Category Archives: Interview

105. Brighton Fringe Festival #2 (with Alex, Paul & Moz)

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Part 2 of the Brighton Trilogy.

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Hi everyone, how are you? (I’m fine thanks Luke.) Oh, you’re fine? Glad to hear that. I’m fine too thanks. In fact, I’m in a pretty good mood today. (Why Luke?) Well this weekend I won an award at a business English conference. (Wow, that’s cool. What’s the award?) It’s an award for ‘best presentation for a first time speaker’. I won it with a colleague of mine called Andy Johnson. (Is he related to Luke Johnson?) No, he isn’t! It’s just a coincidence! Actually, you already know Andy because he was in an episode of Luke’s English Podcast once. It was called Luke and Andy’s Crime Stories, remember that? Anyway, I’ll tell you more about that award later.

Let me tell you about this episode of the podcast that you’re about to listen to. This one is the second of 3 episodes I recorded at The Brighton Fringe Festival last month. It might be quite difficult to follow this episode because you will hear a conversation between 4 people and it’s quite fast. Do keep listening though because it is very good practice for you to follow natural and authentic conversation like this.

So, in this episode I talk to Alex, Paul, Moz (and Luke Johnson) again about various subjects including:
-The art of flyering
-How Alex would describe Paul to an alien
-Luke’s lion-like hair (it’s like a lion’s mane)
-Paul’s approach to comedy (shouting, funny faces, not many punchlines)
-Luke’s approach to comedy (surprisingly similar to Paul’s)
-Alex’s approach to comedy (it’s cerebral)
-Why Moz is like a pink dolphin in the Amazon (you’ll have to listen to find out why!)
-Moz’s weird relationship with the truth
-Moz’s comedy (it revolves around bodily functions, and gibberish)
-Paul, Alex and Moz’s relationship with the English language
-Why the English don’t speak foreign languages
-Are the English fundamentally lazy people?
-Learning French at school using a book called Tricolore, which was set in La Rochelle in France
-Experiences of going to another country and living in another culture
-Beeping out swear words (In the end I decided not to ‘beep out’ the swear word here)
-Paul’s cultural experiences in the USA
-Differences between London and the countryside
Alex’s blog: www.alexlove.co.uk

Thanks for listening and remember that your donations help to make this podcast possible.
Luke

104. Brighton Fringe Festival #1 (with Alex, Paul & Moz)

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Part 1 of a trilogy of podcasts from the Brighton Fringe Festival. Join me and my friends in Brighton as we discuss various topics.

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Hello Listeners! This is the first of three podcast episodes recorded with comedians Alex Love, Paul Langton and Moz at the Brighton Fringe Festival last month. In this episode I introduce Alex, Paul and Moz and we discuss a number of topics including: British accents, experiences in foreign countries, comedy shows and a mysterious character called Luke Johnson. Listen to the episode to find out more, and please feel free to leave comments and questions below.

Every evening Alex, Paul and I performed a comedy show called Snigger Happy in a hot room above a friendly pub called The Temple. We had a great time performing the shows and enjoying ourselves in Brighton, which is a lovely town near the sea on the south coast of England. Also with us was another comedian called Moz, who was performing a solo show called Balloon. We performed 4 shows, with each of us doing 15-20 minutes of stand-up. I also managed to record three episodes with Alex, Paul and Moz. This is the first of those episodes.

Click here to visit Alex Love’s blog: www.alexlove.co.uk It’s all about his experiences performing comedy in venues all over London and the UK in general. Alex is a really good writer, and has written as a journalist for The Guardian newspaper.

100. Going To The Pub (with James)

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This is your complete guide to how to go to the pub in the UK, including what to say, what to do, and how to get served at the bar.

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Contents

In this episode you’ll learn everything you need to know about going to the pub, including:
– what does a pub look like?
– types of pub
– are you welcome?
– opening times
– how to order
– where to stand
– how to get served
– the order of being served
– buying drinks for others
– tipping
– what to say to the barman
– making conversation with locals
– types of drink
– useful phrases
– what you will find in the pub
– places to sit
– things to do
– smoking
– food
– trouble
– locals
– banter
– football
– pub lunch
– after work drinks
– night out
– beer garden
– What NOT to do
– binge drinking
– getting drunk
– words for ‘drunk’
– the pub in British culture – films, tv shows
If you find the podcast useful, why not donate some money to help me pay for website costs, etc. It’s very simple to do and you can use your PayPal account for other things like online shopping. It’s completely safe and trustworthy.

