Music and Movies
G’day Leila and everyone!
I hope you’re all having a nice weekend! I’ve sent Chris to the supermarket with a shopping list (what a lovely husband!) and Owen is asleep, so I’m all yours for the next couple of hours (unless there are any more monsters in the kitchen, and then I hope you’ll forgive me if I run away and hide …).
Leila, once again thank you for the photos – I honestly don’t think I would have believed it if I hadn’t seen it for myself! There’s an equally crazy custom in the north of England (around Newcastle) for people to go swimming in the North Sea on Boxing Day – it’s probably not as cold as Finland, but I bet it’s pretty close! By the way, what did you do with your unwanted possum visitor while you were in NZ?
I thought I’d write a bit about Aussie culture in the form of music, books and film today, as some of you have been asking about that. And next time, I hope to bring you an Aboriginal legend, if I can get my act together! As we haven’t done a quiz for a while, I thought we’d start with a few little questions … Look at the names below, and decide which people are actors, which are musicians (bonus points if you know the name of the band!), and which are authors. Ready?
1. Tim Winton
2. Peter Garrett
3. Russell Crowe
4. Kylie Minogue
5. Peter Carey
6. Neil Finn
7. Geoffrey Rush
8. Thomas Keneally
9. Cate Blanchett
10. Angus Young
11. Kate Grenville
12. Nicole Kidman
13. Hugh Jackman
14. Darren Hayes
15. Colleen McCullough
How about we do the easiest first? Aussies in the movies are …
Russell Crowe, Geoffrey Rush, Cate Blanchett, Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman.
Singers/Musicians:
Peter Garrett (from Midnight Oil), Kylie Minogue, Neil Finn (from Crowded House), Angus Young (from AC/DC – Chris would have been furious if I’d missed him out!) and Darren Hayes (from Savage Garden).
So that means the rest must be writers!
Tim Winton – his most famous book is probably Cloudstreet (1991), which was adapted into a play. He’s written three since then, and has been shortlisted for several awards.
Peter Carey – probably most well-known for Oscar and Lucinda, which was made into a movie. His latest book (as far as I know) was The True History of the Kelly Gang, which is about Australia’s most famous outlaw, Ned Kelly. It’s a great book, but very hard to read, as it’s written in idiomatic 19th century Australian English!
Thomas Keneally – has written many, many books (fiction and non-fiction). You’ve probably heard of Schindler’s List, which was made into a movie by Steven Spielberg.
Kate Grenville – again, she’s published several novels, the latest of which is The Secret River.
Colleen McCullough – a prolific writer. Her latest novels have been a series about Ancient Rome (called the Masters of Rome); she has also published several other novels, the most famous of which is probably The Thorn Birds.
As I said last time, I am a total bookworm and will read anything! Probably my favourite types of books are novels, and I also like crime (I grew up on a steady diet of Agatha Christie!) and history (fiction and non-fiction). Some of you have asked for some recommendations – the following are among my current favourite authors …
• Joanne Harris (the author of Chocolat*, among other books)
• Tracy Chevalier (she wrote Girl with a Pearl Earring*, and has published several more since then)
• Robert Harris (he writes gripping, edge-of-your-seat thrillers)
• Mark Haddon (I discovered his books very recently and really enjoyed them)
(* You might have seen these as movies – both were great adaptations of the books!)
It’s just dawned on me that the above are Poms (and one American)! No Aussies! So, if you’d like to read something Australian, you could try one of the following:
• A.B.Facey, A Fortunate Life (biography - an account of his life in WA from childhood to old age; he fought at Gallipoli in World War I, and the book is an Australian classic. It’s very readable, and I’ve done some extracts from it in class; my students seemed to enjoy it, or so they said!)
• Doris Pilkington Garimara, Rabbit Proof Fence (biography again – an account of growing up in WA in the 1930s as an Aboriginal child, and being taken into care. It’s a wonderful story, but very confronting. It was made into a movie a few years ago, if you’d rather watch it than read it.)
• Kate Grenville, The Secret River (fiction – set in the 19th century, about a convict and his family who settle on the Hawkesbury River and what life was like for them.)
• Andrew McGahan, The White Earth and Last Drinks (fiction – very different stories but both quite dark and disturbing, if you like that sort of literature. I enjoyed both, but they’re not for the faint hearted!)
