Stamp Stories

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Introduction (a word from the teachers) Postal stamps have lost their importance since modern communication technology offers other reliable, cheap and often faster ways to communicate. However, the significance of stamps goes far beyond their use as a proof of paid postage; their illustrations commemorate events and show culturally relevant places or people.

With this European eTwinning project, we have intended our students from Collège Condorcet Maisons-Alfort, France, Wilhelmsgymnasium Kassel, Germany, St. Colman’s College, Fermoy, Ireland and IES Felipe Segundo, Mazarrón, Spain to identify the historical, natural and/or cultural elements included, research on them in international groups and eventually create original stories around the objects illustrated on the stamps. This emagazine is the product of their work. Twelve currently used stamps, three from each country, have been chosen and are explained first in a historical and then in a fictional context.

We welcome you to browse in our magazine and read these examples of creative writing in a foreign language that 100 13 -15-year-old European students have produced.

Sabine Küch, Wilhelmsgymnasium Kassel, Sabrina Vinatier, Collège Condorcet Maisons Alfort, Carol Fynn, St. Colman’s College, Cork, Isidoro Cayuela García, IES Felipe Segundo, Mazarrón.

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INDEX Wartburg 1.

2.

3.

4.

Wartburg: My Adventures The Ministrels Tournament Nightmare in Wartburg Castle Wartburg Castle

Canal du Midi 5.

6.

7.

8.

A Journey on the Canal du Midi Murder on the Canal du Midi The Boy and the Jellyfish Canal du Midi

Camino de Santiago 9. The Rooster and the Hen 10. The Adventurs of John and the Camino de Santiago 11. Jean 12. People on the Move Lusitania 13. Story on Lusitania 14.Ismail and Bella 15.The Last Voyage 16. My First Trip Lighthouse Greifswalder Oie 17. The Northern Guardian 18. Laurie 19. War on Greifswalder Oie 20. The Ghost of the Lighthouse Greifswalder Chateau de Chenonceau 21. Precious 22. The Chateau de Chenonceau and its Scary Secrets 23. The Exciting Life of Chenonceau 24. Chateau de Chenonceau

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Rueda de la Huerta Waterwheel 25. The Wheel of the Orchard 26.The Potion 27. The Hidden Side of the Water Wheel Torc necklace 28. The Mysterious Torc 29. Peter 30. Someone Dug me Up 31. The Story of the Cursed Gorget Lorsch abbey 32. The Ruins of Lorsch Abbey 33.An Afternoon with Friends 34. The Adventures of Cloister Lorsch 35.The Legend of Lorsch Abbey Musée d’Orsay 36. Life and Times of Musee D’Orsay 37. A Fantastic Idea 38. A Day with Orsie 39. Mystery in the Museum Museo Arqua 40. The Treasure 41. Arqua Museum 42.The Treasure of Our Lady of Mercy 43. The Life Story of the Arqua Ploughing championship 44. The Hybrid 45. The Life of Harry, the Plough 46. The Ploughing Championship 47.Two Friends

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Wartburg

Wartburg Castle was built in 1067 by the landgrave "Ludwig der Springer" in ThĂźringen, Germany. The castle has a great significance in the history of Germany. Besides, the Wartburg became a world heritage site because it was the home of St.Elisabeth of Hungary and Martin Luther hid and translated the new testament in the castle.

The Wartburg was used as a fortress, inn and residence. It was the home of Saint Elisabeth. This castle was also the place of the legend of Sangerkrieg: in this castle a contest for minstrels took place and this story was the basis of the opera of Richard Wagner. Many celebrations took place at Wartburg Castle like the first Wartburg Festival on 18 October 1817, the 300th anniversary of the Reformation or the 4th anniversary of the Battle of Leipzig.

The Wartburg today is one of the most-visited tourist attraction in Germany especially in the anniversary-year of the Reformation in 2017. Although the castle today still contains substantial original structures from the 12th through 15th centuries, much of the interior dates back only to the 19th century.

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In Wartburg Castle, Walther von Vogelweide and Wolfram von Eschebach (two well-known German poets) participated in a troubadour competition.

Wartburg Castle had some influence in Germany, so various places received the name from Wartburg. For example, there was a model car named Wartburg, manufactured in East Germany. Wartburg has a big significance in German history, religion and culture.

By Mary (Germany), Mickael, Yanis (France), Peter, Eoin (Ireland), Cintia and Juli (Spain)

STORIES 1. WARTBURG: MY ADVENTURES Hi, my name is Wartburg. I will tell you my story and maybe a lot of special things! I guess that you would probably prefer to play on your phone, but believe me, what I'm going to tell you now is more exciting. P.S Maybe my story will help you in a quiz and you'll think: it’s good that I read this text.

I´m a castle on a hill near Eisenach. It is a town in Thüringen in Germany. I was founded by the landgrave "Ludwig the Springer" in 1067 (I`m very old!).

In these years many people have come to me, for example the important Reformer Martin Luther, who hid and translated the New Testament from Latin into German here. He was here for one year, because he wrote everything himself (there were no mobile phones at that time, with which he could have done it). That was a difficult time for me, because Luther was searched and that was very dangerous for me ( if they had found him, they could have bombed me).

Still today people come and visit me who want to see the popular ink stain on Luther’s desk! So I always have a lot of visitors! Another important information is that I contributed a part to the German Reformation without you probably wouldn’t have freedom of speech today. Because 500 students and professors gathered on October 1817 in me. They protested against the politics of their time. That made me very proud.

Today I´m one of the most popular castles of Germany.

I hope you enjoyed reading my text!

By Mary Schmitt

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2. THE MINSTRELS TOURNAMENT That day was a special day. It was the minstrels tournament and I was to take part in it.

I was extremely excited but I was also extremely stressed to sing in front of Saint Elisabeth. The tournament was taking place at the Wartburg Castle. I headed for the castle. Once there I saw a lot of people coming and going. At that moment I was even more nervous. I arrived at the gate of the castle. It was really impressive. I had no words to describe it.

The theme for this tournament was Love. It was a very difficult theme but I had rehearsed so many times. I entered the castle and I followed the other minstrels. I arrived into a huge room. I sat down on the wooden benches like the others. We were all waiting for Saint Elisabeth. I looked at the others, and I saw a lot of people who were nervous just like me. Yet some people seemed calm too.

At last Saint Elisabeth arrived, and the tournament began. The contestants performed one by one. And then it was the turn of TannhaĂźser. Saint Elisabeth was in love with him. He talked about love in a way that shocked everybody and he was sent away on a pilgrimage. The tournament was cancelled but I thought I would participate again a next time

By Mickael Fonbleu and Yanis Belleville

3. NIGHTMARE IN WARTBURG CASTLE In the summer of 2017, a group of friends was travelling and they tried to arrive before sunset, but it was night and they decided to make a stop in a nearby place. The only place that they found was a castle, its name was Wartburg. They would rest and the next day continue with their route to reach their destination.

In the castle, they were received by a butler, Martin Luther, which was also his own name. By coincidence, in the XVI century prince Federick had hidden a man who was called Martin Luther too. He was persecuted for his religion. He wasn't murdered because they hid him. That butler was a 8

strange man, but the boys entered without caring. Finally everyone went to a different room.

While they were sleeping, one of the girls got up when she heard a loud knock on the door, they went down the stairs out of curiosity and when they reached the end of the stairs they saw one of the girls standing in the doorway of a large room, they didn't understand what was happening.

Without thinking about it, they pushed the girls away and opened the door.

They were paralyzed to see the terrifying scene, there was blood, a lot of blood in the room. In the background was the butler, full of blood, he turned towards the group of friends, he smiled and said: "Just in time."

By Juli ArmendĂĄriz and Cintia SanmartĂ­n

4. WARTBURG CASTLE One day I was on my horse heading for Eisenach. Suddenly I came upon this lovely castle. It was brilliant, and it was overlooking the town of Eisenach.

So as I progressed towards the castle I bumped into one of the local people.

So I asked what is the name of this castle, she replied this beautiful place is called the Wartburg castle .It looked beautiful. So I got off my horse and wandered towards the castle. I tried entering the castle but the guards told me I am not allowed the enter the castle as the king of Eisenach is inside.

So I walked along the outside of the castle the castle itself was really old . so I asked one of the guards when was it built he said it was built in 1097.

As I kept walking around the castle I started the get tired as my heavy armour was weighing my down. Eventually one of the guards asked my why am I not guarding the castle and I told him that I have come from Heidelberg castle. He looked shocked. He asked why have you come this far.

I then replied I am here to conquer Eisenach.

By Peter and Eoin H

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Canal du Midi

The “Canal du Midi” is situed in the South of France. With its brother the "Canal Latéral " it forms the "Canal des Deux Mers" a 434-km network of navigable waterways joining the Atlantic to the Mediterranean. The “Canaldu Midi” is one of the oldest canals of Europe still in operation. The “Canal du Midi” was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996.

Paul Riquet designed and realized the Canal du Midi. The Canal du Midi was built for commercial, economical and political reasons:. Louis XIV, the “Sun King”, autorized the launch of the works by a royal edict in October 1666. The works lasted from 1666 to 1681. The"Canal du Midi" was an engineering achievement at the time: Paul Riquet‘s important knowledge of the hydrography of the Black Mountain and Sor allowed him to imagine an ingenious irrigation system.

On the canal, the barges were pulled by horses or men walking on the banks. This was a problem when two convoys passed each other.

In the 19th century the railway became a heavy competitor for the "Canal du Midi". As the railway was faster the canal was gradually abandoned.

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Nowadays it is a paradise for river navigation. Sailing on the Canal you can discover the spectacular slopes of the Minervois or the fields of sunflowers of the Aude region, you can also have a glimpse of Béziers a Cathar city and smell the perfume of the lavender fields. Many people rent boats to go a cruise on the Canal Du Midi. So, this canal is one of France’s most popular tourist attractions.

Luke, Kevin (Ireland), Lina, Melissa and Carla (Germany), Loane , Cassandra (France), Ana and Sebastian (Spain)

STORIES 5. A JOURNEY ON THE CANAL DU MIDI I was on a barge filled with goods on the Canal du Midi towards the Mediterranean Sea. The sun was shinning, it was hot and I could feel the fatigue of the horses pulling the boat. My name was Guillaume Gorgerit and I lived in Toulouse. Every year, I would start a new journey. I would leave and come back, leave and come back again.

