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Neil McTaggart’s Crossing (9): A Story of 1920s Scottish Emigration to Canada (Podcast 1125)
Episode 9: The Town
The frost had lifted a little by the time Robert said,
“You’d best come with me to town today, lad.”
Neil was glad to go. The farm had begun to feel heavy with silence.
They loaded the cart with eggs, a sack of oats, and a few jars of honey that Robert traded each month. The horse stamped in the cold, eager to move.
The road wound along the river, then climbed through a line of dark spruce. The air smelled of woodsmoke and frozen earth. Neil’s breath came out in small clouds. For a long time, neither of them spoke, the only sounds the creak of the wheels and the soft jangle of the harness.
“You’ll see a fair bit of the world in town,” Robert said at last. “Don’t stare too much. Folk don’t like that.”
“I won’t,” Neil said. But his eyes were already full of curiosity.
They reached the edge of town just before noon. The place seemed to grow out of the snow itself , rows of wooden buildings with wide porches, a few tall chimneys, and a church steeple rising like a finger against the sky.
To Neil, it felt both strange and familiar.
It had the bustle of Kilbirnie, but not its roar. Here the air was clean, though heavy with the smell of horses, leather, and coffee.
Robert pulled the cart to a stop outside the general store. “I’ll see to the grain,” he said. “You take the eggs to Mrs Brant. She runs the café two doors down. She’ll know what to pay.”
Neil lifted the crate carefully and crossed the street. His boots sank into the thawing mud, and he could feel the chill seeping through the soles.
The café was warm inside. Steam fogged the windows, and the smell of soup and bread wrapped around him like a blanket. Behind the counter stood a woman with her hair pulled tight and pinned high, a few silver strands escaping near her temples. She wore a dark dress buttoned to the throat, an apron starched so stiff it almost shone.
There was something of the old country about her , upright, exact, not unkind but certain of herself. Her face had that firm, set look Neil remembered from his grandmother, who had kept the Sabbath as if it were a wall around the week. He could almost hear her voice again: “Keep your back straight, boy, and your words few.”
“You must be Robert’s nephew,” the woman said. Her voice carried no softness, yet it wasn’t harsh either , just clear, like clean glass. “The one from Scotland.”
Neil nodded. “Yes, ma’am. From Kilbirnie.”
“Well, set those eggs down before your fingers freeze.” She came forward and lifted the crate with quick, practiced hands, counting each egg under her breath. When she finished, she handed him a few coins. “Fair trade,” she said. “Tell your uncle I’ll take another dozen next week.”
Neil stood there, awkward, not sure if he should go.
She studied him a moment, then nodded toward a stool near the stove. “Sit a bit. I can see the cold’s bitten you.”
He obeyed. The warmth crept slowly into his hands. She poured coffee into a tin mug and slid it across the counter.
“There,” she said. “That’ll set you right.”
The drink was bitter but strong. Neil swallowed carefully. “Thank you.”
“You miss home?” she asked, turning back to her work.
Neil thought about it. “Aye. But it’s different here. Quieter. Back home, the air was thick , you could hardly breathe it. The mills never stopped. You’d wake to the whistle and go to sleep to it. Everything clattered and shouted. Even the rain sounded tired.”
Mrs Brant gave a small smile. “You’ll get used to the quiet. It’s not emptiness , it’s space. Most folk don’t know what to do with it when they first come.”
Neil looked around. Two loggers were sitting near the stove, their coats steaming. They were laughing over something small, the kind of easy laughter he hadn’t heard since leaving Scotland. A man at the corner table was reading aloud from a newspaper to another who couldn’t, the words rolling like slow waves. He recognised one of them as the person who offered him a sandwich on the train when he first arrived, but no sooner had he seen him and he was gone. Neil remembered that, that act of kindness of sharing food lived on, long after he had ever met the person concerned.
Mrs Brant moved among them without fuss. She spoke little but saw everything, who needed a refill, who was short of coins, who’d had too much to drink the night before. There was discipline in her kindness, a puritan shape to it. Neil admired that; it reminded him of the women who had kept his family alive through winters when the men’s wages ran out.
When Robert came in later, he found Neil still sitting by the stove.
“Done your trade?”
“Aye,” Neil said. “She paid fair.”
Mrs Brant looked up from wiping a table. “He’s a polite one, your nephew. Doesn’t say more than he needs to.”
Robert smiled faintly. “That’ll do him no harm.”
As they left, she nodded once, the same brisk motion as before. “You tell your uncle those eggs are a blessing. Hard to find hens that lay so well this time of year.”
Neil touched the brim of his cap. “Aye, ma’am.”
Outside, the sun was already low. They loaded the supplies into the cart, and Neil climbed up beside Robert. As they left the town behind, he looked back once. The café’s windows glowed faintly, steam still misting the glass.
“Does it ever feel lonely here?” he asked.
Robert flicked the reins. “Sometimes. But not as much as you’d think. The land’s quiet, aye, but it listens. You’ll see.”
They rode on. The snow began to fall again, slow, round flakes that softened everything they touched. Neil pulled his collar up and watched the trees pass. He thought of Kilbirnie’s black roofs, the hiss of steam, and his grandmother’s voice calling him to wash his hands before supper.
Here, the only sound was the creak of the wagon and the steady rhythm of the horse’s hooves.
When they reached home, Thomas was waiting by the stove. “You bring tea?” he asked.
Robert nodded and set down the parcel. “And a bit of talk from town.”
“Anything worth hearing?” Thomas asked.
“Not much,” Robert said. “Just folk working, eating, and getting older.”
Neil smiled faintly. It sounded peaceful, and for now, that was enough.
That night, lying in bed, he thought again of Mrs Brant, the tight hair, the upright posture, the eyes that missed nothing. She had reminded him of strength that didn’t need noise, the kind that held families together when everything else failed.
And for the first time since leaving home, he felt not a stranger, but someone beginning to belong.
1121 Peel Tower, Lochwinnoch, Scotland (with transcript)
Hi everyone, welcome again to another Teacher Joseph podcast.
Today I’m in a Scottish village called Lochwinnoch and you can see here around me there’s a beautiful lake with some birds and some mountains. It’s very tranquil.
Tranquil is a great word to describe this and the lake extends to behind me. Yes, it’s a lovely area. And right here to my left is Peel Castle and these are the remains of an ancient castle that stood here.
Now, when I was a boy, my parents lived here. I spent the first few years of my life in this village and this castle was rumoured…… It was spoken about…… but no one could get to it because the lake, the loch as it’s called, was much higher and this thing was completely submerged in the water.
These days, they’ve built a nature park around here. And they’ve made access to this castle. Now, you can’t go in it because it’s quite dangerous, of course. You have to stand on the board here but you can see it’s an ancient castle and when I was a little boy growing up, there were a lot of rumours about this castle. You couldn’t get to it unless you had a boat. And even then, You couldn’t get anywhere near it because it was completely submerged and overgrown. Just the top parts used to stick out from the water and the rumours were about the man who lived here. They said that he was a warlock, a male witch.
I’m not sure where that came from, probably because he lived here during the great witch trials of Scotland. His name was Lord Ringan Semple. I think his actual name was David. I’ll need to check on that and his family owned this whole estate, the great Lord Semple. It was one of his descendants that lived here.
The family used this place as a defence during some of the wars they had, and latterly they say it’s was occupied by Ringan Semple. There’s still a lot of references to him around this village of Lochwinnoch. I’ll put it in the notes so you can see it. I know that there’s gates to the estate way up at the top there, referred to as the Warlock Gates. They’re still called that today and there’s other references as well around the village to the family.
In fact, this lake, known locally as a loch in the Scottish dialect, is known as the Castle Semple Loch. And of course, the word Lochwinnoch is the lake of Winnoch. who supposedly was the saint who founded this town. So it’s beautiful to finally see this. When I was a boy, I remember my parents talking a lot about this place, but there was no way you could get to it. It was submerged. So it’s amazing being here today, of course, covered in health and safety notices, telling you not to go anywhere near it.
And let’s have a look and see what we can learn about the Peel Tower. Well, it says here, let’s see, What can you see and what is it? The Peel of Lochwinnoch is a ruin with a bloody history dating back to the 16th century, when the Peel landscape….. while the Peel landscape has changed over the years, the tower has remained a stoic fortress overlooking Castle Semple and Aird Meadow Lochs. Yes, because there’s two of them. There’s another one further down. Today, the tower is a ruin echoing the foundations of an impressive fortress built by a man with a controversial legacy, Lord Robert Semple.
Yeah, so he was the first one. And there’s gun holes….. window ornaments….. The building plan, a carved wall, lots of things here. And it says, as I recall, For years, the Peel Tower of Lochwinnoch was hidden and difficult to interpret in its ruined, overgrown state. Work was undertaken in 2022 to clear and consolidate the tower. Some original features of the tower were highlighted, becoming visible to visitors and revealing its splendor.
There’s a timeline there, lots of additional information if you’re interested and behind me, you’ll probably hear the railway. Well, that wasn’t there, certainly, when the semples were here. And the one that was the warlock, rRngan sample, I’ll need to have a look through my history books to find out more about him again. I think he was known as Ringan. I’m sure his name was David. I’ll have to check on that. And there we are, a beautiful old fortress from the 16th century.
Well, that’s it from me. See you all…. Bye.
Neil McTaggart’s Crossing (8): A Story of 1920s Scottish Emigration to Canada (Podcast 1117)
Episode 8: The Deer at the Door
The morning began with a strange sound.
It was not the stove, or the wind, or birds.
It was something heavy, bumping against the front door.
Neil McTaggart’s Crossing (6): A Story of 1920s Scottish Emigration to Canada (Podcast 1110 )
Neil McTaggart’s Crossing – Part 6: The Gaelic Church
Sunday broke with a sharper cold than the day before, a frost that glittered over every fence post and pine bough. Neil woke to the sound of voices moving quietly in the kitchen, the muted clatter of crockery, and Agnes’s low tones urging the children into their best clothes. By the time he came down, the house was alive with the preparations of Sabbath.
Continue reading “Neil McTaggart’s Crossing (6): A Story of 1920s Scottish Emigration to Canada (Podcast 1110 )”1107 Notting Hill Carnival 2025 | Easy English News Story for Students
Join me as I read a short news story about the Notting Hill Carnival 2025 in London. This is one of the UK’s biggest street festivals, celebrating Caribbean culture, music, dance, and food. This video is designed for English learners and students. You can practice listening, comprehension, and vocabulary while learning more about London’s famous summer event.
1103 At the Supermarket (Transcript)
Hi everyone and welcome again to another Teacher Joseph podcast.
Well, today I’m in the supermarket as you can probably hear from the background music.
I’m here because I want to buy some ingredients to make a delicious recipe for yoghurt chicken.
It’s a Lebanese recipe. I’m sure they call it something else, but basically it’s a chicken with yoghurt, cumin, herbs and spices and you leave the chicken in that mixture for a few hours or even a day before you cook it.
So I’m here to get Greek yoghurt. If you’re very interested in that recipe I’m actually going to record it online and make a clip when I’m cooking it, so you’ll get to see it.
And right now I’m just heading for the….the area of the supermarket which sells the yoghurt.
Oh, delicious. What’s this? Oh yeah, I need some of that…. this is extra virgin olive oil. Yeah, that doesn’t go wrong. Especially not in Arab and Mediterranean recipes. Very nice, very nice. Delicious, absolutely delicious. And I think I have everything else I need.
So olive oil and the yoghurt are the 2 main things which I’m searching for today and I’m just on my…..
..oh, delicious. What’s this? Oh, yeah. I need some of this…. that’s…that’s a particular brand of coffee I like. Yeah. Maybe I’ll come back and get that because I don’t want to carry too much, you know, whenever I come to the supermarket, I’m…….
Oh lovely. What’s this? Oh this is the Mediterranean section. Oh a bit pricey. A little bit pricey, but still very nice. What’s this halloumi slices. Yeah. Yeah. Well. That’s cheaper than buying the actual Halloumi cheese, because the halloumi cheese here is very expensive.
What’s this? Oh, this is obviously Greek, but I don’t know what it is.(name). You see, the thing is, for a British person like me, who really knows nothing about food, I can’t even recognise these different kinds of things when I when I see them, you know? So I’m just trying to see what I want.
But anyway, I’ve stumbled across the yoghurt section. There’s the Greek yoghurt. Delicious. So let me just take that. So… so far I have two things. I have the Greek yoghurt and I have the olive oil. And they’re …they’re selling tofu in here now. Oh, well, that’s nice. I always have to go to the Chinese supermarket for that. So it’s good to know that I can now get it here. Because I don’t have to walk all the way to the….
Oh! breadsticks with sunflower seeds. Oh that sounds nice, doesn’t it? Again, I’m back in the foreign section. I shouldn’t really call it that, should I? It sounds a little bit colonial or nationalistic, but anyway, the food looks delicious. What’s this? They don’t have English names on these things. I’m sure this is sweet, isn’t it? (name). Yeah. I’ll need to Google that, but it looks delicious. I think it’s some kind of black sweets. Let me see if I can find on Google what that is.
Oh Oh delicious puff pastry biscuits with cocoa glaze. Oh, I might come back for those. I’m tempted to buy a packet of biscuits when I’m here. You know I shouldn’t. Yeah, I shouldn’t eat the sweet things, but I always do.
What’s this? Greek extra virgin olive oil. Oh, well that’s really nice that it’s Greek, but does that change anything? How much is it? It looks… it’s in a can. It looks like a can for carrying oil for the car. It’s one of these, like… tall looking cans. It’s not a bottle or a jar. It says here Greek extra virgin olive oil, Kalamata PDO. 500 millilitres. £6.49 well, that’s £1.49 more than what I’m paying for the other oil, but I’m sure it really is good. But yeah, I mean £6 over £6 for a bottle of olive oil. Yeah.
Oh Delicious. What’s this? Chewy twist? Delicious and long lasting. Oh, that looks nice, doesn’t it? It. It looks like meat of some kind. Oh, it’s for the dog. OK, well, I thought it was for humans. No, on the back, it has a big picture of a dog, but I wouldn’t have noticed that if I if I hadn’t looked closely.
Sushi mayonnaise. How would that be different from other mayonnaise, I wonder? Sushi mayonnaise. Water, sugar, soybean oil, vinegar. Thickeners, 1, 2, 3 ….. 3 E numbers, which means it’s probably very dangerous. E numbers are the additives, aren’t they? Well, lovely….
Oh delicious, raisin and nuts milk chocolate. That that sounds lovely, doesn’t it? Oh, rum raisin and nuts. Oh, well, yeah. They love their alcohol here, don’t they?
What else am I looking at? Ohh, that’s the alcohol section. Oh, that’s completely empty, of course, because in this part of the UK you can’t buy alcohol before. I think it’s 11 AM here. It is either 10 or 11? I’m not sure.. and oh the frozen section. Oh well, we all love the frozen section…. Apples strudel… delicious and strawberry gateau.
Oh, that’s lovely, isn’t it? I love the strawberry gateau, but you know, that gateau is the Spanish word for cat. So whenever I see the French word, gateau for cake. I always have a little moment of yeeuuuwwwww.
Lemon meringue pie. I don’t know if if I want that….
Oh delicious wild pink salmon fillet. That’s where they should be right next to the cheesecake, *sarcastic comment – of course they should not be there) and that doesn’t make sense, does it? Yeah. You know, we really don’t care much about food.
What’s this. Two Scottish salmon fillets, or someone put that in the wrong place. I think…. fFsh fingers. Or they look quite cheap? I could be tempted by them. I think just deep fried artificial fish. I think 2 salmon en coute(?). I don’t know what that is, but it looks delicious,
Right… What else do we have here?
Uh. Yeah, lots of things that I probably need but don’t need, you know, this supermarket puts everything all together. Neck support pillow. No, thank you. Highball whiskey glasses. Yeah, well, maybe for people who like whiskey they would buy something like that. Salt and Pepper mill set. Oh, yeah, that’s those large containers. You know that you twist the top and the salt comes from the bottom.
Multifunctional oil spray or that looks just like that Greek olive oil I saw a minute ago. Oh yeah, these are things that I probably wouldn’t….. I probably wouldn’t get…. You know, I’m not very handy with DIY. Speaking of DIY Do-it-Yourself, you know, the the kind of repairs around the house, that’s what we call it… DIY. I need to just work in the garden. I need to lay down some bark or chips to cover an area which has weeds, but I’m not quite sure how to do that yet. But…. before the summer disappears. I’m probably going to eBay and buy something because I’m not sure……
Delicious. What’s this? Oh, lovely. I’m back at the coffee. And it says here Americano instant roast and ground coffee, it’s a shiny tin, which always attracts me, but I’m not sure about the price of this stuff ….it looks a little bit pricey, doesn’t it? Barista instant coffee, it says. What’s this Americano Intense. Oh, intense. Sounds like I should be having a good time intense instant roast and ground coffee. Barista premium. I don’t know if that’s really what I want or not… I’ll have a little look. That one’s double the size. Oh, it’s got the name Nescafe. So it’s more expensive. I think this one is probably fine.
Right. So I’ll take a bit of that. Oh my goodness me. There was one there very large lady there taking everything off all of the shelves. She’s just like, pulling everything in, as I always say, it’s like watching Godzilla attacking the village. Honestly, she’s huge. Well, just keep out different way I think.
Ohh here’s stuff for the. Kids. Peppa Pig, Portable mini cooler. Inflatable fruits. Why would you want an inflatable watermelon?
Do you know I heard something the other day, Speaking of melons. I was talking to a student on Italki and we were talking about fruit and veg and she said that when she goes to the supermarket, she knows if the melons are fresh by sniffing them. Apparently this is a Sicilian way of knowing. If your melons are OK, you can sniff them to see if they’re usable and I thought, oh, that doesn’t sound very British, and apparently in Sicily they all do this. This is the older person’s way of…..
Oh What’s this? Oh, delicious. Iberico chorizo. No, wait. Spanish Iberian pork. Ohh, no, not delicious. Well, it would be for the family. They love that, but not for me. Catalan dried sausage. Why would that be covered in flour, I wonder? I don’t know. Well, I have what I want here. I have my Greek yoghurt, my olive oil and also my American coffee. So. I think that probably….
Tuna oh delicious….
You see, this is the thing when you go shopping, you end up buying all the stuff that you don’t want.
Carrot and coriander soup, but yeah, but I could make that you know, the same with bread. I mean, what’s the point of buying it when you can make it but making it takes time? I think that’s the …that’s the thing, and if I buy the biscuits, I’ll. eat them so it’s better not to take them home. Otherwise, in the evening time I’ll go searching for them. That’s that’s how it is, you know.
But anyway, OK, that’s it for me. So I hope you’ve enjoyed this. And remember to look out for the video clip which has the Arab chicken preparation.
See you. Bye.
Neil McTaggart’s Crossing (2): A Story of 1920s Scottish Emigration to Canada (Podcast 1097)
Neil McTaggart’s Crossing – Part 2: Arrival
by Joseph McTaggart
The ship groaned as it pushed into Halifax Harbour, cutting through a pale morning mist. Neil stood near the rail, coat buttoned high against the cold, his fingers wrapped around a small stone in his pocket. The stone was smooth and grey, polished by sea air and worry — a gift from his mother.
Continue reading “Neil McTaggart’s Crossing (2): A Story of 1920s Scottish Emigration to Canada (Podcast 1097)”Learn English With Me
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Neil McTaggart’s Crossing (1): A Story of 1920s Scottish Emigration to Canada (Podcast 1093)
A story of departure – Scotland, 1927
By Joseph McTaggart
Neil McTaggart stood at the harbour, hands deep in his coat pockets, watching the steamship as it groaned and shifted in the water. He was eighteen years old, broad-shouldered and sharp-eyed, with fingers that looked older than the rest of him.
His boots were worn. His suitcase was heavy. But it wasn’t just the weight of his belongings that slowed his steps. It was something harder to carry — the knowledge that he was leaving everything behind.
Continue reading “Neil McTaggart’s Crossing (1): A Story of 1920s Scottish Emigration to Canada (Podcast 1093)”Videoclips from the Netherlands
Happy Eid! A celebration full of Food.
Today I was officially adopted by a family I’ve never met.
Digitally, through Microsoft Teams and with more naan bread than I could ever emotionally process.
1075 The Sea at Blackpool Transcript
Hello everyone and welcome again to another Teacher Joseph podcast.
For the last few days I’ve been on holiday in the North of England and the sea is battering against the barrier behind me. I’m in a hotel room and I have a sea view: a view of the sea, but it’s very, very rough and I can see it hitting against the barrier, wanting to jump onto the road. Well, you may hear it behind me or at least you might hear the wind.
Continue reading “1075 The Sea at Blackpool Transcript”1073 In the Supermarket – Transcript
Hi, everyone.
Welcome again to another teacher Joseph podcast.
Well, I’ve just entered the supermarket and there the first thing that greets me is the news stand…. very depressing news, isn’t it? And no one seems happy that Britain is making deals with Europe.
Continue reading “1073 In the Supermarket – Transcript”1073 Sabrina: The Star Who Stood Still and Became a Legend
In the world of entertainment, most stars become famous by singing, acting, or dancing. Sabrina did none of those things.
She became famous by simply standing still and smiling.