• Or, try one of the authors I’ve mentioned above!
• Or, if you’re feeling really inspired, have a look on the web and find out about some other Aussie writers, as there are many many more than I’ve talked about here!
Several of you have asked me about my tastes in music; well, I’m not ashamed to admit that I love anything from the 1980s, the cheesier the better! (Please don’t hold that against me; in most other respects I’m a very normal person, honestly!) I also like REM; I’ve been lucky enough to see them in concert twice, which was fantastic! Ana Paula, there are so many great REM songs it’s hard to pick my favourites, but if I can choose 3, they are: Find the River, Losing My Religion and Strange Currencies. Which are yours? And the British bands from the 1990s – Oasis, Blur, Pulp, (especially Pulp!). Oh, and Bon Jovi! Gosh, I’m really stuck in a time warp, aren’t I? Just to prove that I’m not a completely hopeless case, I also like James Blunt (unfortunately, Owen hates him, so I never get to listen to him in the car! Not fair!)
Chris is more of what I’d call a “sweaty rocker”; he’s a huge AC/DC fan, and also likes Placebo, the White Stripes and Snow Patrol. Owen really likes Chris’s music, so when the two of them gang up on me in the car I’ve got no chance!! When Owen was tiny (just a couple of months old), he used to like the Guns’N’Roses version of “Knocking on Heaven’s Door” to help him get to sleep – we’d have to have it on constant replay! We’ve got some world music CDs for Owen (to encourage him to take an interest in other cultures), and they’re great – we all like listening to them (and I’d much rather have those in the car than some of the others!).
As far as Aussie music goes, there are a lot of great bands and musicians around – “classics” like Midnight Oil (who aren’t really together any more since Peter Garret became a politician), AC/DC and INXS (now there’s an example of a band who’ve made a comeback!), and also more modern ones like Powderfinger, Silverchair, Pete Murray and the John Butler trio. And let’s not forget that all-time Aussie classic “Land Down Under” by Men at Work. If you’ve never heard of it, stop reading this immediately and look up the lyrics on the web. And then listen to it!
Rather than talk about Aussie movies now, I’ll leave you with a question – have you seen any Australian movies? What did you think? (We can talk some more about movies next time, if you’re interested!)
I’ve been a bit remiss about answering some of your language questions, so let me make up for it now …
appear/publish
Kirsti – wow! What a tricky question! Appear is used correctly here. I think in cases like this we use “appear” to talk generally about when the book became available to the public, whereas “publish” refers to the production date (this is usually linked to the date of copyright).
emigrate/immigrate
Benka – emigrate is to leave a country (e.g. I emigrated from the UK in 1999)
immigrate (used more as a noun; immigration or immigrant) is to enter the new country (e.g. I immigrated to Aus in 1999)
Passive with “By”Rocio – “by” can be used in any tense of the passive. Remember that we use the passive in English to focus on the action rather than the person doing the action. If we want to talk about the person, that’s when we use “by”.
e.g. This post was written today - the important thing is the writing.
This post was written today by Rachel – to talk about who wrote it.
Habooba, Rachel is a Hebrew name in origin, and it means gentle and innocent like a sheep. Chris always laughs at this! (Owen, by the way, is a Welsh name – I’m not certain what it means; we just liked it! And his middle name is James …) Do any of you know the meanings of your names? It would be interesting to find out!
in/for 24 years
Ana, in this case, you could use either! Good question!
Gerund/present participle
Kakafung, a gerund is a noun (used as the subject or object of a sentence) whereas a participle is used as a verb (to describe what someone is doing).
In these sentences, which is a gerund and which is a participle?
• I’ve never really been interested in watching sci-fi movies
• I tripped over walking down the stairs
• Owen gets a lot of attention being so cute
• Going to the park makes Owen happy.
purchase/buy(I’m sure someone asked me about this, but I can’t find who it was – sorry!)
The meanings of both are the same, but we would use “purchase” in a more formal situation, for example in writing a letter of complaint. “Purchase” can also be used as a noun; e.g. “Look at all my purchases”. To use “buy” like this, we’d have to say “Look at the things I bought”.
Leila, you asked about off/of a while ago. (Did you think I’d forgotten?!)
