The "IPOD" Generation

Perennially seeking new hidden gems in the media for possible lesson exploitation, I came across this very interesting article about the "IPOD" Generation the other day. You may well be surprised to know that in this particular case, "IPOD" does not have the same meaning as what you think! It is an acronyn for "Insecure, Pressurised, Over-taxed and Debt-ridden", refering to the youth of "Broke Britain". I first cut out the article from the Daily Mail on 21st October 2008 and put it to one side, ready for me to "do something with it" . The time has come, so here goes!
Click here to read the article in full.

In the Red
In the report mentioned in the article, the finances of 18-34 year-olds were put under the spotlight. Young people today are under enormous pressure to get on in life. They are faced with so much choice and have been lured by banks to get ever more into debt. They are unable to put money away for a secure future as the cost of living is sky high. The image of "broke" Britain is ever more present during the credit crunch and it is a difficult period in history. Here is an interesting video from www.videojug.com on "How to deal with being broke after graduation".

YUPPIES
The days of "YUPPIES" refer to an era long gone and now according to this article, the acronym has come to mean "Young Unhappy Professionals". Those were the days!

Idioms of the Hour
To be in the red: to be in debt
To be broke: to be without money/ short of money

New Words Quiz

Looking through Nik Peachey's excellent blogs I read about this nice little quiz maker from funquizcards.com and thought I would have a go at creating one myself. See how you get on!


Create A Quiz | View Scores

Flying High

A quarter of a century in business is cause for real celebration, especially when it concerns Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic Airlines- a Red Letter Day indeed!

Supermodel Kate Moss kicked off Virgin Atlantic's 25th birthday celebrations by dressing as one of the airline's flying pin-up girls.

Flashing her long legs in a red, strapless playsuit and Yves Saint Laurent Tribute platform heels, Kate jumped into the arms of a willing Sir Richard Branson as they posed on the wing of a Virgin jumbo. Read more of the article here.

Virgin Atlantic can justifiably be proud it is flying high in these difficult times of recession and the credit crunch. A lot of companies have had to "tighten their belts". You can read more about its history here.



Idioms of the Hour
A red letter day: a special occasion such as a birthday
To tighten one's belt: to have to spend less in times of financial hardship
Red hot: extremely exciting or popular

Back into the Groove

Ups and downs are the usual ingredients of the hurly burly of life. The past few weeks have been a roller coaster. Riding high in the clouds one day, lying low the next. It is so easy to lose track of one's direction if one is not focused enough. One needs rugged determination, powerful will and extreme dedication to fly high. I feel I am "back in the groove"!




A Holy Familiar Reunion
Today the family celebrated my nephew's First Holy Communion at Corpus Christi Church. It was a wonderfully joyous occasion and it was made extra special with the presence of my dear mother. She was able to leave OCE for the whole day for the first time since she had her devastating accident four months ago. She is a walking miracle. I am very proud of her progress and her zest for life, which remains incredibly undimmed.

The Black Boy
A truly amazing celebration lunch was served in a new eaterie in Headington called The Black Boy. The choice of menu was varied and the meal I chose was perfect in every way. The portions were generous and everything was homemade. One thing that really stood out was the great attention to detail. Everything was organised to a high degree. Abigail Rose was the "hostess with the mostest" and ensured that everything went off smoothly and without a hitch. A lovely personal touch was that my mother and aunt were provided with lovely, plump cushions to ensure that they were sitting comfortably. Absolutely nothing was too much and we were looked after very well indeed. Would I recommend The Black Boy? Yes, indeed. It is tucked away in a beautiful corner of old Headington and has a long and varied history. I believe it will definitely become the "in" place to dine. If you are ever in the local Oxford area, make sure you drop in to sample the delicious food and at the same time, unwind in the relaxing atmosphere.

Language in Motion
I am now busy compiling examples of slang words that I come across in newspapers/magazines and of course, the Internet. This is in preparation for my Primary Teachers' Refresher classes called "Update your English" which I will be doing for the Lake School of English in July . The English language is constantly on the move and as a teacher of EFL, it is vital to keep up with what is happening. One of my favourite sites is wordspy.com. How many of these words in the Top 100 have you come across? I admit, there are a lot that are new for me, too!

WAGS in the News
Just today I saw this eye-catching headline about Posh Spice wanting to "ditch" her WAG image in order to appear in Vogue Magazine.
To "ditch" something means to get rid of something/remove something, which you no longer want.
WAG stands for the wife and or girlfriend of a famous footballer. It is now not so cool to be known as a "WAG".

Tweetbike

Motorbike + Twitter - what do you get? The answer is "Tweetbike" - an innovative online social experiment introduced by Paul Clarke to help people get around the recent London Tube strike by sending tweets to him. The power of Twitter has no bounds! Read the full story here.

The One Millionth Word
Well, the phrase "Web 2.0" has apparently been voted as the millionth word in the English language. I personally think this phrase has been around for quite a while now so I'm surprised it has been included in this category. The English Blog has got an excellent post on this subject here and also have a look at this informative post by Macmillan English Dictionary Blog.

Macmillan Webinar: 7 Things Beginning with M
I look forward to downloading the session presented yesterday by Scott Thornbury. Unfortunately, I was unable to follow the complete webinar, so I will catch up next week when the session can be viewed on the web. Can you think of 7 important words pertaining to ELT beginning with the letter M?