British Cuisine - Fish 'n' Chips

Ok, so it's the stereotypical dish all people mention when they think about food in the UK. Students often say it with a look of disgust on their face and a tone of sarcasm in their voices as if to imply that it isn't really food. And while it is true that fish 'n' chips are quintessentially British, that does not mean to say that it is not a good dish.

Although fish 'n' chips can be ordered in most pubs from the lunch menu, and there are world -famous fish and chip restaurants such as Harry Ramsden's, this meal originated in the UK as a take-away food some time in the late 1850s. And, I personally believe the best way to enjoy fish and chips is at the seaside sitting on or by the beach. Great places to eat fish 'n' chips are Whitby or Scarborough where cod is often caught fresh from the sea and cooked the same day.

Traditionally the fish (usually cod, haddock or flounder) and chips were wrapped up in newspaper to be carried away and eaten at home or in the park. Nowadays, due to hygiene and possible problems from the newspaper ink - they are wrapped in plain white paper. The shop where fish and chips can be purchased is colloquially known as the chippy or the chipper, depending on the region.

So, before you turn your nose up at them, why not try eating some real fish and chips by the sea in England. It's quite an experience!

British Cuisine - Pimm's

Since Wimbledon began this week I thought that I should tell you all about a drink which is commonly taken during the tennis tournament as well as at polo matches, regattas and opera festivals. It is a rather posh drink, a cocktail in fact, which is often enjoyed in the summer months.

Pimm's was first produced by a British farmer's son called James Pimm in 1823. The original blend is called Pimm's No. 1 Cup. It is based on gin and has a dark tea colour with a reddish tint, and tastes subtly of spice and citrus fruit. It is often taken with ginger ale or lemonade and decorated (garnished) with cucumber, strawberries and fresh mint.

So, if you find yourself in Britain this summer, you know what to order at the bar! Yum yum!

World No-Tobacco Day

Today, the 31st of May, is World No-Tobacco Day. This day was created back in 1987 when The Member States of the World Health Organization decided to come together to draw global attention to the tobacco epidemic and the preventable death and disease it causes.

If you are a non-smoker or an ex-smoker you may find it interesting to read the World Health Organization's website for this year's No-Tobacco Day. If you are a smoker you probably shouldn't read it.

For everyone I have some vocabulary that you can learn related to smoking:

The colloquial names for a cigarette in British English are a cig or a fag. (Be careful with the last word in the US because in American English it is an impolite way of referring to a homosexual male). You need a lighter to light your cigarette and an ashtray for you to deposit your ash and cigarette butts in. You ask someone for a light (not a fire) when you need to borrow someone else's lighter! When you put out your cigarette you are stubbing them out. If you ever wish to stop smoking completely then you can quit or give up! If you enjoy puffing on a cigarette when you have a drink in your hand then I will give you a piece of advice for if you are ever in Britain or in the presence of British smokers. Never ask someone you don't know to give you a free cigarette. In Spain this happens all the time, but in the UK tobacco is extremely expensive and people will think you are rude and cheap if you ask to bum a cig!

British Cuisine - Shepherd's Pie

Shepherd's Pie or Cottage Pie is a typical English dish. It is not like the pies that we saw in the last British Cuisine entry as it has no pastry whatsoever. The 'pie' top is instead made from mashed potatoes. The contents of the pie include minced beef or lamb, carrots, peas and a gravy style sauce. It is very simple to make and tastes delicious. For me it is a real comfort food! Some people also sprinkle grated cheese on the top before putting it in the oven.

To see a recipe for this dish and an über-short video (1.46 mins) of one of Britain's most famous celebrity chef's making a pie go to this link.

British Cuisine - Pies

Pies are very popular food items in the UK. A pie is an oven-baked dish which is usually made of a pastry shell that covers or completely contains a filling of various sweet or savoury ingredients. A pie can be completely closed like the one in the photo, it can be open with just a pastry bottom or it can have a 'top-crust' where the filling is in the dish with a pastry top.

Popular savoury pies in the UK include:

Chicken and Mushroom
Steak and Ale
Steak and Kidney
Meat and Potato
Wild Rabbit

These are served piping hot with gravy and vegetables as a main meal. You can find many of these pies in pubs and cafés.