Of is usually used to show a connection, or to talk about a specific thing:
• the colour of the jacarandas
• the noise of children playing
• I met Chris at the age of 22
(Notice how often we use “the” with “of”!)
Off can be used as an adverb as well as a preposition, and for this reason it’s very common in phrasal verbs. If it’s used as a preposition, the meaning is the opposite of “on” – e.g. I got on the bus in the city, and got off in Hurlstone Park”.
That’s a very brief description of the differences; a good grammar book or dictionary will give you more details and examples. I hope that helps!
I’ll just warn you now – next time I’ll be focussing a little bit on articles, so be prepared!
I’ll finish off with a bit of vocab (did you think you’d escaped? Never!) Here are the definitions, and there are some lovely questions for you below … Enjoy!
31st Oct – Goodbye Satya
to be spot on (expr) = to be exactly right
grubby (adj) = dirty
to crack sb up (phr vb) = to make sb laugh
to show off (phr vb) = to attract attention in a way that others find annoying
things are hotting up (expr) = things are getting exciting
cumbersome (adj) = awkward because it’s too large or heavy
take your hat off to sb (expr) = admire sb for sth they have done
2nd Nov – Welcome Leila
to pick you up on sth (phr vb) = to notice a small error or mistake
to work a treat (expr) = to operate very well
5th Nov – Remember, remember the Fifth of November
to commemorate (vb) = an official ceremony or day to remember sth
to nag (vb / n) = to complain or criticise repeatedly
to settle down (phr vb) = start living in a place where you intend to stay
to chuck sth out / away (phr vb - informal) = to throw away
a potted history (expr) = a brief overview
to persecute (vb) = to treat sb unfairly over a long period of time
to hatch a plot (expr) = to make a secret plan
an effigy (n) = a model or image of a person, especially sb who is hated, for display in public
to wind sb up (phr vb) = to annoy sb
And here are your questions …
1. What cracks you up?
2. What sort of things might you do or say if you were showing off?
3. Can you tell us about someone you take your hat off to?
4. Can you tell us something that works a treat if you have a headache?
5. Do you ever nag anyone? Who? What about? (Or does someone nag you?)
6. If you could settle down anywhere in the world, where would you choose?
7. What was the last thing you chucked out? Why?
OK possums, Chris is back from the supermarket (with mangoes, I hope – I have a new recipe that I want to try! If it’s nice, I’ll let you know, Naheed!) and Owen has woken up, so I’ll leave the virtual world for the real one …
Thank you all for continuing to leave comments – I really enjoy reading about what you’re doing and I promise I’ll get round to replying to you all again before the end of November! Keep it up!
See you later, alligators (another little rhyme for you – the response is “in a while, crocodile”),
Rachel
And, of course, today’s vocab …
get my act together (expr)
adapted (adj)
shortlist (n)
prolific (adj)
bookworm (n)
to be taken into care (expr)
not for the faint hearted (expr)
cheesy (adj – informal)
a hopeless case (expr)
a time warp (n)
to gang up on sb (phr vb)
remiss (adj)
get round to (phr vb)
Comments
G´day Rachel!!! How the new recipe is doing? Oh I hope Chis has brought the mangoes :-). Well, I have two REM fauvorite songs: Loosing my Religion( it´s amazing isn´t it? Do you remember of the clip?) and Everybody Hurts. I know people say that this song is a bit depressive, but I don´t think so Rachel. I find the melody so beautiful. The radio station that I listen to here in Brazil is one which plays all the classics of the 60,70,80 and 90. I have a very eclectic taste for music Rachel. I also like Blur, Man at Work, Midnight Oil, Savage Garden, AC/DC, White Stripes, Alanis Moressete, Guns´N´Roses, Gloria Gaynor, Bee Gees, Abbba, Tracy Chapman, Fortuna, Tony Mousayek, Depeche Mode, Beetles... it´s a pretty long list with a mixture of everyting. Rachel, do you know or have you ever listened to Brazilian music? There are so many beautiful songs, especially some songs of Guilherme Arantes and Toquinho that I think Owen would love it :-). Well, I am a bookworn too. I love reading and I´m going to look for the writers you´ve mentioned. Oh my goodness! My hands are itching to go to the virtual bookstore and find them! Nowadays I´m reading more books in English than Portuguese, I´m enjoying very much. You know, it´s one more way to get in touch with the language. I´m reading 'The Phantom of the Opera' by Gaston Leroux(one of the recommendation readings for the FCE exam) and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, as the Brazilian telly doesn´t have many interesting things to watch I 'switch' books