In the 1950s, Britain was still recovering from war. People needed laughter, colour, and something glamorous to look at. Then along came a young woman from Stockport, England, with blonde hair, a tiny waist, and …. very large… eh, a very large personality.
Her real name was Norma Ann Sykes, but nobody remembered that. Everyone knew her as Sabrina—no last name, no explanation. Like Madonna, but curvier.
Sabrina didn’t talk much on television. In fact, she often didn’t talk at all. She became famous just by appearing on a popular show called Before Your Very Eyes with Arthur Askey. He did the jokes. Sabrina stood beside him, smiled, and looked beautiful.
And that was it.
Yet somehow, she became a national obsession.
The Blonde Who Broke the Mould
In the 1950s, people didn’t have Instagram or reality TV. They had black-and-white newspapers and magazines. Sabrina appeared in all of them. She became one of Britain’s first “pin-up girls”—women whose pictures people hung on the wall, usually in garages, bedrooms, and army bases.
She had a body like an hourglass, with measurements that seemed almost unreal. Some people joked that she was more of a sculpture than a person.
Her image was everywhere. Her name was used to sell cars, chocolates, and even vacuum cleaners. There were “Sabrina”-style bras. Men named their motorbikes after her. The Royal Air Force painted her face on the front of their planes.
She didn’t say much—but she didn’t need to. Just being Sabrina was enough.
Her silence became part of the legend. One journalist wrote, “She speaks as much on TV as a bottle of milk—but Britain can’t get enough of her.”
Attempts at Acting
Of course, being beautiful and silent has its limits.
In the late 1950s, Sabrina tried to act in films. She appeared in Blue Murder at St Trinian’s, a comedy about a crazy girls’ school. She also had roles in a few other light-hearted films.
Unfortunately, critics didn’t take her seriously. “Too glamorous,” they said. “Not enough range.” Sabrina often played herself, or a version of herself: the glamorous blonde who distracted every man in the room.
But Sabrina didn’t seem to mind. As she once said, “If people want to look at me, that’s fine. I look at myself too.”
Some fans believed she was smarter than she let on. One reporter asked her what her hobbies were. She smiled and replied, “Shopping, sleeping, and being adored.”
It wasn’t just a joke. There was a sense of self-awareness beneath the makeup and the poses. Sabrina understood fame—and how strange it could be.
Glamour, Gloss, and Quiet Confidence
Sabrina didn’t come from wealth. She had polio as a child, which affected her health for years. But she refused to be seen as weak. She trained her body, posed for glamorous photos, and taught herself how to smile like a goddess while standing still for hours.
She knew how to play the part of the blonde bombshell. But underneath the glamour, she was clever and knew exactly how to stay famous.
She also never apologised for being feminine, fashionable, or popular. At a time when women were often told to “stay quiet” or “be modest,” Sabrina stood tall—literally—and said nothing. But her silence was powerful.
People talked about her as if she were a mystery. She didn’t explain herself. And that made her even more interesting.
America, Fame, and Disappearing
In the 1960s, Sabrina moved to the United States. She wanted a fresh start and hoped Hollywood would finally take her seriously.
For a while, she lived in Beverly Hills, surrounded by swimming pools, small dogs, and mirrors. She appeared in one or two films and a few television spots. But the American film industry already had its own blonde stars, and Sabrina struggled to find her place.
Over time, she stepped away from the spotlight.
Some people said she had married a rich man. Others said she became a recluse. Her life became quiet, even mysterious. She stopped making public appearances and rarely gave interviews.
Then, in the 2000s, someone spotted her in London again—older, slower, but still recognisably Sabrina.
She passed away in 2016, at the age of 80, having lived much of her later life in privacy. No big headlines. No dramatic farewell. Just a quiet goodbye from a woman who once stopped traffic by doing absolutely nothing.
A Legacy Built on Mystery
So, what was Sabrina’s secret?
She didn’t win awards. She didn’t sing songs. She didn’t write books or play complicated characters. Yet she became a symbol of beauty and confidence in a time when the world was still black and white.
Maybe that was her magic.
Sabrina proved that sometimes, you don’t need to speak loudly to be heard. She showed that glamour could be its own kind of power. And she reminded people that it’s okay to enjoy being looked at—if you’re doing it on your own terms.
Even today, people still search for her photos online. Her image lives on in old magazines, fan clubs, jokes, and memories.
One military officer once said, “There are three things a young soldier remembers from the 1950s: the Queen, National Service, and Sabrina.”
That’s quite the legacy.
Final Thought
Sabrina once joked, “I never understood what all the fuss was about.” But deep down, she probably did.
She gave the people what they wanted—beauty, mystery, and a little bit of glamour in a grey world.
She didn’t need to do much. Just stand still, smile, and let the world come to her.
And it did.
1072 Mother Angelica – The Nun Who Wouldn’t Shut Up (Transcripción en español e inglés)
Mother Angelica was not your typical sweet, smiling nun.
She didn’t play the guitar. She didn’t talk softly. And if you crossed her, she wouldn’t pray for you—she’d probably roast you live on television.
Continue reading “1072 Mother Angelica – The Nun Who Wouldn’t Shut Up (Transcripción en español e inglés)”1071 Inside the Coffee Shop transcript
Hi everyone and welcome again to another Teacher Joseph podcast.
Well, I’m here today inside a coffee shop and it’s very, very hot outside. So I walked here and I’m taking refuge inside this coffee shop. Just to shelter from the hot, scolding sunshine. It’s kind of unusual for us to have such hot weather and to be honest, its making me feel a little bit wabbit. Wabbit is when you feel a. little bit down. A little bit kind of disorientated or dizzy and you’re on autopilot. Not functioning on all cylinders. I’ll double check in the dictionary that wabbit is there.
Alright and indeed it is. I just took a moment there. I paused our recording to check… it’s used mostly in the northern part of the UK. It’s introducing you to a Scottish / English word wabbit. It sounds like rabbit, but with a W. And it’s very common to hear people saying that.
Although the dictionary says it is actually a Scottish word. I believe it’s all over the UK. I mean, I’ve heard it in different places, people feeling a bit wabbit, but do keep in mind if you use it that it’s mainly a term from the north. Well, let me just go over what I’m doing here.
So I’m sitting drinking a cup of coffee. It is delicious and I know I shouldn’t really but I also had some doughnuts. And I know, I know, I’m supposed to avoid sugary things, but they were delicious. I mean, it was (they were…) chocolate covered and glazed…. I had to…… I had to try them. Now the thing about this coffee shop is that it’s one of these heavily automized coffee shops, which means that you do everything on the screen to order , and when you do approach the counter for service, they kind of look at you terrified. It’s like they’ve never spoken to anyone before.
It’s really funny. It’s like “Really ?? You actually wanna talk to somebody”? So the screen is where we order all of our coffees and these things. It’s one of these places which is rather grey looking. Typical UK style shop. Grey…. tiles on the floor, brown seating and the ceiling is open, so you can see all of the pipes. I believe this…. this chain is actually Canadian. They’ve got pictures of ice hockey players all around the walls, which, well, doesn’t make me want to rush out and do ice hockey.
Flashing screens are near me and to be honest with you, they are almost blinding me with bright colours and that that’s of course because they’re trying to sell more things.
I’m sitting by the window looking out to a very depressing car park. There’s only four cars in it. So it’s very grey looking and what else can I tell you about it? Yeah, it looks kind of industrial. Clearly it’s near the railway line. Looks like the setting for a music video. You know when there’s rapper walking along, pulling his trousers up every two minutes, it looks something like that. It’s a very deprived kind of area. Yeah, but it’s it’s lovely. I mean, the colours are beautiful, very green today, because the sun’s out and I cut the grass this morning. That was that was an adventure.
But I have to go back to the doughnuts. I mean, they were delicious. Really. And I ate them all myself because I’m out alone.
Yeah. So that’s really all I wanted to say for today, except just to point out that the weather here really is beautiful. Very green. I can see the trees swaying in the wind. It’s almost like they’re dancing because the wind is picking up but even with that, it’s very, very beautiful.
It’s very unusual for us here to have wind, which is warm, usually the wind comes and it blows you away and you’re freezing but actually it’s it’s lovely. And for me I I just I cut the grass this morning, weeded the garden felt exhausted, fell asleep for a couple of hours and then staggered out to come to this coffee shop.
Just looking around and thinking about my forthcoming holidays. I’ll be in the Netherlands this year at some point over June and July, so it’s all booked. I’m very happy. I won’t tell you the exact dates in case you come to try to steal my television when I’m away but there really is…it really is beautiful at this time of year to see the tulips and lovely places. So I’ll be looking forward to that…. yes, yes.
And that’s all for me right now. So I hope you’ve enjoyed this and yeah, some beautiful, beautiful scenes today. I’ll just give you those words again. Wabbit. That’s how I was feeling earlier, a bit exhausted and a little bit unwell. Swaying…. What the trees are doing in the wind. And colourful, beautiful, maybe even dramatic, we could say about things. And that’s it from me. So I’ll see you all again soon.
And I wish you all a beautiful day.
Bye.
1070 – Differences between American and British English. Transcript.
One of the great things about being an English Teacher is you get to meet people from all over the world and you get to try some delicious food from different places but you also get to talk to people in other parts of the English world, other teachers sometimes, neighbours and friends of course, people who live around you. This is a very diverse place, you know the UK has people from all over the world.
Continue reading “1070 – Differences between American and British English. Transcript.”1069 Experiences of Learning Dutch Transcript
So, I started learning Dutch while I was actually living in the Netherlands which, in theory, should make everything easier. Total immersion, real-life exposure, supermarkets full of words, right?
Wrong.
Let’s be clear: living in a country and understanding what anyone is saying are not the same thing. My first few weeks there, I smiled a lot. Nodded. Laughed when others laughed, even though I had no clue what was going on. Someone could have told me their hamster had exploded and I would’ve smiled and said “lovely.”
It didn’t take long to realise I had to learn the language or spend the rest of my time ordering the same sandwich from the same café, praying they’d never change the menu.
So, I started. Tentatively. First with the street signs, they felt safe. No one expects you to respond to a street sign. Then the public transport announcements. I picked up the general vibe: something had either gone terribly wrong or would arrive in three minutes. Maybe both.
I downloaded an app, the one with the friendly owl who is always watching. The owl celebrated my 3-day streak like I’d climbed Everest. I felt proud… until I skipped a day and the owl got weirdly passive-aggressive. “We missed you,” it said. “Your language goals did too.” I swear the app knows guilt better than most Catholic school teachers.
In the Netherlands, I started trying out small phrases. Very small. One-word small. I once tried to say “thank you very much” to a lovely cashier but panicked halfway through and ended up making a sound somewhere between a sneeze and a confession. She looked confused, then concerned. I took my groceries and left with the grace of a damp cardboard box.
But here’s the strange thing: despite the stumbles, I kept going. There’s something oddly addictive about learning a language you hear all around you — even if most of it sounds like someone trying to clear their throat and speak at the same time. Dutch isn’t a shy language. It’s assertive. It sounds like it means business. Even when it’s talking about cheese.
Once I left the Netherlands, I thought the urge to learn would fade. But weirdly, it didn’t. Maybe I was traumatised by how many times I’d misunderstood people. Maybe I missed the weirdly satisfying rhythm of the language. Maybe I was still determined to someday understand those fast, breathless train announcements that made me question whether I was on the right planet, let alone the right train.
So I kept going. Now, though, it’s different. I no longer have daily immersion just me, my apps, a few Dutch children’s books, and the occasional YouTube rabbit hole. I read menus for fun. I test myself with grammar I will never use in real life. I once spent an entire evening trying to understand why a verb had snuck to the end of the sentence like a guilty teenager. Still no idea.
And yes, it gets lonely. No more overheard conversations to decode. No bakery lines to rehearse sentences for. Just me, whispering strange phrases at home and hoping my neighbours don’t think I’m starting a cult.
Sometimes I doubt myself. Sometimes I think I’ve made up all the progress. I’ll listen to a video, get excited that I understood a full sentence, and then realise it was in English. Or I’ll try to speak out loud and suddenly develop a completely new accent that doesn’t exist in any languages.
But there are wins. Like realising I know what a sign says without translating. Like understanding the difference between two similar-sounding words and not accidentally saying “I am pregnant” when I meant “I am full.” Like recognising a joke in a Dutch TV show and actually laughing for the right reason.
Also, I’m no longer scared of the long words. You know the ones the kind that stretch across half the page like some kind of linguistic centipede. Once upon a time, I’d look at those and assume they were medical conditions. Now I know they’re just compound words. Long, yes. But logical. Which, if you ask me, is both comforting and horrifying.
And there’s something else. Something no app or phrasebook mentions: the emotional chaos of learning a language that’s so close to English, yet not quite. It feels like dating someone who reminds you of an old flame, familiar, but ultimately unpredictable. One moment, everything makes sense. The next, the sentence flips around and throws in a word that sounds like a sneeze.
But despite everything the confusion, the grammar acrobatics, the owl-induced guilt, I keep going. Because every now and then, I get this flash of clarity. A sentence that makes sense. A word that clicks. A tiny, fleeting moment where I feel like I’m in the language, not just chasing it. And those moments, odd as they are, feel magical.
Will I ever be fluent? Honestly, I don’t know. It depends what “fluent” means. If it means giving a TED talk about philosophy, probably not. If it means ordering a coffee without causing a scene, then I’m nearly there. If it means understanding people well enough to laugh at the right moment — that’s the goal.
Tomorrow, I’ll probably forget something obvious. I’ll probably mix up the word for “because” again. But I’ll also open my notebook, press play on the next audio, and try once more. Not because I have to, but because this is who I am now: someone who once lived in a country, heard a language, and decided, quietly, to try and understand it.
Even if it takes a lifetime.
1068 The Soundtrack of Carbonated Delusion: Coca-Cola Jingles in the 1980s – Transcript
The 1980s gave us many things: shoulder pads, mullets, cassette tapes, nuclear panic, and an unshakable belief that soft drinks could somehow save the world. Among the noisiest contributions to this surreal decade were the Coca-Cola jingles – bright, sugary musical anthems that promised joy, unity, and refreshment, all for the price of a bottle cap.
If the Cold War was the sound of tension, Coca-Cola was the soundtrack of forced optimism.
Coca-Cola’s jingles in the 1980s weren’t just catchy, they were an all-out assault on the senses. With lyrics that made sunshine sound compulsory and melodies designed to burrow into your skull like a corporate parasite, these jingles were everywhere: on radios, televisions, and the lips of disturbingly enthusiastic teenagers in advertising spots.
Take, for example, the endlessly repeated “Can’t Beat the Feeling!” campaign. This jingle, released in 1989, featured crowds of people smiling far too widely, often mid-laugh, as they sipped their Coke in slow motion. The music swelled, the camera panned over golden beaches or neon-lit cities, and somewhere, a child ran through a sprinkler. The message was clear: Coca-Cola was not a drink. It was a lifestyle.
A lifestyle where no one ever had a headache. Or rent. Or the slightest trace of cynicism.
This was not new, of course. Coca-Cola had been linking itself to happiness since the 1971 classic “I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke,” a song so idealistic it made peace in the Middle East look like a reasonable weekend goal. But in the 1980s, the jingles got louder, more polished, and somehow more desperate.
Everything about them said: “Look! Everything’s fine! Don’t think too hard!”
The irony, of course, was that much of the world in the 1980s was not fine. There was recession, unemployment, nuclear threats, and the growing fear that Ronald Reagan might accidentally press the wrong button before his next nap. Meanwhile, Coke’s ad campaigns danced forward, blissfully unaware or perhaps entirely aware of how false their promises sounded.
This made the jingles all the more surreal. In the middle of your family’s second-hand car breaking down, the radio would blast, “Can’t beat the real thing!” as if it were gently mocking your life.
They sang about sharing Coke with friends while half the country wasn’t speaking to each other. They sang about energy and joy while millions felt tired and broke.
And yet, the jingles worked. That’s the dark genius of it all. People bought the drinks. People sang along. For a few seconds, humming the tune in a supermarket aisle, you did feel a little better. Coca-Cola wasn’t selling sugar and water. It was selling escape.
Even now, those old jingles haunt us. Not just as melodies, but as memories of a kind of mass hypnosis. A time when we all agreed, without saying it, that pretending everything was wonderful was better than facing how complicated it really was.
There’s a special kind of horror in watching an old 1980s Coke ad today. The hair is big. The smiles are bigger. Everyone is dancing in a way that suggests they’ve either found salvation or been recently electrocuted. You know it’s fake. They knew it was fake. But we all played along.
And let’s not forget the children. In many of these jingles, kids sang too—voices so clear and hopeful it made you feel guilty for ever doubting anything. Their eyes sparkled with the kind of trust you only see in people who haven’t read the news yet.
What were we teaching them? That joy came in a can? That unity could be achieved through matching T-shirts and high kicks?
Perhaps the darkest joke of all is that the Coca-Cola jingles were right, in their own strange way. They did bring people together. They united us in pretending that the world was simple, that problems could be solved with bubbles and branding.
It wasn’t true, of course. But it was catchy.
And maybe, in the end, that’s all a jingle needs to be.
1067 – The new UK Law on Immigration (with transcript)
Hi, everyone. Welcome again to another teacher Joseph podcast.
Well, yesterday the British Government announced that it is changing our immigration rule. And there’s a few very strong rules coming in which will prevent immigrants entering the UK.
It’s very sad. My feeling is this is in response, of course, to American politics. As I’ve often said here on this podcast, our system, our government tends to mirror whatever’s happening in America, and it’s clear that what’s happening over there was somehow or other going to affect our British way of life.
That as well as the fact that we… we actually have other discussions on immigration happening here separately. I mean the bottom line is that they they want to cut down the number of immigrants. I don’t know anyone who actually agrees with that. I grew up in a time when we happily accepted people from around the world, especially from the EU, because we were in the EU and now of course, it’s looking like getting into other countries is easier than getting into Britain.
One of the main things that I’ve noticed is that we no longer want care workers. That was a big thing yesterday, so if you were using the care system and I’m not talking about nurses. I’m talking about people who work in our care and nursing homes. That was how many people got into the UK that’s now being stopped temporarily. I think they’re saying they’re pausing the entry of care workers and we have loads of those and I think around where I’m living. I can see that they tend to be African, so that will be stopped and the idea is that British people will be doing those jobs. I don’t know who thinks that British people will be doing this because, as far as I can see, younger people than me anyway, they they don’t want to be working…. likewise, I mean this this will also reduce the number of people working in my local supermarkets by about half. So who’s going to do those jobs, I wonder? It’s really very sad to see these changes. Because I’m not sure that the government realise how important immigrants are. Around different parts of the UK, our local garages and supermarkets are operated and in some cases owned by immigrants, so I don’t know what’s what’s going to happen, but it’s very sad. The whole thing is very, very weird. And as the opponents to this new law have said. Well, it’s just a matter of time before the government realise that it doesn’t work because we need people who want to do the jobs that British people don’t want to do. That’s quite simple. Yeah. So let me read this.
Extended path to settlements.
You have to wait 10 years before you can be considered for permanent residency.
Higher English language requirements
The government has raised the proficiency level up to B2, so you can no longer get in on a B1 exam pass. You need B2 now.
Skilled worker visas.
Yeah, this is changing. So they’re basically saying that to come to the UK now you need to have a university degree. OK. So any kind of skilled worker visa, you need a degree.
Restrictions on care worker recruitment.
I mentioned that… they’re pausing that. If you’re here at the moment, you can stay until 2028. Overseas applicants no longer accepted.
Students
International students have two years now to work after they graduate, rather than. UM. Oh, previously it was 2 years now it’s been reduced to 18 months is what I want to say.
Stricter deportation policies.
The new policy allows for the removal of individuals convicted of minor offences. Well, that’s mirroring America, of course.
And and just to conclude on that. It’s yeah that this is quite profound. You know quite a profound change to our immigration law. And it’s going to be a big shake up because it means (there’s) going to be virtually no one to look after our older people in nursing homes. So yeah, something has to change there. And of course it will. It’s only a matter of time before our governments reverse some of these points.
Other governments have tried it and failed. Uh, it’s just not workable. Yes. So the B1 to B2 is interesting, isn’t it? That you have to have a B2 pass level to enter the UK now?
I mean, British people have always been a little bit strange with immigration. My age group was better in that we were in the EU. We welcomed everyone, things weren’t perfect, but it worked. I don’t see anything wrong with that, but now there’s parts of the UK which are completely impoverished. And crime levels are high and if these crime levels are contributed to by people of other nationalities, it raises bad feeling. There’s been a few of those over the last number of years, but yeah, I think British people have always been a little bit strange with immigration. Anyway, it’s not something that’s that we handle very well, but exclusion is never the way to go.
I’m very sad about this. I love immigrants, I love diversity. And yeah, it makes me a little bit worried about living here. Because I… even though I am British, I don’t think of myself as British, my views of Britain and the British people are probably the same as those shared by immigrants. So when they pass laws like this, it makes me really uncomfortable because it’s like they’re attacking my friends. And I’m sure one of these days it’s going to go much deeper.
So I really really hope that they reverse this quite quick. It’s…. we don’t want to end up like other countries where you round up the immigrants and you deport them, which is currently I think what’s happening in in the USA, this is… this is dreadful. So it’s it’s really sad that Britain could even think about going in that kind of direction.
