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Sean | 12:48 UK time, Friday, 22 October 2010

Hello Everyone!

I've been lurking again and reading with interest all your comments... Today I am going to answer some of the specific questions you have posted and to reveal the answer to the connection between King Henry VIII and the British obsession with ghosts!

A woman looks into a crystal ball and sees a young boy who's a Victorian ghost!

Sean lying back

Well that's me relaxing on the Nile! And guess what! I just answered about 30 or more of your questions and revealed the answer to my questions to you.... and they have just disappeared into thin air! There is a ghost in the machine!!!! So, sorry about that... I shall now have to come back to this later and add my comments / answers all over again. I guess the lesson is... write your blog in a word document first and then copy and paste it into the system.... Anyway it's late now so I have to go!

Promise the answers will appear soon ... I haven't given up the ghost yet!

All the best
Sean

I'm back!

Hello again! Well, I don't know what happened there. Spooky! But I learned my lesson and this entry was prepared and saved as a word document first! So, where was I? Ah yes... answering lots and lots of questions.

First, the answer to the question I asked about the connection between King Henry VIII and the English obsession with ghosts. Well, both Svetlana and Sero got pretty close. Svetlana talks about Henry and his wives - notably his second wife Anne Boleyn who was beheaded. That's pretty spooky! Of course she wasn't the only wife to lose her head... but more of that in a minute. Sero hit the nail on the head with his answer about the Reformation. You see it goes like this... Henry wanted to divorce his first wife Catherine of Aragon because she didn't give him an heir and he had fallen in love with Anne Boleyn. The only problem was that the Pope and the Catholic Church would not agree to the divorce. So, Henry broke with the Catholic church and formed the Church of England. And here's where the connection with ghosts comes in. Henry's split from the Catholic Church changed the way people were allowed to think about the 'undead'.

According to Catholic doctrine, people were encouraged to think of souls of the dead and the living as one spiritual family - and that ghosts appeared on Earth from Purgatory. However, the Church of England banned the idea of Purgatory and this forced the English to think of new ways of understanding ghosts. Their response was that ghosts came from either Heaven or, more often, Hell. So, ghosts were no longer helpful souls waiting to go to Heaven but unhappy or tragic spirits from Hell, mourning their failure to get to Heaven.

So there you have it. Blame King Henry VIII for the nasty ghost stories! And all because he wanted a divorce from Catholic Catherine and to marry Anne Boleyn. Of course he then fell out with Anne after they had married and had her head cut off. I still remember the rhyme they taught us at school to make sure we remembered what happened to all six of Henry's wives - divorced, beheaded, died; divorced, beheaded, survived!

Some answers to your questions

Thanks for all your kind comments and your questions. Here I'll try and answer most of them...

@Mahjabeen
My favourite singer? I have lots but I really like Leonard Cohen and Kate Bush. I consider them artists. I also admire the voices of Eva Cassidy (an angel) and Barbra Streisand (a star!). More recently, I have really enjoyed listening to Plan B.

@sero_03
Yes the picture of the man outside the window does look like a trick! And the chocolate cake was for the anniversary of ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½e! our coproduction with Egypt Radio.

@Carossi
Your English is very good. Yes, interference from L1 (your mother tongue) often causes problems with L2 (the second language you are speaking). But as long as you can make yourself understood I wouldn't worry too much about that. Keep climbing!

@Miguel
Thanks for your amazing blog and your kind comments. Like everyone else, I've loved reading your posts Miguel You really are a good writer. For me too writing is an expression of the Arts. I like your suggestion about creating a kind of forum perhaps on Facebook. Of course we already have several interactive social media areas which you can find on the community area of our website. But we are looking at ways of enhancing and improving all our social media work. Abeer, one of our Team Leaders, has been given the 'network' brief and already has some great suggestions. So expect to see more developments soon! As for being a good teacher - thanks! But you are a pretty good student too! Of all the questions, what is the difference between a myth and a legend - that's a good one! Well, I think it's mainly about usage - we tend to talk about myths being from the classical times (Greek myths etc) and legends being from later times (the legend of King Arthur for example). We also more colloquially talk of someone being a legend... for example football fans would consider Pele a legend, meaning he's amazingly good, a star; and use myths to colloquially describe something more recent that is a rumour perhaps but not true - it's a myth that there is a monster in Loch Ness for example. Hope that helps! Finally, glad to hear you can make an exception - does this mean I got the job as your boss!??

