乌克兰的教书Grandfield先生

在土耳其机场等待飞机的时候，旁边坐着一个戴眼镜的瘦瘦高高的小哥，年龄大约23-25岁。

我以“为什么你的行李上有带着土耳其航空公司的标签，而我的没有呢？我是不是错过了什么程序”为开端，开始了和这位小哥的聊天。

小哥是属于那种文质彬彬温文儒雅的书生，肤色很白，是个典型的英国小伙子。他的整个身体都显得很长，穿着得体的褐色忖衫和裁剪也很精细的深蓝色牛仔裤，一双干净的运动鞋，手里一个电脑包。像是一支高档的放在棕色绸缎上用柔软的缎带系着的钢笔，给人感觉非常温和。

我问小哥叫什么名字，小哥拿出他的登机牌，说他的姓氏是很奇怪的，叫Grandfield, 名字听上去就像田野里的一个稻草人。的确，如果小哥带上一顶破帽子站在金黄色的田野中间，说不定能赶走几只聒噪的鸟。哦，对。因为太注重姓氏的原因而把他的名字忘掉了，记忆中像是叫 william之类的在英国很常见的名字。

目前，他在乌克兰教英语，而且已经在乌克兰呆了整整一年。

“乌克兰，对，就是那个现在正在战争中的乌克兰。”他已经不惊讶别人听到这个国家的惊讶程度了。

“其实我所在的教书的地方还挺安全的，有冲突的是乌克兰的另一边，离我工作的地方很远。”

“我其实不担心的，最多战争延伸到这里的时候，我会马上收拾包袱回英国。”

Grandfield先生从小在离曼彻斯特城市大概半小时的一个叫Bolton的地方生活，刚刚大学毕业两年。大学毕业之后他去参加了英语教师的培训课程，拿到资格证之后就开始了他的教书生涯。

在去乌克兰之前，Grandfield先生已经在法国和意大利教过书，虽然他会说法语和少量的西班牙文，但留在那两个国家的时间并不长。在法国留了三个月，在意大利留了半年。

“我不喜欢留在那里，反而我喜欢留在乌克兰。那里的生活很安静，人们都很友好。所以目前我没有离开乌克兰的打算。我有两周的假期，所以我选择回家看一下我的父母。上一次我回去已经是圣诞的那时候啦！我很想他们。”

“法国和意大利也很好，只不过我觉得生活在那里太容易了，跟英国生活差不多，所以我会想跳出这样的生活，到其他的国家体验一下。”

“教英语就是有这样的好处，只要你厌倦了这个国家的生活，你可以马上到其他国家去，也能找到一份工作。”

Joanna —-A Polish girl looking for a job in London

When I first came to Joanna’s apartment, I get a shock about the place where she lived. Her room is about 20 square metres, just like a little yard. In this small room, there is a queen-sized double bed, a wooden wardrobe, a computer table and a chair. What makes it different from student dormitory is that there is a humble kitchen, with a dishwasher and a microwave on a one metre high cabinet.

It is just one room in an old red building, which is located near the DLR Deptford Bridge in London.  At least ten people in the same building share a kitchen, a toilet and a bathroom. The stairs are narrow even for one person. And the red carpet on it seems like it has not been cleaned for ten years.  When you walk around this area, you will find a high street. Most shops there are opened by Asian and African businessmen.

Joanna rents it from a Brazilian woman, who rents this room for her son. Her son will come here several months later, but before that, this Brazilian lady is willing to rent it to Joanna, who has just come to London for three weeks.

However, Joanna has to pay 80 pounds a week even in such a condition. “It is almost the cheapest place in London,” said Joanna.

 

Since Poland has joined the European Union in 2004, most polish migrant come to UK and find a job.  Figures in 2008 suggested that there were almost half a million Eastern European citizens registered as working in this country with almost two-thirds of them coming from Poland.

 

Joanna is a thin girl and it seems like even a mild wind can blow her over. With a golden curly hair, she has a small face, big eyes and healthy skin.

