Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage) is a rowing event held annually on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. It was established on 26 March 1839. It differs from the three other regattas rowed over approximately the same course, Henley Women’s Regatta, Henley Masters Regatta, and Henley Town and Visitors’ Regatta, each of which is an entirely separate event.

The regatta lasts for six days (Tuesday to Sunday) ending on the first weekend in July. Races are head-to-head knock out competitions, raced over a course of 1 mile 550 yards (2,112 metres). The regatta regularly attracts international crews to race. The most prestigious event at the regatta is the Grand Challenge Cup for Men’s Eights, which has been awarded since the regatta was first staged

Richard

Are You Good at Verbing?

2025年10月14日

When people are asked about what they are good at, they often reply with answers such as cooking, playing the piano, dancing or taking pictures. But verbing, that is something I have never heard someone say that they are good at. Could it be they just don’t know what verbing is?

In a single work day, we might head a meeting, eye an opportunity, nose around for good ideas, mouth a greeting, elbow an opponent, strong-arm a colleague, shoulder the blame, stomach a loss, and finally hand in our resignation. What we’re doing with all those body parts is called verbing or verbification–using nouns (or occasionally other parts of speech) as verbs. Verbing often comes about when a noun becomes associated with an action and then subsequently becomes a verb. A modern example is Google. It began as the name of a company/product, and as it was widely used and associated with an action, it became a verb. I imagine that you have googled something in the past week or so. In English there are many words that are both nouns and verbs. Here are some.

 

 

  • address: I addressed the group about writing an address.
  • balloon: His stomach ballooned after eating the balloon.
  • beef: The beef producer beefed about the cost of beefing up security.
  • cake: She cakes her cakes with chocolate cream.
  • cloud: Thoughts of clouds cloud my mind.
  • dress: They dressed their daughter in a dress.
  • duck: Will the duck duck when it walks under the fence?
  • ice: He iced his hurt ankle with ice.
  • jam: I jammed my finger when I made jam.
  • milk: They milk cows and sell the milk.
  • note: Please note the note on the door.
  • oil: He uses oil to oil his bicycle.
  • pen: The author will pen the novel with a red pen.
  • question: The teacher questioned the students with many difficult questions.
  • sandwich: She wondered how he would eat her sandwich when she found herself sandwiched between the two large men.
  • stamp: The post office stamps stamps with the date the mail is sent.
  • voice: She speaks in a very soft voice when she voices her complaints.
  • winter: The retired couple likes to winter in Okinawa during winter.

 

 

 

 

 

A New Great Awakening

2025年10月6日

There have been a few major religious movements in America where God’s influence has greatly affected individuals, families, churches, and the cultural and political environment. The first two are known as the Great Awakenings. The Great Awakening was a Protestant religious revival that swept across the United States from the late 18th century to the middle of the 19th century. Its importance lies in its profound and lasting impact on American religion, social life, and culture.  Some of its key areas of importance are the changes in American religion. The Great Awakenings promoted a more personal form of Christianity that emphasized free will and individual salvation. It led to a massive increase in church membership, particularly for Methodist and Baptist churches, which used itinerant preachers and large-scale “camp meetings” to reach people, especially on the American frontier. One of these itinerant preachers was the founder of the orphanage that I grew up in, Bethesda Home for Boys. George Whitfield was an explosive evangelist who often spoke to thousands. The impact of these movements was a desire to improve society as a whole. Some of these improvements include abolitionism, temperance, women’s rights, and the growth of education and mission organizations.

I believe that a new Great Awakening is happening now in America. Through the influence of Charlie Kirk and his organization Turning Point USA, there has been has been a shaping and mobilization of young high school and college students in the US. Though his speaking and the use of social media on college campuses this movement has reached thousands of young people. His platform included “Prove Me Wrong” debates.  This approach allowed him to frame conservative values as a counter-cultural rebellion against what he termed “woke indoctrination,” resonating with a generation that felt alienated by progressive politics. He is also a vibrant advocate for Christianity. Through his platform, Kirk openly urged young men to embrace Christianity and discussed Christian principles with diverse audiences. He used his “Prove Me Wrong” series to debate with atheists and others. Sadly, on September 10th he was the victim of an assassination. Following his death, many of his followers and Christian leaders have portrayed him as a martyr for the faith he championed, which has led to an increase in church attendance and conversions among  young people.

Rick

 

Beyond the Halo: The Controversial Legacy of Mother Teresa aka Hell’s Angel

2025年09月29日

Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, known globally as Mother Teresa, is one of 20th century’s most revered figures. But her legacy is far more complex, and arguably, far less saintly than the Vatican narrative suggests.

Let’s delve into it.

What exactly was motherly about her? A hideous virgin and fraud, never had a husband let alone children, a fanatic and fundamentalist shriveled old bat. She was as far from the nature of motherhood as a woman possibly get.

Disagree? Look at that black and white picture of her!