The pub in English films and TV shows, and other videos:
*Comedy is difficult to understand sometimes, especially in another language. If you don’t find any of this funny, never mind!*
This is a scene from classic comedy show Only Fools and Horses. People describe this scene as “the bit when Del Boy falls through the bar”
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63rcdLeXiU8&w=400&h=301]
This is a useful guide to the different kinds of pub you can find in London. Here’s a quick summary: Tourist Pubs – they’re bad because they’re really big, fake, the beer is flat, the food is stodgy. Old Man Pubs (often found in Soho or Mayfair, but anywhere in London really) are great because they’re quite small, authentic, have interesting interior design, friendly people (usually), cheaper, more relaxing, a good place to buy good ale, a good place for banter or intelligent conversation with locals. Hipster Hangouts (typical trendy pubs in East London) are where you find fashionable cutting-edge cool young people. Family Pubs can be found in quieter parts of London, e.g. the suburbs or areas near the river for example near Hammersmith Bridge, which is my neighbourhood. The Dove in Hammersmith that’s my local, and a great pub!
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMrBcc5kdSE&w=560&h=315]
This is a home-made video. The commentator sounds like a cockney. See what happens when an American goes to a pub in the UK. He makes a few mistakes, the muppet. (‘Muppet’ is a cockney slang word meaning ‘idiot’ – it’s an affectionate insult)
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XHyze2trng&w=420&h=315]
This is Al Murray The Pub Landlord. He is a comedy character based on the cliche of British pub landlords. He’s patriotic, small minded and ridiculous. He’s a horrible, stupid guy and that is the joke (yes, it’s weird British humour). One thing I should say – this character is a criticism of this kind of stupid character but also a kind of celebration too. It’s complicated.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyGgL_omNbI&w=420&h=315]
This clip is from a disgusting, rude and hilarious (in my opinion) BBC comedy called “Bottom”. The show is about two characters called Richie and Eddie. They are both sad lonely perverts who live in London. They are desperate to pick up some girls and ‘have it off’ with them, but they have absolutely no charm whatsoever. They have no luck with women. This is because they are stupid, sex-obsessed, completely unsophisticated and downright rude. In this episode they have bought some ‘sex spray’. This is a chemical which they believe will make them irresistibly attractive towards women. They go to the pub to try and pick up some ‘birds’. In fact, the spray doesn’t work at all. It only attracts dogs, which chase them through the street outside the pub. All their pathetic attempts to seduce the women fail miserably. Richie and Eddie are played by actors Rik Mayall and Ade Edmonson, who are two of the UK’s favourite TV comedy actors. Enjoy the clip, but watch out if you’re easily offended by very crass humour. It’s a rude show, but I love it.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uVWlbh30HM&w=400&h=301]
A nostalgic and slightly sad documentary film about the decline of the pub in Britain.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ASxxiuCAcA&w=400&h=301]
Barack Obama drinks a pint of Guinness in a pub in Ireland (the best place to drink good Guinness). You might here them saying Slainte (pronounced Slanche), which what they say in Ireland before having a drink (like ‘cheers’ in the UK). Enjoy – and doesn’t it make you want a pint of Guinness?
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5206QjFWmAk&w=400&h=233]

98. Luke vs Oliver (Part 2) Comparing and describing things

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We continue our discussion of various ‘vs battles’ in this episode, in order to present some descriptive language. Listen, and add your comments below!

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VS Battles in this episode:
Analogue vs Digital (Vinyl vs Digital)
Clock Time vs Experiential Time (What a weird discussion!)
McDonald’s vs Burger King
Red Sauce vs Brown Sauce
Book vs Kindle
Prince William vs Prince Harry
Gibson vs Fender
Tea vs Coffee
Cats vs Dogs
Indiana Jones vs Lara Croft
Football vs Rugby
Individualism vs Collectivism (not discussed)
Jason Bourne vs James Bond
Cowboys vs Aliens
Bear vs Shark
Pirates vs Ninjas
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kR7227_ndqQ&w=400&h=301]
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJTF8wA5u6c&w=400&h=233]
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iU61xJJ-fTs&w=400&h=233]
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRVCv-lXVrw&w=400&h=233]
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vt2Luu08f70&w=400&h=233]
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVtCR5UQgsk&w=400&h=233]
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dugipeVZtE&w=400&h=301]
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MA5ThymLbKQ&w=400&h=301]
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlZyQylOKv4&w=400&h=233]
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiTnVX_IRt0&w=400&h=233]
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdmupNxobP0&w=400&h=233]
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sfs2FRgp-ow&w=400&h=301]

97. Luke vs Oliver (Part 1) Comparing and describing things

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Listen to Luke and Oli as they discuss, compare and describe a variety of different topics, ideas, themes and people. The idea behind this episode is to compare and contrast different pairs of things, not only to decide which is the best, but also to explore them in great depth.

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The idea behind this episode is to compare and contrast different pairs of things, not only to decide which is the best, but also to explore them in great depth.

