An enforcement team targeting overcrowding, discovered twenty-six bunk beds in a four-bedroom house in Wembley. Those living there were mostly migrants. They say that despite the appalling conditions, it's the only way they can afford to live in the capital.
It’s a four-bedroom house, and a team of enforcement officers have arrived at dawn to look inside. What they find is shocking. There are 26 beds.
How many people live in this room, sir? 1, 2, 3 bunk beds, six sleeping spaces…
Another four more in this tiny room.
You pay £55…
65.
£65 per week each.
It was time for the enforcement team to do some maths. What might the landlord earn from this one property in Wembley?
We think there are up to 26 people living in this property, paying somewhere between £60 and £65 a week so we’re looking at an income on this property of around £1,500 a week, which is around £80,000 a year income.
But there was even more to come. Outside, inspectors found a shack, and inside, two more beds and a woman living here, who wasn’t happy with the conditions.
So you can’t stand the mice and the rats scurrying around midnight.
Dreadful, isn’t it, to think that somebody can be exploited to living in what isn’t even a shed, it’s a lean-to.
So how many people might be living in conditions like this across London? Well, Brent Council has a ready prosecuted 30 landlord in a year, and taking in other councils there have been at least 300 raids in 12 months. This house in Kingsbury has now been boarded up. Inside, inspectors found 17 beds. The men living here, thought to be Romanian, have now moved on. In Harrow, there's another four-bedroomed house, not quite so crowded. Until recently 13 people, mainly from Hungary, had been living here, but they are not happy. One of the tenants has armed himself with a baseball bat.
Because I’m gonna protect ourselves.
The tenants here claim their landlord gave them just two weeks’ notice to get out and when they objected, two strange men turned up outside the property.
Walking up and down, punching in the air.
Just jumping around, preparing to the fight.
Harrow Council has now warned the landlord to respect tenants rights. He’s declined to comment, saying it’s going to court. The tenants say they have no choice but to live in conditions like these.
I think because this is the cheapest where you can find a room.
And back at that Wembley house with 26 beds, Bagarald told us he lives here because his job as a carer for the elderly pays so little.
I’m paid twenty pounds per day.
Meish works as a casual builder and downs sixty to eighty pounds a day but says even living here his life is better than back home in India.
This country is money. Our conditions is money.
The landlord here now faces prosecution, but without alternative very cheap accommodation, many thousands of low-paid workers may continue to live in similar conditions.
Gareth Furby, BBC London News.
Mostrando entradas con la etiqueta House. Mostrar todas las entradas
Mostrando entradas con la etiqueta House. Mostrar todas las entradas
viernes, 16 de junio de 2017
viernes, 2 de junio de 2017
I live in an airplane
Bruce Campbell lives in an airplane. The Portland-based aeronautics enthusiast makes his home in a converted Boeing 727 that was once used as a Greek aircraft until the mid-1960s and now resides in a forest near Portland.
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and answer the questions below.
1. What are jetliners basically, in Bruce's opinion?
2. What are their qualities as homes?
3. Why might some people object to living in a jetliner?
4. When does Bruce retract the aft (at the back) airstairs?
5. Where does he sleep?
6. How many jetliners retire per day?
7. What do we do with them?
8. What do people ask Bruce about the jetliner where he lives?
Jetliners are basically flying homes. It's a sealed pressure canister. It's incredibly strong. It will last practically forever.
I'm Bruce Campbell, and you're inside the cockpit area of my 727 home. I can appreciate that some folks might feel a bit isolated or that it might simply strike them as an unusual living environment. But for me, it's always felt completely natural.
The entry is via the aft airstairs, which are retractable and are retracted whenever I leave for an extended time.
The aft area of the aircraft now is my living space. My very primitive shower is located there. The two natural aft lavatories are both functional.
Sleeping quarters are there, in the form of a simple futon sofa. And a bench, where I spend lots of time embellishing elements of the aircraft.
Jetliners retire at the rate of about three per day. For the most part, I think we shred them. And then we spin around 180 degrees and make a home, after having just shredded an aerospace class home sized structure.
If you were an extra-terrestrial looking down on this behaviour, you'd wonder whether this species has all its marbles in place or not.
People have asked me whether it crashed here, and I simply restored the wreck. That's an odd thing to hear. It's completely impractical.
Next time you're in a jetliner, close your eyes for a moment, in your mind, remove all the seats and all the other people and then open your eyes with that vision and consider the expanse of the living room.
It's a good environment, it really is.
KEY:
1 flying homes
2 incredibly strong, will last forever
3 they might feel a bit isolated or find them an unusual living environment
4 when he leaves for an extended period of time
5 on a (futon) sofa
6 three
7 we shred them
8 whether if crashed there and he restored it
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and answer the questions below.
1. What are jetliners basically, in Bruce's opinion?
2. What are their qualities as homes?
3. Why might some people object to living in a jetliner?
4. When does Bruce retract the aft (at the back) airstairs?
5. Where does he sleep?
6. How many jetliners retire per day?
7. What do we do with them?
8. What do people ask Bruce about the jetliner where he lives?
Jetliners are basically flying homes. It's a sealed pressure canister. It's incredibly strong. It will last practically forever.
I'm Bruce Campbell, and you're inside the cockpit area of my 727 home. I can appreciate that some folks might feel a bit isolated or that it might simply strike them as an unusual living environment. But for me, it's always felt completely natural.
The entry is via the aft airstairs, which are retractable and are retracted whenever I leave for an extended time.
The aft area of the aircraft now is my living space. My very primitive shower is located there. The two natural aft lavatories are both functional.
Sleeping quarters are there, in the form of a simple futon sofa. And a bench, where I spend lots of time embellishing elements of the aircraft.
Jetliners retire at the rate of about three per day. For the most part, I think we shred them. And then we spin around 180 degrees and make a home, after having just shredded an aerospace class home sized structure.
If you were an extra-terrestrial looking down on this behaviour, you'd wonder whether this species has all its marbles in place or not.
People have asked me whether it crashed here, and I simply restored the wreck. That's an odd thing to hear. It's completely impractical.
Next time you're in a jetliner, close your eyes for a moment, in your mind, remove all the seats and all the other people and then open your eyes with that vision and consider the expanse of the living room.
It's a good environment, it really is.
KEY:
1 flying homes
2 incredibly strong, will last forever
3 they might feel a bit isolated or find them an unusual living environment
4 when he leaves for an extended period of time
5 on a (futon) sofa
6 three
7 we shred them
8 whether if crashed there and he restored it
jueves, 13 de abril de 2017
Family ditch expensive rents to live in a converted school bus
A family of five are living in an old school bus because they were tired of wasting so much money on an apartment. In March 2014, Brian and Starla Sullivan were paying an extortionate amount of money on rent each month in an apartment that barely satisfied their standard of living. Struggling to afford the most basic necessities, Brian, 29, and Starla, 26, bought an old school bus for $2,800 and just a year- and $30,000 - later they were calling it home with their three children Charlie, 3, Henry, 2 and three-month-old Lincoln.
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and answer the questions below.
1. How many basin sinks are there on the converted bus?
2. How many children does the bathtub fit?
3. How much water does the toilet use?
4. How long would Brian's ride home take in the rush hour?
5. Where did the couple get the idea about tiny houses?
6. How much did the Sullivans spend transforming the bus?
7. How much do they spend living this way?
8. What are some of the problems they have had on the bus?
9. What are their plans for the future?
STARLA SULLIVAN: We’re ridiculous people and this is a ridiculous lifestyle and it just works.
Brian and Starla Sullivan have a rather unconventional family home.
BRIAN SULLIVAN: Hey! I’m Brian. I live in a converted school bus with my wife and three kids and I’m going to give you a tour. So come on in.
STARLA SULLIVAN: I wanted to feel like I was living in a tiny house and not a vehicle.
BRIAN SULLIVAN: So, right away is the living room.
STARLA SULLIVAN: Our sofas pull out into a full size bed. We have a fully functional kitchen, we have an oven and a microwave combination.
BRIAN SULLIVAN: Propane fireplace keeps us warm. A single basin sink.
STARLA SULLIVAN: One thing that I really wanted to have having children was a bathtub so, we have a bathtub that’s large enough to fit all the kids in. At least while they are this small.
BRIAN SULLIVAN: And then we have a full size washing machine. Composting toilet is simple; there is no plumbing involved, no water consumption or anything and it produces compost that you can use to fertilise non-edible plants.
Until two years ago, the family lived in much more ordinary surroundings.
STARLA SULLIVAN: We were living in an apartment about an hour away from Brain’s work and the commute was awful. He would work overtime just trying to pay the rent and then he would sit in the car for about three hours a day in rush hour and we would never see him. So we decided to make a change.
STARLA SULLIVAN: We were watching YouTube videos about tiny houses and there was this one in particular, we called them ‘the crazy people who lived in a blue bus’, and we just kind of looked at each other and went, “Do you want to live in a bus with me?”
BRIAN SULLIVAN: I thought she was joking at first, I was like, “Yeah, sure!” you know.
STARLA SULLIVAN: “No really, let’s live in a bus.”
BRIAN SULLIVAN: Yeah and she was serious. I started to realise all of these little things that were benefits that, you know, I hadn’t thought of before like being able to be mobile, being able to pick-up and move, if I got a different job and it was 20 miles away or something.
