# a christmas carol (blogs) — RSS Amplifier Recent posts from the 6 feeds in the RSS Amplifier directory that cover a christmas carol. Page: Feed: --- ## [Jack Cade on the Toy Stage](https://armstrongplays.blogspot.com/2026/08/jack-cade-on-toy-stage.html) _2026-08-05 · James Armstrong, Playwright · James Armstrong, Playwright_ In the past, I've written about toy-theatre adaptations of such plays as Black-Eyed Susan , The Castle Spectre , The Miller and His Men , Oliver Twist , and even William Shakespeare's Macbeth . While all of those were popular on stages during the 19th century, toy theatres also presented less known stories, including that of Jack Cade's rebellion which is featured in the second part of… ## [The Adventure of the Dancing Men](https://armstrongplays.blogspot.com/2026/08/the-adventure-of-dancing-men.html) _2026-08-03 · James Armstrong, Playwright · James Armstrong, Playwright_ Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes story " The Adventure of the Dancing Men " is an entertaining read, but would it make a good play? In the hands of adaptor Susane Lee, the answer is decidedly yes. On the surface, it would seem to be the least adaptable tale in the Holmes canon. After all, it's the story of a secret code (similar to Edgar Allan Poe's " The Gold Bug ") with half the fun being… ## [Supposes](https://armstrongplays.blogspot.com/2026/07/supposes.html) _2026-07-30 · James Armstrong, Playwright · James Armstrong, Playwright_ The Italian Renaissance writer Ludovico Ariosto is most famous for his verse epic Orlando Furioso . However, he also wrote plays, including the highly influential comedy I Suppositi , notable for a 1566 English translation by George Gascoygne called Supposes . Ariosto's first comedy, La Cassaria ( The Coffer ), premiered in 1508 at the court of Cardinal Ippolito in Ferrara. It was a hit, and the… ## [Constancy Unrewarded](https://armstrongplays.blogspot.com/2026/07/constancy-unrewarded.html) _2026-07-23 · James Armstrong, Playwright · James Armstrong, Playwright_ Faithfulness to a job has always been a fool's errand. Constancy is inevitably unrewarded. In fact, "Constancy Unrewarded" is the subtitle of Bernard Shaw's comical blank-verse drama The Admirable Bashville . Shaw wrote the piece as a mocking adaptation of his most famous novel, Cashel Byron's Profession . Of course, Shaw is known as a dramatist, not a novelist. Being Shaw's most famous novel is… ## [A Man of the People](https://armstrongplays.blogspot.com/2026/07/a-man-of-people.html) _2026-07-09 · James Armstrong, Playwright · James Armstrong, Playwright_ I've written before about the actor Edmund Kean's working-class associations, including his membership in the notorious Wolves Club . William Hazlitt , a theatre critic who admired Kean, frequently linked him with the common man. "Mr. Kean's acting is not of the patrician order," he wrote in the London Magazine in 1820, "he is one of the people, and what might be termed a radical performer."… ## [Under the Gaslight](https://armstrongplays.blogspot.com/2026/07/under-gaslight.html) _2026-07-05 · James Armstrong, Playwright · James Armstrong, Playwright_ Augustin Daly's 1867 melodrama Under the Gaslight first provided the stage with the image of a helpless victim tied to the railroad tracks. Who was that helpless victim? A beautiful damsel in distress? Nope. He was a one-armed Civil War veteran who was trying to thwart the villain's wicked plans. The damsel in distress was the one who takes a hatchet, brakes out of the railroad station where she… ## [Heathers](https://armstrongplays.blogspot.com/2026/07/heathers.html) _2026-07-04 · James Armstrong, Playwright · James Armstrong, Playwright_ I missed Kevin Murphy and Laurence O'Keefe's musical Heathers when it was originally Off-Broadway, but now it's back at New World Stages, incredibly dark and incredibly fun. The musical is based on the cult-hit film from the 1980s about teenage suicide (don't do it) and the effects it has on a high school. This was long before Dear Evan Hansen , and the film's take on adolescence is far too bleak… ## [Perfect Strangers](https://armstrongplays.blogspot.com/2026/06/perfect-strangers.html) _2026-06-29 · James Armstrong, Playwright · James Armstrong, Playwright_ A while ago, I was doing some research on A.R.T. in Boston, and I saw they were putting on a musical called Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) . "Why on Earth," I wondered, "would a theatre in Boston be producing a new musical about New York City?" The answer, of course, was it was in development for Broadway, having already played London's West End. The piece was written by Jim Barne… ## ["Chaos is come again"](https://armstrongplays.blogspot.com/2026/06/chaos-is-come-again.html) _2026-06-23 · James Armstrong, Playwright · James Armstrong, Playwright_ Last weekend, I saw Atlas Shakespeare Company 's production of Othello , starring William Oliver Watkins in the title role. Watkins was