This time I left the lock of Béarnais located in Toulouse and I was supposed to arrive the next day at the lock of the Mediterranean located at Labastique d'Anjou near the Segala port. I had to travel a lot of distance and I had already travelled half of it when suddenly, I heard a shout and I noticed that the barge did not not move much. I looked towards the horses and saw that somehow, a horse had managed to break free. I found myself on the channel without any way of pulling the barge anymore, so I decided to leave my travel companion with the boat and remaining horse and to continue my journey to Labastique d'Anjou on foot to find some help. On the path, the landscape was beautiful. I admired the channel a few moments, the water was clear and shimmering. It had taken Pierre-Paul Riquet several years to imagine this channel and build it. I was proud to travel on it. The goods that I carried on my shoulders started to be heavy, I hoped I would arrive soon. On my left I saw my horse quietly grazing I tried to catch it but it escaped. I stooped down to catch a piece of coal that had fallen from my bag and when I stood up I noticed the white walls of city of Labastide a few kilometers away. At last!

By Cassandra Oudot and Loane Vandenbrouck

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6. MURDER ON THE CANAL DU MIDI Carol is a girl from London. She is 17 years old, and she has a sister, Susan, who was 21 years old. They decided to take a trip to France. The sisters wanted to travel to Paris, but they didn’t have enough money, so they went to Mazamet, a town in the South of France.

When they arrived, they visited many places. They were having a good time.

On the third day, Susan and Carol decided to take a trip by boat, so they went to the Canal du Midi. This place is very famous, and everyone likes this tour. A lot of people say that this place is a paradise for river navigation, sailing on the canal you can discover the spectacular slopes of the Minervois or the fields of sunflowers of the Aude region. You can also have a glimpse of Béziers and Cathar country and smell the perfume of the lavender fields. When they arrived there, there were many people, so they had to wait some hours. On the boat, Carol and Susan were alone and that was strange. The captain was a young man, who was about 20 years old, and his name was Luke. He told them some things about the history of this canal. It was built from 1666 to 1681. That canal was an engineering achievement at the time. Louis XIV (the Sun King) was the person who authorized the construction of the Canal du Midi. Susan.

Carol and Luke became friends and Luke started to be their French guide.

Everything was good, but one day Susan was found dead, in the Canal du Midi, and Luke was missing. Carol was sad and melancholic, she thought that Luke was the culprit, but she was wrong.

Luke wasn’t responsible for that incident. The truth was that, Susan and Luke were in love. They were in “their place”, the Canal du Midi. Luke proposed her to live together in London, but suddenly, one of Luke’s ex appeared, and she shot Susan; Luke wanted to prevent that and he was hurt. Then, his ex kidnapped him.

Finally, Luke was found dead too, and the police arrested Luke’s ex. Carol decided to become a murder inspector, and at the moment, she is one of the best police officers in the UK.

By Ana Acosta and Sebastián Muñoz

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7. THE BOY AND THE JELLYFISH I am the Canal du Midi. My life began in 1667. That was an amazing time.

There were people with boats or little ships. There were equestrians too with their horses. A few 100 years later everything became boring. The world has changed and my life has its daily routine, but the week before was a spectacular drama with one woman and two men. First, a beautiful woman was at the shore with a man, having a romantic picnic, when suddenly a second man came and started screaming. At the end, the first man landed in the water. This was funny and sad too.

But for me it is really boring on the other days. I always see the same things like ships or pedestrians who pass by all the time. And sometimes when it is warm, people come, take off their shoes and wade through me. On this day it seemed like it would be boring again.

A school class came to me the other day and did exactly what everyone else did. They took off their shoes and went into my warm water. One of the students, a tall boy with brown hair, thought he had touched a jellyfish and the whole class ran to him in order to help him. But then the other students saw that there was an old rubber boot floating in my water. The boy started laughing and the rest of the class laughed with him. It was so funny and I heard everyone laughing about that very old rubber boot. One of the girls was trying to get the old rubber boot but I think it was really hard as it was gliding. In the end, the girl fell into the water and the whole class jumped behind her. Everybody was laughing and they had a lot of fun.

By Carla, Melissa and Lina

8. CANAL DU MIDI One day in in one of the oldest canals in France canal du Midi was doing his usual job of irrigating water through France from the black mountains and having millions of people cruising along his canal every day During the summer I visited this canal to see why people visited this site and loved it so much over there I met and old man who told me about this canal. He was on an old bench watching everybody go by . I sat down next to him and ate my lunch .I began a conversation with him and was telling me that it was a UNESCO world heritage site .He was a nice man and he 13

also told me that he was homeless .I left him and rented a boat and sailed down the magnificent canal. There were lots of signs along the canal saying lots of interesting info on the canal and its history .The next day I got up early and decided to get a bit of fresh air .Once again I met the old man asleep on the bench again .As I came back the man was now awake he looked very hungry and since he was so nice and helpful to me I thought I might go and get food with him ,but what was about to come was very unexpected.; We set off for a local restaurant to get a traditional French breakfast but there ,there were guards the man handed me his bag and take care of it and ran out if the shop. The guards came over to me and asked me for the bag . in the bag there were several different drugs in the bag and the guards took me and the bag back to the station. Still to this day this homeless man is still on the loose around his home of the Canal du Midi.

By Luke Burdett

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Camino de Santiago

The way of St James is a number of pilgrim ways. The aim is reaching the grave of the apostle Saint James the Great in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. This route is still done today. Many follow its routes as a form of spiritual path or retreat for their spiritual growth.

It started in the 9th century when a hermit discovered the tomb of Saint James. It became an important pilgrimage way during the Middle Ages.

Under the reign of Ferdinand of Aragon, the Pope declared that the way of Saint James was one of the three most important pilgrimage ways with Rome and Jerusalem. The scallop shell used by pilgrims became a symbol of this pilgrimage way.

The Way of St. James has been, and remains the oldest, busiest and most famous route in the old continent. It has also shared the attraction of walkers of all times. You can get to Santiago and Galicia in many ways, but the best way to come is through the Way of St. James. Today the road is a World Heritage Site for everybody who wants to enjoy it on foot, by bicycle or on horseback. The spirituality and magic of the Way remain intact. Some towns and cities are also World Heritage sites. You can see the changing landscapes, from the green of the mountains in the Pyrenees to the roaring 15

of the Atlantic Ocean in Galicia. Valleys, lonely villages, markets, fairs, etc, they all represent the way.

Many potential pilgrims look at the 800km walk ahead of them and panic about how far they have to walk each day. Walk at your own pace, eat appropriately and drink regularly (sports drinks if possible). Take the steep sections slowly and don't over exert yourself. Give yourself enough time to do the Camino so you can take shorter days.

By the side of the road on the way into Estella is a memorial to a Canadian lady who tragically lost her life after she was hit by a drunk driver. If you plan on walking before sun rise, consider taking reflective gear and make sure you wear it on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

By Amandine, Rym (France) Andrea, Maria José (Spain), Felix, Jacob (Germany) James M, Jack (Ireland)

STORIES 9. THE ROOSTER AND THE HEN My grandparents have told my sister and me many stories on the Way of St. James and I was 100% sure that they were false, but my sister believed them so we wanted to verify one of them, it was a story that someone had invented or at least I thought it.

We began to do the way from Santo Domingo de la Calzada; for those they do not know it, it is in La Rioja. And you will wonder, why from there? Very simple, for the famous legend (as my sister says) of “The Rooster and the Hen”, which is about a young 18-year-old boy who was peregrinating to Compostela with his parents. At the inn where they were lodging, a young woman was employed and fell in love passionately with him. But she was rejected. The young girl, driven to despair, put a silver glass in his suitcase to accuse him of theft.

The following day, the justice came to verify if the accusation of the theft was true. They declared him guilty and he was condemned to die in the gallows. His parents began to pray to St. James and, as result of thir prayers, the body without life of his son spoke to them and said that he was alive.

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When the sheriff, who was having a few birds for dinner, found out about what had happened, he laughed saying to them: “Your son is so alive as this rooster and this hen that I am preparing to eat before you were bothering me�. At that moment, the birds jumped off the plate and started to sing and cluck.

We went to the same inn and prepared to lodge. We were attended by a handsome tall, brown-haired boy with blue eyes, a boy who caught my attention form the first moment, I admit it I liked him.

When the night came I went for a walk along the establishment, while I was thinking about the boy that received us, and on the way I met a pair of elders who looked at me and smiled and the woman said to me: "young woman, he also has liked you " and I tried to answer but to my surprise the pair of elders were not there, only was a silk scarf.

Later I saw the boy who received us looking at one ancient picture, and I approached him to ask him the room where this woman was lodging to be able to return the scarf to her, and to my surprise the young boy said to me that there was nobody else besides us, it seemed very strange but leave it to happen. When I looked at the picture I was amazed, the persons who existed in the picture were, but then I decided to say it to the boy but he was not there, only two rooster pens.

After that, I prepared to tell my sister everything that had happened, and after doing it she told me that the parents and the boy of the legend appear in front of people to make them believe in the magic and the stories that are told on the Way of St James. I decided to look for the boy, to confirm that it was not what she had told me but I only found a woman, who said to me that there was nobody else lodged and there was no boy who was working there. While I was returning to the room I saw a rooster which transformed into a boy at the end of the corridor I saw he was disappearing as he was smiling at me.

From this day until today I have not forgotten and believe each of the stories that are narrated on the Way of St. James.

By Andrea Ruiz and Maria JosĂŠ Morillas

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10. THE ADVENTURES OF JOHN AND THE CAMINO DE SANTIAGO Once upon a time there was a guy named John. John was a very religious person. He loved going for walks as he felt this was bringing him closer to God. John lived near the Camino de Santiago. That was me. He had always wanted to walk it. On his sixteenth birthday John decided he was going to walk the Camino de Santiago. His mother was very upset at this as she had heard stories about people dying on this walk. She tried her best to stop him, but it was too late. He had already packed his bags.

He joined a route and started walking on my paths. He ate some holy bread.

Then, a mist descended on me and the surrounding area. He could not see.

He could not hear. He could not talk. He was dying. There was a highpitched screech. He was scared. He started running. A demon started chasing him. He threw the demon off a cliff. The demon died. John did not die. He lived. He had saved the world. He could now talk and move. He went home to his mam. He later became a piolet and flew a Boeing 707.

John died in 2067. He died of a plane crash. He crashed his Boeing 707 into a dragonfly. He died.

By James Mulcahy

11. JEAN Once upon a time, there was a young Christan named Jean. While he was sleeping, he had a vision and he heard a voice. The voice said ÂŤ You have to travel a long pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela Âť. The sentence was repeated several times.

When Jean woke up, he prepared his bag, took a scallop shell with him and set off for the famous Way of Saint James.

Jean travelled alone because no one hadhad the courage to follow him in his adventure. The road was said to be very dangerous.