Having said all of that, though, I don’t think these laws will get through Parliament. I mean, they’ve been announced, they still have to be debated. I think in our upper chamber. So probably they they might be reduced a little bit. It’s before they become law and like I say, they they can’t last long because anything which excludes anything which deports, well, I’m sure that’s not going to last long, right…well, that’s it for me.
That’s a little introduction in to the new immigration system here in the UK. Very sad day, I have to say, but like I say, it can’t last long because British people well we really just don’t want to do the kind of work that immigrants do, so who knows what the future is going to look like without them, right.
See you all. Bye.
1066 Walking on the High Street Transcript.
Hi everyone and welcome again to another teacher Joseph podcast.
Well, I’m outside today and I want to describe for you what I’m looking at. So I’m on the High street. Some people might say in the High street of my town here in the UK.
It’s a glorious day, it’s very nice. The sun is shining and behind me, if I turn around, there’s a town hall and the clock is pointing up into the sky. Very nice indeed. And directly ahead of me is a rather empty Street no one’s really on there, possibly because there aren’t so many shops which are open and well, there aren’t so many shops these days, because everyone buys things online. Some of our town centres are just a little bit dead and my town centre, I’m afraid to say is the same. Looking at it now, there’s nobody on there except a few young people who are clearly going to the pub, I think, or maybe one of the cafes, which are still open but generally not a lot to see.
So let me just describe that for you. There’s one cafe that I can see on the right hand side. With a purple sign outside, the pavement is cobblestone. That’s the little squares. You know that horses are accustomed to walking on….there’s a couple of people who are wandering around, but not too many. Lots of very bored looking teenagers as well who are moving around.
Of course there is one shop here which is always very popular and is always open, and that’s the Poundstretcher. Now, as you might know, we have a lot of discount stores here. And certainly the Poundstretcher is one of them. Why is it called stretcher? Because the verb to stretch means to elongate something which lasts longer. So Poundstretcher, that’s giving the idea that you can stretch your money more in a shop like that. And it’s probably true. You really can. I’m now on the High Street walking up and yeah, lots of empty shops here as well. A couple of banks but nothing that’s really noticeable. Nothing that’s really very open. Here is a sign “We’re moving. This store is now closed” and another one. “Please note this store is closed”, so yeah, quite a few of them boarded up. One here, with gates outside, permanently locked. No sign. Don’t know what that is. So, yeah, you’re kind of getting the idea here, and that is that not a lot happening as I walk further up the street, I can see the library on the right hand side. And the government decided to place the library here, right in the middle of the High Street, to try to revitalise it but not a lot happening there either, as at the moment at least, it’s closed.
Another shop lying very empty with a young man sleeping in the doorway, reminding me again that all is not well. Let’s see. Yeah. OK, here’s a shopping centre. It’s open. But looking inside as I walk past. Unfortunately, there’s not too much to see there. Many of the shops inside were closed down. More so, since there’s been rent increases because of the rise in costs for everything. In talking to you, I’m now almost at the top of the High Street. There’s a new gym opened. “Beauty and the Beast”. Hmm. Personal Training, Boot Camp, Boxing club…. ohh dear not for me at all. Just looking in the window there…. very nice. And also there’s a nail bar where you can go to get your nails done. Uh, what’s this? Ohh, Vietnamese restaurant, closed. Don’t know why. Usually that’s open. And there’s also a Burger bar, which is open. Barber closed, hair salon closed, dental clinic closed. Wow. We’re not doing too well are we….? fortunately, these shops haven’t closed down. They just seem to be closed right now. Don’t know why. Very interesting, yes. A mini market selling milk, Coca-Cola, these kind of things. It’s open.
I’m now at the top of the High Street, cars whizzing past buses, also reminding me that there’s still life here which is very nice. Again, the noodle bar closed. Actually, that noodle bar used to be delicious….. YMCA, which is a young man’s club. You might know it. I’m sure the YMCA…well its a very famous song of course, by the Village People. YMCA… But it’s also a a very old place here, where a young man can go to play snooker to meet friends. But yeah, this one’s closed. unfortunately.
So more places closed down. And that’s it. Looking further up the High Street. Lots of traffic, more people, but no shops. So if you were thinking that all High Street shops here in the UK are the same as London, you would be wrong. In fact, the farther North you go, the more impoverished they get, which is quite sad. So just keep that in mind if you’re…if you’re coming here. So I’m just turning around, about to walk back down and it’s not as grim as it seems. It’s a lovely day, and I’m sure either later or tomorrow some of these shops are going to be reopening with their services….
Well, that’s it for me. For the moment. I hope you’ve enjoyed this. Let’s talk soon. See you.
Bye.
1065 Tips and Best Practice for Learning English – In conversation with Meysam.
1064 – Happy New Pope Transcript
Hi, everyone. Welcome again to another teacher Joseph podcast.
Well, we have a new Pope and you’d think after 266 tries (at least) we’d have perfected the art of picking someone. So that it doesn’t feel like a rerun TV show.
…but no, they pushed him out onto the balcony like a contestant in a reality show. The crowd of course, cheered. Somebody fainted, I think, a nun in the front row. And yeah, it was quite a day. Well, I was watching it on the Vatican live screen, the BBC News headlines were on the screen in front of me as well. …and yeah, I was talking to a student at the time.
Um, yeah. They always talk about this white smoke like it’s some kind of grand mystery. But yeah, I mean, it’s just people in the background burning the ballot slips, isn’t it? Well, of course the new Pope gave the usual speech. Humble, hopeful, big on unity, short on specific things that he’s going to do. I preferred the old pope. With his speeches, remember, every time he appeared on the balcony.
Be not afraid. Be not afraid.
That’s all he ever said when they they pushed him out, wasn’t it? On the balcony?
The future is in your hands. Be not afraid.
He repeated that with a lot of passion, didn’t he? Well, yeah, this one gave the usual speech. Peace to everyone and love and everything. Yeah, mercy mission. Something about climate. I’m not sure exactly what he said. I didn’t watch all of it. They’re saying that he’s the man of the people. I don’t know quite what that means. The Guardian newspaper’s calling him transformative, which makes him sound like medication or plastic surgery. Yeah. And of course, Twitter. Well, X. They’ve already started some…. well… half of them think he’s the second coming of Christ, and the other half think he’s some kind of infiltrator from dark forces. I don’t know where these conspiracy theories come from. I mean, he’s a Pope. I I’m not sure I even care enough to form a conspiracy theory. Yeah, I’m just here sipping tea and waiting to see if he makes it past the honeymoon period without re-banning the guitar at mass. Do you remember? You know, when I was growing up going to mass was very much a very Latin affair. My goodness me. You could get thrown out for smiling and then somewhere along the way in the 1970s. Going to mass was like going to a folk music concert. Everything suddenly sounded like a song by Peter Paul and Mary, by the way. If you don’t know who Peter, Paul and Mary are, you need to listen to them. It’s a kind of a… just a nice trio. Singing very nice songs about life with the guitar, yeah.
Yeah, one of my friends rang me to say that they think the new Pope looks like a kind of man who, who’s going to introduce sweeping reforms. Yeah, but he’ll probably then just, you know, delegate these reforms to a committee who meet once every 10 years. I don’t know if they, if they’re able to make big reforms, I think there’s so many differing views now than there used to be. I’m. I mean, I’m not against the papacy. I think it’s probably a good idea. It’s just that…this idea that each new pope is going to fix something, you know, like a plumber fixes the water tank. I mean, it’s been 2000 years. So I don’t know, maybe it’s it’s time for them to look at things differently. But anyway, they started this, this kind of idea of change, isn’t it, to make them fit in with everybody else. So …many people don’t like that, I think. And but of course, there’s always that voice. It says, oh, well, this will be the last Pope. Honestly, everyone keeps telling me this. I’m not sure.,,,obviously somebody has some direct link with God.
Yes, this Pope is the last one.
Well, nice. Yeah, whatever. Yeah. So of course, everyone’s saying, well, maybe things will be different. But I thought the last one did a good job. You know, he seemed to, you know, like, stand on the tarmac at airports, kiss it, and then say things like. Be not afraid, just like the last one did. John Paul the second. So yeah, they seem to enjoy making these statements. There’s always the robes, the Latin, the bells ringing in the backgrounds. I love the drama. You know, wearing these long flowing purple robes.
Yeah, it’ll be interesting to see what happens, though. I mean, the first few months, of course, they’re all……. the first few months, everyone will love him. They will all love him, is what I want to say. And then, of course, the cracks will show. Then the encyclicals will come just like, you know, Donald Trump’s Executive orders. And then everyone’s going to be unhappy, and I suppose I’ll be sitting in the church wondering if they’ll ever fix the heating. Yeah. Who knows? Maybe he’ll surprise us. And he’ll excommunicate a few people.
Nice face. Not big on smiling. I think… you know, he was kind of pulling his mouth apart like the Royals do…. you know they,,, they smile in a way that makes them all look like Dracula. But yeah. Yeah. Well, let’s see what happens. I mean, he can’t do that much damage, can he? He’s only in the first day of the job, so. I don’t know. He he’s not a world power, so to speak, with economies. But he has a lot of moral power. So I don’t know what that means exactly, but we’ll have to wait and see. So…. Yeah, let’s see how long it lasts and what changes he’s able to make. And yeah, be not afraid, that’s still my favourite ….Pope John Paul the second he started that, didn’t he? The future is in your hands, making him sound like some kind of really bad version of Dracula, but nice phrase, though he did make us feel better. Or maybe it’s just because I was younger and less cynical. I don’t know.
But anyway, enjoy the new Pope.
See you all.
Bye.
1063 Diary Entry – Goodbye Skype Transcript
So, it’s official: Skype is shutting down.
I stared at the announcement for a few seconds longer than necessary, then exhaled — that kind of slow, quiet sigh you make when something ends that you didn’t realise you still cared about.
For most people, it’s probably no big deal. They’ve moved on to Zoom or Teams or whatever platform makes sense now. But for me — for those of us who started teaching English online before it was trendy, before the world locked down and “virtual” became normal — Skype wasn’t just software. It was a classroom. It was a lifeline. It was my job, my tiny digital schoolhouse, open to the world.
I taught my first Skype lesson in 2012. A teenager in Turkey, nervous and excited, who called me “teacher” with such reverence I didn’t know where to look. My first webcam lesson. My first shared screen. My first time realising: this works. This really works.
What followed were thousands of hours of teaching — sometimes in pyjamas, often with tea, occasionally with a cat walking across the keyboard. I taught kids in Moscow and doctors in Seoul, Korea. I had early mornings with Brazil and late nights with Japan. Skype turned my living room into a little United Nations of hope and grammar and laughter.
Skype was glitchy. The audio would cut out mid-sentence. Students would freeze with their mouths open and eyes closed. We’d spend ten minutes just trying to hear each other. But somehow, that made it more human. Less polished. More real.
I remember one adult learner from Syria who practised his job interview with me every week. I remember the quiet teenager from Spain who barely spoke for three months, then suddenly recited a poem. I remember a student in Ukraine during a blackout, sitting in near darkness, reading from a worksheet lit only by candlelight. All of it over Skype while she worried about her pet tortoise.
It wasn’t perfect, but it was personal.
In the early days, there were no fancy scheduling apps or built-in whiteboards. I used Word docs, email attachments, the “share screen” button like it was magic. We worked with what we had. And what we had… was enough.
Skype made language learning intimate. One-on-one, face-to-face, across oceans and time zones. Sometimes I’d be the first English speaker someone ever had a full conversation with. Sometimes we didn’t even finish the lesson — we’d just talk, about life, about dreams, about homesickness or hopes or how to pronounce “though.”
And now, it’s ending.
I opened it one last time this morning. The icon still sitting there on my desktop like a relic. Same soft blue. My old status still set to “Available.” My contact list — dozens of names, now silent. I scrolled through old chats. Homework links. Encouraging words. The occasional “Thank you, teacher. I passed.”
It’s strange, mourning a piece of software. But I think what I’m really mourning is the era it represents. The beginning. When this whole online teaching thing was new and exciting and fragile. When Skype was the bridge between strangers who wanted to learn and teachers who wanted to help.
I still teach, of course. On other platforms, with better tools and smoother tech. But nothing else has felt quite like Skype did. It was imperfect, yes. But it let me teach from anywhere, and let my students learn from anywhere, and that — that still feels like magic.
So here’s to Skype.
You brought the world into my home.
You introduced me to hundreds of people I never would have met.
You helped me grow into the teacher I am now.
Thank you.
You did good.
1062 The History of LBC Radio (podcast transcript)
Hi, everyone. Welcome again to another Teacher Joseph podcast….
…and today, we’re going to look at the history of LBC radio, now LBC… I’m always telling you all that you should listen to LBC because it’s a natural flowing radio station.
It’s a call-in 24 hour service where anyone can call them and discuss anything that they want. So Leading Britain’s Conversation is LBC radio. It wasn’t always like that. When I was a boy listening to LBC, it was the London Broadcasting Company and it wasn’t even national. It was just a London radio station. It’s very influential and and it’s kind of evolved into a national platform for people to have their views but of course, you know the kinds of people who call radio stations during the night are always a little bit strange. So some of the opinions that come up aren’t always reflecting how the people feel but its history reflects the changing landscape of British radio, shifting away from the very posh, uptight BBC “Hello” into something much more usable and practical because up until 1990, in any radio station in the UK you had to have the Queen’s English, whereas now anybody can produce a programme on radio if they are employed to do so. It doesn’t matter what they sound like, as long as they sound fairly clear. LBC was launched on October the 8th, 1973. Apparently it was the first legal commercial radio station in the UK. Well, I’m not sure about that because I know Radio Clyde here in Scotland was also launched around that time. I’d have to check to see which one was actually first. Yeah, in those days we had AM and FM.. and to be honest with you, I think I might be buying a radio after the power failure in Spain last week. I want to make sure I have one just in case …
I remember it’s early presenters Douglas Cameron, Bob Holness. Oh, they had very, very Polish accents. Yes. “Hello yes. LBC here”. Yes, very unlike today and it also pioneered the use of rolling news because it set up some kind of news service that other radio stations could use. They… they kind of like all joined LBC on the hour for the news through a service which was called the Independent Radio News network. Very interesting. However, with LBC, its journey with radio wasn’t always smooth. There was a time when it had financial difficulties and it was sold off to different companies and was split up but eventually I think it reformed and regrouped back into one station… very interesting though, if you like radio as I do, it’s fascinating thing.
…and then in 1996, it actually lost its licence, because here you have to bid money to operate a radio station…if you want to be on air in our AM and FM spectrum and they lost their licence and I don’t know exactly how they got it back. I know it was rebranded as News Direct and then (in)2003 I think it came back again, but it had been bought over again by that point by Chrysalis Radio and they decided to make it just 24 hour call-in.
Then it was bought by Global Media, which its owned by today. They have a lovely app. If you download the Media app, Global, you can see and hear all kinds of podcasts from all of their radio stations. They have dozens of the things. It’s really exciting if you like British accents and Global also own Capital Radio, Heart, Radio, Classic FM. Oh, there’s tons of them… tons. Yeah, I think in 2014 they changed from being London only into a national broadcaster yeah, so they they were known as the London Broadcasting Company, then they became London’s Biggest Conversation. Then they became Leading Britain’s Conversation but we were all listening to them online anyway. I mean, it was known that it was one of the best. People like me who enjoy English media, I used to listen to them all the time and many people do.
So it became the UK’s first National talk radio station. But again, I would dispute that because there was one before. Which didn’t last long. I think it was….. It eventually became a sport radio station, but it used to have a 24 hour call-in and I can’t remember the name. Of it but I don’t think LBC was Britain’s fast National Call-in station. I could be wrong.. If you don’t know it…. It has names like Nick Ferrari, James O’Brien very very well known people. And yes, they’re always interviewing prime ministers and these these kind of people. And so yeah, it’s a vital part of the UK’s media ecosystem that has space for robust debate, critical journalism. Participation. Yeah. So if you’re looking for a radio station today to be listening to, I do recommend LBC.
These days there’s probably lots of commentary about war celebrations. I was listening to it this morning and they’re saying, there are street parties and celebrations to remember the end of the war. Not where I am, there isn’t. I don’t know where these parties are, but they’re certainly not in my neighbourhood. There’s none here. So I would say if you are listening, their focus probably is on the London area. If they’re thinking of war celebrations, because our Royals, of course, and governments are pushing this because we were, after all, the winners. Had we lost the war, I don’t think they’d be celebrating quite so much. Anyway. Most of us really don’t care. It’s another day we’ll be working… there’s a 2 minute silence at 11 AM, (tomorrow) which probably will be ignored by most of us. I don’t know. It’s a a strange thing. We need to remember the lessons of democracy, but yeah.
Anyway, that’s it.
See you. Bye.
1060 Film Review: Love at First Bite (1979) Transcript
Love at First Bite is a comedy film from 1979 that mixes romance, horror, and humour. Directed by Stan Dragoti and written by Robert Kaufman, it offers a light-hearted version of the Dracula story. Instead of being scary, this Count Dracula is charming, funny, and completely out of place in modern-day America. Starring George Hamilton in the lead role, the film invites viewers to see the famous vampire in a whole new way.
The story begins in Transylvania, where Dracula is being forced to leave his castle. The Communist government wants to turn it into a training centre for gymnasts. With no other choice, Dracula decides to move to New York City. He hopes to find his true love, who has been reborn as a fashion model named Cindy Sondheim (played by Susan Saint James). However, life in America is not as easy as he expected. He has to deal with fast food, busy streets, and Cindy’s jealous boyfriend—who happens to be a descendant of Dracula’s old enemy, Van Helsing.
George Hamilton’s performance as Dracula is one of the film’s greatest strengths. He plays the character with style and confidence, giving the vampire an elegant, old-fashioned charm. Unlike traditional horror films, this Dracula is not frightening. He’s polite, well-dressed, and always looking for love—not just blood. His thick accent and romantic manners add to the humour, especially when he tries to understand American culture.
The film’s comedy comes mostly from this cultural clash. Dracula is confused by everyday things like taxis, phones, and disco clubs. One of the most memorable scenes shows him dancing at a nightclub with Cindy, surrounded by flashing lights and loud music. The use of the popular disco song “I Love the Nightlife” makes the moment even funnier. These scenes highlight the differences between Dracula’s world and the fast-paced life of New York in the 1970s.
Cindy Sondheim, played by Susan Saint James, is a strong and independent character. She is modern, stylish, and not easily impressed. Her relationship with Dracula is both romantic and comedic, as she tries to decide between him and her current boyfriend, Dr. Jeffrey Rosenberg (played by Richard Benjamin). Rosenberg adds more comedy to the film. He is nervous, jealous, and always trying to prove that Dracula is dangerous—even though no one takes him seriously.
While the film is entertaining, it also shows its age. Some jokes rely on stereotypes that may seem outdated today. The style, music, and references are all from the 1970s, which might feel strange to modern viewers. However, if you enjoy retro fashion, disco music, and classic comedy, you will likely find it amusing.
Visually, the film offers a modest but effective aesthetic. The contrast between Dracula’s gothic attire and the gaudy excess of New York’s disco scene is used to strong comedic effect. The cinematography isn’t especially stylish, but it supports the story well, and the limited special effects are enough for the film’s light-hearted tone.
Love at First Bite was a box office success when it was released and remains popular with fans of classic comedy. It may not be as well-known as other horror parodies like Young Frankenstein, but it has its own charm. The idea of a vampire trying to live in New York City is funny enough, but George Hamilton’s performance makes it even more enjoyable.
Conclusion:
Love at First Bite is a playful and humorous take on the Dracula story. It’s more of a romantic comedy than a horror film, and it uses the contrast between old traditions and modern life to make the audience laugh. While some parts feel dated, the film still has plenty of charm. If you’re looking for a funny and unusual vampire film—and you like disco—this is a great choice.
1059 Cris from Spain, talking about the recent Iberian Power Failure
1055 – The Story of Maggie McTaggart
Hi Everyone,
Welcome to another podcast from Teacher Joseph.
Today I want to tell you a story about my ancestor Maggie McTaggart, who lived in south-west Scotland in 1920.
Maggie was just sixteen years old when this story takes place. She came from a lively, hardworking family — one of eleven children. Her father worked long hours in the steelworks, and her mother stayed at home, looking after the younger ones, cooking, cleaning, sewing, and somehow keeping everything running.
Life wasn’t easy for Maggie, but it was full of energy. Their small stone house stood at the edge of the town, close enough to the railway tracks that you could hear the trains rattling past at all hours. Inside, it was always noisy — children shouting, babies crying, pots banging, someone always rushing in or out. But there was warmth too, a sense that no matter how little they had, they had each other.
Maggie herself was bright and full of life. She had a quick smile, a love of singing, and a fierce determination to make the best of whatever came her way. Like many girls her age, she had started working young — not in the mills like some of her friends, but in a small bakery on the high street. Every morning before sunrise, she would tie back her hair, pull on her apron, and walk into town with the smell of fresh bread already filling the air.
The bakery was a busy place, especially in the early hours, and Maggie worked hard. She learned to knead dough quickly, to pack up loaves without squashing them, and to deal with all sorts of customers — from grumpy old men to tired mothers with crying children clinging to their skirts.