Buying the school bus from a local dealership in 2014, the couple spent $30,000 transforming it over the course of a year to their ideal home, that they say will save them a fortune in years to come.
STARLA SULLIVAN: So, living in the bus, we pay $500 a month for rent versus $1,500 a month that we would be having to pay for an apartment. So we pay about a third of the cost of living elsewhere. And as for utilities, also about a third of the cost. So we have money to pay off debts, student loans. We have money to eat the foods that we want, go to the places we want.
But it’s not all being a smooth ride for the family.
STARLA SULLIVAN: We have had frozen pipes, no running water, we have run out of propane in the middle of the night and had no heat, no hot water. We have lost electricity. Whenever any of those things happens, I’m just thankful that all three didn’t happen at the same time.
You’re gonna go get it? Okay.
Be careful for the camera, okay?
I know a lot of people say that it’s not possible for us to raise kids in this bus especially until they turn 18, but I disagree. We added our full length mattresses in the kids’ room, plus extra space in the bunks. They are gonna grow into it and have, have their own private space.
And the family has no plans to leave alternative housing behind them.
I think they like it.
If we do move out of the bus, it’s going to be something equally ridiculous.
Yeah. It’s going to be something else that’s unconventional.
We want to build a house out of mud and that is probably going to be our next step.
We’re ridiculous people. We are!
KEY:
1 one
2 the three of them
3 no water at all
4 three hours
5 on YouTube
6 about $30,000
7 a third of what they used to spend before
8 frozen pipes, no running water, they have run out of propane, no hot water, no electricity
9 to build a mud house
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and answer the questions below.
1. How many basin sinks are there on the converted bus?
2. How many children does the bathtub fit?
3. How much water does the toilet use?
4. How long would Brian's ride home take in the rush hour?
5. Where did the couple get the idea about tiny houses?
6. How much did the Sullivans spend transforming the bus?
7. How much do they spend living this way?
8. What are some of the problems they have had on the bus?
9. What are their plans for the future?
STARLA SULLIVAN: We’re ridiculous people and this is a ridiculous lifestyle and it just works.
Brian and Starla Sullivan have a rather unconventional family home.
BRIAN SULLIVAN: Hey! I’m Brian. I live in a converted school bus with my wife and three kids and I’m going to give you a tour. So come on in.
STARLA SULLIVAN: I wanted to feel like I was living in a tiny house and not a vehicle.
BRIAN SULLIVAN: So, right away is the living room.
STARLA SULLIVAN: Our sofas pull out into a full size bed. We have a fully functional kitchen, we have an oven and a microwave combination.
BRIAN SULLIVAN: Propane fireplace keeps us warm. A single basin sink.
STARLA SULLIVAN: One thing that I really wanted to have having children was a bathtub so, we have a bathtub that’s large enough to fit all the kids in. At least while they are this small.
BRIAN SULLIVAN: And then we have a full size washing machine. Composting toilet is simple; there is no plumbing involved, no water consumption or anything and it produces compost that you can use to fertilise non-edible plants.
Until two years ago, the family lived in much more ordinary surroundings.
STARLA SULLIVAN: We were living in an apartment about an hour away from Brain’s work and the commute was awful. He would work overtime just trying to pay the rent and then he would sit in the car for about three hours a day in rush hour and we would never see him. So we decided to make a change.
STARLA SULLIVAN: We were watching YouTube videos about tiny houses and there was this one in particular, we called them ‘the crazy people who lived in a blue bus’, and we just kind of looked at each other and went, “Do you want to live in a bus with me?”
BRIAN SULLIVAN: I thought she was joking at first, I was like, “Yeah, sure!” you know.
STARLA SULLIVAN: “No really, let’s live in a bus.”
BRIAN SULLIVAN: Yeah and she was serious. I started to realise all of these little things that were benefits that, you know, I hadn’t thought of before like being able to be mobile, being able to pick-up and move, if I got a different job and it was 20 miles away or something.
Buying the school bus from a local dealership in 2014, the couple spent $30,000 transforming it over the course of a year to their ideal home, that they say will save them a fortune in years to come.
STARLA SULLIVAN: So, living in the bus, we pay $500 a month for rent versus $1,500 a month that we would be having to pay for an apartment. So we pay about a third of the cost of living elsewhere. And as for utilities, also about a third of the cost. So we have money to pay off debts, student loans. We have money to eat the foods that we want, go to the places we want.
But it’s not all being a smooth ride for the family.
STARLA SULLIVAN: We have had frozen pipes, no running water, we have run out of propane in the middle of the night and had no heat, no hot water. We have lost electricity. Whenever any of those things happens, I’m just thankful that all three didn’t happen at the same time.
You’re gonna go get it? Okay.
Be careful for the camera, okay?
I know a lot of people say that it’s not possible for us to raise kids in this bus especially until they turn 18, but I disagree. We added our full length mattresses in the kids’ room, plus extra space in the bunks. They are gonna grow into it and have, have their own private space.
And the family has no plans to leave alternative housing behind them.
I think they like it.
If we do move out of the bus, it’s going to be something equally ridiculous.
Yeah. It’s going to be something else that’s unconventional.
We want to build a house out of mud and that is probably going to be our next step.
We’re ridiculous people. We are!
KEY:
1 one
2 the three of them
3 no water at all
4 three hours
5 on YouTube
6 about $30,000
7 a third of what they used to spend before
8 frozen pipes, no running water, they have run out of propane, no hot water, no electricity
9 to build a mud house
viernes, 6 de enero de 2017
Glass dome eco house in The Arctic Circle
A Norwegian family have built a glass dome around their off-grid house in the Arctic Circle.
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and answer the questions below.
1 How much does the glass dome cost?
2 How many individual glass panels does the dome have?
3 How do Benjamin and Ingrid get their food?
4 Where does the family live?
5 Where did Benjamin and Ingrid grow up?
6 Why do they want to live that way?
When I look back at our creation now, I get a deep sense of gratitude and joy.
We were inspired by the hundreds of natural buildings around the world. It’s in our own and everybody else’s interest to protect, support and love the planet that sustains us.
As part of their quest for sustainable living, Benjamin and Ingrid built this incredible glass dome house for £340,000 in the Arctic Circle.
We started building the dome in 2012. We built for one and a half years before we moved in.
The huge dome is made of 360 individual glass panels and stands 7 and a half meters high and 15 meters across. Designed to withstand winds of over 31mps, it can also take the weight of the Arctic snowfall.
It provides shelter from the Arctic climate and we need less energy to heat the house.
We grow some of our own food and we collect wild herbs and plants in nature. We don’t buy much stuff.
It gives us a longer and warmer growing season. We have a water treatment system where all the water we use circulates in tanks and this pumps out into the green house, where plants and sand filter and clean the water and also takes nutrients from it.
At the centre of the dome is the family’s living quarters.
We wanted a house that made, is made of natural materials, that does not pollute the air inside and has organic shapes, that is pleasant to live in.
The inside of the house is made of cob, which is a mix of sand, clay and straw. We also use timber.
Both Benjamin and Ingrid were raised on the island and they’re now looking for their four children to follow the same path.
Our three oldest children, they were very much a part of the building process and they helped us build the walls of their own rooms. And they love the house and they say that they never want to move, they want to grow old here with us. We want to live sustainably and eco-friendly because the other alternative isn’t sustainable. We worked so hard in the process of building it and it’s, it was well worth it.
Key:
1 £340,000.
2 360.
3 They buy some but grow their own food.
4 At the centre of the dome.
5 On the island.
6 They want to live sustainably and eco-friendly.
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and answer the questions below.
1 How much does the glass dome cost?
2 How many individual glass panels does the dome have?
3 How do Benjamin and Ingrid get their food?
4 Where does the family live?
5 Where did Benjamin and Ingrid grow up?
6 Why do they want to live that way?
When I look back at our creation now, I get a deep sense of gratitude and joy.
We were inspired by the hundreds of natural buildings around the world. It’s in our own and everybody else’s interest to protect, support and love the planet that sustains us.
As part of their quest for sustainable living, Benjamin and Ingrid built this incredible glass dome house for £340,000 in the Arctic Circle.
We started building the dome in 2012. We built for one and a half years before we moved in.
The huge dome is made of 360 individual glass panels and stands 7 and a half meters high and 15 meters across. Designed to withstand winds of over 31mps, it can also take the weight of the Arctic snowfall.
It provides shelter from the Arctic climate and we need less energy to heat the house.
We grow some of our own food and we collect wild herbs and plants in nature. We don’t buy much stuff.
It gives us a longer and warmer growing season. We have a water treatment system where all the water we use circulates in tanks and this pumps out into the green house, where plants and sand filter and clean the water and also takes nutrients from it.
At the centre of the dome is the family’s living quarters.
We wanted a house that made, is made of natural materials, that does not pollute the air inside and has organic shapes, that is pleasant to live in.
The inside of the house is made of cob, which is a mix of sand, clay and straw. We also use timber.
Both Benjamin and Ingrid were raised on the island and they’re now looking for their four children to follow the same path.
Our three oldest children, they were very much a part of the building process and they helped us build the walls of their own rooms. And they love the house and they say that they never want to move, they want to grow old here with us. We want to live sustainably and eco-friendly because the other alternative isn’t sustainable. We worked so hard in the process of building it and it’s, it was well worth it.
Key:
1 £340,000.
2 360.
