The Beckett Voice
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THE BECKETT VOICE [email protected] Febuary 2018 - Issue n°04 NEW COLUMN THIS MONTH! EDITORIAL Come and Discover Some students really enjoy The Fiction Section p.12 working on the Beckett Voice, and I dare to think that some students The Best Night enjoy reading it! What makes our newspaper unique is that the an Exclusive Story Written by J.H. students involved choose what they write about. They often decide to change subjects and this month I had a demand from a student to write fiction. I think it’s great that this newspaper is a way for our students to express their creativity anyway they want. Our illustrator worked on the fiction section as well. To tell you the truth, the subject of the fiction is pretty serious, but it is close to what some of our teenagers might be feeling, and it’s important to bring them a message of hope, especially when everything seems dark and hopeless. Indeed, you, who might be in distress, never hesitate to reach out to an adult or a friend, there’s always an open hand somewhere to be found. Light Read about the new speed limit p. 2 never goes out, if you look hard enough. Discover Banksy and his art p. 5 Enjoy, Enjoy new recipes in the Food Corner! p. 16 Mrs Climecot, the English Teacher. FRENCH NEWS 2 Speed limited to 80, it's coming to France soon! The government announced it: from July 1st, drivers will have to drive at a maximum speed of 80 km/h or 49,7 mph on roads where speed is actually limited to 90 km/h or 55,9 mph. This would reduce the number of fatal accidents on French roads. From July 1st, drivers will have to drive at 49,7 mph on some roads. Every year, in France, 3 500 persons die and more than 70 000 persons are injured as a result of road accidents. In the majority of accidents, drivers drove too fast. And it’s been 4 years that these figures are increasing more and more. So, to reduce the number of deaths and injuries, the French government has decided to reduce the speed of cars on certain roads from July 1st: the maximum speed allowed will now be 49,7 mph on national and county roads. Until now, this speed was limited to 55,9 mph. What's the use of reducing the speed by 6,2 mph’? The national and county roads are the most borrowed in France, but also the most dangerous, because it’s on them that the most accidents occur each year. They are two-way roads, that’s to say that cars cross each other. It creates danger because there is no security barrier to separate the two sides of the road. And often, even if the speed is limited to 55,9 mph, some drivers drive faster and have more serious accidents. So, according to road safety experts, reducing the speed by 6,2 mph would save between 350 and 400 people each year. When driving a little slower, at 49,7 mph for example, drivers have better control of their vehicle. They can stop faster and easier, so an accident can more likely be avoided. And if there is a shock, the impact would be less violent, so less serious, than when the motorists were driving at 55,9 mph. Why do some drivers disagree with this new measure? Many French people don’t agree with this new law. For some, riding at 49,7 mph would waste too much time on the road. But it’s also because of money : if they exceed the new speed allowed, motorists will receive a fine. However, studies have shown that on a journey, driving at 49,7 and not at 55,9 mph doesn’t change a lot in terms of time. For others, there is the problem of signs to change: 20 000 new signs "80" will be installed before July 1st, which will cost a lot of money. A.D. WORLD NEWS 3 Mardi gras Mardi Gras is a Christian religious ceremony. This party is very old. It is one day before Lent and at the end of a “seven-day-fast (jeûne)”. Lent is a forty-day-fast for Christian people and they eat lean. But over the years it has mostly become a business celebration. This year Mardi Gras will be February 13. Mardi Gras is an opportunity for people to unwind. On Mardi Gras people from Europe and America disguise themselves and huge parades are organized. In some countries there are important parties like in the USA, more precisely in New Orleans. Everybody gets involved. On that day overindulging is allowed. Mardi Gras is mostly a celebration when people eat crepes and famous donuts. These donuts are also called “merveilles” in France. For this festival, children request eggs, milk and sugar to cook crepes for their neighbors. The crepes were born from this celebration. Indeed, in the past, people made crepes and donuts to finish their stock of butter and eggs. In the Middle Ages, poor people could disguise themselves as rich people. I.S. THIS MONTH 4 February, second month of the year, has twenty eight or twenty nine days according to the year. The word February comes from the Latin word “Februarius”, which means purification. During a leap year, the month starts and finishes with the same day of the week. Taken from aujourd’hui.over-blog.fr What is going on in February ? * Mardi Gras (often in February, sometimes on March 1st) *Super Bowl in the USA (at the end of January or at the beginning of February) *Candlemas (February 2nd) *World day of the fights against Cancer (February 4th) * Valentine’s Day (February 14th) Maggie and Tiphany ART 5 Banksy and the Street Art Street art is a recent contemporary artistic movement. It includes all forms of art made in the street, or in public places, and encompasses various techniques such as fast graffiti on a wall. It is mainly an ephemeral art seen by a large audience. What is “street art”? According to ArtBanksy, we can use the term street art when we paint in the street. We can make street art in public places, or in the street. The term includes graffiti, graffiti with stencil, video spatter, creation of a poster, pastels on a wall, in the street… The techniques used are varied and of different proportions. Although it has been possible to observe graffiti during the decades after wars or popular uprisings for example, the movement took its true meaning towards the end of the 1970s, in Europe. The term “street art” is usually used to distinguish a form of art from an act of vandalism made by an individual or a group of people who defend their territory, express through graffiti their membership to a group, or which to convey a message that has no artistic value. Banksy Banksy is a street artist, very famous for his art in the street, who often denounces a political and human message. He loves provoking, shocking and disrupting society. That is why Banksy is a well-known artist in the world. Despite his passion to break the rules, he is a mystery because, nowadays, his identity has stayed secret for everybody. But according to many sources likes LeFigaro, his real name is Robert Banks. He comes from Bristol, England. He begun painting with aerosol spray in 1980 but it’s between 1992 and 1994 that he became a famous artist in his Bristol’s DrybreadZ crew, which is a graffiti group. Many years later, in 2000, he used the same elaborated stencils. His art mixes irony, humor and the most important is the morality of the Taken from www.banksy.co.uk/in.asp message. He primarily uses acrylic paint and aerosol cans. His nickname is “the art terrorist”, thanks to his strong message. His most famous art is Napalm in 1994, because it’s a very shocking art. It represents a little Vietnamese girl who was just burnt by Napalm. She is escorted by Mickey Mouse and Ronald McDonald's. On this horrible art, the girl who was burnt has a big smile on her face… It’s very creepy. Taken from www.banksy.co.uk/in.asp ART 6 Banksy has also created a lot of arts and for example denounced the Brexit between the United Kingdom and the European Union. His art represented the European Union flag with a star of the flag which was broken, cracked by one person. Taken from www.banksy.co.uk/out.asp Banksy also created art to show everybody the work of children in some countries, like this piece of art on the left. We can see a poor child who is working and he needs to pull a cart where there are two rich, happy, people with their phones. They are big compared to the child. How is it possible that a poor child has to pull fat people to survive in our modern day society? Bansky wants to show this brutality. Taken from www.banksy.co.uk/in.asp He wrote some books and directed movies to show people that the true vandals of our society are those who build buildings more hideous each time and not those who draw on their walls. Dismaland But apart from his art in the street, the artist has created a “bemusement park” named Dismaland. But it’s not exactly a park for amusement, indeed it’s a creepy park where we can see graffiti by Banksy and odd exhibitions.