Summer in the City or the Small Pleasures of Life
If this is what you think of when you think of London, then you’ve read far too many Dickens novels and seen far too many Sherlock Holmes films. Loyal readers of my Teacher Blogs (December ’06 - February ’07) on this website may remember my one-man campaign to inform the world that it is never foggy in London. So if this is not a photo of me groping around in a pea-souper, what is it? Read on to find out.

Miguel Andrés, from Peru, seems to think I’ve got a drink problem (you can read his comments at the end of my last column). I’m sure it’s supposed to be a joke, Miguel, but I’m not quite sure I understand it – especially the bit about ‘re-shaping’ my head: sounds painful, but I might try it if you really think it will help. However, I couldn’t help thinking of you, and your comments, a couple of nights ago as I stood at the bar ordering two large beers (don’t worry, Miguel, only one of them was for me).

I have a very dear old friend who lives in the north of England. We’re roughly the same age, about the same height (OK so he’s a bit taller but who’s comparing?), and neither of us has very much hair. We’re both from the north, have similar educational backgrounds and share more or less similar values. We met in Sweden, where we both met our (British) wives, over thirty years ago and have remained good friends ever since. In fact, like all good friendships, I think, ours has become stronger over the years. There was a time when we often didn’t see each other for a period of several years, but that didn’t seem to matter. Every time we met it was as though we’d seen each other just a few days ago.

This is going to sound so sentimental (and I really hope he doesn’t read it) but it’s absolutely true to say that whenever I speak to him on the phone or spend any time in his company I always leave feeling much better than I felt before – even if I was already feeling great. And that is a wonderful kind of friend to have. (Of course, I am slimmer, fitter and much more attractive to women than he is; better-dressed, smarter and funnier, you understand; more modest, too, don’t you think?)

So, a couple of days ago my friend came down to London to attend a conference and, of course, we met up in the evening for a drink. Actually, it was more than a drink but Miguel’s got me feeling so guilty I won’t tell you what or how much or even where. Now, forget the fog and try to imagine this. It is midsummer here so right now it stays light until around eleven at night. The sun has been shining all day and there isn’t a cloud in the sky, in fact it’s hot. London has been noisy and busy all day, as usual, but it is Friday evening and the working week is over.

You have to jump quickly to get inside the fountain before you get wet, and then stand very still and hope the wind doesn’t blow.

But no one’s going home. There’s a barbecue on the South Bank and live dance music, non-stop for the whole weekend. The Royal Festival Hall is re-opening after a two-year, £11m refurbishment. There are fountains to play in, new rock bands to listen to and great places to eat (yes, Miguel, and drink!). A caricaturist is drawing people from the crowd and writing their comments in speech bubbles. Paco Peña is playing flamenco guitar music; the Bollywood Brass are here; the London Sinfonietta is playing in the concert hall and Jarvis Cocker has just arrived. Outside, a young man is singing sacred songs from India and there is a huge, smiling crowd around him. We can’t understand a word but the sounds he is making are enchanting.

You can sit on eco-sacks, filled with environmentally-friendly gas, and listen to the gamelan. There are more bands, choirs and orchestras, both inside and out, and it’s all free. And everywhere there are happy, smiling people of all ages, all sizes, all colours, speaking every language you could imagine. There are noisy families with over-active children; there are smiling lovers arm-in-arm; silent couples stare across the softly glittering river. There are bemused tourists and earnest skate-boarders; groups of colleagues still in their office clothes but with ties off and sleeves rolled up. Four Buddhist monks in mulberry-coloured robes walk by serenely, in sandals with brown socks, and I wonder how they perceive this wonderful madness.

Anyway, it is hot and I am at the bar ordering a couple of cold Czech beers (is there any country on earth where they make better beer?). I stand and watch as the barman selects two tall, sparkling glasses. He gives each a quick rub with his soft, cotton cloth and then holds each one under the tap, at exactly the right angle. Slowly and voluptuously the golden liquid tumbles down into the bottom of the glass and climbs gently to the top. Each glass is placed on the bar and as I hand over some coins (and then some more, this is London after all) condensation begins to jewel the chilled glasses and little droplets of water start to ripple down the sides. I collect my change, then leave it on the bar as a tip, and pick up the two glasses. I get to the other side of the room and hand one over to my friend. We exchange no words. We simply lift our glasses and take the first, long drink.

Is there anything better, in the whole of one’s life, than taking that first sip (almost a gulp) of a chilled Czech beer from a tall glass dripping with condensation on a hot summer’s evening? Well, yes, there probably is and I’m sure you’re going to share your thoughts with everyone who reads this site. What are your small pleasures of life? The smell of apples? The motorway at night? Reading on the beach? Sunday evenings? The snowstorm inside a paperweight? These are all chapters – if you can call a two-page essay a ‘chapter’ – from a little book I came across about ten years ago called The Small Pleasures of Life by Phillipe Delerm. It was written in French and translated into English by Sarah Hamp, and is published here in Britain by Phoenix House (I’m afraid it may be out-of-print now but there must be copies in libraries and second-hand bookshops).

There are thirty figures like this one (on the right: the one on the left is me!), by Anthony Gormley, located on the rooftops of buildings and in some open spaces around the South Bank during the Blind Light exhibition.