Here is a list of the things we compare in this episode. Feel free to contribute a transcript if you wish. Part 2 of this episode will be uploaded soon. Add your comments below ;)

‘Vs Battles’ in this episode:
Star Wars vs Lord of the Rings
Early Birds vs Night Owls
Simile vs Metaphor
Sean Connery vs Roger Moore
Apple vs Microsoft
Al Pacino vs Robert DeNiro
John Lennon vs Paul McCartney
Innovation vs Imitation
Coke vs Pepsi
The Beatles vs The Rolling Stones


[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbeXERfshNc&w=400&h=233]
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1c6zF9aJxs&w=400&h=233]
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lea3Ynnklm4&w=400&h=301]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeSdeQRbhPs
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkP56x8kxnU&w=400&h=301]
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fqVwJs9UaY&w=400&h=233]
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMo6o0BtFG8&w=400&h=301]
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVjkgNaqlWE&w=400&h=301]

93. Weird… or just different? (with James & Aaron)

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This episode is all about cultural differences. When you visit another country, you sometimes feel that the lifestyle there is strange, but is it really strange? In most cases, what we perceive as being weird, strange or bizarre about another culture is in fact totally normal from their point of view. So, we should remember to be open minded about other cultures and see the differences between us as fascinating and fun, rather than strange or wrong.

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In this episode I talk to my brother James and our friend Aaron about customs, culture and behaviour from around the world and discuss the question: Is it weird, or is it just different? Our conversation is inspired by a TED video I saw by Derek Sivers entitled “Weird… or just different?”. You can watch the video of his presentation and read the transcript below.

You can find a list of the things we talk about below. Feel free to add your comments below. You can share your thoughts, ask questions or tell us what things you find interesting and different about other cultures. You don’t need to sign in to add comments.

I was not sure if I should upload this episode. This is because I felt the conversation was quite chaotic and I feel embarrassed about interrupting James and Aaron so much. Normally I don’t interrupt my friends so much, but in this episode I was trying to reach conclusions and I was trying to manage the conversation. I’ve decided to upload it anyway because I still believe it is interesting and good for your English!

James, Aaron and I are good friends and here (particularly in the middle) we talk quite fast and often talk over each other. In fact, interrupting other people in conversation is another interesting cultural trait. In some cultures people interrupt each other a lot, and conversations tend to be very noisy and chaotic. Other cultures tend to have less interruption as people wait for each other to stop talking before they start. Here in the UK we are somewhere in the middle, although close friends will often talk over each other and interrupt a lot, like in this conversation. Your challenge in this episode is to try to keep up! Imagine you are in the room and you’re trying to follow the conversation. You probably won’t catch everything. My advice is – don’t give up! Don’t worry about the bits that you can’t hear or can’t catch. Just move on and stay with the conversation. In the end, it will be more rewarding for you. In real life too, you don’t always understand everything – we just have to survive in a conversation by focussing on the parts we DO understand, and guess the rest. Enjoy the episode, feel free to leave comments below and make a donation if you would like to. Thanks.

Cultural behaviour we mention in this episode:
1. Kissing or hugging people when you meet them
2. Having two taps in the bathroom (I’m obsessed with this subject!)
3. Wearing school uniform
4. Having milk in tea
5. Having advertising which features nudity
6. Publicly criticising the government
7. Girls wearing mini-skirts in the middle of winter (e.g. in a queue for a night club)
8. Eating scorpions / spiders / toads / frogs
9. Hawking / spitting in the street
10. Smacking children
11. Killing animals before you eat them / Having animals killed as part of an industrialised food production process
There are many more things which we didn’t discuss in this podcast, so I must do a follow up episode in the future.

Derek Sivers’ TED Talk + transcript:
http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf
So, imagine you’re standing on a street anywhere in America and a Japanese man comes up to you and says,

“Excuse me, what is the name of this block?”

And you say, “I’m sorry, well, this is Oak Street, that’s Elm Street. This is 26th, that’s 27th.”

He says, “OK, but what is the name of that block?”

You say, “Well, blocks don’t have names. Streets have names; blocks are just the unnamed spaces in between streets.”

He leaves, a little confused and disappointed.

So, now imagine you’re standing on a street, anywhere in Japan, you turn to a person next to you and say,

“Excuse me, what is the name of this street?”

They say, “Oh, well that’s Block 17 and this is Block 16.”

And you say, “OK, but what is the name of this street?”

And they say, “Well, streets don’t have names. Blocks have names. Just look at Google Maps here. There’s Block 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19. All of these blocks have names, and the streets are just the unnamed spaces in between the blocks.

And you say then, “OK, then how do you know your home address?”

He said, “Well, easy, this is District Eight. There’s Block 17, house number one.”

You say, “OK, but walking around the neighborhood, I noticed that the house numbers don’t go in order.”

He says, “Of course they do. They go in the order in which they were built. The first house ever built on a block is house number one. The second house ever built is house number two. Third is house number three. It’s easy. It’s obvious.”

So, I love that sometimes we need to go to the opposite side of the world to realize assumptions we didn’t even know we had, and realize that the opposite of them may also be true.