But Maggie didn’t mind the hard work. She liked being busy, and she liked knowing she was helping her family. Every Saturday, she handed over most of her wages to her mother, keeping just a few pennies for herself — enough to buy a second-hand book now and then, or a bright ribbon for her hair.
At home, Maggie helped raise her younger brothers and sisters. She mended torn clothes, told bedtime stories, and sometimes even led the whole group in games out in the fields after supper. She had a natural gift for finding joy in small things: the way the sun fell on the river, the sound of the church bells on a Sunday morning, the laughter of her brothers tumbling over each other in the long grass.
Sometimes, in the evenings, when the day’s work was done and the younger ones had finally fallen asleep, Maggie would sit by the window with a book on her lap, dreaming of what life might hold for her. Maybe, one day, she would save enough money to travel — not far, perhaps just to Glasgow or Edinburgh — and see the world beyond the grey streets of her hometown.
But Maggie wasn’t unhappy. She loved her family fiercely, and she loved the life she knew. There was music in her world — real music, played on battered fiddles and old pianos at dances in the village hall. There were friendships that had lasted since childhood, solid and dependable. And there was the deep satisfaction of knowing that, even with so many mouths to feed and so many worries to carry, her family never gave up on hope.
In the spring of 1920, Maggie’s life took a small but important turn. The bakery owner, impressed by her hard work and cheerful manner, offered her an apprenticeship to learn more about the business. It was an unexpected opportunity — and one Maggie seized with both hands. She began learning how to balance the books, manage orders, and even create new recipes.
It wasn’t just about the money, although that helped too. It was about the pride she felt every time a customer smiled and complimented her work. It was about standing a little taller, knowing she was building a future for herself, bit by bit.
That summer, there was a celebration in the town — a fair held in the fields just outside the church. Maggie went with her brothers and sisters, laughing as they ran from stall to stall, their pockets full of sticky sweets. She wore a blue dress her mother had helped her sew and danced late into the evening under the open sky.
When the stars came out, she sat with her friends by the riverbank, her bare feet dangling in the cool water. They spoke about dreams — of travelling, of owning shops or farms, of simply living good lives. Maggie listened, smiling quietly, her heart full. She didn’t know exactly what the future would bring, but for the first time, she believed it could be bright.
Maggie McTaggart never became rich, or famous, or travelled very far from the town where she was born. But she built a life of meaning — full of laughter, kindness, and hard work. She became a pillar of her community, a woman others turned to for help or advice, someone who always had a warm loaf ready for a neighbour in need.
And perhaps that’s the best kind of legacy to leave behind — not one written in grand histories, but in small, steady acts of love that ripple outward long after we’re gone.
Today, when I think of Maggie, I don’t picture tragedy or hardship. I see a bright-eyed girl with a ribbon in her hair, singing as she walks down a dusty road at sunrise, ready to face whatever the day will bring.
Podcast 1053 – The Cranberries song, “Linger” Transcript
Hello, everyone. Welcome again to another Teacher Joseph podcast.
Today we are going to talk about the lyrics of a song by The Cranberries, and it’s called Linger, which means something that doesn’t go away. To linger is something which hangs around. To linger is something which is always there, and maybe you want to get rid of it.
Continue reading “Podcast 1053 – The Cranberries song, “Linger” Transcript”Podcast 1051 Script: Pope Francis, the Legacy
Today, we take a moment to reflect on the extraordinary life and enduring legacy of Pope Francis — a spiritual leader who broke with tradition, embraced the margins, and called the global Catholic Church to walk with humility, mercy, and compassion.
Continue reading “Podcast 1051 Script: Pope Francis, the Legacy”Weekly Lesson: Funny and Popular British Words Explained
Was it a UFO? News Report in Clear English
Weekly Lesson: The end of Nightclubs?
UK Benefits Cuts Explained – News in Simple English
What is ahead for the BBC World Service?
Weekly Lesson – Donald Trump’s Mother
What Does Brazen mean?
In Conversation with my friend Nasser
Sam the Selkie
Haggis – What is that?
Your Questions about Learning English Live Event
News Story about Accents in the UK
Live Question and Answer English Event 17 January 2025.
Song Lyrics Study: The Future Ain’t What It Used to Be
Blood Donation Audio and Video Links
Replay of my Live Question and Answer Event
Weekly Lesson: Ice Hockey
For study until January 19th 2024
Subject: Ice Hockey
Audio: On usual social media platforms
Text is from https://bumpsport.com/2024/08/08/the-thrill-of-the-ice-an-in-depth-look-at-the-sport-of-hockey/?amp=1
Accent Reduction
Song Lyrics: Puppy Love
Random Book: William Blake Audio and Video Links
Your Plan for Learning English in 2025 (Audio and Video Links)
Celebrating 1000 podcasts (video)
Cooking Pan de Jamon (Venezuelan Ham Bread
At the Supermarket
Olive Pastries Recipe
Derscribing Things
Visiting a Coffee Shop
A Walk in the Rain
Christmas Headlines 1987
Whamageddon – What is that?
It’s All the Rage (idiom)
Guiness Beer Shortage in the UK
Bob’s your Uncle (British Idiom)
Bells and Whistles (idiom)
Learning English Fast (Changing your Mindset)
What Does Stoney Silence mean?
Porridge to be Banned in Advertising
A Far Cry (Idiom)
Two Famous London Markets to Close
Couldn’t Give a Monkeys (Idiom)
Wales Prepares a Vistor’s Charge
What is a Kerfuffle
What is a Kerfuffle?
Weekly Lesson: Christmas Songs
For study until 1st of December 2024
Subject: Christmas Songs
Audio: On usual social media platforms
Christmas Songs
After the kerfuffle around Band Aid’s “Do They Know Its Christmas” song, I wanted to add my tuppence worth to the debate about Christmas music.
Firstly let me say that Christmas pop songs have been around longer than I have, some songs are cheerful, some songs are annoying and then there’s Mariah Carey. Probably the ones I dread most are by her and Michael Buble and the one I actually don’t mind is by Leona Lewis, that one is called “One More Sleep”. Leona seems blissfully unaware that sleep is not countable but that’s ok. I like the song. I really detest Michael Buble – I honestly don’t know why. If I am asked about my favourite genre for Christmas music I would likely reply the 1960s. I just love to hear the Ronettes singing Frosty the Snowman as well as a whole host of others using the infamous wall of sound which was invented by Phil Spector. I have heard about Whamageddon – this is a game people play to try and avoid Wham’s Christmas song “Last Christmas”. Many people take it quite seriously.
About “Do they know its Christmas” I mean really, who cares whether the song is politically correct these days, it was written for a different generation and I’m sure many people “couldn’t give a monkeys” (plural is correct) whether it is banned or not. I’m not sure if you ‘ve heard the debate but this infamous Bob Geldof effort contains the words:
“And there won’t be snow in Africa this Christmas time
The greatest gift they’ll get this year is life
Where nothing ever grows, no rain nor rivers flow
Do they know it’s Christmas time at all?”
On the surface these lyrics look relatively innocent, who could have known back in the 1980s that they would create such a storm. Some sources are saying that the song was always controversial because of its negative views of Africa and others are saying that it’s simply got caught up in the whirlwind of political correctness. I do agree that the lyrics are probably grossly exaggerated. I mean things do grow in Africa and there are rivers and probably rain too. But is it correct to call the song colonialist? Critics are saying that the song has a”white saviour” feel to it and as a product of its day is very condescending. Do we even care enough to think about it? The song raised millions for charity over the years. So surely that kind of redeems it out of any misuse.
When I was a child, the UK was heavily industrialized. That meant that the local factory needed workers over Christmas so my father and grandfather were not always around on Christmas Day. Boxing Day, the 26th of December was not an official holiday anyway until 1974 so people were not accustomed to relaxing on that day. Money was good.. working over the holiday season so there was an opinion that working on these days was better. Still there was a great holiday feeling, winding down early to get home to see the kids before bedtime.
I do like the variety that you can find around Christmas now, thanks to social media you can find exactly what floats your boat over Christmas, whether its a group of kids singing badly, a torch song, a protest or even a tragedy. One feature of the old days was that TV channels used to air “Christmas Specials” to make us smile. Many singing groups in those days had their own TV shows and a Christmas special was something to look forward to each year. Soap operas on TV also had their own Christmas special, to be shown on TV over the period. It was actually something to rush home for. I never considered that actors were giving up valuable time to make these shows, I just assumed they were there for my entertainment. Isn’t it sad when we grow up and realise the world isn’t just there for our entertainment but the harsh reality is that they need to make money. Even actors need work.
I am often puzzled by people at Christmas time, especially here. I tried to call a friend to meet for coffee to be told:
“As it’s Christmas, I will be far too busy to meet until January”. In her words she said “You know how it is, buying presents and all”.
I don’t believe for a second that with one month to go until Christmas, she doesn’t have a spare hour but I think this highlights the depth of loneliness people feel at this time of year. They either try to forget about this time of year by diving right into it head first to block out the pain or else they give that impression in order to mask a much deeper pain. For others they simply will start with office parties and won’t stop drinking until it’s finished. I think it is time we Brits were honest with ourselves. Despite the mass marketing, songs and Christmas trees we literally climb the walls with anxiety this time of year and do what we can to deal with it. It is a far cry from happiness. Many people don’t have any social structures in their lives, little cash and screaming children. Then there’s people like myself who are looking over their shoulder wondering “what happened”? We went from rooms full of people with guests dropping in daily to empty spaces where those people used to be. Now we are faced with silence and memories. It’s the sharp contrast that hurts, not the emptiness of the day itself. People have gone, the way we live has changed and as the poet said:
“O for the touch of a vanished hand, and the sound of a voice that is still”
I would like to see more British people owning the pain and taking responsibility, we could build a new society free from issues like this if we got our act together and acted responsibly at this time of year. Since I don’t drink I am able to see with great clarity what happens at this time of year, a lot of pain and sadness in the darkest months of the year. And in the middle of it Mariah Carey. I think pride stops us from really owning how we feel.
I’ve already been looking for Doris Day and Dean Martin specials on Youtube, even though life was not perfect for my parents, they didn’t have that sense of an empty celebration that we have now, something is terribly wrong with the way things are presented to us these days and these old TV specials remind us of the sense of joy we can have if we look for it. These days though this type of entertainment is considered vintage, old fashioned and irrelevant.
I really admire those people who choose not to celebrate Christmas. At least they are owning how they feel about it. I think the rest of us have quite a bit to go until we can deal with this time of year in an honest way.
Whatever you are doing for Christmas this year, I hope you do it in a mentally healthy way.
Kink Charles’ Coronation cost £72 Million
The Importance of Intonation when Speaking
To Bite Your Lip (idiom)
Taking a Walk
British Farmers Protest in London
Camaraderie – Meaning
Weekly Lesson: Thanksgiving
For study until 24th of November 2024
Subject: Thanksgiving
Audio: On usual social media platforms
Thanksgiving
British people don’t celebrate Thanksgiving but there’s always an American around to invite us. When my American neighbours invited me to spend Thanksgiving with them, I was sure there must be some kind of catch. So I desperately tried to think of an excuse:
“Eh, sorry I will be working” I answered quickly.
“Oh that’s fine, just pop in when you can” he responded.
“Eh yes ok but what exactly do you do on that day”? I asked…
“We just try to welcome the neighbours to join us so we can eat together…” He went on to say how the whole family get together and sit round the table saying what they are thankful for.
“Oh, how not British” I murmured, remembering how Americans love positive thinking. The scene kind of resembled an episode of the Simpsons where Homer meets the neighbour Ned Flanders. The thought of sitting around a table and talking about what I’m grateful for sounds more like a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous, rather than a good time.
It was one of those moments where I realised just how different British and American culture is. This couple have 13 kids and he is only forty-five years old. The oldest one is “coming home” for Thanksgiving and will be helping to cook. Again how “not British” I thought to myself. That means at least one child a year – Don’t they have Netflix? Then I remembered, they shun TV completely. So one child being born every year isn’t so strange after all.
“What else will you do”? I asked…. “Surely you will spend a lot of time on skype with your relatives back home?” trying to carve out a plan and reason why it would not be perceived rude if I didn’t attend, in line with my British politeness.
“Oh they will be at Church all day” he replied “so we will catch up with them in the night, we have 6 hours difference anyway.”
“Darn – is no excuse good enough“? I thought.
“I will start cooking at 12pm, you can come along and help me if you want, my daughter will have most of it done, I will do the meat”. He chuckled.
I have watched enough American movies to know that when American men cook, it is all about showing masculinity, maleness and some kind of egotistical trip about being male. British men usually do that by either having a barbecue with alcohol or going to the pub and getting drunk. For us Brits the camaraderie in drinking is more important than the food. I scratched my head for a moment remembering that this guy is actually tee-total. I don’t drink either so we are more alike than not. I found myself wondering why I found him so annoying then.
“I’ll need to spend a lot of time out hunting next week, to walk off the weight after this celebration” he snorted.
“Ah Yes” I thought to myself, I remembered why he leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. It’s that habit Americans have of being outdoors and doing things, like driving golf carts, shooting animals and fishing. I didn’t even know we had hunting clubs here but of course I could see his collection of guns behind him which were lined up like trophies.
“Aren’t you afraid the kids might find these?” I asked.
“It’s better they get used to them early” he said – “besides the ammunition is kept far away”.
“Anyway, the wife and kids would love to see you on Thanksgiving” he continued.
When people talk about “loving to see me”, I always get a bit suspicious. It’s a sure sign that the opposite is true however with Americans you never know… I think he might actually mean it. They don’t share our British dark cynicism. They honestly think the world is a nice place.
MaryBeth, the wife appeared, “13 kids, its no surprise she looks tired”. I thought to myself.
“Why don’t you join us for Breakfast on Thanksgiving” she uttered. MaryBeth is a common North American name, a shortened version of Mary Elizabeth.
I could see there really was no escape, but breakfast might be a way out of this because they will be up and ready for Church on this auspicious day. So I gave in, breakfast with the neighbours then I’ll spend the rest of the day recovering. The youngest has been practicing playing the American National Anthem – I only know that because it woke me up a few days ago, but of course I would never mention that to them.
“Samuel has been practicing playing the American National Anthem on the Piano” the mother said proudly. I bit my lip and resisted saying something sarcastic about his practice time.
“You son of a gun” said the father as he ruffled the boy’s hair with his hand.
“We never see Jonathan these days – he is training to become a minister” they went on to say proudly. He is the eldest son apparently. No one ever speaks about the middle one, Thomas, I was going to ask about him but it just didn’t feel right.
I felt kind of sad, we speak the same language, live in the same street but couldn’t be more different.
“Oh, how is……. your…. Cat… dog – pet, toffee?” – MaryBeth asked. Clearly they weren’t in touch with the important things in my life. They smiled…. in a kind of a truculent way which emitted pity.
“My cat…… Ptofi…. He is fine” I answered before making an excuse to leave.
“Oh I made jam today for you and the family” she said, breaking the awkwardness of the moment, handing me a jar of jam. It really felt like an episode of a homespun American drama although no one was getting shot in this rerun.
“Sorry I forgot your wife’s name” she continued.
“Don’t worry, I’ve forgotten all 13 names of your kids as well… by the way, how is Thomas?” I retaliated.
“eh, well, we don’t really……” they both said at the same time “anyway, enjoy the jam”
“Oh thanks” I replied while backing towards the door. Glancing over my shoulder at the rifles and child in the room as I made a hasty retreat.
“See you on Thanksgiving” – came the voices behind me, it was starting to feel more like Amityville, an American horror movie than a drama.
I thought to myself “I really wish that UK people had something like Thanksgiving where we could all sit around the table happily” but then I remembered, we do, it’s called Christmas and although we all sit around the table, it’s rarely happy.
My mind went to Thomas, somehow I knew that he will be the elephant in the room this year, if he is actually invited.
Tips for Better Learning
Another Two Minute Silence
Weekly Lesson: Remembrance Sunday
For study until 17th of November 2024
Subject: Remembrance Sunday
Audio: On usual social media platforms
Remembrance Sunday
In the month of November, on the Sunday closest to the 11th, Remembrance Sunday takes place. The day is supposed to commemorate the War Dead across the Commonwealth and British territories but for younger generations it is often perceived as incredibly dull. Since it is a historic ceremony involving the dead, it has been enshrined in our communities as being very important, reminding us that democracy is not an automatic right, it is something which was fought for at a great price with a loss of life. Our Leaders gather at War Memorials up and down the country and lay flowers, remembering all those who have died. In these days where we celebrate diversity and peace, ceremonies like this can seem a bit icky. In fact for most of us the ickiness of the day sits in direct contrast with modern living.
The ceremony represents the face of Britain as it was in 1919 when the first took place on Armistice Day in 1919. Over time it has been expanded to include the Second World War and other conflicts in the World. Little has changed in the ceremony since 1919, the three faces of the Government all come together. The Monarchy, the Church and the Military all parade through the streets, looking like a reminder of days gone by. Despite the Government telling us that Britain is now multicultural and politically correct, the ceremony itself is embarrassingly “white”.
When I was a little boy, in the 1980s, there were still people around who remembered the First World War known as World War One and Remembrance Sunday seemed much more important than it is today. World War One still encroaches on our lives today as well; If you work for a company here, you may be asked on certain days to observe a two minute silence to remember the War Dead on anniversaries of World War One. If I had a penny for every time I have been asked to respect a two minute silence to remember the war, I would be a very rich man by now.
I stopped commemorating Remembrance Sunday some years ago, I really dislike the two minute silence part at 11am where we are told we have to “shut up” for two minutes to remember those who died in the Wars. That may have worked some years ago but these days trying to get anyone to focus on something for 2 minutes is not likely to happen.
I find the whole thing rather fake, I mean billions are spent on having ceremonies remembering the Glorious Dead from the old British Empire, why not just look at stopping war. Would that not be a better idea or forget about the ceremony and give the money to a charity instead?
Then there’s the Royal commentary about the King and Queen who are of course leading the ceremony in London dressed in black wearing poppies on their jackets. A poppy is a little flower that you can see everyone wearing the week before the ceremony it is a little paper flower which is bright red and sometimes has a bit of green at the back. It is used as a symbol of remembering our War Dead.
Apparently this year our Queen has a chest infection so she cannot attend. It is a very sombre affair, my Grandmother used to say our Royals all look like horses with their rather protruding teeth and many people here refer to them as “horsey” – meaning they have horse features. I can imagine them nibbling on the flowers rather than laying them at the cenotaph.
It’s hard to escape, every news channel in the UK has live coverage from London showing our Royals arriving looking more like they are going to the Oscars rather than the Cenotaph.
“And today the Queen is wearing the pearls gifted to her from the Sultan of Oman… and the king’s coat was last seen worn at his Mother’s funeral…”. It is the epitome of boredom, kitsch and a ceremony which feels wrong in so many ways. It really is just icky.
Last year I forgot about the ceremony and tried to listen to radio on my phone at 11.01am. Getting no sound I immediately uninstalled the app, still heard nothing and blamed my Bluetooth buds. Just before giving up and threatening to reset the whole phone, I heard a trumpet and realised it marked the end of the two minute silence, my equipment was fine and started playing. I rolled my eyes, picked up my cat and went to the other room to watch Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher in Murder She Wrote, solve another murder. It seemed the only way I could escape the boredom of the day.
Earlier this year it got quite exciting, in my local newspaper there was an enquiry from volunteers who look after a War Cemetery in the Netherlands seeking contact with relatives of people buried there. The name was one of my Mother’s cousins and I was able to pass photos and give a short biography of the man. The Dutch guy who wanted the info was really excited and clearly thought we were going to be best friends forever and share a love for researching the lives of young men who died tragically. From my point of view it was interesting to know where Tommy was buried but I never knew him, he died during the war. I only knew that it wasn’t exactly a hero’s death, he was stealing chickens from the enemy camp during World War Two and sadly a bomb dropped while he was there. Maybe I will drop into to the cemetery the next time I am in the Netherlands but there’s more chance of me being in the supermarket buying chicken rather than remembering Tommy this year. As much as I love family history, I never expected to be the last man standing with photos and biographies. I am only in my fifties after all, still very young.
Anyway, after this ceremony, my attention will be turning to Christmas cards another eccentrically British tradition and I’ll be looking at my Christmas card list to see who I got a card from last year and who is worthy of a card this year. If I don’t get a card two years in a row from someone, then the person is removed from my list.
This may be a far cry from Remembrance Sunday but equally important in my opinion.
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To Be at your Wits End – Idiom
Bonfire Night and the Animals
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Weekly Lesson Audio: Guy Fawkes Night
Presenting your Voice Better
What does the word Underway mean?
Weekly Lesson Audio: Halloween
Here is the audio for my weekly lesson.
Weekly Lesson: Halloween
For study until 3rd of November 2024
Subject: Halloween
Audio: On usual social media platforms.
It is Halloween and as usual my town has a parade which takes place on the closest weekend. Usually artists create a monster which looks like its hanging over the town hall, but as everything has gone digital, there isn’t actually anything to see unless you attend the event where monsters are beamed on to the walls of the town hall after it gets dark. It is kind of sad that there aren’t any installed monuments to visit anymore during the day. As movie makers say “It’s all in the can”.