instead channels :-). I like Mark Haddon too. One of the blog teachers, Steven Keeler, has recommended "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time", and I enjoyed reading it very much indeed. Well, let´s talk about another subject that I´m also hooked, films. Rachel, I hang my head in shame, because my knowledge in Autralian films are so little. Anyway, I just could remember of three Australian productions from the 1990´s that I´ve watched and I thought they were, actually they are wonderful: Shine, Muriel´s Wedding and The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, the sound tracks of these last two are really great. Well, it´s better I stop to talk about films and do my homework: 1. What cracks you up? What really cracks me up is a comic magazine called 'Turma da Mônica'. My favourite character, Cebolinha is always in amazing hilarious troubles, oh poor dear boy, haha! 2. What sort of things might you do or say if you were showing off? I might say that a friend bought a pair of Prada shoes just to show off(?); 3. Can you tell us about someone you take your hat off to? Yes, I take my had off to Dr Zilda Arns, founder of 'Pastoral da Criança'( Pastoral of the Children), an organization which cares of health, nutrition and education of children. Many undernutrition children were saved by Pastoral teaches. Therefore, Dr Zilda Arns is someone that I really look up. 4. Can you tell us something that works a treat if you have a headache? A cup of coffee without sugar, and a dark room. 5. Do you ever nag anyone? Who? What about? (Or does someone nag you?) Yes, I nag my sisters and they nag about me. Sometimes they nag about my films, sometimes I nag them because they pick my book without ask(now this is over, until they take up English classes, hihi). 6. If you could settle down anywhere in the world, where would you choose? I would settle down in a city where I´ve spent a great time called Natal in the Northweast of Brazil. I would every morning walk on the beach and enjoy every moment, I would be aware to every sent and feel the soft and white, very white sand on my feet and in the background I would listen to the sea sound... Aaahhh... May I go now :-)? 7. What was the last thing you chucked out? Why? Oh really don´t remember. Actually, I need chuck out a couple of things, but I always feel lazy about it. Vocab: get my act together (expr): to organize yourself; adapted (adj): to transform; shortlist (n): to be in a list of chosen to win an award; prolific (adj): to produce a great number or amount; b
G day Rachel,I hope you had a joyful Sunday. My Sunday went just as well, I cooked Chicken Vindaloo to wish my parents happy wedding anniversary. It was on 16 Nov but we couldn't celebrate it because of my mum's illness. As for the mango recipe, I will be looking forward to it, and hopefully it will go well. I've been considering to make Pavlova for so many days but I can't do it in my mum's presence, as she is diabetic and she could not help herself having a go at it. As strawberries don't come by easily in this time of year, I'm thinking to use canned pineapples or probably the honeyed ones. And yes, Thank you so much Rachel! I like Savage Garden very much but I didn't know the name of the singer, I like two of his songs very much which are 'truly, madly, deeply' and ' I wanna live like animal'. I also like Kylie Minogue very much. The meaning of your name is so beautiful, and along with this you have asked an interesting question. As for the meaning of my name, Naheed is a Persian name in origin which means planet Venus and the goddess of beauty and love. So you can say my English name is Venus. Rachel, in a couple of paragraphs you really sounded like a teacher in the class room and it was so sweet. Here's my HW. 1) Any thing that's funny cracks me up so easily because I really can't help laughing. 2) Showing off status with respect to money annoys me so much. 3) I take my hat off to all those working mothers who, despite being so busy, try their best to get round to thier children. 4) I think a cuppa works a treat when I have a headache. 5) I nag my youngest sister by saying that she is not my real sister because she is extremely thin. 6) I would like to settle down in Dubai if I could. 7) I chucked out my keyboard a couple of weeks ago beacuse it totally conked out on me. All the best wishes to you and everyone. Naheed
Hi, Rachel. Thank you very much for your reply. But how can a book be available to the public if it is not published? Just kidding. Since I asked I've in fact checked in the Free Dictionary by Farlex (online). In the thesaurus they gave 7 different meanings and for number 3 there was written "appear - be issued or published". I was aware of the other meanings, not this one.