3 They buy some but grow their own food.
4 At the centre of the dome.
5 On the island.
6 They want to live sustainably and eco-friendly.
jueves, 29 de diciembre de 2016
Grandmother faces eviction from paradise treehouse
Shawnee Chasser has been told to tear down her treehouse home or face paying huge fines in violations.
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and answer the questions below.
1 Where’s the treehouse built?
2 How long has she been living there?
3 How many people has she cooked for in her kitchen?
4 Why is she facing eviction from her treehouse?
5 How much money does she have to pay for the violations she has committed?
6 How did her son die?
7 When did Shawnee first move out?
8 How is she collecting money for her legal battle?
Welcome to paradise!
Grandmother Shawnee lives in this treehouse, built in her son’s back garden, and she shares it with her two dogs, two cats and pet raccoon.
This is the treehouse, the famous treehouse. I’ve been living in here for 10 years. This is my beautiful home. My tine house in a tree. Actually, my mansion in a tree. There is my raccoon.
Hi, Coony. Are you being a good boy?
I have everything in this kitchen that anybody needs and there are refrigerator, my little oven, wi-fi, and I’ve cooked for 40 people in this kitchen. It is the sweetest little space and I don’t have windows or anything like that, I don’t need them. Well, you know, everyone thinks I’m a little nuts. His favourite thing in the world, blueberries. Where are you? Coony! Prrr. And I didn’t choose this, and I didn’t really even choose this battle with code enforcement. This gate is now the latest violation, they are saying it wasn’t permitted.
Despite having lived happily in the treehouse for over 10 years, Shawnee is now facing eviction having not applied for planning permission when she first built it.
For me in my life, I’ve pretty much done everything without permit. I have always lived outside of the box and it really, most of it never occurred to me. Probably a year ago, I got the first notice to knock it down and then they added five more fines, and now I’m just drowning in violations. I hear I have $30,000 in violations. It’s just out of control and I have put in about $11,000 over the year.
Tragically seven years ago, her son passed away, and now her treehouse has become even more precious to her.
He is the reason I’m here. He died of an unexpected heart attack and he was my best friend, and right now after a year of paying about $11,000 in fines with code enforcement, and crying a lot, and being so sad, we’re working every day trying to figure this out. This is the most heavenly place to sleep in the whole world. Where I get to visit with the squirrels, where the rain, I can touch the rain, I can watch the clouds and the storms come in, and hangout with my raccoon. Come here, come here, he always wants to play.
Hey, hey, hey!
My two dogs, my two cats and my raccoon sleep up here at night. The best thing about waking up every morning to this is that I can kind of pretend I’m not in Miami. I feel like I’m out in the woods.
Shawnee first moved outdoors 40 years ago after giving birth to her first child and developing anxiety around living indoors.
I’m getting diagnosed by a doctor this week because I have claustrophobia and can’t live indoors. So what do you do with somebody that can’t live indoors?
Shawnee is now raising money online so she can continue her battle to keep her very unique home.
If this was taken away from me, it would take part of me away, and I don’t think it’s going to happen, I have enough people that want to chain themselves to it. It’s my everything, it’s my little tiny living space. It’s where my heart is, it’s where I feel good. Yeah, it’s my inside.
Key:
1 In her son’s back garden
2 Ten years
3 Forty
4 She didn’t apply for permission to build it
5 $30,000
6 Of an unexpected heart attack
7 Forty years ago after her first child birth
8 She’s raising money online
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and answer the questions below.
1 Where’s the treehouse built?
2 How long has she been living there?
3 How many people has she cooked for in her kitchen?
4 Why is she facing eviction from her treehouse?
5 How much money does she have to pay for the violations she has committed?
6 How did her son die?
7 When did Shawnee first move out?
8 How is she collecting money for her legal battle?
Welcome to paradise!
Grandmother Shawnee lives in this treehouse, built in her son’s back garden, and she shares it with her two dogs, two cats and pet raccoon.
This is the treehouse, the famous treehouse. I’ve been living in here for 10 years. This is my beautiful home. My tine house in a tree. Actually, my mansion in a tree. There is my raccoon.
Hi, Coony. Are you being a good boy?
I have everything in this kitchen that anybody needs and there are refrigerator, my little oven, wi-fi, and I’ve cooked for 40 people in this kitchen. It is the sweetest little space and I don’t have windows or anything like that, I don’t need them. Well, you know, everyone thinks I’m a little nuts. His favourite thing in the world, blueberries. Where are you? Coony! Prrr. And I didn’t choose this, and I didn’t really even choose this battle with code enforcement. This gate is now the latest violation, they are saying it wasn’t permitted.
Despite having lived happily in the treehouse for over 10 years, Shawnee is now facing eviction having not applied for planning permission when she first built it.
For me in my life, I’ve pretty much done everything without permit. I have always lived outside of the box and it really, most of it never occurred to me. Probably a year ago, I got the first notice to knock it down and then they added five more fines, and now I’m just drowning in violations. I hear I have $30,000 in violations. It’s just out of control and I have put in about $11,000 over the year.
Tragically seven years ago, her son passed away, and now her treehouse has become even more precious to her.
He is the reason I’m here. He died of an unexpected heart attack and he was my best friend, and right now after a year of paying about $11,000 in fines with code enforcement, and crying a lot, and being so sad, we’re working every day trying to figure this out. This is the most heavenly place to sleep in the whole world. Where I get to visit with the squirrels, where the rain, I can touch the rain, I can watch the clouds and the storms come in, and hangout with my raccoon. Come here, come here, he always wants to play.
Hey, hey, hey!
My two dogs, my two cats and my raccoon sleep up here at night. The best thing about waking up every morning to this is that I can kind of pretend I’m not in Miami. I feel like I’m out in the woods.
Shawnee first moved outdoors 40 years ago after giving birth to her first child and developing anxiety around living indoors.
I’m getting diagnosed by a doctor this week because I have claustrophobia and can’t live indoors. So what do you do with somebody that can’t live indoors?
Shawnee is now raising money online so she can continue her battle to keep her very unique home.
If this was taken away from me, it would take part of me away, and I don’t think it’s going to happen, I have enough people that want to chain themselves to it. It’s my everything, it’s my little tiny living space. It’s where my heart is, it’s where I feel good. Yeah, it’s my inside.
Key:
1 In her son’s back garden
2 Ten years
3 Forty
4 She didn’t apply for permission to build it
5 $30,000
6 Of an unexpected heart attack
7 Forty years ago after her first child birth
8 She’s raising money online
miércoles, 16 de noviembre de 2016
Talking point: Houses
This week's talking point is houses. Before getting together with the members of your conversation group, go over the questions below so that ideas come to mind more easily the day you get together with your friends and you can work out vocabulary problems beforehand.
Where do you think this photo was taken?
What do you think would be good/bad about living in a place like this? Think about:
- the house
- where it is
- the local facilities
- the people who live there
- the way of life
Would you like to live there? Why (not)?
wood floor
patio
back garden
garage
individual heating
air-conditioning
roof-terrace
balcony
swimming pool
basement
open fire
Which things make the biggest difference to the price of a house/ flat in your country?
How many times have you moved in your life? Why?
Have you ever done any redecoration work on your place? If so, what?
Have you ever shared a room? How was the experience?
Have you ever lived in rented accommodation?
If so, what are the advantages and disadvantages of rented accommodation compared to owning your own house/flat?
Are small towns better than cities to live in? Give your reasons.
Photo: Icelandic Meadow Retreat
Where do you think this photo was taken?
What do you think would be good/bad about living in a place like this? Think about:
- the house
- where it is
- the local facilities
- the people who live there
- the way of life
Would you like to live there? Why (not)?
Which of the things below do you have where you live?
Of the things you don’t have, whicn ones would you most like? Why?
Which two things could you most easily live without?
Of the things you don’t have, whicn ones would you most like? Why?
Which two things could you most easily live without?
wood floor
patio
back garden
garage
individual heating
air-conditioning
roof-terrace
balcony
swimming pool
basement
open fire
Which things make the biggest difference to the price of a house/ flat in your country?
How many times have you moved in your life? Why?
Have you ever done any redecoration work on your place? If so, what?
Have you ever shared a room? How was the experience?
Have you ever lived in rented accommodation?
If so, what are the advantages and disadvantages of rented accommodation compared to owning your own house/flat?
Are small towns better than cities to live in? Give your reasons.
Photo: Icelandic Meadow Retreat
martes, 30 de agosto de 2016
Dinner for Six in a Bite-Size Space
What does a night in one of New York's new micro apartments look like?
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and answer the questions below.
1 How big is the apartment?
2 How much does the rent cost?
3 How wide is it?
4 How long is it?
5 What does ‘six’ refer to?
6 What does the desk transform into?
7 How do New Yorkers usually get their food when they entertain friends at home?
8 What used to be the legal minimum size for an apartment in New York?
When The Tiny House Movement comes to New York City, you get this: the micro apartment, full living quarters in a modest 300 square feet. That's me, Penelope. I'm a reporter for the "Times," and I'm about 5' 8" tall. This micro apartment is located in the Carmel Place development in Manhattan, where 32 market rate studios rent for about $2,400 to $3,200 a month.
If you think you can make the leap, that is, downsize to 300 square feet, consider this. You'd be occupying a space that's about 1/100 the size of Grand Central Terminal's main concourse and about the size of this bathroom in the Elizabeth Taylor suite at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. At its widest, it measures about half the width of your typical New York commuting platform, and at its longest, about a third of the length of this Metro North car. It's just smaller than the inside of the Metropolitan Museum's Temple of Dendur, which, by the way, has three bedrooms.