So, for example, there are doctors in China who believe that it’s their job to keep you healthy. So, any month you are healthy you pay them, and when you’re sick you don’t have to pay them because they failed at their job. They get rich when you’re healthy, not sick. (Applause)

In most music, we think of the “one” as the downbeat, the beginning of the musical phrase: one, two, three, four. But in West African music, the “one” is thought of as the end of the phrase, like the period at the end of a sentence. So, you can hear it not just in the phrasing, but the way they count off their music: two, three, four, one.

And this map is also accurate. (Laughter)

There’s a saying that whatever true thing you can say about India, the opposite is also true. So, let’s never forget, whether at TED, or anywhere else, that whatever brilliant ideas you have or hear, that the opposite may also be true. Domo arigato gozaimashita.

92. UK Royal Family Opinions – Video (Part 2) [TRANSCRIPT]

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This is the transcript to my YouTube video “UK Royal Family Opinions (Part 2)”. Some of the vocabulary is defined at the bottom of this blog post.

Transcript of UK Royal Family Opinions – English Speaker Interviews in London (PART 2)

Girl: Hello!

Luke: So, whereabouts are you from, in the country?

Girl: Um, from London

Luke: Ok, great, which part of London?

Girl: North West

Luke: Oh yeah

Girl: Queen’s Park

Luke: Queen’s Park, alright. So, err, having a nice day?

Girl: Yeah, it’s really good, yeah

Luke: Um, what do you think of the Royal Family?

Girl: I like the Royal Family. I liked the wedding. I thought it was nice that everyone was coming together. Yeah, I think they’re alright.

Luke: What about, erm… let’s see… Who’s your favourite member of the Royal Family?

Girl: Harry

Luke: Why?

Girl: (Be)cause he’s kind of my age-ish, seems alright, seems quite normal. I think both of the younger ones seem quite normal.

Luke: Yeah, okay. What do you mean by normal?

Girl: As in, like, not too, they kind of try and be as normal as, like, they can, like go to uni, army, stuff like that.

Luke: Yeah?

Girl: Yeah

Luke: You think the others aren’t normal?

Girl: I just think they seem a bit more, higher. I dunno, like maybe can’t relate to them as much.

Luke: If you had a choice would you get rid of them? Keep them?

Girl: I don’t think they’re doing any harm. I don’t think I’d get rid of them. I think it’s nice for the country to have a Royal Family. I think it’s nice.

Luke: Anything else to say to the people of the world?

Girl: Yey London!

Luke: Alright

Girl: I don’t know!

Luke: Thank you very much!

Couple in Green Park

Luke: So I’m asking people about the Royal Family. What do you think? Do you think they’re a good thing or a bad thing?

Man: I think you can differentiate between the Queen and some of the other members of the Royal Family. The Queen does an excellent job. I think it’s more difficult for the  others to know quite what their role is supposed to be.

Luke: Right, okay. Right what do you think?

Woman: I think… I admire them and I think a lot of them work hard but I think the media can give them a bad profile. They’re quite invasive [the media] and I think if anyone was under the spotlight they wouldn’t come out glowingly. I do admire The Queen and also the Princess Royal, Princess Anne, I think she works very hard, does a lot of work for charity. I’ve actually met her so I think that overall they’re good for the country, they’re good for tourism and I think they keep, generally keep good standards, so yeah, that’s my opinion.

Luke: Ok, right, thank you very much

Both: Thank you

Party Animals near Buckingham Palace. The girl is from Lancashire and the guy is from Yorkshire.

Luke: Right, so, I’m asking people about The Royal Family. What do you think, are they a good thing or a bad thing?

Girl: I think they bring valuable tourism, but that’s as far as it goes really. I don’t, yeah I’m not interested in them in the slightest.

Guy: I think they give us a British persona, we wouldn’t be British without a famous monarch, and she does look bloody lovely on the coins, much better than in person.

Luke: Ok, right, have you got a favourite Royal?

Guy: Yes!

Luke: Who?

Girl: It’s Kate Middleton!

Guy: YEAH!

Luke: So you like Kate then?

Guy: She makes a lovely breakfast

Luke: Have you had breakfast with her?

Guy: I ate with her in the morning

Luke: She makes a lovely breakfast?

Guy: Yes

Luke: Okay and, err, who do you like?

Girl: Yeah, obviously Kate, in that dress

Guy: Prince Harry’s a nice guy, he seems like the most genuine person who you could actually have a beer with in the Royal Family, I’d suggest, the only ginger person who is attractive to women in England as well, no offence interviewer [Luke: I’M NOT GINGER!]

Girl: And, I met the Queen… I met the Queen’s husband, I met the Queen’s husband once

Guy: Oh Prince Philip

Girl: Yeah

Luke: You met Prince Philip? This is fascinating

Girl: Yeah because he opened part of my college up, so I had to represent

Luke: What was he like?

Girl: He was a pretty funny guy. Dead posh, and he was in Salford so he was probably shit scared!