Popular sweet pies in the UK include:

Apple
Apple and Blackberry
Rhubarb
Blueberry

These are served either hot with custard or cold with cream or icecream.

Pies are so popular in Britain that there is a whole week dedicated to them. Check out the website from this year's Pie Week. In the north of England in my home town there is a village known as the Pie Village. Find out why here.

An unlucky day?

Many people quote the 13th as the unluckiest day in the calendar, although throughout history the 14th of April has not been a very lucky day either!

On this day in 1865, Abraham Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth while he was watching a play at the Ford's Theater.

On this day in 1912, the Titanic struck an iceburg at 11.40pm and began to sink.

On this day in 1944, a massive explosion hit Bombay Harbour killing 300 people.

On this day in 1986, the heaviest hailstones ever recorded fell on Bangladesh killing 92 people.

However, it is not all bad news. If you are single and living in South Korea, today is the unofficial celebration day for you. It is known as Black Day and is the single person's equivalent to Valentine's Day.

British Cuisine - Devonshire Cream Tea

Cream Tea, Devonshire Cream Tea and Cornish Cream Tea are all names for a quintessential English afternoon snack that can be enjoyed in the aforementioned counties or all around England in special tea rooms. (If you are ever in Yorkshire, Bettys Tea Rooms are quite famous in the region and although they are a bit on the expensive side they are lovely for a special treat.) You can even get Cream Teas in the commonwealth countries and the United States. Ideally, this snack should be eaten around 4 o' clock.

A Cream Tea consists of a pot of fresh tea which is taken with a sweet scone served with strawberry jam and clotted cream. (A scone is a bread-type cake of Scottish origin made of flour, sugar, milk and butter. Other ingredients are then added to the mixture for different variations. ) In a Cream Tea the scones are most likely to be sultana scones (con pasas).

For a true Devonshire Cream Tea, you should of course go to Devon itself. Devon is a beautiful county in the South West of England next to Cornwall. It has some lovely beaches and magnificent landscapes. Check out the tourist site for more information!

Brand Names That Have Become Verbs

Brand names can become generic when they are so commonly used that people associate the brand name for every product of that type regardless of who manufactures it. Some brand names become so generic that people begin to use them as verbs describing the action that is carried out with the product. Let's look at the most common examples of this in English.

First of all, we have the verb 'to hoover' or 'do the hoovering'. In the UK this verb means to 'vacuum clean' or 'do the vacuuming' and comes from the well-known vacuum cleaner trademark, Hoover.

Another brand verb is 'to xerox' (pronounced 'zeerocks') which in American English is used to mean 'to photocopy'. The noun 'a xerox' also exists to talk about a photocopy. It doesn't matter if you use a Canon photocopier or a HP, people in the States still say 'I need to xerox this report'.


One of the newest and most common brand verbs is 'to google'. This of course means to search for something on the internet. Since most people use Google as their search engine this is the verb that caught on and not 'to Yahoo' or to 'MSN'. One of my hobbies is doing cryptic crosswords and if I am not sure of a word, I always google it!

Now, although this might seem like positive and free advertising for the companies involved, over the years most of these giant corporations have paid their lawyers a lot of money to help them fight against it! You can read this article from the BBC news, which despite being old, is still relevant.

Red Nose Day

Comic Relief is a British charity which was founded in 1985 by the comedy scriptwriter, Richard Curtis, in response to famine in Ethiopia. All money raised by the association is spent on charitable projects. One of Comic Relief's main fundraising activities is Red Nose Day. In the time running up to this day people can buy plastic red noses to wear over their own noses. The money that is raised from the sales of these and other related merchandise goes to help people in need. The BBC, who is one of charity's main supporters, broadcasts a show on Red Nose Day (which this year is on Friday the 13th of March) which begins in the early afternoon and lasts until late at night. Many celebrities take part in the show, entertaining the public at home watching on TV and trying to encourage people to phone in and donate money. Regular people also carry out lots of fund-raising and sponsored events among their friends and local communities to try and raise money for the charity. In schools, organised charity events often take place. The only guideline is that whatever you do to raise money, it needs to be funny!