one of the actors I worked with when developing my adaptation of Moby-Dick , and he does a wonderful job as Othello, an authority figure who inspires awe in all who meet him. His undoing, of course, is Iago, played by Clayton Hamburg. He and Watkins had great… ## [Henry VI](https://armstrongplays.blogspot.com/2026/06/henry-vi.html) _2026-06-15 · James Armstrong, Playwright · James Armstrong, Playwright_ The Atlas Shakespeare Company recently performed William Shakespeare's Henry VI trilogy in two parts, combining the first two plays, and then performing the third as a stand-alone production. When the Public Theater announced they would be hosting NAATCO performing Henry VI: A Trilogy in Two Parts , I knew I'd have to check it out, if for no other reason than to compare how the companies divided… ## [Marketplace for AI-Powered Professionals (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/f2uCkMVVaQ6Q) _2026-06-15 · **Sponsored**_ Find professionals who use ChatGPT, Copilot, and Claude to deliver work faster. ## [Oracy - talk is cheap but group work is costly](https://learningfrommymistakesenglish.blogspot.com/2026/05/oracy-talk-is-cheap-but-group-work-is.html) _2026-05-03 · Xris32 · Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog_ For years, I have struggled with ‘group work’ in lessons. And, I’d admit that that was born out of a sense of control and desire to manage the behaviour in the classroom effectively. You can monitor and control behaviour easily if only one person is speaking at any one time. You can address rule breakers and reinforce the rules quickly and simply. Tom, remember the rule: only one person speaks at… ## [What do I go to school for? The exams. Or something more.](https://learningfrommymistakesenglish.blogspot.com/2026/04/what-do-i-go-to-school-for-exams-or.html) _2026-04-19 · Xris32 · Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog_ This week I was lucky to see a production of Macbeth with students from my school. It just so happened to coincide with many other schools visiting at the same time. The theatre was awash with Year 10 and Year 11 students and they were spellbound, silent and mesmerised by the production. Not a peep could be heard. Not a phone going off. Not even a rustle of sweet wrappers. As one colleague (not an… ## [We need to talk about oracy](https://learningfrommymistakesenglish.blogspot.com/2026/03/we-need-to-talk-about-oracy.html) _2026-03-01 · Xris32 · Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog_ Silence might be golden, but talk is magical. It is interesting that the latest focus is on oracy when the past decade has been obsessed around silence. We’ve obsessed around silent students, silent classrooms and silent corridors. The major proxy for learning has been silence. SLT have been patrolling corridors to see that classrooms are quiet. Good teaching has always been marked by the amount… ## [Thank you](https://journal.neilgaiman.com/2026/02/thank-you.html) _2026-02-02 · Neil Gaiman · Neil Gaiman's Journal_ It’s been a while since I've posted anything anywhere, but I didn't want to let any more time go by without thanking everyone for all your kind messages of support over the last year and a half. I've learned firsthand how effective a smear campaign can be, so to be clear: The allegations against me are completely and simply untrue. There are emails, text messages and video evidence that flatly… ## [Metaphor, Oracy and Real Speech in An Inspector Calls](https://learningfrommymistakesenglish.blogspot.com/2026/01/metaphor-oracy-and-real-speech-in.html) _2026-01-18 · Xris32 · Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog_ O ne of the problems around plays and teaching them is that students struggle to analyse them. Give them a piece of prose and they can analyse it until their hearts explode. Yet, dialogue is always the one that stumps them. For years, I have seen teachers teach plays focusing on dramatic devices or the same few big quotes. The problem is that students are not experiencing analysing dialogue. Real… ## [12 Famous Facts about A Christmas Carol](https://snowwhitewrites.com/christmas-carol/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=christmas-carol) _2025-12-25 · Snow White · SWW_ It's perhaps the most famous Christmas story in the English language. There are many reasons why The post 12 Famous Facts about A Christmas Carol first appeared on SWW . The post 12 Famous Facts about A Christmas Carol appeared first on SWW . ## [What Makes a Book Impossible to Put Down?](https://snowwhitewrites.com/makes-book-impossible-to-put-down/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=makes-book-impossible-to-put-down) _2025-12-06 · Snow White · SWW_ It doesn't take top-notch writing to make a book a page-turner. Only the right ingredients The post What Makes a Book Impossible to Put Down? first appeared on SWW . The post What Makes a Book Impossible to Put Down? appeared first on SWW . ## [Serendipity: A Fairy Tale of Happy Accidents](https://snowwhitewrites.com/serendipity-fairy-tale/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=serendipity-fairy-tale) _2025-11-22 · Snow White · SWW_ Three Persian princes find unexpected good fortune in this ancient detective story The post Serendipity: A Fairy Tale of Happy Accidents first appeared on SWW . The post Serendipity: A Fairy Tale of Happy Accidents appeared first on SWW . ## [a little redux (a big redux?)](https://journal.neilgaiman.com/2025/11/a-little-redux-big-redux.html) _2025-11-19 · Dan Guy · Neil Gaiman's Journal_ There are a few remaining copies of the 25th Anniversary edition of Little, Big or, The Fairies' Parliament, by John Crowley, with art by Peter Milton. More information here . While you are there, there is also a 15% off coupon for the trade edition and/or posters, as well as an invitation to make a donation in support of horticultural conservancy. ## [A question of homework in English](https://learningfrommymistakesenglish.blogspot.com/2025/11/a-question-of-homework-in-english.html) _2025-11-09 · Xris32 · Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog_ Homework is one of those tricky things in school. The only people that seem to like it are pushy parents, who think every child should be doing at least four hours a night on homework. Students don’t like it, because it gets in the way of things like life, social time, time with one parent as their parents have split up, football training and so on. Teachers hate it, because it is an endless cycle… ## [Transcript-Driven Stock Discovery (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/ELQyjZIFzFEj) _2025-11-09 · **Sponsored**_ Ranked, evidence-backed watchlists from indexed executive transcripts for 1–2 quarter horizons ## [A question of homework in English](https://learningfrommymistakesenglish.blogspot.com/2025/11/a-question-of-homework-in-english.html) _2025-11-09 · Xris32 · Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog_ Homework is one of those tricky things in school. The only people that seem to like it are pushy parents, who think every child should be doing at least four hours a night on homework. Students don’t like it, because it gets in the way of things like life, social time, time with one parent as their parents have split up, football training and so on. Teachers hate it, because it is an endless cycle… ## [The Time of Year When Nostalgia is in the Air](https://snowwhitewrites.com/autumn-nostalgia/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=autumn-nostalgia) _2025-11-06 · Snow White · SWW_ There's something about autumn that ushers in a tide of memories and stories long forgotten The post The Time of Year When Nostalgia is in the Air first appeared on SWW . The post The Time of Year When Nostalgia is in the Air appeared first on SWW . ## [The Korean Folklore Behind KPop Demon Hunters](https://snowwhitewrites.com/korean-folklore-kpop-demon-hunters/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=korean-folklore-kpop-demon-hunters) _2025-10-20 · Snow White · SWW_ This viral movie sensation is packed to the brim with beautiful Korean folklore references The post The Korean Folklore Behind KPop Demon Hunters first appeared on SWW . The post The Korean Folklore Behind KPop Demon Hunters appeared first on SWW . ## [Do it now or do it when you’ve thought about it a bit more?](https://learningfrommymistakesenglish.blogspot.com/2025/10/do-it-now-or-do-it-when-youve-thought.html) _2025-10-05 · Xris32 · Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog_ I have written at length about knowledge and its use in English, and this isn’t going to be one of those blogs, but it is about mapping out the thought processes in English lessons. We don’t spell out the internalised thought process in English. To the outsider, or an average student, the processes must look magical and effortless. They see a student coming up with a great idea and within seconds… ## [Hot Take: Are Men or Women Better at Writing the Opposite Sex?](https://snowwhitewrites.com/writing-the-opposite-sex/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=writing-the-opposite-sex) _2025-10-02 · Snow White · SWW_ I’m definitely biased, but certain writers do have an edge when it comes to writing the opposite sex The post Hot Take: Are Men or Women Better at Writing the Opposite Sex? first appeared on SWW . The post Hot Take: Are Men or Women Better at Writing the Opposite Sex? appeared first on SWW . ## [8 Honest Truths about Moms Who Write](https://snowwhitewrites.com/moms-who-write/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=moms-who-write) _2025-08-04 · Snow White · SWW_ In the two years I've been a mom—and the many years before that that I've befriended other moms, there's a lot I've learned The post 8 Honest Truths about Moms Who Write first appeared on SWW . The post 8 Honest Truths about Moms Who Write appeared first on SWW . ## [Why Isolated