I went to the supermarket this morning and bought lots of items ready to make lots of dishes for the freezer. My intention was to make a curry, a lasagne, a cowboy pie and a casserole. It didn't happen!
Instead, I made the big mistake of picking up a book, before long my enthusiasm for cooking had disappeared.
Tomorrow I will cook - that is, unless I pick up my book again. 

I enjoy cooking but it's such a long time since I've read for pleasure (I graduated from a MA (Master of Arts) course, last week and reading something other than academic papers and other research material had become a rare event). 

I think it's important to prioritise tasks in a day, but sometimes it's equally important to do just what we want to do. We have a saying in England "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy". This means we must find time to do the things we have to do, but also do things we enjoy doing. 

What are your hobbies?
What gives you pleasure?
What would you rather do than work?

Tip
Why not schedule time for pleasure in your diary?

Talking about the weather is a very common conversation in England. The weather is very changeable and therefore there is always something to say about it.
Last week it was sunny and warm for the first time this year; today it is pouring with rain and is much colder.
Some times in the year we can experience four seasons in one day: spring, summer, autumn and winter.
If you ever visit England and are standing in a queue for a bus or train, and you want to start a conversation, you could say "It's much colder today", "What a beautiful day for the time of year" or "it's so cold!" The majority of people would respond and before you know it, you could be engaged in a useful conversation.
If you ever visit England, make sure you pack a jumper (a sweater), an umbrella and sun screen, you never know which you might need.

What's the weather like where you live?

Hello Everyone,

I passed my MA (Masters) degree, which I'm very pleased about. I don't graduate until April. The first week in April is going to be a very busy week: I will graduate on the 1st, it is the Christian festival of Easter in the same week, Good Friday is on the 3rd and Easter Sunday is on the 5th, to top it all, my birthday is on the 4th - what a week that will be!

So what next?
I'm considering studying for a Ph.D. (Doctorate - or Doctor of Philosophy). I have plenty of ideas of what I would like to research and many of the universities have departments that cover my subjects of interest, so it's all possible. Wish me luck!

If you're a regular reader of this blog, you may remember I was preparing my house for sale so that I can move to a different part of the country. This hasn't happened yet, but I'm so very close. I still don't know exactly where I want to live, and of course, if I'm successful with the PhD application, my mind may be made up for me. (You might hear "Make your mind up" quite often in England, it simply means "Make a decision". 

I'll keep you updated, meanwhile, bye for now.

Over the last 18 months I've been studying for a MA degree and the work involved has kept my visits to the English Club to a minimum. 
I still haven't completed the degree, but I am very close to completion.
One day soon I will be able to write blogs more often and possibly even chat in the chat room.

Hello to all my friends; I hope you haven't forgotten about me!

I found this poem on Facebook. It amused me, a native-English speaker. I wonder if it will amuse you too.

Today is St. Swithin's Day (15 July), a day, on which, people watch the weather.

Tradition says that if it rains on St. Swithin's Day, it will continue so for the next forty days (and the opposite is believed to be true too, i.e.,  if it's a dry day the weather will remain dry for 40 days).

We have had rain practically every day this summer, we're hoping today will be dry and the good weather comes instead.

There is a weather-rhyme and it is well known throughout the British Isles and has been quoted since Elizabethan times. (At the bottom of the page I have explained what some of the unusual (old) English words mean).

'St. Swithin's day if thou dost rain
For forty days it will remain
St. Swithin's day if thou be fair
For forty days 'twill rain nae mair.'

Translations from Old English to today's English

Thou = You

dost = do

'twill - it will

nae = no

mair = more

If weather is described as "Fair", it means dry (no rain).

I'm planning on moving house (that isn't a literal translation by the way, it means I do the moving - not the house).

I have a nice house, but it's far too big for me and not situated anywhere near to my friends or family. Lots of people have asked me what a house in England looks like.

I thought I would show you my house, but I would really love to see the inside and outside of yours.

