Happy New Year 2015 to all my visitors and followers!

Jockeys of future in the Shetland Pony Grand National?

The London International Horse Show brings together some of the finest jockeys and horses in the world.

But for kids wanting to be a superstar jockey of the future, and take part in a race as big as the Grand National - where do they learn the skills needed?

Simple - The Shetland Pony Grand National.

Racing on small ponies called Shetlands, competitors aged between 9-14 speed around the arena on a miniature course with jumps like those seen at an Aintree Grand National.

From CBBC newsround

Doctors warn of loom band danger

Doctors have warned that loom bands could be dangerous, after a number of children got them stuck up their noses.

The colourful rubber bands have been one of this year's most popular toys, but they're small enough to be accidentally inhaled.

The Journal of Laryngology and Otology said doctors at one hospital saw it happen four times in one week.

Remember: Never put loom bands up your nose.

Dr Iain Bohler, a surgical registrar, said loom bands could be a lot of creative fun for children.

But he said parents should "supervise young children playing with loom bands, or any other toy or item with small parts".

From CBBC newsround

'Ice pancakes' form on River Dee in Aberdeenshire

The River Dee in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, has provided a spectacular winter scene with the formation of hundreds of "ice pancakes".

These strange formations are known as 'ice pancakes' but look like a fleet of flying saucers.

The River Dee in Aberdeenshire provided a spectacular winter scene, with freezing weather causing the pancakes to form overnight.

The discovery was made by members of The River Dee Trust at Lummels Pool at Birse in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

The phenomenon is thought to happen when foam floating on the water's surface starts to freeze and bump together.

The pancakes - more commonly seen in the Antarctic - then grow bigger as more and more foam appears.

Joanna Dick, from The River Dee Trust, said: "What we think happened is foam floating about on the water started to freeze, probably at night.

These strange formations are known as 'ice pancakes' but look like a fleet of flying saucers.

The River Dee in Aberdeenshire provided a spectacular winter scene, with freezing weather causing the pancakes to form overnight.

The discovery was made by members of The River Dee Trust at Lummels Pool at Birse in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

The phenomenon is thought to happen when foam floating on the water's surface starts to freeze and bump together.

The pancakes - more commonly seen in the Antarctic - then grow bigger as more and more foam appears.

Joanna Dick, from The River Dee Trust, said: "What we think happened is foam floating about on the water started to freeze, probably at night.

"Bits of frozen foam got swirled around in an eddy, and became roughly circular.

"Perhaps each disc grew when smaller pieces of unfrozen foam struck the disc, adhered and then froze in place."

It is believed that when temperatures were colder during the night they grew in size and after daybreak they softened.

When the 'pancakes' collided with each other their sides were pushed up to create a bowl like rim"

The circular formations are often seen in the Antarctic and the Baltic Sea.

Joanna added: "This is the first time we have seen them on the River Dee.

"They are a rare occurrence and conditions have to be right for them to form."

From CBBC newsround 

and

Mirror-http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/weather-bomb-causes-spectacular-ice-4832197

Merry Christmas,kids!

Thank you all for visiting this blog and leaving your kind comments!

Thank you and MERRY XTMAS!

Christmas traditions Around the World

Christmas around the world from Nines Picado

A hologram of Father Christmas is entertaining crowds outside a house in Derby.

He can be seen moving around, looking out of the window and waving as he prepares for his busiest time of the year.

A jolly Mrs Claus can be seen waving from an upstairs window.

The holographic video footage was set up by the person who lives at the house, electrician Carl Holdsworth.

From CBBC newsround

Surfer Garrett MacNamara rides 'weather bomb' wave

Surfers have flocked to Praia do Norte in Nazaré, Portugal, to try and catch massive waves generated by an Atlantic storm that hit the UK.

Garret Macnamara

Surfer Garrett MacNamara tried to repeat his performance of 2011 when he surfed the world's biggest wave at 30 metres high.

Unfortunately the 'weather bomb' waves off the coast of Nazaré only reached 20 metres - but he still managed to impress.

From CBBC newsround

Nazaré (Portuguese pronunciation: [nɐzɐˈɾɛ]) is a town and a municipality in subregion Oeste and Leiria District, in Portugal. It is one of the most popular seaside resorts in the Silver Coast/Costa de Prata, Portugal.The municipal holiday is September 8 with the Festas da Nazaré a religious and profane festival with processions, bullfights, fireworks, folk dancing and a fair.

