2014年12月31日 星期三

Six people who refused honours

Six people who refused honours
Posted an hour ago by in peopleUPVOTE
The Queen’s New Year Honours list has been announced, leaving scores of recipients beaming with pride. But not everyone has queued up to bow 
to the system…

Nigella Lawson

Null
Perhaps surprisingly for the daughter of a life peer, Nigella Lawson declined an OBE. “I’m not saving lives,” the celebrity chef explained

Roald Dahl

Null
The beloved children’s author turned down an OBE, supposedly because he was holding out for a knighthood instead, but he died in 1990 without ever receiving one.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roald_Dahl

John Lennon

Null
The Beatle returned the MBE he had been created in 1965 as a protest against Britain’s involvement in “the Nigeria-Biafra thing” and its support of the US in Vietnam and against “Cold Turkey” slipping down the charts.

LS Lowry

Null
The Mancunian painter holds the record for refusing the most state honours. In total he turned down five awards, including a knighthood, between 1955 and 1976.

Benjamin Zephaniah

Null
Mr Zephaniah made headlines when he revealed why he had snubbed the Establishment. “OBE, me? Up yours, I thought,” the poet said.

Helen Mirren

Null
She declined a CBE in 1996 but accepted a damehood in 2003 for services to the performing arts, three years before she won an Oscar for her turn as the Queen in the film of the same title.

London New Year’s Eve fireworks made ticket-only for first time



New Year’s Eve revellers in central London in 2013
Overcrowding in London last New Year’s Eve 2013 caused Boris Johnson to declare a free event ‘untenable’. Photograph: Richard Chambury/AP for Vodafone
Exactly a year ago, an estimated 500,000 people crammed into a small section of central London to view the New Year’s Eve firework display, resulting in crowded conditions that the mayor, Boris Johnson, said had made the free event “untenable”.
As a result, for the first time on Thursday evening only 100,000 paying ticket holders will be permitted to watch London’s annual celebration from a fenced-off area, with the Metropolitan police urging those without reservations to find their new year fun elsewhere – or better still, stay at home, noting “the display is being shown live and in full on television”.
If the restriction of this year’s event will disappoint some, others are likely to be breathing a sigh of relief, according to research that suggests almost two thirds of Britons are planning to avoid transport chaos, taxi queues and pricey babysitting charges by seeing in the new year at home.
A survey of 2,000 people by Post Office home insurance found that one in four plan to spend a quiet night in with their partner, with 23% staying in with family and friends, and a further 6% hosting a party or dinner at home.
Research from Cancer Research UK, released on Wednesday, found that only 11% of respondents ideally wanted to spend New Year’s Eve going out. One in seven did not want to celebrate the new year at all.
In Edinburgh, there were still tickets available on Tuesday for the city’s 75,000-capacity Hogmanay street party, as well as for a concert by Lily Allen in the West Princes Street gardens, although other events, including a candlelit concert at St Giles’ cathedral and a ceilidh at the Mound precinct, were sold out.
Supermarkets have reported strong sales for champagne and spirits, which may suggest an increasing number of people plan to celebrate away from pubs and clubs. A spokeswoman for Waitrose said sales of champagne and sparkling wine for the fortnight before Christmas were up by 14% and 20% respectively on last year, a trend she expected to continue into the pre-new year period.
Scottish malt whisky sales rose by 26% and gin by 29% with particular growth in premium bottled English beers, which saw a year-on-year sales increase of 46%.
But Brigid Simmonds, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, said that while alcohol consumption overall was down 19% since 2004, figures from the Christmas period suggested that pubs had served more meals than ever before, and that she expected a similar trend over new year, with people heading out for meals and staying out to celebrate. “I think an awful lot of people will spend New Year’s Eve in pubs, because they are a place where you go to celebrate with groups of people as well as with friends and family.”
Weather forecasters predict a much milder evening than many parts of Britain have experienced over the past few days. But a spokesman for the Met Office said the country would be divided by a band of rain stretching from Aberdeen to south-west England, with generally dry conditions on either side, and temperatures of up to 10-11C in the west.

2014年12月30日 星期二

Philip Gould(1950-2011)《我將死去:一個神聖旅程的總結》



Philip Gould, 1950-2011《我將死去》( When I Die: Lessons from the Death Zone)

Philip Gould, Baron Gould of Brookwood - Wikipedia, the free ... 目前只有英文和德文版

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Gould,_Baron_Gould_of_Brookwood
Philip Gould, Baron Gould of Brookwood (30 March 1950 – 6 November 2011) was a British political consultant, and former advertising executive, closely linked ...

