Flowers
Hello Xuan and readers,
How are you doing Xuan and how is your revision going? It's just over one week until your next exam. I hope you are not feeling too nervous. Everyone else, thank you for all of your recent posts. Before I reply to you all, I wanted to tell you a little bit more about some of the unusual things I see on the way to work. I mean unusual compared to my walk to work in the UK, because now I am totally used to the ‘unusual’ things here. OK, let me get to the point and tell you what I want to tell you.
You all know I get the Skytain to work. I get off and walk along an overhead walkway then down a long flight of steps to get to street level. I pass a few shops, motorbike riders and fruit sellers, and then I get to the flower stalls. The flower stalls are always a hive of activity and they really brighten up my walk to work. Outside a small supermarket, some people have set up a few stalls selling flowers by the side of the road.
You can buy almost anything you want from roses, tulips and orchids, to lilies, marigolds and jasmine flowers. You can buy flowers arranged into bouquets like in the next picture….
or in garlands, as in the picture below. These garlands cost around 10 baht each (that’s $0.33 or £0.15) and people buy them to put on spirit houses, to take to temples to leave as offerings or maybe to put on any other kind of shrine at work. 
It is long summer school holidays now in Thailand so the kids of the flower vendors come and sit with them at the stall to help out their parents.
So you can see, I have a very colourful and varied trip to work. Actually, I got into the lift at work this morning with a courier who had a large bunch of roses in his arms. I was very curious who they might be for. The lift went up higher and higher, more and more people got off but the courier and I remained together in the elevator. I became really hopeful that they might be for me!!!! But no. When I got off at floor 17, he stayed in the lift. But I wonder who they WERE for? Steve always buys me flowers and I’ve got 2 beautiful bunches in the kitchen right now. I’m lucky.
So here’s a question for you. When was the last time you bought anyone flowers? When was the last time you received any flowers? What is your favourite flower? There is a really nice entry on the BBC staff blog about English bluebells. If you have time, have a read, as there are some lovely pictures as well.
Finally, here is my own little flower, my little rosebud Rachel, taken tonight in the kitchen. 
Ok everyone, over to you! Thank you so much for all the comments and here are replies to everyone who posted a comment to my ‘Congratulations Xuan’ post.
Pary – please don’t be embarassed about what you see as minor mistakes, or major mistakes for that matter. If you don’t make mistake then you won’t improve. Thank you for doing the ‘time’ homework and I hope you are not too busy now. Tell me, when you are really busy, what do you like to do if you have a spare moment (this mean, when you have a little free time)?
Naweed – it is my pleasure to guide you and I always try to be professional (not *profistional). Best wishes to you.
Merce – I LOVE ABBA and especially the song Dancing Queen!!!! Thanks for making me listen to it again. When I was at university, one of my favourite nights out was to go to the student union every Thursday night for the 70s disco and dance my heart away classic songs of the 1970s. ABBA was played every week. I think using song lyrics to understand English is a really good way to learn.
Hyoshil – I am glad that you are enjoying the grammar lessons. I have to thank you for asking questions. Sometimes I feel very frustrated as a teacher if my students don’t ask me any questions. You have to be curious about language in order to learn effectively, I think. So, you asked me what the difference is between ‘commanding’ and ‘demanding’. If something is commanding’, it exerts control or it can be seen as ‘magnificent’. If something is ‘demanding’, it is hard work. Let me give you a couple of sentences – which word should you put in each phrase?
• The great opera singer gave a very ____________ performance last night.
• He sung for 3 hours, which was very _____________.
Another example. Imagine that you work in the army. You would have commanding officer. This is the man or woman in charge of your military unit. If this person makes a lot of requests of you, makes you do a lot of work and is always telling you to do things, they are a demanding commanding officer
Marianna – Xuan and I are lucky to share experience about Hanoi, aren’t we (not *don’t). Marianna might have a different meaning, as a whole name, than Anne. I am sure that if you look on the web, you can find the meaning of ‘Mari’.
Naheed – you raised a question about the differences between ‘in the end’ and ‘on the end’. Let me give you some example phrases,
• We couldn’t decide what to do at the weekend. In the end, we decided to go to the cinema.
• The mouse was hiding in the end of the pipe
• The mouse was sitting on the end if the pipe
Can you work out the different meaning of each phrase in each sentence? Two meanings are about physical location and one is a reference to time.
Gianna – well done for trying to very homework. Tell us, where do you live in Italy and what do you do for a living? Are you a student, or do you work?