Reading these little essays I was reminded that it is life’s small pleasures which are actually life’s greatest pleasures. Take, for example, getting completely lost in the fog? Fog? I thought you said there was no fog in London, Stephen. Well, yes. But there is a wonderful exhibition at the Hayward Gallery, in London, right now, of some of the work of Anthony Gormley – probably our best-known sculptor. The exhibition is called Blind Light and one of the installations is a huge, completely transparent perspex box about the size of a small classroom (look at the first photo again). This ‘room’ is brightly-lit and permanently filled with water vapour. As soon as you step inside you disappear into the ‘fog’. It is chilly and damp and completely disorienting. Although the room is full of bright light you can’t see more than 50 to 60 centimetres in front of you. Lucy and I had great fun getting completely lost, walking into other people – also lost – and bumping into the glass walls which are impossible to see. I guess if you suffer from claustrophobia or asthma, or get nervous easily, this might not be for you. In that case you can have fun watching from the outside, as people disappear into the mist, and listening to the nervous screams of those of us lost inside becoming a bit desperate to get out.

Whatever your small pleasures of life are I hope the next two weeks will be full of them for you and that you can find some time to share them with us on this website. When I write to you again I’ll be leaving for a month of midsummer madness in the heat and humidity of New York and, as I promised, I’ll post at least one column from Manhattan. Lucy will be with me for a couple of weeks so maybe at last I can get her to make some kind of contribution (she sends her love, by the way).
Bye for now,

PS: Thank-you to everyone who posted comments on the last column. I laughed aloud when I read Pilar’s (Spain) admission that she is not perfect. Adriana, I’m sorry you don’t trust me any more (!). I promise you, I tell the truth most of the time. And Benka and Sanja, it was good to hear from people in Serbia. Where, in Serbia? I ask because I used to work quite a lot in the former Yugoslavia and spent time in and around Belgrade and Kragujevac during the mid-1980s and, although I haven’t been there for twenty years, I still have friends in Sabac. Thanks again to Miguel from Peru for providing some funny comments to get me started, and to Truc Ly (Vietnam), Yu Xuqi (China) and Iryna (Ukraine) whose computer is fixed by now, I hope. Faratin’s (Iran) question is one of those which it is difficult to answer satisfactorily. It should probably be ‘lovely’ followed by ‘expensive’ but the rules are vague here and you need to develop an instinct for the correct order, mainly by reading a lot. Ester (Spain) was so complimentary. Thank you, Ester. Marco (Italy), I have not yet read Letter Against the War but I do have a copy of it and intend to read it soon. Paolo (Italy) and Naheed (Pakistan) expressed interesting opinions on questionnaires and Mariana (Slovakia) and Jill (China) are like old friends now who can always be relied on to have something to say. Not forgetting book-lover Ana Paula from Brazil. Thank you everyone. Looking forward to hearing from you again very soon.

SOME USEFUL WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS
groping
searching for something by using your hands when you cannot see

pea-souper
slang term for a very thick fog (as thick as pea soup)

Read on
Continue reading

drink problem
if someone has a drink problem s/he may be an alcoholic

I couldn’t help thinking of you
This is a useful expression to use when something reminds you of a person.

the South Bank
The part of central London along the south side of the River Thames between Westminster Bridge (west) and Southwark Bridge (east). The South Bank is the location of major cultural institutions including the Royal Festival Hall, the Hayward Gallery, the National Film Theatre, the National Theatre, Tate Modern (modern art gallery) and Shakespeare’s Globe (reproduction period theatre).

a two-year, £11m refurbishment
see the grammatical note, below, about compound adjectives with numbers; £11m refurbishment should be read as ‘eleven million pound refurbishment’; a ‘refurbishment’ is a re-equipping or a re-decoration of a building

caricaturist
someone who draws pictures of people which exaggerate their features for comic effect

speech bubbles
the spaces in cartoons where characters’ dialogue is written

flamenco
a style of (Spanish) dance and music

enchanting
lovely; very pleasing

eco-sacks
large inflated cushions made from strengthened recycled paper

gamelan
collection of Indonesian percussion instruments

arm-in-arm
If you walk with someone arm-in-arm, your arm is linked through their arm.

bemused
slightly puzzled

earnest
serious

mulberry-coloured
dark purple; maroonish (see SOME WAYS OF EXPRESSING VAGUENESS, below)

perceive
see; understand; interpret

voluptuously
giving a rich sense of pleasure experienced through the senses

condensation
a coating of tiny drops of water which form on a cold surface

out-of-print
no longer available for sale from the original publisher

sculptor
a person who creates sculptures (e.g. statues)

installations
artistic works especially constructed for and installed in an exhibition space

perspex
a strong, clear plastic which is sometimes used (in sheets) instead of glass

vapour
a mass of tiny droplets of water or other liquids in the air, which appear as mist

disorienting
If something is disorienting it confuses you and makes you unsure about where you are.

SOME WAYS OF EXPRESSING VAGUENESS OR IMPRECISION
When I wrote about my friend I used sentences like these:
    We’re roughly the same age.
    We’re about the same height.
    We share more or less similar values.
Words and expressions like ‘roughly’, ‘about’ and ‘more or less’ can be used when you don’t want to (or can’t) be exact about something. ‘We’re roughly the same age’ means that he could be 35 and I could be 37, for example (I can’t even remember being 37!). ‘We’re about the same height’ means that he could be 185 cm and I could be 180 cm. ‘We share more or less similar values’ means that we would probably agree on most ethical and moral questions.