He quickly understood why everyone said that the road was dangerous. He saw a lot of wild animals along the way.

On the road, Jean met a thief, and the thief took all his possessions, including his food! The wind began to blow and the air was getting colder.

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Jean was frozen and starving. He thought he was going to die until the moment a man appeared on the path. His name was Gabriel. He rushed to Jean’s side. He started a fire on the side of the road, protected from the wind. He gave him some food and some water and he also gave him some warm clothes. Gabriel told Jean he was going to Santiago de Compostela as well. The two men decided to walk together until they finished their pilgrimage. A profound friendship bounded them for the rest of their lives.

By Rym BENNIA and Amandine HUARD

12. PEOPLE ON THE MOVE At the age of 10.000 years, I am one of the oldest pilgrim trails in the world.

In my life I have seen many different people: every day about 300.000.

Some people are rich, some people are poor. But no matter if they are rich or poor, everyone has had the same goal: walking the path of St. James.

It is interesting to see how mankind has changed. Today people don´t need a camera to take pictures of me, because they´ve got their mobiles.

I am the symbol of European culture. My routes begin in different countries but all lead to the same place, Santiago de Compostela in Galicia.

Many years ago pilgrims came without shoes or sneakers, but today everybody wears different clothes. That‘s crazy. For the people who come here it‘s amazing or maybe something special, but I don’t feel like that. I feel like a normal place and not something special.

In my history many crazy things have happened. Once there was a man with his son and they walked the whole day and in the evening they went to a hostel for the night. For me that was nothing special but the son always said to his Father: Dad, I really don´t want to walk any longer and his dad always said he should be quiet and enjoy the way. So in the evening the boy cried a lot because his feet were hurting and his father said they would only go back if the son was quiet and didn‘t get on his nerves. I can‘t understand why his son goes with him although he doesn‘t really want this.

So, of course I could tell you more stories but I think that would be too long . So good bye and maybe we‘ll meet some time.

By Jacob and Felix 19

Lusitania

The RMS Lusitania was a passenger ship in the First World War It was commissioned on the 29th July 1907, but it met a dreadful end. The RMS Lusitania was a luxurious British passenger ship of the Cunard Line, whose sinking in 1915 was the cause of the entry of the United States into the Fist World War. The RMS Lusitania was a British transatlantic designed by Leonard Peskett built with the maximum possible luxury for the time both first and second classes. It was able to transport 2.198 passengers. It was built by David Miller and the captain was William Thomas Turner. On the 1st of May, 1915, the RMS Lusitania left New York and sailed for Liverpool.

On 7 may 1915 the RMS. Lusitania was torpedoed by a German u-boat from the German imperial marine. A second torpedo caused the ship to sink in just 18 minutes. The ship sank to more than 96 metres in depth causing the death of more than 1.198 people including 100 children. It sank off the south coast of Ireland near Kinsale in Co. Cork. Only 761 people survived, because it was hard to launch the lifeboats. 150 bodies were found and they were buried in mass graves in the Old Church cemetery in Kinsale, however 80 bodies were never identified.

Because the Germans sank, without warning, what was officially a nonmilitary ship, many accused them of breaching the internationally recognised Cruiser Rules. It was no longer possible for submarines to give warning due to the British introduction of Q-ships in 1915 with concealed 20

deck guns. (Lusitania had been fitted with 6-inch gun mounts in 1913, although she was unarmed at the time of her sinking.)The Germans justified treating Lusitania as a naval vessel because she was carrying hundreds of tons of war munitions, therefore making her a legitimate military target, and argued that British merchant ships had violated the Cruiser Rules from the very beginning of the war. In 1982, the head of the British Foreign Office's North America department admitted that there is a large amount of ammunition in the wreck, some of which is highly dangerous and poses a safety risk to salvage teams.

In 1982 various items were recovered from the wreck and brought ashore in the United Kingdom from the cargo of Lusitania. Complex litigation ensued, with all parties settling their differences apart from the salvers and the British Government, who asserted "droits of admiralty" over the recovered items. The judge eventually ruled in The Lusitania, [1986] QB 384, [1986] 1 All ER 1011, that the Crown has no rights over wrecks outside British territorial waters, even if the recovered items are subsequently brought into the United Kingdom. The case remains the leading authority on this point of law today.

The two stamps mark the century of sinking of the Lusitania. They feature specially commissioned paintings by Vincent Killowry and depict images of the ship. The 68c stamp portrays an image of the Lusitania just before the torpedo hit, steaming along in relatively calm waters in fine weather.

However, the 1 euro stamp shows the ship listing to one side after the torpedo strike and explosion which led to her sinking within 18 minutes.

There is a book dedicated to Lusitania called Listen to the Moon by Michael Morpurgo. It is set about a girl found on an island off Cornwall and she cannot speak but has a German teddy bear. The sailors who find her think she is a German spy. She had been on the Lusitania. There is a museum with the relics and items found on Lusitania and its located in Cobh in Cork.

By Danyal and Etienne (Germany), Jakub and Fionn (Ireland), Yanneke and Ana Cristina (Spain) and Nora and Illona (France)

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STORIES 13. STORY ON LUSITANIA Hi my name is Craig and I’m a worker on the Lusitania my job is to load coal into the furnaces that run the ship. One day we were sailing across from the States to England , it seemed all fine and dandy when all of a suddenly the boat started to shake after the boat shocked the captain announced that e where hit with a torpedoed then we were told to start evacuating the ship then a second explosion happened meaning we had to hurry up really quick I and few people manage to make it before the ship sunk to the seabed in 18minutes after it being hit and the second explosion happening this lead to a big conflict between the Germans , Americans and the British that’s the story or at least my perspective of what happened.

By Jakub and Fionn

14. ISMAIL AND BELLA The Lusitania was a fantastic ocean liner. It was extremely large and really magnificent and fast. It could carry thousands of people.

On that day, May 7th 1915, on its way to Britain, the Lusitania had 2200 people on board, among them 200 Americans.

There was a young woman named Bella, she was beautiful and elegant and there was a young man called Ismail. He was American and handsome too.

Bella and Ismail were going to Britain to get married. They were happy until the moment when everything changed. They didn’t know that in the distance there was a German submarine. They thought they were all alone at sea but they weren’t. The German submarine was approaching them.

Once arrived at a short distance submarine torpedoed the Lusitania. There was an explosion and the Lusitania started to sink. 1200 people died, many were injured.

When they heard the news, back in the US, Ismail’s family was very angry.

The couple had died on the boat. The family of Ismail was in a fury, they wanted to do something. They wanted to avenge the deaths of their son and daughter-in-law. The Lusitania was not a military boat so they decided to campaign against Germany. Germany was responsible for the murder of

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their family and other people’s families for them. They couldn’t forgive them.

By Norah Correia and Illona Bienne

15. THE LAST VOYAGE Dear diary, The last two weeks were the best and worst weeks of my life. On May 1st, my parents woke me up at 5 a.m. telling me to get ready as fast as I could and to pack my things. I was very confused. At 7 a.m., my parents took me to the New York port. In the water, there was a beautiful ship called the RMS Lusitania. My parents told me that we were going to sail on the Lusitania from New York to Liverpool. I was so excited!

On May 7th, almost a week later, the captain of the RMS Lusitania, William Thomas Turner, announced that we were close to the south of Ireland. I was so happy, only one more day until being in Liverpool! My parents gave me permission to go play with the new friends I made on the other side of the ship. Before going there, my parents gave me a big hug and told me to be careful. I said I would.

A few minutes after arriving on the other side of the ship, I heard a big explosion coming from the starboard side of the ship. Everybody started to panic and someone shouted: “We’re all going to die!” When he said that, another explosion took place and the Lusitania started to sink. Almost immediately, someone took my hand and helped me onto a lifeboat. The lifeboats took the survivors to Kinsdale in Cork, but I don’t remember any of it because the only thing I could think about was my parents.

A few days after the sinking of the Lusitania, people started to bring in dead bodies. They asked us to see if we could identify somebody and I saw my father laying there with his eyes open. My mother, on the other hand, was nowhere to be found. All the bodies that were found are buried in the Old Church cemetery. I visit my dad a lot there.

A week has gone by and I still haven’t found my mom. Only one third of the passengers survived the explosions and just a few hundred bodies were found. Right now, I live with my grandmother in Liverpool. She takes good 23

care of me, but I miss my parents so much. I still carry the memory of our last hug with me.

Love, Claire

By Yanneke Philips and Ana Cristina García

16. MY FIRST TRIP Hello readers! Today is a very special day! It is my maiden voyage and I am so excited about it. So now it´s time! It is Saturday, 7 September, 1907, at 4:30 pm and I am going to go to New York!

There are some very strange things. First, I´m feeling very heavy, because there are so many people in my stomach and the people look very different.

Some of them have broken clothes and some of them are people, who have not broken clothes and they are treated better than the others. I think that is very strange, because if I were one of them who have broken clothes, I would try to repair my clothes, to be treated better too.

But enough about this. Another thing I found really strange is how the passengers use their time. Some of them use it all for eating and talking about their problems and others use it to celebrate being here or something else. What I want to say is, most of the people use their time for something useful. Only some people worry about me sailing.

A big problem here is that I am not treated well by the passengers. Some of them throw their trash everywhere and this doesn’t feel well. The worst of them vomit in me, that’s a very bad feeling. But there are also people who wash me every day and take care of me.

There is one thing, I like very much. There are musicians, who bring me in form. They play every day, at 8 am. That is the time, when I go faster than normal. I go so fast that more than half of the people get sea sick. But I don’t care about it.

All in all, I sail carefree and hopefully everyone will arrive well and on time...

By Etienne and Danyal

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Lighthouse Greifwalder Oie

The Lighthouse Greifswalder Oie is a German lighthouse. It was built at the beginning of the 19th century in the Baltic Sea, next to RĂźgen, located on an island near the German coast.

The height of this lighthouse is 49 metres. The island where it is located is about 1500 metres long and about 500 metres wide. Currently, nobody lives on the island.

For a long time, two or three lighthouse guards or beacon machinists lived and worked partly with their families at the beacon homestead. The last of the beacon machinists, Heinz Mai, left with his family Greifswalder OIE in 1978. This ended the history of more than 120 years of lighthouse guards on the island.

In an operation called Lighthouse several rockets were launched in the 1930s and 1940s for testing purposes, but it was a failure.

The Lighthouse Greifswalder Oie is now used for tours and the island is a nature reserve. If you want to approach the lighthouse, you have to use a ship which needs 90 minutes to arrive. The site manger is Verien Jordsand.