But then again, we New Yorkers have evolved to appreciate small spaces. We dine in them regularly. I can walk from one end of this apartment to the other in 6 seconds. But the space, designed by the architecture firm N Architects, is surprisingly functional, with lots of closets and nooks to hide any mess.
The kitchen is outfitted with a refrigerator, electric stove tops, a microwave, and even a dishwasher. Most of the furniture is multi-purpose and made to conveniently stow away when not in use. Take this desk. In a couple of minutes, it'll transform into a fully extended dining table. While the bathroom has a shower stall instead of a bath tub, it manages to feel… well, at least by our studio apartment standards -almost castle-sized.
But there are a compromises like the Murphy bed. If not raised into the wall, you'd find it taking up most of your living space all together. Putting it out of the way every day would get you your daily upper body workout. So it's a space purpose-built for one.
But what if you're the type who likes to entertain? Well, first of all, if you're like many New Yorkers, you'd probably skip cooking and order in. Having six at the dinner table is pushing it, but not if you're close friends. It'll be cozy, and seating arrangements are tricky, and so is stepping over each other to use the facilities. You've probably seen wide angle shots like this used in apartment advertisements to make things look roomier than they are in real life.
So to put this shot into perspective, that's our video producer in the foreground, and she's standing just about here, close to the farthest end of the apartment opposite where we're hanging out. New York City waived regulations requiring that apartments be at least 400 square feet so that the Carmel Place development could be built.
Still, it's yet to be seen whether or not this style of living will catch on. The apartments are about half the size of an average studio in Manhattan and cost considerably more in rent per square foot. But it's a new, modern, and legal nook all of your own, without roommates, and perhaps with all the space one person might need as a haven from the city.
This is Penelope Green for the New York Times.
Key:
1 300 square feet
2 between $2,400 and $3,200
3 half the width of a platform
4 a third of a (train) car
5 the time the reporter takes to walk the apartment from one end to the other.
6 a dining table
7 they order it
8 400 square feet
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and answer the questions below.
1 How big is the apartment?
2 How much does the rent cost?
3 How wide is it?
4 How long is it?
5 What does ‘six’ refer to?
6 What does the desk transform into?
7 How do New Yorkers usually get their food when they entertain friends at home?
8 What used to be the legal minimum size for an apartment in New York?
When The Tiny House Movement comes to New York City, you get this: the micro apartment, full living quarters in a modest 300 square feet. That's me, Penelope. I'm a reporter for the "Times," and I'm about 5' 8" tall. This micro apartment is located in the Carmel Place development in Manhattan, where 32 market rate studios rent for about $2,400 to $3,200 a month.
If you think you can make the leap, that is, downsize to 300 square feet, consider this. You'd be occupying a space that's about 1/100 the size of Grand Central Terminal's main concourse and about the size of this bathroom in the Elizabeth Taylor suite at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. At its widest, it measures about half the width of your typical New York commuting platform, and at its longest, about a third of the length of this Metro North car. It's just smaller than the inside of the Metropolitan Museum's Temple of Dendur, which, by the way, has three bedrooms.
But then again, we New Yorkers have evolved to appreciate small spaces. We dine in them regularly. I can walk from one end of this apartment to the other in 6 seconds. But the space, designed by the architecture firm N Architects, is surprisingly functional, with lots of closets and nooks to hide any mess.
The kitchen is outfitted with a refrigerator, electric stove tops, a microwave, and even a dishwasher. Most of the furniture is multi-purpose and made to conveniently stow away when not in use. Take this desk. In a couple of minutes, it'll transform into a fully extended dining table. While the bathroom has a shower stall instead of a bath tub, it manages to feel… well, at least by our studio apartment standards -almost castle-sized.
But there are a compromises like the Murphy bed. If not raised into the wall, you'd find it taking up most of your living space all together. Putting it out of the way every day would get you your daily upper body workout. So it's a space purpose-built for one.
But what if you're the type who likes to entertain? Well, first of all, if you're like many New Yorkers, you'd probably skip cooking and order in. Having six at the dinner table is pushing it, but not if you're close friends. It'll be cozy, and seating arrangements are tricky, and so is stepping over each other to use the facilities. You've probably seen wide angle shots like this used in apartment advertisements to make things look roomier than they are in real life.
So to put this shot into perspective, that's our video producer in the foreground, and she's standing just about here, close to the farthest end of the apartment opposite where we're hanging out. New York City waived regulations requiring that apartments be at least 400 square feet so that the Carmel Place development could be built.
Still, it's yet to be seen whether or not this style of living will catch on. The apartments are about half the size of an average studio in Manhattan and cost considerably more in rent per square foot. But it's a new, modern, and legal nook all of your own, without roommates, and perhaps with all the space one person might need as a haven from the city.
This is Penelope Green for the New York Times.
Key:
1 300 square feet
2 between $2,400 and $3,200
3 half the width of a platform
4 a third of a (train) car
5 the time the reporter takes to walk the apartment from one end to the other.
6 a dining table
7 they order it
8 400 square feet
viernes, 20 de mayo de 2016
Man Builds a House In a Cave
Watch this video where Angelo Mastropietro explains how he went from being a successful businessman to build his own house in a cave.
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and answer the questions below about it.
1 How much has Angelo spent on his cave house so far?
2 How old is he?
3 What condition was he diagnosed with?
4 How old are the sandstone cliffs near the Wyre Forest?
5 Who has done the most demanding work on the cave?
6 How did he excavate the 70 or 80 tons of rubble?
7 Where is the heating in the shower room?
8 How deep is the hole he gets water from?
9 What does Angelo use the house for?
10 How does Angelo feel about his achievement?
My life before I became a caveman was really quite different.
The pressures of modern life mean that most of us have probably dreamt at one time or another of fleeing to the hills. But Angelo Mastropietro has made his hermit dream a reality by spending over £160,000 making a house out of the cave.
I am 38 years old and I’m a caveman. You know, I love a challenge. I mean, I guess coincidentally my surname actually means Master of the Stone. So you know, maybe it’s kind of in my blood.
He did most of the work himself, even more incredible when you consider the only a few years ago, the businessman was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. I had a lapse that left me paralysed essentially which was really the catalyst to make a review where I was at, where I was going and obviously my lifestyle. The rock house kinda came along, you know without a shadow of a doubt. I was as passionate about that as I was about setting up my company.
The 250-¬million-¬year-¬old sandstone cliffs near the Wyre Forest are said to have inspired Tolkien when he was writing Lord of the Rings. It was here that Angelo spent £62,000 on this 700-¬year-¬old abandoned cave which he would turn into his very own hobbit hole. With a renovation budget of £100,000, Angelo set about doing most of the physically demanding work himself.
In the end, I had spent somewhere round about 1,000 hours basically breaking rock, cutting rock, burrowing rock. You know, total somewhere around about 70 or 80 tons of rubble that I excavated out of this rock house by hand, and really proof of that is the whole of the terrace outside, is literally 100 square meters of terrace out there. None of that was there when I started. So that is all of the rubble that I have excavated.
The completed rock house’s impressive features are anything but Stone Age. It even has Wi¬Fi.
One of the things that’s kind of impressive about the restoration is really what you don’t see. We’ve put ventilation channels in the floor. One of the things that I was quite passionate about doing was trying to retain the integrity of the rock house by not cutting the many casings into the hard wires. This could originally have been the bedroom. These little nooks either side which I have lit up to give the illusion of kind of light channels kind of casting light down. Coming through into the shower room. So we have got under floor heating in here. One of the biggest kind of engineering feat. This is where I have excavated this kind of shelf and then subsequently I dug down and created this shower.
All of the fresh running water, comes from Angelo’s own borehole which he sank 18 metres into the ground.
This was originally two separate spaces. So the first task was that I’ve excavated this doorway. Start off at the top and literally cut down, repeat the process so that the whole of the area that you are looking to remove was set into stripes, and then remove the sections of rock, and just literally repeat, repeat, repeat. 11 days later, it kind of made my way through.
Although the cave house was originally built as a holiday let, Angelo still harbours the ambition of one day living full time in his unusual property.
When you’re actually here, when you see it in person, you get a feel for the place. Literally had people in tears. You know, I feel incredibly happy, very proud, very honoured. Yeah, it’s been a very inspiring chapter I think.
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and answer the questions below about it.
1 How much has Angelo spent on his cave house so far?
2 How old is he?
3 What condition was he diagnosed with?
4 How old are the sandstone cliffs near the Wyre Forest?
5 Who has done the most demanding work on the cave?
6 How did he excavate the 70 or 80 tons of rubble?
7 Where is the heating in the shower room?
8 How deep is the hole he gets water from?
9 What does Angelo use the house for?
10 How does Angelo feel about his achievement?
My life before I became a caveman was really quite different.
The pressures of modern life mean that most of us have probably dreamt at one time or another of fleeing to the hills. But Angelo Mastropietro has made his hermit dream a reality by spending over £160,000 making a house out of the cave.
I am 38 years old and I’m a caveman. You know, I love a challenge. I mean, I guess coincidentally my surname actually means Master of the Stone. So you know, maybe it’s kind of in my blood.
