23 March, 2005
Blogging out!
Drats, just lost my posting, so here goes again!
I hope you are all well and enjoy the weekend (when it comes, even for Engineer Ehab - but I think he enjoys working 7 days a week). :-)
It's lovely to have Wednesday evenings free, isn't it?
Take a deep breath, stand back and think about what you have learned and all the tips / advice that has been flowing. Above all, practise, practise,practise, practise,practise, practise,practise, practise your English and NOT just IELTS testing material.
Zeena is here and sends you all this message:
"Good luck everyone! Believe in yourselves! You can do it! My dad might seem horrible and grumpy at times, but he's really a big softie inside!!"
So I'm blogging out and will comment on any postings over the next few days.
Stand by next week for some tasks to be completed on the blog.
Have a great weekend - that's an order - yellow card otherwise!
Tony and Zeena
5.58pm, Wednesday (The "day of Woden' a pagan Norse God)
I hope you are all well and enjoy the weekend (when it comes, even for Engineer Ehab - but I think he enjoys working 7 days a week). :-)
It's lovely to have Wednesday evenings free, isn't it?
Take a deep breath, stand back and think about what you have learned and all the tips / advice that has been flowing. Above all, practise, practise,practise, practise,practise, practise,practise, practise your English and NOT just IELTS testing material.
Zeena is here and sends you all this message:
"Good luck everyone! Believe in yourselves! You can do it! My dad might seem horrible and grumpy at times, but he's really a big softie inside!!"
So I'm blogging out and will comment on any postings over the next few days.
Stand by next week for some tasks to be completed on the blog.
Have a great weekend - that's an order - yellow card otherwise!
Tony and Zeena
5.58pm, Wednesday (The "day of Woden' a pagan Norse God)
Comments:
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Hiya Mohammed, my ace blogger!
Good to see that you are with me in spirit and getting down to some serious studying.
All work and no play can make you "dull", so do go out and smell the flowers; walk along the beach; write a poem for your lovely daughter who'll be here soon; laugh at a silly film, book or joke or generally relax and let all this intensive language work "sink in" and register as part of your armoury and ammunition for the dragons that need slaying inthe IELTS ordeal to come.
Bye for now
Good night my #1 blogmate
Tony
11.42pm Woden's day
Good to see that you are with me in spirit and getting down to some serious studying.
All work and no play can make you "dull", so do go out and smell the flowers; walk along the beach; write a poem for your lovely daughter who'll be here soon; laugh at a silly film, book or joke or generally relax and let all this intensive language work "sink in" and register as part of your armoury and ammunition for the dragons that need slaying inthe IELTS ordeal to come.
Bye for now
Good night my #1 blogmate
Tony
11.42pm Woden's day
Hello Mohammed and Ahmed and the rest of this "community" of learners!
I appreciate your very kind words gentlemen - it's lovely to be getting a response and feeling that you have more weapons and knowledge to tackle this dreadful 'dragon' known as IELTS.
I would love to see the "Million Dollar Baby" - unfortunately a certain 10 year old isn't too keen, neither her mother. I think Clint Eastwood films are quite masculine, don't you?
I had a really good swim in the sea this afternoon (I've been swimming in the sea all winter) I love looking at the fish and wish I were a dolphin or a porpoise. I'm also finishing an epic biography of "Scott" the Antartic explorer who died so tragically, but heroically in 1912 - a truly inspiring story and very moving. It's written by a great explorer in his own right - Sir Ranulph Fiennes.
On Saturday our ADSL broadband should be connected and we'll be flying 'outa' sight on the Net.
Zeena has 10 days "Easter" holiday break. By the way, can anyone explain the importance of "Easter" for Christians (a lot of young Britons or Brits (don't call us Britishers or I'll feel like punching your nose!)are unaware of why they celebrate Easter. I thought you are probably more intelligent than they are . . .
Good to hear your positive comments, Ahmed. None of is likely to underestimate IELTS, but let's marshal our linguistic resources and give it our best shot.
I'm about to email Sheherazade, my eldest daughter. She's a newly qualified Grade 4 teacher in a primary school in my home town Watford, north of London, and she's coping really well with the pressure and heavy workload. She's off snowboarding in Andorra for a week, with a friend, I hope she doesn't break anything. I'm sure she'll have a fabulous time in the mountains - good for her. Dana is working really hard in her 5th year Medical school at Imperial College. She's coming out to her birth place, Abu Dhabi, for 10 days in late April. nadine has broken up for the easter holidays from her Zoology studies (2nd year) at Liverpool University and is just chilling at our house in Watford.
That's all for now, my blogmates! I'll log in tomorrow and see how you're doing on "Good Friday" which has a lot of resonance for me when I recall my upbringing as a devout Roman Catholic. The caravan has certainly moved and taken me in a different direction since then ...
Good night bloggers!
Tony
8.14pm
Thursday (the pagan God Thor being thus remembered)
I appreciate your very kind words gentlemen - it's lovely to be getting a response and feeling that you have more weapons and knowledge to tackle this dreadful 'dragon' known as IELTS.
I would love to see the "Million Dollar Baby" - unfortunately a certain 10 year old isn't too keen, neither her mother. I think Clint Eastwood films are quite masculine, don't you?
I had a really good swim in the sea this afternoon (I've been swimming in the sea all winter) I love looking at the fish and wish I were a dolphin or a porpoise. I'm also finishing an epic biography of "Scott" the Antartic explorer who died so tragically, but heroically in 1912 - a truly inspiring story and very moving. It's written by a great explorer in his own right - Sir Ranulph Fiennes.
On Saturday our ADSL broadband should be connected and we'll be flying 'outa' sight on the Net.