Fairy Tale Characters Are Usually Wicked](https://snowwhitewrites.com/isolated-fairy-tale-characters/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=isolated-fairy-tale-characters) _2025-07-20 · Snow White · SWW_ If someone in a fairy tale lives alone in a dark wood or a huge castle, they are probably the villain of their story The post Why Isolated Fairy Tale Characters Are Usually Wicked first appeared on SWW . The post Why Isolated Fairy Tale Characters Are Usually Wicked appeared first on SWW . ## [Why You Should Protect Your Main Characters](https://snowwhitewrites.com/protect-your-main-characters/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=protect-your-main-characters) _2025-07-06 · Snow White · SWW_ I'm not saying you should make main characters untouchable, but I am saying they need to be someone your reader will respect The post Why You Should Protect Your Main Characters first appeared on SWW . The post Why You Should Protect Your Main Characters appeared first on SWW . ## [Childlessness in Fairy Tales: Why Everyone Wants a Baby](https://snowwhitewrites.com/childlessness-in-fairy-tales/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=childlessness-in-fairy-tales) _2025-06-21 · Snow White · SWW_ Childlessness is a shockingly common theme in fairy tales. Let's explore the three biggest historical reasons why The post Childlessness in Fairy Tales: Why Everyone Wants a Baby first appeared on SWW . The post Childlessness in Fairy Tales: Why Everyone Wants a Baby appeared first on SWW . ## [Making writers sexy and appealing - Part 1 (author's intent)](https://learningfrommymistakesenglish.blogspot.com/2025/05/making-writers-sexy-and-appealing-part.html) _2025-05-18 · Xris32 · Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog_ 'We conclude that children appear to prioritise efficiency over completeness when reading, generating inferences spontaneously only when they are necessary for establishing a coherent representation of the text.’ Joseph , Wonnacott, Nation (2021) The above piece of research is probably the one piece that has stuck with me. The emphasis of efficiency over completeness. We see that so much in our… ## [Accept your Doppler invite (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/wbx8k6FKX1FM) _2025-05-18 · **Sponsored**_ Create your Doppler account using the invite code you received. ## [The Early Adventures of Roger Rabbit](https://pullingarabbitoutofahat.com/uncategorized/the-early-adventures-of-roger-rabbit/) _2025-03-18 · ross · Pulling a Rabbit Out of a Hat_ The ‘Roger Rabbit’ who was the predecessor of the Roger Rabbit appearing in the film, Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), was the creation of Gary K. Wolf – in his book, ‘Who Censored Roger Rabbit?’ (1981). But, there was an earlier incarnation of Roger Rabbit! A 2-page comic story, ‘The … ## [Spelling and word fluency](https://learningfrommymistakesenglish.blogspot.com/2025/03/spelling-and-word-fluency.html) _2025-03-16 · Xris32 · Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog_ I have experience of working with students of all levels, but one of the biggest issues I find with writing fluency is not often related to the content but it is spelling. Now, this isn’t a ‘bash spelling’ blog but it is about exploring our relationship with spelling. The two easiest things to spot with any piece of writing are handwriting and spellings. Parents often mention handwriting or… ## [Spelling and word fluency](https://learningfrommymistakesenglish.blogspot.com/2025/03/spelling-and-word-fluency.html) _2025-03-16 · Xris32 · Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog_ I have experience of working with students of all levels, but one of the biggest issues I find with writing fluency is not often related to the content but it is spelling. Now, this isn’t a ‘bash spelling’ blog but it is about exploring our relationship with spelling. The two easiest things to spot with any piece of writing are handwriting and spellings. Parents often mention handwriting or… ## [Oracy - The infamous ‘I don’t know’.](https://learningfrommymistakesenglish.blogspot.com/2025/03/oracy-infamous-i-dont-know.html) _2025-03-09 · Xris32 · Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog_ One of the things about oracy is that we often focus on the what rather than the how students speak. Communication is much more than words and phrases. It is how we control the flow of speech. Or, more importantly, how we empower students to dive in and swim in the spoken discourse. One area I have been working on, with some success, is dealing with the infamous ‘I don’t know’. The blanket answer… ## [Precision and laser sharp thinking](https://learningfrommymistakesenglish.blogspot.com/2025/02/precision-and-laser-sharp-thinking.html) _2025-02-09 · Xris32 · Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog_ I’ve discussed at length how English cannot be reduced to a simple checklist of