“I want to find a job in London,” Joanna said but her eyes were still staring at the computer screen. A few minutes later, she said she wanted to smoke. She has smoked for nearly 15 years and now she smokes when she is depressed. When she makes a cigarette, she uses her two fingers in both hands griping the white paper elegantly, and then rolls it slowly.  When it is nearly done, she puts it in front of her lip, and then put her tongue out licking it twice. After that, she folded them together, and made a little cigarette. It is as thin as her body.

 

 

Two days before I went to her home, she received a message from her new employer. It said they couldn’t accept her even after her one week’s work since she doesn’t have a pair of proper leather shoes. All she has is a pair of mix-cotton shoes, which she bought on purpose for work since “they look like leather and they are cheap”. She cannot afford a pairs of real leather shoe.

At work, she has to wear a black shirt, black pants, and a pair of leather shoes. She bought her pants in a charity shop, where you can always find cheap second-hand products, and paid eight pounds for her black suit in a local shop.

In fact, she has run out of her money and even borrowed money from her friends on three occasions.

 

She used to work in London in the same street, Deptford High Street, for three years. At that time, she worked as a waitress, a bar counter and do some similar works like that. But she got quite bored about doing such a job. It makes her feel like working like a machine. “You must not have your own emotion.  All you can do is work, work and work,” Joanna said.

However, Joanna said, “I am nearly 30, and I won’t ask my parents for money anymore. In Poland, everyone gets very low salary, much lower than UK.  But here, even though I work as a waitress, it can still support my life.”  So she tries every method to live in London. To find a job, she has joined several work agencies and had to take part in the training even though “they do nothing in the training”.

 

 

The second day I stayed with her, she went to an artist centre to meet a gallery manager, Paul Wynter. She knows Paul in quite a strange way from an unknown man that she met once outside the library. At that time, she wanted to smoke but she forgot to take a lighter so she asked a man for help. She didn’t even know the man’s name but they shared their opinions about art, and then the man introduced Paul to her. Although she was very busy finding a job at that moment, she still spent nearly three hours in Paul’s new gallery, and after talking, she promised to be a volunteer there.

She said, “That’s the only way I can relax.” She has been studied filming in Indonesia for one year but she didn’t mention that it’s a Bachelor study or a Master study. And she used to work in some movie shows. When she talked about films with Paul, she felt really comfortable and smiled like a happy child.

But she didn’t think making a film can earn money. She said, “I have a lot of talented friends. They make good films and make good art but they cannot support themselves,” Joanna said.  When Paul said he wanted to show some new works from other artist, she introduced her friend immediately.

 

Behind Joanna’s right ear, there is a tattoo. That’s a symbol of the god of Hindu religion a tattoo. The god is very famous in Indonesia, and it has two big ears, a small mouth, and a big stomach, which reminds people to “listen more, speak less and digest slowly”.  When Joanna faces some troubles, the tattoo always reminds her to think more and be patient. “It gives me energy,” said Joanna.

On the third day, she got a job being a carer for a 21-year-old girl. The girl is learning acting in London University and has some speaking problems so her parents want to hire a carer to support her study. It makes Jo happy since she thinks she can “be a person” but not a machine. And she believes the girl will inspire her as well since she thinks “the girl is brave enough to learn acting even though she cannot speak”.