@Pary
I know! So frustrating that I lost all these replies last night just before I was leaving the office. Can you believe it? Luckily when I came to re-write them just now (in Word first!!) I remembered most of what I said... As for the Nile it is amazing. That photo was taken on a trip I did with some Brazilian friends - we spent 3 nights on a faluca with nothing but the Nile, a book, some music and the bongos for company... oh and the two 'captains' who sailed and cooked for us.... One of the most memorable trips of my life. Earlier you asked how can I speak so many languages? Well, to be honest I would only claim to really speak English, French, German and Spanish well. As for the others - I was born in Uganda so picked up a little Swahili, I have worked a lot in Egypt over the past five years so can understand a bit of Arabic and know a few expressions... and my Chinese - well, only a couple of words so far! Which languages do you speak? I imagine Farsi is one of them? Can you teach me one or two words? Oh, and listen to that CD about ghost stories! We want to know how scary it really is!

@Abdisamad
Wow! I can't believe we were both in Egypt for the African Cup of Nations! Did you also dance in the streets?! And amazing that you are now in Kampala... that made me feel very homesick! It's my birthplace and I have very fond memories even though I was only five when we left... I went back when I was about 35 and was lucky enough to have an amazing book my mother had just written about our time in Uganda. It's a collection of stories and poems with an almost 'magic realism' style... with me as a four year old as the narrator! It's called "The Boy with the Garden in his Eyes". Can you imagine how weird and wonderful it was to have that with me? I used it as a guide-book and even found all the places my parents worked in during their time there in the '50s and '60s... and where they lived - including the house I spent my first five years in! It was amazing.

@misou / Soumia
Yes responses are important. Thank you for your kind words. And LOL that you call me Sean Connery. I too love that actor. Do you think he was the best James Bond? I think I do. Daniel Craig is also good though.

@Svetlana
Congratulations on your quick response about Henry VIII... if you love history you'd love a TV series called The Tudors all about that period. Actually, I saw the guy who played Henry the other week in my local newsagents. He's a great actor called Jonathan Rhys Meyers. And by the way 'warm words' doesn't have an opposite meaning - it's a nice thing to say, so don't worry!

@bbllmm
Yes enjoying chocolate cake is serious work! As for the mysterious 7th paragraph... more about that in a later post!

@ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½_fan
Glad you like the word "witty". Me too. And I love witty people. Oscar Wilde is famous for his wit.

@Ashish
Thanks for the kind comment about my brilliant start! Glad I compensated for the loss of the first ten days! All good things come to he who waits! Yes, the lucky seven languages... but as I said, not all of them so fluently! My French is pretty fluent as I lived there for a year and my sister and nieces still do. My German is also quite fluent, but a bit rusty. I studied at university and spent a year in Zurich, Switzerland (really another language!). I have friends in South America so my Spanish is not bad... yes, I love languages so will keep going!

@Carossi
You're right - this is a community that transmits warm feelings and support for others as well as a great place to practice and learn English. I've been honoured to be a part of it this month.

@sailormoon4
Tell us about the séance! What happened? What did your friend tell you that you don't believe?

@Ditta
By ghost writer, I meant do you think I need someone else to write for me? Someone perhaps who writes better or more often?! ;-) or is it best to get it straight from the horse's mouth!? Even if the horse is not so fast and maybe more of a donkey?!! As for the out of body experience, yes it is quaint I guess... though not sure I'd use that word... I'll tell you at the end of this post about how it felt for me!

Some answers to my questions -

I don't think I've ever stayed in a haunted house. I'm not sure I believe in ghosts, but I do believe that the spirit or soul exists before and after the body... so I guess I believe in reincarnation too... that belief is coloured by my out of body experience! I'll tell you about that now before signing off...