There is another very useful way of being vague in English. Text books and teachers don’t often teach this, but it is extremely common among native-speakers and helps your English to sound very natural. It is –ish added to the ends of adjectives (and adverbs and even some nouns). Look at these example sentences then trying using –ish with any native-speakers you know or meet (and tell them you want them to correct you if you make mistakes).
The party won’t start before nine so why not come about nine-thirtyish.
She was wearing a beautiful new dress in a very unusual shade of greenish-blue.
I have no idea what time I’ll be home but it’s going to be latish.
Adding –ish in this way makes your sentence rather less formal. It is mostly used in speech and not often written (unless you are writing dialogue, for example).

When I wrote about what time it gets dark in the summer I wrote “it stays light until around eleven at night”. Another way to say that would be, ‘it stays light until elevenish’.
In informal spoken English the following dialogue is possible:
    DAD: I’m going to cook dinner. Are you hungry?
    LUCY: Ish…
That means she’s would like to eat something but she’s not extremely hungry.

COMPOUND ADJECTIVES
Remember that when you combine numbers with nouns to make two-word compound adjectives, like those below, the noun must be singular.

The refurbishment took two years.
But
It was a two-year refurbishment.

The essay was two pages long.
But
She wrote a two-page essay.

The refurbishment cost eleven million pounds.
But
It was an eleven-million-pound refurbishment.

SOME PREPOSITIONS TO NOTE
Read through the text again and take special note of the following prepositions (in bold text) in use:
…as I stood at the bar… [paragraph 2]
…for a period of several years… [paragraph 3]
…a few daysago. [paragraph 3]
…on the phone… [paragraph 4]
…in his company… [paragraph 4]
You can sit oneco-sacks… [paragraph 7] (Notice that you sit on a stool, sack, bed, table, even a chair. However, you sit in an armchair.)
…filled with environmentally-friendly gas… [paragraph 7]
…at exactly the right angle. [paragraph 8]
…snowstorm inside a paperweight? [paragraph 9]
…and translatedinto English… [paragraph 9]
…exhibition at the Hayward Gallery… [paragraph 10]
…walkinginto other people - [paragraph 10]

PHRASAL VERBS:stand + PREPOSITION
Look at this example (from the note about prepositions above) again – …I stood at the bar… [paragraph 2]. You can construct several phrasal verbs by adding different prepositions to the verb stand. Read the following sentences and substitute the words in bold with the correct phrasal verb from the list below:
1. When the Chairman was ill, his deputy had to attend the meeting for him.
2. ‘Scuba’ is an acronym, and the letters represent the words ‘self-contained, under-water breathing apparatus’.
3. If you want to be noticed in a crowd you should wear something very bright.
4. Can you be ready to help us in case we need you in an emergency?
5. The Prime Minister decided to resign at the end of last month.

a. stand by
b. stand down
c. stand for
d. stand in
e. stand out

ANSWERS: 1d, 2c, 3e, 4a, 5b.


WRITE TO STEPHEN
Thank you for sending your comments, this topic is now closed.

Emmy, Singapore
Dear Stephen, I have to tell you how much I like your column. I'm actually from Ho Chi Minh City of Vietnam. Currently, I'm studying in Singapore and planning on moving to somewhere else next year. My father is a big fan of BBC page and he for long has tried to get me into visiting the website. To be honest, at first, I was not very interested because to me, a news website sounds so "boring". However I should thank him now because it turned out that I was wrong. I'm just one of millions who want to master in the English language but don't really know a good way. I started to read your column a few days ago and really liked it. After that I went on to read your previous posts and found so many useful study tips. I guess what I'm trying to say is that thanks for the wonderful column and I will keep on coming back to read it. I hope you have a great holiday in New York. All the bests, Emmy.

Jiyun, Seoul, South Korea
Hello! : ) Nice to meet you! It's so lovely to read your column. I'm reading all your column at the moment. I do like your point of view and attitude about life. I will definitely be a frequent reader. Specially this column reminds me of being in London. When I lived there as a volunteer I could learn so many things with thinking back about myself. During that time I realized I took all around me for granted. I could also realized life's small pleasures are actually life's greatest pleasures. Anyway, my small pleasures of life are having a nap with my pet on Sunday afternoon after strolling along the river near my home. Ah!!! and I think your column will be one of my small pleasures as well. : ) Thank you for that!! Have a Nice holiday~! I'll look forward to reading your next column in NY. I also had a brief spell travelling there. It stands out as being so interesting. But I prefer London because of parks. By the way I hope you and Lucy will have BIG fun and nice memories. See you next time. Take care!

Marianna, Slovakia
Hi Jill! I`ve learnt so much from you on january and still I do. I saw the sentence and thought it should be ..if I don`t go there? I am glad we are in the same position of the need to learn, I`ve find(I didn`t learn what is pp here) some of my mistakes too. And Beijing has to be a wonderful place. The idea of listening to the voice would we agree too, wouldn`t we?

Benka, Serbia
Hello, Stephen! This new column of yours was very refreshing and optimistic. You introduced plenty of new vocabulary and grammar exercise, all of which I will have to study carefully. Is it possible for this column of yours to be recorded so that we can hear it, listen to the voice reading it, so that we can practise pronunciation while we are listening ? The only thing needed on this webpage is the link to the Audio webpage which we can download and listen to what you have written. I was born in Croatia, in the town on the Adriatic coast called Zadar, and I lived there for twenty one years. Now I am living in Nis (the last letter pronounced as the first one in Sabac, as in 'shame'), which is in the south of Serbia. This town saw many peoples living here and leaving their marks, starting from the Celts, Romans, Slavs, Turks, continuing to the nowdays Romanies, Greeks, Bulgarians... so that this historical melting pot is abundant in the archeological sites to be excavated and explored. Maybe you can't remember , but Sabac is called little Paris because of its rich night life. Visiting Sabac because of its river Sava which has a beautiful river bank and clen water, ideal for chilling out in these hot summer days, is one of the small pleasures of my life. Until next column...