某些想写在前面的话：致即将来preston的同学

从四月份开始，我就一直想把自己在普村的故事写下来，所以做了大量的视频记录或者文字记录。一直想着自己有空的话就把这些原材料整理一下，然后发表出来。后来在六月份的时候甚至产生了一个念头，把这些材料整理好之后再分配一下分组，那么我又可以另起一个网页专门介绍普村的生活资讯。

可是，就在前天，我已经开始动手制作这个名为“Live in Preston”(域名：liveinpreston.weebly.com)的时候，我突然之间发现自己居然是那么在乎形式的一个作者。换句话说，是一个肤浅的作者。

我总是在思考怎么才把我的材料以一个方便易读的方式展现给我的读者们，却忽略了材料本身才是读者所关注的东西。事实上就是，无论你的东西写在博客还是网页，还是放在wikileaks这样的网站，内容本身才是最重要的东西。所以，我决定先在这个博客写下来。

“永远不要让语言来限制住你的idea。”大二的王珂老师跟我们上课的时候说过这么一句话。不知道怎么的，对这句话我的感触非常深，以至于到现在我还是记住这句话。而这也是为什么我开始在我的英文博客上写下中文的原因。
好，这里是华丽丽的分界线。

下面是我为我的自以为是的“Live in Preston”的网页写的Preface（前言）：

设立这个网页的动机很简单，就是为即将到来preston的同学们提供一点在preston生活的技巧，比如说解决“哪里能买到便宜又好吃的食物”“刚来英国你应该买什么电话卡？”“无聊的时候你可以做什么？”“出国你需要带什么物品”“pub、club和bar的区别”之类的小问题，或者借此参考一下如何在英国其他地方生活，不要再做像apple同学一样的蠢事。

或许这个网站更适合那些像我一样对国外生活一无所知，甚至在出国之前美剧或者英剧都没有看很多的童鞋们，可是凭着一腔热血就来了国外，并且认为自己能够过上经济实惠质量却比别人高的生活的同学。

事实证明，你其实能做得到。你所需要的只是大量地搜集在preston的信息。

作为一个想出国交换的普通本科生，你需要什么？

作为一个想出国的普通本科生，你需要的是：

第一，  良好的绩点。

第二，  优秀的英语成绩。

第三，  经常关注学校的交换项目机会。

第四，  一股极其想交换学习的坚定的心。

 

首先说一下作者的个人情况。还记得apple大一刚进大学，旁边就有一学霸十分不解apple同学的学习态度，apple同学也非常不理解学霸同学的努力。于是便有了以下的对话：

“你没有打算考研吗？”学霸同学问。

“额，应该不会读……”

“噢，那你不想出国读书吗？”

“从来没想过……”

“那你来读大学是干嘛的？”

“顺利毕业拿个毕业证然后找份工作…..”

“…….”

好，大家可以看出来又矮又穷又挫的apple同学大一进来的时候胸无大志，压根就没有想过自己要取得伟大成就，只是想老老实实毕业就是了。所以大一的时候，apple同学几乎是混日子度过，根本就不知道自己想要的是什么，也不觉得自己会比别人多点什么。

但是，就这样阴差阳错的，apple同学大二的时候就神奇地拿到了全校只有三个的去英国的公费交换生的名额。Apple同学并不认为这全部是运气使然。所以在这里跟大家分享一下出国交换的经历，同时也给想要公费出国的童鞋们一个做准备的过程。

先来说一下广外到英国中央兰开夏大学公费交换生的硬性要求：绩点3.0以上，雅思6.0。也就是说，满足上面两个条件，你基本上就有资格申请交换生了，对于大部分广外的学生来说，上面两个要求真的不算什么。好，接下来就是软性要求，就是“综合素质高；道德品质好，未受过纪律处分；身体健康，能圆满完成学习任务”。好吧，这样的要求不算高~~

接下来，亲爱的，就是做准备啦！Apple同学为了攻克雅思，大二上学期坚持了一学期起来早读，寒假就卖血去上了个最便宜的雅思班，大二下学期一直在图书馆攻克英语。凭着不差的英语基础（废话，能上广外，英语基础能差到哪里去？），卖血的毅力，在四月份的时候考了一次雅思，6.5，对申请这个项目已经绰绰有余了。

