With sympathy

Hi there

What a horrible experience Alex! I’m so sorry, you and your family must feel very frustrated. It is a distressing experience, made more so I guess by the fact that this is not the first time. I think that you are amazing to be able to keep going with your blog too given the circumstances.

I feel a bit odd or insensitive highlighting some language from your blog today but maybe out of adversity comes wisdom or you could say that I’m trying to find something positive out of your description of your difficulties. So I hope that you are not offended by this Alex!

Instead of ‘rubbish people' try down-and-outs which is a little bit softer. If you want a stronger term you could try vagrants.

"They ramble here and there instantly drunk, dirty and stinking. There is little job in the countryside and all they intents are to steal something, sell it and get drunk again."

I’ve reformulated this;

"They ramble here and there constantly drunk, dirty and stinking. There are very few jobs in the countryside and there only aim is to steal something, sell it and get drunk again."

One thing is for sure Alex, once you have recovered from your shock and upset, we would love to hear about the positive side of your house in the country.

Thank you for all your comments – it’s great to hear from you. A while ago Pary asked for the meaning of insidious a word that I’d highlighted in a blog. It is a negative word that means spreading quietly and harmfully. I used it in a playful way to describe the use of articles in English!

Tricia


Lexis and patterns from today;

given the circumstances ( in this situation)

a distressing experience ( an upsetting experience)

out of adversity comes wisdom ( you can learn from a difficult situation)

to be offended by something ( to be made upset or angry by something)

a down-and-out ( someone who has no job, no opportunities)

a vagrant ( someone who is poor with no job and no home)

to reformulate something (to improve)

Thanks for all your contributions. This blog has now closed and can no longer accept new comments.