I went to the town centre and was upset that there was really nothing to see. Preparations were well underway, complete with loudspeakers. They were loud enough to wake the dead if you excuse the pun. I don’t mind a bit of Kelly Clarkson but I take exception to Celine Dion. My opinion of her is so bad that I remove myself from conversations about her by saying:
“Oh, Celine Dion? My cat really, really doesn’t like her” – it seems the only way I can avoid being rude about her voice. The third person is really useful sometimes.
By preparations, I mean the roads were sealed off and large projectors were placed around the centre. The parade at night is nice to see but has too many people to make it in any way enjoyable.
When I was a kid, Halloween was one night in the year when we dressed up, carved turnips and painted pictures of witches. It didn’t extend to weeks of celebrations with horror movies about psychotic killers, there wasn’t a Halloween brand and any sense of fun associated with it was Disney style and harmless like the movie Hocus Pocus. There were always objections to it though particularly from Churches which still had a lot of influence in the 70s and 80s but most of us saw it as harmless fun. It didn’t extend beyond putting a sheet over your head and shouting “booo”. I think its popularity was because it was a shared experience and time honoured. My father carving the turnip, my mother making cookies and my grandparents buying sweets. These days the kids just go to the supermarket and stuff their faces full of whatever they can buy.
In more recent years as Religion seems to have dwindled, Halloween has become not only a brand but a much bigger celebration than Christmas. Houses with decorated windows, lights, pumpkins, scarecrows without heads and covered in blood which make them look putrid.
A group of kids turned up at my place last night looking for sweets and shouting “trick or treat”. The phrase “trick or treat” is a new phenomenon which we borrowed from America but it does represent what kids do on that night. They visit neighbours and ask for sweets. We don’t actually respond by choosing an option like “trick” we just give them sweets and then they leave. In my case I use my video doorbell, see the costumes and just ignore them. Maybe I am a hard hearted Skype English Teacher but I prefer to be on Skype talking to people about how frightening learning English can be rather than talking to kids about how frightening they look.
A lot of people don’t like Halloween because of its darker connotations. I do know that 31st October has always been associated with the dead and it is a night when the dead and the living supposedly can meet each other. It is kind of like the Day of the Dead in Mexico but we don’t leave gifts on graves for the dead, in fact we don’t even think of them. British people are not sentimental in that way, at least not on Halloween and we are far too mean to leave alcohol for dead people on their graves.
The original idea back in the 17th century is that if we dress up as ghosts, no one will know who is alive and who is dead, offering some kind of protection on the night. Here in the UK we also have a number of people who are pagan or wiccan. Halloween for them is a religious observance akin to Christmas and they are also becoming fashionable. Halloween has long been associated with magic and as a child I do remember seeing things like dead chickens on graves and more recently farmers keeping their horses locked up on the night for fear that someone will cut off their tails, there has been a few police reports about that and on local media. So it is clear that in the countryside there are people around practicing some kind of magic on that night but nobody knows who they are or why.
I did feel a little bit disturbed when I was in the supermarket and the assistant was dressed as an old hag. As her face was hidden, I couldn’t see who she was or her facial expressions and that made me a bit uncomfortable. But it’s no worse I suppose than dressing up as Santa Claus or people wearing covid masks.
My feelings towards Halloween are rather ambivalent, I don’t like the costumes but I suppose there’s no real harm.
I had a discussion with my neighbour about this:
“Are you all set for Halloween?” He muttered wryly.
“What do you mean all set?” I asked, trying to disarm his vain attempt at humour,
“I mean do you have the sweets ready?” was his next attempt at small talk.
“Um, no…… I don’t.. I don’t really…..” but by that point he had walked off, reminding me again that this was only small talk and I shouldn’t be thinking about answering well.
Strangely he had the same conversation with me at Christmas time, its just their way of making conversation about nothing but when they don’t get the answers they want the conversation simply dies. It does make me wonder though what makes other people excited and how they lead their lives. I had a pang of sadness that I might be missing out on something, spending most of my days online. I mean there could be elephants dressed as witches living next door all the year round and I likely wouldn’t notice.
The clocks change by one hour around the same time as Halloween, I use the American proverb to remind me which way they change:
Spring Forward ( In Spring they go forward).
Fall Back (In Autumn they go back, Autum is the British word for Fall).
Once a big deal, now that’s automated as well. I wonder if people in the future will even realise these things take place?
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To Be Lumbered with… (idiom)
What is a TV Licence?
Weekly Lesson: The TV Licence
For study until 27th of October 2024
Subject: The Television Licence
Audio: On usual social media platforms.
The Television Licence
It was one of those days where I was grateful for technology. After hearing someone knocking at my door, I opened the doorbell video app on my phone and saw two men standing there.
“Oh” I thought…..either they are trying to sell me a broadband deal for better Wifi or, they are religious. I had to make a snap decision whether to actually open the door, so I thought it best just to ask them who they are, using my phone. After all, last time I was lumbered with a heater, toaster and washing machine (see my lesson from two weeks ago) from the Charity givers.
“Can I help?” I asked, while staring at the app and the mic on my phone.
“Yes, it is TV Licence Enforcement, we need to see your licence”.
“Oh, OK”
I walked to the door, trying to gather my thoughts on the way, I opened it to see an ID pushed into my face.
“Its about your TV Licence sir”, one of them blurted out. “We just checked with the Post Office, it has expired”.
I remembered how serious this can be. If you own a TV in the UK then you need to also have a licence. It costs around £200 each year. When you buy a TV, you also need to give your name and address and the shop is legally obliged to tell the Enforcement Officers. You also need one if you have BBC Iplayer on your phone or computer. It’s terribly organised and definitely very British to enforce it in this way.
“I have a licence” – in fact I pay quarterly” I replied, “ you took forty pounds just yesterday from my bank account”. I chuckled. They clearly didn’t see the funny side of my words. Of course they wanted to see the paper, so I invited them in.
“Sooooo, that’s the TV?” they said as they entered my living room. They were obviously still in suspicion mode. I did my best not to give a sarcastic remark. By this point I was trying desperately to find my licence. I remembered it was electronic so I was scrolling through my phone trying to find it. It seemed like a lifetime had passed,
“If this was Ancient Egypt you would have found it by now” – one of them said sarcastically.
As I was standing at the window scrolling on my phone, I saw their truck outside, it kind of looked like a camper van or little caravan with a huge metal bit on the roof but their trucks always look uglier and more grey than any holiday truck.
“Nice cat” one of the men said. My cat hissed and walked away. I really wish I could have done the same.
“Not friendly is he?” he chortled.
“Oh he hates everyone, its not personal, don’t worry” – I quipped.
“Here is the licence” – I showed it to them on my phone and they looked confused.
“Is this not apartment number one? They asked squinting their eyes.
“No, this is apartment two” I responded, realising what had happened.
“Well, sorry we got the wrong apartment” they admitted, as they both headed to the door.
“Well there’s no one living next door” I chirped again, the guy left some weeks ago, I know because I have some stuff here for him.
“Oh there is someone there – we can see what channel they are watching” he said as he looked down at his Ipad walking towards the apartment opposite.
It is indeed typical in a country like ours that they would develop technology to ensure you have a TV licence. Its hardly the be all and end all of everything but we love solid rules and enforcing them.
Just at that moment a Priest entered my apartment block and as I live on the ground level, he saw me first. “Did you call for the Last Rites to be administered?”
“Eh… no……” I uttered
“Um, I know it was someone in this block but I don’t know who….” He replied
“Well it wasn’t me…” I said uncomfortably, hoping that he wouldn’t ask me about Church attendance. Everyone knows the Parish Priest and I was rather hoping that he had forgotten I existed.
He glanced at his notebook..”my my….sorry It’s apartment two on the next level…”
“I don’t suppose you need them anyway…? I could swing by later….?” – he chortled “Remember you don’t have to be dying to get the Last Rites”.
“No, no no…. I’m in great health….” I said, convincing myself that it was true, shook my head and backed away as he walked up the stairs. I got a bit flabbergasted. Do I look like I need the Last Rites? The barber always gives me OAP rates and I never correct him but I am still a long way away from aged 60. My day couldn’t really get any more surreal.
I watched as the TV Enforcement officers knocked on the door opposite, of course there was no reply. So they stood there and I closed the door and opened the video app again. After a few moments they started calling through the letterbox (These people meant business and I had forgotten just how much power they have). They can choose to simply give you a penalty or if you agree to trot down the post office and buy a licence immediately, they will overlook the fact that you had a TV without one. You can buy it online as well.
There was indeed someone inside, I could hear a difficult conversation. It sounded like there was a guy insisting he didn’t have a TV. My app caught a clear picture of him, it looked like a scene from a 1967 hippie movie, my neighbour was wearing a kaftan, love beads and sandals. He kind of looked like Barry White but not as entertaining. The TV licence enforcement officers weren’t getting in and I could hear the conversation was getting uncomfortable. Finally they reached a compromise and the two men left, looking happy. A thought came to my mind that they were earning commission.
My video doorbell hadn’t picked up anything from that apartment in weeks, so it was really strange that the man living there hadn’t left in weeks. By the looks of him it looked like he hadn’t left since 1967!
The moral of the story is, get a TV licence if you own a TV and live in the UK. They will find you if you don’t.
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Can the British Prison System Change?
To Get Someone’s Back Up (idiom)
Weekly Lesson Audio: Mindsets for Learning
Peaky Blinders to become a Movie
Tips for Presenting Better
What is a Food Bank
To Have an Affinity with Someone
Visiting the Shopping Centre
What is a Henchman?
Weekly Lesson: The Charity Givers
For study until 13th of October 2024
Subject: The Charity Givers
Audio: On usual social media platforms.
The Charity Givers
Last week, I was sitting at home watching my favourite TV show when someone rang my doorbell. I opened the door to find a woman dressed in black wearing a hat standing there with two henchmen standing behind her. The picture looked like some kind of 1980s glam pop group trio, complete with backing singers. Katrina and the Waves came to my mind and this group looked a bit artificially happy. I doubt they were “Walking on Sunshine” after all it was pouring with rain outside.
“Are you Danny?” – she asked, with direct eye contact and a flashing of teeth. I immediately picked up on the accent and realised she wasn’t English and my radar started to try and work out where she was from. I settled with either Italian or Greek, leaning more towards Greek.
“No….” I replied.
“Ah, it’s the apartment across from you I think, but he’s not at home, can I leave something with you to give to him?” she muttered in bad English. I resisted the urge to correct her.
Images of the 80s, big hair and electrical guitars started to fade. They would be more fluent.
“Sure, why not?” I replied, remembering that my neighbour took my University books when they arrived last week when I was out. He handed them in later.
“We have a washing machine, a toaster and an electric fire”.
At that point her head leaned slightly to the left and she showed teeth. She clearly felt we had some kind of affinity but I’m not sure why. I looked behind myself briefly because her gaze kind of said “what a cute cat” but my cat was nowhere to be seen. He hasn’t been receiving visitors in recent days because of his sickness. The only thing we might have had in common is the word charity. Whoever she was, she clearly was offering charity to Danny. I was doing the same thing by offering to take his stuff for him.
She clapped her hands once and the henchmen swung into action. From nowhere a washing machine, toaster and fire appeared at my feet. She handed me the toaster.
“Um, about the washing machine….” ….. she pre-empted what I was about to say…
“Oh we will leave that at Danny’s door, and we will text him…. He told us he was homeless and we wanted to help” as she handed me the heater and toaster.
I remembered that the apartment across from me was indeed kept for those who are homeless while they search for permanent accommodation. It’s something I discussed on a previous podcast.
She quickly retreated and vanished, leaving no clue where they had come from or what group they represented, vanishing into the distance. This was like some kind of 80s video, the only thing missing was the artificial smoke as they disappeared.
My cat wandered up, took one look at the doorway, made a noise and walked away. He was largely unimpressed.
It took me a few moments to register what had just happened. Who were these people? Either way, it was a nice feeling to know I had done a good deed. It was that feeling you get when you hear a pop song from your youth. Some weird feeling of security and nice memories which allow you to take a deep breath and smile.
That day, I waited for Danny to arrive but nobody came.
“That’s ok” I thought, “He might be on holiday” but then the fifth day came and went, with no sign of Danny beating a path through the jungle to my doorway to collect his goods.
After a week and a half passed, it was clear that Danny wasn’t coming back. I moved the heater and toaster away from behind my front door to a more permanent arrangement, my cupboard. The washing machine is still sitting outside his apartment door.
I asked my neighbours what they thought. Some of them were worried that he was dead inside his apartment, others went along with the holiday theory but they all agreed that they really didn’t care.
“I mean if he was dead in there, there’s nothing could be done anyway, he’s dead” they all concurred.
“Yeah… but no… but…..” was what I heard as we all were defending why we didn’t want to get involved. They were more uncomfortable with my direct communication than they were about Danny.
After another week passed my doorbell camera alerted me that there was a movement in the hallway. I cynically checked it, not expecting Danny to appear. My Landlord’s agent was clearing the apartment. This was my big moment to find out where Danny was. Although it was clear she didn’t want to talk to me:
“Hi, that washing machine was left by a charity or Christian Group for Danny. Has he moved then?” I politely asked.
“Because of Data Protection, I can’t discuss anyone who may or may not be called Danny” she responded without turning around. She came with her own henchman He stared bitterly in my direction but once they heard the word charity, they softened a bit.
“We will get it moved for you” she unwillingly made eye contact. She looked like she was 16 and covered in acne, the fluorescent jacket made her look professional but she wasn’t fooling anyone. The henchman looked younger, acne much worse than her’s and carrying more puppy fat than a labrador dog. These people were young. I was just another old man in their eyes.
“Can you tell him to pick the stuff up” I pleaded.
“I wonder if you mean the last tenant, before this one” – she interrupted
“No, that was Stuart” I said….trying to get her to take some kind of responsibility.
“David has a support worker” – I will talk to them…..
“Are you sure she said the name Danny?” – she continued.
“Yeah” I quipped while trying not to roll my eyes.
“The woman was Central European, she could have said the name wrong” wondering why I had to defend my argument.
They quickly made their excuses and vanished. The washing machine is still there and my cat happily sits on the heater when he is doing his daily patrols around my apartment.
I haven’t decided what to do next. Should I move the washing machine into the cupboard as another place for my cat to rest his weary head while he does his daily rounds?
Should I just call the local charity shop and get them to take everything. Will the woman who looked like an 80s rock star come back and collect the stuff?
What about Danny and his support worker? Should I expect them to appear with a van?
I’m not holding my breath, that’s for sure.
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Weekly Lesson Audio: The House Guest
Weekly Lesson: The House Guest
For study until 6th of October 2024
Subject: The House Guest
Audio: On usual social media platforms.
When I heard that a friend was coming to visit for a few days, my heart sank. As a typical British man, I know that friends staying over, usually causes a lot of stress. I had no particular beef with the person himself, but I knew that a guest staying would throw a spanner into the works of my daily routine. These days, British people are not so hospitable. All of us want our “personal space” so staying at hotels usually allows us more time to do what we want instead of being tied down to particular moments such as eating with the host family etc.
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Warnings Issued about UK Public WiFi
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Weekly Lesson Audio: A Trip to the Vet’s (Surgery)
Tips for Speaking Better
Teachers to be Given More Incentives
Ideas for Speaking Better
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
To Slot /A Slot Meaning
Handshakes – A Very British Custom
To Scour Meaning
All about Piers
Universities in England may hike Prices
Mouth Movements for Sounding Better
What is a Game Changer?
Weekly Lesson: The Return to Education
For study until 8th of September 2024
Subject: The Return to Education
Audio: On usual social media platforms
Deciding to go back to study at University sounded enthralling. It brought back memories of Education when I was younger. Being part of something, a time when we all knew for sure we were loved and affirmed by forming deeper friendships.
As I work in the Education sector, I am very aware of the changing face of teaching but this was going to be interesting. To be on the other side of the classroom for a change, not the one in front of the class. It came as a bit of a shock to find that “Campus life” was simply online. Opening a new tab on my browser is hardly the same as bursting through the University doors wearing too much aftershave and white socks in 1987.
My first day arrived and I was feeling intrepid. It was something of a relief to find an Internet room full of middle-aged cynical bitter looking faces staring at me. I was expecting teenagers. Arriving into an Internet video chat is like changing a TV channel, you give it a few seconds to gauge what it’s like before you feel altogether settled and you are immediately hit with feelings but you don’t quite know what they are yet.
I am no stranger to Internet chats, but this was one of the few times I was in a room full of native speakers – that was a bit of a game changer. The balance of power felt different – these people had years of experience of judging others and there was no language barrier to protect me from that. I felt like I was being X-rayed and anxiously awaiting the results. For the first time in a long time, I was vulnerable in an online learning environment.
The song “Forever Young” by Alphaville played in my mind. Jeez, they were more cynical than I was – this was not about having fun, for them, they were more concerned about funding. Their online background scenery was interesting, some people lying in bed, others sitting on the sofa, some empty chairs and a few with cameras turned off. Was this really the new definition of diversity at University?
I’d forgotten how much American Psychology had crept in over the years. The Tutors had been told to tell us one exciting fact about their personal lives. I really didn’t care who had driven a tank through a desert or who makes kitsch medieval tapestries when they aren’t out walking dogs. My mind drifted, Forever Young played in my head again as I remembered the first day of University the first time round. I was studying Theology and Philosophy back then, we should in theory have been very well behaved kids with such a serious subject but we weren’t, we were crazy maladjusted kids with a tutor who looked like a relic from the Dark ages. Riding brightly coloured cars, wearing crazy hats and listening to Elton John defined us, we were teenagers.
I was quickly brought down to earth again with a thump when another student asked me the question:
“Tell us something about yourself Joseph?”
“I’m an avid traveller” I quipped looking around the screen to see who was listening. Most of them were busy surfing the web – I doubt the answer even registered with them “and happily married” I quickly added. That last comment got the attention of a few people and clearly raised a few eyebrows.
“Great”, she cackled voraciously.
“My first husband was like you…. Not the happily married bit, I mean…. He travelled” while she took another puff of the cigarette and then stubbed it out in the ashtray, blowing smoke in the air…..
“What about you Sonia?” she said in a loud gritty voice moving her head around the screen to her next victim.
“Oh by the way, are all of our lectures on Fridays? I have the grandchildren the rest of the week” she chortled.
No one else seemed to care except for one woman who kept sending me private messages to help her find stuff on the Uni. website while asking questions about MS Teams. I’d forgotten how my role in group situations is always the “helper”. There to bring a bit of calm to panicking hysterical women.
“We can meet after class” I quipped – “just like last time”. We had previously met online at the intro. sessions a few days before…. Suzanne was an interesting person, she carried an immense sense of tragedy and didn’t have a clue about computers. Just like the kind of women who always seem to find special places in my English classes by booking lots of packages and then self-predicting that they will never pass exams. Then there were the others who kept asking me about times of lectures. I’m not sure what bit of “its all online – there are no lectures” that they couldn’t understand. Yes, I grappled with that as well, we just had to like it or lump it – we read, write and then submit things.
Like it or lump it – this was indeed University for older people, fun meant going for blood tests and Covid vaccines.
Like it or lump it was always the preferred idiom in my family growing up and it simply means “take it or leave it”. It is one of those phrases that you can hear everywhere, especially when there is little choice in a decision which has to be made. My mother used to say – “you are having potatoes for dinner like it or lump it… you don’t want them? Fine, you can lump it then”. (in other words, starve).
The one curious thing was how the tutors kept pleading with us to attend lectures:
“I know we are all busy but can we please try to get to lectures? You will struggle if you don’t…”
That was repeated many times and I remembered the countless times I waited for students who weren’t going to appear online for English classes. I don’t plead anymore, I’m kind of past that stage.
My mind drifted again and I remembered how middle aged teachers feel like parents sometimes but not with this crowd. Walking sticks, crutches and doctors appointments meant that I wasn’t about to find myself cruising through the streets in brightly coloured cars this time, this was post middle age – cruising up to the local Doctor’s surgery is as good as it gets. For some people here the best years of their lives had quickly become the last years of their lives. I was one of the youngest and as such expected to be the IT expert of the room.
I was no longer the English teacher around here, I was the baby.
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Protests at Library Closures
More about Public Libraries in the UK
National Radio Day
Weekly Lesson: The Leak from the Bathroom Ceiling
For study until 25 August 2024
Subject: The Leak from the Bathroom Ceiling
Audio: On usual social media platforms.
Continue reading “Weekly Lesson: The Leak from the Bathroom Ceiling”Stonehenge has Scottish Links
Could Fox Hunting be Uncancelled?
Weekly Lesson Audio, Cancel Culture: Pigeon Racing
Weekly Lesson, Cancel Culture: Pigeon Racing
Subject: Cancel Culture: Pigeon Racing
Audio: On usual social media platforms.
Cancel Culture: Pigeon Racing
In the 1970s before the Internet came, pigeon racing was all the rage. It was fairly common to see both young and old men owning pigeon lofts. These were like large garden sheds specifically custom-built to house racing pigeons. The culture of pigeon racing always piqued my curiosity because both my Father and Grandfather had their own lofts at the bottom of their gardens and were fee paying members of their local pigeon racing club. Even the Queen was in on the act, she had her own pigeon loft and was racing her own pigeons until her death. Sadly the new King withdrew his patronage from pigeon associations and charities shortly after he was crowned. People who breed and race pigeons are sometimes known as pigeon fanciers.