至于成绩，Apple同学大一的时候虽然是混日子的，但是她脑子好使，考试之前使个劲背一下，最后虽然没拿学业奖，倒也有个3.6/4。还因为上大学新鲜什么事情都去凑个热闹的好奇心，拿了个社会单项奖，倒也算是拿过奖学金了。到了大二，反而因为一心沉迷于学习，成绩嗖的一声就越到了班级第四。活动也不乱参加了，老老实实地担任了一个万能的学院小助理，还做了一个学术研究。那整整一年推掉了所有乱七八糟的活动就只做了这么四件事：学英语，上好课，做助理，搞学术。所以成绩关，也就这么过了。

下面就是一个重要部分，就是机灵。作为广外-兰开夏第一届交换生，顾名思义，在我之前是没有这个项目的存在的。所以所有牛逼学生都去申请广受欢迎的美国西弗吉尼亚项目的时候，apple同学还在老老实实地准备雅思考试，压根就没想着跟这群牛逼竞争。五月份的时候，学校突然增加了这么一个去英国的项目，而且时间非常紧，紧张到连让同学们去考个雅思的机会都没有，所以申请的同学非常少。这时候apple同学抽个风把材料向上提交以下，那么机会就这么落到了机灵的apple同学身上。

最后一部分是，坚定和运气。当时这个项目候选人并不是apple同学，而是同班一位非常厉害的同学。但是因为这位同学去英国的决定摇摆不定，而apple同学作为超级替补凭着一股“死就死吧”的勇气插了空，就那么来了英国。

Ten things you must do in Amsterdam during Easter holiday

Netherlands, the name sounds as beautiful as its beautiful scenes, giving people a sense that once you step into this land, you will never leave. The weather has become warmer as April is coming and the tulips in Netherlands have made this kingdom a colorful world. And its capital, Amsterdam, has been known as a heaven of flowers, bicycles and sex for a long time.

If you just want have a short holiday, why not go to the capital of Netherlands, Amsterdam? Here I list ten things you must do if you are in Amsterdam.

1. Explore Amsterdam museums

Talking about Amsterdam, I will first tell you: do go to visit the museums, or you will regret. There are loads of excellent museums in Amsterdam located in the museum square.

After a decade renovation, the Rijksmuseum has been the most popular museum in Netherlands. Thousands of famous works from great artists such as Rembrant, Frans Hals, Johannes Vermeer are displayed in this museum. Also, it collects a lot of historical stuffs. So if you want to learn more about Netherlands, you will never miss Rijksmuseum. And you should go there earlier because possibly you will spend a day there.

The Van Gogh museum is so popular that a long long queue is outside the door. Maybe you should wait for more than one hour for waiting.

The Stedelijk Museum contains different contemporary art works. During the Easter holiday 2014, visitors can see splendid design works from artist marcel wanders. All of them are amazing! And if you are a student, you can get 50% discount to enter the Stedelijk Museum by showing your student identification.

Apart from three big museums above, you can also visit other interesting museums in Amsterdam such as Anne Frank House, Rembrant House Museum, Amsterdam Museum, Tulips Museum, etc.

2. Visit the Red Light District

Known as a heaven for sex, how can you miss the most important view in Amsterdam?

The best time to go to the Red Light District is nine or ten at night. At that time, the street was filled with visitors just as in the daytime. Shops are still opened and hookers’ business is good this time. In this famous Red Light District, interesting sex shops are everywhere and you can even find a sex museum and a gay sex shop in this street. Also a special condom shop sits in this street as well. People walks in and out but most of them are just visitors. Of course, the most popular scenes is the hookers in front of window. They dress only sexy underwear, work to attract their customers

3. Cycle around the city

You can see bicycles everywhere you go. A local person said almost every Amsterdam citizen will have one or more bicycles because it is the most effective and convenient way to go out. Dutch people are proud of having the most straight and flat road in the world and that makes cycling more adorable.

Rental bicycles can be easily found in the town.

4. Take a Canal Cruise

Netherlands used to be an emperor of sea. And the canals in Amsterdam were recognized as a UNESCO monument in 2010. By floating down on a boat in Amsterdam canals, you will have an memorable Amsterdam tour because you will see more different places during the tour.

