Hi everyone!
I am just back from a week away visiting my sister who lives down in England. We have eaten some lovely food, haven’t paused for breath and even enjoyed some glorious sunshine! One of my highlights was a day trip into Cambridge. I was thinking of you all and the connection it has to the exams you sit (B1, B2, etc.). I’d never been to Cambridge before but was completely blown away, what a beautiful place! The buildings are all beautiful, especially the university buildings and the cathedral. It has such interesting history, I was fascinated by a piece of information I heard about WW2. Apparently, there is a Nazi emblem on one of the buildings as Hitler planned to make it his British capital, if he had won the war. This was the reason he did not bomb Oxford or Cambridge and why so many of the beautiful ancient buildings are still there. We lit candles in Great St Mary’s University church which has been there since 1205, according to the first written record! I totally fell in love with this town and cannot wait for a return trip. It is one of those places you could visit repeatedly and have a unique experience each time. There is so much to do, and so many lovely cafes to try!
At the airport, I managed to have a browse in the book shop, (which is one of the best bits about flying!) and picked two new books for my holiday. The first one is “Rogue Lawyer” by John Grisham. I couldn’t put it down, it was fantastic. It was an enjoyable book to read as it was split into 5 parts, almost like 5 different little stories based on different cases. I would recommend this if you really wanted to challenge yourself with your English reading, however it uses quite a bit of legal jargon in it!
The second book I bought was “The Fifth Letter” by Nicola Moriarty. This one is a bit of a guilty pleasure and is definitely a girlie read. I have read a few books by the author’s sister Liane Moriarty and they both have very similar styles. The language is quite easy and relaxed. However, if you’re not a big reader then you should try and catch up with the program “Big Little Lies” it has been adapted by Liane Moriarty’s book by the same name and has an all-star cast of Reese Wetherspoon, Nicole Kidman and Shailene Woodley. It’s playing on Sky Atlantic and has been great (even though I’m not a big Nicole Kidman fan!)
So now I’m back home and Easter weekend has just finished! I read a weather report that parts of Scotland could expect SNOW this weekend! Can you believe it? I hope that’s a late April Fool’s joke. Our weekend has been full of Easter traditions like hunting for eggs in our garden for our annual Easter hunt, decorating ridiculous looking Easter bonnets while eating unhealthy amounts of chocolate. My girls are delighted, when else do you get to eat chocolate all day for an entire weekend? I found this Scottish video explaining some of the traditions around Easter and thought you would all enjoy it.
https://www.facebook.com/BBCScotland/videos/1674177669278658/
It made me laugh. How cute is that wee girl? I hope the subtitles helped you understand the Glasgow accent!
Anyway, thank you for reading my blog! I was really excited seeing it live on the website. I’ll soon be adding a “Phrase of the week” which will focus on some of the stranger phrases we use in conversation! It’s been interesting listening out for them all. Please send any suggestions if you hear any throughout your studies and we can include them too.
Happy Easter to you all and hope you have a wonderful chocolate-filled weekend!
Gemma xoxo