Graffiti – Always a Negative Word in English
What Does “Gripped” mean as a metaphor?
UK Government to Exclude the Drinks Industry when making Policy Decisions
Weekly Lesson: The Shopping Mall
For study until 11 August 2024
Subject: The Shopping Mall
Audio: On usual social media platforms.
The Shopping Mall
Until the early 80s my town had a Butcher, Fishmonger, Newsagent, a really weird shop that sold only towels and a Fruit shop. By 1984 the country was gripped with a political fervour. A new breath was sweeping over the country in the early eighties with the promise of Capitalism.
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Weekly Lesson: Competitive Sport
For study until 4 August 2024
Audio: On usual social media platforms.
We all can recount stories of our school days and in my life too there were always those awkward moments when it came to competitive sport.
Firstly, at school there were teachers who had a penchant for watching kids running round the entire school complex (approximately 5 miles) twice. The teachers were sheltered under umbrellas, wrapped up in coats, scarves and gloves while we were wearing the obligatory skimpy school uniform for sport, running in the snow. Secondly there was the procedure for selecting players and putting them into teams. The most athletic boy was of course the captain and he got to select his team. It was common practice for those of us who were more academic and less able physically, to be left on the sidelines along with the fat twins whom, of course everyone hated. There were clear winners and losers in this system and I was near the bottom of the list with my new best friends. We enjoyed watching sport, after all we were rarely selected to actually play.
That moment of calling out names for each team was the hardest because I knew I was never going to hear “Joseph, today you will be the goalkeeper”. I felt like a prisoner in a jail when they have that mail call. As much as you kind of hoped there would be a letter there for you, you somehow knew that it wasn’t going to happen.
I don’t remember my Father ever taking me to sports matches but I do remember being taken by my Grandfather. I could never fathom why one man wearing red boxing gloves wanted to punch the living daylights out of the other guy and more importantly why Americans referred to that time spent with children at sports matches as “quality time”. If there was anything qualitative about watching a boxing match, I never found it. It was a place full of old men who were wheezing and coughing clutching cigarettes, who seemed pleased to see bloody noses.
On Saturdays I started going to the library instead and soon discovered a clandestine group of kids who were hiding there and studying. They too were bored of “quality time” with family. We didn’t want to be called nerds but we had earned that reputation. Spending time guessing the names of Capital Cities of the world seemed so much more peaceful, these kids knew the meaning of quality. It was fun learning where Moldova was and you would be surprised how relevant that is in my life these days. I also learnt how to solve the Rubik’s cube in minutes. I admit that it wasn’t exactly a crowning moment in the world of sport but it did earn me a reputation, albeit not a positive one.
Sport in 1970s UK was not about competition. It was about learning to hate each other.
George Orwell once said:
“Serious sport has nothing to do with fair play. It is bound up with hatred, jealousy, boastfulness, disregard of all rules and sadistic pleasure in witnessing violence. In other words, it is war minus the shooting.”
I never understood why they wanted to divide us and force us to compete against each other. It supposedly made us stronger but for me and many others it was a very painful time realising that we didn’t fit the mould. Groups of us found solace in books and in our own imagination, we were different. All of us children came from the same gritty economic background, our parents were all miners, iron labourers or factory workers. Some of us knew we were destined for something greater but we didn’t know what. Our parents couldn’t relate to us, they didn’t know how to win us over, kids who weren’t destined for the mines or steel works “how would they survive”?
Not only were we different from our parents we were different from our older kin as well. My brother knew how to bounce a ball like Pele, enter an old mineshaft without getting caught and I knew how to play the piano like Richard Clayderman or James Last. Somebody somewhere should have realised there was a problem. For kids like me this was something much deeper than choice of playground, it was something else rising, a new horizon with global promise. It felt magical but made us vulnerable, we were fish out of water, a tribe of misfits sitting alongside a pack of lions who were conditioned in a very different way, waiting to prey on anything weaker. We avoided confrontation about hating sport, we were outnumbered. It was survival of the fittest. Yet sport was supposed to unite us, it was competitive and had shared vision, winning defeating and building character.
I watched the Olympic Torch being carried into the Auditorium in Paris yesterday. My heart leapt at the symbology of true sportsmanship, the unity of watching the torch and all that it represents. Something which illuminates and burns away the twisted version from school and raises the standard. A standard which encompasses all people, disabled, male, female, strong and weak and all the other dualities we have to work our way through.
I’m wondering how the newer generations work through problems like this or maybe the definition of sport itself is evolving to meet their needs. Either way, it took many years for me to find peace about it. In Arabia I found a new hobby in watching Camel racing and returning to the UK have found myself at ice hockey matches, during “quality time” with family. A far cry from tribal football matches and sectarianism which still sends shudders up my spine.
I think I understand these things more now than ever before and have definitely found peace about sport.
- What is motivating you today to study?
- What motivates you daily to get up and go to work – is it Habit? Money? Targets? Meeting people, burning energy, using positivity, joy level.
- What is your joy level today – and what raises your joy level?
- “My Heart Leapt” – When we think about motivation – what does it mean for you?
The Verb: To Budge
Government Plans Optional Digital ID Cards
And Then the Police Came – A Story about ID Cards
Life Without ID Cards
For study until 28 July 2024
Subject: Life Without ID Cards
Audio: On usual social media platforms.
This particular bank looked the same as any other, bandage coloured wallpaper, glass rooms and an assistant who looked so young that I’m sure I have food in my freezer older than her:
“Computer says no” she said, during my latest attempt to offer ID to open a bank account. Despite my protests and assurances that I was actually British, she wanted more, one piece of photo ID and a Utility Bill from where I live, clearly showing my name and address. The first one was no problem, I have a Passport but they clearly had me over a barrel with the second bit.
I explained twice “I’ve just moved back here from Spain – I don’t have a permanent address yet” but my appeal fell on deaf ears: “When you have ID showing an address – come back to me and we will process your application – like an Electricity Bill from the last three months for example.” was her latest way of getting rid of me.
She was an impressive opponent, dressed in a navy coloured business suit, she meant business. Looking her over I noticed that she had more curves than a Formula One car race track and no doubt she was twice as dangerous. Her bling jewellery was a testament that poverty is not only about cash, but a state of mind. I needed a bank account and clearly she wasn’t going to budge. I was beginning to agree with my Spanish friends, how do we cope without ID cards in the UK?
I finally found an old bank account that I had forgotten about from years before – I hadn’t used it since I left the UK. I trotted along to their branch and simply told them I needed a new bank card and where to send it. Fortunately, I remembered all of my old security passwords.
Dealing with organisations without ID cards is always rough, but trying to deal with Financial Institutions is worse still and involves an endless cycle of conversations, I think that’s the same the world over. The problem in the UK though is not only the lack of ID cards, it’s also about our legalistic approach to the world and our lack of social structure.
If I had been living with relatives, there would have been no problem I could have asked my parents to give me a letter saying I was living there. Friendships here are never large enough to encompass those kinds of favours and that left only my Brother to turn to for help. He lives around here somewhere but I haven’t spoken to him in ten years. I wasn’t about to turn up like a long lost brother just for a favour – I’d rather shoot myself with a gun.
My Grandmother used to tell me stories about how they were given ID cards during the war to buy food and as soon as it was over, they quickly burned them. Our view of democracy means that the Government cannot hold one central list of who we all are and what we look like, but no doubt there are a number of other lists they could use if they really wanted to find me. It’s not just about ID cards, its more about how we live, how we are, the way we all seem to live in bubbles now without social interaction.
I pay a vet to come and feed my cat twice a day when I go on holiday. (I wouldn’t trust my neighbour with a stuffed toy let alone my cat and she’s not the kind of person I would associate with). Strangely, the vet (who is female) looks like me wearing a wig, I’m sure if we talk long enough she also is going to be a relative three times removed. Business is business though and she also has a huge list of ID requirements before she takes my house key.
With ever changing politics I have no doubt that they will be forced to give us some kind of ID card in the future, but for now I need to make sure I’m ready and armed with a Passport and utility bill with my name and address, just in case I ever need it. Well old age is coming and my free concessionary travel card will do more than give me free bus rides, it will act as a beautiful piece of evidence that I live here. At least old age is good for some things.
Affirmations
Monday – People help me to grow and encourage me with English.
Who supports you most in your learning journey and what type of encouragement do they give you?
Tuesday – Learning helps me connect with others.
Who have you met on your learning journey and how have they influenced you?
Wednesday – I reach out when I need to on my learning journey.
Describe a time when you had to accept the help of another person in your journey?
Thursday – Asking for help is not a weakness.
Describe a time when you felt insecure about an English problem you had. What did you do? Did asking for help come naturally?
Friday – Learning English is truly satisfying.
Do you believe this? If not, take a moment to think about why.
No Hugs Please: I’m British
Song Lyrics: Melting Pot by Blue Mink
Idiom: Like Chalk and Cheese
Diversity in the UK
Do All Men Need a Tribe?
Stonehenge: An Update on the Controversial Tunnel
English Idiom: The Jury’s Out
Overcrowding in Prisons
Idiom: Going Round the Houses
A Delicious Gyoro Recipe
Song Lyrics: Tammy Wynette, I don’t Want to Play House
Weekly Lesson Audio: Teachers, Then and Now
The Elephant in the Room (Idiom)
Where Does Cheddar Cheese Come From?
Brazilian Chicken Recipe
Child Obesity – Are We Eating Too Much?
An Introduction to British Eating Habits
Weekly Lesson: British People and Food: My Story, by Teacher Joseph
For study until 30 June 2024
Subject: British People and Food: My Story, by Teacher Joseph
Audio: On usual Social media platforms.
Continue reading “Weekly Lesson: British People and Food: My Story, by Teacher Joseph”Making Pancakes
Affirmation: I Learn English Well
Song Study – Runaway Train by Soul Asylum
King Charles Appears on UK Bank Notes
What is your Key Motivator?
Audio: Free Access to Museums and Art Galleries in the UK
More Women Choosing Private Maternity Care
Post Office Scandal Update
War Memorials in the UK
Why am I Not Motivated?
Weekly Lesson Audio – Cat Stevens
Keep the Candle Burning (an English Idiom)
This phrase is a very popular and we say it to each other in order to encourage each other with a dream. It basically means “Don’t lose hope” or “Keep the dream alive”.
Continue reading “Keep the Candle Burning (an English Idiom)”George Harrison’s Birth House Gets a Blue Plaque
The Sad Tale of How People Approach Learning English.
Language Learning like other systems of knowledge has been reduced.
Continue reading “The Sad Tale of How People Approach Learning English.”International Tea Day – Transcript for the podcast dated 24 May 2024
Hello, everyone, and welcome again to another Teacher Joseph podcast.
International Tea Day is observed every year on May 21st and it aims to raise awareness of the long history and deep cultural and economic significance of Tea around the world. The idea is to promote and to somehow Implement activities in favour of promoting everything related to tea.
Continue reading “International Tea Day – Transcript for the podcast dated 24 May 2024”Laid Bare Meaning
It is OK to Make Mistakes
Emotional Support Chickens (with transcript)
The New Weekly Lesson is now Online -1960s
You can view it below or else click on the following link. Audio will be published on Monday 20th May via the usual Social media channels.
Title: Outline of the 1960s Social Revolution in the UK
Continue reading “The New Weekly Lesson is now Online -1960s”To be Knocked Down
Listen to the most recent episode of my podcast: #773 Knocked Down https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/joseph-mc42/episodes/773-Knocked-Down-e2jp9k7
This will also be on my YouTube channel shortly
Care for Older People in the UK (with transcript)
Listen to the most recent episode of my podcast: #772 Care for Older People in the UK (with transcript) https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/joseph-mc42/episodes/772-Care-for-Older-People-in-the-UK-with-transcript-e2jqag4
It will be on youtube shortly too.
Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1h_1HX3Bsi1CMHmMKQoPT0G36CwgMdNBS0uekz6NK7EE/edit?usp=drivesdk
We all want our friends and relatives to be happy, but who is responsible for their care?
Today we read a story about a 95 year old woman in the UK.
To Focus (with transcript)
Listen to the most recent episode of my podcast: #770 To Focus (with transcript) https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/joseph-mc42/episodes/770-To-Focus-with-transcript-e2jnmd5
Transcript https://docs.google.com/document/d/19E1q6pK03LswlyXGzhTZi8NEnZtAnIjQO4dajuWu-O8/edit?usp=drivesdk
Today’s phrase for ESL Learners is “To focus”.
Also today:
Darts becomes Britain’s most exciting sport and Scientists study the language of Apes.
To be treated like Cattle (with Transcript)
Listen to the most recent episode of my podcast: #768 To be treated like Cattle (with transcript). https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/joseph-mc42/episodes/768-To-be-treated-like-Cattle-with-transcript-e2jm6j7
Full transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1o1Cxj13Rbidow4B972fyccKk2IAOluoPgnfZasJiI20/edit?usp=sharing
Continue reading “To be treated like Cattle (with Transcript)”What do you think about your English?
Listen to the most recent episode of my podcast: #766 What’s Your View of Your English https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/joseph-mc42/episodes/766-Whats-Your-View-of-Your-English-e2jkosm
To Be Hooked on.. (with transcript)
Listen to the most recent episode of my podcast: To Be Hooked on Something (with transcript) https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/joseph-mc42/episodes/To-Be-Hooked-on-Something-with-transcript-e2jj93u
Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JLikBSeqMOjVYniaOzLwQxaN7N-nm6jj-teWCEm3pqE/edit?usp=drivesdk
Today’s Learning English idiom for ESL learners is to Be Hooked on Something (with transcript)
Also:
Are British people addicted to Smartphones?
The English Breakfast is evolving – we now have cheese with coffee.
British People now drink Japanese wine “sake”.
To Hit the Right Note (With Transcript)
Listen to the most recent episode of my podcast: #763 To Hit the Right Note (with transcript)
Today’s Idiom to help you learn English is “to hit the right note”. Also:
- Nemo, a Swiss non binary singer wins Eurovision.
- An Archeological dig in Orkney will vanish again into the earth.
Weekly Lesson for Study – Tea Rooms
Title: The Evolution from Tea Rooms to Coffee Shops: A Cultural Shift
Audio: This will be posted shortly on my YouTube channel and Spotify
Continue reading “Weekly Lesson for Study – Tea Rooms”To Probe (with transcript)
Listen to the most recent episode of my podcast: #760 – To Probe (With Transcript) https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/joseph-mc42/episodes/760—To-Probe-With-Transcript-e2jh8ro
In Today’s Podcast to help you learn English:
The verb and noun “Probe”.
Antidepressants are being probed by the Government.
Cheers Stars, Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson begin a new podcast.
Tom Sellick from Magnum PI writes a Book
Jurors in the UK get offered Counselling.
1964 News Report: The Beatles Visit New York
Listen to the most recent episode of my podcast: #756 1964 News: The Beatles visit New York https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/joseph-mc42/episodes/756-1964-News-The-Beatles-visit-New-York-e2jelnv
1965 News Report: The Death of Winston Churchill
Listen to the most recent episode of my podcast: #755 1965 News: The Death of Winston Churchill https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/joseph-mc42/episodes/755-1965-News-The-Death-of-Winston-Churchill-e2jd6b0
To be Fed Up (with transcript)
Listen to the most recent episode of my podcast: #751 To be Fed Up (with transcript) https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/joseph-mc42/episodes/751-To-be-Fed-Up-with-transcript-e2ja5bf
Full Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1p14A3_eBXZQD9bTOqN8s5NxSrtF9wwNFwX-5lncg0Sg/edit?usp=drivesdk
Extract:
Hello, everyone, and welcome again to another Teacher Joseph podcast.
Today, the phrase we have is “to be fed up”. To be fed up, and it basically means to be bored or to be mentally tired of a particular situation. Now, it can also mean a little bit depressed.
So for example, you might hear your friends say:
Oh, I’m really fed up of this job, I’ve been doing it now for 10 years.
I’m fed up of my boss’s behaviour. He always acts inappropriately.
Today, I feel really fed up. It’s wet outside and I don’t have very much to do.
To be fed up. A synonym of bored or perhaps even to be depressed.
New Weekly Lesson Now Online – Roberto’s Story
Next week’s lesson is now online. I am also posting it below for your future reference so it will always be here in the blog.(Audio will be in tomorrow’s podcast).
Continue reading “New Weekly Lesson Now Online – Roberto’s Story”Getting the Best from Online Lessons (with transcript)
Listen to the most recent episode of my podcast: #749 Getting the Best from Online Lessons (with Transcript) https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/joseph-mc42/episodes/749-Getting-the-Best-from-Online-Lessons-with-Transcript-e2j85n5
Transcript https://docs.google.com/document/d/13_FTArCu98SOXOw3oGTjV0XdHVqvIMGhTlNmtDKWYvc/edit?usp=drivesdk
Extract:
Today. I want to explore with you the difference between face-to-face classroom lessons and e-learning lessons on the internet. I’ve done both and there’s a very real difference. And if you’re someone who hasn’t had an online lesson before or you’re just not sure how they work, we’re going to be looking at that today.
Pints of Wine (with transcript)
Listen to the most recent episode of my podcast: #748 Pints of Wine (with transcript) https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/joseph-mc42/episodes/748-Pints-of-Wine-with-transcript-e2j6q1u
Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1s9FlLsMihQwiRdgsN4A2pXyw_32R3JxLKgLopkLY-Ow/edit?usp=drivesdk
Extract: Well, there’s a story in one of our newspapers today. This is from the Daily Mirror and it’s saying that pints of wine will be on sale from this coming Autumn. Now, you may remember a few months ago, I told you about this….that pint size glasses and bottles of wine were to be made available in the UK. And of course, as a nation, we don’t really taste things. We just drink in volumes because we, we don’t really have an appreciation you know…. we don’t taste the wine and say
“Oh delicious, dry, sweet,,,, would be nice with fish”.
No…. we just drink to get drunk so it’s no surprise then that we would want wine by the pint rather than appreciating the delicacy and beauty of the drink. So we’re going to go through this story and we’ll be talking about it as we go.
To be Rigged (with transcript)
Listen to the most recent episode of my podcast: #747 To be Rigged (with transcript) https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/joseph-mc42/episodes/747-To-be-Rigged-with-transcript-e2j5dfn
Transcript https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EAOtcKX3LOgmTEWRU5SaEV4pLLDDtzx9/view?usp=drivesdk
Today’s phrase is to be rigged. Now when something is rigged, it is believed that it’s operated using deceit or some kind of malicious behaviour to promote a desired outcome. Now, let me just give you some examples to show you what I mean:
So, if we say, for example,
We had an election today to vote for our Union leader but I honestly believe the election is rigged.
Continue reading “To be Rigged (with transcript)”The Great Fire of London
Listen to the most recent episode of my podcast: #743 The Great Fire of London https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/joseph-mc42/episodes/743-The-Great-Fire-of-London-e2j0mcf
Shakespeare’s Birthday (with transcript)
Listen to the most recent episode of my podcast: #737 Shakespeare’s Birthday (with transcript) https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/joseph-mc42/episodes/737-Shakespeares-Birthday-with-transcript-e2iok4m
Transcript: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-yXZLuEYazD3tzVVJA9Eg81by-4XF498/view?usp=drivesdk
Sick Note Culture (with transcript)
Listen to the most recent episode of my podcast: #734 Sick Note Culture (with transcript) https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/joseph-mc42/episodes/734-Sick-Note-Culture-with-transcript-e2iksm5
Transcript: https://drive.google.com/file/d/14MnnqtzL6miySq2a7-rwxmaVyIZnOhpH/view?usp=drivesdk
Describing a Street
Listen to the most recent episode of my podcast: #726 Describing a Street
https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/joseph-mc42/episodes/726-Describing-a-Street-e2iaa6c
Me-Time (with transcript)
Listen to the most recent episode of my podcast: #733 Me-Time (with transcript)
Me-Time meaning and what it means in British Culture. https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/joseph-mc42/episodes/733-Me-Time-with-transcript-e2i5qha
Transcript: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hAeGXpTLP8-KxI25TQWc2799T47OdIRf/view?usp=drivesdk
To set the wheels in motion (with transcript)
Listen to the most recent episode of my podcast: #722 To Set the Wheels in Motion (with transcript)
British soldiers turn to Paganism and Britain invents new pizza toppings.
Transcript: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1M6MOiD2O2J5waS3i3sRkB7yrLGS4dIiQ/view?usp=drivesdk
Concrete Jungles
Listen to the most recent episode of my podcast: #718 Concrete Jungles.