things. There seems to be an endless desire to homogenise subjects. Something that works in one subject must always work for another subject. That isn’t the case. One area that English struggles with is identifying the top elements of our subject. We have these phrases like ‘flair’, ‘confidence’ and ‘creativity’ which… ## [Breaking the Silence](https://journal.neilgaiman.com/2025/01/breaking-silence.html) _2025-01-14 · Neil Gaiman · Neil Gaiman's Journal_ Over the past many months, I have watched the stories circulating the internet about me with horror and dismay. I’ve stayed quiet until now, both out of respect for the people who were sharing their stories and out of a desire not to draw even more attention to a lot of misinformation. I've always tried to be a private person, and felt increasingly that social media was the wrong place to talk… ## [An Inspector Recalls](https://learningfrommymistakesenglish.blogspot.com/2025/01/an-inspector-recalls.html) _2025-01-12 · Xris32 · Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog_ In terms of metacognition, cognitive load and cognitive load theory is one of the biggest concerns of any English teacher. We might not dress it up with a fancy term, but we know that how much or how little we present of text can make or break a student’s understanding of a text. Too much of a text and you can overwhelm them with too much information. Too little text and you can strip the meaning… ## [ADVENTURES IN ANIMATION, by Richard Williams (and Imogen Sutton)](https://pullingarabbitoutofahat.com/uncategorized/adventures-in-animation-by-richard-williams-and-imogen-sutton/) _2024-12-11 · ross · Pulling a Rabbit Out of a Hat_ ‘Adventures in Animation: How I Learned, Who I Learned From, and What I Did With It’ is a book written by Richard Williams and Imogen Sutton. It was published in August 2024 by Faber & Faber. Milt Kahl was Richard Williams’ animation hero and Williams considered writing a book on … ## [Looking at writers - does he ever stop smoking?](https://learningfrommymistakesenglish.blogspot.com/2024/12/looking-at-writers-does-he-ever-stop.html) _2024-12-08 · Xris32 · Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog_ Today, I am writing a eulogy for someone very close to me. Like most people, I’ve put things off. For example, I’ve been tempted to search the history of using ‘a’ instead of ‘an’ when forming the phrase ‘a eulogy’. I won’t bore you with the details. And, of course, writing this blog is another way for me to put off the inevitable. Anyway, a eulogy is about creating a sense of a person and what… ## [Safe and dangerous creative writing](https://learningfrommymistakesenglish.blogspot.com/2024/11/safe-and-dangerous-creative-writing.html) _2024-11-10 · Xris32 · Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog_ Teaching students to write with effect is quite a tricky thing. Over the years, I have seen writing reduced to tick lists. The problem is that no two good pieces are really alike. You could create one tick list for one piece and then you’ll need a different list for the other piece. Both are widely different. Presion, subtlety and nuance are not things you can easily put on a ticklist. They don’t… ## [Narrowing those feelings](https://learningfrommymistakesenglish.blogspot.com/2024/09/effect-is-such-funny-thing-to-explore.html) _2024-09-22 · Xris32 · Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog_ Effect is such a funny thing to explore when reading texts. It is wrapped up in so many things. What has happened previously? What does the reader think will happen next? What is really going on in the story? A lot of what we expect from students is precision. Precise identification of a mood or a feeling.The best students are those that can identify a range of precise moods and even some of those… ## [Little, Big](https://journal.neilgaiman.com/2024/09/little-big.html) _2024-09-11 · Dan Guy · Neil Gaiman's Journal_ Web Goblin here. Two years and five blog posts ago, we were introduced to the 25th Anniversary edition of Little, Big or, The Fairies' Parliament , by John Crowley, with art by Peter Milton. At the time, there were 300 numbered editions, all of which had been pre-sold some dozen years earlier. Deep Vellum has since managed to produce another 65 copies of which around 40 are available for purchase… ## [Booklets for GCSE English and English Literature](https://learningfrommymistakesenglish.blogspot.com/2024/09/booklets-for-gcse-english-and-english.html) _2024-09-01 · Xris32 · Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog_ Over the past few years, we have been working on how we can use booklets effectively. With Literature texts, there is so much you can do. That is the beauty and also the problem with it. How do you ensure students get a similar experience but allow the teacher some level of freedom to teach how they want? That’s why we have worked on our booklets that work alongside what the normal teacher does.…