Forgetting Things

Dear Diary!

It’s been ages since I wrote anything here. I’ve had lots of ‘moments’ which I should have recorded but I didn’t, and now I can’t remember them!

I’ve decided to use this blog like a diary – whenever anything happens or I am inspired by some weird and wonderful fact, I’m going to drop you a line.

After the terrible time of Corona (known as Covid in England), which actually seems so long ago now, I decided to reduce my English For Fun business to a bare minimum. I still meet with my “walk and talk” friends regularly to chat in English. Conversation is never boring and often ‘throws up’ some question about vocabulary or a difference between Germany and English culture.

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What a Pantomime!

What is a Christmas Panto?

I know it’s not quite the season to talk about Christmas but, after visiting Dublin in March, I felt an explanation was due as to what a “pantomime” is.

According to Wikipedia it is

..a British institution. Pantomimes take place around the Christmas period and are nearly always based on well known children’s stories such as Peter Pan, Aladdin, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty etc. Pantomimes are performed not only in the best theatres in the land but also in village halls throughout Britain.

Wiki
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Playing by Ear

I recently came across the expression “to play it by ear” which means basically “go with the flow”; in other words – act according to the situation depending how it develops. What a lovely saying!

Having checked the derivation it confirmed what I thought. Musicians ‘play by ear’ when they reproduce music without written notes. It’s usually done from memory and the player uses his or her ears to work out whether the notes are correct.

Be Spontaneous!

When it comes to reproducing music by ear I think I am ok. In real life, however, I must say I’m not very good at playing things by ear. Improvisation is not my strength and I like to plan ahead. Maybe I should try to be more spontaneous.

How good are you at “playing it by ear”? Some people are prone “to winging it” but this is not the same. That’s another post I think 🙂

That’s Crowned it!

Just in case you didn’t realise it – I am a fan of Netflix and I especially enjoy watching a good old historical drama. At the end of 2020 all the talk was about season 4 of “The Crown”. For some reason I’m not interested in watching this drama which follows the royal “ins and outs” during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. Maybe it’s because I was part of that history and don’t want to admit that I’m getting old!

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Words of the Week Update

I have had fun over the last few weeks deciding what word to take as my Word of the Week (WOW). Unfortunately I haven’t got round to posting them weekly – the last being in November.

Strangely enough I now have time because of the restrictions which have been caused by the infamous corona virus.

So here is a list of the WOWs that I chose. I think my customers have had fun using them either because they are simply funny words or because they have lightened the mood recently.

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