Stress is an inevitable part of a busy and modern life. Time and time again, we see people feeling overwhelmed because of stress. But after years of being dosed up by doctors and seeking solutions on the self-help shelves, can most common complaints be cured through your next holiday? The festival doctor will see you now.

    Complaint

    Prescription（处方）

    Dosage(剂量)

    Guilty

    Restart yourself at the Wanderlust Festival

    A weekend at any Wanderlust Festival should restrain some of the shame you are feeling. Empty your mind with meditation (冥想) sessions in the mountains of America or adjust your feelings with a sound bath in Santiago, Chile.

    Sad

    A healthy dose of laughter at Just for Laughs in Montreal, Canada in July.

Have fun at the largest comedy festival, which attracts more than two million ha-ha hunters every summer. Apart from 250 comedy acts, there will be walkabout theater ,circus acts and lots of new comedy films to make you laugh to tears.

    Over- thinking

    Get nourishing food for your thought at the U.K.'s How the Light Gets In in May.

    Spend a week or so in the company of like-minded individuals and you will see you are not the only one over-thinking things. The world's largest philosophy festival, held in Hareous Wye, will have talks, debates and classes on culture, philosophy, politics, art and science.

    Heart-broken

    Find one of your favorite fish in the sea at Ireland's Matchmaking Festival in June.

    A week at Liverpool's Matchmaking Festival could be a choice as Ireland's mythical matchmakers have been pairing lovers together for centuries. Try to find Willie Dally, a fourth-generation matchmaker, for your best chance of everlasting love. Those who touch his lucky book are said to fall in love and marry within six months.

    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.

    I had been in the city for some time and was coming home. I missed my boat and decided to travel on an old ship. I knew that it would not be a comfortable journey but I had no time to wait for another boat.

    Hardly had we left the port when I saw the dog Gulliver, the captain's favourite dog, for the first time. What a big dog it was! I had never seen one that could frighten me so much!

    On the third day the ship caught fire. Nobody tried to put it out. The ship began sinking and all the men rushed to the life-boats. I saw no chance of getting away in a boat. Suddenly I remembered there was a life-raft on the ship. I had no time to lose, so I immediately rushed towards the raft and pushed it overboard.

    In jumping down onto the raft I hurt myself badly and was unconscious for some time. When I came to, I found there was no sign of a life-boat. Every man who had been on board the ship must have gone down with her. I was the only one who was saved.

    Then I saw Gulliver was coming fast towards the raft. He struggled a long time before he managed to get onto it. I wanted to push him back into the water but did not dare to move. The dog shook himself, went to the other end of the raft and lay down. I didn't dare to sleep that night. I must watch him. In the moonlight I could see his eyes were open. He was watching, too.

A Chinese legend—A pretty maiden is trapped by a dragon. A prince must slay（杀死）the dragon to save her. Then, magically, they fall in love and live happily ever after. Traditional stories tend to emphasize the fantastic, magical side of love. Fate plays matchmaker. Strangers see each other from across a room and instantly know that they are destined to be together.

    It isn't difficult to imagine two strangers coming together and falling in love despite their differences. It suggests that love is challenging, uncertain, and incomprehensible.

    But with more people using online dating services, a very different kind of love has emerged: one that is scientific, convenient, and self-directed. It minimizes risk and provides a choice, like on a menu. There is anonymity（匿名）and the avoidance of immediate rejection. Meeting terms are negotiated online.

    Online dating also allows the setting of preconditions. Computer algorithms（推算） exclude undesirable traits such as the wrong hair color, race, or age. But they also exclude randomness. They reduce the chances of meeting someone different, or someone who could challenge one's romantic ideals. Instead, they find the partner we think we want and exclude everyone else. As a result, we could be missing the opportunity of a lifetime, to meet someone we would never have expected to fall in love with.

    Perhaps this new way represents a more efficient form of romance. Traditional ideas of love may be enchanting - but are they useful? Loneliness and boredom are less exciting than chance encounters, but they represent the more realistic side of love. All too often people have suffered through bad dates and humiliations. If they could just choose what they wanted, wouldn't it save time and reduce suffering? However, by choosing partners based on our preconceived ideas, we may be indulging in our illusions. Instead of letting ourselves grow with someone, love becomes more about looking for ourselves in the other. What if we don't know ourselves as well as we think? Perhaps love isn't about knowing what we want. Perhaps it's about being open to unimagined possibilities.

    City: Hangzhou

    Launched: 2008

    Size: 2,965 stations/ 69,750 bikes

    Price: $32.61 deposit（押金）+ time charge

    While taking a look at this city, you may see the best bike sharing in the world. As the second on the planet by size, the Hangzhou Public Bicycle System is one of the most common and useful shares, largely because it's combined with public transportation: a single card can be used in subway, bus, taxi and bike sharing. Residents and tourists can put down a deposit of 200 Chinese Yuan （about $33）and ride for an hour for free in this scenic city. Each additional hour costs only $0.15. It was also the first new﹣generation bike﹣sharing system in China. By 2020 it's projected to have 175,000 bikes.

    City: Barcelona

    Launched: 2007

    Size: 420 stations/ 6,000 bikes

    Price: $61.93 per year

    Barcelona's Bicycling Program developed Spain's bike﹣sharing business in a big way. This program took off like wildfire on wheels, and because four times bigger in one year. It inspired different copycat programs all over the country. Today, Spain has 132 bike﹣sharing systems. The program is one of the world's most respected and popular shares. But it is only open to residents and tourists are not allowed to use it.

    City: Paris

    Launched: 2007

    Size: 1,751 stations/ 23,900 bikes

    Price: $38.52 per year/ $2.26 per day

    Paris's bike﹣sharing is the star of the world. Launched in 2007, it is the world's largest outside of China. Cheap by American standards, you can ride around Paris on a €1.7 day pass— the first half hour of each trip is free. Because this system covers the city with an average of 50 stations per square mile, it's a favourite with both locals and tourists.

In high school I was very shy, content to hang around with my small group of friends and concentrate on my courses. I was quickly regarded as a "brain". I did so well that by the end of the senior year I had perfect grades and enough credits to give up an entire quarter of coursework.

But in early June of the senior year, the principal called me into his office. He asked me to give a speech at graduation. I gaped(目瞪口呆地凝视) at him, my heart thumping. This was the reward for my hard work? I mumbled something and fled the office, blaming myself for staying away from physics, a subject sure to have ruined my perfect record.

I finally agreed to a compromise. I would share the honour with five other students. And my friend Judy would then give her own, full-length speech.

The graduation day soon arrived. I'd been practising my speech for days, and I had it memorised. The first half hour of the ceremony passed in a blur, and then my moment came. My name was announced. I managed to reach the platform without falling down. I faced my classmates. My voice trembled a little, but mostly it was clear and strong. But within seconds, I was done and headed back to my seat. I accomplished something I'd never dreamed of—I spoke in front of hundreds of people.

Although I didn't realise it at the time, the successful completion of that speech gave me the confidence to participate in class at college, to give verbal reports, and to eventually break free from my shyness. I would never have chosen to give a speech at graduation ever. But I'm glad I did. I no longer hesitate when I'm faced with the prospect of doing something I dread. I know it may very well turn out to be one of my shining moments.