Mother's Day

26 May is celebrated in Poland as Mother's Day. What's interesting this festival falls on different days in various countries :

in the UK and Ireland - the fourth Sunday in Lent (=Wielkiego Postu)

in the USA, Australia - second Sunday of May

France - first Sunday of June [Pentecost (= Zielone Świątki) also occurs on this day]

On the occasion of Mother's Day I would like to recall a song of the band 'The Shireless' - 'Mama said'. The African American girl group achieved popularity in the early 1960s.

Below you can find the lyrics of the song to sing along... ;)

Mama said there'll be days like this, 
There'll be days like this Mama said 
(Mama said, mama said) 
Mama said there'll be days like this, 
There'll be days like this my Mama said 
(Mama said, mama said) 
I went walking the other day, 
Everything was going fine, 
I met a little boy named Billy Joe 
And then I almost lost my mind 
Mama said there'll be days like this, 
There'll be days like this Mama said 
(Mama said, mama said) 
Mama said there'll be days like this, 
There'll be days like this my Mama said 
My eyes are wide open 
But all that I can see is, 
chapel bells are callin for everyone but-a me 
but I don't worry cause 
Mama said there'll be days like this, 
There'll be days like this Mama said 
(Mama said, mama said) 
Mama said there'll be days like this, 
There'll be days like this my Mama said 
And then she said someone will look at me 
like I'm looking at you one day, 
then I might find 
I don't want it any old way, 
so I don't worry cause 
Mama said there'll be days like this, 
There'll be days like this Mama said 
(Mama said, mama said) 
Mama said there'll be days like this, 
There'll be days like this my Mama said 
Mama said, mama said 
Hey! Don't you worry, 
Mama said mama said 
Hey! Don't you worry now. 
Mama said mama said, 
Hey! Hey!

How do you usually celebrate Mother's Day?

The Olympic flame arrives in the UK!

The Olympic flame has arrived in the UK. The Princess Royal (The Queen's daughter), the footballer David Beckham and London Mayor Boris Johnson, among others, flew from Anthens, Greece, with the flame. A 70-day torch relay will travel through 1,019 cities, towns and villages and stop at such UK landmarks as the Giant's Causeway and Stonehenge. The youngest participant of the 8,000-mile relay is an eleven-year-old boy, whereas the most elderly torchbearer is a woman who will turn 100 in four days! 

The relay will culminate in the opening ceremony of the London 2012 games at the Olympic stadium on July 27th. 

Simplified route of the torch relay

The Olympic torch on display in Cardiff, Wales

London Mayor Boris Johnson has said : 'With every day of the torch relay, the excitement will build around the country as we look forward to this fantastic festival of sport and culture'.

I invite you to see two videos connected to the Olympic flame:

Glossary:

flame - ogień

torch - pochodnia

torchbearer - niosący pochodnię

relay - sztafeta

lantern - lampion, latarnia

light - lit - lit - zapalać

cauldron / ˈkɔːldrən/ - kocioł

landmarks - charakterystyczne obiekty

The photos come from : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Summer_Olympics_torch_relay, Creative Commons; the torch : author : Jon Candy; Creative Commons; the videos come from : youtube

All the '-olisms' of the world

Many people suffer from addiction...The most well-known and dangerous forms of dependency are : 

alcoholism /ˈælkəhɒlɪzəm/ 

drug addiction 

gambling 

Gambling may drive you into bankruptcy

Many new terms related to behavioural addiction have recently been created. Such phenomena as compulsive buying, and workaholism have been identified. 

Here is a list of the most popular forms of addiction:

shopaholism (compulsive shopping, oniomania)

shopaholic -a person who suffers from shopaholism

Shopaholism - new purchases bring short-term euphoria

workaholism (work addiction)

workaholic - a person who suffers from work addiction

overeating (=objadanie się)

exercise abuse

sugar addiction

caffeine addiction

chocoholism (=addiction to chocolate)

addiction to painkillers (=uzależnienie od środków przeciwbólowych)

tanorexia (tanning addicition)

Tanorexia causes permanent damage to your skin

bigorexia (muscle dysmorphia)

Bigorexia is an obsession with well-developed muscles

orthorexia (=obsession with healthy food)

Orthorexia is quite a new phenomenon

sex addiction

computer addiction

Internet addiction disorder (Internet overuse)

Many teenagers may develop Internet addiction

mobile phone addiction 

television addiction

How to check whether your compulsive behaviour has already turned into an addiction? 