To find out more about the charity you can check out their website. >> > > >

British Cuisine - Bangers and Mash

A typical and traditional meal in Britain is Bangers and Mash. The word 'banger' is colloquial for sausage, and 'mash' refers to mashed potatoes. It is important that the mash be made from real potatoes with butter and milk or cream and not be from a packet like Maggi! The dish is often served with onion gravy and some form of vegetable.

There are believed to be about 470 types of sausage in the United Kingdom, where this particular item is very popular. Simple forms of Bangers and Mash use simple varieties of sausage made from pork or beef. This is common fare in British pubs, but in restaurants or gastropubs serving traditional food with a twist (something special added or changed), you are likely to find more interesting types of sausage. These can include flavours like pork and apple or lamb and mint or venison sausage. Sometimes restaurants like to liven up the mashed potato by adding horseradish (rábano picante) or wholegrain mustard or sweet garlic among other ingredients.

The two most well know varieties of English sausage are Cumberland and Lincolnshire which originated in the counties of the same name. These sausages can be bought in long coils (spirals) or in the shape of ordinary sausages.

For me, this dish is a real comfort food, I love making it and I enjoy eating it even more. Thankfully, I can buy both Cumberland and Lincolnshire sausages in my supermarket here in Madrid so I often make Bangers and Mash for my Spanish husband and he loves them!

British Cuisine

This is going to be a regular entry on the Blc Blog. I am going to try to bring to you lots of recipes and pictures of food and drink and eating practices that are typically British. I hope to teach you a little bit and open your minds towards the food that is eaten in Great Britain. Some of this food will be traditionally British using quality local ingredients and some of this food will show influences from many countries far and wide, which is to be expected from a country with a long history of colonisation and immigration.

I really hope that you will find this interesting and useful as I am sure many of you travel to Britain for work and pleasure and struggle to find good, healthy food. So watch this space!

Resolutions for 2009

It's another new year and therefore it's that time again when people tend to make themselves promises about things that they will change in their lives or things they will endeavour to achieve in the forthcoming year. In English we call this 'making New Year's resolutions.

Here is the list of the top ten resolutions for 2009, have you resolved to do any of these things?

• Make more time for family and friends
• Quit smoking
• Start exercising
• Go back to school / take a class
• Get out of debt
• Advance in your career (N.B. your professional life!), make more money
• Get into philanthropy and community involvement
• Quit drinking
• Lose weight
• Get out of a bad relationship / find true love

Let us know what your New Year's resolutions are by writing a comment under the post. I personally choose not to make resolutions because I know that I will always break them, as the cartoon above suggests. If you do make them and would like some tips on how to keep them why not check out this website, it will tell you how to do this and many other things too!

Halloween is here!

Halloween is almost upon us. For many Spanish people this is just another commercial holiday imported from America and the UK. However, it is not just about dressing up in strange costumes and going around the neighbourhood asking for sweets with a cheeky call of 'Trick or treat." Halloween originated many, many years ago. You should find out more about this pagan festival by visiting the trusty History.com website and watching the videos, reading the articles, playing the games and of course, practising your English. You might be surprised by what you find out!

GO TO THE HALLOWEEN FEATURE ON HISTORY.COM > > >

Speaking Practice -Intercambios

My students are always complaining that they don't get enough speaking practice out of class and I am always telling them that they should try to get an 'intercambio'. In Madrid and Madridteacher often have classifieds of people looking for language exchange partners. If you are a bit apprehensive about meeting up with a stranger on your own though, there are plenty of places in Madrid where you can meet large groups of foreigners and practise your English. Here are a few options:

Day and Time : Every Tuesday 22.00
Location: O'Neills (Irish Pub), Calle Principe 12 (Metro Sol, Sevilla)

Day and Time: Wednesdays and Thursdays 22.00 - 24.00
Location: J & J's Books and Coffee, Calle Espiritu Santo 47, (Metro Noviciado)

Day and Time: Every Wednesday 22.30 - 2.00
Location: Café Madrid, Calle Escalinata (Metro Opera)

Happy April Fool's Day

Be careful today when you go to class because your teacher may be feeling a little mischievous! For English speakers today is the equivalent of the 28th of December in Spain and so your teacher may be planning to play tricks on you in class! You only have to worry about being the victim of a hoax before midday though, because according to tradition your teacher cannot play pranks on anybody after midday.