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He waits there to show you the way to the lighthouse, to protect the wild birds. After that you have the chance to visit the lighthouse. Only a maximum of 50 visitors are allowed per day. The climate is rough and windy because it is small and very exposed to the sea. It is the brightest lighthouse in this part of Germany.

Greifswalder Oie is an approximately 12 m (40 ft) octagonal pyramidal red brick tower. As of the 2000s, the islet is an uninhabited sea bird reserve, save for a single man who works the lighthouse, manages the small emergency yacht harbour (depth ca. 1.6m / 6 ft), and creates outdoor art objects that he scatters along a path that circles the island. There is an infrequent ferry service from Peenemünde and Karlshagen.

The site is open but the tower is closed…

From 1937 -1945 the island was a launch site for the German missile development program.

By Raphael, Randal (France), Marina, Alba Soto (Spain), Nick, Marvin, Leonhard (Germany), James and Eoin (Ireland)

STORIES 17. LIGHTHOUSE GREIFWALDER OIE I am standing in the Baltic sea next to Rügen. My history is long and I have much to tell. Let me introduce myself. I was built in the beginning of the 19th century. I am 49 metres high and the island that I am standing on is about 1500 metres long and 500 metres wide. Currently nobody lives here.

From 1936 to 1991 I was a restricted military space first under control of the Nazi Germany and then the German Democratic Republic. In an operation called “the Lighthouse” in the 1930s and 1940s numerous rocket launches were carried out. In 1937 there was an unsuccessful start attempt of the A3 rockets and between 1938 and 1942 A5 rockets were launched as well as 28 A4 rockets between 1943 and 1945. The plan was to study their behavior when the rockets entered the atmosphere, between that phase the rockets mostly break. That was an exciting time, but very loud!

After the end of the second world war the red army also known as the Soviet army destroyed most of the constructions which were based on me.

I am a nature reserve now and if you want to come to visit me you need to

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use a ship which sails 90 minutes and only 50 visitors per day are allowed to come and visit me.

By Nick, Marvin and Leonhard

18. LAURIE

Sarah was about to sleep. She wanted a story before so her grandmother took a book. The story of Jack the lighthouse's guardian. Sarah was very happy because she loved that story.

“My name is Jack. I have been the guardian's lighthouse for 23 years. I saw a lot of shipwrecks near the island's lighthouse. I will tell you a story. One day I was walking around the lighthouse. It was raining and I was very cold.

When, I saw a young woman on the beach. She was lying on the sand. She was blonde-haired, she was wearing a red dress and she was quite pretty.

Maybe she was 30 years old… I didn't know what to do.. I hesitated to move her: I saw that she was healthy and she wasn't hurt. I didn't call for the emergency services, I just pulled her back to earth and I touched her heart to check if she was still alive. I watched her for a long time then I brought her into the lighthouse. One hour later, she woke up. She was a bit scared and jumped when she saw me. I introduced myself and I told her that I had found her on the ground of Greifswalder Oie's Island. She told me her name. It was Laurie. She told me that she was at a masked ball and she fell asleep on the boat's bridge. After, that, she told me that she didn't remember what happened....Days were passing by. I was good with her each day. There was a night when we heard a big noise. French planes overflew nearby. They tried to shell the lighthouse. The lighthouse's light guided the German liners. It was horrible. They could hear the bomb's whistling. I had to be brave: I wanted to protect Laurie more than everything. I went to the lighthouse's top and I played with the light for confuse the enemy. They all fell in the water. After that Laura came to me and she said thank you. I kissed her and I told her that I loved her.”

The grandmother saw Sarah. Sarah's eyes were closed. She was sleeping. « And like in all fairy tales, they had a lot of kids. Good night Sarah.»

By Raphaël TURPIN and Randal UMURISSA

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19. WAR ON GREIFSWALDER OIE My name is Mia and I will tell you something that happened to me.

Yesterday, my grandfather Yael told me stories about Greifswalder island.

He told me that the island, for a long time, was inhabited by two or three lighthouse guards living at the beacon homestead. The last of the beacon machinists, Heinz Mai, left Greifswalder Oie with his family in 1978. He told me that the height of this lighthouse was 49 metres, and the island where it is located is very long but only 500 metres wide. He told me that a war happened there.

When he was seventeen years old, with other young boys, we defended the island from the attack of the United Kingdom. In this war he met my grandmother Anne, but later he met a beautiful girl called Violet. They were very in love, but one day, during the war, the English planted a bomb where Violet was, and she died there. My grandfather was desperate because he didn’t know anything about Violet. The following day, he knew that Violet died on the sand, so he ran to his house and he caught his father's pistol, and then he went to the trenches, and he began to shoot. He killed many English soldiers to end with his rage. Finally he got a medal for protecting his town.

I am very proud of him because although he killed many men who were going to fight because it was their duty, he overcame the loss of his first love.

By Marina Navarro and Alba Soto

20. THE GHOST OF THE LIGHTHOUSE GREIFSWALDER One day I was at home with my family and we decided to go for a drive. We decided to go to a lighthouse called Greifswalder Oie of the German coast.

It was about a 35-minute drive from my house. We arrived at 11am. When we got out of the car the building on front of us was very tall. We went into the reception and met a lovely woman called Sofia. She has long grey hair and looked around 60 years of age. She gave us leaflet and said she would 28

give us a tour of the lighthouse. We started walking around the lighthouse and Sofia said that the lighthouse was built in 1855. The height of the lighthouse is 49 metres. The island it is on is about 1500 meters long and about 50 meters wide. The tour lasted for about 45 minutes. At the end the tour guide vanished. We didn’t know how this happened and we got all spooked. We then all ran back to the car and we were all confused so we just went home. When we all think back about it maybe Sofia was the ghost of the lighthouse.

By: Eoin Twomey and James O’Keeffe

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Chateau de Chenonceau

Built over a bridge spanning the Cher River in the Loire Valley, Chenonceau Castle is like no other in France, and probably like no other in the world. This château is the most visited heritage site in France still in private hands, and the most visited château besides the Palace of Versailles.

In the 13th century, Chenonceau belonged to the Marques family. It was built on the foudations of an old windmill. The castle was torched in 1412 to punish the owner, Jean Marques. He rebuilt the castle and fortified it in the 1430s. Jean Marques then had to sell it to the King of France.

Chenonceau as we know it today was modified by the architect Philibert Delorme: the works lasted from 1515 to 1522. This fabulous castle was inhabited and further modified by many ladies such as Diane De Poitiers or Catherine de Médicis. That is why it was nicknamed the "Château des Dames".

This castle of the Renaissance was also used by George Menier and many nurses as a hospital ward during the first World War. It sheltered approximately two thousand injured soldiers.

This castle is still in good condition today and it is still impressive.

Every year, approximately 860 000 people come from many countries to see 30

and visit the castle .The Chenonceau castle is a historical monument which is protected by the government. Chenonceau is on the UNESCO World Heritage List with the Loire Valley.

Can, Faris (Germany), Amin, Jack (Spain), Hugo Gaëtan (France), William and Maksymilian (Ireland)

STORIES

21. PRECIOUS I am Jean-Michel Lognon and I used to work as a housekeeper at the Chenonceau château. How I loved this splendid place! I was fascinated by its magnificent history, by the many women, like Diane de Poitiers or Catherine de Médicis, who gave the place its elegance. I really loved its unique architecture, its Renaissance traits and above all its ivory gallery over the river! It was just fabulous!

Yet the first world war broke out.

On August the 2nd 1914.many soldiers came to the château. Chenonceau had become an hospital ward. Many soldiers were covered in blood. My job was to clean the place, now the problem was than the injured soldiers were bleeding on MY floor ! All over my floor! Why in my precious château?!

They said it was because the Château was near the frontline. But even then...

I had to clean all the rooms, and now there were two many men, two many men bleeding, too many men bleeding on their death beds!

I had to pick up the old bandages and sullied clothes. It was exhausting to clean what the soldiers left behind them to keep my precious château spick and span. This situation couldn't go on.

On the 23rd August 1914 I received a letter, the worst letter in my life. I had to go to the east frontline. I never saw my beloved château ever again.

By Gaëtan TAN TRAMBLEY and Hugo HERMANT

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22. THE CHATEAU DE CHENONCEAU AND ITS SCARY SECRETS Once upon a time, there was a man named Jean Marques, who built a castle for him and his family to live in. Many people would visit the castle and it became the most visited chateau besides the Palace of Versailles, but nobody knew its secrets. During the First World War, the castle was used as a hospital and it was haunted by the ghost of the people that died there.

They would normally haunt the entrance hall and the guards’ room of the castle.

Ten years later, the castle was torched and later rebuilt and sold to the King of France. The King had a daughter, who loved the castle. She decided to spend a night with her friends in one of the haunted rooms of the castle.

The next night, they all arrived at the same time and they all went inside.

They decided to spend the night in the guards’ room, which was supposedly the most haunted room of the castle. After a few hours, they started to hear noises coming from the entrance hall, so they decided to have a look.

When they got to the entrance hall, nothing was there, but suddenly, they heard the doors look and the lights went out and they all started to scream.

The next morning when the King went to check on them, they were nowhere to be found and to this day, nobody knows what happened to the king’s daughter and her friends.

By Jack Dawson and Amin Bouhmeraz

23. CHENONCEAU In 1535, King Francis I made me into the Crown Estate as part of a debt settlement. Later, King Henry II decided to offer me not to the queen, but to his favourite, Diane de Poitiers.

On 10 July 1559, Queen Catherine de Medici, widow of Henry II, quickly deposed Diane de Poitiers and installed the authority of the young king, her son. I was his castle now. Catherine de Medici managed the whole kingdom of France from one of my rooms, the ´Green Cabinet´.

In the 18th century, after I was purchased by her husband, it was Louise Dupin, lady of the Enlightenment, who welcomed to Chenonceau the greatest philosophers and academics in France to her famous literary salon.

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I didnt really like her but what could I do, I was just a castle...

In 1913 Henrie Menier´s brother, Gaston, made me into a military hospital during the Great War. I had to witness many sick and injured people and I had to take care of them. I think I was the best hospital at that time. Many doctors worked for me and I experienced many horrible things.

During the second world war, my Grand Gallery became the only point of access to the free zone and the Menier family lived in me and helped to smuggle the fleeing people to get away from the Nazis. I had an overall great time as a castle, I got destroyed several times but still, I saw many things.

By Faris & Can

24. CHATEAU DE CHENONCEAU Hello I am the Chenonceau castle. I was built in 1514. I was designed by a man named Philibert de l’Orme. I am built on the Cher river in the Loire valley. I was built for Thomas bohier and his wife named Katherine Briconnet. I survived 3 wars and im still in great shape. I entertain many people who visit each year and I had many owners.