He did most of the work himself, even more incredible when you consider the only a few years ago, the businessman was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. I had a lapse that left me paralysed essentially which was really the catalyst to make a review where I was at, where I was going and obviously my lifestyle. The rock house kinda came along, you know without a shadow of a doubt. I was as passionate about that as I was about setting up my company.
The 250-¬million-¬year-¬old sandstone cliffs near the Wyre Forest are said to have inspired Tolkien when he was writing Lord of the Rings. It was here that Angelo spent £62,000 on this 700-¬year-¬old abandoned cave which he would turn into his very own hobbit hole. With a renovation budget of £100,000, Angelo set about doing most of the physically demanding work himself.
In the end, I had spent somewhere round about 1,000 hours basically breaking rock, cutting rock, burrowing rock. You know, total somewhere around about 70 or 80 tons of rubble that I excavated out of this rock house by hand, and really proof of that is the whole of the terrace outside, is literally 100 square meters of terrace out there. None of that was there when I started. So that is all of the rubble that I have excavated.
The completed rock house’s impressive features are anything but Stone Age. It even has Wi¬Fi.
One of the things that’s kind of impressive about the restoration is really what you don’t see. We’ve put ventilation channels in the floor. One of the things that I was quite passionate about doing was trying to retain the integrity of the rock house by not cutting the many casings into the hard wires. This could originally have been the bedroom. These little nooks either side which I have lit up to give the illusion of kind of light channels kind of casting light down. Coming through into the shower room. So we have got under floor heating in here. One of the biggest kind of engineering feat. This is where I have excavated this kind of shelf and then subsequently I dug down and created this shower.
All of the fresh running water, comes from Angelo’s own borehole which he sank 18 metres into the ground.
This was originally two separate spaces. So the first task was that I’ve excavated this doorway. Start off at the top and literally cut down, repeat the process so that the whole of the area that you are looking to remove was set into stripes, and then remove the sections of rock, and just literally repeat, repeat, repeat. 11 days later, it kind of made my way through.
Although the cave house was originally built as a holiday let, Angelo still harbours the ambition of one day living full time in his unusual property.
When you’re actually here, when you see it in person, you get a feel for the place. Literally had people in tears. You know, I feel incredibly happy, very proud, very honoured. Yeah, it’s been a very inspiring chapter I think.
jueves, 14 de abril de 2016
Hi-tech toilets and digital taps
Are you sitting comfortably? Meet the designers who want to change the way you use the toilet.
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and say whether the statements below are true or false.
1 We don't usually question things we have been doing for a long time.
2 The standard squatting position of toilets is far from perfect.
3 It's important that our hands are free all the time.
4 The designer's granny raised objections to the new toilet.
5 It is possible to select the smell in your bathroom when having a shower.
6 White light when brushing your teeth warns you of a health problem.
When the toilet was developed to try and understand both the emotional and physical connection people have daily with the toilet.
So we all have a very deep-seated connection with this because we’ve learnt it from such a very early age, and my theory is the things we’ve learnt from that early age are the things that we challenge the least.
Our idea is to have all the health benefits of squatting without the mostly difficulty of getting in and out of a position and the negative connotations of squatting in the corner of a room.
Sitting down there’s a muscle that seems to just close your colon and stops you going completely over it quickly. This puts a barrier in place that can lead to extra straining and doesn’t enable you to get rid of everything.
Like most of the top of the range luxury toilets at the moment, it has touch screen wireless remote control, which leaves your hands free for the whole operation, ideally it should be able to control temperature, fresh air, music functions to cover up all those noises that we’d all rather not hear at the toilet.
I had my 83-year-old grandmother on this the other day and for her to jump into it without a moment’s hesitation proved the principle I can make something that is comfortable to people over a larger range from the current toilets we have today.
With our smart-water concept we are starting the decade of the digitalization of the bathroom, which enables us to individually programme water temperature as well as water volume, the individual heights of filling the tub as well as the temperature, it’s all preset and available on the push of a button. For the shower we have pre-programmed three different showering scenarios, lights as well as scents. So perfume is really delivered with the water to enhance the showering experience.
I began this not only for the people with diabetes and… but also for the people who are concerned about obesity. It’s detecting your glucose level by saliva. White light means you’re healthy. Normally glucose is detected by your blood but saliva monitoring with the carbon and all the technology is more a non-invasive way and easy way to detect your glucose levels.
Key:
1T 2T 3T 4F 5T 6F
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and say whether the statements below are true or false.
1 We don't usually question things we have been doing for a long time.
2 The standard squatting position of toilets is far from perfect.
3 It's important that our hands are free all the time.
4 The designer's granny raised objections to the new toilet.
5 It is possible to select the smell in your bathroom when having a shower.
6 White light when brushing your teeth warns you of a health problem.
When the toilet was developed to try and understand both the emotional and physical connection people have daily with the toilet.
So we all have a very deep-seated connection with this because we’ve learnt it from such a very early age, and my theory is the things we’ve learnt from that early age are the things that we challenge the least.
Our idea is to have all the health benefits of squatting without the mostly difficulty of getting in and out of a position and the negative connotations of squatting in the corner of a room.
Sitting down there’s a muscle that seems to just close your colon and stops you going completely over it quickly. This puts a barrier in place that can lead to extra straining and doesn’t enable you to get rid of everything.
Like most of the top of the range luxury toilets at the moment, it has touch screen wireless remote control, which leaves your hands free for the whole operation, ideally it should be able to control temperature, fresh air, music functions to cover up all those noises that we’d all rather not hear at the toilet.
I had my 83-year-old grandmother on this the other day and for her to jump into it without a moment’s hesitation proved the principle I can make something that is comfortable to people over a larger range from the current toilets we have today.
With our smart-water concept we are starting the decade of the digitalization of the bathroom, which enables us to individually programme water temperature as well as water volume, the individual heights of filling the tub as well as the temperature, it’s all preset and available on the push of a button. For the shower we have pre-programmed three different showering scenarios, lights as well as scents. So perfume is really delivered with the water to enhance the showering experience.
I began this not only for the people with diabetes and… but also for the people who are concerned about obesity. It’s detecting your glucose level by saliva. White light means you’re healthy. Normally glucose is detected by your blood but saliva monitoring with the carbon and all the technology is more a non-invasive way and easy way to detect your glucose levels.
Key:
1T 2T 3T 4F 5T 6F
viernes, 26 de febrero de 2016
Forgotten secret wartime Tube station opened
Beneath Clapham South Tube station lie a warren of tunnels which provided shelter for thousands of people during World War Two.
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and answer the questions below about it.
1. How deep are the tunnels?
2. How many people would the tunnels house?
3. How did London residents know which tunnel they should go?
4. Why did people in London protest at the beginning of the war?
5. What use were the tunnels put to after the war?
6. Why has the London Transport Museum opened the tunnels to the public now?
Above ground it’s a tube station like any other, but underground Clapham South hides a warren of life-saving tunnels preserved since the 1940’s.
So how deep underground are we going?
We’re going (1) 120 feet down. This is about 178 steps if we were taking… them.
This deep-level shelter was designed to take in (2) 8,000 people as bombs were dropped over South London during the Second World War.
(3) You would’ve been given an air-raid ticket which would’ve told you where to come, which particular shelter to come to, and which particular bed.
And these are the bed? These are the original beds?
These are the original beds, yes. They’ve been down here for over 70 years now, you know, they’re in pretty good condition really considering.
The tunnels would’ve been meant for people across London to come to. There was a public outcry at the beginning of the war (4) because there was not enough adequate deep sheltering for people.
So they had to build these?
They had to build them and then and they were all hand-dug during the war.
The original signs pointing the way to the various dormitories are still here, dormitories which protected those escaping bombs but, unbelievably, dormitories which (5) became temporary homes for the immigrants invited to Britain after the war.
These sheltered, also served as accommodation for the people getting off the Empire Windrush in 1948 from Jamaica. This is a picture of some of the new arrivals who were registering here at the Labour Exchange.
TFL along with the London Transport Museum have now opened up this piece of history for public visits. They say it’s a good way (6) to generate much needed income and that the area will benefit from a café and gallery space. They may have been kept hidden for decades but soon Londoners can rediscover what went on in these historic tunnels.
Alice Bhandhukravi, BBC London News.
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and answer the questions below about it.
1. How deep are the tunnels?
2. How many people would the tunnels house?
3. How did London residents know which tunnel they should go?
4. Why did people in London protest at the beginning of the war?
5. What use were the tunnels put to after the war?
6. Why has the London Transport Museum opened the tunnels to the public now?
Above ground it’s a tube station like any other, but underground Clapham South hides a warren of life-saving tunnels preserved since the 1940’s.
So how deep underground are we going?
We’re going (1) 120 feet down. This is about 178 steps if we were taking… them.
This deep-level shelter was designed to take in (2) 8,000 people as bombs were dropped over South London during the Second World War.
(3) You would’ve been given an air-raid ticket which would’ve told you where to come, which particular shelter to come to, and which particular bed.
And these are the bed? These are the original beds?
These are the original beds, yes. They’ve been down here for over 70 years now, you know, they’re in pretty good condition really considering.
The tunnels would’ve been meant for people across London to come to. There was a public outcry at the beginning of the war (4) because there was not enough adequate deep sheltering for people.
So they had to build these?
They had to build them and then and they were all hand-dug during the war.
The original signs pointing the way to the various dormitories are still here, dormitories which protected those escaping bombs but, unbelievably, dormitories which (5) became temporary homes for the immigrants invited to Britain after the war.
