Quest for the white horse
Hi everyone,
I'm Elena and I'll start off by showing you a photo which was taken last Saturday.
I’m on the left. Yolanda is in the middle, and Viviana is on the right.
How do I know them? Well, Yolanda is my Australian flatmate and Viviana is my ex-student and she’s Italian. I did my teacher training earlier this year and Viviana was a student in the first class I ever taught. I was very nervous and Viviana asked lots of difficult grammar questions to catch me out. It still makes me shudder thinking about it. I was being observed by my tutor at the time so I didn’t enjoy being put on the spot like that. Anyway, we look back and laugh about it now, and it was all good experience.
So anyway, back to the story. This weekend just gone was another bank holiday. Hurrah! May is a good month because we get two long weekends with the Monday off work. So, to get the most out of this one, my friends and I decided to jump in the car and have a day trip to the countryside.
First stop was … and you might have guessed from the background of the photo above… Stonehenge!
Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire is a ring of monolithic stones and dates back to around 3000 BC.
Before we set off, lots of people had told me that Stonehenge wasn’t worth visiting, and that it was a let down. That it was smaller than you’d imagine and that it was spoilt because it was so close to a busy road. Yes, yes - but I still wanted to see it for myself, and I’m so glad I went. I thought it was brilliant! Don’t let anyone put you off going. I think it is definitely worth a visit.
Afterwards, we thought we’d go and see another stone circle in the nearby town of Avebury. This one is even older than Stonehenge and has fewer tourists. When we got there, there were some people meditating (at least that’s what I think they were doing) by the stones. I took this picture (from quite far away) mainly because the sheep was really making me laugh. The sheep was glued to the spot watching the people with a baffled expression on its face. It stayed there for absolutely ages, fascinated by what these people were doing in its field. Admittedly we were quite fascinated ourselves.
Talking of sheep, I have to share this photo with you. We think it was the sheep that got away – as in, ‘got away from the farmer’ when it was being sheared. Maybe it’s the latest in sheep fashion and will catch on. What do you think?
Anyway, this part of the country is really beautiful and if you get a chance to go then I would thoroughly recommend it. The villages are full of pretty cottages with thatched roofs and the countryside is beautiful at this time of year.
During the drive, Yolanda was my navigator. She did a very good job, but this was the first time she had ever looked at a British roadmap and she got a little bit confused. The motorways are coloured blue and she was convinced these were actually rivers. We had a good laugh at her expense when she told us. What colours are the roads in your countries?
The other confusing thing in the Wiltshire area is that there are lots of references on the map marked ‘white horse’. These turned out to be white horses made of chalk carved into the countryside. So there began our quest for the white horse (any white horse). We scoured the countryside, took a few wrong turns (blame the navigator) and quizzed the locals. And then, we found our first horse!
Most of the white horses date back 300 years or so. This one is known as the Alton Barnes horse.
We stumbled across another horse on the way home but we didn’t consider it impressive enough to warrant a photo, but here is a photo of Silbury Hill, another famous landmark. It's more than 40 metres high and dates back from around 2500 BC. It's man-made but no one has ever found out why it was made.
This part of the country is also well known for crop circles. Sorry, no photos of them, but there are lots out there on the internet.
Crop circles are patterns in crops which are thought to be very mysterious and usually appear during the night. Some people believe they are linked to UFO’s (unidentified flying objects/aliens).
Viviana has a better theory and thinks that somewhere there is a man with a lawnmower who ventures out in the dead of night to make them. Do you have any crop circles in your countries? What are your theories on how they are made?
The rest of the weekend was a washout. It rained and rained and rained and then rained some more. In fact it only stopped raining on Tuesday morning – just in time for work! Isn’t that just typical?
Just before I left the house to go to work I checked the back door was locked and look who I found mooching about on the shed roof:
Can you see? Shall I zoom in a little closer?
Yes, it’s a fox! You certainly don’t see one of those on your neighbours shed roof every day, so I just had to take a snap. What’s the strangest thing you’ve every come across in your garden? Write in and share your stories.