By Maksymillian Kurzak

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Rueda de la Huerta waterwheel

The waterwheel was first built in Spain thanks to Arabian farmers of Andalusia during the 8th century and at this time it was made of wood. The Arabs used it in agriculture, urban supply and public toilets.

In the middle of the 19th century with the use of iron, waterwheels were made of metal with more modern technology (this new technique started in France).

An example of this is the "Rueda de la Huerta" (wheel of the orchard), also called "Rueda de Alcantarilla". It is the first water wheel on the river Segura and it was built in the 15th century by the Cartagena Church Dean. For a time, it was used for agriculture and cattle watering. In 1890 it was improved with a reinforced metal construction.

Today the water wheel is still used to irrigate orchards and groves of fruit trees. Murcia is still known for its orchards because of its mild weather. The modern water wheel in the region is also used to transport and distribute the water to the high parts of the village, so the biggest one is still in use. Also there is a walking route where you can see several water

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wheels on the river Segura. The water wheel is still a tourist attraction because the cultural interest is still very high in the region.

This water wheel is actually in the south east of Spain in Alcantarilla (a small town in the region of Murcia) and it is a tourist attraction. It is part of the ethnographic museum of Murcia and is surrounded by a traditional orchard.

It is visited by many people. Around it you have very nice places like the sea, hotels, restaurants... and the city of Murcia is very,it is the capital of the region, so it is very nice for a weekend.

By Barry, Darragh (Ireland) Corto, Loup-Diwan (France), Manh Tuan, Patrick (Germany), Mari Carmen, Tania and Jenny (Spain)

STORIES 25. THE WHEEL OF THE ORCHARD John was on holidays in Spain, he wished he was back by the pool or the playing soccer in the Astroturf, but his parents had got bored of this and resolved they must head off in the blazing sun to amble around and look at castle ruins, walls and ‘waterwheels’ or something.

The walk was boring. The tour was boring. The waterwheels were boring.

Now even the heat was boring. ‘I need water,’ whined John, ‘You can have some later,’ ‘I need ice-cream said John,’ winged john ‘Later’ The heat started to feel stupid and dizzy; john saw the ground before he hit it.

When he woke up he hoped he would be back at the hotel but remember the waterwheels and their boringness and the heat. Somehow, he couldn’t feel the pain in his head, or the thirst, had he gone home? He opened his eyes, and there was the waterwheel standing proud and strong as before, but the tour had gone! How could they have left him! Did they even notice him passing out, surely!

Suddenly he noticed some people up on a hill, maybe they could help him?

He called out to them “hey!” They didn’t notice, he tried again and ran up toward them, “hey!” wait a minute what were they wearing? What is some 35

sort of historical re-enactment? Some of them turn towards him, they had animals with them, now being herded toward him by men dressed up in Arabian clothes. “I thought this was Spain why would there b loads of Arab, and what were they building?

John suddenly remembered he had come over here before, but there was another water wheel there, wasn’t there? This was too weird. Suddenly some of the animals started coming toward me herded by the farmers, he was going the crushed he turned and ran toward an orchard drinking from the water wheel, not being too careful, he ran into a tree. His head started to swim again, but managed to snatch at an apple before he fell.

When he woke up he found he hadn’t fell at all, but woken up from fainting in the heat, his parents fanning him and enquiring if he was OK, to which he saw his chance “ice-cream?”

“All right but why not have that in the meantime?”

To his horror he found he was holding an apple.

By Barry Geary

26. THE POTION My name is Alice and I live in Alcantarilla, a small town in the Region of Murcia, Spain. As all women in my family since the 8th century when the waterwheel was built, I have to go there to take water for our orchard and our animals in the farm. Tonight, I’m sleepy but I have to go to the waterwheel anyway.

Suddenly, I see a woman pursued by a man who wants to kidnap her and she passes beside the “Rueda de la Huerta”. While she searches for a place where she can hide, she sees a secret door at the back of the wheel. She hides in the room and she discovers that the room is an ancient laboratory.

In the laboratory there is an unfinished experiment to get a potion which controls the aging process. This woman decides to continue the experiment and she finishes it years later.

The female decides to drink the potion. While she’s drinking the mix, she perceives how her body is changing. She sees her reflection in the mirror and she sees a younger woman, the girl from ten years ago.

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She leaves the room and goes home, she is cheerful because she is now a beautiful young girl but when she arrives home and she looks at her reflection, she realises she is an old woman again. She comes back to the laboratory but a police officer stops her before she enters the secret room.

He advises her about the wheel because there lived a crazy scientist in the middle of the 19th century when it was improved with a reinforced metal construction. This man was trying to get a potion which would control aging.

The woman dodges that and enters the laboratory. Everything is spread on the floor. In the mirror there is something written: “Hi Caroline, bye Caroline”. The candles switch off and...

I wake up and I’m lying on the floor. Everything has been a nightmare and I had forgotten about the water…

By Mari Carmen Morocho, Tania Dávila and Jenny Girón.

27. HIDDEN SIDE OF THE WATER WHEEL

Hi Do you know me? No, that doesn´t surprise me. So, I'm introducing myself now: I'm a waterwheel and over 500 years old. I'm also known under the names “Rueda de la Huerta” and “Rueda de Alcantarilla”. I am standing near the River Segura which flows through the city Murcia, but I'm not the only waterwheel in this region, so I also want to tell you something about waterwheels in general.

The first waterwheels were built under the rule of the Arabs, but the task was more or less the same: I transport water to higher regions of Alcantarilla for agriculture, urban supply and for public toilets. Fortunately, this isn't my task anymore but I'm still in used to irrigating orchards and groves of fruit trees. That is why Murcia is also called "Orchard of Europe", only because of me more or less...

I will give you some more information about me. I was constructed by the Cartagena Church Dean in the 15th century and I was improved 1890 with a reinforced metal construction. Ahh, after all these years it was a wonderful feeling to get an update. Fortunately I didn’t get bombed or destroyed in the second world war, it was an awful time of war. Luckily in the first world 37

war Spain was neutral - a wise decision because the people in my region were very happy and not depressed like in the second world war and I didn´t get damaged.

During my life I also heard nice stories, for example in my childhood a guy named Christopher Columbus discovered a new continent but everyone thought it was a country in Asia and now I know that it is America! At that time, I couldn’t imagine that the world was so big. I was able to follow the whole history of Spain, for example the invasion of Napoleon, the Spanish Civil War, which hit me in the heart because it was hard to watch my people fighting against each other or how the Spanish kingdom expelled my builders. But every owner of me has treated me very well and in a friendly way.

Today you can still see and visit me. Come to Murcia as a tourist and enjoy the walking routes and the wonderful landscape and it's not too busy and expensive.

See you

By Manh Tuan and Patrick

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Torc necklace

Our stamp is the Gleninsheen Gold Gorget. It's a necklace. They appear to have been originally worn as large necklaces. There are only 11 of them known in the world. This was found by Patrick Nolan in 1932. He was hunting rabbits with his dog. The dog was chasing a rabbit and the man looked over a cavity between two of the typical rock formations for which the Burren is famous. The gorget was there. ( When Patrick found the Gleninsheen he hid it in a bush, two years later he informed a local man "Mr Gleeson" and the man realised the importance of the object and he informed the director of the antiquities of the National Museum of Irish, today the Gleninsheen Gold Gorget is in the National Museum of Ireland of Dublin.)

During the Bronze Age this new metal was used to make functional objects such as cooking pots, axes and shields. Gold was the preferred metal to make jewellery and decorative ornaments from. Unlike modern times, gold was commonly found in Ireland during the Bronze Age. The Gleninsheen gorget is a technical and artistic achievement in the Europe of its time. It was made by applying a range of techniques: chaising and raising. The discs 39

at the terminals of the collar are decorated with spiral patterns with extraordinary finesse. This kind of work can only have come from a highly evolved society with a population dense enough to support specialist artists. There is evidence that gorgets like this one may be an ultraluxurious and superfine expression of a contemporany European fashion. It is very popular in Ireland because it is good looking and it belongs to Celtic culture. They had the form of a crescent moon and were worn by local elite. It was made with bent metal (gold for gleninsheen), it represented the wealth, power and divinity.

Ireland used the Gleninsheen Gorget to commemorate the country joining the European Economic Community in 1973.

By Paula and Kaja (Germany), Emilien and Nilsen (France), Dylan (Ireland) and Felipe and Lidia (Spain)

STORIES 28. THE MYSTERIOUS TORC My surroundings were getting brighter and brighter. I heard a weird sound.

It’s like an animal. At last, I saw it. It was a dog. It barked and grabbed me with its sharp, primitive teeth and I was covered in drool. It brought me through a field and down a hill.

I fell asleep. I woke up outside a country house. There was a shadow-like figure. He was wearing dirt-covered overalls and a straw hat. He spoke in a raspy, old voice. He had an Irish accent. “Bringin’ me tat are ye?” he said.

The dog dropped me on the mud-like boggy ground. He used his dirty, wrinkled hands to pick me up. He shouted, “WE FOUND GOLD!”. He repeated the phrase, over and over again. He ran to into his house and grabbed his keys. He ran out the front door, onto his driveway. He brought me into his dust-covered 06 jeep.

He brought me to a pawn shop called Pawn Stars and ran in. he went up to the counter and said, “What can I get for this yolk?” “A TORC THAT’S WORTH MILLIONS!” the man shouted. “I’ll give it to you for 6.7 million”. “I bit small but I’ll let ya off”, the old man agreed. And so, that’s how I was brought to this dusty display on this enormous museum.

By Dylan Kenneally

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29. PETER It was said, according to Irish legends, that artifacts could have magical powers. One of these famous artifacts was the Gleninsheen collar. It was a large necklace made from gold and it was thought to have tremendous powers. Legends are rarely true and yet...

Peter was a normal boy. He didn’t have a lot of friends. He was a scrawny and shy boy, he was the boy who was chosen last for sports games. But one day his life changed. He was going back home when he saw a light in a bush.

He walked towards the bush and picked up a large golden necklace from the branches: it was the Gleninscheen collar. He put it around his neck as a joke but when the Gleninsheen collar touched his neck he had a new sensation. Suddenly he could carry a large stone of thousands kilos and he could run very fast.

The next day he wore the Gleninsheen collar for PE. When he put it, the collar adapted itself to his body so nobody could see it. As usual he was chosen last but on that day he was the best. He was the fastest at athletics.