Guy: I met Prince Charles at our university opening and forgot to stand up but I had been drinking, very very much

Luke: Alright, thank you very much

Guy: I’m sorry Luke

Guy from Australia

Luke: Right, so what do you think of the Royal Family?

Aussie: Erm, neither here nor there really, like I suppose they’re a symbol of an era gone by. I think they bring in England a great deal of revenue. I think they’ve been a good money spinner for England.

Luke: Are they good for Australia? Big question isn’t it, I suppose.

Aussie: I think they’re good for a lot of the smaller countries that depend on the commonwealth, you know, and that symbolism at the top really holds a lot of those small countries together and gives them a voice whereas a lot of the Pacific nations wouldn’t have a voice if it wasn’t for being in the commonwealth, yeah

Luke: What do you like about William?

Aussie: He seems pretty… he’s not up himself for a start, he doesn’t seem to be up himself, he doesn’t mind getting in and getting

Luke: Getting his hands dirty

Aussie: Getting his hands dirty you know, his younger brother he’s not too bad either. He does some bad, some stupid things but all young blokes do. People have got to just accept that and get over it. Yeah but they both put their arses on the line for their country, you know?

Luke: Right, well thank you very much I appreciate that

Guy from Birmingham

Luke: So what do you think of the Royal Family?

Brummie: I think overall it’s a good thing. They’re an example, and you know they’ve… for the past couple of years they’ve really come into their own again. We’ve got Charles, you know, looking like he’s going to be one hell of a king, of course that’s if the Queen doesn’t outlive him. We’ve got erm, Harry and William who look like they’re going to be two excellent princes and one day king, so yeah they’re… I like them. I like the fact that we have a Royal Family. I think we should be proud of such.

Luke: Really yeah. What would you say to people who think that we shouldn’t have one?

Brummie: Most people who I’ve spoken to about it seem to object to the cost, which is fair enough, yes the Royal Family does cost but they do an immense amount of work for that and per head it’s actually very very small so I don’t mind that.

Luke: Yeah, okay, who’s your favourite Royal?

Brummie: I’d say if you asked me around the same time of the wedding I would have said William but overall as a head of state I’ve got to say The Queen.

Luke: Really, yeah. Why is that?

Brummie: She’s just an immense woman and she’s served for so long and still she wants to serve, you can see it, and she’s quite stylish.

Russian girl

Girl: Hello

Luke: So, err, where are you from?

Girl: I’m from Russia

Luke: Okay and how long have you been in…

Girl: For 3 years

Luke: Okay, right, so I’m asking people about the Royal Family. What do you think of the Royal Family in England, in Britain?

Girl: Well, it’s a nice tradition. I think it’s nice that they have here a Queen. People enjoy it.

Luke: People enjoy it, yeah okay. Erm, who’s your favourite Royal?

Girl: Prince William, Prince Harry as well

Luke: Yeah? Why do you like them?

Girl: I fancy them

Luke: Do you really? Which one is more attractive?

Girl: Maybe Prince Harry because he’s still available.

Luke: Okay. So, Harry if you’re watching, err, what’s your name?

Girl: Daria

Luke: Daria

Girl: That’s my boyfriend there!

Luke: Oh your boyfriend’s here, okay you’ll have to deal with him first. So you like Harry, umm, okay, fine, so what about Kate, what do you think of her?

Girl: Well she’s very nice. They’ve been [in] a long term relationship before the wedding so they’re a great couple. I was here when it was a [the] wedding, so actually I made some videos and I sent them to Russian TV and they used it on [the] news, Russian news

Luke: Do you work for Russian news?

Girl: No I don’t, it was just, like a favour for my friend

Luke: Oh that’s good

Girl: So I appear on Russian TV!

Luke: Great, wow, fame and fortune is [are] one the way

Vocabulary in this video:

whereabouts = where exactly. E.g. “Whereabouts in London do you live?”

-ish = this is a suffix which means ‘approximately’

relate to them = understand them / feel that you’re similar to them

get rid of them = throw them away / remove them

differentiate = see clear differences

admire = respect and look up to

invasive = invades your privacy

under the spotlight = in the eyes of the media a lot

they wouldn’t come out glowingly = they wouldn’t look good

I’m not interested in them in the slightest = I don’t care about them

persona = an identity

genuine = real / true

ginger = with red hair

dead posh = very posh

shit scared! = very scared

neither here nor there  = without strong feelings for or against

an era gone by = an old time

revenue = income for the government

a good money spinner = something that makes a lot of money

blokes = men (infomal)

get over it = recover from it / learn that it isn’t a problem any more

put their arses on the line = take risks

they’ve really come into their own again = they’re being successful again

one hell of a king = a great king

immense = big and impressive

I fancy them = I think they’re sexually attractive

87. Six Idioms and Six Phrasal Verbs (with Oli)

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I chat to Oli about the news and teach you 6 idioms and 6 phrasal verbs. For a list of the phrasal verbs and idioms see below. Thanks for downloading!