Concrete Jungles, Jungles and the lyrics of Big Yellow Taxi by Joni Mitchell. https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/joseph-mc42/episodes/718-Concrete-Jungles-e2hv461
To Strike a Chord (with transcript)
Listen to the most recent episode of my podcast: #711 To Strike a Chord (with transcript) https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/joseph-mc42/episodes/711-To-Strike-a-Chord-with-transcript-e2hm1oj
Transcript: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QmtSCStUoW-AhG05Q9YCzyTRUskerJYx/view?usp=drivesdk
St. Patrick’s Day Celebrations (with transcript)
Check out my podcast, Teacher Joseph podcast, on Spotify for Podcasters: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/joseph-mc42
Transcript: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Z2SljV73hkBiKhZpO9c6n7wsG5AjUlZM/view?usp=drivesdk
Washed up Starfish (with transcript)
Listen to the most recent episode of my podcast: #695 Washed up Starfish (with transcript), Eric Carmen dies, Lillian Gish and London’s AIDS memorial. https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/joseph-mc42/episodes/695-Washed-up-Starfish-with-transcript-e2gv5vc
Transcript https://drive.google.com/file/d/17S6tkvTqNvx8C-Ox8QAU0V9KDNb6hDVO/view?usp=drivesdk
Fits of Laughter (with transcript)
Listen to the most recent episode of my podcast. The phrase fits of laughter, strange Royal waxwork statues in Krakow, Poland and a very creepy doll causes fear in the UK. https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/joseph-mc42/episodes/692-Fits-of-Laughter-with-transcript-e2grbr9
Transcript: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ux4bRen_1lZUYchC80OME0Ap-hFkkTt8/view?usp=drivesdk
Stories
A Poem about the Lilac next to the River
Describing a River
As I walk alongside the river, its gentle murmur accompanies my thoughts, a constant companion on my journey. This river, with its ceaseless flow, seems to hold the secrets of the universe, whispering tales of ancient times and far-off places. Each step brings me closer to understanding the life that thrums along its banks, a life both wild and serene.
Continue reading “Describing a River”Getting Started with Accent Reduction (with transcript)
Listen to the most recent episode of my podcast: Getting Started with Accent Reduction (with transcript) https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/joseph-mc42/episodes/Getting-Started-with-Accent-Reduction-with-transcript-e2gll6l
Transcript: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1b9heA2sPs8UI-aac2YKOznlKw41RKM_L/view?usp=drivesdk
National Grammar Day
Listen to the most recent episode of my podcast: National Grammar Day.
National Grammar Day, Banksey’s real name and the lyrics of a song by the Stylistics.
https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/joseph-mc42/episodes/National-Grammar-Day-e2gjv39
Transcripts will be back tomorrow
The Life of Riley (or Reilly).
Listen to the most recent episode of my podcast: The Life of Riley (or Reilly).
Today, I am in a coffee shop talking about the phrase “the life of Riley or Reilly” and the 60s movie Mary Poppins gets a parental guidance warning. https://anchor.fm/joseph-mc42/episodes/The-Life-of-Riley-or-Reilly-e2gb5k3
Under the Hammer (with transcript)
Listen to the most recent episode of my podcast: #679 Under the Hammer (with transcript)
The Phrase Under the Hammer, the gun that killed John Lennon and actress Pamela Salem dies.
https://anchor.fm/joseph-mc42/episodes/679-Under-the-Hammer-with-transcript-e2g9eo2
Transcript: https://drive.google.com/file/d/141Y6dHtNSfuvQVd2cda1AAoiWpmSEqU6/view?usp=drivesdk
The Rising Trend of Cafe Bars (Essay)
The rising trend of café bars in the UK mirrors a broader cultural shift towards more versatile and sociable dining and drinking experiences. These hybrid spaces, which blend the relaxed atmosphere of a coffee shop with the more vibrant energy of a bar, cater to a wide array of preferences and schedules, reflecting the increasingly flexible lifestyles of their patrons. This essay explores the factors contributing to the popularity of café bars, the impact they have on local communities and social habits, and the potential challenges and opportunities they face.
Continue reading “The Rising Trend of Cafe Bars (Essay)”To Fall Through (with transcript)
Listen to the most recent episode of my podcast: #674 To Fall Through (with transcript).
Today I talk about the phrase “to fall through”,the young couple who lied about a house sale falling through and a story about a woman defending her seat on an airline. https://anchor.fm/joseph-mc42/episodes/674-To-Fall-Through-with-transcript-e2g2t1m
Transcript: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1R1RwlljBdc4KKhyjPmnLP_t2zv6OPO56/view?usp=drivesdk
Getting Nowhere Meaning (from Today’s Podcast)
The expression “getting nowhere” is used to describe a situation where no progress is being made or when someone is not achieving any success despite their efforts. It suggests that despite the time, energy, or resources invested in trying to accomplish something, the outcome remains unchanged or the goal remains unattained. This phrase can be used in various contexts, from personal endeavors like trying to learn a new skill without seeing improvement, to professional scenarios where efforts to complete a project or achieve a target are proving fruitless. It conveys a sense of frustration or stagnation, where actions do not lead to any significant advancement or positive results.
- In a professional context: Despite the team’s overtime and weekend work, the project’s completion date seems no closer. The manager sighed and admitted, “We’re getting nowhere with this approach; it’s time to rethink our strategy.”
- Learning a new language: After months of trying to learn Japanese on her own, Maria felt she was still unable to hold a basic conversation. She expressed her frustration to a friend, saying, “I’ve been studying every day, but I feel like I’m getting nowhere.”
- In personal fitness: Kevin had been going to the gym regularly for the past year but saw little change in his physique. Disheartened, he told his trainer, “I’ve been consistent with my workouts, but it seems like I’m getting nowhere with my fitness goals.”
- In a relationship: Emma and Alex had been attending couples therapy to work on their communication issues. However, after several sessions with little improvement, Emma reflected, “We’ve been trying to work through our problems, but it feels like we’re getting nowhere. Maybe it’s time to reconsider our approach.”
Auctions – An Explanation (B2)
Auctions can be categorized into several types, each with unique rules and strategies. The most common include:
- English Auctions: Also known as open ascending price auctions, these involve bidders openly submitting higher bids until no further bids are made. The item is sold to the highest bidder. This type is prevalent in traditional auction houses and online platforms like eBay.
The Highway Code (with transcript)
In this episode, I talk about how we should behave on the road as we are taught in the Highway Code. https://anchor.fm/joseph-mc42/episodes/672-The-Highway-Code-with-transcript-e2fvkj7
Transcript: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kk5RH1HUuf–INBKHBVqMB9AEFdZ2-aP/view?usp=drivesdk
Describing my Neighbourhood
Listen to the most recent episode of my podcast: #670 Describing my Neighbourhood as I walk around the streets describing what I see. https://anchor.fm/joseph-mc42/episodes/670-Describing-my-Neighbourhood-e2ft995
Here’s a Poem for Today. Happy Saturday!
It is called “And What of Love”
Continue reading “Here’s a Poem for Today. Happy Saturday!”Examples of “Head nor Tail”
More examples, supporting my podcast from this morning.
- I’ve read the instructions for the new software several times, but I can make neither head nor tail of them.
- After listening to the lecture, I could make neither head nor tail of the professor’s main argument.
- She told me her plans for the weekend, but I could make neither head nor tail of what she actually intends to do.
- The plot of the movie was so complicated that I could make neither head nor tail of it by the end.
- I received an email from the bank about my account, but I can make neither head nor tail of its content.
- He gave me directions to his house over the phone, but I could make neither head nor tail of them and got lost.
- The witness’s testimony was so contradictory that the jury could make neither head nor tail of it.
- I tried reading the philosophical text, but I could make neither head nor tail of the author’s theories.
- The financial report was filled with so much jargon that I could make neither head nor tail of our company’s performance.
- After trying to decipher the ancient manuscript, the historian admitted that he could make neither head nor tail of its meaning.
To be “Hard Pushed” (with transcript)
Listen to the most recent episode of my podcast: #667 To be Hard Pushed” (with transcript), I talk about the phrase “hard pushed”, the man who threw away his USB worth millions and we talk about Kelly Clarkson’s song Stronger. https://anchor.fm/joseph-mc42/episodes/667-To-be-Hard-Pushed-with-transcript-e2fouhk
Transcript https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZRaNJvcbNlwr_llDhvJ2lb7FhlmPXSdX/view?usp=drivesdk
Railway Station, A Far Cry, to Pull it Off and Fly-tipping
Here is an essay using the above phrases from the last few days’ podcasts. It is designed to get you to a C1 level.
In the heart of the urban expanse, where the railway station buzzes with life, a phenomenon far removed from the organized chaos of commuting emerges as a blight upon the landscape. Fly tipping, the illegal dumping of waste in unauthorized areas, has become an eyesore in urban management, tarnishing the beauty and functionality of our cities. This essay explores the intricate challenges and solutions fly-tipping presents, the collective effort required to pull it (the solution) off, and the transformative vision needed to reclaim these spaces, using a railway station as a focal point of change.
The railway station, a hub of activity, serves as a microcosm of urban dynamics, reflecting both the best and worst of city life. It is here that the issue of fly-tipping becomes not just an environmental concern, but a symbol of neglect and decay within our urban fabric. Fly-tipping at such sites is a far cry from the intended use of these spaces as gateways to the city’s heart. Instead of welcoming vistas, visitors and residents are often greeted by the sight of refuse and rubble, turning potential first impressions into lasting disappointments.
Addressing this issue requires more than just cleaning up; it demands a comprehensive strategy to pull it off successfully. It necessitates a multifaceted approach involving policy enforcement, community engagement, and infrastructure development. Law enforcement plays a crucial role in deterring offenders through fines and penalties. However, punitive measures alone are insufficient. There must be an equal emphasis on creating awareness about the consequences of fly-tipping and fostering a sense of community responsibility towards maintaining cleanliness and order.
Community engagement is pivotal in this endeavor. Initiatives that encourage local residents and businesses to take ownership of their environment can transform attitudes towards waste disposal and management. Educational campaigns, combined with easy access to proper waste disposal facilities, can significantly reduce the inclination to resort to fly-tipping. Moreover, involving the community in beautification projects around the railway station can instill pride and a sense of belonging, further discouraging the misuse of these areas.
Infrastructure development also plays a critical role. The provision of adequate, accessible, and user-friendly waste disposal options can greatly diminish the appeal of illegal dumping. This includes not only more frequent and strategically placed bins and recycling centers but also the development of green spaces that enhance the urban aesthetic. Transforming areas prone to fly-tipping into community gardens or recreational spaces can shift the narrative, turning these spots from eyesores into assets.
The challenge of fly-tipping, particularly around crucial nodes like railway stations, is indeed a formidable one. However, it is not insurmountable. Through a concerted effort that involves enforcement, education, and infrastructure improvement, cities can pull off the transformation from neglected dumps to vibrant, welcoming spaces. This journey from degradation to rejuvenation is a far cry from simple, yet it is essential for the health and vitality of our urban environments.
In conclusion, the battle against fly-tipping near railway stations and beyond represents a critical juncture in our relationship with the urban landscape. It is a test of our collective will to invest in the cleanliness, beauty, and sustainability of our cities. By pulling together, we can address this issue head-on, transforming our urban spaces from symbols of neglect to beacons of community pride and environmental responsibility. The railway station, once a site marred by the carelessness of fly-tipping, can emerge as a testament to what can be achieved when a community unites for the greater good.
To Live it up (Sentence Examples)
- For her 30th birthday, she decided to live it up in Las Vegas, staying at a luxury hotel and seeing all the shows.
- They worked hard all year and saved up just so they could live it up during their two-week vacation in Europe.
Weekly Lesson for the week ending 18th February 2024
I have updated the lesson for next week. You can find here.
Fly Tipping (with transcript)
Listen to the most recent episode of my podcast: Fly Tipping (with transcript) https://anchor.fm/joseph-mc42/episodes/Fly-Tipping-with-transcript-e2fkqlp
Transcript https://drive.google.com/file/d/153Qe3t0ZBKfZdAg_5EyoqloKDF8eAHCf/view?usp=drivesdk
At an Art Exhibition (with transcript)
Listen to the most recent episode of my podcast: #657 At an Art Exhibition (with transcript) https://anchor.fm/joseph-mc42/episodes/657-At-an-Art-Exhibition-with-transcript-e2fba3m
Transcript https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BZu1Cs1zNRYTwUnUf6NCafd3O_0DjUi-/view?usp=drivesdk
The Morning After (with transcript)
Listen to the most recent episode of my podcast: #653 The Morning After (with transcript) https://anchor.fm/joseph-mc42/episodes/653-The-Morning-After-with-transcript-e2f5vn3
Transcript https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qTeMyBV18HL8ECNm2W-a6__W627Jd27-/view?usp=drivesdk
Robert Burns Night (with transcript)
Listen to the most recent episode of my podcast: Robert Burns Night (with Transcript) https://anchor.fm/joseph-mc42/episodes/Robert-Burns-Night-with-Transcript-e2etqnc
Transcript https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZCwL9K15p7dCv7XBO0i1BGoMosxZ075H/view?usp=drivesdk
Popular Names in the UK (with transcript)
Listen to the most recent episode of my podcast: #646 Popular Names in the UK (with transcript) https://anchor.fm/joseph-mc42/episodes/646-Popular-Names-in-the-UK-with-transcript-e2es40a
Transcript https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fgeVLK2eX5MRxti0di2kiCPRfslMMmaF/view?usp=drivesdk
Idioms about Fruit and Vegetables (with transcript)
Listen to the most recent episode of my podcast: Idioms about Fruit and Vegetables (with transcript) https://anchor.fm/joseph-mc42/episodes/Idioms-about-Fruit-and-Vegetables-with-transcript-e2dtfrn
Transcript https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jQYB61o-K1Qv1tUQKzvlzZGZcP8Q–tK/view?usp=drivesdk
Idiom: It Threw Me (with transcript)
Listen to the most recent episode of my podcast: Idiom: It Threw Me (with transcript) https://anchor.fm/joseph-mc42/episodes/Idiom-It-Threw-Me-with-transcript-e2d53hn
Transcript: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PcBGc2Y0DnkPfcIEQ2SXRZBD2ilr7BxN/view?usp=drivesdk
All about Cheese (with transcript)
Listen to the most recent episode of my podcast: All about Cheese (with transcript) https://anchor.fm/joseph-mc42/episodes/All-about-Cheese-with-transcript-e2d1bd1
Transcript https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ixD-TaYNB_YUlO1f4Z7csIQdQLYeUcH1/view?usp=drivesdk
All about the TV Licence (with transcript)
Listen to the most recent episode of my podcast: All about the TV Licence (with transcript) https://anchor.fm/joseph-mc42/episodes/All-about-the-TV-Licence-with-transcript-e2cr98h
Transcript https://drive.google.com/file/d/1byOILFnZozqxkvornvsZvbBlUepV6uin/view?usp=drivesdk
It’s -3 Degrees Celsius (no transcript)
Listen to the most recent episode of my podcast: It’s -3 Degrees Celsius (no transcript today) https://anchor.fm/joseph-mc42/episodes/Its–3-Degrees-Celsius-no-transcript-today-e2cic4k
Remembrance Sunday (with transcript)
Listen to the most recent episode of my podcast: Remembrance Sunday (with transcript) https://anchor.fm/joseph-mc42/episodes/Remembrance-Sunday-with-transcript-e2bqq2o
Transcript https://drive.google.com/file/d/11oQZuOMS-KPjM3ElpIa-dF7UzRvYlcwb/view?usp=drivesdk
Intonation and Traffic Reporting (with transcript)
Listen to the most recent episode of my podcast: Intonation and Traffic Reporting (with transcription) https://anchor.fm/joseph-mc42/episodes/Intonation-and-Traffic-Reporting-with-transcription-e2bbarj
Transcript
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XDXrimwCAcbgt6JodsRsv6AUz7tq-wNr/view?usp=drivesdk
An Autumnal Day (with transcript)
Listen to the most recent episode of my podcast: An Autumnal Day (with transcript) https://anchor.fm/joseph-mc42/episodes/An-Autumnal-Day-with-transcript-e2b5vgi
Transcript: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SurwB27lFNrIBE4UkkmaBcUpnNpg0zYm/view?usp=drivesdk
“To Quip” in Reported Speech (with transcript)
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European Day of Languages (with transcript)
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Idiom: To Have Arrived (with transcript)
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To Pull the Plug on Something (with transcript)
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Describing the Tower of London (with transcript)
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The Second Conditional in Songs (with transcript)
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Hearing and using Intonation (with transcript)
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Visiting a Windmill (with transcript)
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In Eindhoven, Netherlands (with transcript)
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Outside the Rembrant Museum in Amsterdam (with transcript)
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My First day in Amsterdam (with transcript)
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At the Airport (with transcript)
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From Pillar to Post (with transcript)
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Ayr Flower Show (with transcript)
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A Visit to Ayr Beach (with transcript)
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National Potato Day (with transcript)
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The Tooth Fairy (with transcript)
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Gloria Estefan (with transcript)
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Indian Independence Day (with transcript)
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Holidays of Vacations? (with transcript)
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The Milky Bar Kid (with transcript)
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Blood Donations and Tattoo Parlours (with transcript)
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Buying Cat Food (with transcript)
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Learning Strategies (with transcript)
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National Lighthouse Day (with transcript)
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How to Speed Up Your Learning (with transcript)
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Shadowing Practice Recordings (no transcript today)
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No transcript. Please focus on the sounds.
Defining Success in Learning (with transcript)
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Describing the View from my Window (with transcript)
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National Soccer Day (with transcript)
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Sinead O’Connor: She Bought the Farm (with transcript)
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Do Affirmations and things like Hypnosis work? (With transcript)
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At the Pharmacy (with transcript)
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To Take Someone For Granted (with transcript)
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Describing the River (with transcript)
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National Cowboy Day (with transcript)
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Introduction to Shadowing (with transcript)
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How to Motivate Yourself Quickly (with transcript)
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Flight Attendants Safety Day (with transcript)
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To Scare the Living Daylights Out of Someone (with transcript)
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The quality of the transcript has been updated to avoid typing errors.
Pubs in the UK (with transcript)
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George Michael Virtual Concert (with transcript)
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“To be Awash” (with transcript)
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Choosing English Resources for Study (with transcript)
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Why are London’s Airports not in London? (With transcript)
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Mental Barriers to Learning (with transcript)
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Cinemas Under Threat (with transcript)
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At the Coffee Shop (with transcript)
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Doing a Double Take (with transcript)
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Marking the Coronation in Scotland (with transcript)
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More on Motivation (with transcript)
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Blackpool Tower Ballroom (with transcript)
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At the Supermarket again (with transcript)
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Motivation (with transcript)
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Summer Solstice: Stonehenge will be heaving today (with transcript)
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Just Like a Christmas Card (with transcript for study)
Americans and Baseball Caps (podcast with transcript)
Shelley Winters (with transcript for study)
Boxing Day (podcast with transcript for study)
Vaccination Day – Podcast with transcript for study
Today’s Podcast with transcript for study
Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton Christmas 1984 Special Show
Click the link to open youtube:
New Podcast for Shadowing
I have recorded today´s news headlines and stories in Special English (slower English). You can hear it here
Amazon Books
For those of you who don´t know, I have loads of books about English Grammar and poetry on Amazon. At the moment there are around 9 or 10 books available. You can search for me in your local store or find my profile here
How Exams CORRUPT learning — The FUTURE of Learning
Originally posted on The FUTURE of Learning: (Photo credit: https://bit.ly/2mB8AXy) If you have ever been in a situation in a country where you are stuck and you need something badly, and you know it will be difficult to get, so you consider the ‘corrupt way’ you will understand the concept of corruption. Meaning you consider…
New videoclip – 9 point plan to #learnEnglish
New #Podcast uploaded #LearnEnglish
What’s the FUTURE of our CHILDREN’S communication skills? — The FUTURE of Learning
Originally posted on The FUTURE of Learning: (Photo credit: http://bit.ly/2DbhCV7) A few days ago I was at a family gathering. There were a large number of children under the age of 10 there as well as parents and friends of family etc, and there was one very interesting phenomenon that stuck out to me. Firstly…
via What’s the FUTURE of our CHILDREN’S communication skills? — The FUTURE of Learning
New #podcast to #LearnEnglish
I have uploaded a new podcast here – In this one I am talking about the phrase “the one and only” and we look at two musical tracks and some radio jingles from the 1980s radio station @countysound “the one and only one for you”
The jingle was written by Les Reed and which has the words:
“Here comes the morning, it’s a brand new day (different lyrics for afternoon and evening: We are your music, and your news each day). Turn on the sunshine. The County Sound way. Open up your heart, and you will let a little sunshine through, with County Sound, the one and only one for you. We’ll always be here, each and every day. Where ever you’re going, we’re going your way. Come with us and ride the airwaves discover something new, on County Sound – the one and only one for you. County Sound, the one and only one for you”.
A song with Collocations and Idioms — Mary’s English Blog
The English language is full of collocations and idioms. By collocations, I mean words that naturally go together like ‘high hopes‘, ‘heavy rain‘, and ‘make friends‘. We don’t say ‘tall hopes’, ‘huge rain‘ or ‘produce friends‘. Idioms are expressions whose meaning cannot be predicted by the words in the expression; for example, ‘to kick the […]
via A song with Collocations and Idioms — Mary’s English Blog
Project Compass: Brazil #LearnEnglish
I have a free “drop in” English class for Brazilian people weekly. If you would like to join this weekly class or would like more details please contact me. It is open to all Brazilians who are trying to learn English and is free. You only need a Skype ID. The class cannot be larger than 25 people.