He impressed all the boys and girls from his class. At the end of the school day he went back home but this time he wasn’t alone, he was with two other boys, his new best friends. They had a lot of adventures but it is another story. After that Peter went to a forest and hid the Gleninsheen collar in a cavity between two rocks because he didn’t need it anymore. He had friends and he wasn’t a scrawny boy anymore. He had managed to conquer his shyness.

Some years after Peter read in a newspaper that a man had found the artifact in the cavity with his dog and had given it to the National Museum of Ireland. That’s another part of Gleninsheen collar history.

By Emilien Roblot and Nilsen Rahmi

30. SOMEONE DUG ME UP Over 1000 years I had lain in the dark. Suddenly I saw a ray of light and I was very happy because I knew that my life would make sense again. Now I understood: Someone had dug me up. It was a man that had rescued me.

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He wore clothes that were very different to the ones I knew: he wore green rubber boots and grey trousers that were stuffed into his boots. He wore a linen shirt with suspenders. The unknown man wore a brown coat over his shirt. What did he want from me? Did he want to put me around his neck?

As before?

At that time I decorated the necks of many knights. I really enjoyed it. I admit: at that time I was very proud of myself. I asked myself how many of my friends have survived until now. Now this guy starts talking with an foreign accent.

Why he is talking so strangely, I can´t understand him. Not only the clothes have changed, the language also changed. He picked me up and brought me to a funny building. There was another man. I think the man who found me was named Patrick Nolan. At this moment I didn´t know what would happen to me but it had to be better than lying in the dark…

By Kaja and Paula

31. THE STORY OF THE CURSED GORGET Patrick was hunting rabbits in the Burren. They usually hide in the cavities of the typical rock formations for which the area is famous.

Patrick saw a gold gorget between the bushes. He took it home with him, googled about the object found on a web page so he left it in the middle of the wild because, after having the gorget for a week, he began to feel bad and his son died.

Tom found the gorget and told it to his sister and she told him to leave it where he had found it in case something bad happened to him, but Tom thought that it was gossip.

Some weeks later, Tom began to feel bad and he went to the doctor, who took him to hospital and the next day, he died. His sister decided to bury the gorget in a mountain in the Burren.

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Over time, a man found Gleninsheen gorget. He took it to a friend, who knew a lot about history. He told him that during the Bronze Age this new metal was used to make functional objects such as cooking pots and gorgets. He gave the object to a historian in Dublin and since then it has been shown in the National Museum of Ireland.

By Felipe MartĂ­nez and Lidia MartĂ­nez

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Lorsch Abbey

The monastery called Lorsch was founded in 764 by Robertian Cancor and his mother. Before,,this monument was a church. It was dedicated to St Pierre. Kloster Lorsch is located on the edge of "Weschnitz", a German River. The church was transformed into an abbey with a cemetery. The first and only bishop of Kloster Lorsch is Chrogegang, Cancor's nephew. Lorsch Abbey is located in Lorsch, in Hessen, in Germany, to be exact between Einhausen and Heppenheim an der Bergstrasse.

Lorsch Abbey was a Benedictine abbey in Lorsch in the southern Hessian district BergstraĂ&#x;e in Germany. It was founded in 764 and was a power, intellectual and cultural center until the high Middle Ages. In 1232 the monastery came to the archbishopric of Mainz and was pledged in 1461 to the Palatinate, which abolished the monastery in 1564. (. Important surviving testimonies are: the "Lorsch Codex" (a goods directory), the "Lorsch Evangelier", but also the "Lorschen Bienensegen", the former libraries and the gate hall of the monastery (also called "King's Hall").

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Lorsch Abbey has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1991.It is also a protected cultural asset. The Lorsch pharmacopoeia of the end of the 8th century was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Germany in 2013.

Here you can find more interesting information about the monastery called Lorsch: http://whc.unesco.org At present Lorsch Abbey is in ruins; its remains are among the most important pre-Romanesque buildings in Germany. Many tourists visit these ruins when they go to Germany. Currently upon arriving at Lorsch Abbey you can see the ruins, to know more about its past you can go through the library that had more than 300 books written by hand. The originals are mainly in Frankfurt Cathedral. And finally, you can pay a visit to the Abbey Museum where you can see models of the different stages through which it has passed, as well as the cells in which the monks lived.

This German monument allows us to have a look into the evolution of German medieval architecture. The monument represents the German architectural history evolution.

In 2014,1250 years after the abbey was founded, a large amount of the refurbishing and extension work was completed.

Despite the fact that Kloster Lorsch is in ruins, it remains the most important German monument of the late Middle Ages.

By Gedion, Harun, Emir (Germany), Luke, Rory (Ireland), Alba, Fermin (Spain), Axelle, TĂŠrence (France)

STORIES 32. THE RUINS OF LORSCH ABBEY Hello I am Lorsch Abbey. I was born in 764 and my original owners were Williswinda and her son, Grabow Cancor. After the natural death of my owner, I was given away to a relative, to be precise Archbishop Chrodegang of Merz, who at that time was the only archbishop north of the Alps and therefore only he came into question. Actually he was a very nice guy other than the son of Williswinda, who was running around in me constantly, I could not stand that. Through Chrodegang and the relics of Nazarius, a saint, I became known and my economic rise was guaranteed. In in 772 "Charlemagne" decided that Guendeland would get me and thanks to Guendeland I was given to Charlemagne and so I changed from a noble monastery to a royal monastery. As a royal monastery, I also got more highprofile visits, such as from Charlemagne or even high visitors were buried in 45

me. To be exact, I had about 20 high visits until 1090. In 951 I was reformed but in 956 this was reversed again and everything returned to its old order.

Through a few phenomena I was then passed on again in 1451 but this time to the Kurpfalz. But in 1621, my active life ended. Spanish troops took me and since then I have been used as a quarry, people using my stones for other buildings.

To be honest, I'm not happy about what I'm serving today. I would be very happy about descendants, because I always wanted to have children, well, I hope that maybe it will come at some point.

By Gedion, Harun and Emir

33. AN AFTERNOON WITH FRIENDS In the year 1125, a young group of five friends, Hans, Felix, Ludwig, Jonas and Tobias, were wandering around Lorsch village aimlessly with bottles of wine. The youngsters were making a lot of noise but they didn’t care.

Completely drunk, they decided go and discover Lorsch abbey. As they arrived in front of the facade, they heard a strange noise. Felix turned his head in the direction of the sound and he noticed that the bushes were moving. He shouted panicked: “Jonas! Tobias! Where are you guys? It’s not funny!”

“What’s the matter with you?” asked Ludwig. “Stop it!”

“I heard a sound...and...and Jonas and Tobias are missing!” said Felix with fear.

Hans and Ludwig looked around them and tried to find their friends. It was completely dark. But indeed, the two boys had disappeared. Felix was terrified. Looking at Hans and Ludwig, they considered the situation. They told themselves that Jonas and Tobias were simply scared and had then decided to leave.

“You are a wimp! If you are afraid,go home!”, said Hans.

“No…,I am not scared…” answered Felix. And then he moved on…

They entered the building with torches. As they walked in , the door suddenly slammed upon them and the boys were locked inside. They didn’t have a choice, they had to carry on. Ludwig suggested that the boys split up 46

and try to find an exit. Ludwig and Hans left first, Ludwig went to the right and Hans searched on the left for an exit. Felix was now all alone. He walked straight on. The corridor was very dark, the only light was of his torch. Felix moved slowly for ten minutes, when he saw a light. Felix was startled, and started to run. He ran as as fast as he could. Then he saw a door, and opened it. He stopped and observed the room. The room was huge, there were a lot of books. The library was magnificent, he had never seen so many books in his life. He wandered around the bookshelves, opened some books and tried to imagine what was written but he couldn’t read. Then, he heard a noise and he noticed a black shadow...

From where they were Hans and Ludwig heard a huge shout. They recognized Felix’s voice. They went back to see what had happened and nothing. He had disappeared too. Hans and Ludwig started to ask themselves questions. They searched for their friends all over in Kloster when suddenly they heard people talking. They entered a room and they saw all their friends in the center of the room surrounded by monks. The monks in their white robes were reciting a latin prayer. Felix, Jonas and Tobias were singing with them. Hans and Ludwig didn't understand the situation.

Hans backed off when a monk approached him asking him to sing with them. Completely scared Hans started to run and he banged his head against a wall…

“Let’s continue the visit. Kloster Lorsch is a monument classified UNESCO world heritage site”, said the guide.

Hans looked around him. His friends were laughing “Hey, wake up! Let’s move on”. And Hans and his friends continued the visit.

By Térence Rival and Axelle Vandenbrouck

34. THE ADVENTURES OF CLOISTER LORSCH One day, when Kloster lorsch was just a young brick, basking in the sun on the edge of Weschnitz, his parents Klustar Larchu and Klestir Lirche were gone getting ice cream. The convent called Lorsch was founded in 764 by Robertian Cancor and his mother. Lorsch Abbey is located in Lorsch, in Hessen, in Germany. Suddenly he heard a *Boom* and a *Bang* and a 47

*Ziiip* and was terrified. He hid in some nearby bushes. He peered out and saw FRICKEN LAZER SHARKS gnawing on their supports and foundations.

“Oh No!” he exclaimed. “My parents!”. He cried and cried cement all over the place, until he was completely closed off from the outside world. The sunlight could not penetrate the concrete and that is why Kloster Lorche is a small building. The church was transformed into an abbey with a cemetery. Despite the fact that Kloster Lorsch is in ruins, it remains the most important German monument of the late Middle Ages.

By Rory McConville and Luke Carey

35. THE LEGEND OF LORSCH ABBEY According to legend, three Templar knights went to Einhausen, a town near Lorsch. When night came, they needed stop to eat and sleep. They saw a monastery and decided to go there. They knocked but nobody answered, so they went in. Inside there were lots of fruit, meat, fish, and all types of food, and they began eating.

Cancor was the founder of the monastery in the 8th century. He went to the river Weschnitz to go fishing. When he returned to his monastery and saw the door opened he was frightened. He saw the three men eating and was waiting for a while so that they had gone to sleep.

When they were sleeping Cancor killed all of them and threw their bodies to the river. Just a few weeks later, he could not stop hearing the voices of the dead men, so finally he killed himself.

Many years later, when the monastery became part of the archbishopric of Mainz the priests were afraid when they heard the voices, they thought that the voices came from the devil. Finally they left that place.

At present Lorsch Abbey is in ruins, but the voices are still being heard.

By Alba Paredes and Fermín Piña

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Musée d’Orsay

The Museé d'Orsay is a national museum located in Paris, on the left Bank of the Seine River, in the VII district. In it we can see the art of the western world from 1848 to 1914: painting, sculpture, architecture, etc. It has one of the greatest collection of the Impressionist works of art.

