Ash Wednesday
HELLO FROM SAMANTHA
Dear Juliette
Many of you will already know that today is Ash Wednesday. This is the start of Lent in the Christian calendar, a traditional time of fasting, equivalent to Ramadan in the Islamic faith. Lent lasts for forty days, because this is the length of time that Jesus Christ spent in the wilderness (desert). The fast of Lent is broken by Easter celebrations in April. Not many people strictly observe the Lenten fast these days in the UK, but a great many people use this time to give up a bad habit or “vice”. These vices are things that are considered to be bad for us: smoking, drinking alcohol, drinking caffeine in tea and coffee, and eating foods that contain sugar. I include the word “vice” here in its modern usage, meaning a bad habit, but the word originally referred to evil or sinful behaviour. Consider the adjective “vicious” which has “vice” as its stem: vicious means cruel, hateful, nasty, dangerous.
Now, let’s take this opportunity to look at some of the language we can use for giving up bad habits! We have already learnt one phrase this week: kick the habit, which means to give something up. You can also stop or quit smoking or drinking, but before you do this, you might try to cut down (gradually reduce your habit). You can decide to change or mend your ways, or turn over a new leaf. Both of these phrases mean that you are making an effort to improve your life or your behaviour in some way.
Now, Juliette, I can see that you are using a few more linking words, but there is still some room for improvement. In your next blog, it might be worth focusing on paragraph structure. Today’s blog was fun and interesting, but it would benefit from clearer structure. Each paragraph should contain one main idea, which you expand or explain. In English, the main idea usually, but not always, comes in the first sentence. The sentences in the paragraphs tend to be linked together in a logical order with linking words. We’ve mentioned linking words already, and I think everyone knows what they are by now. To move on from paragraphs to sentences, some of your sentences are too short and would strictly be called “fragments”. A few examples of fragments in today’s blog are “I love it.” (paragraph 1); “Only twice.” (paragraph 2); “It’s true.”; “It’s lovely.” (paragraph 3). We do use these kind of structures in speech, but in writing it is better to join these fragments together with the sentence before or after. For example, you wrote: "To sum up, I'm Juliette the aunty. I love it." We could re-write this as a single sentence: "To sum up, I'm Juliette the aunty, which I love being." Or, an another alternative would be: "To sum up, I'm Juliette the aunty, and I love being an aunty."
You mention sightseeing in London, well, I live in the north of England and did you know we have some of the most beautiful countryside in the country? We have one of the most beautiful sections of coastline, and we have fantastic majestic castles which sit high above rolling, golden beaches. Durham cathedral and castle are designated UNESCO World Heritage sites, and Durham also has a beautiful and famous old university! Maybe you have seen the Harry Potter movies with your nephews. If you have, you have actually already seen Alnwick castle, which is twenty miles away from where I live, and Durham Cathedral, because that is where the Harry Potter movies were filmed! I hope you will get organised in the future and come to visit!
Anyway, that’s all for today,
Best wishes to everyone,
Samantha.
PS.
For those of you who want to know the answer to yesterday’s task, the correct sentence was (ii) I’ve never been to Brazil but …
fasting (noun)
The act of refraining or abstaining from specific foods or behaviour.
bad habit (noun)
Something that you do which may be bad for your health, or may be considered as anti-social.
vice (noun)
A bad habit or indulgence.
evil (adjective)
Very bad, against religious teachings.
sinful (adjective)
Very bad, against religious teachings.
vicious (adjective)
Cruel, nasty, violent.
kick the habit (phrase)
Give something up.
quit smoking (phrase)
This means that someone completely stops smoking.
cut down (verb)
To reduce a smoking or drinking habit gradually.
change or mend your ways (phrase)
To alter past behaviour and replace it with something better.
turn over a new leaf (phrase)
To alter past behaviour and replace it with something better.
sightseeing (noun)
Visiting tourist attractions.
majestic (adjective)
Impressive, awe-inspiring.
Comments
Dear samantha,in today's blog you mentioned "Asha Wednesday".you know in china we are spending our traditional holiday" spring festival".it is an important holiday for chinese people like Christmas day in your country.we have big dinner ,relaxing and visiting our friends and relatives.for me, the best thing is meeting my friend LEi ,we haven't seen each other for seven years. i want to say "thank you samantha"you are really a kind ,strict and very carefull teacher.i have learned a lot from your blog.you ask your students do everything perfectly .i think that's good for our learners.in china, there is an old saying"if there is a strict teacher there must be an exellent student" i don't know if i express it correctly. Anyway, just say"thank you my dear teacher" Best wishes.
