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New Vocabulary: Clerkenwell: A history of rebellion - Monday 18th June 2012

22/6/2012

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Dear all
Thank you for coming on the walk on Monday. I really enjoyed walking with you and sharing all the information that we had researched about Clerkenwell together.

Here is some of the vocabulary that we went over at the end. I hope it helps! If there are any words that I have missed, please do add them to the Blog.

I look forward to seeing you all again.
Best Wishes
Gail

Vocabulary Clerkenwell: A history of rebellion Walk – Monday 18 May 2012


Coal (noun): Coal is the black or very dark brown ‘rock’ that is found deep underground. Traditionally we have used it for fuel and to make fires. E.g. it was very cold so we lit a coal fire to keep ourselves warm.  

A coal hole (noun): In the past, many houses had their coal (see above) delivered by a coalman who poured the coal into a hole outside their house. The coal went into the house’s cellar.  Then the people in the house could collect the coal from their cellar. We saw some of these old coal holes on the pavement in Clerkenwell.

A rebellion (noun): When people do not agree with a government, a ruler or any other type of authority and refuse to obey, they might organise an action against them. This act (sometimes violent) against a government or a ruler, is called a rebellion.

To rebel (verb): When a person or people rise up against a government or ruler, often by using arms. E.g. On June 12th 1381, the peasants from Kent and Essex marched on London. They were rebelling against the unfair Poll Tax that required the same amount to be paid by the peasants as the very wealthy.  

A rebel (noun): A person who rises up against a government, ruler or other type of authority, often as armed resistance. E.g. In 1381 the rebels marched on London. They broke open prisons, killed several lawyers in the Temple and destroyed the Strand Palace, the home of John of Gaunt who had created the Poll Tax.

Scaffolding (noun): This is a temporary structure that is outside of a building so that workers can either paint the building or repair it. It is usually made with metal poles and wooden planks.


A scaffold
(noun): This is a wooden structure that was built to hang prisoners from. The scaffold was high so each prisoner had to climb steps onto it. Then they were hung.

A scaffolder (noun): A person who puts the scaffolding up outside a building.

To hang (someone) (verb): In the past prisoners were killed by hanging them. Note: we changed the spelling for the past participle when we talk about a person being ‘hanged’. If we hang a picture on the wall, we say ‘I hung the picture on the wall’. If we kill a person, we say ‘he was hanged’. We never say: ‘that picture was hanged’!

A noose (noun): This is the loop in the rope that is used when a person is hanged. It is the loop that the person’s head goes through before it is tightened around their neck.

A knot (noun): When two ends of string, rope, cotton (e.g. for sewing) are tied together, they make a knot.

A hangman’s knot (noun): A special knot that the hangman (the person who was in charge of the hangings) made in the rope that the prisoner was hanged from.

A circus (noun): A company of trained animals, clowns, acrobats who travel from one town to another to perform to the local communities.

A zoo (noun): A place where wild animals are kept – usually in cages or closed in areas. Often in a large area in a park so that the public can come to look at the animals.

Joseph Grimaldi (a person so a proper noun): Grimaldi was born in Clerkenwell in 1778. He was the person who created the image of a clown as we know it today – the big painted smile, the costume, the sadness behind the smile and audience participation.

Pitch-black (adjective): Very dark black or coal black (see above for ‘coal’). E.g. It was pitch-black in there. I couldn’t see a thing!

Blackout (noun): During the Second World War, people had to turn all their lights off and cover their windows with dark curtains during an air raid. Because everything was black, it’s called a ‘blackout’.

A cell (noun): a) When someone is in prison, they are locked up in a small room. This is called ‘a cell’.

 b) When a scientist looks through a microscope at an object, they can see all the tiniest of parts that make up the object. These are called ‘cells’. [I’m not a scientist and can’t explain this one very well!!!]

A prison (noun): The building where people are held because they have committeed a crime.

A jail (noun): The same as prison

Gaol (noun): An old English word for prison. We don’t use this in our speech anymore, but you may see it written down if you visit museums or read certain books.

To participate (verb): When we become involved and actively take part in something, we participate. Joseph Grimaldi (see above) was the first clown to get the audience to participate. E.g. Members of the audience had to get up and hold objects for him or help to pour water from a bucket etc. E.g. On the walk through Clerkenwell last Monday, you participated by sharing the history that you had researched with the group.

First Aid (noun):  When someone is sick or injured and someone rushes to them to help them, it is called ‘first aid’. For example, someone might help a person to breath or wrap something around a cut to stop the bleeding. They do this until full medical treatment is available (often, until an ambulance arrives).

Outrageous (adjective): When something is very bad or excessive. E.g. I think that the price of public transport in the UK is outrageous! E.g. I’m outraged at the cost of transport in London!