It is located in the old Gare d'Orsay, an old “Beaux-Arts” train station.

In 1900, Paris hosted the International Exposition for the fifth time.

The architect Victor Laloux had to build a new train station, modern but respecting the surrounding architecture. The new train station was inaugurated on the 14th July 1900. The "Gare d'Orsay" was one of the first electrified train stations in Europe. The station was also the first with a closed glass roof because there wasn't any smoke and exhaust gas from the trains.

Yet the station was quickly overtaken by technical progress: by 1939, the short platforms had become unsuitable for the longer trains and the station was gradually closed.

The transformation of the old train station into a museum was decided at the end of the 70s. There was a selection organised for the new project between six differents projects in 1979. The projects had to respect the architecture of Victor Laloux.

The new museum was inaugurated on the 9 December 1986 by François Mitterrand

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The Musée d´Orsay is a museum with the biggest collection of Impressionist art.

You can find pieces of arts by the famous artist Vincent van Gogh.

But the old sights of the Gare d´Orsay are still there like the big golden clock or the clocks on the left and the right sights. When you stand right behind the clocks you have a wonderfull view over Paris.

The museum exhibits temporary exhibitions about the 19th century, but it has a permanent display with the topic "Paris Opera" too. All in all the museum has 16.000 square meters and more than 4000 pieces of art.

Evelyn, Beatriz (Spain), Adrian, Keziah (France), Elisabeth, Luise (Germany)

STORIES 36. LIFE AND TIMES OF MUSEE D’ORSAY Lovers of Vincent Van Gogh visit me all the time. Sunflowers and lilies floating on the pond are hanging on my walls. But yet this was not the original intention of the architect who built me. Victor Laloux was to build a unique train station to house the first electric trains of Europe and so it was for a few short-lived years. People cluttered the platforms and luggage was piled up on trains and visitors travelled in high style across the cities of Europe. But it wasn’t long before the platforms were too short and the building too small.

Now left behind is a clock reminiscent of the old train station. President Mitterrand officially opened Musee D’Orsay in 1989 and it is now a magnificent art gallery. It has the appearance of the train station but is home to 4,000 paintings from the 20th C impressionist painters of France and Europe. These pointillism paintings are painted with dashes and dots and make the most wonderful paintings. I am proud of my history it makes for a simple yet interesting story.

By Maksymilian Kurzak

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37. A FANTASTIC IDEA In 1900, the new « Gare d’Orsay » was inaugurated in Paris for the universal Exhibition. Everybody was impressed by the Beaux-Arts architecture and the modernity of the train station. All these new things were incredible and the trains were electric!

But since 1939, the train station was gradually limited to the suburbs services : the platforms had become too short for the new trains.

And one day the train station had become useless.

A lot of ideas were suggested to make a better use of this fantastic spot in Paris but my idea, Eugene Dutroux, a new upcoming architect, was the best of them all : I wanted to build a new international train station, the largest in the world !

I worked on my plans for months without stopping. But one day like the others, I realized that I had only two days left to finish my plans. I panicked and in my precipitation I knocked over my cup of coffee and spilled all the coffee on my plans!

Everything was ruined and I couldn’t present my project on time anymore.

Two days later, I told the national commission that my plans weren’t ready and that they would never be ready.

The commission then decided on another project : instead of a new train station the old « Gare d’Orsay » would become a national art museum. So nobody heard ever again of Eugene Dutroux but the museum is still here and it is called the « Musée d’Orsay » !

By Adrian Sarret and Keziah Lebel

38. A DAY WITH ORSIE Hello, my name is the Musée d´Orsay!

My friends call me Orsie.

I live in Paris on 1st Rue de la Légion d´Honneur. That is on the left bank on the Seine river.

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Before I was changed into a museum, I was a train station, the Gare d`Orsay.

The train station was built in 1900. In 1897 3 architects made a design for creating me.

On 14th July, 1900 I was opened. I was very excited, because so many people would come to see me.

Inside I was very modern, because there were sloping ways, lifts for luggage and 16 lines.

The main hall was 32 meters high and 40 meters wide. Next to the main hall there was an 138 meter entrance hall.

In my younger days I was even used as a hotel.

In 1939 the government of the railroad traffic took me off the railroad.

1977 the French president Valéry Giscard d´Estaing decided to change the station into a museum. The rebuilding was managed by an architectural studio.

Finally I was opened for a second time in December 1989 as a museum.

Inside me you can find many pieces of art, for example by Vincent van Gogh.

But you can find other pieces of impressionistic art.

My body is over 16.000 square meters wide and you can find more than 4000 pieces of art.

To impress you I can tell you that in December 2005 there were over 51 million visitors. In one year more than 2.240.000 people visit me.

So come and visit me :-)

By Luise and Elisabeth

39. MYSTERY IN THE MUSEUM “Good morning I’m Meghan Mine! And today we are going to talk about...”

I don’t even want to watch TV. Today is 18th of April, my birthday, and I’m in France with my friends. As it is my birthday, today we were going to go to a very famous museum here, Orsay museum. It is in the heart of Paris, located in the old station of Orsay and the collections of the Orsay museum represent the art of the last decades.

It was the time when we were going to de museum with my friends: Lisa, Lisa’s boyfriend Santos, Ryu and Yoongi. They all try to convince me to go to the museum, and I wanted to go but I didn’t want to find some people.

-That is for Kentin, isn’t it?-Said Lisa.

-No, that guy isn’t worth it- I Said.

-Then, let’s go! -Said Ryu, forcing me out of the hotel room.

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When we were out, Yoongi said that we should hurry because he wanted to go to see the exhibition of “Wild Souls”, I think he just wanted to go because the paintings in this exhibition were super colourful and I love the colours, because he didn’t like colours apart from black or white.

When we were on our way to the museum we found Kentin, my exboyfriend, with his new friend, Melany. I didn’t want to talk to him so I walked in the opposite way, but Kentin saw us and came with us. He said “hi” to Santos because they have been friends for a long time. I only walked to the museum.

We arrived at the exhibition and there were a lot of colourful paintings, they were distributed in a lot of rooms. Lisa and I saw Melany too far from the group and behind her there was a strange shade.

Then I heard a scream. I asked Lisa if she had heard the scream and she said “Yes”. Kentin asked me about Melany but I don’t know where she was.

The next day, Kentin called me and he asked about Melany again, I said “I don’t know anything”. I said that to Lisa and, because we used to visit the museum, we were very curious and we decided to go to again.

When we arrived at the room of the exhibition, the room was empty, only Lisa and me were in that room, We decided to take different ways to find something weird. After a while, I saw the shade in the other side of the room and I called Lisa.

-Lisa!

-Lisa?

She didn’t answer so I went to find she, but...

Aaaaaaaaaaargh!

By Evelyn Garcia and Beatriz Garcia

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Museo ARQUA

The National Museum of Underwater Archaeology, ARQUA, located next to the sea in the port of Cartagena, gives visitors the opportunity to take a journey through history as it shows the different cultures that have populated the Mediterranean. The name ARQUA derives for the fusion of the Latin words Archeaelogia and Aqua. It is the institution responsible for studying the archaeological remains of the seabed.

The museum was inaugurated in 2008. In 2001, the construction of a new headquarters was approved for the museum in Cartagena. This was completed in 2007 From the beginning of 2007 until the end of 2008 the museum was closed for displacement work of the new building, which was inaugurated on November 26 2008 after several delays.

The Spanish underwater world is split into two sections. The first is called "underwater cultural heritage", it's on the description of the methodology used in underwater excavation and distinguished by the exposition of a replica of one of the boats of the Phoenician era discovered in Marrazon.

The second section called "Mare Hibericum", invites us to discover the Iberian Peninsula through the historical and commercial dynamics of antiquity.

The ARQUA Museum is a very modern building and the most important museum in underwater archaeology in Spain. It is the institution in charge of studying, valuing, investigating, preserving, disseminating and protecting the Spanish underwater cultural heritage. It is also home to the Permanent Observatory for the National Plan for the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage.

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The building is the work of the prestigious architect Guillermo VázquezConsuegra and it is on the dock of Alfonso XII in Cartagena. It preserves numerous archaeological remains found in the Mediterranean and other seas since the Phoenician period until the nineteenth century, being the permanent headquarters of the treasure of the frigate of “Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes”, which sank in the 19th century.

By Adam, Camille (France), Bea, Laura (Germany), David, Jacob (Ireland), Pablo and Paula (Spain)

STORIES 40. THE TREASURE One day an archaeologist discovered that there was a treasure hidden in a Greek amphora at the ARQUA museum. But, there was so many amphoras there, he didn’t know where it was exactly. He had worked with another archaeologist before, it was a colleague, she was called Caroline. He knew that Caroline had done some research about the ARQUA museum artifacts.

So Mike decided to steal her research. Once he had done it he knew that there was old map on which he could see where the treasure was. This map was exposed at the ARQUA museum, in the naval battle part of the museum. One month after, he stole the old map. He was in naval battle area, in front of a Greek amphora. It was very old and damaged. But he couldn’t find the treasure. He searched on the map, everywhere, in every object: in jars, in small boat replicas...i but he couldn’t find anything. All of a sudden, he thought about looking into the Greek amphora, deep at the bottom. He saw a letter. He opened it, and read «If you are looking for the treasure, I have it. It is very beautiful. Next time do not steal Mike, and, see you».

When Mike read it, he was furious, he broke five or six jars, he broke the boats replicas and he also broke the Greek amphora.

Later Mike started looking for another treasure. But now he knew that he should not steal the treasure of other archaeologists.

By Camille Roches, Adam Yadjel, Yassine Chenine

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41. ARQUA MUSEUM Hello I am a fish from the Atlantic sea and the scuba divers took me without my permission. I thought they were going to kill me I was so scared. But I am now in a huge tank with many different fish all different kinds. They named me fish 601243. I miss my family very much but the museum is so cool it makes up for it. I was in the sea for one year and I was here for two years so it is like home. I am treated very well here and I see different kinds of people. I have a lot of friends here my best friend is Jim he is a clown fish you could say he is a clown alright. One of the fish in the tank passed away yesterday the mood in the tank is not good everyone is depressed he was one of the leaders of the fishes. It hit Jim hard as it was Jims grandad.

By David McCarthy

42. THE TREASURE OF “OUR LADY OF MERCY” Hello, I am the cat Ramón and I live in ARQUA and today I am going to tell you the story of Our Lady of Mercy.

This is the story of how Graham Moore, on October 5th 1804, captured the Spanish flotilla commanded by brigadier Bustamante, in time of peace.