It was a very hot day. I was looking down on a scene in a beautiful garden. The sun was shining and the colours were bright. There were many people milling around, enjoying themselves drinking champagne and eating. At the centre of everyone's attention was a very small baby. That was 'me'... and this was 'my' Christening party. As I looked down on these people, I asked myself "So, this little thing is now supposed to be me?" and "Who are those people who now call themselves my parents?" It was an amazing experience. I only remembered it when I was about sixteen but it was incredibly real. It was a bit like being given a play to read and a part to study. But I felt incredibly peaceful and serene. My parents, by the way, turned out to play their parts fantastically! They never cease to amaze me. Here they were seven years after arriving in Uganda on an adventure that hasn't stopped. They seize every opportunity to live life to the full. I can only hope I have followed in some part in their footsteps.

Some explanations of my English -

disappeared into thin air
completely vanished

given up the ghost
stopped trying

Spooky
weird, strange

got pretty close.
were nearly right

beheaded
had her head cut off

lose her head
if you lose your head, you do something crazy!

hit the nail on the head
to get something exactly right

'undead'
those not living, but not yet in Heaven or Hell

Purgatory
a spiritual 'waiting room' from which souls may go to Heaven

mourning
being sad about; when someone you love dies you are 'in mourning'

milling around
wandering around, walking slowly from one place to another

They never cease to amaze me
They always surprise me; I am always impressed by them

Comments

  • Comment number 1.

    HI Sean!!

    Your last post was so interesting! Personally I don't believe in ghost, but I enjoy listening stories about it. Here in Peru exists many legends about "beliefs or myths" like a "Hill" which eat people, yeah I know It sounds weird, but in the countryside is so popular this kind of legend, and people who live there have respect about it. Have you heard about the legend of Manco Capac and Mama Occllo?? Well according to this legend "Incas" were born of a "HILL" called "Tamputoco" in Cusco. That's the reason why people in countryside of Peru have a great respect about the land and HIlls--

    Thanks Sean, for your corrections in my last post!! You are a great teacher! so I have a question, There exist a difference between MYTH and LEGEND?

    Best Regards

    MIguel

  • Comment number 2.

    Hi Seam , I 'm really sorry for the Ghost mischief . What a pitty .I eagerly downloaded your page and frankly speaking the first fairy photo and your shot was really seductive ( Although in a positive way )and mo goodness what on earth has happen to your words ! Many times my comment has disappeared eventually , too and as you said I have learn my lesson and nowadays I try to use word document firstly for preventing my comment disappearing and secondly for avoiding misspelling . I 'm thinking what was your feeling , relaxing and refreshing on the Nil , It must be wonderful !
    Hope you will find time for your new entry very soon .
    Have a nice weekend
    Pary from Iran

  • Comment number 3.

    Hello Sean!
    You are a real pleasure to communicate with! You’ve done an amazing job; you’ve taken pains to answer personally to every commentator of your blog! It’s great! I appreciate it very much and I’m afraid I can’t thank you enough for it. My gratefulness is just beyond description! It really matters to me to have a response, so million thanks to you!
    I’ve actually heard about The Tudors series, that they are very popular in Britain. I’d love to see them pretty much but, unfortunately, I couldn’t lay my hands on them yet. I found the first season on the Net (it was a Russian website) and tried to download it but… unsuccessfully. I hope I’ll watch the film some day.
    By the way, I knew the gist of the story about Henry VIII and the reformation of the English Church from the English history, and it was very interesting for me to learn more details, for which thank you again! About British actors, I love Gerard Butler, he is a Scottish actor though, he is adorable, and I just love him. Have you seen him? He works a lot in the USA though, and, I think, he lives there either.
    I’m looking forward to reading more interesting posts from you!

    All the best, have a nice weekend.
    Svetlana, Russia

  • Comment number 4.

    Hello Sean and everyone

    I'm Abeer - first time herebut loved the warmth and the human exchange ..