Cris –Did you really learn French at high school FOR 5 years? I did French at university and have lived in France for about 3 years. I also learnt German, but found it much more difficult than French. I also speak very bad Italian and Spanish – I am very proud of the fact that I can order coffee on the phone in Spanish. Very useful when you are staying in a hotel and need coffee on room service! And of course now I am trying to learn Thai, but that is very, very difficult.
Habooba – how interesting to hear about nicknames in Iran. You still seem to have a lot of variations in names and lots of ways in which you can change them. I know you live in Ahwaz in Iran. Can you tell us a little bit about your town? How far is it from Tehran? What is it like to live there? I am very interested to hear more, as I know very little about Iran.
Danijel – you are right to be proud of your name. It is your identity, to an extent. I think this is the first time that I have read a comment from you on the blog, so welcome from me. Please keep posting your comments.
Filippo – so, you like rain too? We have affair amount of stuff to pack, but not too much. Mostly furniture and big things, like fridges, rather than small things, like ornaments and clothes. So we will need a removal company to help us when we do eventually move. Steve is looking at flats again at the weekend.
Hello as well to Purplerose, Marianna, Simone, Jospephine, Miche, Marcel, Beatriz, Paula, Anwar, Celina, Ana Paula, Bahar, Leila, Maryam, Jermaine, Maione and Praveen Raj. Thank you for all your comments on my Time post. Please keep blogging.
I will reply to all your comments on my Rain, Rain and More Rain post at the weekend.
Best Wishes from,
Anne
xxx
a hive of activity – very busy
courier – person who delivers letters and packages
have a read - why don't you read it?
Comments
Rachel looks lovely; the eyes of the young are so beautiful. Her frock is very pretty also, or maybe it is the nightie?
Hello Anne. I like flowers very much. I have got a lot of them in the colourful pots on my windowsills and on my large balcony. This year I have decided to plant pink and purple flower arrangement. I would like to write answers for your last blog task. 1. a parasol or a beach umbrella 2. heatstroke 3. hyphotermia 4. It's throwing it down! What a downpour! It's raining dogs and cats. 5. wellingtons or wellington boots 6. a waterproof hat worn by seamen in rough weather. I can write to you because my son is watching Sesame Street and his favourite character Elmo. He is 3 years old. I enjoy reading about your children. I'm sure they are your real rays of sunshine. Best wishes.
Hi, Ann How are you and your family doing? You have got a heart of gold and you gave me a very clear explanation for my question. I am on cloud nine and thank you for your kindness from the bottom of my heart Here are the answers for you. The great opera singer gave a very commanding performance last night. He sung for 3 hours, which was very demanding. Move onto flowers, I bought a few bunch of flowers around last Christmas time and lay them in front of my husband’s parents and his brother’s grave. I get a bouquet of flowers from my hubby from time to time. he is so generous and buys some flowers from a petrol station and presents them to me with a cheeky smile. It brightens up my life. I am expecting to get a bouquet of flowers, because our wedding anniversary will be in two weeks. I love red roses and I like wild flowers, too. I was really and truly impressed when I got 100 red roses from a secret admirer in my twenties. Anne, have you ever been given any flowers by a secret admirer? I hope your flat hunting to finish soon! Have a good weekend!
Hi Anne! What a colourful flowers, what a nice walk to the office it has to be. I fully understand your feelings in the lift, sometimes I have got such curious thoughts too. I go for a walk in to the wood regularly every weekend. In April, I saw there lots of white or blue violets and I came always home with a big bunch of yelow wild primroses or a kind of wood vetchlings or even more common weeds which you would never pick for a bunch to your vase. Then, I am suprised how nice and long they are beautiful there. Sometimes I paint them on a picture. On the may lst I gave lilies of the valley to my mum which is a tradition in the family. It used bring her my father but now he is caring after her. And I have to admit that despite the fact I know names of thousends of microbes and viruses I always have to ask my sister the names of flovers or trees. In the end thanks a lot for the correction, I didn´t spot I was wrong there. Best Wishes!