The town consists of three neighbourhoods: Praia (along the beach), Sítio (an old village, on top of a cliff) and Pederneira (another old village, on a hilltop). Praia and Sítio are linked by the Nazaré Funicular, a funicular railway. (in Wikipedia)

Little piglet rescued from sea by RSPCA off Suffolk coast

A piglet has been rescued after tumbling down a cliff and swimming out to sea off the Suffolk coast in England.

The little pig had been stuck on a cliff, but when RSPCA staff arrived it had run down to the beach and was heading into the sea.

Inspector Jason Finch said it seemed "unfazed" as it splashed in the waves.

"I thought he was heading to France," he said.

                            Can you spot the piglet?

"I have never seen anything like it. I couldn't believe it when he darted straight into the sea like that," he added.

"He was completely unfazed by the bubbling surf and was in the water upwards of 10 minutes."

"He became a tiny black dot in the distance... I was just wondering whether I would have to dive in myself when he started swimming in the more shallow end of the surf, so I just ran in and grabbed him."

"He was safe and sound and in good health, in fact he did not even seem puffed out. Far fitter than many I know," said Mr Finch.

RSPCA inspector Jason Finch went into the sea to get the piglet

The adventurous little pig was later returned to its owner.

From CBBC newsround

Stray snake mistaken for loom band bracelet in Aberdeen

A wildlife charity wants to find the owner of a tiny stray snake which was mistaken for a loom band bracelet in Aberdeen.

The Scottish SPCA was called in when rubbish collectors found the baby corn snake outside a house.

The little snake, nicknamed Mac, is now in the care of the charity's Aberdeenshire Animal Rescue and Rehoming Centre.

Animal rescue officer Kim Butrym says snakes are great escape artists.

'Thought he was a loom band'

She said: "Mac was discovered by two waste removal men who were loading an old sofa onto their van.

"He had slithered his way between the cushions and the men actually thought he was a loom band before he started moving.

"Mac is good to handle and it's possible someone is missing him."

If no-one comes forward to collect the snake, rescue officers will try to find a new home for Mac.

From CBBC newsround

Largest cake sculpture record attempt

A world record attempt for the largest cake sculpture has been launched in London.

The massive cake was put together by forty five volunteers over six hours and is big enough to feed twelve thousand people!

It weighs two tonnes, which is nearly the same weight as an average African elephant.

But to break the record the entire cake must be eaten, with all the money raised going towards a children's charity. Yum!

From CBBC newsround

New Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer released

The trailer for the new Star Wars movie has been released

The Force Awakens is the seventh film in the franchise and the first of a new trilogy of sequels.

It's not due to be released until 18 December 2015, but a special minute-and-a-half teaser clip was put online on Friday.

The new film is set 30 years after the end of Episode VI, Return of the Jedi.

It brings back original Star Wars characters Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Princess Leia, which is sure to please some life-long fans of the films.

One cinema in Texas, USA, is showing the trailer 17 times in a row and hosting a big discussion between Star Wars experts.

From CBBC newsround

Giant Christmas tree lights up Dortmund in Germany

Check out this enormous Christmas tree in the city of Dortmund, Germany.

The giant tree is 100 metres tall and is actually made of 1,700 smaller trees put together.

The branches are decorated by 48,000 lights!

The organisers of Dortmund's Christmas market say the tree is the largest "real" Christmas tree in the world.

From CBBC Newsround

One Direction sing about letter U on Sesame Street

The members of One Direction have made an appearance on the children's TV show Sesame Street singing a special song all about the letter U.

Together with a muppet version of the letter, Niall, Zayn, Liam, Harry, and Louis performed a revised version of their hit, What Makes You Beautiful.Their song for the show was called What Makes U So Useful.The group have been busy promoting their latest album, Four, which was released in the United States on Monday.

From CBBC newsround

How they created the Lego movie

The Lego Movie has been one of the big successes at the cinema this year with huge numbers of people flocking to see it.

It has made more than £294m in tickets sales around the world, after costing £38m to make.

But did you know that although the film does contain some actual Lego blocks it is mainly created from computer generated images.

BBC Click spoke to directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller about how the film was made and how they decided what it was going to look like.

From CCBC

Meet Jasper, the dog saved by a social network

Jasper the dog has been through a bit of an ordeal.

He went missing on the highest mountain in England - Scafell Pike.