Brazil has many economic and social problems – if you are a teacher and you would like to participate in this voluntary project please contact me.
new #podcast #learnenglish
I have uploaded a new podcast episode
New #videoclip at #Lochlomond #scotland
I have uploaded a new video clip:
The #Goldengirls theme #idioms
The Youtube clip is here
Today’s Idiom: “to throw a party” which means to arrange or make a party
Lyrics:
Thank you for being a friend
Travelled down the road and back again
Your heart is true you ‘re a pal and a confidant.
And if you threw a party
Invited everyone you ever knew
You would see the biggest gift would be from me
And the card attached would say thank you for being a friend.
#idioms in the song Alone by #annwilson
Todays Idiom can be found in this song on youtube
“And now It chills me to the Bone” – to be afraid of something (or to be extremely cold)
I hear the ticking of the clock
I’m lying here the room’s pitch dark
I wonder where you are tonight
No answer on the telephone
And the night goes by so very slow
Oh I hope that it won’t end though
Alone
Till now I always got by on my own
I never really cared until I met you
And now it chills me to the bone
How do I get you alone
How do I get you alone
You don’t know how long I have wanted
To touch your lips and hold you tight, oh
You don’t know how long I have waited
and I was going to tell you tonight
But the secret is still my own
and my love for you is still unknown
Alone
Till now I always got by on my own
I never really cared until I met you
And now it chills me to the bone
How do I get you alone
How do I get you alone
How do I get you alone
How do I get you alone
Alone, alone
New #Podcast episode now online #learnenglish
Please click below or else choose the “Podcast” option from the menu on my page.
#Podcast #learnenglish
new #videoclip #ielts
I have uploaded a new videoclip on my you-tube channel
Pitch, Tone and Breathing #IELTS #Learn #English
3rd video of Dailymotion Teacher Joseph Series
Accent Work: You Can Speak English #IELTS #Learn #English
2nd video from the Dailymotion Teacher Joseph Series
Describing Weather #ielts #learnenglish
Details of my new podcast, on YouTube #ielts #learnenglish
New podcast #learnenglish #ielts
A new podcast to help with your English. its on mixcloud, please click Here. In this first episode theres loads of advice for the Spoken Ielts.
Theres a competition to win a book, if you know where the Bells came from at the beginning.
Describing #Weather #ielts #learnenglish
#learnenglish #ielts Win Sherlock Holmes Books
For my videoclip with the competition, please click here
Describing Places And Things #ielts #learnenglish
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4xe8x4_describing-places-and-things_school
Describing Places and Things videoclip #ielts #learnenglish
Real #ielts questions from last week’s exam #learnenglish
Questions from the actual test last week – http://wp.me/p7GHFo-2F
Videoclips #ielts #learnenglish
You can see all of my 220 videoclips here
Water videoclip #ielts #learnenglish
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4wydzt_water_school
Weather in Glasgow videoclip #learnenglish #ielts
Beautiful Scotland #scotland #ielts #learnenglish
My Country.
TOEIC Listening #learnenglish
TOEIC Listening Tests and More – http://wp.me/p3mQGa-2KN
Filipinos, Healthcare and Ireland #ielts #learnenglish
IELTS – An Uphill Climb – http://wp.me/p7KUPs-V
Remembering Words #ielts #learnenglish
IELTS Speaking Practice: Part 3 – What’s the word? – http://wp.me/pLaO9-2OL
IELTS Writing #ielts #learnenglish
Ielts Writing Practice – http://wp.me/p2xCG7-7U
The two “musts” of learning. #ielts #learnenglish
Ielts speaking part 2 #ielts #learnenglish
PPF Strategy – IELTS Speaking Part 2 – http://wp.me/p7STUm-31
IELTS FREE MATERIAL #ielts #learnenglish
IELTS FREE MATERIAL – http://wp.me/p7U57N-1M
IELTS ESSAY TOPIC: Are Zoos Cruel to Wild Animals? #ielts #englishlessons
Politeness in English Culture Videoclip #ielts #learnenglish
Watch the video «politeness» uploaded by English With Joseph on Dailymotion.
5 podcasts by women of color you should know #ielts #learnenglish
Ielts writing #ielts #learnenglish
What do you know so far about Ielts Writing? – http://wp.me/p7KzTD-3I
Rocket Ingles – A course for Spanish people #ingles #learnenglish #ielts
Learn Grammar with Kindle Books #ielts #learnenglish
My Amazon Kindle Books to help you with Grammar #ielts #learnenglish
Amazon link please click here
English Preposition Book #ielts #learnenglish
English Preposition Book #ielts #learnenglish – http://wp.me/p7cewP-ax
Learn Grammar with Kindle Books #ielts #learnenglish
My Amazon Kindle Books to help you with Grammar #ielts #learnenglish
Amazon link please click here
Learn English Videoclips #ielts #learnenglish
Www.dailymotion.com/englishwithjoseph
Mixed conditionals #ielts #learnenglish
Teaching and Learning MIXED CONDITIONALS – http://wp.me/p4DSYN-So
Learn Grammar with Kindle Books #ielts #learnenglish
My Amazon Kindle Books to help you with Grammar #ielts #learnenglish
Amazon link please click here
Rocket Ingles – A course for Spanish people #ingles #learnenglish #ielts
Rocket Ingles – This is one of the best packages I´ve seen for Learning and its aimed at Spanish people. It covers all of the basics and a lot more. Quickly you can expect to be speaking and the learning time is 50% quicker than anyone else. It also comes with a 60 day guarantee so if you don´t like it, you can get a refund. Its a little bit expensive at 40 US Dollars but definitely worth it. There´s also a premium version. Don´t worry if you are not Spanish, this link will take you to Rockets website and you can find all of their other courses too. Just click on the logo at the top .
Barcelona sunset #barcelona #ielts #learnenglish
IELTS ESSAY TOPIC #ielts #learnenglish
IELTS ESSAY TOPIC: Should we innovate road transport? – http://wp.me/p4DSYN-Sc
Becoming our betters selves through love and language – #ielts #learnenglish
Peace comes from speaking another language…or does it? – http://wp.me/p25nJR-I8
Becoming our betters selves through love and language. #ielts #learnenglish
Becoming our betters selves through love and language – http://wp.me/p25nJR-Jk
IELTS Simple Techniques #learnenglish #ielts
Simple Learning Techniques for IELTS from Best Classes in Ahmedabad – http://wp.me/p78XMr-1R
Secrets of Speaking Well #ielts #learnenglish
3 Secrets you need to KNOW about SPOKEN English – http://wp.me/p4DSYN-Rp
Rocket Ingles – A course for Spanish People #ingles #learnenglish #ielts
Rocket Ingles – A course for Spanish People #ingles #learnenglish #ielts – http://wp.me/p7cewP-al
Rocket Ingles – A course for Spanish People #ingles #learnenglish #ielts –
Rocket Ingles – A course for Spanish People #ingles #learnenglish #ielts – http://wp.me/p7cewP-al
Podcasts #ielts #learnenglish
Podcasts – http://wp.me/s553Ke-podcasts
Apology Letter #ielts #learnenglish
Apology Letter #ielts #learnenglish – http://wp.me/p7cewP-87
English Preposition Book #ielts #learnenglish
English Preposition Book #ielts #learnenglish – http://wp.me/p7cewP-a7
How Good Is Your English? #ielts #learnenglish
How good is your English? – http://wp.me/p7c2hR-jT
Rocket Ingles – A course for Spanish People #ingles #learnenglish #ielts
Rocket Ingles – A course for Spanish speakers #ingles #learnenglish #ielts – http://wp.me/p7cewP-a0
IELTS Speaking Experience #ielts #learnenglish
IELTS Speaking Lessons from Hurray – http://wp.me/p3ga3f-2l
Looking for a Skype Teacher? #ielts #learnenglish
Looking for a Skype Teacher? #ielts #learnenglish – http://wp.me/p7cewP-9E
English Preposition Book #ielts #learnenglish
English Prepositions List E-Book – – A wonderful book from Josef Essberger with plenty of examples. It also comes with a 90 day guarantee so if you don´t like it you simply get a refund, no questions asked. Its fairly cheap costing around 7 British Pounds and covers all 150 prepositions. Don´t forget my Ebooks too about English Grammar on Amazon Kindle
Rocket Ingles – A course for Spanish people #ingles #learnenglish #ielts
Rocket Ingles – This is one of the best packages I´ve seen for Learning and its aimed at Spanish people. It covers all of the basics and a lot more. Quickly you can expect to be speaking and the learning time is 50% quicker than anyone else. It also comes with a 60 day guarantee so if you don´t like it, you can get a refund. Its a little bit expensive at 40 US Dollars but definitely worth it. There´s also a premium version. Don´t worry if you are not Spanish, this link will take you to Rockets website and you can find all of their other courses too. Just click on the logo at the top .
IELTS Task 2 #ielts #learnenglish
Task 2: Animals – http://wp.me/p7P1IL-2T
IELTS ESSAY TOPIC: Should we innovate road transport? #ielts #learnenglish
IELTS ESSAY TOPIC: Should we innovate road transport? – http://wp.me/p4DSYN-Sc
Looking for a Skype Teacher? #ielts #learnenglish
British Online English Teacher, Good Rates and flexible hours Teacher Joseph
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Grammar,
Support,
Videoclips etc.
IELTS ESSAY TOPIC: Will migration impact the developed world? #ielts #learnenglish
IELTS ESSAY TOPIC: Will migration impact the developed world socially and politically? – http://wp.me/p4DSYN-RT
Three American Dishes You Need To Try — Marcel’s Teaching Blog #ielts #learnenglish
As an English teacher, I love to talk about food because, well… it’s food. It’s the stuff of life! What also makes it a great topic for English lessons, is that it’s polarizing which really gets students talking. And when they do, you can get them to discuss the flavor, smell, texture, sound and look […]
via Three American Dishes You Need To Try — Marcel’s Teaching Blog
PRACTICE everyday English PHRASES — #ielts #learnenglish
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-nXkK0foNE
via PRACTICE everyday English PHRASES — AIYSHAH’S ENGLISH PAGE
Discount Hotel Link – Perfect for language courses and holidays #hotels #ielts #learnenglish
Going somewhere to study English? Want to get away for a few days?
Remember to use my special link if you are looking for discounts on hotels.
Joseph
Improve Your Spoken English #ielts #learnEnglish
Ways To Improve Spoken English – http://wp.me/p5SAv3-6K
IELTS MATERIAL WEBSITE #learnenglish #ielts
Useful links for Ielts material http://ieltsmaterial.com
Problems with the IELTS Speaking Test #ielts #learnenglish
IELTS stands for International English language testing system. It is different with TOEFL and TOEIC which is pretty well-known. I am not saying that IELTS is not popular, but in Indonesia, if you are applying for a job, usually some universities and enterprises uses TOEFL for the requirement. The big difference between IELTS and TOEFL […]
ESL Textbook: Good or Bad idea #ielts #learnenglish
(Photo credit: http://bit.ly/1NIzotU) This is quite controversial issue and there are so many reasons to not use textbooks, it’s crazy, but let’s set out the debate and I want you to tell me what you think. Pros and Cons of using textbooks in the Classroom For Pros Cons ESL Children 1. Lots of good material […]
via Using ESL textbooks – good or bad idea — AIYSHAH’S ENGLISH PAGE
IELTS Top Tips #ielts #learnenglish
IELTS TOP TIPS #2 – http://wp.me/p7P1IL-37
For Those of You Who Like My Voice #ielts #learnenglish #christian #voiceover
Hi All,
For those of you who like my voice, you might know that I have recorded loads of audio books and I also play the piano
I have an entire page of audio readings (mainly religious) and my piano music on this page.
Enjoy!
Joseph
Useful English Learning Podcasts #ielts #learnenglish
Podcasts – http://wp.me/s553Ke-podcasts
IELTS Essay Topic: Animal Testing #ielts #learnenglish
IELTS ESSAY TOPIC: Is animal testing necessary? – http://wp.me/p4DSYN-Rj
Apology Letter #ielts #learnenglish
Casual letter – apology – http://wp.me/p7P1IL-9
#ielts #learnenglish
6 ESL windows of opportunity – you shouldn’t miss – http://wp.me/p4DSYN-RB
Celebrities #ielts #learnenglish
IELTS ESSAY TOPIC: Are famous people treated unfairly by the Media? – http://wp.me/p4DSYN-Ry
When your ESL dream changes #ielts #learneglish
(Photo credit: http://bit.ly/2aRXYBq) For those who are learning English as adults, it is easy to identify the dream of what and why you want your English to be perfect, however at the same time, we are adults and we know that sometimes simply ‘life happens’, and this can have devastating repercussions on many things including […]
The CHANGING FACE of the English Learner #ielts #learnenglish
Originally posted on AIYSHAH’S ENGLISH PAGE: (Photo credit: http://bit.ly/1Uh281B) If you are learning English right now, you are one of a new breed of English learners. You may not be living in an English speaking country and may not be working in any kind of English work, but you are interested in ‘being connected’,…
via The CHANGING FACE of the English learner — AIYSHAH’S ENGLISH PAGE
Speaking English #ielts #learnenglish
3 Secrets you need to KNOW about SPOKEN English – http://wp.me/p4DSYN-Rp
Should or Could #ielts #learnenglish
Should vs Could – http://wp.me/p4DSYN-Ra
IELTS and TOEFL #ielts #toefl
Students having the desire to fly abroad for their studies has the necessity to know about these two tests. International English Language Testing System (IELTS) and Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) are the English language tests that need to be cleared by international students from other countries where English is not native […]
IELTS “Speak Like A Native”#ielts #learnenglish
For the video Please click here
Also remember that all my IELTS videos are in my Daily Motion Site
English Grammar Kindle Books #ielts #learnenglish
Learning English? My books are available here: http://tinyurl.com/j56xr9h
ESL Discussions #ielts #learnenglish
ESL Discussions: Conversation Questions about terrorism
IELTS WRITING #ielts #learnenglish
Qualifying IELTS is very important for those people who wish to study or work abroad. The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is the most important test to be cleared by those candidates, who want to take their career to the next level. IELTS is essential for those who are planning to migrate to foreign […]
IELTS General or Academic? #ielts #learnenglish
The Difference between General Training and Academic Module – http://wp.me/p7oHwh-1f
128 Words to Use Instead of “Very” —#ielts #learnenglish
http://www.proofreadingservices.com/pages/very#.V6IK7Ldntpc.facebook
via 128 Words to Use Instead of “Very” — Adventures and Musings of an Arch Druidess
128 Words to Use Instead of “Very”
http://www.proofreadingservices.com/pages/very#.V6IK7Ldntpc.facebook
via 128 Words to Use Instead of “Very” — Adventures and Musings of an Arch Druidess
Free IELTS Courses #ielts #learnenglish
If you are preparing to take the IELTS test and don’t want to spend a large amount of money as well as your time attending IELTS courses at Englisg centres, this course is for you. It is brought to everyone by the University of Queensland, Australia and designed for self-study. You will be supplied with […]
IELTS WRTING SCORE #learnenglish #ielts
In our latest article, I’ll tell you how to improve your IELTS writing score by using parallelism. What is Parallelism? Parallel means two things (lines, objects, etc) running next to each other, having the same space between them at all points. For example, look at the word “parallel” itself – the two ls in […]
IELTS Preparation #ielts #learnenglish
What is IELTS? The English language testing system is English language proficiency test. It is a very popular test for higher education or worldwide migration. Every year million of people take the test. It is designed by experts to evaluate all of your English skills like reading listening writing and speaking and results that how […]
IELTS Questions #ielts #learnenglish
Confused? Lost? Frustrated? These are the emotional torture that IELTS candidates will face while preparing for their test. You have questions but can’t seem to find the answers on Google or from your circle of friends. You feel confused, lost, frustrated… Fortunately, Lecturers on Demand is here to help! Lecturers on Demand is an online education service […]
via Get all your IELTS questions answered! — 2newmelburnians
IELTS HELP #ielts #learnenglish #ielts
Louis Rogers is a freelance author and senior academic tutor at the University of Reading. He has worked in a number of countries and taught in various contexts ranging from young learners to Academic English. Louis is co-author of Oxford EAP B1+, Foundation IELTS Masterclass, Proficiency Masterclass and Intermediate and Upper Intermediate Skills for Business […]
via IELTS Speaking Practice: Part 3 – What’s the word? — Oxford University Press
A Second Language #ielts #learnenglish
To have another language is to possess a second soul. Charlemagne One of the things that I am most grateful for is that my parents taught my brother and I German. We’re first generation Canadian. My parents immigrated to Canada in 1960. Three years later I was born and sixteen months after that my brother […]
IELTS EXAM #ielts #learnenglish
Preparing for the IELTS test can be daunting and tiring, just like me, I tried to find online materials as much as possible and ended up too much information for me to digest. It’s overwhelming,
Teaching in Summertime #ielts #learnenglish
Hi from Teacher Joseph!
Summer Update
Historically June July and August are quiet months. In Europe its summer and many people are away on holiday, universities are closed. Teachers are seeing a slight drop in their student bookings and have more time to come to the forums and perhaps advertise. Its also a good time to sort out websites and blogs.
If a teacher reduces a language to become a commodity (in other words if a teacher views his job only as a way to earn money) then everyone is reduced down to something which is being bought and sold, the teacher, the student etc. and his teaching practice will not be successful. People are not commodities and language isn´t either so there needs to be a balance of “giving” as well as offering free help to those who need it. A good teacher will be raising up his students to empower them, not to try and use them to get money. its unethical. There´s good months and bad months, just like any other job.
Teachers do need to earn but they also need to realize the world is not always about buying and selling. I often help students who have a quick question or need something correcting free of charge. Having said that, I´ve been approached by many people on Facebook who simply don´t want to pay for lessons. Pleading with me to teach them free. I think a good teacher knows from the initial enquiry or from the first lesson who is serious about learning. There are a lot of time wasters, on both sides teachers and students. I am pleased to say though that I have met many wonderful people and I think the system of Skype Teaching works well, but people should monitor Teachers more to see exactly what their ratings are, to ensure quality at all times or even do some kind of random survey or checks.
I´m happy to help.
Joseph
My Amazon Kindle Books to help you learn #ielts #learnenglish
Remember you can buy all of my kindle books on English grammar by clicking here
What kind of learner are you? — Ace Your Class #ielts #learnenglish
Do you learn best by watching, listening, or doing something? These 3 different ways to learn are also called visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. If you know your best learning styles, you can study better; focus on materials in your styles. For example, if learning English is easier by listening, you can study with a lot […]
The Articles “A” and “AN” #ielts #learnenglish
A wonderful descriotion about how to use the Articles in English, click here
CULTURE: Learning About Home — Matthew Cowan #ielts #learningenglish
Today is Australia Day. It’s our national day of BBQs, beers and sunburn. A celebration of the larrikin within us ending with a riot of fireworks displays in our major cities and sausage sizzles put on by local councils and community groups. Our shenanigans in public parks and pubs “Down Under” draw a global audience […]
5 Top Grammar Books for the CELTA Course #ielts #learnenglish
In this video, I look at my favourite 5 grammar books for the Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults (CELTA) course. What are your favourite CELTA grammar books? Would you recommend any…
Affect vs. Effect | Grammarly Blog — #ielts #learnenglish
https://www.grammarly.com/blog/affect-vs-effect/
via Affect vs. Effect | Grammarly Blog — Adventures and Musings of an Arch Druidess
Predicting the future with will — Mirelle Nascimento – English Teacher
Hi, guys! What’s up? Today I am bringing different ways to predict the future using WILL. Be attentive to these lessons and do not hesitate to share your doubts in the comments section!
via Predicting the future with will — Mirelle Nascimento – English Teacher
The Gerund and a walk to Plaza Espanola – Video Dailymotion #ielts #learnenglish
lona
Watch the video «The Gerund and a walk to Plaza Espanola» uploaded by English With Joseph on Dailymotion.
English Grammar: The Gerund #ielts #learnenglish
A wonderful explanation of the gerund, click here
Accent and Pronunciation in American and British English #ielts #learnenglish
A wonderful site with MP3s is here
Learning English? #ielts #learnenglish
Precedence vs precedents #learnenglish #ielts
Remember #ielts #learnenglish
If you ever feel stupid, learning English or if you have a bad day, remember there are people who are more stupid than you, they are outside right now, searching for pokemon.
Pitch and tone – Video Dailymotion
Watch the video «Pitch and tone» uploaded by English With Joseph on Dailymotion.
Good Morning from Barcelona – Video Dailymotion
Watch the video «Good Morning from Barcelona» uploaded by English With Joseph on Dailymotion.
Skype English Lessons, Good Prices
Hi Everyone,
I can help you with your English, Good prices, classes made especially for you.
Flexible Hours,
Please contact me for more information,
Joseph
The Shadow Method – Video Dailymotion
Watch the video «The Shadow Method» uploaded by English With Joseph on Dailymotion.
Direct and Indirect Speech (say and tell) – Video Dailymotion
common mistakes of learners (6) – Video Dailymotion
Common Mistakes Learners Make (3) – Video Dailymotion
Vodcast about Contractions
Todays Vodcast is about Contractions and you can see it at
My English Grammar Books
Dont forget to check out my Amazon Books to help you with your English Grammar:-
http://tinyurl.com/j97vnsw #ielts #esl #learn english
Vodcast Update Accent Reduction
I have added a new video on accent reduction. Please click below
My videos
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