Welcome to my weekly blog,  SATURDAY SESSIONS!        

In this blog, for the perusal of all our students, past, present and future, I include an extract from our interactive presentation Course, Ireland and its Culture. We explore and discover  Ireland and its Culture - so that's why I call them 'Logs', as in a ship's logbook! 

Each Saturday, I hope to post an extract from each of the Logs.

Below each extract, we have an extract from the Mining The Text section which focuses on the use of English involved in creating the paragraph.

In our Course, participants sit back and listen first to a recording of the reading, then we read it together, look at how it was created and discuss the content involved! In the afternoons and evenings, we go out, explore and discover!

If you wish to ask me any question about the text, by the way, just send me an e-mail at greg@bluefeather.ie

Dublin was founded by the Vikings in 988 CE. (CE = AD; it means Common Era.  BC = BCE, Before Common Era) 

The Irish name for Dublin is Dubh Linn, Black Pool.

In the 19th century, Dublin was described as the second city of the British Empire.  In Merrion Square, in particular, you will see some great examples of Georgian architecture, as fine as some of the best in London. These houses were built in the period of the King Georges of England  from the beginning of the 18th century to the middle of the 19th century.  The typical Georgian house was built with granite - quarried in Dalkey - and had six, one-foot-square little windows in each sash window. The windows at the top (usually the servants' quarters) were smaller. The visible part of the roof was flat to give the illusion of greater height. The chimney flues were often curved to provide greater heat from the fires on each floor and in general, the houses were warmer in the 18th century than they are today!

Log Two, Dublin in a Nutshell, MINING THE TEXT

Dublin was founded (1) by the Vikings in 988 CE. (CE = AD; it means Common Era.  BC = BCE, Before Common Era) 

The Irish name for Dublin is Dubh Linn, Black Pool.

In the 19th century, Dublin was described (2) as the second city of the British Empire.

1.      Dublin was founded = Passive.  (They founded Dublin = Active.)

          It has been done = Passive.  (I have done it = Active)

          It will be built = Passive. (We will build it = Active)

          It is being examined = Passive. (They are examining it = Active)

          How to make the Passive: OBJECT + VERB 'TO BE' + 
          PAST PARTICIPLE

          (OBJECT =   + TO BE (in the right tense) + third form of the verb)

2.      Passive.  (Active= 'People described it....')  Noun of 'describe' = description.

In Merrion Square, in particular, you will see some great examples of Georgian architecture, as fine as (3) some of the best in London. These houses were built in the period of the King Georges of England, from the beginning of the 18th century to the middle of the 19th century.  The typical Georgian house was built with granite - quarried (4) in Dalkey - and had six one-foot-square little windows in each sash window.

3. Simile. 'As tall as a tree.'  'As big as a house'. 'As sober as a judge.'  'As drunk as a lord.' 'As quiet as a mouse.' 'As black as night.' 'As white as a sheet.' (If a person is pale from sickness or shock)

4. To quarry = to break rocks or stone from a quarry. The granite for Dun Laoghaire harbour was quarried (Passive!) in Dalkey.

6. Height, depth, length, breadth, width   (High, deep, long, broad, wide - broad and wide are similar. Broadway in New York is so called because the street is wide/broad. They say that O'Connell Street in Dublin is the widest street in Europe but that's probably nonsense.

7. Warmer, brighter, smaller, bigger, etc.  If the adjective has ONE SYLLABLE, it ends in 'er' in the comparative. Exceptions: happy - happier; pretty - prettier; merry/jolly - merrier/jollier. Other adjectives  use 'more', e.g. more interesting, more difficult, more important.