5. Appreciate the tulips

During the Easter holiday, flowers can be seen everywhere. Their period is only a month, that means, there is only one chance to see flowers a year.

When you take a train to other place, the old elegant lady sitting opposite you will knock on your knee and tell you to look out of the window. And when you open your sleepy eyes, you will get shock about the colorful flower sea! They are red, yellow, green, blue, and even gray and black. In Amsterdam, you can go to the Kennuokef Garden to appreciate the tulips.

6. Taste traditional Holland food

When you go to a place, the most entertaining way is to enjoy traditional fish there. You cannot believe that Netherlands people used to eat a whole raw fish as their daily meal. And they think it is delicious! Also, people in Amsterdam like eating bread with chocolate sticks, chips with Mayonnaise., etc.

Only after you have a taste in standard Dutch food, you can realize how delicious food is in your country.

7. Have a look at Dutch windmills

The first windmill was invented by Greek people. But when people talk about windmill, the first place they come up with will be Netherlands. There are eight windmills in Amsterdam but you can find more in Zaanse Schans, a town near Amsterdam. Holland people use this “mushrooms” to turn the energy of wind into rotational energy and meet industrial and argricultural needs.

8. Visit the Coffee Shop

It is illegal to buy good quality weed and hash in coffee shop Amsterdam. And most travellers go to Amsterdam for its tolerant drug sales.

There is a street that near Red Light District, and three coffee shops are located there. Why famous? Because the old police station used to be here. When it moved, the drug businessman who hate police very much buy this street and turn them into coffee shop street.

9. Sit on Dam Square

One will have a good mood when he comes to Dam Square because Dam Square is a pleasure paradise with many entertainment facilities. You can hear people screaming, laughing, and talking loudly in the square. Opposite to the pleasure place, there is a monument. People like sitting and enjoy sunshine there with their friends and smile to each visitor passed by. Lots of doves fly around them with no fear.

Tips:
There are two free tours in the Dam Square every day. One is day tour, and people usually gather in the Dam Square at one o’clock. Another is night tour at eight o’clock. Both of them are free, but you can give tour guides tips after they show you around. They are all experienced guide and they know where the best places is to have a true Holland experience. Furthermore, they will tell you a lot of interesting historical stories tourists don’t during the tour.

10. Enjoy a free concert in New Market

New Market is at the center of China Town. Never judge a place according to what it looks like. Compare to Dam Square, New Market is old and a little bit broken. But if you go there at evening during Easter holiday, there will always be a free old Dutch song concert, where you can hear songs from local community, or a popular rock singer singing with a guitar.

What’s more, If you have tasted the Netherlands traditional food and have been tired of the western food, China town is really a right place for you to go. Not only Chinese food is served here, but all delicious food from Southeastern countries.

Tips:
If you stay in Netherlands for more than three days, you can buy a Holland pass. It is a set of different tickets and it will save you a lot of money and time to buy tickets.

My first couchsurfing experience

I can hardly remember why I started travelling by couchsurfing. But it gives me such a good way to get in touch with different culture in different countries. I can benefit a lot from it.

My first couchsurfing experience is in Cardiff. My first host is a nice 26-year-old experienced Belgium girl, Gisele.

In fact, I didn’t send her a couch request directly but a message to ask her to show me around in Cardiff National Day. That’s what I want to do at that time, and I even prepared to book a hotel the next day. I didn’t expect much in getting a free accommodation even though I hope so. In this way, it’s Gisele who leads me into couchsurfing.

She sent me a message back saying that she would like to show me around and then asked me if I would like a place to stay. God! I never think about this before! And I said yes! But I told her the prade was going to begin at 11 am on 1st March and it would take me 4 hours from Preston to Cardiff so I probably miss it. And then she asked me if I want to stay one more night! I got quite moved about this. So I went to Gisele’s house at late night on 28th February. Gisele’s friend Miah and Philip picked me up at the Cardiff central station.

