Guided Tour of London, August 31
August 30th, 2009A big welcome to our three sailors: Veronica, Andrew and Mohsen. They've been travelling by boat since about page 280 on the longest-running thread on the Penpal forum, Let's learn together. So far they have travelled through the Baltic Sea from Aland Island, on a world journey. Veronica has been cooking, Andrew has been fishing and drinking, and Mohsen has been thinking up ways to make money and finance their journey. They now have enough money to visit London and take it easy for a day or so to see the sights.
I think you should sail up the Thames from Gravesend. Click here to see an overview of South East England:
http://www.360cities.net/area/europe
You'll come up through Tower Bridge. Don't worry, I'll arrange for them to pull up the bottom of the bridge so you can sail through.
Rather than spending money on a hotel (very expensive in London) you can moor on the Thames. I'll try and get you as close as possible to HMS Belfast, a very impressive warship.
"HMS Belfast is one of the two ships forming the final sub-class of the Royal Navy's Town-class cruisers. Commissioned shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War, Belfast spent much of the early war years undergoing extensive repairs after being heavily damaged by a German mine. Returning to action in late 1942, she saw action escorting Arctic convoys to the Soviet Union during 1943 and participated in the Battle of North Cape. In 1944 Belfast supported the D-Day landings of Operation Overlord. She saw further action during the Korean War.
Decommissioned in 1963 following a number of overseas tours Belfast was initially expected to be disposed of as scrap. After a campaign by a private trust, she was preserved as a museum ship in the Pool of London. Opened to the public in 1971 Belfast has been maintained as a branch of the Imperial War Museum since 1978."
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Belfast_%28C35%29
I then suggest walking along the South Bank of the Thames to London Bridge. We can cross over the Thames here and walk up to Bank Underground station. We're now in the financial area of London – the City, as it's known. Lots of banks and financial institutions have their headquarters here.
From Bank station we can hop on a Central line tube and go to Oxford Circus, so Veronica can go shopping.
Careful of the traffic – remember we drive on the left in the UK.
I think I'll leave you here for a few hours. Veronica, you can try John Lewis department store (between Oxford Circus and Bond Street station) for a hijab. Mohsen and Andrew: there are plenty of shops for men's clothes too. Be careful as you walk up towards Tottenham Court Road station. If you take a right hand turn down any one of the streets you'll end up in Soho. Lots of great restaurants and pubs, but also once famous for its sex industry…
Are you hungry yet? Shall we keep going or stop for a bite to eat? If we arrange to meet up at the corner of Oxford Street and Tottenham Court Road, we can turn right and walk down Charing Cross Road. My favourite shop of all time is here: Foyles Bookshop. While I'm browsing through the books, I recommend you go up to the Jazz cafe and enjoy some English tea and cake, while listening to some cool tunes!
Then a brisk walk to the London Eye via Trafalgar Square, and Charing Cross.
We could take an evening ride on the London Eye. It's open until 9pm, so maybe we should try and get there at about 6pm.
Because you've walked miles and miles today, I think we can take a traditional black cab to a restaurant for dinner. I've chosen an Indian restaurant, very close to where you're moored at Tower Bridge. It's called Cafe Spice Namaste, and the food is fantastic. We traditionally drink beer with Indian food, but they also serve wondeful mango lassis, which I think Mohsen will like. Let's try to get there for about 8pm, because my husband will meet us there with a present for you all.
Her name is Micia (pronounced "Mee-sha") and she's keen to accompany you on the rest of your voyage. She's great at catching mice, and she doesn't eat very much. As the ship's cat, she'll also provide you with lots of company and love. She doesn't need her own bed to sleep in, but she loves to doze in a hammock. Please take good care of her – we'll miss her terribly while she's gone, but your need is greater than ours!
Happy sailing!
Photo credits:
Tower Bridge Damo1977
HMS Belfast DavidCJones
London Underground Anniemole
Oxford Street Markhillary
London Eye Mauricedb
Black cab Burge5000
Watching English TV
August 30th, 2009Watching English TV is a great way to improve your English listening and vocabulary skills. Whether you watch cartoons, football matches, news reports or films, everything you watch will help your understand spoken English better.
Four tips for watching English TV
- don't try to understand every word or phrase, but focus on general understanding
- watch news reports in English after you've seen the news in your own language so you can already predict some of the facts and opinions
- read the subtitles in your own language if they're available, to give you greater confidence in your listening ability
- use youtube to find short videos (being able to watch them as often as you need makes it less stressful!)
Do you have any tips for watching English TV?
What do you use your computer for?
August 23rd, 2009A couple of days ago my computer stopped working. It made me realise just how much I use it – for emails, for keeping track of things I need to do, for keeping in touch with friends… All my work is on my computer, as well as photos, interesting recipes, titles of books I want to read some day. In short, I'm lost without my computer!
What do you use your computer for? Whatever you use it for, I hope you keep regular back-ups of everything!
How do you save energy?
August 16th, 2009If you're interested in what houses of the future will be like, read this article about a zero-carbon house in England.
What do you do to save energy on a daily basis?
Do you have a pet?
August 9th, 2009Dogs, cats, rabbits, hamsters and goldfish – these are popular pets in Britain. I'm a cat-lover myself (I have four – all "rescued") although I grew up with dogs. What are the most popular pets in your country? Do you have one? What are the disadvantages – if any?
English courses
July 30th, 2009Are you currently studying English at a language school? Have you studied English in an English-speaking country? What are the advantages and disadvantages of doing an English course?
Keeping your cool
July 26th, 2009It's baking hot outside, and every time I step out of the house, it's like walking into a wall of heat. How do you stay cool when the temperature is so high? Drink lots of water? Sit in an air-conditioned room? Cover up, or wear the minimum? What's your advice for keeping your cool in the heat?
Keeping fit
July 12th, 2009It's a losing battle, it seems. Keeping fit, staying in shape, fighting the "flab" (= staying slim) – we know we're supposed to do all this, but what actually works? We're often told that crash diets (= very severe, short-term diets) don't work, and that regular exercise plus healthy eating habits are the only way to maintain ideal body weight. What do you do to stay fit and healthy? I'd love to hear your secrets!
Financial crisis in California
July 7th, 2009The BBC reports that the US state of California is facing a budget deficit from the property crisis and economic recession.
The governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, has declared a 'fiscal emergency'. If politicians can't reach an agreement, California may have to stop paying welfare support to those in need.
How is your country dealing with the economic crisis? It is becoming harder to find a job?
The perfect summer's day
July 5th, 2009I've been waiting for the perfect summer's day since summer began. Unfortunately, this summer has been wet with lots of rain and thunderstorms. So I'm back to dreaming about my perfect summer day. A long leisurely lunch with friends, followed by an afternoon on the beach, swimming in the beautiful blue Adriatic Sea.
What about your perfect summer's day? Who would you spend it with? What would you do?
