It was lovely seeing so many familiar faces last Sunday and I really enjoyed sharing this walk with you (even the gruesome bits). Thank you for working so hard as well. I was so impressed with how much you were able to research about the history of the places that I gave you ... well done! When you read out the information and shared it with us, it was done so well and you made it incredibly interesting.
Below is the vocabulary that we shared at the end of the walk. I'm sure that there is more so please do add it if you'd like to.
I look forward to seeing you all again soon.
Best Wishes
Gail
To drown (verb): When someone is underwater and cannot breath, they die. We say that they ‘drown’. Some of the memorials to the heroes in Postman’s Park drowned when they tried to save another person.
To pelt (verb): To throw something at someone or thing. E.g. when the prisoners from Newgate Prison were executed, the crowds pelted them with tomatoes and rotten fruit.
Pelting with rain: When it rains very heavily, we use this expression. We say ‘it’s pelting with rain’ or ‘the rain is pelting down’.
A pelt (noun): The skin of an animal with the fur, hair or wool still on it.
Cigarette butts (noun): The ends of cigarettes after they have been smoked. We see lots of them on the pavements and the ground!
Fag ends (noun): The same as cigarette end. This is very informal English, slang.
Fags (noun): Cigarettes. This is very informal, slang.
A butt (noun): A bum, bottom or arse (on a person).
A pew (noun): The long, wooden seat that we find in churches. We talked about where the pews would have been if the church hadn’t been destroyed by bombs. Today, there are rose bushes there instead!
Stationery (noun): Items such as writing paper, envelopes and other office materials, traditionally made of paper. Today, stationery shops sell other items such as pens and plastic folders.
Stationary (adjective): When something is still and not moving, it is ‘stationary’. E.g. the car was stationary when the accident happened.
A frieze (noun): A horizontal strip of paper or clay or wood (any material) that is mounted on a wall. It can be painted or sculpted to create a series of pictures that tell a story or show a process. E.g. We looked at the frieze above Cutlers’ Hall. It shows the traditional process of making knives and other sharp instruments.
To damage (verb): When an object is ruined in some way, we say that it is damaged. E.g. I damaged the door when I knocked the chair into it. Now it’s got a hole in it. Note: we do not use ‘damage’ when we hurt ourselves (NOT I’ve damaged my knee. We say, I’ve hurt my knee or I’ve injured my knee)
To injure (verb): When harm is done to a person or if we hurt ourselves. E.g. I injured my leg when I fell over. It really hurts. E.g. He was injured in the car accident.
A stained-glass window (noun): The coloured glass that is used to make pictures in windows like church windows.
A barrel (noun): A container (usually wood) that is cylindrical and bulges in the middle. It has metal hoops around it. When beer is carried from the brewery to the pub, it is carried in ‘a beer barrel’. We saw some lovely ones outside The Mitre Pub in Ely Place.
Cellar (noun): A room below ground in a house. Cellars are often used for storing wine or other items. Traditionally, they were used for storing coal.
A cell (noun): A small room where a prisoner is locked up. On this walk, we learned that prisoners in Newgate Prison were locked up in terrible conditions ... they had vermin (rats and mice) running over them and were tortured before they were executed (unless they had lots of money!).
An inmate (noun): A person who is locked up in prison or a hospital.
To demolish (verb used with an object). a)When we pull down a building or other structure, we say us the verb ‘to demolish’. E.g. They demolished the building where The Four Aces Club was and built a new library.
b) We also use ‘to demolish’ informally. E.g. If we are very hungry and eat our dinner very quickly, we might say ‘I demolished that lot quickly!’ or ‘he demolished his meal in no time!’ or ‘she demolished that chocolate bar!.’
c) demolition (noun). The act of demolishing something. E.g. Demolition work began on the old office building this morning.
To destroy (verb): When we ruin something (a building, painting, dinner or any other object or thing), we use the verb ‘to destroy’. E.g. During the riots, the toy shop was destroyed in the fire. E.g. She poured paint everywhere and destroyed my work.
A stump (noun): a) When someone has to have a part of their leg cut off (or arm), the part of the leg that remains is called ‘a stump’. We discovered that there was a pub next to Newgate Prison called The Magpie and Stump ... and this the suffix, ‘stump’ was added as a joke because of the large number of headless bodies executed at the prison!!
b) When we cut a tree down, the round wooden part that is left in the ground is also called ‘a tree stump’.
c) An expression: I’m completely stumped. If someone asks me a question and I don’t know the answer because it’s too difficult, I can say ‘I’m completely stumped!’ or ‘You’ve stumped me!’
The bride (noun): A woman on her wedding day is called ‘the bride’.
The groom (noun): The man on his wedding day is called ‘the groom’.
Copper (noun): a type of metal that is a reddish-brown colour.
A copper (noun): A police officer.
A fair cop (idiom): If someone catches me doing something wrong, I can say something like, ‘Fair cop. You’re right ... I blah blah blah’. It is something we say when we admit that another person has caught us out doing something wrong!
Under (preposition): a) When something is beneath or covered by something. E.g. The food fell under the table. E.g. We waited under the tree for the rain to stop. b) If something is below the surface we can use ‘under’ as a preposition. E.g. The fish swam under the water (of course!).
Under (adverb): If we talk about something that is below or beneath something. E.g. go over the fence, not under.
Underneath (preposition): Situated just below something else. E.g. Harry’s office is underneath English Walks!
A stain (noun): If I drop food down my t-shirt and it leaves a coloured patch there that I cannot wash out, it is a stain. E.g. The red wine left a stain on the table cloth.
To stain (verb): To mark something with dirt or coloured patches that we cannot get rid of or remove easily. E.g. the beetroot stained my fingers. E.g. His shirt was stained with blackcurrants.
Other:
It is interested – we say, ‘it is interesting’ or ‘I’m interested in ... (something)’.
I forget person’s names – we say, ‘I forget people’s names’ or ‘I’m not very good at remembering people’s names’.
To make a note or to make notes.