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I still haven’t received the Macmillan Phrasal Verb Dictionary by the way. When I receive it I will let you know.

The 6 Phrasal Verbs
(Luke’s phrasal verbs all begin with the letter L)
To lapse into something “I lapsed into a dream” -to go down into a different state
To let up “The snow just doesn’t let up” -to stop
To lust after something “They always lust after a big news story in the paper” -to really want something in a sexual way
To lash out at something “They lash out at criticism” -to react aggressively to something
To leaf through something “It’s nice to have a cup of tea and leaf through the paper” -to slowly turn the pages of a book or paper
To laugh something off “They just laugh off the criticism” -to deal with criticism by just laughing about it

The 6 Idioms
(Oli’s begin with the letter M)
To be no match for someone/something “This boxer is no match for Mike Tyson” -he’s not as good as Mike Tyson
To take matters into your own hands “He took matters into his own hands” -to take control of a situation yourself
To get a dose of your own medicine “He’s going to get a dose of his own medicine tonight” -to experience for yourself bad things which you normally do to others”
To take a trip down memory lane “Looking at those old photos made me take a trip down memory lane” -to make you remember something
To make a mental note “When you have an iPhone you don’t need to make a mental note” -to remember something
To take the mickey out of someone “They kept taking the mickey out of me for my new haircut” -to make fun of someone, to tease someone

84. Luke’s English Braincast (with James)

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Why is it called Luke’s English Braincast? Listen to the episode until the end to find out.

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Contents
What’s been going on? What’s been happening? In this episode, Luke and James talk about recent news stories and current affairs including:
– The London Olympic Games
– The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee
– The Superbowl
– Charles Dickens 200th Anniversary
– The Oscars 2012
– Women drivers
and a number of other fascinating topics! You will find a list of some vocabulary used in the show below. Just scroll down the page, listen to the episode and learning will occur!

You can also hear Luke’s award acceptance speech. I’m now going to shut up about the award!

DICTIONARY UPDATE
Fans of my Facebook page have voted for The Macmillan Phrasal Verbs Dictionary as their prize. So, I will let Macmillan know and then they will send me that dictionary. When I have received it, I will organise some kind of competition so that YOU have a chance to win it from me.

VOCABULARY
Are you a learner of English? Do you like natural English vocabulary? Do you like games? Do you think the world would be a better place if we all stopped taking ourselves so seriously all the time? Well, here’s a great new game you can play to improve your English. It’s called VOCAB HUNTER (in 3D). It’s not actually in 3D but that sounds better than just VOCAB HUNTER! Now, I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking – how do I play this fascinating game which is called VOCAB HUNTER (in 3D)? Well, simply look at the list of vocab + definitions below while you listen to this episode of Luke’s English Podcast. Whenever you hear a piece of vocab being used by Luke or his brother James, just SHOOT that item (mentally if you don’t have a laser gun or you don’t want to damage your computer) and move on to the next piece of vocab. That’s it. Could you be the best vocab hunter in the world? Can you identify and SHOOT (please don’t actually do any real shooting – just look at the vocab on the screen and say “OK” or “got it” or something) each piece of vocab as you see it? Are you ready to become the world’s greatest VOCAB HUNTER??? There’s only one way to find out, so listen to the conversation between Luke & James, and identify the vocab in this list: (please try to contain your excitement)

This list contains extracts from this podcast. I have typed these bits because I think they contain some phrases, expressions or words that I think you might not know. Use an online dictionary like the Macmillan Online Dictionary or The Cambridge Online Dictionary to get definitions.

James: You shouldn’t be so humble about these things
Luke: Sarcasm

Luke: I won a dictionary
James: We get that. Not that I’m putting that down, it’s a great achievement.

James: I think I’ve heard enough about the dictionary now. That’s all I’m saying. You might have milked that one a bit too much.
Luke: I might have over-egged the pudding

Luke: Which film did you see?
James: I saw ‘Young Adult’
Luke: ‘Young Adult’ – it sounds dodgy

James: Let’s talk about the news. That’s what I’m here for. To cast my expert eye over the week’s events across the media.
Luke: OK what have you come across? What news stories have you come across?

Luke: …the Olympic bid…

Luke: On one hand…  all the countries in the world take part and it’s an amazing celebration, but on the other hand London is such a crowded place that it could become an absolute nightmare.

James: Also, during what’s becoming a recession, isn’t it just a massive waste of money? When there’s people having their benefits taken away from them, councils have less and less money to spend on basic services, and the poor are getting poorer, the rich are getting richer, do you really need this pointless festival of sport?

Luke: Ooh let’s see who can run the fastest! In a way, that question is now redundant because we’ve got cars and bicycles.