Jill Huang, Beijing
Hi, Stephen. I read my comment again and found a mistake. I think the sentence “she said she will kill me if I won’t go there” was wrong. I should say: “she said she would kill me if I wouldn’t go there.” Right? It’s Friday now, I’m looking forward to reading your new essay on next Monday (Jul. 16). You will update your column then, yes? All the best. Jill.

Sree, USA
Hi Stephen!I was a joy reading your articleand infact the first time i was leaving comments about any article.You described the london atmosphere so well, it brought back memories..especially the 'fog' ones..:)Thanks,Sree

Murat, Turkey
Hi Stephen,I think your column is wonderful. I discovered it one week ago and I have read all your essays in one week, reading one a day-sometimes two. Anyway, I am writing to you just to share one of my experience related to yours' in China. When I was studying for english profiency exam of prep school of the university, I had a big difficulty about vocabulary (I allways have). Some day one of my friend said that he memorized all the words in our school's small dictionary (I think few thousand-word) and he had no difficulty in vocabulary anymore. I just checked and I saw he was right. After that I started to memorize the dictionary, too. And we both succeeded in the exam. But what I see a few years after graduating from the university is that I forgot all the vocabulary I memorized in prep school since I hadn't used english language. Anyway, I am studying english these days, too. In conclusion, my opinion about learning something by memorizing is that memorizing may be a good start in learning but it is not enough. What is learnt by doing so must be made permanent by practice.Have a nice learning process to all learners...

Darakhshan, India
Hi Stephen,This is actually the first column of yours that i read a few minutes ago, and i must say you've got this knack of describing things in such a nice lively way. I've never been to London, but no one's ever described it better to me. I could actually imagine myself there and may be that is the reason why i went on to read your previous article dated 18th of June. Its really strange but true that such small things in life make such a big difference to our existence and give us everlasting joy. Looking forward to your next article!

Waleed, Egypt
Hi Stephen i liked your idea of the little pleasures of life .as i am egyptian my best moment i have ever had was viewing the great human-made building (the great pyramids). I think they stand for the everlasting human creativity

Lily, China
What colourful life you're living at the weekends in London!I think London was foggy because of the ships and factories which used coal for power. Could you tell me whether the Tower Bridge and the London Bridge are the same thing?

Maru, Argentina
Hi, Stephen! Hope you and Lucy enjoy your stay in NY. I did enjoy learning about your small pleassures in life. Little things make me so happy too and rain is one of them. With regard to the picture at the bottom, you look like Anthony Hopkins when he played Picasso in Survaving Picasso, don't you? Maybe I'm a bit blind, what do you think? OK, thanks for sharing with us your wunderful experiences. Best wishes!

Jill Huang, Beijing
Hello Stephen, I like the way you describe your great friendship. About eight years ago, I met a girl (who is actually taller and slimmer than me, but not as attractive as I. Stephen, I am as modest as you. Yes?) and we have remained good friends ever since. After we graduated from the university, I only saw her one time. But nothing changed. I still choose her as my best friend. She is the one that I can tell everything to. And this October, I will go to her city to attend her wedding. I’m looking forward to it. Maybe I should say I must attend her wedding because she said she will kill me if I won’t go there. I just want to live a little longer. I remember I told you that I went to Guangzhou to join in a conference in late June. During that 2-day meeting, I met a handsome boy who came from the Holland. After I came back to Beijing, we start to send emails to each other. We become friends now and I give him a treat that if he comes to Beijing next time I’ll be our tourist. And if you come here then, welcome to join us. By the way, he works in London now. It is life’s small pleasures which are actually life’s greatest pleasures. What a great sentence! I know the meaning in Chinese, but this is the first time that I know how to say it exactly in English. For me, small pleasures of life are chatting with friends via email or phone, singing aloud even nobody applauds, receiving a phone call from my parents, watching a movie with my boyfriend, learning something with my every effort and achieving the goal, waiting for your column and of course reading it and sending comments, and so on. There are so many small pleasures that make the life meaningful and colourful. When I write these sentences, I find out that there is always some person(s) who shares the small pleasures at that moment with us. Do you agree with me? I’m also looking forward to reading your next excellent essay sent from New York and, yes, Lucy’s contribution. Wish both of you happy everyday! Never stop looking for joy in your life. See you. Jill.

Galia, Russia
hi =)Despite the busy day in the office where I work I try to find some free time and look through this site. it is extremely interesting because here you can not only find out some news but also IMPROVE YOUR ENGLISH!!! that is a wonderful opportunity and THANK YOU for offering it!Special thanks to Stephen Keeler!!! it is a great pleasure to read your reports...your sence of humour is brilliant! besides, reading your columns you can really learn English!!! please keep it this way!!!!With great respect,yours faithfully,Galia =)

Carmen, Spain
The pleasures of life? There are so many that I'm not sure where to begin. ONE,sitting on the beach, just the sea, the sunset and the people I love. TWO,a good book after a bad day.THREE,laughing with friends, laughing at nothing, unexpectedly, just out of happiness, friendship or whatever you may call it.FOUR, the good people, those who always see the bright side of life and try to brighten your sorrows.FIVE, a green landscape, just so many shades of green you can't count them.SIX, summer and a cold beer.SEVEN, the smell of childhood.And whatever will happen tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.