An outrage (noun): A very strong angry reaction to something. E.g. it is an outrage that the train companies charge us so much for a ticket!

A tower (noun): A tall, narrow building that either stands alone or on top of a building. E.g. We looked a tower on the Italian-style church in Exmouth Market.

A steeple (noun): This is the ‘tower’ on top of a church. Usually, in England our steeples are pointed in a triangle shape.

A playground (noun): This is an outdoor area provided for children to play. When there is a playground in a park or in a local neighbourhood, there are usually swings, slides and other structures for children to play on. In playgrounds in schools, they are often just concrete ground surrounded by the school and other buildings.

A slum (noun): An area that is very poor and overcrowded. The housing is extremely bad with damp, broken windows, doors and roofs. Often, many people share a room. Slums are usually smelly and dirty and very bad for people’s health.

A stretcher (noun): When someone is very ill or hurt and cannot get themselves to hospital, they are carried on a stretcher into the ambulance. It has two poles and a long piece of strong fabric (usually canvas) that holds the two poles together.

Ways of saying things in English:

What does that mean? What does slum mean?
What do you mean by ... ? What do you mean by slum? What do you mean by that?

2 ½ years: we say ‘two and a half years’ but it sounds like ‘two anna half years’!

4 oz (in weight) = four ounces (28grams)
1 lb (in weight) = one pound (pound in weight, not money) (roughly 1 ½ kilo)
Pounds and ounces – you will often see this in markets though officially, we use the metric system!


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New vocabulary: Barnes Bridge to Fulham Palace Sunday 17 June 2012

20/6/2012

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Hello all
I really enjoyed walking with you last Sunday from Barnes Bridge to Fulham Palace. We had so many laughs along the way as well as interesting discussions. And thank you for putting in so much work before the walk with the English Worksheets and the history research.

Here is the vocabulary that we went over as we sat on the grass outside Fulham Palace. It was here that we grumbled, mumbled, moaned and whined! We were so grumpy!! Read on ...

I look forward to seeing you all again.
Best Wishes
Gail

Words relating to the river:


A river (noun): a large expanse of water that flows to the sea (or in a lake or into another river). Rivers are usually quite wide or become wider as they continue to flow.

A stream (noun): a small and narrow river

A brook (noun): a small stream

A pond (noun): a small area of water that doesn’t have any natural movement. Some people have a pond in their garden for small fish and plants.

A lake (noun): a large area of water that is surrounded by land.

To row (verb): when you make a small boat move through the water by using wooden (or metal) oars (long poles with a wide end) to steer the boat.

A rowing boat (noun): a boat that must be steered by using oars (see above)

An oar (noun): a long pole with a wide, flat end that is used to steer a boat

A paddle (noun): a short pole with a wide end to move and steer a small boat or canoe through water. Similar to an oar.

Thrown in at the deep end (expression): The ‘deep end’ is like being thrown into the deep end of a swimming pool and not be able to swim. When someone is given a job or task to do which they are not experienced at, we say that they have been ‘thrown in at the deep end’. E.g. Nathalie was thrown in at the deep end because she had to give a talk about the history of Putney Pier. She’d never done this before.

The southbank (of a river) (noun): a) the land next to a river on the south side. b) The Southbank (proper noun): the name of a place on the south bank of the Thames. An area of London. Because it is the name of a place, it must have a capital letter for the ‘S’.

The northbank (of a river) (noun): the land next to a river on the north side.

The Thames: Ok, you all know what the Thames is! But how do we pronounce it?!  We say it like this: /tems/

Words relating to complaints:

To grumble (verb): Complain or protest about something in a bad-tempered way. For example, when the cafe was closing as we arrived after our walk, a lot of us grumbled! We complained among ourselves and not to the cafe. That means that we grumbled or that we were grumbling!

To mumble (verb): When we say something quietly and not clearly. Other people can’t hear us properly. Often, we are complaining but don’t want to complain directly.

To moan (about something) (verb): When we are fed up with something and want to complain but don’t do this directly to the person who has caused the problem. We go on and on about the problem to our friends or the people nearby, but don’t do anything useful about it!

To whine (verb): Similar to ‘moan’. When we whine, our words are long and drawn out so they are very annoying to other people.

To be grumpy (adjective): to be bad-tempered and sulk.

Words relating to bodies:

Blood and guts (adjective): When we see a horror film that has lots of violence in it, we say it’s a film with ‘blood and guts’.

Guts (noun): a) All the bits inside our bodies e.g. the stomach, intestines etc.

b) To have guts: When someone does something courageous, we say that they ‘have guts’. Or that ‘it takes guts’ to do something i.e. it takes courage to do it.

