Christmas is sometimes a lonely time for many people. Find out about James Gray, who was fed up with spending Christmas alone.
Self-study activity:
Watch the one-minute video and answer the questions about it.
The activity is suitable for intermediate students.
1 How old is Mr Gray?
2 How many Christmases had he spent alone?
3 What did he do to find company for Christmas?
4 What were his plans for people in the same situation?
5 How many people responded to his invitation?
6 How did he manage to get lots of invitations to spend Christmas in company?
7 Who did he spend Christmas with ten years ago?
8 What is Jake Morrison doing?
9 What has Jake Morrison offered to pay?
To check your answers you can read the transcript below.
You can also read The Irish Post article here.
James Gray, an 85-year-old living in south London, decided that 9 years of spending holidays alone was enough, so he placed a newspaper ad asking for people to share Christmas with him. James Gray, an 85-year-old living in south London, decided that 9 years of spending the holidays alone was enough, so he placed a newspaper ad asking for people to share Christmas with him. He was hoping to set up a hotel luncheon for those in similar situations, but didn't get an overwhelming response. The one person who did say she'd attend later changed her mind. While the ad didn't work as he'd planned, he has ended up getting flooded with invitations to join others in their holiday festivities. Much of that response is due to a story featured in the Irish Post about James' predicament. In the article, James revealed that he has no immediate family to share the day with, and the last time he saw anybody on Christmas was a decade ago. Even then, it was just his accountant. Among the many offers extended was from Jake Morrison, who is hosting a party for people in situations similar to Mr. Gray's. He's offered to pay for Gray's transportation to and from the event as well as for a hotel room should he like to stay overnight