These sheltered, also served as accommodation for the people getting off the Empire Windrush in 1948 from Jamaica. This is a picture of some of the new arrivals who were registering here at the Labour Exchange.
TFL along with the London Transport Museum have now opened up this piece of history for public visits. They say it’s a good way (6) to generate much needed income and that the area will benefit from a café and gallery space. They may have been kept hidden for decades but soon Londoners can rediscover what went on in these historic tunnels.
Alice Bhandhukravi, BBC London News.
miércoles, 25 de noviembre de 2015
Talking point: Design
This week's talking point is design. Before getting together with the members of your conversation group, go over the questions below so that ideas flow more easily when you meet up with your friends and you can work out vocabulary problems beforehand.
Is design important in our lives? Consider the following fields:
What or who influences our choices in design?
What makes a design fashionable?
Is it important to you to have unique or personalised things? Why (not)?
What kind of talent do you need to design clothes or gadgets that catch on?
What's the best designed house or flat you have ever seen?
Describe the room in your house or flat you like the least and get ideas from your partner to change its design.
To illustrate the point you can watch this interview with Vivienne Westwood.
Nice to see you, Vivienne. Looking fantastic.
Yes, really good to see you, nice to see you, yeah.
Have a seat. What do you think about the clock, do you like it?, Do, do you think it's high fashion?
I don't know, it looks like clock and it’s a big one, and I don’t know if this works.
I hope so, I hope so. You see, you see. That’s part of the fun, well, it’s a giant alarm clock. Let’s start.
How are you?
I’m well, I have just giving this sort of talk and then… sorry.
It’s quite late in the evening.
Sorry, yes, sorry. And it went well, and I’m pleased
You're reading from your manifesto that you’ve written.
Yes, yeah, yeah. I’ve tried the most important thing about it that I was trying to do is to convey a sense of urgency about the dangers we face from the ecology and I have really, the most important thing I can say quickly is read James Lovelock’s book The vanishing face of Gaia, you've got to.
You've always been very passionate about current affairs issues, haven’t you? You see yourself a bit of a freedom fighter I think.
I'm, you are right and I'm a bit embarrassed at having admitted that, but but even as a child that is what seemed to mark me out, is what I've understood about myself, yeah.
What sort of childhood did you have, Vivienne?
An ideal childhood, a mother who just adored me, living in the countryside.
This is in Derbyshire.
Yeah, the boundaries keep changing, it was in Cheshire at the time, 12 miles from Manchester but the bottom of the Pennants most fantastic countryside, yeah.
Have you got any top tips for fashion in a recession?
Dress up, wear your old favorites over and over again, don't buy new clothes, take the tablecloth but look great, you've got… by less, choose well, okay, and, and add things and just do it, make it very personal and don't buy all this generic clothing that just needs lots of time in the washing machine.
And how do you know what to wear on any given evening, how do you choose from your array of clothes?
Well, I have not, I don't take something from every collection but I do borrow it and so I'm very, very fortunate, I've, I can look different all the time…
Oops someone is coming in the door, carry on Vivienne, carry on.
Okay.
What are you wearing tonight?
Can you just shut the door then? Sorry, ‘cause I get so easily distracted. I'm wearing the…
This is the glory of five minutes though.
Yeah, yeah.
Any interruptions we just hammer on ahead. Okay, tell me, Vivienne.
This is from a collection called Chaos point because we're at this chaos point. It was a lot to do with the Brazilian jungle. I don't know whether this looks like the Brazilian jungle. It reminds me slightly of tribal things and body painting and then I don't know, it's just it's just this great, great dress that is just, you know, you can I don't know you you sort of, it's a bit bondage.
Can you tell me something, you (told) what you said earlier, you spoke earlier about you never wash your bras. Is that true? I can’t quite believe it.
Yeah, because I, I my husband uses our washing machine, I've never actually used it ever, and I just wash little bits of things said that get dirty but a lot of the time but if it got a grease spot, just put talcum powder on it, absolutely disappears, it’s brilliant, and I, of course I wear these particular bras that give me a bit more uplift than, than I’m due, I, I don't wash them, otherwise they're not very nice after. I just put talcum powder on them to clean.
Where'd you get your inspirations for your designs, do you have a muse?
I think that without culture, without a deep interest in the most wonderful models of excellence that the human race has ever produced, I don't think you can have ideas. This is why people run out of ideas because it's like having a fridge with no food in it. You have to get your ideas by studying art and the way people saw the world in the past.
I've got a confession to make. This clock is so unclear, I don't quite know whether we’re four minutes in or five minutes in, so if we are five minutes in, you get a bonus minute, we're going to carry on. Tell me about your hair color. What’s the inspiration behind that?
Well I don't know, I just… I don't have any inspiration. I just, just… the way… what I do is I just put henna on it, a bit of bleach where the brown still is and then and then henna.
When, when you walk around…
…and that makes it kind of natural you put henna, mix it with flour because then you could control it, doesn't get too shocking.
We’ve only got 25 seconds. When you are out and about in London or in other cities or in the countryside in the UK, what do you make of the way the Brits dress, what do you make of the way we dress in this country?
Well mostly I don’t notice people. I only noticed people when they look great and usually it’s older people that can look wonderful. I saw a man at a concert last night, a music concert and he just looked brilliant …
I have to interrupt but time is up, time is up and the alarm didn’t even go off, so I think maybe we did do six minutes.
Okay, alright.
Is design important in our lives? Consider the following fields:
fashion
gadgets and technology
architecture
interior design
food design
graphic design
What or who influences our choices in design?
What makes a design fashionable?
Is it important to you to have unique or personalised things? Why (not)?
What kind of talent do you need to design clothes or gadgets that catch on?
What's the best designed house or flat you have ever seen?
Describe the room in your house or flat you like the least and get ideas from your partner to change its design.
To illustrate the point you can watch this interview with Vivienne Westwood.
Nice to see you, Vivienne. Looking fantastic.
Yes, really good to see you, nice to see you, yeah.
Have a seat. What do you think about the clock, do you like it?, Do, do you think it's high fashion?
I don't know, it looks like clock and it’s a big one, and I don’t know if this works.
I hope so, I hope so. You see, you see. That’s part of the fun, well, it’s a giant alarm clock. Let’s start.
How are you?
I’m well, I have just giving this sort of talk and then… sorry.
It’s quite late in the evening.
Sorry, yes, sorry. And it went well, and I’m pleased
You're reading from your manifesto that you’ve written.
Yes, yeah, yeah. I’ve tried the most important thing about it that I was trying to do is to convey a sense of urgency about the dangers we face from the ecology and I have really, the most important thing I can say quickly is read James Lovelock’s book The vanishing face of Gaia, you've got to.
You've always been very passionate about current affairs issues, haven’t you? You see yourself a bit of a freedom fighter I think.
I'm, you are right and I'm a bit embarrassed at having admitted that, but but even as a child that is what seemed to mark me out, is what I've understood about myself, yeah.
What sort of childhood did you have, Vivienne?
An ideal childhood, a mother who just adored me, living in the countryside.
This is in Derbyshire.
Yeah, the boundaries keep changing, it was in Cheshire at the time, 12 miles from Manchester but the bottom of the Pennants most fantastic countryside, yeah.
Have you got any top tips for fashion in a recession?
Dress up, wear your old favorites over and over again, don't buy new clothes, take the tablecloth but look great, you've got… by less, choose well, okay, and, and add things and just do it, make it very personal and don't buy all this generic clothing that just needs lots of time in the washing machine.
And how do you know what to wear on any given evening, how do you choose from your array of clothes?
Well, I have not, I don't take something from every collection but I do borrow it and so I'm very, very fortunate, I've, I can look different all the time…
Oops someone is coming in the door, carry on Vivienne, carry on.
Okay.
What are you wearing tonight?
Can you just shut the door then? Sorry, ‘cause I get so easily distracted. I'm wearing the…
This is the glory of five minutes though.
Yeah, yeah.
Any interruptions we just hammer on ahead. Okay, tell me, Vivienne.
This is from a collection called Chaos point because we're at this chaos point. It was a lot to do with the Brazilian jungle. I don't know whether this looks like the Brazilian jungle. It reminds me slightly of tribal things and body painting and then I don't know, it's just it's just this great, great dress that is just, you know, you can I don't know you you sort of, it's a bit bondage.
Can you tell me something, you (told) what you said earlier, you spoke earlier about you never wash your bras. Is that true? I can’t quite believe it.
Yeah, because I, I my husband uses our washing machine, I've never actually used it ever, and I just wash little bits of things said that get dirty but a lot of the time but if it got a grease spot, just put talcum powder on it, absolutely disappears, it’s brilliant, and I, of course I wear these particular bras that give me a bit more uplift than, than I’m due, I, I don't wash them, otherwise they're not very nice after. I just put talcum powder on them to clean.
Where'd you get your inspirations for your designs, do you have a muse?
I think that without culture, without a deep interest in the most wonderful models of excellence that the human race has ever produced, I don't think you can have ideas. This is why people run out of ideas because it's like having a fridge with no food in it. You have to get your ideas by studying art and the way people saw the world in the past.
I've got a confession to make. This clock is so unclear, I don't quite know whether we’re four minutes in or five minutes in, so if we are five minutes in, you get a bonus minute, we're going to carry on. Tell me about your hair color. What’s the inspiration behind that?
