CROSSROADS Language StudioÊs Newsletter, April 2010

An ancient English tradition is observed
every year on the Thursday before Easter:
the Maundy ceremony. Commemorating
the Last Supper of Jesus Christ, themonarch (at present, Queen Elizabeth II)
presents special
coins
todeserving
senior citizens(onewomanand one manfor every yearofthemonarch’s age).
Until
theThe Queen handing out Maundy money
reign of James
II (1633–1701) the monarch washed thefeet of the selected poor people in memoryof Jesus’ washing of the feet of his
disciples at the Last Supper. Theceremony dates back to at least the reignof Edward I (1239-1307), possibly as earlyas AD600.
The amount of money given out is one
penny for every year of the monarch’s age.
Since 1822, special Maunday coins - 1, 2, 3
and 4 penny pieces –have been minted.
Before then, ordinarycoins were distributed.
The monarch’s headappears on one side of
the coins but the designof the reverse side hasremainedalmostunchanged since 1822.
The coins are made ofsterling silver (92.5%silver).

George III Maundy money (1818)

In 1971, British currency wasdecimalised. The old system of 240 pence tothe pound was replaced by one where one
pound equals 100 pence. The Maunday
coins changed from being worth 1, 2, 3 and4 old pence to their respective value in newpence – 2.4 times their original value. Thisis only their ‘face value’, however. Although
they are ‘legal tender’, that is, they can beused to buy things just as normal coinscan, it is unlikely you will find one in yourchange when on holiday in Britain as they
are too collectible. And probably it would
only be a coin collecting-cashier who would
accept such coins, especially those dated
before 1971 (when the old currency becameobsolute).
In 2002, to commemorate the Queen’s
Golden Jubilee, a special set of gold
Maunday coins were minted. Fortunately,
Maunday Thursday in that year did not
fall on April 1st as it does this year (on thisday - April Fools’ day - English people playpractical jokes on each other) otherwise theQueen may have been tempted to hand out
coins made of Fool’s Gold (the mineral, ironpyrite, which lends truth to the expression‘all that glitters is not gold’)…

Article by Jonathan
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NET SITE OF THE MONTH:
Here’s some info on Maundy Money: www.coinnews.net/
2010/04/01/ queen-hands-out-maundy-money-in-royal service/
NET NOTEBOOK: Don’t forget to take a look at theInternet activity notebook in our open-house. You’ll
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Joshua Says: Yet, another great Performance Night last month!
Our two groups just keep getting better and better. Congratulations
to all of our “actors”, and especially to In(B)1’s Masa and Nozomi
who had to carry the show on their own this term – talk about, “theshow must go on!” In(A)1? Well, we don’t know how you manage it,but, you just keep getting better each term. Great job, everyone!

Junko Says: I would like to add a special thanks to Jonathan for performingon the guitar at last term’s Performance Night. All in all, the night turned out tobe one of the best we have had here in our Okaido home. The new “stage” andOpen House worked out better than the old format and it showed; theperformances were really good this time. Even the party after was more fun thanusual. Thanks to everyone who came along, performers, audience and teachers.

Jonathan Says: In England people will be running for cover this month:
the frequent rain, usually short-lived has given rise to the expression‘April Showers’. In fact, rain can come at any time of year in England. It
seems particularly common during the Wimbledon fortnight whenanother expression - ‘Rain Stopped Play’ – is often heard to the dismay oftennis-lovers everywhere. I’m surprised to find Matsuyama is also rainy,and cold. I expected this in June but in spring? Just like England…

Greg Says: It is amazing how quickly the first few months zip by sofast in Japan. It seems like only yesterday it was January and now,here we are in April! The last two weeks flew by for me because I
was the designated driver taking my daughter to her junior golf
tournaments. Over 14 days she played 11 times in 4 prefectures. I
don’t know who is more tied; her from playing or me from driving!!!

Kevin Dit: Le printemps est enfin arrivé ! Apres un mois de mars froid et pluvieux,avril s'annonce radieux ! D'ailleurs, les fleurs de cerisiers ont fait leur apparition ! Etesvous allés voir les fleurs avec votre famille ou vos amis ? J'aime beaucoup ce moment
de l'année au Japon, tout le monde se réunit sous les cerisiers et l'ambiance est
toujours très agréable ! "Au ciel s'en vont / les pétales des cerisiers / d'une seuleenvolée" disait Suyu Takano. Et oui, les fleurs de cerisiers seront bientot tombées, et ilfaudra attendre une année encore, avant de pouvoir les observer a nouveau.

The audience was in good
form too! Latter it was
Karaoke and, Party Time!!

As a special treat, we
had a guitar recital byJonathan
In(B)1’s Masa andNozomi performing,“The Man Who Sang”

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In(A)1 – Setsuko, Miho,Marie, Kaori and Mayumi- gave us “Aladdin”

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