Gore (noun): a) When we see lots of blood, we call it ‘gore’. A horror film that has lots of blood and violence, is often called ‘blood and gore’.

b) gory (adjective): How we describe something that has lots of blood and violence. E.g. that film was really gory. If we see a person or animal after an accident, we describe it the scene as ‘gory’.

To have balls (expression): ‘Balls’ are men’s genitals. When we use this expression (for men only, of course!!) we mean that they have the courage to do something. Or that they ‘have the guts’ to do something.

Words relating to buildings:

To vacate (verb): When we leave the building where we were living, we can say that we ‘have vacated it.’ When we leave a job we use ‘vacate’. E.g. She vacated her job as a teacher. E.g. they vacated the rooms where they had been living since they arrived in London.’

Note: when we move house, we say ‘I’m moving house’. Not: ‘I’m moving my house’ (you must be very, very strong to move a house!!)

Scaffolding (noun): This is a temporary structure that is outside of a building so that workers can either paint the building or repair it. It is usually made with metal poles and wooden planks.


To scaffold
(verb): to attach the scaffolding to the building. However, this is not a verb that is current and used. Perhaps, it is used by the workers but I have never heard it. We think it might be an old word.

A scaffold (noun): This is a wooden structure that was built to hang prisoners from. The scaffold was high so each prisoner had to climb steps onto it. Then they were hanged.

Other words:

A whistle (noun): a small wooden, plastic or metal object. When you blow through one end, there is a loud high-pitched noise.

To whistle (verb): when we push our lips out into an ‘O’ shape and blow through them. A noise comes out of them.

A playing field (noun): a large area of grass where children can play sport or other games.

It’s like Picadilly Circus (expression): When there are lots of people, we often say ‘it’s like Picadilly Circus’. E.g. It’s like Picadilly Circus here today. There’s loads of cyclists and walkers on the path this morning.

How to say ...

Charles 1st: we say ‘Charles the first’. Elizabeth 2nd = ‘Elizabeth the second’ etc.

1100: we say ‘eleven hundred’. 1900 – ‘nineteen hundred’ etc.


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New Vocabulary: Barnes Bridge to Fulham Palace - Wednesday 30 May 2012

5/6/2012

1 Comment

 
Hello to you
I really enjoyed walking and talking to you last Wednesday from Barnes to Fulham Palace. It is such a pretty walk so I hope you enjoyed it too.


Here is some of the new vocabulary that arose during the walk. I hope it is useful! If I've missed any, please do add it to the blog.

Best Wishes
Gail

A bud
(noun): The growth on a plant that develops into a flower or leaf.

E.g. Before a the flowers are out on a rose bush, we say it is ‘in bud’.

When all the flowers are out and we say they are ‘in bloom’.

To swing (verb): When something moves back and forth (backwards and forwards). It can be an object or a person. E.g. The girl swings her legs under the table. E.g. Tania swings on the rope.

A swing (noun): Usually found in a children’s play area in a park. A seat is fixed between ropes or chains and someone sits on it and swings backwards and forwards. E.g. Adrian is sitting on the swing.

A goose (noun). A large waterbird. It has a long neck, short legs and webbed feet and a short wide beak.

Geese (noun). Plural of ‘goose’.

To row (verb): When people sit in a boat and use oars (long wooden-shaped sticks with a flat end) to move the boat in the direction that they want to go. E.g. They rowed all the way from Putney to Barnes.

Oars (noun): We use these to row a boat. They are long and usually made of wood. The end is wide and flat and used to move in the water to direct the boat to where you want it to go.

Canoe (noun): a small, narrow boat with pointed ends. Paddles are used to steer it and make it go in the right direction.

Rowing boat (noun): A long, narrow boat that is steered with oars (see above). There is room for a team of eight to row together.

Referee (noun): An official person who watches a game (e.g. football, rugby etc). This person makes sure that the rules are kept properly and if not, they decide what happens next.

Earthquake (noun): When the ground suddenly shakes violently. It opens up and sometimes buildings or roads break and collapse.

An imposter (noun): When a person pretends to be something that they are not. Or pretends to be a person that they are not. E.g. Some people think that Paul McCartney is not really the real Paul McCartney! They say that the real one died many years ago and since then, an imposter has pretended to be him!

A crumb (noun) (plural = crumbs): Small fragments of bread, cakes or biscuits. We usually see them left on the plate after we have eaten. E.g. After David had finished his sandwich, he cleaned the crumbs from his plate.

To turn in your grave (idiom): When something has happened after someone’s death that would make them unhappy, we say that they would ‘turn in their grave’ if they knew. E.g. If Edward Rose knew that the money he gave to the church to provide roses on his grave wasn’t being used properly, he would turn in his grave!

A beak (bird) (noun): The pointed, hard sharp mouth on a bird is called ‘a beak’.


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