Well I don't know, I just… I don't have any inspiration. I just, just… the way… what I do is I just put henna on it, a bit of bleach where the brown still is and then and then henna.
When, when you walk around…
…and that makes it kind of natural you put henna, mix it with flour because then you could control it, doesn't get too shocking.
We’ve only got 25 seconds. When you are out and about in London or in other cities or in the countryside in the UK, what do you make of the way the Brits dress, what do you make of the way we dress in this country?
Well mostly I don’t notice people. I only noticed people when they look great and usually it’s older people that can look wonderful. I saw a man at a concert last night, a music concert and he just looked brilliant …
I have to interrupt but time is up, time is up and the alarm didn’t even go off, so I think maybe we did do six minutes.
Okay, alright.
miércoles, 1 de abril de 2015
Talking point: Houses
In this week's talking point we are going to discuss the topic of houses. Before getting together with the members of your conversation group, go over the questions below so that you can work our vocabulary problems beforehand and ideas flow easily when you meet up with your friends.
Which of the features below do you have where you live?
a courtyard
a swimming pool
individual central heating
air conditioning
a garden
a balcony
a terrace
a garage
an open fire
a cellar
a tiled floor
parquet flooring
a basement
a store room outside the flat/house
Some say the old white villa near the heart of Rejkjavik is the most beautiful home in the city, if not in all of Iceland, but the lady of the house isn’t one to boast.
Hi, welcome, I’m Olga, please come inside there is a crazy weather please.
I’ve been living here for one year. I’d just moved back to Iceland. I’d been living abroad in Holland for nine years and this is an old house, since 1928 and please come and take a look.
Right away it’s apparent that the owner of the house likes crocheting and chairs. Olga Hrafnsdottir is a designer. At the moment her crocheted upholstery is very popular. It’s made with domesticly produced fabric.
I love the Icelandic wool. It’s warm and beautiful, strong and now I make these cords, there’s a fabric in Iceland that makes this for us. I like the structure and you can take if off and you can wash it. We mainly do something we need and I always need chairs.
Olga Hrafnsdottir is obsessed by chairs. She’s been collecting designer pieces for years and her collection just keeps growing. No two are alike.
I love chairs. I have in the cellar like 15 chairs, yeah, I know, it’s crazy, it’s like a disease, I have a chair and shoe disease.
The family brought much of the furniture like the big dining table with them from their last home in Armsterdam.
The man who made this table he is Peter Naik and he also made many of the chairs and I love, I just love his work and he made, he makes from old wood which he, you can have it in all colour combinations and I wanted something for this room and for my family and, you know, free cut, so everybody can sit and I can see everybody, my children, and it’s like an Italian family, so it’s nice.
The family dog feels right at home here among the cushions. The cosy kitchen is also awash with colours and patterns.
I love colours. I need to have colours in my life, and these, I bought these tiles in Holland they are like handmade from Morocco and Portugal and, yeah, this wall is totally me. It reminds me... do you remember these old telescopes when we were children, you could turn them and then they turned... This reminds me.
Upstairs Olga Hrafnsdottir has more collections of household furnishings. In the bathroom it’s mirrors.
I just bought them one by one in a flea market in Holland and they have different shapes and maybe I’m just handy in advance. I have three girls everybody can have their separate mirror. Nobody argues in the morning.
Her three daughters are still small. Olga Hrafnsdottir also designed their rooms herself.
If your room is nice and happy I think it makes you happy as well, so colours and happiness.
And there’s certainly no shortage of colour and happiness inside the white villa of Rejkjavik.
Which of the features below do you have where you live?
a courtyard
a swimming pool
individual central heating
air conditioning
a garden
a balcony
a terrace
a garage
an open fire
a cellar
a tiled floor
parquet flooring
a basement
a store room outside the flat/house
- Do you think you have enough space to live comfortably?
- Are your rooms light enough?
- Is your house/flat conveniently located?
- Does your house/flat need some kind of renovation?
- Do you think your accommodation is affordable?
- What services and facilities are within walking distance from where you live?
- How often have you moved house in your life? Why?
- Have you ever done any work on your place? What?
- Have you ever shared a flat/house? What was the experience like?
- Have you ever shared a room? What was the experience like?
- What's the best room where you live? What makes it the best? And the worst? Why?
- What's the housing situation in your country like? How difficult/easy is it for people to have access to property?
- How much do house prices vary in your city or town? Why?
- Do you own a second home? Where? If not, would you like to?
- Are you happy with the area where you live? Consider factors like traffic, parking spaces, crime, how well preserved the area is, green areas, services and facilities, cleanliness, night life, shops
Some say the old white villa near the heart of Rejkjavik is the most beautiful home in the city, if not in all of Iceland, but the lady of the house isn’t one to boast.
Hi, welcome, I’m Olga, please come inside there is a crazy weather please.
I’ve been living here for one year. I’d just moved back to Iceland. I’d been living abroad in Holland for nine years and this is an old house, since 1928 and please come and take a look.
Right away it’s apparent that the owner of the house likes crocheting and chairs. Olga Hrafnsdottir is a designer. At the moment her crocheted upholstery is very popular. It’s made with domesticly produced fabric.
I love the Icelandic wool. It’s warm and beautiful, strong and now I make these cords, there’s a fabric in Iceland that makes this for us. I like the structure and you can take if off and you can wash it. We mainly do something we need and I always need chairs.
Olga Hrafnsdottir is obsessed by chairs. She’s been collecting designer pieces for years and her collection just keeps growing. No two are alike.
I love chairs. I have in the cellar like 15 chairs, yeah, I know, it’s crazy, it’s like a disease, I have a chair and shoe disease.
The family brought much of the furniture like the big dining table with them from their last home in Armsterdam.
The man who made this table he is Peter Naik and he also made many of the chairs and I love, I just love his work and he made, he makes from old wood which he, you can have it in all colour combinations and I wanted something for this room and for my family and, you know, free cut, so everybody can sit and I can see everybody, my children, and it’s like an Italian family, so it’s nice.
The family dog feels right at home here among the cushions. The cosy kitchen is also awash with colours and patterns.
I love colours. I need to have colours in my life, and these, I bought these tiles in Holland they are like handmade from Morocco and Portugal and, yeah, this wall is totally me. It reminds me... do you remember these old telescopes when we were children, you could turn them and then they turned... This reminds me.
Upstairs Olga Hrafnsdottir has more collections of household furnishings. In the bathroom it’s mirrors.
I just bought them one by one in a flea market in Holland and they have different shapes and maybe I’m just handy in advance. I have three girls everybody can have their separate mirror. Nobody argues in the morning.
Her three daughters are still small. Olga Hrafnsdottir also designed their rooms herself.
If your room is nice and happy I think it makes you happy as well, so colours and happiness.
And there’s certainly no shortage of colour and happiness inside the white villa of Rejkjavik.
martes, 20 de enero de 2015
Madrid Teacher: Horrible neighbours
This week our Madrid Teachers talk about horrible neighbours. First of all, watch the short two-minute video to get the gist of the conversation.
Now watch the video more carefully, paying attention to the following features of spoken English:
Now it's over to you. If possible, get together with a friend or relative and tell neighbour-related anecdotes that you have lived through or simply heard. Don't forget to use some of the features of spoken English we have just revised in this post.
I couldn’t get any sleep last night. My horrible neighbour, she’s got this strange thing that she does after about half past eleven every day. She just starts ranting, just shouting at someone who I don’t ever hear shouting back. So, I don’t know whether she phones, she phones someone that she really hates or her husband. I don’t know, he’s too scared to answer back but you just hear her, on and on and on and on, for about an hour and then she stops and goes to sleep so, I had a horrible night last night. I’m so tired.
We had a neighbour like that once. The, the wife was constantly berating the husband, I mean just insulting him, telling him he, you know, he should just go ahead and die. She was really rough on the poor man. The man would just wander the streets, looking through the garbage. And he just, they just drove him . . .
Oh my god!
. . . she just drove him nuts. It was really incredible.
Gosh. It’s so hard to, to deal with as a neighbour because it’s their personal problems and. . .
Yeah, boy.
It’s a bit hard to knock on the door and say, “can you keep it down?”
Yeah, or “leaving him, leave him alone!”
Yeah.
Yeah, right? Let them . . .
You can’t, you can’t help but hear that stuff. It’s like, you don’t want to hear it, but it’s horrible stuff.
It’s kind of an invasion of privacy.
Really? Right.
When I was at university, I lived in off-campus housing, and our entire building was all students, I mean, you know, there are times at university when you would like to get some work done, believe it or not, but there’s no way you’re going to get it done when you have an entire apartment building filled with people drinking and partying and, throwing it all to the wind.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. It’s a real challenge, if you can get through that,…
Yeah.
…you can get through anything.
I know, they should give you an extra degree.
Now watch the video more carefully, paying attention to the following features of spoken English:
- Double subject: My horrible neighbour, she’s got this strange thing
- Use of just to emphasize the information
- Use of so as a linking word
- Use of really to emphasize the verb or the adjective
- Use of repetition for dramatic effect on and on and on and on
- Use of I mean to paraphrase what you have just said and make yourself clear
- Conversation fillers to gain some thinking time: you know; like
- Reacting to what you have just heard: Oh my god; Gosh
- Showing agreement: Yeah, boy
- Use of vague language: stuff
- Showing surprise: Really?
