Events at London Canal Museum

    There is plenty going on at London Canal Museum. We have regular monthly illustrated talks in the evening. We have summer boat trips through the long Islington Tunnel on certain dates. We have occasional special days of activities for families or adults. We also occasionally offer roses and castles painting courses, and other events.

    28^th May

Summer Tunnel Trips from the museum through Islington Tunnel and back. Booking is online—click this link. A guide will travel on the boat and will explain the history as you cruise through the lengthy Tunnel.

    31^st May

    Watery Wednesday an activity day for children, put on by our education team. Take a short boat trip! Suitable for ages 6-12 approximately. The theme is birds and butterflies, nature and the canal.

    1^st June

    Illustrated talk: Saving the Lichfield and Hatherton Canals by David Dixon. An epic story of the major tasks involved. ￡8.90 adult, ￡6.50 child including museum admission.

    Until 24^th September

Exhibition:Brindley 300 A large exhibition produced by the National Waterways Museum now showing in London for the first time. James Brindley was born 301 years ago, he was a pioneer of canals and, together with the “ Canal Duke”, of Bridgwater, he started the development of modern transport. His contribution to making this country a great industrial nation was great, and this exhibition celebrates his life and achievements.

    The events arrangement can easily be included into any other website and will automatically be updated. See Other Webmasters page for details.

    Often people receive a guitar, mandolin, or some other musical instrument as a birthday or Christmas gift. There's joy everywhere. The giver of the gift knows how much the receiver wants to learn this instrument and the receiver is actually holding it in his hands instead of longing for it through the shop window.

    Finding an instructor that fits into a busy work schedule is hard enough, but once you decide on a lesson plan, then you must consider the practice time, how to practice, what to practice—and let's face it...not all people learn something the same way. So in order to learn a musical instrument, how much practice time is enough and what kind of practice is right for you?

    There is no set amount of time that anyone should practice a musical instrument. When I was in programming classes, I could have studied nightly for 5 hours each night. It would have taken me years to learn the art of computer programming. Though I'm attracted by the systematic logic of it, my talent is towards another thing. However, on the other hand, if I spent an hour every couple days with a passionate hobby like playing the violin, not only would the time fly quickly...I'd also be learning at a much greater speed since the built-in passion is the motivation for advancement.

    So as much as it's important to practice, a step back is to first find the harmonious instrument that fits you as a person; as development of your personality. If you're learning the guitar because it's cool....obviously that's the modern-day mindset, however, you might not be actually linking your talent for musical satisfaction with your most creative advantages you have to offer.

    It's been my experience that every person has a certain level of musical talent. My pleasant challenge has been to assist them in this adventure and actually locate their best abilities as quickly as possible. Then and only then can we match learners with instruments and truly begin a fun and exciting walk down the road of happiness and contentment, where music, ability, personality and soul all meet. Once this piece of the mystery puzzle is in place, I've never had to work at motivating a learner to practice...

    I grew up poor. We had little money, but plenty of love and attention. I understood that no matter how poor a person was, he could still afford a dream. My dream was athletics.

    By the time I was sixteen, I was good at baseball and football. My high-school coach was Ollie Jarvis. He not only believed in me, but taught me the difference between having a dream and showing conviction(信念).

    One summer a friend recommended me for a summer job. This meant a chance for money in my pocket — cash for dates with girls, certainly, money for a new bike and new clothes, and the start of savings for a house for my mother.

Then I realized I would have to give up summer baseball to handle the work schedule, and that meant I would have to tell Coach Jarvis I wouldn't be playing. I was dreading(害怕) this, but my mother said, "If you make your bed, you have to lie in it."

When I told Coach Jarvis, he was as mad as I expected him to be. "Your playing days are limited. You can't afford to waste them," he said.

    I stood before him with my head hanging, trying to think of the words that would explain to him why I dreamed of buying my mom a house.

"How much are you going to make at this job, son?" he demanded.

"Three twenty-five an hour," I replied.

"Well," he asked, "is $3.25 an hour the price of a dream?"