Philip Gould (1950-2011)雖是英國著名的政治策士 (顧問),重要的政治著作
 : The Unfinished Revolution: How the Modernisers Saved the Labour Party(Abacus 1999),似乎尚未有漢譯。不過, 他的臨終之奮鬥書. When I Die: Lessons from the Death Zone (Little Brown 2012) 有漢譯;《我將死去:一個神聖旅程的總結》(2013)。

作者簡介

菲力普‧顧爾德Philip Gould(1950-2011)


  出身廣告界,曾任教倫敦政經學院。一九八○年代被延攬加入工黨,隨後成功將布萊爾送上首相寶座,也是重新打造工黨的重要功臣。

  2008年被診斷罹患食道癌後,他在與癌症搏鬥的過程中,意外地對生命有新的理解。他將人生的最後階段稱為「死亡地帶」,並在其中感受到生命豐沛的能量,看見一個與過去截然不同的自己。

  他將這段時間發生在自己身上的故事,連續發表於《泰晤士報》上,引起英國讀者熱烈迴響。本書就是根據他所發表的文章與日記所完成,並收錄他的妻子 Gail Rebuck(英國蘭登書屋總經理)與兩位女兒的文章。希望透過顧爾德的親身經驗,幫助更多人重新思考死亡、面對死亡,走出對生命的恐懼,勇敢地面對自 己。本書所有版稅,將捐贈癌症慈善組織。

譯者簡介

梁永安


  台大哲學碩士,譯有《巴爾札克的歐姆蛋》、《如此燦爛、這個城市》、《情感教育》等。
 

目錄

前言
來自死亡地帶的訊息──基思.布萊克莫爾

騎浪的輝煌    
在生命的港口與港口之間

我的小處之勇    
挺過來了,卻已傷痕累累

一葉小舟    
這次,沒有回頭路了

深不見底的黑暗海洋    
難熬的漫漫長夜

未竟的人生    
接受事實,釋放自己

我的癌症之旅   
找到失落許久的人生目標

黑色長雲背後    
嶄新生命的開始

踏上死亡地帶    
與自己的過去和解

參觀自己的墳墓    
一場小小的勝利

可以改變世界的最後四天──喬治婭.顧爾德

我的爹地──葛麗絲.顧爾德

後記
靈魂離去前,留下的珍貴禮物──蓋兒.瑞巴克

比死亡更大的力量──阿拉斯泰爾.坎貝爾

誌謝    
蓋兒.瑞巴克

附錄1。《泰晤士報》訃文  這是一篇很可讀的訃聞,鄭重推荐。 
附錄2。食道癌/胃部─食道癌簡介   
附錄3。本書提到的醫生

 ----


  1. Philip Gould, Baron Gould of Brookwood - Wikipedia, the free ...

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Gould,_Baron_Gould_of_Brookwood
    Philip Gould, Baron Gould of Brookwood (30 March 1950 – 6 November 2011) was a British political consultant, and former advertising executive, closely linked ...

  2. Philip Gould: I'm enjoying my death. It's the most fulfilling time of my ...

    www.dailymail.co.uk/.../Philip-Gould-Im-enjoying-death-Its-fulfilling-ti...
    May 2, 2012 - Philip Gould, the brilliant Labour Party strategist, describes movingly the journey from being diagnosed with cancer to being told he had three ...

  3. When I Die: Lessons from the Death Zone by Philip Gould – review ...

    www.theguardian.com › CultureBooksAutobiography and memoir
    Apr 19, 2012 - 'Almost unbearably frank': Philip Gould, photographed for the Guardian a ... It tracks the course of Gould's diagnosis in 2008, the treatment in ...

  4. When I Die : Lessons from the Death Zone - YouTube

    www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2eUw0CUuMc
    Apr 18, 2012 - Uploaded by WhenIDieFilm
    In "When I Die" Philip Gould shares his thoughts and insights as he confronts his impending death from ...

  5. The Directory of Research and Researchers at Brown: Philip Gould

    research.brown.edu/myresearch/Philip_Gould
    Philip Gould researches and writes about early American literature and culture, transatlantic theory and history, and antebellum American literature and politics.