Owner Adam shared a photo of Jasper on the internet, and hundreds of people offered to help search for him.

Amazingly Jasper was found - and couldn't wait to give Adam a friendly lick on the face.

Hayley met the adventurous pair when they popped into the Newsround office.

Frpom CBBC Newsround

Toy Story 4 to be made

A fourth Toy Story film will be made, it has been revealed by Disney Pixar.

Woody, Buzz and the other toys will return in Toy Story 4 due to hit cinema screens in June 2017.

The film will be directed by the person behind the first two Toy Story movies, John Lasseter.

Details about the new story are under wraps

Details of the storyline have not been revealed but the director has reportedly told The LA Times that Toy Story 4 will be a love story and will pick up where the last film finished.

Rashida Jones and Will McCormack will join the writing team

Toy Story 3 became the highest grossing animated-film of all time after its release in 2010. It was only beaten earlier this year by Disney's Frozen.

From CBBC newsround

Bob the Builder gets a makeover

Bob the Builder has been given a computer-generated makeover by TV bosses.

The original episodes of Bob the Builder were created with models, like Shaun the Sheep.

But the new episodes will be computer-generated and Bob himself looks a little different.

The new Bob is taller and has a completely new face. He'll also have a new voice when the show returns in 2015.

Old Bob was a big hit - and even topped the music chart

HIT Entertainment that makes the show said although Bob looks different he will have the same "emotional warmth" as old Bob.

The series used to be shown on CBeebies but the new episodes will be shown on Channel 5.

From CBBC newsround

Here's the theme song 

JK Rowling releases Dolores Umbridge Harry Potter story

JK Rowling has released a new Harry Potter story on her website, Pottermore, in time for Halloween.

It tells the story of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Dolores Umbridge.

The teacher, who has a love of pink and cats, has a nasty side which was first seen in the fifth Harry Potter book, Order of The Phoenix.

The character later worked as Senior Under-Secretary at the Ministry for Magic.

J. K. Rowling posted the story on her own website Pottermore.com

JK Rowling revealed that she does not like the character of Dolores Umbridge

Fans will learn new facts about Dolores Umbridge in the story.

The story behind her name is revealed as well as the fact that she is a half-blood.

From CBBC newsround

Happy Hallowee'n!

Halloween or Hallowe'en  a contraction of "All Hallows' Evening"), also known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve, is a yearly celebration observed in a number of countrieson 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows' Day. It initiates the triduum of Allhallowtide,the time in the liturgical year dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hallows), martyrs, and all the faithful departed believers. Within Allhallowtide, the traditional focus of All Hallows' Eve revolves around the theme of using "humor and ridicule to confront the power of death."

According to many scholars, All Hallows' Eve is a Christianized feast initially influenced by Celtic harvest festivals, with possible pagan roots, particularly the Gaelic Samhain. Other scholars maintain that it originated independently of Samhain and has solely Christian roots.

Typical festive Halloween activities include trick-or-treating (or the related "guising"), attending costume parties,decorating, carving pumpkins into jack-o'-lanterns, lighting bonfires, apple bobbing, visiting haunted house attractions, playing pranks, telling scary stories and watching horror films. In many parts of the world, the Christian religious observances of All Hallows' Eve, including attending church services and lighting candles on the graves of the dead, remain popular, although in other locations, these solemn customs are less pronounced in favor of a more commercialized and secularized celebration. Because many Western Christian denominations encourage, although most no longer require, abstinence from meat on All Hallows' Eve, the tradition of eating certain vegetarian foods for this vigil day developed, including the consumption of apples, colcannon, cider, potato pancakes, and soul cakes.

in Wikipedia

ORDER OF ADJECTIVES

links for EXERCISES

http://a4esl.org/q/h/vm/adjorder.html

http://www.esolcourses.com/content/exercises/grammar/adjectives/adjectiveorder/adjective-order-quiz-1.html

http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=6877

http://www.learnenglishfeelgood.com/esl_adjectiveorder4.html

http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/410/grammar/adjord1.htm

http://www.usingenglish.com/quizzes/139.html

http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/adjectives-order_quiz.htm

New app lets owners play with their pet from anywhere

A new device has been developed that lets owners watch and play with their pets on the go

Don't miss your pet anymore!

The remote controlled device is called the PetCube and allows owners to watch and play with their pet, wherever they are.

