Valentine’s Day around the world

St Valentine’s Day and similar days celebrating love
Adapted from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In the UK, sending cards, flowers, chocolates and other gifts to prospective or current romantic partners is traditional. However, in Wales, many people celebrate Dydd Santes Dwynwen (St Dwynwen’s Day) on January 25 instead of (or as well as) Valentine’s Day. The day commemorates St Dwynwen, the patron saint of Welsh lovers … read more:

Newspaper Headline English

News stand in Paddington, London - courtesy Wikipedia

Newspaper headlines make use of a great variety of less usual words, which can also make them harder to read by non-native speakers. Headlines also try to be ‘punny’ (making use of close synonyms or related words as a joke) and alliterative (using a string of words with the same initial letter or sound). They tend to use shorter words than normal, and often leave out unnecessary grammatical ‘extras’. All this makes headlines short and eye-catching (and less than easy to read) … read more:

Adjective word order in English

Now here is something that perhaps you haven’t thought about, and indeed neither had I until I started teaching English. We could use many adjectives to describe the scene above, but what order should they be in? To a native speaker it is learned as a child and just feels like the ‘natural order of things’, but different types of adjectives are set in a certain order when used together … read more: 

The Top Seven Military Big Spenders …

The Top 7 World Military Budgets by Country - the figures in the bottom axis show proportion of GDP.

 At just over $687 billion dollars a year the USA tops the charts for Military Big Spender of the World by such a big margin that we can only compare other countries with each other. However, the combined defence budgets of the 27 EU member states in 2010 amounted to $299.7 billion (1.63% of European Union GDP ). This makes the EU a significant 2nd (not represented on the chart as it is not (yet) a country) … read more:

 

Saggar Maker’s Bottom Knocker

A Saggar Maker’s Bottom Knocker was a job title held by certain persons involved in the making of saggars, which are ceramic boxes designed to contain pottery wares, and which protect them from the direct heat of flames in a kiln. It has to be one of the oddest job titles in existence. Do You know of any other strange job titles?

Saggars in a museum

The winter we have waited for

Winter beauty from Vaasa in Finland – photo by Malcolm Pemberton

Winter in the Far North can sometimes be something of a challenge, even for those who were born here. When I say ‘Far North’ I am referring to Vaasa in Finland, where I live, which lies at 63 degrees north. This is, in fact, two degrees further north than Anchorage in Alaska, but still three and a half degrees short of the Arctic Circle, or some 210 nautical miles … read more: 

Two new grammar pages

This is just a quick post to draw your attention to two new grammar pages:

Basic Verb Tenses (for Levels A1 and A2)

The Apostrophe (a reference for all levels)

All feedback welcome

Can anyone protect the Euro?

Well, here we are in a fine financial mess again, and one is inclined to say, “Well, I didn’t cause it, why should I have to pay?” This is, of course, a very good question, and one that is on the lips of millions of people. I have debt, but I am responsible, and servicing that debt rather boringly comes before buying something nice or going on holiday. But, I say that the fault doesn’t really lie with the borrowers, because, for the most part, they feel that if the banks will lend, then it’s OK. They feel that they can handle the situation because they have jobs and prospects. But then the bubble bursts and the lay-offs come and the debt-load becomes something that cannot be handled.  Read more …

Being late shows how much you care …

Business Etiquette 1 – On Time, In Time or Late? – Or will the gates have closed on you?

Just what ‘late’ actually is depends on both culture, environment and circumstances, so I’m not going to be too picky about minutes. There is the idea of ‘fashionably’ late at a party, which can save the host the embarrassment of not being ready. There are the ‘academic fifteen minutes’ where the 10 o’clock lecture actually starts at a quarter past. There are phrases like ‘Just in Time’, the other side of which is ‘Almost too Late’ (hence the person kept waiting at the cinema door may choose the latter, where the friend who arrives panting with seconds to spare might choose the former). So how late is late can be pretty flexible, but less so in the business world, especially the further north you go.

What I’m saying is that late is late, and late is rude, and being late shows just how much you care.

Weather Words for Winter

Storm damage to the quayside

Although the winter so far has been unseasonably warm here in Finland, a series of low pressure zones approaching from the west have resulted in severe storms. High winds from the south and south-west, coupled with heavy sleet and snow falls, have felled hundreds of trees and brought down power lines, causing widespread power outages and some blackouts. Low pressure and southerly winds have combined to raise sea levels in the Quark by over a metre above datum. This has caused minor flooding and some damage (as seen above and below).

The temperature has hovered around zero Celsius, causing alternate freezing and thawing conditions. Snow has partially melted and then re-frozen overnight, making it hazardous for pedestrians and drivers alike. Although the snow is not yet deep, strong winds have created snowdrifts in places. In calmer bays a few centimetres of sea-ice has formed, although it is not yet thick enough to support walkers. In the open sea areas there is very little ice at all, which is unusual for this time of year.

Skies have remained heavily overcast for many days now, with occasional snow or sleet showers. This combined with sunrise and sunset  only five hours apart makes everything rather dark and dull.