Bye for now,
Elena
Ps. Who would you like to write the next staff blog?
quest: a long and difficult search
start off: begin
catch me out: to show that someone has made a mistake
shudder: to shake
I shudder to think: used for saying that you do not want to think about something because it is unpleasant
observed: watched
put on the spot: put in a difficult situation (informal)
set off: begin a journey
let down: disappointing
put you off: delay doing something
glued to the spot: unable to move, usually due to interest or fear
baffled: a problem you cannot understand or solve/confused by something
sheared: to cut the wool from a sheep
catch on: to become popular or fashionable
navigator: map reader who plans the route of the journey
motorway: a wide road with several lanes
a good laugh at her expense: to laugh at someone
scoured: to look for something
stumbled across: to nearly fall over/to find
warrant a photo: a reason for taking a photo
found out: discovered
a washout: if heavy rain cancels an event
mooching about: to spend time in a place without any particular purpose (informal)
take a snap: take a photo
ventures: goes out
dead of night: very late at night when everything is very quiet
theories: ideas
Comments
I liked very much to read about Elena´s experience... I was the first time I entered in the BBC learning english web site and the elena´s estory was the first thing I did. I learned many new words. As I never traveled abroad, it is a good way to keep in touch with native english speaker. Sorry about my writing skill. But I know we are here to improve our skills. I would very much some feedback. Thank you
Hi there! very nice blog, interesting and funny. I had once a similiar experinece with a fox who dared get into the house straight to the fridge driven by the hunger.She was a female fox looking for food presumably for her poppies. Please keep on blogging. thank you
Hi Elena! It´s nice to read your entrance today :-). I really enjoyed your pictures. It seems you and your friends have had a lovely weekend. Well, we haven´t heard yet from Callum,Dima, Neil, Nuala and William. I hope they could spare some time in order to drop few lines to us :-). Best wishes, Ana Paula.
Hi Elena, Say hello to Yolanda and Viviana too. Thank you for sharing with us your expierences on your long weekend. I always travel with all of you by watching the wonderful pictures you post. I'd like to know more about all of the staff teachers so I'd like that you all in turn write a blog. Could Dima be the next one? :-) By the way, please tell Carrie that I've just prepared the recipe scones she gave us. Needless to say the are delicious and Oscar (my husband) liked them very much. They are very tasty because they aren't very sweet. Hope you have a nice weekend. Bye for now. Cris
Hi Elena I've read your writing with interest.While I was a young teacher, I would hesitate my students who try to catch me out. They would bring very difficult questions to me to solve them. I would'nt like it. After I gained more self confidence about how good teacher I am. I didn't meet such a these things or I met but I didn't never mind. That is nice looking at your past by laughing. Thank you. with love
Great pics and fascinating story! I think many things can make us glue to the spot, and it depends a lot on whether we are attentive or not when looking at them. Especially we get amazed watching other people who work and do it very much professionally. It's just a wonder to see how any good artist draw or paint, and the first thought which occurs to us is it's impossible! Of course, Nature is another source to make us shudder. It's sufficient to cast a glance at a mere butterfly to understand that its creator is the Mighty. Another example, our children are creatures who always give us a chance to look around differently. Their fast development especially in early years forced us (at least me) to think that there are lots of things in the world we will never perceive :)
Hi Elena! Is great to read about you. Here in Perú aren't crop cicles but there are the Nazca lines. This lines can be clearly seeing only from above by plane and were studied by Maria Reich that was German born Mathematician and Archaeologist, she said that the builders of the lines used them as a sun calendar and an observatory for asthonomical cycles.She was a great woman. Others say that the lines were built by people who live inside the UFO's. Maybe the people who live inside the UFO's cut the wool to the sheep to investigate only. The mistery is resolved.
Hi Elena: Nice to meet you!. I have enjoyed very much with your blog. What a beautiful trip!. Really I think that countryside in UK is, really, wonderful whatever place you go. Unfortunately I have never been there, but I hope that in a not so far future I could travel there with my family. If you were the next staff blogger, I would like to know more about you and your life. Bye for now. Have a nice day!!!!! Mercè
Elena, it was very good to read about your bank holiday weekend, your vivid descriptions of your travel gave us a feeling that we were accompanying you during your travel. Your navigator, Yolanda, sounded just like me. It is just obvious that if the roads in you map were colored blue, they should have been waterways. The strangest thing I have ever come across, not in my garden, but in our fireplace, was a possum! Thank you for your enjoyable entry.