In order to meet my first host, I prepared a lot of gifts, including a handmade bottle, two hearts, and a traditional Chinese meal. I thought it would express my gratitude and help me explain Chinese culture well. But after I met Gisele, I thought Gisele doesn’t care whether her guest can bring her a gift or not.

Gisele is quite open to every culture. During the time I stayed in her house, she hosted another Korean boy, eehoon. And we spent such a good night with each other. We watched a lot of Korean popular videos. Only at that time, did I realize that how little I know to other countries in the world. It’s so interesting for me to get stories from a real Korean guy, especially about the relationship about South Korea and North Korea. I cooked a Chinese meal for them and we enjoyed our meal and beer at the second night I stayed. and then we went straightly to the gay bar. Two of us are gay so it’s also my first time to be in a gay bar. I cannot even imagine how it goes before. And after that, I found that a new door to the colorful world has opened to me.

During the two days and two nights I stayed in Gisele’s home, we even finished a documentary about my first couchsurfing experiences with Miah and Philip, both of whom learning documentary in Cardiff University.

I left Gisele’s home at about five on 2nd March. It is a pity that we didn’t say goodbye to each other so well since I had to catch up my train. But this experiences became a lighter in my couchsurfing. And I started to travel everywhere in the way of couchsurfing.

Here is Gisele’s comment on my first couchsurfing experience:
Apple’s request was so enthusiastic that it was impossible to refuse. Apple stayed with me for two days during which she was always full of life: bubbly and eager to explore she was a cheerful guest to have around. She’s very easygoing (she shared my bed with me because I had a second couchsurfer over) and was kind enough to help my friend with her film. I’m happy to have been Apple’s first couchsurfing host. I’m sure there will be more couchsurfing adventures for her in the future and I can recommend you to host her if you want to invite some sunshine into your house.

I think it’s the best comment for me. One one can write me a better one.

Here is the videos link:
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0ByKVaUBCN7EXZlc2TzNLSUZRaHc/edit

It’s a draft, please never copy.

Oh, my beloved West Kirby

“Girls, it’s morning call,” Anne knocks at the door and call me and Lynn to wake up.  We planned to go to the church at half ten today so it would be too late for us to wake up at half nine.

It’s a UK programme which aims to provide a local life experience for British International students.  I have to say, Anne is a very nice granny who is more than 70 years old. She hosts us for two nights. She loves movies and we enjoyed the Adventure of Pie last night together. She likes music and played electronic piano for the church.

It’s destined to be a beautiful morning. Sunshine warms us in such a village near the sea, and the “noisy sea ghost” is waking you up in the early morning. They fly and circle around the sky, looking as happy as they fly. Anne’s car is broken accidentally so instead we walk to the local church. It is a small church 15-minute walk away. Anne is too old to walk fast so we spend about 20 minutes enjoying the building on the way.

Christians allot their posts to us when we come in the church, and Anne tell them that we are her guests—“two beautiful Chinese girls”.  She always calls us that.  And I prefer to call her—“Oh, Anne, my lovely granny”. We know how English Christians pray their god in the church. They sing, they make love gestures and they read the bible to us. However, we are not Christians so Anne says we don’t need to eat the biscuits and drink the water they give us.  It’s similar to what I have seen in a local church in Preston, a small city which I live in.  But what’s different is that we spend good time in the foyer at the back of the church. Local English people there would like to talk to us when we enjoy our coffee and tea. They are really interesting and they like to listen to the stories in China and Chinese food. They looked surprised when I shared my own experience about how to couchsurfing in other’s house and are willing to listen to me, smile to me and hug me.

After the church, we get a lift from Anne’s friend Maria, a middle-age lady. She is a kind person because she would like to ask for help in Anne’s car and says if we want a lift to train station today, “it’s always her pleasure to help”.