Here are some alarm signals:

1. Getting the object of desire satisfies your needs for a short period of time. Feelings of euphoria, joy, calmness pass away very quickly, giving way to anxiety and sadness.

2. Your life revolves around your dependency...Your addiction comes to the fore, pushing your family, work, health and financial situation into the background.

3. You are able to spend your last penny on the thing you adore (video game, magazine, cosmetic products).

4. You keep thinking about the activity/thing you like; it becomes an obsession.

Glossary:

addiction/dependency - uzależnienie

to be addicted to sth - być uzależnionym od czegoś

an addict - uzależniony; narkoman 

abuse - nadużywanie, e.g. alcohol abuse

compulsive - nałogowy 

to suffer from sth - cierpieć na coś

phenomenon (pl. phenomena) - zjawisko

term - termin

behavioural - behavioralny; związany z zachowaniem

an object of desire - przedmiot pożądania

to pass away - mijać

to give way to sth - ustępować miejsca czemuś

anxiety - niepokój

to revolve around sth - toczyć się wokół czegoś

to come to the fore - wysunąć się na pierwszy plan

Can you think of any other forms of addiction?

Pępek świata!

I don't remember how I have hit on this idea (=wpadłam na pomysł) for a post... 

Do you know how we say 'pępek' (French : nombril) in English? In formal English it is called 

'a navel'...The colloquial words are : 'belly button' and 'tummy button'.

navel - the small hollow part (=wgłębienie) or lump (=wybrzuszenie) in the stomach where the umbilical cord (=pępowina) was cut at birth (=podczas narodzin).

A belly button with a piercing

The navel, also known in medical English as the umbilicus, is, in fact, a scar (=blizna) on the abdomen. 

Although navels vary in terms of (=różnią się pod względem) size, shape, depth and length, there are two principal kinds of belly buttons 

- an innie navel (the navel scar appears as a depression = wglębienie) and an outie navel (the scar is a protrusion = wypukłość) :

innie navel

outie navel

What's interesting around 90% of humans have innies. 

Here are some expressions and idioms connected with belly buttons :

Your belly button is bigger than your stomach! (American English) 

= you take on too many responsibilities; bierzesz na siebie za dużo obowiązków

Your belly button isn't even dry yet!

= you are too young to do something; jesteś za młody by coś robić; masz mleko pod nosem

pępek świata (miasto, kraj) - the hub of the universe

uważa się za pępek świata - he thinks that the whole world revolves around him

widzieć tylko własny pępek - to contemplate one's navel

Can you think of any other expressions related to navels?

The photos come from : http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/view-image.php?image=7395&picture=belly-dancers-body, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Human_navel,_female.jpg; Creative Commons; Stinkie Pinkie, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Female_Outie_2.jpg; Creative Commons; Kyriaki

A guide to London - Buckingham Palace

Today the first part of my guide to London! London is famous for its numerous sights (=atrakcje turystyczne) and monuments (=zabytki). I feel that Samuel Johnson's words reflect London's great variety and abundance of tourist attractions (=różnorodność i obfitość atrakcji turystycznych) the best:

"When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life"

I am going to present London's greatest highlights (=główne atrakcje), starting with the focal point (=punkt centralny) of the city - Buckingham Palace.

Buckingham Palace

The palace was built in 1705 for the first Duke of Buckingham, a British poet and politician, John Sheffield. In 1761 the building was acquired by George III as a private residence for his wife, Queen consort Charlotte. During the 19th century the palace was enlarged mainly by two architects - John Nash and Edward Blore. Buckingham Palace became the official residence of the British monarchs in 1837, when Queen Victoria ascended to the throne (=wstąpiła na tron).  

In front of the palace there is a splendid sculpture - The Victoria Memorial, dedicated to Queen Victoria who ruled the UK from 1837 to 1901. The monument was created by an English sculptor, Sir Thomas Brock. Queen Victoria's effigy (=podobizna) facing the Mall (the road running from Buckingham Palace to Admiralty Arch and Trafalgar Square) is surrounded by white marble (=z marmuru) and bronze statues.