Rebecca Carvalho, Brazil
Hello Stephen , nice to meet you ! This is the first time that I read your column , but I have to say I am going to be a frequent reader ! My ' small pleasures of life ' ? To live is a wonderful pleasure ! Don't you think so ? Even if I'm passing trought difficulties I prefer to try to find out some poetry on everything ! To learn with the problems , and do my best in another opportunity . However , I feel in obligation to write that's marvelous to stay with real good friends , with the ones that you love . On January I spent a wonderful time in the USA with 24 awesome Brazilians ! We were on a mission , invited to give speeches about Brazil at american High Schools . A great moment ! They ( the Youth Ambassadors ) are spread along Brazil , and I really miss this group . We were - and I can say ' we are ' - a family ! Don't you think that the friend you mentioned is like a brother to you ? Yes , I feel the same when I think of them . Best wishes , have a great time in N.Y. !

Sanja, Serbia
Hi Stephen,How are you? When I read this your new coulmn I was surprised you have friends in Sabac. My mother is from Sabac. Well, I must confess I have never lived in Sabac. I am currently living in Bosnia, in town called Bijeljina that is near border with Serbia and Sabac too. If it is not too much personal, but what have you done in Serbia or former Yugoslavia? What do you think about my people? Hope we have left a good impression. Say hello to your daughter.Sanja xxx

Thu, Sweden
Hi Stephen,Thanks for your lovely column. I really enjoy the way you described your friendship with your old friend. It sounds so sweet, so sentimental especially from a man - I believe that your feelings come directly from your heart therefore there is no doubt that you have totally gotten my sympathy. I was very touched by your words and couldn't help to think about my best friend who lives far away from me. It doesn't matter which language you speak, the same sentiment is remained.You have even made "The small of pleasures of life" sounds interesting, so I went out into the rain and tried to find that book. Unfortunately I couldn't have any chance either at the library or at nearby bookstore. At last I realized that you have already shared with me your small pleasures of your life so I don't mind searching for this book anymore.Look forward to reading your new column next time.Take care and Best Regards,Thu

Ad, Germany
Stephen, I want to beg your pardon! My question would have been not necessary, if I had read your articles with more mindfulness. I'm sorry!Let me tell a short story about fog, even though there is never fog in London. Once, when I was a teenager, I had to walk 2km uphill from my home to another place. (Don't remember for what reason.) I didn't wanted to walk because the weather was really terrible. A thick mist was all around. But when I was gone 1km, suddenly, within 3 steps, the brightest sunshine jacketed me. I looked back and there was this cloud in the valley and in front of me the most beautiful summer-day-weather. Strange!PS: Do you want to write 48 sides about Manhattan and the Kili too?

Marianna, Slovakia
Hi! As you can see I am having a whale of a time, trying to keep my Hand in a good learning habit,because there are not allowed any exceptions to this rule. Despite it was discussed yet my bad eyesight says me, looking at that `chineese photo´, that among the students are not women to see but the one, who I may recognize, atracts more attention than all very handsome men there. I wish you could have told us about where all events happened precisely. If you will decline to speak truthfuly it is not suprising you don`t receive responses.(Pleas don`t folow, that`s only my exercise!) As for the weather, the snow is in the High Tatras area, sunny but windy Saturday here, a good time for more learning or.. lots of exciting experiences which are so pleasing to expect to. With best regards!

Meon, Hong Kong
Hi Stephen,You let me to think back my blissfully "London life"(2000-2001). You know what? My English has totally gone since came back to Hong Kong...... Now I really want to pick up my poor English and see, if I could have one more chance to live in London!

Dusan, Slovakia
Hello Stephen, I remember your training for ascent to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro over the New Year. You used to run - I am not sure - 10k? Do you still continue in this healthy activity?I love running. It helps me very much!Good luck!

Nidhi, Switzerland
Hello Stephen and all,It's very endearing column.I have found that not only with your column but with these very interesting comments we can learn smart english.My two-year old daughter Mili repeats everything what we have said to her.This little thing gives me a lot of pleasure.Whenever i learn any thing new(it can be a new word of english or new recipe or ....)i feel good indeed.Yesterday i learnt bread called ZOPF and i was too happy.So yes there are so many small things in every ones life that give'em real pleasure.Have a very great time.Bye for now.

Massa, Japan
hi stephen, i like your idea of appreciating smallish pleasures though i love to spend summer evenings drinking belgian white beer or some lukewarm chinese tea. it would be perfect if i am sitting somewhere i can see the sun going down. i love sunsets, which take place around seven over here in japan now. londoners seem luckier to have longer daytime about this time of the year. you can enjoy sunsets even after going to theatres or concerts, can't you? have a wonderful time in n.y.c.!

Lauren Lin, Liverpool/China
An enjoyable read! Will come back for more. Leant lots new words and phrases,too.I will also check out the "Blind Light" in Hayward! The exhibition looked really interesting---from your picture!Have a great time in New York!