  6. Homepage | Philip Gould Photography

    www.philipgould.com/
    Skip to main content. Philip Gould Photography. Grass Roots and the Hand of Man. Homepage. Portfolio · Projects · News/Blog · Bio · Contact · Client Review.

  7. When I Die: Lessons from the Death Zone by Philip Gould: review ...

    www.telegraph.co.uk › CultureBooksBook Reviews
    Review by Jane Shilling
    May 15, 2012 - Philip Gould's account of the months before his death, When I Die, is moving, says Jane Shilling.

  8. Philip Gould: architect of New Labour and close aide to Tony Blair ...

    www.telegraph.co.uk › News
    Nov 7, 2011 - Philip Gould was one of the principal architects of the modern communications revolution within the Labour Party in the 1980s and was ...

  9. Philip Gould | The Economist

    www.economist.com/node/21538073
    Nov 12, 2011 - WHEN Philip Gould was fighting oesophageal cancer in the last three years of his life, he found different strategies to deal with it. One was to ...

2014年12月29日 星期一

Pilgrimage with Simon Reeve: Pilgrim's Badge of the Shrine of St. Thomas Becket at Canterbury


英國的天路歷程:約1小時

Pilgrimage with Simon Reeve episode1 BBC full documentary 2013 greatest adventures on earth

內有介紹

The brutal murder of Archbishop Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral on December 29, 1170, transformed him into one of the most venerated saints in Western Christendom, and his shrine instantly became a pilgrimage site.
Featured Artwork of the Day: Pilgrim's Badge of the Shrine of St. Thomas Becket at Canterbury | 1350–1400 | Britishhttp://met.org/1vHsGOY

英國遊客人數大幅增加


到訪英國的中國遊客人數大幅增加

2014年 12月 28日分享
倫敦是英國對旅遊者最具吸引力的城市

據英國旅遊局預測,到英國旅遊的外國遊客將會在2015年創下新的消費記錄,總消費額將首次突破220億英鎊。

外國遊客2013年在英國消費了210億英鎊,據估計今年的消費額將達到213億英鎊。

英國旅遊局特別指出,中國遊客的人數以及遊客消費金額近年來大幅增加,消費額從2010年的1.84億英鎊增加到2013年的4.92億英鎊,遊客人數則在這段時間增加了79.1%,達19.6萬人。

根據英國旅遊局提供的總體數字,2010年到英國的外國遊客為2980萬人次,消費額168億英鎊。

英國旅遊局預測,外國遊客總人數將在2015年增加到3510萬人次,比2014年增長2.5%。

最先恢復

在金融危機之後,旅遊業的發展速度超過了任何其他產業,並且成為英國最重要的出口創收產業之一。

英國旅遊局曾在6月份指出,訪問倫敦和訪問英國其他地區遊客的數量存在著巨大差異。

自2008年以來,到訪倫敦的外國遊客人數增加了14%,訪問英國其他地區的遊客人數卻下降了4%。

但是英國旅遊事務國務部長格蘭特(Helen Grant)說,除了倫敦的景點之外,旅遊者對其他地區的景點和活動也十分感興趣,例如英超足球賽、牛津附近的比斯特購物村和莎士比亞故鄉埃文河畔斯特拉特福,等等。

她還說,美國人依然是到訪英國的主要旅遊者,他們大把花錢,受到英國電視連續劇「唐頓莊園」和大偵探福爾摩斯的強烈吸引。

(編譯:躍生 責編:羅玲)

2014年12月28日 星期日

Westminster Abbey


Westminster Abbey was consecrated ‪#‎onthisday‬ in 1065 – the setting for every Coronation since 1066 http://ow.ly/FMmdO

Charles Yerkes (1837-1905)

 Charles Tyson Yerkes (June 25, 1837 – December 29, 1905) was an American financier, born in Philadelphia. He played a major part in developing mass-transit systems in Chicagoand London.