Zeena has 10 days "Easter" holiday break. By the way, can anyone explain the importance of "Easter" for Christians (a lot of young Britons or Brits (don't call us Britishers or I'll feel like punching your nose!)are unaware of why they celebrate Easter. I thought you are probably more intelligent than they are . . .
Good to hear your positive comments, Ahmed. None of is likely to underestimate IELTS, but let's marshal our linguistic resources and give it our best shot.
I'm about to email Sheherazade, my eldest daughter. She's a newly qualified Grade 4 teacher in a primary school in my home town Watford, north of London, and she's coping really well with the pressure and heavy workload. She's off snowboarding in Andorra for a week, with a friend, I hope she doesn't break anything. I'm sure she'll have a fabulous time in the mountains - good for her. Dana is working really hard in her 5th year Medical school at Imperial College. She's coming out to her birth place, Abu Dhabi, for 10 days in late April. nadine has broken up for the easter holidays from her Zoology studies (2nd year) at Liverpool University and is just chilling at our house in Watford.
That's all for now, my blogmates! I'll log in tomorrow and see how you're doing on "Good Friday" which has a lot of resonance for me when I recall my upbringing as a devout Roman Catholic. The caravan has certainly moved and taken me in a different direction since then ...
Good night bloggers!
Tony
8.14pm
Thursday (the pagan God Thor being thus remembered)
Welcome Ekaterina! Nice to have you aboard!
I don't trawl your comments or postings for "mistakes" to be corrected - the fact that you are prepared to discuss topics in this public / private forum is very encouraging, so why not just let it'hang out' and talk to each other?
Mohammed can take being corrected and welcomes such feedback, others might be embarrassed. When I give you writing tasks to be posted on the blog then comments will be appreciated. Also when I work on my new PC I see that Windows XP gives me more fonts and colours than this dinosaur I'm using at the moment.
A few points for Mohammed then:
- prepAration is the correct spelling
- word order "I never work nor play EXCESSIVELY" (adverb usually after the main verb)
- a film usually has an "endING", doesn't it - whether you like it or not?
- " I accompanied a french exploring divers " is a tricky one. Your phrase is too compressed - maybe we should say something like " a team / party of French divers who were exploring ..."
- PROGRAM - spelt the American way, I always think of computer programs - in your sense I would use PROGRAMME (of course!) in that the British spelling stands out from the technical use of the word for computers and it also annoys people who copy everything American in a slavish way. So stand out from the crowd and use British spellings, expressions and accent - the Americans will notice it and probably be amused rather than annoyed, actually. Others probably won't appreciate your exquisite taste in preferring the language of Chaucer, Milton, Shakespeare, Dickens and Austen, will they?
I'll be off on my bike soon with Zeena to enjoy this splendid Friday (day of the pagan goddess Friya) morning!
Bye for now!
Blog on!
Teaser Tony
10.05am
I don't trawl your comments or postings for "mistakes" to be corrected - the fact that you are prepared to discuss topics in this public / private forum is very encouraging, so why not just let it'hang out' and talk to each other?
Mohammed can take being corrected and welcomes such feedback, others might be embarrassed. When I give you writing tasks to be posted on the blog then comments will be appreciated. Also when I work on my new PC I see that Windows XP gives me more fonts and colours than this dinosaur I'm using at the moment.
A few points for Mohammed then:
- prepAration is the correct spelling
- word order "I never work nor play EXCESSIVELY" (adverb usually after the main verb)
- a film usually has an "endING", doesn't it - whether you like it or not?
- " I accompanied a french exploring divers " is a tricky one. Your phrase is too compressed - maybe we should say something like " a team / party of French divers who were exploring ..."
- PROGRAM - spelt the American way, I always think of computer programs - in your sense I would use PROGRAMME (of course!) in that the British spelling stands out from the technical use of the word for computers and it also annoys people who copy everything American in a slavish way. So stand out from the crowd and use British spellings, expressions and accent - the Americans will notice it and probably be amused rather than annoyed, actually. Others probably won't appreciate your exquisite taste in preferring the language of Chaucer, Milton, Shakespeare, Dickens and Austen, will they?
I'll be off on my bike soon with Zeena to enjoy this splendid Friday (day of the pagan goddess Friya) morning!
Bye for now!
Blog on!
Teaser Tony
10.05am
Last comment for the weekend:
Thanks Yasmeen for your enthusiasm and kindness.
Zeena is on holiday for 10 days and might make an appearance, but I can't promise 100% that she will come, let's "play it by ear" [does anyone know that expression?]
My spiritual journey has been long and winding and there are some major destinations yet to be visited. I can give you the "quick, easy" answer as to why I converted, but the deeper, more mystical aspects are much too personal to air in such a context.
I'm sure you understand my reticence and I understand your interest in my life-altering decision to change my religion at the age of 26 . . . Patience, blogmates.
Blogging out
Enjoy the lovely evening
Let's rock and roll tomorrow - I want a full scale Writing (Task 1 and 2) from you at 8.45 - 9.45 pm - be warned and bring a sharp pencil!
Tony
around 9.15 pm, Friday
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Thanks Yasmeen for your enthusiasm and kindness.
Zeena is on holiday for 10 days and might make an appearance, but I can't promise 100% that she will come, let's "play it by ear" [does anyone know that expression?]
My spiritual journey has been long and winding and there are some major destinations yet to be visited. I can give you the "quick, easy" answer as to why I converted, but the deeper, more mystical aspects are much too personal to air in such a context.
I'm sure you understand my reticence and I understand your interest in my life-altering decision to change my religion at the age of 26 . . . Patience, blogmates.
Blogging out
Enjoy the lovely evening
Let's rock and roll tomorrow - I want a full scale Writing (Task 1 and 2) from you at 8.45 - 9.45 pm - be warned and bring a sharp pencil!
Tony
around 9.15 pm, Friday
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