Monica, Brazil
Hi Stephen,Well there are loads of things that give a lot of pleasure in this life(I´m an easily pleased lady and luckly, I happne to be a lady of inexpensive taste as well).Among them, right now, is reading your column every two weeks. I really appreciate your witty and spicy style. When I start reading the first line, even when I´m in a rush I don´t have a minute to spare, I get so engrossed and touched that I can´t help finishing it and while reading this particular column I felt like savouring that Czech golden liquid tumbled down into the bottom of those chilled tall glasses(that would be perfect in this hot winter afternoon!!). Well, there is no need to feel so boastful cause, as I said before, other things also make my day!The smell of wet grass after a nice summer rain, the noise of cars under the wet paved roads and also the noise of hooves under the paved roads, the smell of coffee and cake coming from the silent kitchen in the afternoon, when all the rush from the lunch is already over. Observing the bright glow of the full moon on a clear night is also somenthing very inspiring!!! Well, there would be no space for me to share with you all my small pleasures but for sure I´d have loved to be lost in that foggy room as well. It sounds cool. This reminds me of a game I used to play with my siblings and my uncle Stephen(by coincidence an English teacher like you, I just can´t say whether he is more handsome!) Well, the game called crocodile had to be played in a dirty dark green swimming pool (usually after a heavy rain). One of us, usually my uncle, would be the crocodile which had to grab the other tiny fishes groping around in that greenish dense pea-souper. It was a thrilling disorienting water game, quite spooky really! Love,Monica

Adriana, Brazil
Stephen,when I wrote Marcílio de Noronha Island, actually I meant "Ilha de Marajó" or Marajó Island and my subconscious had its own desire to confuses my mind with "Fernando de Noronha Island". Sorry for this mixture.

Leila, Finland
The column you wrote Stephen was not only entertaining but very educational. Although I don´t often respond to your writings, I read them regularly mainly for the purpose of learning. As a matter a fact and also referring to one of your topics, my past time hobby – small pleasures of life – is learning something new every day. But my life is not only learning... when I say, that I read your columns for educational purposes, it doesn´t mean that I am totally unaware of the person who is doing the writings; I can sense a person behind the words. Reading your chronicle was illuminating; the exercise also proved that I must be ancient. When you mentioned Jarvis Cocker, first I thought you meant Joe Cocker, I didn´t even know there was an artist called Jarvis Cocker. Anyhow I do hope your stay in New York is entertaining. I wonder if you will be singing:I'm an alien I'm a legal alien,I'm an Englishman in New York,I'm an alien I'm a legal alien,I'm an Englishman in New York.

faratin Iran
Dear sir with reffrence to your new article about fog in London I would like to say that people from arid&semiarid areas, where there are shortage of water,are praying to have such a foggy climate because they couldn`t enjoy their life in a bright sunny climate.with the best regards

Sanjay, India
Oh, man really nice post. The way you describe things, really too good. Frankly speaking, I couldn't help thinking of you, when I stood at the bar last night. PS: I happend to read your column yesterday, while I was googling something. Man, I was captured by your way of writting(Obviously).

Adriana/Brazil
Hi Steph, there's nothing to worry about,I still trust you and I reread your texts many times! It's just my self-confidence to write that is getting smallish( could I say that?). I think Miguel should be joking. I rarely drink something but I like to see people happy so...I don't mind if someone is drinking with friends unless they are telling bad jokes, insults,offences or hurting someone. I'm sure it's not your and your friend's case. By the way, if I had your friend's picture at my disposal on your column, I would give you my sincere who-is-more-charming-opinion. So I just can compare you before with you after by the pictures. I prefer your today's looking than in that picture among the chinese guys (also handsome) because I like when you rise one of the eyebrows and give us a half closed smile. It seems that your smile is tenderly transported to your eyes. I like this facial expression. Well...I have just realised that there's something communicative in the british (male or female) eyebrows! Okay, let's move on to the little pleasures: 1- SKY: To be above the clouds in the sky is one of them, if one can forget the airplane can fall. 2- MY SON FALLING ASLEEP: When I read or tell tales to him and he is almost closing his eyes between the alfa and gama state. It brings peace to me. 3- BOSSA NOVA MUSIC: When I listen this kind of music, particularly Vinicius de Moraes, I feel renewed. 4- SUNSET: Is there anything better than watching the sunset from the top of a hill or any other top?? 5- WALK ON THE BEACH: Walking on the beach very early in a still silent morning (forgetting you can be attacked or robbed) is somewhat unique. 6- A GOOD BOOK: Sometime ago I was reading the author Amós Oz. The book's name is "O Mesmo Mar" or The Same Sea( I don't know if this is the english title). It was so relaxing read his lines although there were parts that shocked me. 7- WATER: Speaking of sea, another thing that can turn off my over-active-button is listening the sound of waves already weak reaching my feet in a kind-of- paradise-beach far from the city rather than a bustling crowded beach. Can you picture this, Stephen? Just adding to this heady tropical cocktail, its my coconut water to drink. Humm! I typed water because the sound of water in a picturesque river has the same effect on me. I'm a water lover. Therefore,the next is on the corner: 8- FISHING: especially when you experience catching a largish (I liked the "ish" thingy) fish on quick smart. 9- TRAVEL: to do this around my country on vacation or at any non- neurotical or stressful place can be fascinating. I was thinking to know well all my country before going to other places but there's still much to absorb here. It's nearly an endless journey. In a few days I'm going to São Paulo, Curitiba and Santa Catarina. Maybe I'll go to Pará. I'm crazy to see the Amazon rainforest and the Marcílio de Noronha Island! I have also the strong desire to visit our "hermanos" in Argentina and Chile but actually, it's hard to find ticket right now. Everybody here enjoy this trip because they are gentle and friendly people. And finally...10- FRIENDS' BLOGS: To read my virtual friends' blogs(columns are in the same package) can be a king of relaxation for me provided they publish nice things to read.What I'm not sure about is that reading your useful tips about my both nightmares (phrasal verbs and prepositions) is actually a mean that I should risk some answers. I think there might already be too much mistakes for you to read in my comment. Have fun with them and have a good night! Don't forget to say hello to Lucy and write from New York! A little note to Paul: Paul, please, publish my comment or I will be sad to write everything again. My fingers is aching to type here!