    Reading Sean's story about Henry the VI and his wives made me thought why Henry's sixth wife survived ? what were the reasons that made her escape his other wives'fate ( the beheaded and the divorced )

    is survial for the fittest ? I do belive that surival is another word for success ?

    so my question to all friends here - what are the ingredients of success? and how do you define success ?

    And Sean you hit the nail on the head when you wrote in a word document and pasted in "movable words " system ;-)













  • Comment number 5.

    Hi ( Salam ) Sean , Thank you ( mamoon ) so much for your replies . Even ( hata ) if ( Agar ) you ( Shoma ) speak just four ( chahar ) languages frequently , you have done a great job ! As you asked about me ( Man ) , Farsi is our official language ( Zaban ) and I know Turkish with Azary accent . And we ( ma ) have learn Arabic for seven ( haft ) years ( Sal) in primary and high school( Madraseh ) as one of subjects but now ( Hala ) I have forgotten all about it and I 'm really sorry about it luckily about English I haven't given it up and I try to brush my English up when ever I can . It was the first time that someone asked me for some Farsi ( Persain ) words . Hope you will like the way I tried to increase some Farsi words .
    Cheers
    Pary from Iran

  • Comment number 6.

    Hi Abeer , How are you ? How nice is to see you here ! I used to recive your nice messages in FB but it 's a while I don't . Please keep going the good Job . I think it might be my fault . About the question promise to answer very soon !
    cheers
    Pary

  • Comment number 7.

    The second bite of the cherry ,
    Sorry Sean but I didn't realized your out of body experience . If you don't mind Please explain us how it happend to you in sixteen years old . Was it a dream ?
    see you

  • Comment number 8.

    "Salam" Pary
    I'm fine , "mammon " . I'm currently in the Uk working from our London office . Yes , I know that I disappeared from the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½e! facebook fans club and ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½LE as well ;-)so not your fault.The fault is mine! Soon will be back but to warn you will get lots of conversation going around you .. Tweets , facebook lines and check in where all of us will be . Some tips , some maps .. lots of goodies with lots of learning English through fun opportunities .
    Looking forward to you answering my question and another one here as well ;-)
    which of the social media tools do you use more ? why ?
    speak soon on facebook ISA (IN SHAA Allah )
    abeer

  • Comment number 9.


    Hi Sean,

    Your posting looks like a Teaser Ad. I think it's well-known to you. Teaser Ad, one type of advertisement for any product that makes people interested in later advertisements. It’s likely to pay attention to the next ad rather than the present one. I find the same in your blog. You've made us waiting for the last part and it's really interesting, Sean. Thanks for it.

    In a sense, you're far and away better than the advertising company. Ad company can address a specific class of people, either major or not, but definitely not all and individually. You've done it in an excellent way. Yes, I agree with you that 'All good things come to he who waits!'. And, I think everybody who had bunch of questions are pleased now as all are answered as one to one. However, I'll go with Pary that I couldn't understand your out of body experience.

    @ Svetlana: I always try to read your pieces mindfully as most of them are informative. You're really energetic, friend !!! Keep it up please.

    @ Pary: I’ve enjoyed your writing very much. You’ve tried to practice some Farsi words in really an interesting way. I've liked the style the most. I'll do it in future, if I get here someone who can read Bengali (Bangla), the sweetest language in the world as UNESCO.

    @ Abeer: Hi Abeer, from your and Pary’s writing, it’s clear to me that you’re an old friend here. I write to you as I enjoyed the structure of the sentences, you’ve delivered. How nicely you write, the gist in a simple and specially in a short way!! Really do I like the style. So, welcome back.

    @ Others: I think you, a lot of friends, (I don’t want to mention by name) have been lurking for a few days. Have you learnt it from Sean? If it is, then you must come with outstanding delivery as he’s done. So, looking forward to your shots.

    Thanks to all.

    Ashish, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

  • Comment number 10.

    Hi Abeer , We are waiting for your coming back and how much it 's tempting , Good Luck . Abot yuor last question

    which of the social media tools do you use more ? why ?
    I didn't take the point , I 'm thinking .... I use to commnet here as you can see and I have some limited friends in FB , But I like to communicate with people here , more .
    have fun and bye

  • Comment number 11.

