MARGARET THATCHER'S LAST ROUTE

Here you can see the Baroness Thatcher's funeral IN PICTURES.

Here you can watch MARGARET THATCHER'S FUNERAL ROUTE IN LONDON on an interactive map by CNN.

THE RABBIT PROOF FENCE - extension reading

FOLLOWING TEXT IS QUOTED FROM THIS LINK - CHECK THE WHOLE MATERIAL
Rabbit-Proof Fence is a powerful film based on the true story and experiences of three young Aboriginal
girls, Molly, Gracie and Daisy, who were forcibly taken from their families in Jigalong, Western Australia in 1931. The film puts a human face on the ‘Stolen Generation’, a phenomenon which characterized relations between the government and Aborigines in Australia for much of the 20th century. The girls were taken away
to be trained as domestic servants at the Moore River Native Settlement, north of Perth. This was consistent
with official government assimilationist policy of the time decreeing that ‘half caste’ children should be taken from their kin and their land, in order to be ‘made white’. Focusing on the escape of the three girls from Moore River in the 1930s, the film highlights the despair experienced by mothers whose children were taken, and the terror and confusion of those children, snatched from familiar surroundings and forced to adapt to European ways. Led by fourteen year old Molly, the girls defy all odds to travel 1500 miles through unfamiliar territory to return to their land, their homes and families in North-Western Australia, with the authorities chasing them all the way. Rabbit-Proof Fence is a true story, based on the book, Follow the
Rabbit-Proof Fence written by Doris Pilkington Garimara, Molly’s daughter.
The Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation argues that the truth about past experiences must be spoken
about and acknowledged by all Australians before reconciliation can occur. Rabbit-Proof Fence will show
viewers truths that many have not seen or heard about before. The Council tells us that:
It was standard practice … Children were taken from their homes … Whole communities were shifted Ra
from their home to another part of the country. Aboriginal life has been regulated and supervised at almost
every turn. There was no choice. [Reconciliation and Its Key Issues: Improving Relationships, no.2.]
Curriculum Links
The themes and activities developed in this study guide will have interest and relevance for teachers and
students from the middle to senior years studying these subjects: Studies of Society and Environment,
Australian History, Cultural Studies, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, English, Personal Development, Religious Studies and Media Studies. In addition to the specific focus on the issue of the Stolen Generations, Rabbit-Proof Fence explores themes such as Aboriginal spirituality, relationships with
the land, family bonds, courage, determination and faith.
Historical Context 
(Note: the early chapters of the book, Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence, provide historical perspectives on
early West Australian Indigenous experiences and contact with Europeans.)
When white settlers arrived in Australia, the interaction of two vastly different cultures, with such different attitudes to the land, made conflict inevitable. In the 19th century, the white man’s guns were more powerful than Aboriginal spears. By the mid-19th century, European pastoralists and settlers had moved into Aboriginal lands, interrupted traditional hunting and gathering routines, depleted natural resources and grasslands, polluted waterways and damaged sacred sites. European diseases such as smallpox and even the common cold decimated the Indigenous population. Alcohol and money further undermined traditional ways. In many areas, Europeans challenged the whole structure of Aboriginal traditional society and the authority of tribal elders was broken down. They had always controlled decision-making structures such as marriage, education, and rituals such as clan gatherings, but more and more young Aboriginal people began to be attracted to white society and began to live on the fringe of both worlds. By the 1930s, when the story of
Rabbit-Proof Fence is set, many communities had become reliant on government handouts for food, clothing and other necessities, since their traditional ways of life had been eroded over time.
Why were Aboriginal children taken from their families?
From the earliest years of European settlement in Australia, there is evidence of Aboriginal children being taken from their families as the authorities believed it was ‘for their own good’. During the first half of the 20th century, it was official policy in most states to remove half or quarter caste Aboriginal children.
The practice continued until the early 1970s, and was only fully brought to public attention with the
release of the Bringing Them Home report in 1997.  Since the report’s release, there has been much public discussion of the issue of the Stolen Generations. Some have argued that it wasn’t a whole generation; others have said that the children were not ‘stolen’ but removed in order to give them a better life. Nevertheless, certain facts are undisputed:
• Thousands of Aboriginal children were forcibly taken from their families or their families were ‘tricked’ into giving them up.
• The policy was definitely aimed at ‘breeding out’ Aboriginality, because only half and quarter caste children were taken. Fully Aboriginal half brothers or sisters in the same families were left with their parents, while their lighter siblings were removed. If the policy was really about giving Aboriginal children a better life,
then all children of an allegedly ‘bad mother’ would have been taken.
• Whilst some gained opportunities, education and a materially better life, the vast majority went to missions, orphanages or children’s homes where they were poorly treated and suffered identity crises and mental
anguish.
• Many of the Aboriginal people who today are alcoholics, drug addicts, psychologically damaged or imprisoned were ‘stolen’ children, and continue to suffer the effects of the destruction of their identity, family
life and culture.
A.O. Neville and the Moore River Settlement
In 1905, Western Australia became the first state to pass an Aborigines Act which made the Chief
Protector the legal guardian of every Aboriginal and part Aboriginal child under sixteen years in the state. The Chief Protector was appointed not elected and he answered only to the Premier. From 1915 until 1936, Mr A.O. Neville was Chief Protector. He believed very strongly in the removal of part Aboriginal children
as a means of benefiting the whole community: the chief hope … of doing our human duty by the outcast is
to take the children young and bring them up in a way that will establish their self-respect, make them useful units in the community and fit to live in it, according to its standards. A.O. Neville, The West Australian, 1938. The Moore River Settlement, just north of Perth, was W.A.’s most significant institution for the purpose of training ‘part’ Aboriginal children. In 1938, a visiting journalist wrote of Moore River that it was a
creche, orphanage, relief depot, old men’s home, home for discharged prisoners, home for expatriated savages, home for unmarried mothers, home for incurables, lost dogs’ home and school for boys and girls.
Anna Haebich, writing in the 1980s, said that in the 1930s, visits to Moore River were not encouraged and it was an offence to enter the reserve without official permission. This was rarely granted even to Aborigines wishing to visit close relatives. The Aborigines living on the settlement were virtually prisoners. It was under the auspices of the W.A. Aborigines Act that A.O. Neville issued the order, in 1931, that the three girls, Molly, Gracie and Daisy, were to be removed from their homes and families at Jigalong and taken to
the Moore River Settlement.