London[edit]

In August 1900, Yerkes decided to become involved in the development of the London Underground railway system after riding along the route of one proposed line and surveying the City of London from the summit of Hampstead Heath. He established theUnderground Electric Railways Company of London to take control of the District Railway and the partly built Baker Street and Waterloo RailwayCharing Cross, Euston and Hampstead Railway; and Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway. Yerkes employed complex financial arrangements similar to those that he had used in America to raise the funds necessary to construct the new lines and electrify the District railway. In one of his last great triumphs, Yerkes managed to thwart an attempt by J. P. Morgan to enter the London Underground field.

skul|dug¦gery
Pronunciation: /skʌlˈdʌɡ(ə)ri 
  
/
(also skullduggery)

Definition of skulduggery in English:

NOUN

[MASS NOUN]

Origin

mid 19th century: alteration of Scots sculduddery, of unknown origin.
*****

The story of how London expanded so swiftly at the turn of the 20th century is one of financial ingenuity, bold risk-taking and low skulduggery. It is also the tale of one dauntless American, Charles Yerkes, who, though notorious in his time, is today unknown in the city he helped shape http://econ.st/1zBXrqb

A Street Cat Called Bob 倫敦街頭一隻貓的故事

A Street Cat Named Bob - short documentary - YouTube

  1. www.youtube.com/watch?v=MePaWG7g5FA
    Jun 3, 2012 - Uploaded by bumfe
    A Street Cat Named Bob - short documentary A tale of one man and his cat. Jame has written a book ,about ...


倫敦街頭一隻貓的故事,震驚全世界!

(中國評論新聞網) 2014年12月27日 11:15
倫敦街頭一隻貓的故事,震驚全世界!
故事是這樣的....

  在倫敦的一條大街上,來往的英國民眾和遊客熙熙攘攘,不時傳來吉他的聲音。人們已經習慣了這條街上的常客:背吉他的詹姆斯·波文和流浪貓鮑勃。詹姆斯負責唱歌,鮑勃負責靜靜地坐在旁邊微笑,如果高興,它就跳上吉他與詹姆斯共唱一曲。唱完歌後,他們還會擊掌慶祝。

倫敦街頭一隻貓的故事,震驚全世界!

  這是一場奇遇,更是一個奇跡。

  幾年前,倫敦科芬園的街頭藝人詹姆斯結束一天的賣藝生活,疲憊地返回簡陋的住處,發現一隻受傷的姜黃色貓咪蜷曲在他家公寓的走廊裡。他被這只貓充滿靈性的注視所吸引,為他取名鮑勃,並在接下來的一個星期內,用身上僅剩的錢全力救治小貓直到它康復。

倫敦街頭一隻貓的故事,震驚全世界!

  作為一個勉強度日的流浪藝人,他從未想過擁有一隻寵物。詹姆斯將貓放回街頭,準備就此分別,但鮑勃顯然另有打算,一直跟著詹姆斯,不願離開。

倫敦街頭一隻貓的故事,震驚全世界!

  在遇見鮑勃之前,詹姆斯是一個消沉的流浪者和癮君子,在倫敦街頭賣藝,過著朝不保夕的生活,被毒品、酒精、小偷小摸和絕望包圍。鮑勃的出現,讓詹姆斯的生活發生了巨大的變化。

倫敦街頭一隻貓的故事,震驚全世界!

  照顧鮑勃的責任讓詹姆斯學著為他人著想,並開始認真地考慮自己的生活。鮑勃會自己用廁所,會give fives(擊掌),會單掌單挑流氓,還會用特製的公交卡乘地鐵……

倫敦街頭一隻貓的故事,震驚全世界!

  他們很快成了相依為命的朋友,一起賣藝,一起散步,一起對抗生活的困苦,一起享受努力的成就與幸福。就在鮑勃成為詹姆斯賣藝的“嘉賓”後,詹姆斯人氣高漲,一天的收益差不多是此前的3倍。鮑勃以它與生俱來的靈性和不可思議的影響力,為詹姆斯帶來了許多善良的關懷。而詹姆斯也靠著頑強的毅力和鮑勃不離不棄的陪伴,終於戒除了毒癮,並逐漸步入正常的生活軌道。

倫敦街頭一隻貓的故事,震驚全世界!

  在很多人的幫助下,詹姆斯和鮑勃結束了漂泊的賣藝生涯,成為了倫敦《大志》雜誌的銷售員,還有了自己的上崗證和崗位編號。哥兒倆的這一組合受到了路人的喜愛,而鮑勃也成為了網路上的明星。與鮑勃的這一場邂逅,讓詹姆斯重新拾起了生活的信心和希望,幫他尋回了遺失已久的親情,更改變了他曾經昏暗、幾近毀滅的人生。用詹姆斯的話來說,“這就好像有人拉開窗簾,把陽光灑進我的生活中一樣。當然,某個人確實已經這麼做了。”

倫敦街頭一隻貓的故事,震驚全世界!