    Hi Ashish , thank you for your compliment , that 's kind of you . You know it 's really difficualt and maybe fault to leanr another language with indivitual words .But it was jsut give it a try I said it was my first time ;)
    About the sweetes language I Like the English more , Some times I watch some Movies in other lan...( it 's better not mention which languages ) But I can't bear them I prefer to listen in Englsih or Farsi version .... I think I have just used to them . Bay the way I think every one's mother Lan.. is the sweetest Lan.. for her/him , isn't it ?
    have a nice day and buy

  • Comment number 12.

    Hi Sean, Good morning or good night or just hello, How cruel king Henry was, I'm intrigued how king Henry's sixth wife survived? Maybe he died earlier after his sixth marriage. B/W, what happened with you in the boat? Are you worn out after writing 30 comments and then lost them at once just kidding :). You talked about your out of body experience with open eyes? I can't believe it. Meanwhile, for learning new words 'Google Translator' is a good tool. It's just a suggestion. I think you know about this tool. Lastly, Thank you for answering my query regarding your music taste. I've never heard "Plan B" but I'd definetly search their songs on youtube.
    @Pary, Thank you for teaching Farsi language. The 'Urdu' language that we speak is derived from Farsi and we use some words directly from it. Like 'zuban' and 'madressah' which you mentioned above.
    @ Abeer, Salam and good to see you here. The tool which we used for social interaction is mostly 'facebook' becuase its very user friendly and it's easy to interact with other people and also to find them and add them. For me succes is reality and rest is illusion.

    Bye for now,

  • Comment number 13.

    HI dear Abeer
    This my short answer to your frist question

    " To be content with what we have and to be well planed to find what we wish . And I do believe the success is for the fittest ! "

    Sorry my writing is not so good to write beautiful words and expressions but I hope you know what I mean
    best wishes

  • Comment number 14.

    Hi Pary! We are lucky having Sean here to ask about Farsi. As Ashish I liked it too, you´ve taken it in an interesting way. Rabindranat Thagore wrote in Bengali. The Urdu sounds mysterious to me but the true is all the mentioned languages (and Slovak too) come from the same language family just, fortunately, we have met here to learn English so more easily understand to each other. Good for us!
    Sean! Sounds interesting your experience. Do you suppose the spirit of you will have choose a human baby again? All time is considered just the life as a human. As I do know (very little) reincarnation is believed by Buddhists. And the soul may appear as an animal too(a bee,shark,worm if I don´t consider bacteria) or better for me as the flower. But I´ve never studied this. I suppose you are special due to the place of your birth! All the best! marianna

  • Comment number 15.


    Hi Marianna,

    You're absolutely right that the Buddhists believe in reincarnation. It’s (only the belief) well-known to me, as I belong to this religion. As our religion, we may be in any state of being including human, even animal and other natural being. Rebirth is conditioned by actions of body, speech and mind of previous lives, which is termed as ‘KARMA’. It is believed that good ‘karma’ will result into a happier rebirth. On the other hand, bad ‘karma’ will turn into unhappy one. It is also explained that ignorance is the root cause here and rebirth stops only if ignorance is uprooted, which has been done by ‘Buddha’.

    Ashish, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

  • Comment number 16.

    Hi Everybody,

    Sean,
    Thanks for the soluton of ghosts and Henry VIII's riddle. It was interesting to read about establishment of English Church. And thanks a lot for your answer my question I think I've understood meaning of ghost writer :).
    And your story about out of body experience's interesting very much as well. I join to the others I'm also curious how did you find your forgotten reminiscence?

    Bye,
    Ditta, Hungary

  • Comment number 17.

    hello Sean
    I don`t why I got in my mind this word milling around, maybe beacuse last week was for me a milling around week. to be honest there was little to do and a lot think about from the last simple thing till the complicate ones... at the end of the week I told myself never buy again this latinamerican jazz cd ....it is just for beginner anyway!!
    greetings,
    xx

  • Comment number 18.