Does she look like a woman who is filled with the joy of motherhood?

Does she know anything about being a mother?

Let’s just call her Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, “mother” she certainly was not. Calling her “mother” would be an insult to all mothers out there who do their best to take care of their children, she did no such thing. She was a cold-hearted old bag.

And she was not a friend of the poor either, she was a friend of poverty.

While she collected hundreds of millions of dollars annually, investigations reveal a staggering discrepancy. Critics, including journalists and investigative reports, argue less than 10% (perhaps only 5-7%) was ever spent on direct medical care or food for the destitute she served in her “hospices.” The vast majority of these immense donations reportedly flowed back to Rome, significantly enriching the Vatican’s coffers. How much money is in those coffers you ask?

Not even god has the right to know that! Gonxha Bojaxhiu’s primary role, it appears, was as a highly effective global fundraiser for the Catholic Church, not a distributor of aid.

The conditions within her homes for the dying are also heavily criticized. Reports describe places where basic care was shockingly lacking.

Dirty needles were reused, leading to disease transmission. Pain medication was rarely administered, even for the most agonizing terminal illnesses. The philosophy underpinning this was reportedly her belief that glorifying suffering brought the poor closer to Christ’s own passion. As she allegedly stated, “Suffering must be endured… not cured.”. She also said “The most beautiful gift for a person is that he can participate in the suffering of Christ.”.

This approach prioritized spiritual symbolism over alleviating physical suffering.

Furthermore, her institutions were explicitly structured as “homes for the dying,” or “organized form of neglectful assistance”, designed for people with no hope of recovery, rather than centers for active medical treatment or rehabilitation.

You doubt the above? Well, let’s hear it from the horse’s, I mean the old wretch’s, mouth: “Tell them we are not here for work, we are here for Jesus. We are religious above all else. We are not social workers, not teachers, not doctors. We are nuns.”. There, she said it herself.

Donations flowed in constantly, but very little flowed back out to support the poor; the act of receiving was deemed spiritually superior to giving aid.

In essence, the evidence paints a picture of a woman who became a global icon of compassion while systematically diverting vast sums to the Vatican and operating institutions where suffering was not alleviated but embraced as holy.  She was less a saint and more a master fundraiser operating a system designed to collect, not care. As evil as they come.

 

In closing, the richer the organized religion, the more powerful it is, and has the will and the means to wreak havoc and cause misery. The Catholic Church is exhibit A. It has a shining history of centuries of wholesale murder: forced conversions, the inquisition, the Crusades, which burning, not to mention systemic child abuse – pedophilia if you will, and it has not deviated one bit from that unholy crusade to this day. Its most celebrated foot-soldier — nay, general — in its war against decency and humanity was Mother Teresa aka Hell’s Angel.

Let’ hope she’s burning in hell, should there be one, where she belongs with the rest of her gang.

In case there are still doubts about religion’s destructive effects look no further than the issues surrounding the Unification Church in Japan and Korea.                  Alex

Roald Dahl Reading Day

2025年09月22日

Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British author of popular children’s literature and short stories, a poet, screenwriter and a wartime fighter ace. His books have sold more than 300 million copies worldwide. He has been called “one of the greatest storytellers for children of the 20th century”.

 

 

 

Roald Dahl Reading Day events take place up and down the UK in schools, libraries and particularly in the village of Great Missenden, where Dahl lived and worked for many years.
The aim of the day is to, get kids reading, to see if you can also do something marvellous to raise some money for Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity at the same time. The charity provides specialist nurses and support for seriously ill children living with complex, lifelong conditions.
The first Roald Dahl Day was held on September 13th 2006, which would have been Roald Dahl’s 90th birthday. From a small beginning the event has now grown into an annual event held every 13th September as a celebration of the work, life and multi-faceted legacy of one of the world’s best-loved storytellers. Since 2020 it has been celebrated as Roald Dahl Story Day celebrating your favourite Roald Dahl characters, stories and moments with fans the world over.
Some of Roald Dahl’s most popular books include:

The BFG　　Charlie and the Chocolate Factory　

Fantastic Mr. Fox 　　The Witches　

James and the Giant Peach　 　and Matilda　

to name a few.
Most English children have read a Roald Dahl book. Maybe you have, too.

Richard

English Cafe Topic ～ イングリッシュ・カフェ9月のトピック

2025年09月17日

「イングリッシュ・カフェ」クラスは

毎回身近な話題を通して文化や習慣について英語で話し合います。

コーディネーターの外国人講師が適切な英語表現をアドバイスしてくれます。

9月の各週のトピックは次のようになります。

2025　September

【Monday : Erik】

1th:  If you could change a cultural practice, what would it be and how would you change it?

8th:  What do you think of the human-rental service that is becoming more prevalent in Japan?

22st:  Colorful hair color and body piercings are becoming more common. Do you think appearance matters
as long as the person does their job properly?

29th:  What has the highlight of Expo 2025 been so far?