James: If we had money coming out of our ears and we were very very rich and there was no problems with poverty in this country, which is never going to happen, but if we were living in a sort of utopia, then great, have a festival of sport, but otherwise I just think it’s a complete waste of money.

James: And also I thought the Olympics were supposed to be a very non-commercial event.

Luke: …they are promoting sport by making kids fat, allegedly.

Luke: …but it’s all revenue though isn’t it? It’s all revenue to the government.

James: There has been a lot of regeneration of East London because they want the area to look nice for international visitors, to show off to make London look nice. And in some ways that’s good, and they talk about the legacy, that’s kind of a catchphrase… …it’s not just about the event it’s about the legacy.

James: …a lone wolf terrorist…

James: Let’s move on to the next topic. We’ve cleared that one up.
Luke: We’ve done the Olympics.

James: The best one is when they get on the tube with a massive rucksack on and the tube doors close on their rucksack and they’re basically pinned to the door, trapped like a sort of scared animal and it’s very very funny. Tourists, keep doing that because it really brightens up my day.

Luke: I saw it the other day I saw a Japanese family dithering by the doors of a crowded underground train.

Luke: He was probably pleased because he probably thought “now I can go and get pissed” or something

Luke: Anyway let’s not be too down on the tourists because … we welcome tourists in London.

James: I found myself taking a photo of a van, just an ordinary van

The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee

James: I’d want to stay in bed. I wouldn’t relish that thought.

James: No wonder she’s such a heavy drinker. It’s a well known fact. She hits the sherry by about half eleven most days, by midday she’s onto her second or third. By ,idnight she is hammered.

James: Queen Victoria used to take it.
Luke: She had period pains and arthritis pains

James: I just made that up. I’m lying.

Luke: Mick Jagger is Sir Mick Jagger. He’s a Knight of the Realm.
James: What, for ‘services to paedophilia’?
Luke: Woa there! Where are all these allegations coming from?
James: Sorry I’m just a bit bored today. I’m just trying to liven it up.

The Queen’s Honours; e.g. OBE, CBE, Knighthood

James: cheering on a bunch of knuckleheaded…
Luke: …knuckleheaded sportsmen in armour

James: All you need to play American football is a bloody massive pitch, these weird upside-down goal things
Luke: You can play American football in a park
James: Yeah but not the full game. Not the full contact sport game, because you’d break your neck wouldn’t you. They need all that padding just in order to have a little kick around. You can play touch football I suppose but that’s not the actual game.

James: I used to get into them in the 80s. They used to show them on channel 4.

James: It’s just quite easy to take the mick out of really isn’t it.
Luke: We like making fun
James: Mocking people
Luke: Mocking Americans

James: It’s the screaming and the pointlessness of it all, and the crushing depression
Luke: You’re really negative today. You need to lighten up. Be more positive.

They start talking about the performance at superbowl this year with Madonna and MIA.

James: (About MIA) Her Dad used to be a Tamil Tiger.
Luke: She’s a musician from Sri Lanka

James: “and halfway through the performance she flipped the bird”

James: Not that shocking you might think but apparently people are upset about it… pre-watershed, Christians and that…

James: We’re being a bit mean
Luke: …a bit crazy today
James: a bit crass

James: Co)incidentally her new single’s out today… it’s a publicity stunt… we’re clever enough to say “we don’t care” “we don’t give a toss”.

James: it was okay. Out of ten I’d give it a five.
Luke: She sampled The Clash in that song. That’s the best bit of the song.
James: Mmm, they should have just not sampled the clash and just played The Clash.
Luke: I can play a bit of that song
James: Let’s not bother
Luke: If you’re listening, it’s called “Paper Planes” by MIA

Dickens’ 200th Anniversary

Luke: He was quite a good person
James: He was quite into social reform

James: People talk about things being ‘Dickensian’

Luke: The cliche that London is very old, dark, grey, foggy, smokey, and with lots of gap-toothed urchins, chimney sweeps, basically Charles Dickens…
James: Put that into the popular consciousness

The Oscars:
Luke: The ladies love George (Clooney). He’s often voted the sexiest man in the world, even though he is going grey, he’s got a few grey hairs going on but the ladies still seem to think he’s wonderful. My girlfriend for example, rather annoyingly, still loves George Clooney
James: Bit of jealousy there

Luke: Basically, The Oscars is Hollywood’s way of promoting its assets (itself).

“George Clooney always looks like he’s in an advert for George Clooney” Geoff Dyer in The Times

James: Oh that reminds me, have you seen the trailer for the new Tom Hanks film?