Lounge 

Study 

Dining room 

Dining room 

Kitchen

Bedroom 1

This is the view from outside

This is a short video of when the Olympic Torch passed by my house today.

 It was an exciting day, lots of people lined the route. It was a sunny day and everyone there seemed to enjoy themselves.

I hope the video works on here!

I'm sorry if you missed my blog; life has been so hectic lately, I just haven't been able to find the time to write one.

The kind of things I have been doing could make an extensive list. I've been to parties, away with  friend for the weekend, I've been busy doing the voluntary work I so enjoy and I have been looking for a new house.

I think that I have found the house of my dreams, it is by the coast and beautiful to look at. It has lots and lots of rooms, but it is situated miles away from my friends and family, however, people will want to visit because of it being next to the sea.

I plan to view the house next week, I hope it looks as nice close up as it does in the photographs.Tomorrow I will write about the Olympic Torch.

Bye for now, Ali

I think it's very important for one's health to keep a good balance between work and play.

The last couple of weeks for me have been extremely busy, but, funnily enough, it's been pleasurable, leisure activity that has taken all my time. I don't remember reading anything about keeping a healthy Leisure - Leisure balance.

Some activities require planning, some require rehearsals and all require organising one's life around. So to enable a relaxing time I've had to work hard in advance to make sure everything ran smoothly. I'm happy: it did! I had to ensure meals were ready in the freezer; all shopping was done - to make the meals; laundry was done - so I could pack easily; hotels were booked; contributions to the party were arranged/bought/cooked; and my friend knew the itinerary for the visit. I had a uniform to prepare for the Choral performance and tickets were bought for my supporters. I had to arrange collection of my son and so many other things.

Now after my musical concert and visit away I am almost back to normal. I have lots of work to complete and don't have any plans - other than to relax - this weekend.

I can sit back and reflect on the exciting week I had last week and be at peace with my memories of a well organised, well executed leisure time.

Discussing English weather in England is almost a pastime. It is a discussion that many people have and sometimes many times a day. It's a subject close to everyone's heart.

You can talk about the weather whilst waiting for a bus or train with fellow travellers, with the shop keeper, on the telephone with anyone at all. People on planes either going or returning from holiday will talk about the weather - what it will be like at their destination, how high the temperature will be, how they are going to cope in the heat and of course, the opposites when they are on their way home. It's a very good ice-breaker (an apt metaphor don't you think?) - it's a way to begin a conversation.

The weather is a safe and easy conversation-piece on-which everyone has an opinion. Young children learn weather conditions very early in their speech development, probably because their parents talk about it so often.

I have memories of long ago when one of the first complete sentences my toddler daughter said was "It's raining again", she had been to look out of the window and made the announcement. I can tell you, a child of only 18 months old must have heard her parents say it very often for it to become one of first perfected sentences. 

Why do you think we talk about the weather so often and so much?

The weather in England is unpredictable and so changeable. We can often experience what we call "four seasons in one day". We can take a one hour car drive and in that sixty miles we could see snow, sleet, rain and bright sunshine. The temperature can vary dramatically both during the day and in different places in the United Kingdom. I have often telephoned my mum and she has been able to tell me that there is 6 inches of snow outside her door, where on the same day, I could report bright, hot sunshine and we live only 100 miles away from each other.

It's hardly surprising we talk about the weather so often.

This year March was the hottest March since records began. April has been the wettest April since records began. There is an inconsistency though, despite such downpours this month, the country has declared a drought in many of our regions.

Think about your own country, tell me, are you preoccupied with the weather? What is one of the main topics of conversation in your country? 

I found an article here on the English Club website that could be of interest to you:

The weather

I liked many aspects of Egypt, but not everything.

I was fortunate to travel around Egypt last year. The weather was still pleasant yet cooling down and I travelled by plane, train, mini-bus, coach, felucca and camel; I travelled alone but met and made many friends there.