Hi Anna! I have never bought flowers, but I receive them each year for my birthday. I answer to Pary: when I have a little free time I like to go out with my dog (Hero) and spend some minutes on the beach and play with a branch of wood (but Hero can't give me back the branch, so I have to run behind him). Today at work I said to my director he's a dead duck, I hope he did not understand! Have a good weekend, see you soon
Dear Anne, I don’t know either something is wrong in my terminal or on the BBC’ part, for last few days all comments I had sent aren’t appearing. Certainly it is a disappointment to me but I am sure I should not give up writing comments. Nowadays, I am not writing any things except comments as a reader in English. What I learned during my schooldays was that practice makes a man perfect. I want to ask you that either those lovely flowers are locally grown or they are imported from other countries? Floriculture is growing business in Nepal also. Most of flower seeds are imported either from India or China. Though here is limited market for them, they are putting great efforts to flourish flower market in Nepal.
Hello Anne You are so luckly to see so many flowers in every morning. I also love flowers and my mother is passionated about them, so when I'm visiting her in the weekends I admir her beautifull garden. It's quite an art to grow flowers, they need for so much attention. My favourite flowers are lily-of-the-valley. Thank you for your interesting blogs. Bye-bye
Hi Anne and everyone! What a colourful view you have on your way to work! I love flowers though I prefer seing them in the garden or on flowerspots. I think that if you cut them off then they'll die soon. Nevertheless I like to be given roses on some ocasions. The last time I received them was on my birthday (this February 3rd). But nothing can be compared with your lovely little rosebud. Raquel looks so adorable! I'll close for now. Have a nice Friday. Fondly, Cris
Hi Anne, This is a little, tricky question. The last time I bought flowers was on Monday this week, because I met a woman. She was very surprised about the unexpected gift. I think in Germany it’s not common to receive flowers as a man. My favourite flowers are the roses. I have 5 rose trees an 10 rose bushes in the garden, but at the moment there are no flowers. I love red roses and I also enjoy other colours like pink, yellow, white and black roses. I think lack roses don't grow in the nature, just only in greenhouses, so I don't have black roses. I think all of the BBC learning English staff should get bunches of flowers for the help you give to me to improve my English, especially the bloging teachers.
Hi Anne, thanks for beauty flowers photos. they look very nice and lovely. And the baby in the picture is too, how old is she ? Well, I remembered that I felt very happy when receiving the flowers from my friend on my last year brithday. Best wishes- Mydi
Hi Anne and readers: Althoug today is a rainny day here in Spain, I'm sure it is a clear and colourful day, after seeing last Anne's blog. My favourite flower is the white rose. What are your favourites? Have a nice day and a relaxed weekend. See you soon!! :-) Mercè
Hi Anne! Yes, I like rain! Despite the shower, me and my father had a walk outside yesterday night. Here are my answers: Yes, I bought a bunch of red roses for a girl some time ago. Yes, I wore a laurel wreath when I graduated. My favourite flower is the tulip. Have a nice week-end!!
Hi, Lovely flowers. Here we haven't so many places to buy them. The last time I bought flowers was Sunday for my mother in her day. I suppose they charged more because it was Mother's Day but I wanted to give her something. Have a good weekend. We hope rain arrive soon as we have power restrictions until the presses could work normally.
Hi Anne! What a lovely pictures. You are lucky to see all these flowers daily when you are going on your work:). I dont remember when i get the flowers last time also i didn't send anyone flowers:). Actually its not common in our culture to send flowers but that doesn't mean i dont like flowers. I love all flowers:) becuase they make me feel delighted and fresh. Tc and keep smiling:).
Hi; again I have been very busy and I couldn't write any comment, but I am here sooooooooooooo any way, the flowers are very pretty. You are very lucky because it's imposible that your day could start bad, what wonderful flowers !!! Sorry I didn't understand about holidays school. Could you tell us something about education system in Thailand ??? Thanks a lot for teaching English. Take care.
Dear Anne, thanks from all lovely and beautiful picture which you posted, Regarding your question, Last time I gave flower to my mother, on Mother Day, I like Fresh flower than the plastic or any other flower, Also I like red and yellow flowers, I have a small garden at home, every day in early morning before I go to sport and office, I give water to flowers, in my garden there are a lot of flowers with different coluor , mostly on Fridays ( which is Haliday in Afghanistan ) all my friend come here for picnic good luck Rahyab
hi,Anne,this is my first time to post,but I keep reading your post every day. it's very interesting,and I learn and know more from it.i'm not a good english-learner,i worked in a trade company.english is in common use.so i must improve it.hope you can give me some advise.thanks.today is saturday.but we still work.tomorrow we neednt' .so wish all have a good weekend.^_^
Hello Anne, Thank you so much for the explanation! As for the first sentence, this refers to time and the rest two are about the physical location of the mouse. Best wishes, Naheed
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