Luke: We don’t really like that kind of cheese in England
James: I hate that kind of really over the top, sentimentality

James: We like understatement. Not everyone, I can’t speak for the whole bloody country
Luke: We do like understatement though, and we prefer it when people aren’t so earnest like that, “well gee Dad I sure love you!”, instead in England it’s a bit like ” you know Dad, you’re alright”
James: Yeah; we’d prefer that. I’d well up at that

Luke: We tend to hide behind jokes. We’re diseased, we’ve got a disease, it’s called a sense of humour. We use it to cover up our awkwardness

James: It’s like Ricky Gervais (said), you’ve got to do a movie about the holocaust,
Luke: A movie about an idiot or a movie about the holocaust is the best way to win an oscar
James: Play a disabled or a jew
Luke: Woa there!!!
James: That’s his words, not mine

Women Drivers
Luke: Women just use a car to go from A to B… They don’t value driving as a way of proving themselves

Luke: The cliche is that women can’t park a car… Surveillance of car parks around Britain, CCTV surveillance around Britain in car parks has revealed that while women take longer than men to get their cars into small spaces, they do it more skillfully. They actually do it more successfully. So all these security cameras all over the country have…
James: Well, the ones that are left and haven’t been crashed into by women
Luke: Ha ha very funny. These security cameras have revealed that women may park more slowly but they do it more successfully.

The stupidest thief
James: There are some very deranged people out there, very disturbed people out there. You should probably say you read that from The Week didn’t you.

Cold weather
James: What disturbed me is, the night of the cold snap, I can’t remember what country it was, like 40 homeless people died, or more, like loads and loads of homeless people died. It’s just such a horrible thought that people haven’t got a home to go to and when it gets that cold you just die.
That’s all I have time to do at the moment. Listeners – if you have some time to kill then please transcribe the last 10mins of this episode and send it to me at luketeacher@hotmail.com
For now, it’s good night.

Now it’s time to say good night
Good night Sleep tight
Now the sun turns out his light
Good night Sleep tight
Dream sweet dreams for me
Dream sweet dreams for you.
Close your eyes and I’ll close mine
Good night Sleep tight
Now the moon begins to shine
Good night Sleep tight
Dream sweet dreams for me
Dream sweet dreams for you.
Close your eyes and I’ll close mine
Good night Sleep tight
Now the sun turns out his light
Good night Sleep tight
Dream sweet dreams for me
Dream sweet dreams for you.
Good night Good night Everybody
Everybody everywhere
Good night.

79. Family Arguments and Debates (with The Thompsons)

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Listen to the family discussing issues, debating questions and doing speaking challenges in this episode.

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This episode is filled with useful vocabulary and expressions. Listen to hear people expressing their opinions, arguing and debating various important and entertaining issues. I also talk about New Year, Christmas and the view from my living room window.

Here is some of the language which you hear in this episode. Listen to hear me explaining some of it and giving examples.

Enjoy the episode and I hope you find it useful.

VOCABULARY AND EXPRESSIONS FROM THIS EPSIODE
Question 1: Which is better – British English or American English?
-it’s the correct form of English
-so all the Americans are getting it wrong?
-they can speak how they like, it doesn’t really bother me
-they can spell ‘colour’ however the hell they like, and they do goddammit
-since then we’ve changed
-why would they have changed?
-let Dad clear this up
-there’s a strong feeling that American English is sloppy
-I’m saying that there is a view, but it’s not logical
-it’s two cultures divided by a common language
-I reckon British people are just snobbish
-they corrupt it and bastardize it
-the only thing that bugs me is when Americans tell me that I’m doing it wrong
-they’re basically just in-bred redneck cowboys, that’s what you think
-there’s no such thing as a set language
-American culture has been built on enterprise, individuality
-and guns
-and go getting
-and go getting guns
-let’s go get some guns!
-the culture back home is precision precision precision
-do something pared down
-precisely, not vague

Question 2: Should you give money to homeless people?
-they’re probably on drugs
-what I prefer to do is give it to an organisation
-I’d rather give it to Shelter (a charity)
-I don’t have a definitive point of view
-who am I to deny this guy his can of beer if he’s down and out, if he wants to scav a quid off me and I’m feeling flush that day, why not?
-we all have this dilemma

Question 3: If a tree falls in the forest and there’s nobody there, does it make a noise?

Question 4: Why don’t the English learn another language? Why are we bad at learning languages?
-stop talking about the bloody empire
-let’s not get caught up in some sort of French grammatical debate

Question 5: Is it ever justifiable to commit an act of murder?
-manslaughter
-mitigating circumstances
-does that count as murder?
-to take someone’s life
-BIG ARGUMENT BETWEEN LUKE, JAMES AND DAD!!! -Are personal morality and the law the same thing?
-are you talking in terms of the burglar?
-it wasn’t a life or death situation – he went on a revenge mission
-battered him so that he was brain damaged

Question 6: Is the music of the 1960s better than the music of current times?
-no contest
-it’s personal opinion
-you can measure it by public opinion
-imagine a survey
-an imaginary survey is not evidence
-I don’t think it’s cut and dry
-there’s all sorts of music about now which would have blown people’s minds

Topics in the speaking game: shopping, The Royal Family, reading books, bird watching

That’s it for now!