They were returning to the Iberian peninsula from Lima and Buenos Aires.

Our Lady of Mercy was a frigate belonging to the Spanish Navy, which was launched in the port of Havana in 1786 and was part of the convoy that covered the commercial route between the colonies of America and Spain, frequently threatened by ships of the United Kingdom. In 1804, and despite the fact that they were times of peace between the two nations, the Battle of Santa Maria took place, which would result in the collapse of the frigate Our Lady of Mercy , commanded by Commander José Manuel de Goicoa and Labart, and at that time accompanied by the ships Medea, Fama and Santa Clara, under the command of the brigadier and Spanish politician José de Bustamante y Guerra. There was confrontation with the British Navy ships sent by Graham Moore. Finally, after a battle with cannon fire the frigate Our Lady of Mercy sinks and Graham Moore captured the Spanish flotilla commanded by Bustamante. This is one story told by Graham Moore captain of the British fleet.

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Nowadays the treasure of Our Lady of Mercy can be seen in the National Museum of Underwater Archaeology, ARQUA, located in Cartagena.

By Pablo Moreno and Paula Plata

43. THE LIFE STORY OF THE ARQUA My full name is Museo Nacional de Arqueologia Subacuatica. But everybody calls me Arqua. I was born in 2008. So I´m 10 years old.

You can come visit me on Sunday from 10 am till 3 pm , on Saturday , Tuesday Wednesday , Thursday and Friday from 10 am till 9 pm and on Monday you can´t visit me , because I sleep the whole day.

I am responsible for studying , treasures, investigating, preservation, spreading and protection of the Spanish cultural underwater inheritance .

But every night something happens in myself. Everything becomes alive. So I must pay attention that nothing goes out. I should lose nothing. Otherwise there are consequences . In my life I have already had 6 directors . Ivan Negueruela is the last one and he is also my director at the moment . The last 5 directors were really unfriendly. They didn´t like it when it became night and all exhibits became alive. So they went away . But Ivan is very nice , because he comes every night and speaks with the living things. So I am happy to have such a good director now. Every day a lot of people come and I make them happy with what I can show them. So I think I am the happiest building on earth.

By Laura and Beatrix

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Ploughing championship

The National Ploughing Championships is an outdoor agricultural show in Ireland. Held every September, it draws over 1500 exhibitors and achieves attendances of over 200,000. Since the first Irish inter-county ploughing contest, the National Ploughing Championships has expanded to over 800 acres with 1,700 exhibitors and it has also been extended beyond ploughing, farming or machinery enthusiasts, to how featuring attractions such as a tended trade village, live entertainment, music and dancing, fashion shows, craft village, live cooking demonstrations, celebrity appearances, sheep dog trials, pony games and welly throwing. In 2014 the event attracted a record 279,000 visitors, 281,000 in 2015, 283,000 in 2016 and 291,500 in 2017.

The first competition was in 1931, because of two friends, named Denis Allen of Gorey and JJ Bergin of Athy, who had a battle to seewhose ploughmen were the best. Each one said theirs was the best. This resulted in a challenge being called for. On Monday 16th Febuary, 1931, the first National Ploughing contest took place in Mr. Wiks field at Coursetown. Since then this competition has grown year after year. This happened because they wanted to bring the message of good ploughing to all parts of the country and to provide a pleasant and friendly place to meet and to do business.

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The Ploughing Championships are held annually. In Tullamore in Co.Offaly Ireland It was attended by 291,500 over 3 days in 2017. At the ploughing championships there is many competions to do with Ploughing. There are many different types of ploughing such as by horse and by Tractor. When you go to the ploughing Championships you don't really ever go to see ploughing you go as there are over 500 stalls selling various items such as Hurleys, Sliotars, clothes and Food. The ploughing Championships are held in fields meaning when it rains it becomes very mucky and puddles of water will appear as deep as your hips. There is no shelter so when it rains you get absolutely soaked from head to foot. The Ploughing Championships is Europe's largest outdoor event.

The National ploughing championships is the first ploughing competition in the world. It's one the biggest outdoor festival in Europe .The festival is organized by volunteers. It values team work and hounours rural traditions in Ireland .The participants and audience are more numerous every year .It shows Irish people's pride in their agricultural tradition.

The first stamp features Eamonn Tracey from Carlow, who has won seven consecutive national ploughing titles and two back-to-back world titles. On the second stamp you can see the traditional horse drawn ploughing represented by Kildare ploughman, Godfrey Worrell and his son, Darren, with their Irish draught plough horses, Sally and Larry

By Darragh (Ireland), Rudy and Junior (France), Tania and Yanneke (Spain) and Lale and Henrietta (Germany)

STORIES 44. THE HYBRID Hi, my name is Mike Lockwood and I’m 16 years old. This year, I’m going to participate in the National Ploughing Championships like all the males in my family.

Right now, I’m getting ready for the first ploughing competition with my horse Lightning. I’m very nervous.

(3,2,1,boom) The contest has begun. All the other participants take the lead, but I stay behind.

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I lost the race, I’m so disappointed. In the evening, I decide to walk around the green fields of Tullamore. At night, I go back to the stables to get ready for tomorrow. When I arrive, I find Lightning lying on the ground. He was bled out. I run outside to ask for help, but suddenly I hear a sound and I turn around. In front of me there is a blond girl with blood on her face.

She tells me: “I win, what’s my price?” She jumps on me and bites me.

The next morning, I wake up and the girl from last night is in front of me.

“We haven’t officially met. I’m Veronica”, she whispers into my ear.

I feel very hungry and Veronica gives me a blood bag. I’m very confused.

Veronica explains to me that she is a vampire and that last night she turned me. She also tells me that while biting me, she tasted something weird in my blood, so I told her a secret that nobody knows about me.

This might sound crazy but, my family always told me that our lineage comes from werewolves. The reason that I didn’t turn into one is because I have never killed anyone. Veronica tells me that that means that I’m a hybrid. Half vampire, half werewolf. I’m so confused about all of this!

Today is the third day of the competition and I decide to participate with another horse. This time, the one who takes the lead is me and the others stay behind. I can’t believe that I won. Everybody picks me up and throws me in the air.

It’s midnight. There’s a full moon. The dogs participating in the sheep dog trials are barking when I walk by. A girl is walking close to where I am...

By Tania Dávila and Yanneke Philips.

45. THE LIFE OF HARRY, THE PLOUGH My name is Harry and I’m a plough. I was built in October 2014 in Munich, Germany. In my first years I did a really good ploughing job but my first farmer Bob was very stupid, I didn’t like him, so I was bitchy because he treated me not well. So one day I decided to stop working when he was 60

sitting on me. The farmer had to spend lot of money for the repairs and so he sold me to another farmer in Ireland. His name was Sam, he had a little son named Tom and his whole family was quite nice. I loved my new home and the farm in Tullamore. I worked as well as I had never worked before and everyone was very happy to have a plough like me. So they booked me into the ploughing championship and I was excited to take part in this competition. I wanted to make my new „family“ proud of my work so I hoped I was going to win.

Then the day of the ploughing championship came and I was so excited because every other plough was more beautiful and newer than me. But before it started, my family said that I could do this and that I would win. So when it started I had 1 hour to plough as much I could. I thought of my old bad farmer and my new family and I wanted to make my new family happy and proud of me. Therefore, I had so much energy that I really won this ploughing championship.

Now my name and the names of Sam’s family will go into the history of Ireland.

By Lale and Henriette

46. THE PLOUGHING CHAMPIONSHIP Lale, Dylan and Tania are going to the ploughing Championships today. It is the second day of the championships and they are very excited to go buy new hurleys.

They all meet outside St.Colmans College at 7 o’ clock. They had to get ready for the long trip up to Tullamore in Co. Offaly. Dylan arrived late as usual and he had his usual excuse “My alarm never went off” So eventually at 7:15am they began the long 3 hour journey to The Ploughing Championships. Tania’s Mam was driving them. As soon as they got off the motorway in Thurles they began to meet the other masses of people going to the Ploughing Championships. They were still an hour and a half away and that was without traffic!!

When they eventually got to Tullamore at 11am the place was thronged with people. When they got through the mad rush of people trying to get in 61

they went straight to the Canning Hurleys stand. There were tons of people there and when Lale managed to squeeze her way to the front she bought a hurley. Tania and Dylan weren’t so lucky and didn’t manage to squeeze their way to the front so had to keep looking. Lale was so happy about her new Hurley and kept boasting about it. Dylan was not impressed as he really wanted to get a hurley.

At 3 O’ Clock Lale and Tania went to go look for jerseys. Dylan didn’t want to go with them as he had a better idea. Dylan snuck around to the back of the Canning Hurley stand and picked up 3 size 29” Hurleys. Then he ran the people at the Canning Hurley stand called the Gardaí. There wasn’t just one Garda there were two Ngardaí. They ran after Dylan and it had been raining and Dylan slipped and fell into a big muddy puddle. The Gardaí ran up to Dylan and handcuffed Dylan.

Dylan became the first person ever to get arrested at the biggest agricultural event in Europe and he went to a juvenile prison for 2 weeks.

Meanwhile Lale and Tania got very nice jerseys and everyone back in Fermoy were very jealous

By Darragh Galvin

47. TWO FRIENDS One day, my best friend and I were at a pub in my village enjoying our beer, talking about everything and nothing. After a while we started talking about agriculture, both of us were from farmers’families. Our parents had been farmers for generations, for centuries. A quarter of an hour later we were arguing over the best method to plow the fields. Our families had totally different ways of working the land. My family used to plow the land by hand, the old-fashioned way with homemade tools and his family used the latest technologies like machines. A friend of ours was passing by and he saw us arguing. He hurried to come and see us, wondering why we were arguing.

Each of us explained why we were quarrelling and tried to defend our points of view. He paused for a moment then told us as if it was obvious:

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« Organize a plowing contest, take the elders from your villages and counties to judge the results and everything will be settled for good! » Two weeks later the contest was organized. We competed, we did our best and it ended …in a draw ! But we had so much fun that every year we started again.

By Rudy Dos Reis and Junior Jean-Risme

The end.

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Wilhelmsgymnasium, Kassel (Germany)

St. Colman’s College, Fermoy (Ireland)

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Collège Condorcet, Maisons-Alfort Paris (France)

IES Felipe Segundo, MazarrĂłn (Spain) 65

Stamp Stories (2018) European Year of Cultural Heritage Participating schools:

Collège Condorcet, Maisons-Alfort Paris (France) Wilhelmsgymnasium, Kassel (Germany) St. Colman’s College, Fermoy (Ireland) IES Felipe Segundo, Mazarrón (Spain)

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