Kirsti, France
Hi, Stephen. Well, one of my small pleasures is the Internet. Especially when I have done something hard I enjoy a moment using the computer afterwards.

Isabel, Bilbao, Spain
Hi Stephen!The best pleasure of my life is the laught of my little sons.

Kriszta, Hungary
Dear Stephen,your recent entry was very amusing and absorbing!In addition it was extremely useful, especially the stuff "ish" - you are right, teachers and books don't teach that kind of thing, as for me, I have never come across it until now! So thanks for it very much! As for the small pleasures in Life - I really enjoy sitting in a car listening to music while it is raining heavily outside. And beenig absorbed in good books while my children are asleep! My best wishes to you and Lucy!

grand,indonesia
allow stephen,speaking 'bout small pleasures of life i think reading all ur short but great stories is my small pleasure in life.it's very nice knowin' there is someone else far from my place writin' n shari' his knowledge with me (not just me actually)n make me smile n think "what a beautiful life he has." u mentioned gamelan,didn't u?im indonesian but frankly i cant play that at all.well,watching TLTR movies many times is also one of my small pleasures.u live in great country,stephen,which i adore so much...

Natalya, Russia
Hello, Stephen! I like your stories very much, they are not too difficult to understand and describe our daily life. As for my small pleasures of life. I adore travelling, exploring new places, new towns and landscapes. But now I'm not working because I'm looking after my little daughter. But my husband travels a lot and if his trip is not far from our town, he always takes us with him. Arriving in a new place, he solves all his business problems and we go for a walk with a baby-carriage. Every time we go I don't know where we will find ourselves and what we'll see. It's so exciting!Some days before my husband skated on a skating-rink and my daughter and I watched him skating and laughed, because it was really funny: a man in a suit and a tie is skating. I forgot to say that he's got a free schedule of work. But soon all must be changed because my daughter's going to a kindergarten and I gonna look for a job.

Mellisa, China
I love your vivid depict of a glass of beer before you takes the first sip of a chilled Czech beer.

Poorav, India
my english is not very good.my vocab is very week.i m trying to improve it because it is really a very intresting language and helps me in every field.i like urcolumn.ur really a very intresting person,i feel everything what u want to explain,imagine all the pleasure,fun out there.i m really mpressed of u about reading your column,you are right that small pleasures are the biggest pleasures of life but not everyone realize these biggest pleasures ,the sweet smell of soil in rain,the trees waving in wind,the clouds,the rain,a sweet smile of someone,these r the greatest pleasures of life.nature provides u every biggest pleasure such as love.it is upto the person to feel these beautiful things.i hav read ur column first time but i m impressed the way u convey that.i m sorry that my english is not that good.hope u understand the feelings of mine.byeee

Adrianna, Poland
Hi Stephen. Your column is really great. I am first time here and I like it. I decided to improve my English and I am trying different ways to do it. I enjoyed reading your column. You are giving a lot of helpfull tips. Thanks.I am already living in Denmark, and so I don`t speak a word of Danish I have to speak English. It`s like an art of pressure. But it works. Greetings to you and Lucy and have a nice holidays in New York. Adrianna

Erin, Taiwan
this is my first time to check this page and i love your essay. so many beautiful sentences here. even i can't understand every paragraph, i still can imagine how beautiful and colorful in london now. thank you stephen.

Sana, Pakistan
Smiling and refreshing hello,Hi Stephen,For the first time I have read u here and I really find it great,interesting,informative and spreading the knowledge about english,thanks for that.Everything u described above was wonderful.Talking about smal things or smal pleasures of life,let me tell u a smal good word make a whole day for u and a smal bad action or word make u feel sad.It's in our way of looking the things or our attitudes about life,or u can say how can we percieve the things.For me,walking in rain with an umbrella and eating some burger or chips or any thing which appease my appetite,watching a cartoon with my son and laughing with him a lot,and to share a good joke with my husband,or even to climb a tree and eat there some mangoes(sounds like monkey),talking to a friend on phone,sharing secrets with my mother,and the list goes on and onnnnnn,to have a swing,a long swing in rain,wow.So,my list of pleasures didn't end as yet,so,See u,Stephen, Takecare,SANA.

Divya, India
Hello Mr Stephen ,This time I am lucky enough to get time to go through your column early and to respond to it so soon! I have learnt about the usage of pronouns this time without my knowledge!Thanks alot!Hats off to your teaching style!I would like to share my small pleasures of life with you all on this website.The recent one that has got added to the big list of mine is READING YOUR COLUMN.Reading It is not at all like to learn English you know! A few more to mention are- playing with small kids, listening to old film songs before going to bed,watching long grass plants waving their heads in fields,sitting on the sea shore and watching the sun rise or sun set,getting drenched in a drizzle and eating an icecream or having a big glass of chilled buttermilk or lemon juice with ice cubes in the afternoons particularly during summer season (any how, for us most of the time it will be like summer!),sipping a cup of hot coffee or tea during winter etc.The list is never ending.So may be it is time for me to stop writing.Please convey my bestwishes to dear Lucy.Waiting to read your next THE STEPHEN KEELER COLUMN!