It has a camera, speaker and a laser built in, which can be controlled at the touch of a finger on a smartphone or tablet.

The designer hopes the device will help to keep pets active while they're at home.

It doesn't come cheap though, priced at $179 (about £105).

From CBBC newsround

Monster shark 'kept whales in check'

Why are whales so big? A new study's think it has discovered the answer.

Researchers think the biggest ever shark known to science, - the 14-18m-long predator, called Megalodon, died out over 2.6 million years ago.

That meant smaller sharks didn't get eaten - so were allowed to grow to gigantic sizes.

The Megalodon looked like a super-sized Great White and was probably the size of a lorry.

Scientists think it could bite down with a force of between 10.8 to 18.2 tonnes.

The shark's jaw had a massive bite force, despite being composed of cartilage, not bone

The largest teeth measure about 17cm (almost 7in).

The three largest teeth come from Megalodon; the rest are from modern shark species

The 50 tonne shark fed on smaller marine mammals such as small 'baleen whales.'

This shows the relative size of the Megalodon compared to humans

Researchers from the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville and the University of Zurich in Switzerland have been baffled for years about when it was wiped out.

They now say the date falls between the Pliocene and Pleistocene times - particular periods of history.

That was when the small baleen whales began to grow to their current hefty sizes.

The baleen whales filter tiny animals out of the water through comb-like structures in their mouths.

This group now includes the biggest animal alive today - the blue whale. It's proper name is Balaenoptera musculus, and grows to more than 30m long.

Blue Whale in sea

Megalodon fossils have been found in Europe, Africa and both North and South America.

Most Megalodon fossils date from the middle Miocene (15.9-11.6 million years ago) to the Pliocene (5.3-2.6 million years ago). But some fossils could come from the Pleistocene (2.6 million years ago - 10,000 years ago).

From CBBC newsround

Student creates virtual world in Minecraft

A student from America has created a virtual world in the video game Minecraft.

Duncan Parcells, who's 19-years-old, spent five hours every week building it and has named it Titan City.

It's constructed out of 4.5 million Minecraft building blocks and contains 96 buildings.

Altogether, it took him two years to complete and he says New York was his inspiration for the city. (CBBC newsround)
He used 4,5 billion blocks!

Parcells, who goes by the moniker ColonialPuppet on Xbox Live, said he built the creation on the console simply because at the time all he had was the Xbox 360 version of the game. He’s planning to move it to the PC soon however and expand his creation.
Answering questions about Titan City on a thread on Reddit, Parcells said that the buildings all “have at least some floors” but that most are without soft furnishings. “Interior work will begin once the Xbox map is filled,” he added.

One comment said what at least some of us were thinking: “Wow this is simultaneously the most impressive gaming feat I have ever seen as well as the most depressing,” but Parnells was keen to reassure his audience: “Hey man don't worry I have a life other than this […] I have a lot of friends and I go outside regularly."

(From http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/titan-city-a-handbuilt-minecraft-metropolis-that-took-two-years-and-45-billion-blocks-9801648.html

Sugary drinks warning signs change habits of US teens

Signs warning shoppers how much exercise they need to do to burn off calories in sugary drinks can encourage healthier choices, US research suggests.

Some teenage shoppers were influenced by the signs and chose healthier drinks

A study of teenagers' purchasing habits found they bought fewer sugary drinks and more water when the signs were up.

The most effective sign said it took five miles to walk off the 250 calories in a sugary drink.

Public Health England said the study showed simple health messages worked.

Study leader Dr Sara Bleich, associate professor at the Bloomberg School, John Hopkins University, said people do not understand calorie content on its own on a label.

"What our research found is that when you explain calories in an easily understandable way such as how many miles of walking is needed to burn them off, you can encourage behaviour change."

For six weeks, the brightly coloured signs were displayed in corner shops in neighbourhoods in Baltimore, in full view of young customers buying sugary drinks.

Four different signs were used in the shops. Two translated the calories in the drinks into the amount of exercise needed to burn off those calories.

One sign said it would take 50 minutes of running to work off the 250 calories - or 16 teaspoons of sugar - contained in a 590ml bottle of fizzy drink, sports drink or fruit juice.

The remaining signs listed the sugar content of the drink and the calories contained in the drink.

Sugary drinks, such as fruit juices and fizzy drinks, can contain up to nine teaspoons of sugar in one can

A can of fizzy drink, which is 330ml in size in the UK, contains around nine teaspoons of sugar.

