The Original London Bridge

The original London Bridge was sold by the City of London as it could not take the weight of modern traffic. It now resides in Lake Havasu, Arizona.

Val Padana

The Po Valley (Italian:Val Padana or Pianura Padana) extends 400 miles East-West across Italy. The Po River extends from the Adriatic Sea (Mare Adriatico) in the East to Torino in the West. Torino is also known in English and is the home of football clubs Juventus and Torino F.C., as well as being a manufacturing centre for modules of the International Space Station. Climatically, the Po Valley is also prone to a phenomenon known as the Siberian anticyclone, which is a mass of cold air on the Eurasian terrain, from September to April. The lowest recorded temperature in the Northern hemisphere was at Verkhoyansk (-67 degrees centigrade) and due to the Siberian anticyclone. 

What's around LA

What are the distances to the major towns and cities around Los Angeles? Pasadena is 11 miles. Agoura Hills is 37 miles from Los Angeles. Anaheim is 40 miles. The local airport (LAX) is 15 miles from downtown Los Angeles. Downtown Long Beach is 25 miles from Downtown Los Angeles.

The E-learning Revolution - Reading List

An interesting book on e-learning (published in July 2010) is "Distinctive Distance Education Design" [DDED] by Richard Fuller and a bunch of other people. It starts out with introducing some general principles relating to "instructional design" then describes "Learning Management Systems" such as Blackboard and Moodle. There is also some interesting reflections on adults as learners, such as the need to be more self-directed in learning, and adults being forced to "fit their learning into life's 'margins'". In all, a highly recommended book on the subject of e-learning!

Formal Letter Writing in English

YOUR ADDRESS should be on the TOP RHS of the letter.
ADDRESS OF THE PERSON YOU ARE WRITING TO goes on the inside on the left.

DATE -can be on the left or the right.

If you do not know the name of the person, convention states that you should end the letter by Yours faithfully.

Park Lane London W1 - Between Hyde Park and Mayfair

Park Lane is a famous lane in London, in Mayfair, going from Marble Arch in the North to Hyde Park Corner in the South. It is the Eastern edge of Hyde Park (home of The Serpentine) and the Western boundary of Mayfair and home of the five-star Dorchester Hotel. Park Lane runs parallel to Park Street, the home of posh serviced apartments. Park Street is a one-way road that empties into Oxford Street (largely closed to vehicles except buses and taxis, and except on Sundays). The Dorchester is at the southern end of Park Street. South of the Dorchester is Curzon Street.

The Dorchester is the home of the Michelin-star Alain Ducasse restaurant. Delicacies such as crispy guinea fowl and roasted brill are on offer. Look out as well for the homard d'ecosse (Scottish lobster) and truffe noire (black truffle).

Wander further South on Park Lane and you reach the Park Lane Hilton which features a number of bars such as Whisky Mist.

War of 1812

The War of 1812 was America's failed invasion of Canada. At the time there were calls for Canada, then a British colony, to be annexed. Numbers were strongly in America's favour (population advantage) but the military consisted of raw, untrained recruits. After the Napoleonic Wars, Britain sent veterans to consolidate its forces at the border.