Hello Elena, it's really nice to hear from you. As for the roads in my country, they are black. It was strange and interesting to know that the white horses date back 300 years or so and they still look as they have been drawn not far ago. I think the next staff blogger should be Amber..Best wishes, Naheed
hi Elena,Nice to meet you .Thank you for your very interesting blog.Could you tell me how does the Stonehenge formed?As for roadmap ,which are commonly coloured red and the river coloured blue in my country. Crop circles is definitely very mysterious and i have ever seen about it on TV programs. Some people believe they are linked to UFO’s,but i disagree .I think maybe it is caused by cyclone . In my country,To my knowleague,We haven't crop circles .Bye for now,and best wishes for you
Hi dear Elena , What a wonderful Blog . I love Stonehenge and I love visit there one day . It 's so mysterious . And as I love countryside I absolutely fascinated by visiting your beautiful photos . What a beautiful garden , do you have . Some thing which is main aspect of British houses . Once I saw a film about crops circle but I actually I didn't know that there are some doubt about their creator in reality So I must start do a quest for increasing my info . Hope to see more Blogs from you AND GIVE MY REGRADS TO YOUR FRIENDS Cheers
Dear Elena, After a long period I search staff blog to find out what is going on. I found it very much interesting. Your description of your journey is a real virtual tour to me. I have seen photograph of Stonehenge is able to solve my query because I have seen this photo in computer but I don’t know about it. All the pictures are very attractive and text is knowledgeable.
Hi everybody, I am a regular reader of the Student and Teacher blogs and from time to time I participate with a comment. I had seen that the Staff blog had started, but until now I hadn't find enough time to have a look to it. I must say that in my daily life I must keep to a strict agenda not only in professional life but also in the private one. Why ? Because the day has only 24 hours and we must sleep at least four or five. For the time being I am in holiday, that's why I have found time enough to have a glimpse to your writings that I must admit are very interesting. I see too, that a great deal of the comments are written by a solid team of former bloggers in the Student area : Adriana, Ana Paula, Cris, Leila, Naheed, James, ... as well as regular readers : Marianna, Mercè, Hyoshil, ... I think that I am going to force some time a week to keep in touch with you. I didn't know there were several white horses and that they were so old. I have seen the one just after the Shuttle on the way to Canterbury but my first impression was that it was a kind of add from maybe the “White Horse” Whiskey factory. Antonio (temporary in Romania)
Hi dear Elena , What a wonderful Blog . I love Stonehenge and I love visit there one day . It 's so mysterious . And as I love countryside I absolutely fascinated by visiting your beautiful photos . What a beautiful garden , do you have . Some thing which is main aspect of British houses . Once I saw a film about crops circle but I actually I didn't know that there are some doubt about their creator in reality So I must start do a quest for increasing my info . Hope to see more Blogs from you AND GIVE MY REGRADS TO YOUR FRIENDS Cheers
Hey, dear Elena, since I was a little boy watching crop circle and stonehenge on TV. They are really astonishing to me, until now I still belive that they were made by alien. Thank for your sharing ! best wishes~
Hi Elena, Nice to meet you and great to have a chance to look at you on the photo you posted. As usual, I checked the banner image as a newcome staff blogger showed up. Is that you who is on the second place from the right side. I can see Miss Carrie Dunton does not show up on the banner image till now. And are you Elena Newton? This entry is pretty good, and there is a innovation ending over there. Who would I like to write the next staff blog? The answer is Miss Elena, is that ok?. See you around and best regards. James
Hi Elena, I am interested in reading your story and seeing your pictures. It seems that I was on holiday.
Hi, Elena, this is my first time here, and all I can say is that I really enjoyed reading about your weekend, not only for the beautiful photos, but also for the way you described everything since you brought me close to the British culture and language.
Hi, Elena, I really enjoyed everything about this weekend and I can say that the photos are pretty beautiful. congratulations
Hi Elena. I've loved the bizarre sheep fashion. :-)
Hello Elena! what wonderful trip and what marvelous written!.I amused too much mainly when the sheep remained watching who are meditating.Those places are very interesting of visiting. They are full of mysteries. I believe that there exists a special energy there. I liked much the form as you write because she is interesting and funny. Thank you.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading and admiring the pictures of your trip. England is truly a beautiful country, its countryside has not lost its old charm which is fascinating to see. Of all the what really impressed me is your is only girls team, from the photo I can make out that all of you had enjoyed each others company and had so much fun.
Hi Elena, I want to thank you for the entertained way to tell the story about your trip. It is worth to visit your blog again, best wishes! sorry for any language mistake
Hi Elena! I enjoyed reading your story. I think being a navigator for someone in the car is a very tough job. I have to do it for my husband sometimes. The problem is I have to turn the map so that the road we have to go is always in front of me and after some time of doing it I start to feel sick... I wish I were there to see the fox! In our garden used to come a hedgehog family. It was also interesting. I read about foxes that they come often in the town looking for the food in the litter bins. Best regards. Tanja
Hello Elena! Nice to e-meet you!! I bumped into a hedgehog in my garden a couple of years ago. It would be great to hear from the other people who have never written before especially William. I have got the feeling he is a good fellow. Bye for now, Filippo
Thank you to share your trip with us. It's like if we were travelling with you. Hoping to travel with you again. Maybe for real!
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