English with Dorota

24/08/2022

Good morning, Warsaw!

30/07/2022

A torrential rain in a pine forest. A gift.

17/03/2022

There's a wealth of Paddy's Day craic going on

07/01/2022

05/11/2021

⏰ Spring forward(s), fall back! ⏰
Check below a short story on how it happened that twice a year we change clocks, when we do so and how we talk about all this:

* forward OR forwards? No difference here.
** 'fall' - an American word for 'autumn'

Around the world, countries have been changing the clocks for more than a century. But hitting that snooze button when we lose an hour...

31/10/2021

Happy Halloween, Folks!

Halloween or Hallowe'en, also known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve, is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows' Day.

19/05/2021

May has been more wet than usual so far. According to Met Office it is going to get even more wet! Showers, drizzle, rainfall, light rain, heavy rain, torrential rain and more rain. You can always count on the English weather! ;)

Check the variety of comments you can come across in a chat:
It’s spitting. (Occasional drops of rain)
It’s drizzling. (Occasional light rain)
It's just a shower! (Light rain)
It’s pouring down. (Heavy rain)
It’s chucking it down. (Heavy rain)
It’s bucketing down. (Torrential rain)
It’s raining cats and dogs. (Any rain)

So here is you after a summer holiday by the English seaside:
Friend: So, what was the weather like?
You: It started off drizzling. Then it changed into showers. Then it started bucketing down and ended up as torrential rain!
Friend: So, it rained cats and dogs most of the time! Proper English summer...

While there are no weather warnings currently in place, the Met Office does not rule out them being issued on Thursday.

10/05/2021

In the country where a cuppatea or cuppa is the nation's favourite, one cannot imagine tea coming without a plate of biscuits. Usually, kept in a tin, they come in different shapes, colours and flavours. This article from The Guardian tells you a story which has led to the perfect marriage of 'tea&buiscuits'!
Why not have a read and enjoy your cuppa with a couple of some yummie biscuits!

Britons love biscuits. But how much do you really know about them? Here’s how they have been used for booze, breath fresheners and much more besides

05/05/2021

Election time! So, some election vocab and facts.

2021 U.K. ELECTIONS TO THE LOCAL GOVERNMENTS

Unlike the rest of the world, who do voting at a weekend, the U.K., obviously, has to do it their own way. Whether to the Parliament or to the local government the U.K. elections always take place on... Thursday!
You can vote in person, by post or by proxy (a person you chose to represent you).
If you vote in person, you will go to a polling station. The Electoral Commission will give you a ballot paper, on which you’ll mark the box next to the name of your candidate (or candidates). You will do so in a polling booth, as the ballot needs to maintain secret. You’ll cast your ballot into a ballot box.
Then you’ll walk out of the polling station, wait the results, hoping for the best! :D
Here, today’s issue of Manchester Evening News tells you all how this year’s election is going to be even more different than usually.

The voting experience will be different in 2021 in the delayed elections

22/03/2021

⏰ Spring forward(s), fall back! ⏰
Check this article from The Guardian to find out how it happened that twice a year we change clocks, when we do so and how we talk about this.

* forward OR forwards? No difference here.
** 'fall' - an Americhan word for 'autumn'

British summer time officially starts at 1am on Sunday 28 March, when we all lose an hour of sleep but gain sunlight

14/03/2021

It's Mother's Day here in the UK! To all the mums out there...Have a purrfect day! 😘