I began my journey by flying to Sharm el Sheikh on the Red Sea, a beautiful, quiet bay called Nabq. September there was amazing.  I spent two weeks in Cairo and a long time in Luxor, I journeyed to Abydos with a group of ex-pats I was fortunate to meet and visited Qena and Dendra briefly. I enjoyed the festival of Eid in Aswan and felt abandoned in Hurghada when I didn't speak to an English person once. I flew over to Sharm el Shiekh from there to spend a few more weeks on the Red Coast before flying back to cold, wet, miserable Manchester in December.

I experienced the richness of the culture, the spirit and the determination of the people. I experienced the generosity of families who invited me to dinner and the good humour of the men who played backgammon long into the night at a little coffee shop. I attended many weddings (it was the time of Eid - the feast/festival) and the brides were magnanimous towards me.

I experienced the desperation of those in tourist areas trying to part me from my money and I learned to speak Arabic (not all of it, just enough to get by).

I was introduced to the poverty alongside the wealth. I witnessed what I thought was the worst driving in the world in Cairo, but changed my mind to say it was probably the best driving in the world because of the skill of avoiding other cars when there didn't appear to be any rules of the road.

I visited the pyramids, the tombs, the museums and other delights that Egypt has to offer.

The time of my journey was one of great political unrest. I experienced fear when a spontaneous crowd gathered and I experienced peace and tranquillity when I was fortunate to visit mosques and churches.

Before I returned from my 3 month tour of Egypt I was lucky enough to stay in a beautiful hotel and be well looked after by the staff. My skin was golden, my spirit was lifted and I learned to appreciate my self.

Yes I did like Egypt - except the mosquitoes!

In the last couple of weeks I have used the chat room on a daily basis, generally it's a worthwhile thing to do helping people to understand English. Unfortunately, each time I've connected someone has challenged me regarding my name.

I know that the name Ali is the name used by many Muslim/Arabic men, but please accept that in some countries Ali is also a woman's name.

I wouldn't mind so much if someone asked me about my name and my response prompted them to be surprised, providing they were then accepting that it is a name given to women too. Sadly that isn't always the case; I've been called a liar, a fraud and even asked to change my name. I am not prepared to change my name just because you are not willing to accept it, it is my name, my given name and I've had it all of my life. It is very upsetting and annoying to be called a liar. It really is not very nice.

I think that whilst folk are here to learn English, it might be useful to learn a little of the cultures of the people you are learning with. The biggest lesson to learn is the one about respect.

Is Ali a woman's name in your country? Which country are you from?

The title of the blog today is an English proverb. This link explains the word proverb.

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy means that if we don't balance our day with work and play then we become dull. You must know someone who spends all their hours working, often they lose their sense of humour and don't appear to be relaxed or happy.

My days are always balanced with work and play, but I am very lucky because I enjoy my work so much some days it doesn't even seem like I am even working.

(Remember if you are enjoying learning English this can be classed as leisure rather than work).

Are you able to balance your days to include work and leisure?

Each morning I write a list of things I want to achieve in the day, it is called a "to do" list, simply because they are things I want to do.

Not everyone does it, but it helps me to stay focussed. 

I sometimes also write a long term to do list. On this list I write long term objectives, this includes things that take much longer to achieve. An example of what I once wrote on the long term list was to visit Egypt. Of course, it is impossible to decide in the morning then accomplish something like that before night-fall, so it is long term for that reason. It took planning, saving and lots of other things to achieve it.

Each morning I look at my long term list (which is often broken down into smaller steps) and see if there is something small that I can do in one day to help me achieve the long term goal. For example, it is easy enough to arrange travel insurance in just one day. Then I add those easy-to-achieve steps onto my daily to do list.

I often write down my dreams and ambitions and they are often broken down into tiny steps or stages. If ever I am bored I will think about what I want to achieve in my life and then put steps in place to ensure I realise them.