    Hello everybody
    @ Pary - Thank you for answering my questions . I do agree with you about success . Yes I believe that success in a great part is being happy with what you have and willing to acheive more , planning to and making sure that you exert every effort .
    @Ashish thank you.You made my day:-)
    @Mahjabeen- many thanks.I do agree FB is friendly and lots that you can do there. You can join the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ audiences in lots of useful conversations :-) FB is very popular in Egypt now for the same reasons.
    Speak soon
    abeer

  • Comment number 19.

    MASTERING ENGLISH CONVERSATION AND VOCABULARY.

    I would like to know your opinion about the English learning methods set out below that I suggest to ESL (English as a second language) learners. I am a former English (ESL) teacher. I believe in their effectiveness because many ESL learners have tried them out and I have received a lot of positive responses about those methods from ESL learners.

    TIPS AND ADVICE ON ENGLISH CONVERSATION AND VOCABULARY LEARNING.

    Of course, everyday talking in English to native English speakers on a variety of topics helps best in order to be able to speak English fluently. But relatively few learners of English have such long-term opportunity. To eventually be able to speak English fluently, first of all one must have materials with important content on all everyday topics (audios, videos, printed texts/study books, etc.) for beginning, intermediate and advanced levels of study. The materials must include dialogs, monologues (thematic texts), questions - answers with important content, thematic lists of difficult word meanings and phrases (expressions) with usage sentences, and comprehensive vocabulary on all everyday topics. I believe that one can master English conversation and vocabulary with the following methods:

    1. One must listen to each sentence in conversations (thematic dialogs) in audio materials several times and see printed texts at the same time, and understand everything in those sentences clearly.

    2. One must read (pronounce) each sentence aloud and compare one's pronunciation to the announcer's pronunciation.

    3. Speaking activity with self-control. One must check if one can orally convey the content of those dialogs closely to the original dialogs as much as possible, that is try to be an actor for both speakers in the dialogs. The most important thing is to speak English yourself, and to check in printed conversations (dialogs) whether you have made any mistakes in speaking.
    One can also make one's own written questions on the dialogs that require long answers contained in the dialogs to facilitate (make easier) one's imitation of the dialogs. Alternatively, one can write key words and phrases, or main ideas as a plan to make easier for one to imitate those dialogs.

    4. One must also prepare potential questions and answers with important content on all everyday topics and practice speaking. To show different ways of expressing one's thought one can make several potential questions and answers on one point in this speaking activity.

    5. One must have lists of difficult word meanings and of phrases (expressions) on every topic with usage sentences. One must read those ready-made vocabulary usage sentences many times if needed. One must also make one's own sentences with that vocabulary, taking into consideration real life situations.

    6. One can learn a lot of vocabulary on every topic from thematic English dictionaries. Good thematic English dictionaries provide clear word usage explanations and also a few usage sentences for each word meaning, which is especially important. One must also make one's own sentences with difficult vocabulary. Think about the real life situations where and when that vocabulary can be used.

    7. One can also learn English vocabulary by reading thematic texts (materials), first of all on everyday topics with important content, for example: practical tips and advice to make everyday life easier and better (practical solutions for everyday problems). Such self-help books on settling everyday matters are available at book stores.
    One must write down unknown vocabulary in whole sentences. One must practice telling the content of the texts that one has read. As people say, practice makes perfect.

    8. Constant review of material ensures solid knowledge and success in learning.

    9. One must also make use of other important aids on a variety of topics to improve one's English conversation and vocabulary skills: audios, videos (English learning videos, travel videos, etc.), Internet resources, English learning magazines, newspapers, newsletters, radio programs (especially the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ English learning programs/materials), TV programs (educational programs, documentary films, movies, news), books and e-books on a variety of subjects, online communication with native English speakers (chat, by email, by Skype).
    Good libraries have a wide selection of English learning aids.

    I request that you publish this information on your website as my contribution if you find it important. We could also discuss the issue of effective methods and aids for learning English. Information exchange could be mutually beneficial to us. I am open to your suggestions to improve my Tips and Advice on Learning English Conversation and Vocabulary.
    All the best.

    Sincerely,
    Michael Chtcherbitski

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