Dear Rachel, of all the names you listed I have only recognized Russel Crowe, Kylie Minogue, Cate Blanchett, Nicole Kidman, Darren Hayes, which makes it 5 out of 15. And I am afraid the Australian writers haven't done well in Russia. I couldn't call myself a person who closely follows all the events in the musical, cinema and book worlds, though. Such thing as book charts in book shops is only starting to appear here and people have been book illiterate up to now, which is a pity. I am sure, if our book shops made a better attempt at displaying their goods, our people would buy more elaborate literarure while now it is mainly cheap novels and whodunnit books that bring most of the profit. Have a good day. Cheers, Ana
Hello Rachel! Cate Blanchett won a prize at the Venice Film Festival last summer. I think she is a remarkable actress. The Aussie films that I have seen so far are: “The Piano”, “Babe”, “Taking Lives”, “Candy” and of course, “Crocodile Dundee”. About music, I like Bon Jovi, the White Stripes and Placebo too. Oh, Kylie’s new single is very good!! I hope Pulp will reunite soon. As you like reading, have you ever heard of Banana Yoshimoto? She is a Japanese contemporary writer. I really like her novels especially “Kitchen”. Have a good week!
Hey'up Rachel How is the weather like in OZ? l have read "Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier.I thoroughly enjoyed it and I didn't try to watch it on screen as I was afraid the movie would give me bad taste of the book. I love to answer some of your questions.1,what cracks you up-it should be my son.one day we spopped one of his girlfriends house and we spent about one hour.On the way home we were talking like this.... my son:mum!I kissed melanie! me: What,when,where my son:in her house's garage.. me:(I couldn't stop laughing but managed to countinue to talk )That was not a romantic place to kiss melanie.. my son:We pretended to be in the house and she asked me to kiss her.That was NOT my fault.he is a only five-year old but sometimes he can be really cheeky .2)if I was showing off-I can swim like a duck to water.3)iItake my hat to you and my previous teachers in this blog. I think your generosity and commitment and sharing a part of your life are nothing to compare with.I always admire your effort and hard work which to nudge us right direction and the reason for I salute you.4)I tend to nag myself when I can't remember new vacabblaries which I learnt a few minutes ago. 7)I have chucked out some of my husband's clothes as he is getting big and my son is worried one day his daddy's tummy might blow up.Have a wonderful day!
Hi Rachel :-) I hope you get your act together because I'm most anxious to hear an Aboriginal legend. You mentioned Schindler’s List (it is the title of the film, the title of the book is Schindler's Ark), which was made into a movie by Steven Spielberg; I wanted to add that the scenes of the film were shot in Poland. Lots of people consider that the film has a lot of essential historic mistakes, but I think that although the plot of the film is set in the history, it isn't a historical document. It was just a very good film grounded on real facts that made a lot of money. Until next time.
I love love the topic. Music and movies are part of my life. My favourite Aussie stars are Nicole Kidman, Cate Blanchett and Naomi Watts. I used to be a big fan of Nicole Kidman. I have watched almost every movie she’s in from 2000 to 2005, such as Moulin Rouge, The Others, The Hours, Cold Mountain, The Stepford Wives – just to name a few. And I almost loved every one of them. Sadly, she is getting less productive nowadays. I started to watch Naomi Watts’ movie from The Ring, originally from a Japanese horror. I then watched Le Divorce, 21 Grams (she got nominated for Oscar Best Actress), and King Kong. I love her most in The Painted Veil which was filmed in China. Cate Blanchett has made a comeback in Australia I suppose. Her new movie Elizabeth – the Golden Age is showing in the cinema now. I watched it last night. Loved the scenery, the costumes, and of course the Queen – Cate Blanchett.