Hello Samantha, today's blog is very informative as I didn't know about Ash Wednesday. It seems quite similar to Ramadan but there are some differences as well. The month of Ramadan lasts for either 29 or 30 days depending upon the sighting of moon. If moon sights on the evening of 29th day of Ramadan then the fast is broken and we celebrate our Eid on next day. Otherwise we fast on 30th day and Eid is celebrated on the next day. Every day of Ramadan, the fast, which is called Roza starts before the sunrise and breaks after sunset. We do not eat or drink any thing (including water) during this time. We do not only kick the bad habits but also try not to say bad words, or pass a bad comment to someone, we also take care of our actions and try not to hurt any one. Zakat (charity) is given to poor people and is obligatory for those who are entitled according to some specific criteria. Samantha, you are lucky that you live in that part of the country where the most beautiful countrysides are located and the place look like a treasure of heritage. In 2004, I went to Canada where I visited a countryside near Toronto, it was really a beautiful place, I loved it. Smantha believe me or not when I visited the Niagra Fall I have no words to tell you how I felt at the moment I saw it. It was a breathtaking view and I was stunned by its beauty. As I am writing these lines I feel myself standing there looking at the Fall. This day dreaming is not good so I should say Good Bye. Take Care. Farida
Hi Samantha, Today's blog is fantastic and very informative for me because I didn't know what is "Ash Wednesday". I also confirm it from the internet then I found it occurs forty-six days before Easter. Keep it up. Take care --- Umar
Hello Samantha! Thank you for your next entry, which is full of worth advice. Yes, Lent time is a good occasion to change ourselves, especially to leave bad habits. Moreover, it could be good time for a reflection of meaning and sense our life aims, and state our relationships with ours relations. Some people do good resolutions for Lent, but how many of these resolutions are implemented in one hundred percent, it is difficult do judge. In my country, which is mentioned as strictly attached to traditional Christian value, many people take seriously Ash Wenseday, most people go to church and get symbolic pinch of ash on their heads. However, as I observe others, this gesutre rather seldom connects with giving up bad habits and vices. Kick the habit is not easy to do. I would like to add that Ortodox Christians celebrate Ash Wednseday a few weeks leater, according to Julian caledar, which bases on moon moves (may it be in some way similar to calendar uses in China - this one bases on moon too...). By the way your description of your region is brilliant! I wish you all the best.
Dear Samantha! I really enjoy reading your grammar instructions because they are useful for us, learners. Your last blog was really instructive as well. Would you mind telling us more about yourself? Please, write a few lines about your life, your sons, your work, your experience, your journey all around the world and so on. We would like to get to know you better. If you do not feel comfortable doing this then it is not a problem. Bet wishes,
Hi Samantha! In the Lent period, in my home we avoid to eat meat during Wednesdays and Fridays as a way of fasting. My mother said that when she was a girl, Christians families had the habit of quit to eat meat during all the Lent period. I don´t have any bad habits like drinking or smoking. So in the Lent I try to think about the way I treat people who live around me, if I need to change or mend my ways to don´t judge people wrongly, and remember always to see life in a positive and hopeful way. Best wishes, Ana Paula.
Dear Samantha! You know maybe that I´ve got the internet home since yesterday.I´ll learn much more useful English now and it is very exciting. I was at my lesson today and my joung lady teacher was satissfied with my writing. But I have the BBC and its teachers to thank for that. I feel really like a student now and have to learn thoroughly from you. It is so nice that you´ve mentioned sightseeing in your surroudings. I´ve sent in a comment to previous teacher to invite readers for the party to my little town with nice castle and its Golden Hall, but I do know from Your post that it may lose sometime. Anyway learning in this community is uniqe! Best wishes!
Dear Samantha, reading what you wrote about the north of England really got my "mouth watering" to visit such beautiful places. As a matter of fact, not only the north, but anywhere in England. I wish I have the opportunity to go there one day. I love countryside views. You could post some pictures in your blog, for us to get a glimpse of what your place looks like. It's always good to have an image too. It's interesting to contrast it to the way we imagined it. By the way, can we use the phrase "to get the mouth watering" refering to situations not related to food the way I used? What would be an alternative? Thank you, and bye for now.
Thanks for all your contributions. This blog has now closed and can no longer accept new comments.