  詹姆斯把這段不尋常的友誼如實寫下,起名《一隻名叫鮑勃的流浪貓》,全球暢銷幾十萬冊,翻譯為18國語言。鮑勃也有了自己的twitter帳戶,粉絲超過百萬。

倫敦街頭一隻貓的故事,震驚全世界!

  這本半自傳體式的小書講述了很簡單的故事——一個流浪的人,一隻流浪的貓,在走投無路時相遇,從此互相依賴,給予對方生存下去的力量。質樸的語言帶著城市邊緣生活特有的辛酸、動盪與矛盾,字裡行間卻充滿了堅韌的品格。沒有跌宕起伏的劇情,只是處處充滿溫馨。當詹姆斯初遇鮑勃後帶受傷的鮑勃去治療,他身上總共只有30英鎊,雖然聽到價格時他的心往下一沉,但是毫不猶豫的付出了22英鎊。當鮑勃來敲門,它敲開我的心。

倫敦街頭一隻貓的故事,震驚全世界!

  我們每個人心中都有愛,只是有沒有遇到打開心的鑰匙而已。雖然只是一隻受傷的小貓,可是它卻喚醒了你。正如詹姆斯所說,“每個人都需要一個轉捩點,每個人都有第二次機會,鮑勃和我抓住了!”詹姆斯和鮑勃是幸運的,他們遇到了彼此。然而街頭巷尾,人海深處,還有許許多多人,散落在冥冥之中,躲在黑暗的角落,有誰去救贖,去啟示,去喚醒,去拂落他們心靈上的灰塵?親情?友情?愛情?或者像詹姆斯一樣,等待一隻名叫鮑勃的貓?

倫敦街頭一隻貓的故事,震驚全世界!

  詹姆斯說:“我有今天全拜鮑勃所賜,是它改變了我的人生。”

倫敦街頭一隻貓的故事,震驚全世界!

  一個流浪漢到全球暢銷作家的距離有多遠?也許只需一隻喵星人的友誼。

倫敦街頭一隻貓的故事,震驚全世界!

  感謝鮑勃,感謝詹姆斯,也祝福這世間所有鮮活美麗的生靈!

  (來源:HiNet WebMail)

2014年12月21日 星期日

Bank fines to aid British charities linked to poppy tribute

《中英對照讀新聞》Bank fines to aid British charities linked to poppy tribute 銀行罰款挹注英國慈善團體結合罌粟花紀念品
2014-12-21
◎顧佳欣
Fines paid by banks for rigging interest rates will be used to finance a tax break for British military charities raising funds from a First World War memorial that has brought millions of visitors to the Tower of London.
銀行因操控利率的罰款將用來資助讓英國軍隊慈善團體減稅,其為吸引數百萬遊客參觀倫敦塔的一次世界大戰紀念儀式籌款。
The Treasury has said it will waive the value added tax (VAT) on the sale of hundreds of thousands of bright red ceramic poppies that form a hugely popular installation marking the centenary of the outbreak of the Great War.
財政部說,數十萬朵亮紅色陶製罌粟花之銷售將免課增值稅,這些花用來組成紀念大戰爆發100週年廣受歡迎的大型藝術裝置。
The government will donate the amount it would have received in VAT -- 1.1 million pounds -- to six military charities.
政府會捐贈與增值稅收差不多的110萬英鎊給6個軍隊慈善機構。
It said some of the money it has collected in fines imposed by British authorities on seven banks and brokers accused of rigging the benchmark Libor interest rate will be used for the donation.
財政部表示,被控操控基準利率倫敦銀行同業拆款利率的7家銀行及經紀商所徵收的罰款,部份經費將會作為捐款。
Part of an art installation called "The Tower of London Remembers: Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red", the ceramic poppies each represent one of the 888,246 British and colonial soldiers killed during World War One.
部份藝術裝置稱為「倫敦塔回憶:血染土地與紅色之海」,每一朵陶罌粟都代表在一戰當中喪命的88萬8246位英國及殖民地軍人。

新聞辭典

tax break:指減稅。例句:Tax break were created to help low-income family.(減稅的設計用來幫助低收入家庭。)
installation:名詞,裝置、設置,或指就任儀式。例句:His installation as mayor will take place tomorrow.(他的市長就職典禮將在明天舉行。)
waive:動詞,放棄、推遲、擱置。例句:Anna waived her right to become a police.(安娜放棄了當警察的權利。)