There is an old saying "you make your bed and you lie in it". The literal meaning is that if you make your bed in a bad way, the consequence would be you would have an uncomfortable night's sleep. The metaphorical meaning, however, is that you have to live with the consequences of your own decisions and actions, so it's best to think carefully before doing something. In the following story, copied from Yahoo news, we have both the literal and metaphorical meaning.
Dumped mattress lands cash in trash in Israel
"A stash of cash landed in the trash when a woman in Israel dumped her mother's mattress not knowing it was stuffed with the equivalent of about one million dollars.
Israeli media reported that the 40-year-old woman showed up at a garbage dump in a panic on Tuesday, looking for the valuable bedding.
She had bought a new mattress for her mother and, wanting the gift to be a surprise, threw away the old one. She then found out the decades-old mattress contained her mother's life savings.
Workers are helping her search the garbage, but have found no sign of the cash so far".
An Unfortunate Surprise For many years the mother literally made her bed and lay in it and unknown to her daughter, was stuffing the mattress with approximately one million dollars, only to have the daughter unwittingly throw the mattress out one day because she wanted to "surprise" her mother with a new one! Oh dear....
How would you feel if you were the mother? How would you feel if you were the daughter? What is the moral behind this story??
Vocabulary To "stash" something means to hide something secretly
To "trash" something means to put something in the rubbish bin. "Trash" means rubbish.
"Dosh" is a UK slang expression for money.
Teaching idioms has always been a joy. They reveal the intrinsic rich tapestry of British cultural life. They sum up emotions and feelings that have been around since time immemorial. Students love learning idioms in my experience. It demonstrates a command of the English language which renders an air of superiority. However, idioms are indeed tricky for a lot of students and they need to have a variety of examples so that there is no room for error or embarrassment in output of new language.
An Emotional Colour
Today, I have well and truly seen the colour red....It is not a colour I usually "see" as I am a very calm, placid person. However, in life, situations occur which throw us into unexpected turmoil and anger and there is no other colour to sum up this strong emotion. To "see red" is a very common idiom in a lot of sports, especially football. Footballers tend to get very angry if they feel they are hard-done by! Other articles such as this one and this one here, give good examples of the meaning. Members of Parliament are also not averse to this sudden display of anger. Caroline Flint, the Labour MP who has recently resigned, is a case in point.
A Neat Feature BBC Learning English has an excellent series of teaching all types of idioms including the colour red. I like the way the idioms are introduced with a lively video presentation and then homework is set for learners to send in their own examples of the target language. This is a great touch.
Blog Saviour All is calm for the moment. I feel better. I have got it off my chest. My blog has saved me from succumbing to the colour blue, the dark sort...
It is a year since I left full-time employment at the Lake School of English, Oxford. I remember Friday June 6th 2008 very clearly, as if it was yesterday. After more than 20 years of service my time had come to leave the nest and fly off to new horizons in search of a new life in Italy. It was a day tinged with sadness at the end of an amazing era but also a day full of excitement and anticipation at the thought of what lay ahead. The photo above was taken that morning with students and teachers.
Sweet Memories
My last day was calm. I had already packed up my files and decluttered my desk. I had spent weeks beforehand sorting out my extensive range of files all in alphabetical order according to grammar, vocabulary, idioms, phrasal verbs, slang and endless others. I had collected 100 files in 20 years, 5 a year of new materials. I finally condensed them to about 30 and felt happy that I had paved the way for newer, fresher materials. The photo shows me at the computer. Sweet memories indeed.
The Party of the Century I was treated by the Lake School to a fabulously quintessential English afternoon champagne tea party at The Old Parsonage Hotel. It was a truly magnificent afternoon and I will never forget it for the rest of my life. In fact, the afternoon party carried on joyously into the evening and the picture below shows me being serenaded by the local jazz player!
Simply the Best The Lake School shaped me both as a person and as a teacher. I gained much valuable experience in the ways of life. Teaching was a pleasure every day. I always looked forward to going into work by bike, through thick and thin, despite the vagraries of the weather. The Lake School staff are indeed the best in the world and I have very fond memories of everyone there. The three directors, Susan, Carmel and Lilly are without doubt the best you could ever wish for and all the lovely teachers are unequalled in this universe.
One Door Closes, Another One Opens Why on earth did I leave such a fantastic environment, you might be thinking to yourself. Well, my dear readers, however hard it was to leave, I knew I had to leave in order to give my new future a chance. And so it came to pass that the door was kindly left open for me to return for special guest slots in the future and so far, this has worked incredibly well and I am truly lucky for this opportunity. So, I have the best of both worlds now and long may it continue! I will be back on July 6th for 4 weeks to teach on the Teachers' Refresher Courses, which I am really looking forward to.
A Musical Tribute My abiding memory of Lake School parties is the Tina Turner song "Simply the Best". It sums up my feelings about the school perfectly.
In times of turmoil the first thing most British people turn to is a nice hot brew. "I'm dying for a cuppa" is a common refrain in times of stress or after a particularly hectic activity. Tea has long-since been known for its therapeutic qualities and indeed, it seems to work as a relaxant in a lot of cases.
In Hot Water An article about tea has caught my eye today. An advert for Tetley green tea has been banned by watchdogs for making misleading health claims. Hence the company is now "in hot water", meaning that they are in trouble. Read more here. It is not the first time that claims have been made about the benefits of Tetley. Read here. Whatever is claimed, however, I can guarantee you that it is a refreshing drink and we are well stocked up on Tetley teabags here in Civitaquana!
1990 Tetley Tea Advertisement I particularly like this amusing advertisement for Tetley tea sung to the tune of "Hound Dog".
Tea at the Ritz It has always been my desire to have afternoon tea at the Ritz in London. Maybe one day, when I am rich and famous, my wish might come true! The Ritz is a member of the prestigious Tea Guild.
Lonesome in the Valley It's raining hard, K's on a motorbike tour in the mountains, the girls are in their pen, Kelly's on guard, the furkids are tucked up in a cosy corner upstairs, and me? I'm listening to the continuous pitter patter of the rainfall outside contemplating the meaning of life and how it pans out for some people...
Sunshine after the Rain Susan Boyle must be feeling devastated about not winning Britain's Got Talent. The surprising result has been very well documented in the newspapers. Please see the English Blog's excellent postings and cartoons regarding the latest updates on her story and also read a thought-provoking posting by Saro Rosales. I personally feel sorry for Susan Boyle as she has been caterpaulted to fame in such a quick fashion that she has hardly had time to register what the implications are for her personal life. I do think she has a lovely voice and I hope she will not be affected negatively by her fame. I hope she remembers that the sunshine will always come after the rain!
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