    

 

The Victoria Memorial

   

The top of the memorial

One of the statues surrounding the memorial

A flag always flies on the mast

The Victoria Memorial in all its glory

The balcony of the palace where the famous
newly-wed William and Kate's 'double kiss'
took place

One of the guards of the palace

A few more curiosities (=ciekawostki) :

There are 775 rooms in the palace - 19 State rooms, 52 royal and guest bedrooms, 188 personnel bedrooms (over 800 staff live at the palace !), 92 offices and 78 bathrooms. The palace has its own chapel, doctor's surgery, post office, swimming pool, cinema and staff cafeteria. The largest room in the palace is the Ballroom, where state banquets and investitures (=pasowanie na urząd) take place. The hall is 36.6 m long, 18m wide and 13.5m high.

More than 50,000 people visit Buckingham Palace each year, being guests at banquets, receptions, lunches, dinners and garden parties. The residence's kitchen is able to serve a sit-down meal to 600 people at a time!

The 40 acre garden of Buckingham Palace includes a helicopter landing area, a lake and a tennis court. It is home to 30 various bird species and 350 different plants, some of them being very rare (=rzadkie). 

The first appearance on the world-famous balcony took place in 1851, when Queen Victoria stepped on it during celebrations for the opening of the Great Exhibition (magnificent exhibition in Hyde Park from 1 May till 15 October 1851).

What's interesting, during the Second World War the palace was directly struck by nine bombs. 

A flag always flies on the mast of the palace. When the Queen is in the residence, the Royal Standard flies, whereas her absence in the palace is marked by the Union Flag.

the Royal Standard
source: the Internet

Tourists can see some chambers (=sale) of the palace with their own eyes - the Royal Gallery and the Royal Mews (=królewskie stajnie).

The Gold State Coach

Apart from the Royal Gallery and the Royal Mews, the State Rooms of the palace are open to the public in August and September when the Queen is absent from the residence.

Close to Buckingham Palace there is a splendid St. James's Park...

It is a very good idea to have a pleasant walk through the park in order to arrive at the spledid Trafalgar Square...This spot will be the topic of my next post.

Source of the photos : private collection

Prince Charles as a weather forecaster!

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of BBC Scotland, Prince Charles along with his wife Camilla Parker Bowles have visited the broadcaster's (=nadawcy) headquarters (=siedzibę). The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall had a go at (=spróbowali swoich sił) reading the weather forecast! Against a background (=tło) of the BBC's weather map, the royals delivered a specially-prepared script (=scenariusz) which included several references (=odniesienia) to royal residences in Scotland. The Duke of Rothesay presented the report with a great sense of humor, saying for example: "Who the hell wrote this script?" and "Thank God it isn't a bank holiday (=święto państwowe)". The visit was part of the annual Holyrood Week - an event the aim of which (=którego celem jest) is to celebrate Scottish culture, achievement (=osiągnięcia) and history. 

I invite you to watch Prince Charles' and the Duchess of Cornwall's appearance (=występ; pojawienie się) in front of BBC cameras:

On the occasion  - some weather vocabulary :

weather forecast - prognoza pogody

weather forecaster - prezenter prognozy pogody, meteorolog

background, backdrop - tło

slide projector - rzutnik

pointer - wskaźnik

point to - wskazywać

the points of the compass - strony swiata

North - N - północ

South - S - południe

West - W - zachód

East - E - wschód

warm/cold front - ciepły/zimny front

atmospheric pressure - ciśnienie atmosferyczne

storm clouds - chmury burzowe

Source of the videos : youtube

9th May - Europe Day

The flag of Europe - official flag of the EU

The 9th May is celebrated as the day of the European Union. The organisation came into being on the 1st November 1993. Europe Day is one of the symbols of the EU whose aim is to foster (=rozwijać, zaszczepiać) the sense of unity (=poczucie jedności) amongst the member states. 

At present there are 27 EU members :

Austria (1995)*

 Belgium (1952)

 Bulgaria (2007)

 Cyprus (2004)

 Czech Republic (2004) 

 Denmark (1973)

 Estonia (2004)

 Finland (1995)

 France (1952)

 Germany (1952)

 Greece (1981)

 Hungary (2004)

 Ireland (1973)

 Italy (1952)

 Latvia (2004)

 Lithuania (2004)

 Luxembourg (1952)

 Malta (2004)

 Netherlands (1952)

 Poland (2004)

 Portugal (1986)

 Romania (2007)

 Slovakia (2004)

 Slovenia (2004)

 Spain (1986)

 Sweden (1995)

 United Kingdom (1973)

*The dates in brackets are the years of accession to the EU.

common currency

Source of the photos : http://pixabay.com/