Today's list includes the following:

1. Find a copy of the lyrics to the songs, so that I can print them out in a much bigger font than the score has them printed, so I can read them more easily
2. Practice singing for the concert  in which I am going to perform. 
3. Iron my washing
4. Cycle for one hour (in short sessions of about ten minutes each)
5. Plan a trip to some friends' home. I will need a hotel and I need to take many things with me for their party: an outdoor music system, a gazebo, some cooked food, some cold drinks.
6. Write an email to a friend who is waiting for some information from me

Can you guess which items I can achieve in one day and which ones would have to go onto my Long Term To Do list?

A few months ago I joined a Choral Society. I wanted to make some new friends and I love to sing.

We are preparing for a performance which will take place on Saturday the 5th May. 

We are singing a 3 medleys:

1. Westside story
2. Les Miserable
3. Fiddler on the roof

and four other songs

1. Over the rainbow
2. Ain't Misbehavin'
3. Night and Day
4. 's wonderful

There are other songs too, ones that are being sung by soloists. I don't know which songs they are singing.

We are preparing our costumes for the event. The men will wear black trousers and black shirts. They usually wear a white shirt and a black dicky-bow. The women will wear a long black skirt a special black top and instead of wearing a silk scarf with gold musical notation, this time we are wearing a flower on our shoulder. I have chosen a bright pink one.

Singing is fun, it makes me happy. It's hard work as we sometimes sing in 8 part harmony (usually there are only four main ranges). We have bass and tenor voices for the men and alto and soprano for the women; I am a soprano.

If the event is recorded, I will post a link to it in a few weeks.

Do you sing in a choir?  What kind of songs do you sing?

Sunday is often called "The day of rest", stemming from the Bible, it is a day when most people do not have to go to work.  Some Christians still observe it as a rest day, but not all. It doesn't make anyone any less religious nor does it open them up for condemnation, because they don't rest, it's just the way things have evolved. It is a family day usually, but not always.

My Sundays are different every week. I like the times when I have somewhere to vist, or when someone is visiting me; I also like the times when I am at home with nothing planned. Generally, the days I have nothing planned are the days when I achieve the most, by completing work around the house, preparing food for the following week (and freezing it) or just catching up with projects I haven't had time to do. 

Sometimes I dedicate Sunday as a hobby or activity day; I have many hobbies and enjoy many activities. I like to read, I like to draw, I love to sing and I enjoy keeping fit. I have many more hobbies too.

Today though, after spending far too long in the Chat Room on EC, helping people to improve their English conversation, I am going to put on some good music and dance! This way I will be doing three of my activities: singing, dancing and keeping fit.

My neighbours cannot see where I dance in my house, I live alone so there is nobody else to watch (and laugh), so off I go.

I will be listening and dancing to some Tamla Motown music. It is a genre of music from the 60s - which is still popular today. It has a good beat, it has a good sound and the lyrics have meaning.

Here are some of the songs from that genre that I enjoy, and will be dancing to.

1. Heatwave
2. It hurts to be in love
3. Pucker up buttercup
4. I heard it through the grapevine 

Do you have any hobbies or activities that you enjoy?

What do you do on Sunday (or other day of rest)?

Every Thursday I spend time at a local charity sharing my skills and experience in community support and development. A community can be as big or small as you like. The communities I generally work with are charities, community groups, social housing providers or local authorities.

I am a Social Anthropologist so have expertise in how communities work. The specific work I do could be anything from research or consultation; designing projects to help different sectors of a community work together; project managing - once the project is up and running; monitoring the project to prove that it works; evaluating projects to see what we learned from the process or even raising funds (I am a professional fundraiser too) to ensure it is sustainable. On Thursdays, I work for free. I am happy to do this, I give something back for my own good fortune.

"Though the tough cough and hiccough plough him through."

Though is pronounced as slow, tough as huff, and cough rhymes with off. Hiccough is pronounced as cup, plough as how, and through rhymes with you.

Ali reading the above text

Good afternoon,

This is my first blog and I hope that it is the first of many. Here you will find a link to a sample of my voice. Once I discover how to use the voice blog facility I will probably use it, but for now, this is the easiest way.

I look forward to making many friends here.

Ali explaining her name