I am so pleased that you enjoyed the walk through The Inns of Court last Thursday. It really does come as a surprise to find this area in London ... it is calm and peaceful as well as being so interesting.
Here is the vocabulary that we went over at the end. If you have any others to add, please do so.
I look forward to seeing you on future walks.
Best Wishes
Gail
A lawyer (noun). A person who studies law and passes the exams to be able to act as a lawyer.
To defend (verb). When a lawyer represents the person who is in court and tries to show the court that this person is not guilty.
To prosecute (verb). When a lawyer begins a criminal or civil court action against someone.
A barrister (noun). A lawyer who has completed extra training so that he/she can practice in court as an advocate, particularly in the higher courts. We have ‘Defence barristers’ and ‘Prosecution barristers’.
Defence barrister (see above)
Prosecution barrister (see above)
Wisteria (noun). A type of plant that climbs up buildings or other structures. It has lovely purple flowers in spring. Wisteria can live for over 200 years!
Bunting (noun). When we have big celebrations, we hang up lots of little flags on that are on a string. We use other colourful decorations too. During the most important celebrations, you will see bunting in shops; hanging across roads; hanging from buildings etc.
Blacklegs (noun). When a worker or trade unionist continues to work during a strike, they are often called ‘a blackleg’. If someone takes the job of another person, they are called ‘a blackleg’ too.
To demolish (verb). To pull or knock down something like a building. E.g. Those pretty cottages were demolished and they built a car park instead. E.g. He demolished the old garage because it was dangerous.
Urinal (noun). A public place for men to urinate. Usually, a urinal is fixed to a wall
A diarist (noun). A person who writes a diary. However, we usually call someone a ‘diarist’ if their diary has become well-known and the information has been used to give us important information. E.g. Samuel Pepys wrote a diary between 1660 and 1669. As he witnessed so many important events, his diary was published in the 19th century and this is how we have learnt so much about the Great Fire of London in 1666 and what London was like during this period.
Blogger (noun). A modern day diarist? Someone who writes nearly everyday on a ‘blog’ – a space on the internet to write about anything.
To swallow our words (expression). a) When we speak English fluently, it can sound as if we have swallowed our words i.e. we don’t finish each word. This can be difficult for someone who is learning English!
b) When we are forced to admit that we have said something that is wrong.
Illiterate (adjective). When someone is not able to read or write.
Literacy (noun). When someone is able to read and write.
Literally (adverb). a) When we say something and intend it to be correct and exact. E.g. What does that word mean literally? (what does that word mean exactly?)
b) We also use it to mean something that is not exact or true. We use it to add emphasis to express a strong feeling. E.g. I was literally freezing (if we really freeze, we die). What we really mean is: I was very, very cold.
Flamboyant (adjective). a) If a place has lots of brightly, coloured decorations, we can say that it is ‘flamboyant’. E.g. Lloyds Bank Law Court Branch is the most flamboyant bank in London because of the decoration.
To preserve (verb). a) When we have a very old building and we keep it like this. We don’t change it to look modern or different. When we looked at the old buildings in The Inns of Court, we saw many ‘preserved’ buildings – they have been looked after so that they are still look like they did when they were built.
b) We preserve fruit to make jam. We cook the fruit in sugar and water and then put it in a glass jar. It keeps for a long time.
Incongruous (adjective). When we walked through The Inns of Court, we saw lots of very old buildings. Just outside the Inns there are many modern buildings. We can say that the old buildings and the modern ones are not in harmony with each other. E.g. That modern glass office block looks incongruous between those 16th century ones.