Hey up, Rachel,you have intrigued me about names. I was googling and I've found out my son's name Iago means 'the one who supplants', 'the one who wins'. My first name Adriana comes from latim. It means 'the one who is from Adria or Hadria city, a place surrounded by the sea in the South of Veneza, one who has dark or brown skin. And Helena(Greek) means torch and light. Rachel, dare I say it...I'm not cutting edge of Australian culture. Regarding movies...I've seen some of those screenings Ana Paula has mentioned and... you talking about alligators and crocodiles reminded me those films of Steve Irwins. I was moved by his death. I've watched his daughter reading those heart-braking words by the time on the ABC. I've listened some Australian music on the ABC Radio National from country to rock. I like 'My Country' of Midnight Oil and ' Down by the Sea' of Men at Work( just to mention only one, there are several I like). Your questions and my answers: 1. What cracks you up? Some ring-tones of the mobile phones. The other day, I listened a rooster singing. It seemed so real and I thought it was too late for a rooster singing like that and suddenly i saw a man picking up his cell phone. Things like that crack me up. 2. What sort of things might you do or say if you were showing off? I would say there are more accidents with men than with women if male friends were showing off saying men are better than women at driving. 3. Can you tell us about someone you take your hat off to? I take my hat off to Paulo César Vinha, a biologist who was killed here due to his commitment at work. I take my hat to Alexandre, a judge who was killed because he was facing the organized crime and I take my hat off to every person who doesn't have fear to do the right thing. 4. Can you tell us something that works a treat if you have a headache? Do-in in G-4 site, works a treat if I have a headache. 5. Do you ever nag anyone? Who? What about? (Or does someone nag you?) My best friend nags me because sometimes I cannot go out with her because I'm not single anymore as she is. 6. If you could settle down anywhere in the world, where would you choose? I don't know the World to choose a place but I think I'd like to settle down here and only visit the places I don't know. 7. What was the last thing you chucked out? Why? The last thing I chucked out was a stove because it wasn't working properly. Bye Rachel
G'day Rachel! Teacher's day comes today. "Happy teacher's day" and my special thank you to you and the BBC LE staff. I just know 3 out of the 15 names, Nicole Kidman, Darren Hayes and Colleen McCullough. I really like them all. I read The Thorn Birds twice (in Vietnamese) when i was at university and saw the film later. Cool! I also like crime. Agatha Christie is one of my favourite authors. I haven't seen many Aussie films. As I love animals so Babe is impressing to me. Now, here are my answers: 1/ What cracks me up? _Rachel's stories about Owen and Christ. 2/ Sorry, I don't know. I have nothing to show off. 3/ I take my hat off to those who can do what I can't. 4/ If I work hard and have a headache I'll take a rest and if it doesn't work I'll go to see the doctor. 5/ Very often I nag my younger brother about making the room a mess. 5/ I love water so the seaside or a place by a river would be my choice. 7/ I chucked my worn out shoes away a couple of weeks ago.(Sorry for Prince Christ's beloved Italian shoes!:-)). That's all. Waiting for your next post. Best wishes, Myen.
Dear Rachel, thanks so much for the list of writers. It means a great deal to "us", the ones cut off from the rest of the world. All of them were new to me except the writer of "Thorn Birds" that I've read both in English and Farsi, and I should confess I didn't like at all. The rest seem very promising. Many many thanks..
Hi Rachel! The second part of the month is more busy for me at work. And I couldn´t make myself to do homework at nights properly. It semed to me so meaningless if I learn or not, I sit all the time here only. I am not able to end reading the book "The right atitude to the rain" since October. Do you know the book? It´s about Scotland and there is something like Leila wrote about long days without getting really dark. To prove that I am not completely hopeless with learning I took my old pocket atlas and studied (I needed magnifying glass) more precisely where all places of my virtual friends are on the map. Then I explained to my mother that we are writing here like airplain-distances between continents and world cities was displayed in my old-fashioned atlas. I will try more amusement comment next time! Greetings to all your family!
Usually comedies in the movie crack me up. My children sometimes crack me up funny jokes. My son sang many songs and danced well in front of the relatives at the family gathering in the summer holidays. I’ve never trained to do like that. I really take my hat off to him. Some times I nag my subordinates not submitting their reports on time. My wife nags me some time not to do my work quickly. I would like to settle down Britain. I believe that help me to learn English with the native speakers of English. Obeying Princes R's words is the first duty of Prince C. whether purchasing provisions in the markets or putting bins into the outside. It doesn’t matter whether early morning or in the day time. Such an obedient husband he is. He will do what ever prince R asked him to do. I am not like that. I will do my house hold works after my wife nags me many times. She is also a teacher. She has holiday only on Sundays. I am away from my home during weekdays. My work place is faraway from my home. She always expects help from me to do shopping, helping the chilren their studies and cleaning the house during weekend, that is reasonable. Some times I will do happily, some times I don’t. I will help her after exchanging war of words.
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