To find out the impact of the signs, the researchers - writing in the American Journal of Public Health - interviewed children aged between 12 and 18 years old leaving the shop.

Out of the 35% of those interviewed who said they saw the signs, 59% said they believed the sign and 40% said their behaviour had changed as a consequence.

Before the signs were put up, 98% of drinks bought in the shops were sugary ones. After six weeks, this was reduced to 89%.

During the time the signs were on view, sales of larger bottles of fizzy drinks went down from 54% to 37% of all purchases.

The percentage of teenagers who chose to buy no drink at all in the shops increased from 27% to 33%.

This change in behaviour continued for several weeks after the "exercise" signs were taken down, the study adds.

In total, more than 3,000 drinks purchases were observed by the research team.

Dr Bleich said the findings could help in the fight against obesity,

READ MORE

Possessive determiners or Possessive adjectives

Click on the links to do some exercises

• http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=4965

• http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/pronouns/possessive_determiners.htm

• http://www.myenglishpages.com/site_php_files/grammar-exercise-possessive-adjectives.php

• http://www.language-workshee.com/support-files/elementarysubjectpronounsandpossessiveadjectivesexercises.pdf ( WORKSHEET)

Countries and nationalities

Malala Yousafzai wins Nobel Peace Prize 2014

Pakistani schoolgirl campaigner Malala Yousafzai has won the Nobel Peace Prize, one of the world's most respected awards.

She has been recognised for her hard work promoting the right for girls to have an education.

The prize judges said about Malala: "Through her heroic struggle she has become a leading spokesperson for girls' rights to education."

Malala won it jointly with Indian child rights activist Kailash Satyarthi.

Indian child rights activist Kailash Satyarthi is sharing the Nobel Peace Prize with Malala

Malala, 17, is the youngest person to ever get the Nobel Peace Prize.

She was attacked by the Taliban, an extremist group, in Pakistan two years ago for her campaign work.

Malala was seriously injured in the attack, but she was flown to the UK for treatment and has recovered well.

She now goes to school in Birmingham and continues her campaigning.

What is the Nobel Peace Prize?

What have Albert Einstein, Nelson Mandela and Barack Obama got in common? They've all won a Nobel Prize.

They're given out every year to people or organisations who have achieved amazing things in different areas.

The Nobel Peace Prize is probably the most famous, but there are others, including ones for medicine, science and economics.

The Nobel Prize is named after Alfred Nobel, the Swedish inventor of dynamite.

All this week, the winners are being announced. Ricky's been finding out why they're such a big deal.

From CBBC newsround

Eiffel Tower gets glass floor in refurbishment project

A vertigo-inducing glass floor has been installed at the Eiffel Tower, France's most visited tourist attraction

For those scared of heights, the Eiffel Tower's new floor may be something of a challenge.

Visitors will be able to look down on Paris through a glass floor as part of a refurbishment of the tower.

Visitors to the Eiffel Tower in Paris will now be able to look down through a vertigo-inducing glass floor that forms part of a €30 million (£24m) refit of France’s most visited tourist attraction.

The transparent floor will be on the first level of the tower, at 57m, where operators hope that visitors will linger before heading to the highest viewing platform at 276 metres above the ground. Traditionally, tourists to the Eiffel Tower spend little time here before moving on to catch the better views from the two higher levels.

“We wanted people to realise how the building is anchored with its four pillars in the ground”, Alain Moatti, the architect in charge of the renovation, told le Journal du Dimanche, the French Sunday newspaper.

The refit of the half-hectare first floor, which began in May 2012 and was unveiled to the public today, also includes shops, restaurants and a museum telling the story of the 125-year-old construction. The tower’s eco-friendliness has also improved, with the installation of four solar panels that will provide about half of the tower’s hot water requirements. Some of the toilets will also be operated using rain water.

                                    A tourist captures the view (Photo: Reuters)

About seven million people visit the Eiffel Tower each year – 85 per cent of them foreigners – making it the world’s busiest paid-for tourist attraction. The tower’s management also hopes that the renovation will attract more Parisians to the “Dame en Fer” (The Iron Lady), as it is sometimes referred to in French.

The tower opened in 1889 and was named after Gustave Eiffel, whose company engineered the project. At 324m in height, it was the world’s tallest building for 41 years until the Chrysler building was built in New York in 1930.

From CBBC newsround and The Telegraph