ADVERBS - adding detail to writing

CHECK HERE FOR SOME EXERCISES

CHECK THE EXPLANATIONS ON A "GRAMMAR REVOLUTION" PAGE

VERB+ -ING

Here are some verbs that are followed by -ing:

ENJOY, MIND, SUGGEST, STOP, DELAY, FANCY, CONSIDER, ADMIT, MISS, INVOLVE, POSTPONE, FINISH, IMAGINE, AVOID, DENY, RISK, PRACTISE, GIVE UP, PUT OFF, GO ON, KEEP ON

READ MORE HERE AND DO THE EXERCISE

DESCRIPTIVE WRITING

Descriptive Writing

The primary purpose of descriptive writing is to describe a person, place or thing in such a way that a picture is formed in the reader's mind. Capturing an event through descriptive writing involves paying close attention to the details by using all of your five senses. Teaching students to write more descriptively will improve their writing by making it more interesting and engaging to read.

According to Book Nuts Reading Club, descriptive writing shares the following characteristics:

1. Good descriptive writing includes many vivid sensory details that paint a picture and appeals to all of the reader's senses of sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste when appropriate. Descriptive writing may also paint pictures of the feelings the person, place or thing invokes in the writer.
2. Good descriptive writing often makes use of figurative language such as analogies, similes and metaphors to help paint the picture in the reader's mind.
3. Good descriptive writing uses precise language. General adjectives, nouns, and passive verbs do not have a place in good descriptive writing. Use specific adjectives and nouns and strong action verbs to give life to the picture you are painting in the reader's mind.
4. Good descriptive writing is organized. Some ways to organize descriptive writing include: chronological (time), spatial (location), and order of importance. When describing a person, you might begin with a physical description, followed by how that person thinks, feels and acts.

CHECK HERE THE MOTHERS' BLOG FOR MORE THAN1000 ADJECTIVES