It’s so sad that we have to leave Anne’s home and come back to our university this afternoon. We’ve spent two enjoyable days in Anne’s home and fallen in love with her and her house in West Kirby.

West Kirby is a small and quiet village near Liverpool so similar to this city, West Kirby has a really nice coast and a beautiful blue sea. At about half five, people walk through the bank and appreciate the golden sunset. They are relaxed and enjoy their walk with their family and their dogs. Some people even sail in the sea with their unique boat and banks, with the sea ghosts flying around them. When you walk slowly and enjoy the wind blowing your face, people coming in the opposite direction would smile to you.

It must be a pretty happy scene that if you walk in the path in the middle of the sea, which is only get four people through, with people you love, your hands hold tightly and the golden and warm sunshine shining your hair gently, just like a mom is sweeping your hair, and your dog is running around you happily. And you will fall in love with this small and quiet village immediately.

So when I first met Anne two days ago, I jumped off the train and wondered how can I find Anne. And then I saw an old lady with silver hair holding a sign with “host UK” in it. She told us later that she made it her own! I hug her and then the first place she showed us was not her house but this balmy and shining beach one street to her house.

Anne’s house is a normal one which can always be seen in Britain with two floors. She lives in the ground floor and the second floor, Anne joked, “a police family lives upstairs so you feel really safe living here.”

There are two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, a bathroom, a wardrobe and even a yard inside such a normal house.  Anne’s hobbies can be found everywhere in the house. For example, books lay everywhere in the rooms including kitchen! And an electronic piano sits in her living room. It’s a small but very warm home, and it can warm until your heart. Where I sleep is a twins room which can contain me and my friend. There are two single beds in the middle of the room, two wardrobes divided apart by a classic girls’ mirror, and a long red wooden book shelf with hundreds of books filled in. Nice green ceiling lay from the top to the floor to decorate the window. Also, small but warm.

Anne served us traditional English food at the first night—roast lamb chops, boiled vegetable with different sauces, fruit salad, sausages and orange juice. We discussed the differences between Christians and Buddhists deeply that night. And in the morning of the second day, she cooked bacons, mushrooms, and roast bread. All are really tasty.

In the second day of Anne’s room, Anne drove us out to take a walk through the long coast of the sea. We picked a lot of colourful seashells and stones with different shapes. Anne introduced us about the history of West Kirby patiently. She knows everything about West Kirby since she born here and grow up here, but then she went to Thailand to work as an English teacher for more than 40 years. We had a picnic in the park near the sea, drive to the musty and taste the famous ice cream there and even climb to the hill which Anne has never been   there before at the end. We can see the whole Liverpool at the top of the hill.

Sun rises and fell very quickly and our second beautiful day ended. And at two, we had to go back to Preston. So sad.

It seems no Chinese girl knows anything about West Kirby. They will shake their heads and said, “ Where is it? I’ve never heard of it before.” Anyway, I would say, it is one of the most beautiful places in Britain that I have been to.

What do you think of the volunteering service in University of Central Lancashire

Audio link:http://soundcloud.com/apple-lin-2/what-do-you-think-of-the-volunteering-service-in-uclan

There are a lot of student volunteers in University of Central Lancashire (UCLan). They donated their time to serve other students in the campus. But what do students think of the volunteering service in UCLan. Let’s listen to it. Most students think they are quite good and helpful.

Related content: http://www.lancashirestudentvolunteering.com/

Alan Rampling: Green fingers, Green life

Alan Rampling, who has worked for the Preston City Council for 50 years, is a high skilled gardener and lives a green life.

Caption:Alan Rampling show his flowers in his office.

Six Royal Horticultural Society Awards

Rampling is a magician, bringing colours to the town. His gardening team has won six Royal Horticultural Society awards. The Royal Horticultural Society awards is known as one of the leading gardening charity organizations awards in UK, including four gold medals and one “Best in Show”.

Rampling began to work two days a week and eight hours a day four years ago. Before 2009, however, he worked seven days as a full-time worker. It has been 31 years for him to work from 7am to 4 pm in weekdays and from 9 am to 5 pm in weekends.