Now it's over to you. If possible, get together with a friend or relative and tell neighbour-related anecdotes that you have lived through or simply heard. Don't forget to use some of the features of spoken English we have just revised in this post.
I couldn’t get any sleep last night. My horrible neighbour, she’s got this strange thing that she does after about half past eleven every day. She just starts ranting, just shouting at someone who I don’t ever hear shouting back. So, I don’t know whether she phones, she phones someone that she really hates or her husband. I don’t know, he’s too scared to answer back but you just hear her, on and on and on and on, for about an hour and then she stops and goes to sleep so, I had a horrible night last night. I’m so tired.
We had a neighbour like that once. The, the wife was constantly berating the husband, I mean just insulting him, telling him he, you know, he should just go ahead and die. She was really rough on the poor man. The man would just wander the streets, looking through the garbage. And he just, they just drove him . . .
Oh my god!
. . . she just drove him nuts. It was really incredible.
Gosh. It’s so hard to, to deal with as a neighbour because it’s their personal problems and. . .
Yeah, boy.
It’s a bit hard to knock on the door and say, “can you keep it down?”
Yeah, or “leaving him, leave him alone!”
Yeah.
Yeah, right? Let them . . .
You can’t, you can’t help but hear that stuff. It’s like, you don’t want to hear it, but it’s horrible stuff.
It’s kind of an invasion of privacy.
Really? Right.
When I was at university, I lived in off-campus housing, and our entire building was all students, I mean, you know, there are times at university when you would like to get some work done, believe it or not, but there’s no way you’re going to get it done when you have an entire apartment building filled with people drinking and partying and, throwing it all to the wind.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. It’s a real challenge, if you can get through that,…
Yeah.
…you can get through anything.
I know, they should give you an extra degree.
domingo, 9 de noviembre de 2014
Extensive listening: Britain's Hidden Housing Crisis
At the end of 2012 BBC's documentary programme Panorama aired a special report on the impact the economic crisis was having on the housing sector in Britain, Britain's Hidden Housing Crisis. This is the way the programme introduced the documentary:
"Britain is in the grip of a housing crisis of a sort not seen before - where even the most unexpected people are finding themselves homeless. Every two and a half minutes someone in Britain is threatened with losing their home. This Panorama Special follows four stories over five months and reveals the devastating impact of being evicted from your own home and losing everything - from an investment banker now sleeping rough in a park in Croydon; to a businessman who lost his company in the recession; and a grandmother who gets cancer, has to stop working and then has her house repossessed"
You can read the transcript for the first ten minutes of the documentary here.
Britain's Hidden Housing Crisis from James Jones on Vimeo.
"Britain is in the grip of a housing crisis of a sort not seen before - where even the most unexpected people are finding themselves homeless. Every two and a half minutes someone in Britain is threatened with losing their home. This Panorama Special follows four stories over five months and reveals the devastating impact of being evicted from your own home and losing everything - from an investment banker now sleeping rough in a park in Croydon; to a businessman who lost his company in the recession; and a grandmother who gets cancer, has to stop working and then has her house repossessed"
You can read the transcript for the first ten minutes of the documentary here.
Britain's Hidden Housing Crisis from James Jones on Vimeo.
viernes, 11 de julio de 2014
Canada's wilderness cottage culture
During the summer months in Ontario, Canada, thousands of local people escape the heat as well as the hustle and bustle of city life by going to their lakeside cottages. This seasonal ritual allows family and friends to spend quality time together and enjoy the great outdoors.
In this BBC's Close-up episode, reporter Sian Griffiths visits the Kostiw family at their cottage in the Kawartha Lakes region, north of Toronto.
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and say whether the statements below are true or false.
The activity is suitable for intermediate 2 students.
1 The closest inhabited place to the cottages in the Kawartha Lakes region is three hours away.
2 Some celebrities live in the same area.
3 The cottage is the ideal place for people who are fond of the new technologies.
4 One of the main problems of living in the cottages is the insects.
5 The Kostiw family love skiing in the mountains.
6 People have to be aware of the bears and wolves not attacking them.
Welcome to the Kawartha Lakes region in the central Canadian province of Ontario. We are about three hours north of the nearest city and fifteen minutes away from the nearest village, Apsley, which is exactly the point. It’s a place people love coming to, who love to go to cottages. It’s secluded, it’s got forests, it’s got lakes, it’s perfect. And the trend has been catching on the Hollywood celebrities as well: Goldie Hawn, Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, they’ve been known to come across the border and go to a region up the road called Muskoka Caucus, but it’s a bit exclusive.
So here today we’ll take a look at the Kostiw family cottage. We’ve got some members here. It’s Matthew on the barbecue. We’re going to go inside and have a quick look. It’s got all the basics. It’s got living space, it’s got bedrooms. But it has no internet and no television. Most of the action takes place outside by the waterfront, so let’s go and have a look.
So we are down here on the deck with some members of the Kostiw family. We’ve got Natalia here and Alex, it’s Natalia’s cottage. Natalia, what’s the best thing about having a cottage?
I think one of the best things is just getting away from the city and the hustle and bustle of Toronto, and the calmness of being out in the countryside, so there’s nobody to disturb us, and friends come over as well, so it’s an excuse to see each other, and just spend quality time all together.
Are there any downsides?
Lots of bugs in the beginning, in June there’s quite a few black flies and you do have mosquitoes but it’s really worth it.
And the kids seem to really be able to get a chance to enjoy the water.
Yeah, they just love the water. My husband sails, I love kayaking and the boys love to ski and they love to be wake-boarding.
And how about wildlife. I think Alex at your place, you’re staying up the road, you can see some wildlife.
We’re on the next lake over, Jack Lake, and there are some bears up at the lake and a few years ago the boys and I saw like three black bear cubs. This year we saw some wolves, three baby cubs on the road. You’ve got to be careful when you’re driving because you can hit them. But, yeah, there’s a lot of wildlife and of course you’ve got the loons and the herons, that’s what we love.
Well I’ve got some bison burger here, it comes from Buffalo. It’s very low-fat. I’ve never tried some before. Delicious. But I won’t eat too much because Natalia and I are going out on the boats.
So we are here on the dock. We have got all kinds of very typical Canadian or Ontario water craft. We’ve got kayak, we’ve got a canoe, we’ve got a pedal boat with a special dog, Zaboo.
And that’s a glimpse of Ontario cottage life.
Key:
1F 2F 3F 4T 5F 6F
In this BBC's Close-up episode, reporter Sian Griffiths visits the Kostiw family at their cottage in the Kawartha Lakes region, north of Toronto.
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and say whether the statements below are true or false.
The activity is suitable for intermediate 2 students.
1 The closest inhabited place to the cottages in the Kawartha Lakes region is three hours away.
2 Some celebrities live in the same area.
3 The cottage is the ideal place for people who are fond of the new technologies.
4 One of the main problems of living in the cottages is the insects.
5 The Kostiw family love skiing in the mountains.
6 People have to be aware of the bears and wolves not attacking them.
Welcome to the Kawartha Lakes region in the central Canadian province of Ontario. We are about three hours north of the nearest city and fifteen minutes away from the nearest village, Apsley, which is exactly the point. It’s a place people love coming to, who love to go to cottages. It’s secluded, it’s got forests, it’s got lakes, it’s perfect. And the trend has been catching on the Hollywood celebrities as well: Goldie Hawn, Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, they’ve been known to come across the border and go to a region up the road called Muskoka Caucus, but it’s a bit exclusive.
So here today we’ll take a look at the Kostiw family cottage. We’ve got some members here. It’s Matthew on the barbecue. We’re going to go inside and have a quick look. It’s got all the basics. It’s got living space, it’s got bedrooms. But it has no internet and no television. Most of the action takes place outside by the waterfront, so let’s go and have a look.
So we are down here on the deck with some members of the Kostiw family. We’ve got Natalia here and Alex, it’s Natalia’s cottage. Natalia, what’s the best thing about having a cottage?
I think one of the best things is just getting away from the city and the hustle and bustle of Toronto, and the calmness of being out in the countryside, so there’s nobody to disturb us, and friends come over as well, so it’s an excuse to see each other, and just spend quality time all together.
Are there any downsides?
Lots of bugs in the beginning, in June there’s quite a few black flies and you do have mosquitoes but it’s really worth it.
And the kids seem to really be able to get a chance to enjoy the water.
Yeah, they just love the water. My husband sails, I love kayaking and the boys love to ski and they love to be wake-boarding.
And how about wildlife. I think Alex at your place, you’re staying up the road, you can see some wildlife.
We’re on the next lake over, Jack Lake, and there are some bears up at the lake and a few years ago the boys and I saw like three black bear cubs. This year we saw some wolves, three baby cubs on the road. You’ve got to be careful when you’re driving because you can hit them. But, yeah, there’s a lot of wildlife and of course you’ve got the loons and the herons, that’s what we love.
Well I’ve got some bison burger here, it comes from Buffalo. It’s very low-fat. I’ve never tried some before. Delicious. But I won’t eat too much because Natalia and I are going out on the boats.
So we are here on the dock. We have got all kinds of very typical Canadian or Ontario water craft. We’ve got kayak, we’ve got a canoe, we’ve got a pedal boat with a special dog, Zaboo.
And that’s a glimpse of Ontario cottage life.
Key:
1F 2F 3F 4T 5F 6F
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