Thursday, 29 June 2023

A TV programme you watched as a child

 Hi there Bloggers!


Today I'd like to tell you about a TV programme I watched as a child. The show I'm going to write about is called Dr Who. I started watching it as a child from about age 8 years old. It is about a person who travels through time and who has different adventures in different parts of the universe or at different points in Earth's history. The Dr (or The Doctor) travels in a spaceship that has the appearance of an old Police phone box. It's called the Tardis and although it looks small it's actually bigger on the inside. When I was a child the show used to be broadcast on Saturday at 6pm. The Dr fought against many enemies, the most notorious being the Darleks (pictured below). I remember that I used to spend half of the show hiding behind the sofa because I found it so scary. The series ran from 1963 until 1989. It was revived again in 2005 and there have been 13 new series since that date. The show had lots of followers and it had a very recognisable theme tune. Many artists have recorded versions of the theme tune. A song called "Doctorin the Tardis" by The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu which featured a sample of the tune reached NΒΊ1 in the British singles chart in 1988. As well as being a great series, the show is a big part of British culture. Many different actors have played the role of the Doctor. His change of apperance is always carefully woven into the plot. It is quite amazing that the show has managed to last so many years. 















Write about a TV programme you enjoyed watching when you were a child:
Say:
What it was called,
What it was about,
When it was on,
Why you enjoyed it.
Mention anything else you think is important. Write at least 200 words. Leave a comment on my blog and on the blogs of 3 classmates.

Thursday, 22 June 2023

A Special Place in Santiago

Hi Blogheads.

Today I'd like you to write about a special place in Santiago that you like to go. . The first time I went to the Vega was about 15 years ago, before that I just used to go to La Vega Chica which was more convenient. Anyway, the first time I went, I entered from the west side which is quite seedy as there are a few dirty, run-down stalls with a few tables and chairs outside that sell litre bottles of Escudo. There is also a big sign telling you the different fines for urinating or defecating in the market. It wasn't not very well lit and on the first impression it is quite a daunting to enter. However, 20 metres further on everything changes and you encounter the hustle and bustle of market life. It's a noisy, colourful place which is full of weird and wonderful sights and smells. In my opinion, the best thing about La Vega is the quality of the fruit and vegetables that you can find, and all at a fraction of the price you find in the supermarket. In the last few years more Peruvian stall-holders have appeared and I think this has made La Vega more interesting. What I don't like is that more and more cafes and restaurants are opening which means it attracts more tourists and leaves less space for selling fruit and vegetables. I usually go with my wife. We go once a week and stock up with all our favourite veggies. We get the metro which is a 15-minute walk form our flat. All in all, it takes us about 2 to 2 and a half hours to get there and back and do all our shopping.

Write about a special place in Santiago you like to go.
Say:
Where it is,
How often you go there,
Who you go with,
What you do there,
When was the last time you went.

Mention anything else you think is important. Write at least 200 words. Leave a comment on my blog and a comment on the blogs of at least 3 classmates.

Tuesday, 20 June 2023

BBC Learning English

Good Morning Bloggers!

Today's task is to evaluate the BBC Learning English Website. Please visit it the site (https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/) and evaluate something from each of the headline sections:

COURSES

GRAMMAR

PRONUNCIATION

VOCABULARY

NEWS

MORE

You need to go to each section, look at a video or try out an activity and write about each one on in today's post on your blog.

For EACH SECTION, include: The name of the section, what video or activity you looked out. How useful you think it is and why.

Please publish by 11.30 and leave a comment on my blog to say what you thought of the activity.

Thursday, 15 June 2023

A Bestie (lol πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚)

 Hi FAU Bloggers,


Today I'm going to tell you about Paul, who has been a really great friend of mine for since 1988. We met at a really large photography studio in London. I started a job as an "on-set" photographer's assistant for Habbit, a well known furniture store in the UK. Paul had been working at the company for a couple of years so he had to give me some basic training. We got on really well. We found out we had lots of things in common, especially related to music. He was a dj and I was a musician. We both had similar musical backgrounds and shared a love for a wide range of styles and artists. Part of our job was to transport furniture to on-set locations and install it there. Habbit would rent out somebody's house for the day to take advantage of a particular achitectural style or for room with a view of a famous landmark. Because of this we spent hours driving around London and we got to know the city really well. Paul is a Londoner so he already knew the city well but he also managed to learn all the shortest routes. Later in life, he put this knowledge to good use and became a qualified London Taxi-driver (a "cabby") which is a great achievement because the entry test is extremely difficult. 

I see Paul ever time I go back to the UK. I often stay at his flat in London which is full of thousands of vinyl records. When we were younger we used to go out to parties, gigs and clubs. Paul got involved in making House music and he released a few albums with another friend of mine under the name Deep Freeze Productions. Nowadays, we spend our time listening to music and chatting over a beer or going out to see a band or some old-school dj in a dive bar:) I saw him for the last time in September, 2022 on my way back to Chile.


Here's a track by Paul's band:)

Write about a good friend of yours.

Say:

Who they are,

How you met,

What you have in common,

What you like to do together,

When you last saw each other.



Thursday, 1 June 2023

A Family Meal

 Hi Fau Bloggers:

Today I'd like you to write about a family meal you remember. The family meal I remember was in about 1983 or 1984 (I think. My memory isn't as good as it used to be!!). It was in a Hostel my father managed in a little village in Scotland called Coldingham Bay. It was a couple of tears after my mother had died and possibly the first time the family had gathered together since her death, The whole family was my dad and my 5 sisters (Terri, Clare, Moira, Lizzie & Fran) and my 3 brothers (Adie, Colin & Ged). My nephew Dan would have been there too. I can't remember what time of the year it was so I can't remember if we were celebrating anything special or not. I think there was turkey or vegetarian meatloaf on the menu. One of the reasons the meal is so memorable is because my sister Moira and brother Adie started a food fight that got really crazy. It was so epic that it took us ages to clean up afterwards. I mostly remember it because of my dad's reaction. He was always very strict at mealtimes when we were younger but, on this occasion, he just sat there laughing. I think he had finally realized that his children were all a little bit crazy but in a good way. Below is a picture of some of my family in 2010.

This is Coldingham Bay.

Write about a family meal you remember.
Say:
When and where it was.
Who was there,
What you ate.
Why it was memorable.

Mention anything else you think is interesting or important. Try to write at least 200 words. Leave a comment on my post and on the posts of 

Test Practice: Listening

 https://www.examenglish.com/PET/PET_listening.html Do ALL notes & multiple choice sections