For more information about April Fool's Day check out Wikipedia.

And if you like to read about a good prank, you should check out the Museum of Hoaxes Top 100 Hoaxes of all time.

Metro Reading

You know we like to try to get you to be more Learner Autonomous by providing you with this blog and links to sites where you can get listening practice and new vocabulary. However, the internet is not the only source of English material available to you. In Madrid there are a quite a few publications that you can get your hands on to help you practise your English while learning about the world and the city in which you live. I'm talking about newspapers and magazines, some published for the expat population of Spain and some published for language learners like yourselves. What better a way to fill your underground / bus journey to work or to pass the time in long Madrid traffic jams than reading (and learning) in English?

First of all in certain kiosks around Madrid, generally in the most touristy and business areas, you can purchase copies of both tabloid, broadsheet and financial and economic British and American papers. These are a little pricey, ranging from 2 to 4 euros, but they are extremely authentic.

Secondly, you can subscribe monthly to Hot English Magazine which is specifically aimed at learners of English and contains lots of vocabulary and interesting articles with glossaries provided in Spanish. Follow the link above to their website where you can find out how to subscribe and take a peek inside an issue of the magazine.

Another option is The Broadsheet aka TBS. This is available for free all around Spain. In Madrid it can be found in many Irish pubs, Indian restaurants, bookshops and academies. You can also access it from the link above if you prefer to read it online. This magazine is written for native speakers, but that does not mean that you can't read it too! It comes out every month and the articles and reviews are based on what is happening in Spain.

Finally, in Madrid you can get hold of In Madrid, another monthly expat newspaper. This is full of reviews and interesting articles about what is new and hot in the Spanish capital. It is available in more or less the same places as TBS and you can usually pick one up from the big white table in reception at the BLC! If not, you can access it online via the above link.

Happy reading!

Father Christmas Facts

In many countries Children go to bed on Christmas Eve (the 24th of December) awaiting the arrival of Father Christmas and their gifts.

Father Christmas is known by different names in different countries and the tradition and folklore surrounding this figure differs from place to place. Other names include Santa Claus, Saint Nicholas and Kris Kringle.

Father Christmas is often depicted in red clothes with black boots and a black belt but that has not always been the case. Before 1931, Santa had always been shown in black and white, green and white or an array of other colours. It was only when Coca Cola created an image (see picture on the left) of Father Christmas in red and white as part of an advertising campaign that he became known as the man in red with a white beard!

Wikipedia have some interesting information on the origins of Father Christmas in different countries and here there are some old pictures depicting him in colours other than red.

Christmas in America

In the last post I linked to a great online advent calendar where you could find out about Christmas in a different country every day. As the countdown to Christmas continues, don't forget to click on that calendar and learn something new!

If Christmas is something that you enjoy finding out about, you should link to this Christmas Listening Quiz. In this particular recording you can hear an American talking about their traditions in the festive period. The website has lots of other listening quizzes for you to try out too, so why not practice a little in your own home or when you have a spare minute at work and choose something that interests you!

English Pantomime

We are coming up to the festive season, the Christmas lights and trees are being put up around the city, people are out buying their presents and soon we will be hearing renditions of 'White Christmas' all over Madrid. This is also the typical time to see a pantomime in Britain. Fortunately, you don't have to go all the way to the UK to catch a panto this Christmas, because the Madrid Players are putting on their annual English-language production right here in the city of Madrid. This year they are offering their version of 'Cinderella', so why not try to get some tickets for the weekend of the 7th to the 9th of December! You can have fun and practise your English at the same time! (Even if you can't go this time, it's worth keeping an eye open for other English-speaking shows they perform throughout the year.)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today is the fourth Thursday in November which means that the Americans are celebrating Thanksgiving. Tables all over the US will be laden with roast turkeys, vegetables, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pies and pecan pies as families celebrate all that they have to be thankful for.

If you want to learn more about the tradition behind Thanksgiving celebrations check out this website which includes an interesting video about the history of the festival, interviews with pilgrims and thanksgiving recipes for you to try out at home!

When you have read and learnt a bit more about Thanksgiving you may want to try out some of these games and activities for a little bit of vocabulary fun!

• Thanksgiving Hangman
• Pumpkin Crossword
• Thanksgiving Wordsearch