Marianna, Slovakia
Hurra, nice holiday for all! Surely I will have a whale of a time next fotnight though I doubt if I ever be able to complete exercises correctly. Thanks for prepositions. Here is my first guestion after almost one-year amusement around this language. I`ve missed something but undefinite in it. Are there some possibilities how to express or produce words as the `diminutives´ here? I am any linguist and I have not learnt grammar rules complex or systematically. Only that I have to read (a learning method) and this `problem´ struck me last days. It seems to me a little odd, unusual. That is nice to my ears ` a little house´ but how these words which are so common in German (das Häuschen, das Bachlein) make the speach lovely and intimate? We (in slovak) have even a dimminutive for `a small news´ but not for `small pleasures´. Oh I know, there is maybe a solution in that new dictionary (the knoll, a hillock, a hummock, a hubby..)and probably desperate enough I would have had to memorise it during the Summer. Yes, to learn German was a childish toy - what an easy rule for prepositions to memorise there and completely disorganised thing here! Hmm, I am again unsure in everything. CHeerio!!

Christina, Germany
Nice column, Stephan! Greetings

Clara, Romania
..it is a warm, breezy evening and I am in a safe car listening to soft but catchy melodies together with my dear friend who is driving slowly and steady, as usual. We know each other very well, and as such no need to exchange too many words. He loves driving and I can feel how much he enjoys moving by smooth acceleration in the shape of curves. Meanwhile, I’m watching with a smile crossing my lips at the trees along the country road and roughly know where we are going to go as we haven’t assumed a fixed itinerary. But, I think, sometimes it could be wonderful going to.. nowhere! This is one of the little things in life that makes me happy. I wish you and Lucy a good time and nice holidays in New York.

Ali, Rep,of Maldives
Really interested.Thank you MR:Stephen

Brigitte, South France
Hello Stephen,First of all I want you to be kind with my English,, because certainly it 'll be a lot of mistakes !!! So, I just want to thank you for this column, and I agree with your way of thinking, life is made of very little pleasures, and more often people are too stressed to take time to appreciate little pleasure, like drinking a very good beer with a friend, smiling to each other when we cross in a street instead of being "sad and egoist",,, so I agree with you, and everyday I try to draw a smiling on someone 'face ,,, for example when I've to pay my bill to the cashier in a supermarket, I always have a kind word or funny word for her,,, and I do think that Life will be easier and prettier if everybody could understand this,,,many regards to you,,,,brigitte

Joel, Hong Kong
Hi Stephen. Thanks for letting us know London is never a foggy city. I was told London is a place full of fog at the time I was still a secondary school student. Boo!

Belen, Santiago-Chile
hey,This is my first time reading your column and i love it! Well, it's late here in my country (2.40am) so i must to sleep, but i'll try to write you soon with comments about the column and with news about my lovely country too!! Thank, because it's more funny for me to learn English (and lot of new words) in this way =)bye!

River,China
Hello,Stephen,nice to meet you!What are you talking about today?Ah,bon,the small pleasure of life.I like this subject so much that I have something about it.Yes,you are right, the small pleasure is more important in my daily life on account of I living on it minute by minute,not year by year or even hour by hour,thus I shoud sense every moment with my heart.However, I always wondered if there is ture pleasure in life.We consider something as pleasure just because we pour something else into it,isn't it? When you were taking the first sip of a chilled Czech beer,you felt pleasure not because of the bear but you were with your best friend.If(just if) you'd lost your ture loved girlfriend the moment before,could you feel any pleasure in the bear,did it feel a little bitter or sonething else.So what I mean is there isn't pleasure at all in the world but only the attitude we hold.

L. Patricia Rodríguez Pascual. México, D. F.
I disagree about your beer preferences.The best beer in the world is mexican beer. Specially if you drink it in a soft chair at the edge of the sea (in Cancún, for example), below of a palm. Listeting the movement of the sea, feeling the wind in your face, and with "reggetton" as a musical background. The sun is very, very hot, and your beer is as cold as your britain.If you drink this beer, with a very brunette,handsome mexican boy (or in your case, a very, very hot mexican girl, imagine Salma)you can prove this is the best, glorious, magnifiscente beer.I challenge you (sorry, my english is very bad)to prove in your next travel to mexican beaches.Be happy

Ana Paula, Brazil
Hi Stephen!!!Wow! You had a great time this weekend, didn´t you? Oh, and your descriptions about the places, the musicians and artists were so vivid that I closed my eyes and saw myself on the South Bank. Amazing!Hmmm... For sure one of my favourite pleasures on life is reading a book( especially Fernando Pessoa poems) seated on the white sands of a dazzling beach, while I hear the sound of waves breaking gently on the shore. Oh! I miss the sea, it´s so beautiful and powerful isn´t it?Another one of my pleasures is watching classical films, especially those ones who are starred by Cary Grant,Gary Cooper, James Stweart, Audery Hepburn, Joan Fontaine, Jean Arthur, Grace Kelly, Sophia Loren and so on! Phew! Aaah... They were/are wonderful! :-)Anyway Stephen, I hope that you enjoy your Big Apple holiday( of course you will!), and I´m already looking foward to reading your column from there ;-). Ah! And please, don´t forget to post a picture of Chrysler Building for us, ok?All the best for you and Lucy.See you in the next fortnight,Ana Paula.