On July 29 1963, when Rampling was 15 years old, he started working with the council a “young gardener” in the Miller Park greenhouse. Up till now, it has been 50 years. “In fact,” he said, “I didn’t know what to do at that time and I just got a job from my uncle, a gardener. And they gave me a six-month-trial. And then I found myself falling in love with it and after six months I was accepted.”

For Rampling, gardening gives him a peace of mind and he is looking forward to work with the seasons. “It’s a natural thing that all I want to do. I wouldn’t want to do anything else. It is just my way to enjoy life. It’s a part of my life. If I have time all over again, I would probably do exactly all over again. You may ask me if I will keep gardening in my future, I will say that why I can’t? It is such a fantastic thing,” he said.

However, Rampling dreamt to be a musician who played guitar when he was a child but he found that it’s too noisy for him later. “It made me feel uncomfortable in an unnatural environment. Many people are going to go to party, find something exciting and have big fun in their holiday, I don’t think it nice. It’s manmade luxury. Natural thing have more meaning to me,” said Rampling.

These days he will go to the Lancashire Police Station and we display some flowers. His team has done their spring flowers design now and starts to prepare for the summer flowers design. Rampling will make the plants design for the memento of soldiers in Preston as well.

Audio interview :Alan Rampling—-Why can he carried on gardening for half century

Happy, quiet and alone

“I would like to use happy, quiet and alone to describe myself,” Rampling said, “since I am devoted to gardening and would like my own company. I like propagation in the gardening and I like working with plants than people.” He said he doesn’t like the crowd and noisy. Every weekend he goes shopping, he looks at the street, and what he thinks is , “oh my god, there are so many people here.”

Rampling has a really green life. Getting up at 6 am and going to work at 7.15 am, Alan Rampling doesn’t think it is early. “Four years ago, I cycle to work but now I got a bit lazy,” he said.

A simple lunch, most often are sandwiches, was at about 1pm at the workplace. Work was over at 4 pm, and he will go home straightly. After he finishes regular housework such as washing, cooking and ironing and so on, he always go to bed at about 9 and no later than 10.30.

In Rampling’s spare time, he usually go to fish, cycle and walk, as well as do his planting models, which like plane models before building a plane. He made models before he grew flowers. Rampling showed one model in his office. He said it had been done in a Preston garden four years ago and it’s one of his favorite models which contains four soldiers dressing uniforms.

Rampling lives alone since his two children have been married. Rampling said, “My children got quite used to my gardening work when they were child and they like to play with the flowers. But they don’t like gardening.”

His partner died of disease 18 months ago and he felt rather depressed about that. But now he has a new partner and they are going to go to a little Indian island for a trip in New Year holiday. And they are going to marry with her next year.

Related Content:

Preston City Council staff member reaches half century for service

Green-fingered Alan’s golden days

Olympics medals: will the USA be the next champion again?

2012 London Olympics, the United State have got the most models in the world. Americans got 116 in total, including 53 golden medals, 34 silver medals and 29 bronze medals.

Will the USA be the next champinon in 2016 Rio de Janeiro again？We investigate the medals this strong man have got form 1992 to 2012, and predict the USA will probably wins!

The table itself tells that the USA never be the third place because it got the first place four time and the second place two times in the summer Olympics during the past ten years.

From the chart one and chart three, although the athletes from the USA has been decreased year by year, they got more and more medals in total, touching the peak last year at 116, which means the overall quality of athletes are included in the Summer Olympic Games.

picture link:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AhKbc5iuqPbOdHNoNUlfYWQwUG0yUDdKMENRVkhwU2c&output=html

And most significantly, they have got incresing golden medals, while the rate of silver and bronze medals have been declined in recent years.The statistics itself tells that it’s possible that the USA will be the winner again in the following Olympics.

Data resource: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/olympics/2012/medals/countries