    That question laid bare for me the difference between wanting something right now and having a goal. I devoted myself to sports that summer, and within the year I was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates to play rookie-league ball, and offered a $20,000 contract. I signed with the Denver Broncos in 1984 for $1.7 million, and bought my mother the house of my dream.

Dear Aunt Tara,

    I have a problem with my homework. We have to do it in a group. It has to be finished this Friday, but Gary, the boy in our group, has done nothing helpful. He just keeps rocking the boat.

    Every time we talk about the work with him, he always "Don't worry. I'll do it later" But he seldom does his job. And when he does it be the wrong way. Someone has to do it for him again what's is when Mas Lin asks about our group, Gary always tell her that we others don't work hard enough I'm really mad at Gary about this. We're in the same group. Shouldn't we help each other to do a better job?

Kate

Dear Kate

    It is important or students to learn how to work together in a group. Maybe you should talk to Gary about the problem and tell him you all need his help. If he still doesn't changes, go to talk to your teacher. I believe she can make Gary do his job.

Aunt Tara

    Being forgiving to yourself and others can protect against stress and the harm it does to mental health, according to a new study in the Journal of Health Psychology.

    Researchers looked at the effects of lifetime stress on a person's mental health, and how more forgiving people got along compared with people who weren't so forgiving. To do this, they asked 148 young adults to fill out questionnaires that assessed their levels of lifetime stress, their tendency to forgive and their mental and physical health.

    No surprise, people with greater exposure to stress had worse mental and physical health. But the researchers also discovered that if people were highly forgiving of both themselves and others, that characteristic alone almost removed the connection between stress and mental illness.

    "It's almost entirely erased—it's zero," says study author Toussaint. "If you don't have forgiving tendencies, you feel the immediate effects of stress in a severe way. You don't have anything to cushion you against that stress."

    How a forgiving personality protects a person from the influence of severe stress is hard to determine. The researchers infer that people who are more forgiving may adopt better skills to deal with stress, or their reaction to major stressors(压力源)may be slow.

    Though more research is needed to fully understand the benefits of being more forgiving, Toussaint believes"100％"that forgiveness can be learned. His own previous research has shown that saying a short prayer on forgiveness can help people take the edge off. "I think most people want to feel good and forgiveness offers you the opportunity to do that," he says.

What do a picturesque sunrise, a nice cup of coffee, and holiday celebrations have in common? {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Being open about your feelings can be rewarding. Here are some reasons for sharing your feelings with others.

Expressing your feelings connects you with others. When it comes to relationships with your family and significant others knowing how to express your feelings is the key to creating intimacy (亲密关系). {#blank#}2{#/blank#}However, it is that sincere revelation(透露) that enables you to bond with your loved ones.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#}In a study, after participants expressed their emotions, brain images showed a decrease in the brain activity in the amygdala, the part of the brain associated with feelings, indicating a calming effect on the brain. The researchers concluded that talking through emotions decreases the strength of these emotions.

Sharing your feelings boosts health. According to The New York Times, holding everything inside and not expressing your emotions can be harmful. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}But choosing to appropriately share them benefits you mentally and physically. By doing so, you can normalize your speaking about emotions and emotional needs. This can help not just you, but also others.

Speaking about your emotions enables you to get help.When you put what's in your mind into words, you are making that experience or emotion real, instead of ignoring it. That's a way of recognizing yourself. Moreover, talking about your feelings allows your loved ones to help you. They are naturally concerned about your well-being. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

All in all, accept your feelings, even negative ones and learn to manage them. Practice sharing your feelings on a regular basis, and you will benefit a lot.

A. Opening up keeps emotional intensity down.

B. Sharing your emotions improves brain function.

C. Telling others about the depths of your feelings can be scary.

D. If so, you'd better avoid judging yourself and other people.

E. These are all wonderful experiences that you can share with loved ones.

F. By letting them know what you're experiencing, you can get their support.

G. That may cause increased stress levels and risk of developing related diseases.