The weekend starts here!

Dear Federico,

I had no idea I would ever have to blog with a Manchester United fan! What can I say? I am speechless! (I am also joking.)

It was good to get your blog this evening. Thank you. It is strange to read that the summer is coming to Lima. Here it is dark and cold. If you like the sun, northern Europe is not the best place to be right now. Our days are short and some days we don’t see the sun at all. It has been very windy all week. Yesterday there was even a mini tornado in north-west London. Several houses were destroyed and many were badly damaged. One person is still in hospital and several families will have to live somewhere else until their homes are repaired. I watched it move across the sky. It was fascinating but a bit frightening.

Your day sounds quite relaxed today, and quite a contrast with yesterday. I can imagine you having grilled chicken and vegetables with an iced beer, sitting back in the warm sunshine thinking, ‘this is the life.’ Here, right now, I think you might prefer a hot drink. It is around zero degrees at the moment and the salt truck has just gone down our road spreading salt on the road to keep it ice-free during the night.

Here’s a brief technical question from me. You said that pyrite radiates heat. So is pyrite used in any industrial processes for radiating heat or is it used in heating systems or heat exchangers? Is this a stupid question? Perhaps it’s not easy to answer. Please ignore it if it is too stupid.

I didn’t know it was a public holiday weekend in Peru. It sounds very pleasant, especially the beer and the fireworks. I love fireworks. I’m looking forward to hearing about the Scissors Dance, too. Sounds exciting! Will you take part or will you just watch? Or is that only in your home town?

Meanwhile, I guess you are at the cinema while I am writing this. I’m not a Tarantino fan but I adore Woody Allen movies. This weekend I plan to see the digitally re-mastered version of Manhattan.

Today I have been Christmas shopping: books for Lucy (Ssh! Don’t tell her!); toys for friends’ children; a couple of CDs for myself. I’m listening to one of them now. Perhaps it is a little too loud for the neighbours. Lucy is at the movies with a friend. They’ve gone to see The Holiday, which I think will be awful. She says she just wanted something “entertaining and a bit mindless to relax with” at the end of a cold, dark and very wet week. I have been wrapping a few presents and occasionally stopping to write a couple of Christmas cards. Then your blog arrived. I was grateful because I soon get bored wrapping Christmas presents.

Tomorrow morning we’re going into town early for breakfast with a good friend from the US and her English partner. Then Lucy wants to visit an exhibition and after that we’re going to see another movie, a new thriller called London to Brighton. We’ll have dinner quite early at a Japanese restaurant we like near the British Museum. Then, if we still have enough energy, Lucy and I will take a walk through central London to look at the Christmas lights in Regent Street and Oxford Street, and to see the big Norwegian Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square. There’s a concert of Christmas music at our local theatre, so if we are still awake when we get home we might finish our day with some live music.

The weather forecast is for a good day tomorrow but more wind and rain on Sunday, so I guess we’ll just curl up on the sofa with the Sunday newspapers and lots of tea and toast. I envy you being able to go cycling along the shore without freezing.

Hey, how about that? A whole blog without one of my lousy jokes. I did promise.

I’m glad you’ve got time to read the comments from our readers. They’re great, aren’t they? We seem to be making a few new friends out there.

Have a wild Saturday night.

Talk to you again soon.

Bye for now.

STEPHEN


SOME USEFUL EXPRESSIONS
speechless
to be unable to say anything because you are too shocked or surprised
mini
small
tornado
a powerful storm with a very strong wind
ignore
If you ignore something you don’t pay any attention to it.
a couple of
two
mindless
something you don’t need to think about
wrapping
covering in decorative paper
into town
When Londoners say we are going into town we mean we are going into the centre of London.
Norwegian
Every Christmas the citizens of Oslo, the capital of Norway, send the people of London a Christmas tree. It is always placed in Trafalgar Square. The tree is a way of saying ‘Thank you’ for help during the Second World War.
weather forecast
Usually on TV or radio, or in the newspaper, the weather forecast tells you what the weather will be like tomorrow. [NOTE: in English we don’t use the word ‘prognosis’ in this context.]
curl up
Sit with your feet under you on your seat, like a cat, for example.
envy
If you envy someone you wish you could do what they do or have what they have. It’s a little bit like being jealous of someone.
lousy
bad
wild
exciting

NOTES
In your work you have to think about safety all the time. Let’s just look at some forms of the word:
safe/safe than/the safest
is an adjective; example sentence: He drove too fast and I didn’t feel safe. You can use a comparative form, too: Her new car is safer than the old one. You can use the superlative form, too: This is the safest mine in the world.
safety
is a noun; example sentence: We must think about safety in the mine at all times.
safely
is an adverb; example sentence: The gas is extracted safely from the mine.

Taking about ‘most’ things:
most
When we use the word ‘most’ we don’t always need the word ‘the’ in front of it; example sentences: Most people like summer time. Most people will go to the countryside this weekend. Most of my friends support Arsenal.
You need ‘the’ in front of ‘most’ in a superlative sentence; examples: She’s the most intelligent person I know. It was the most delicious meal I have ever eaten. It was the most wonderful day of my life.

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