BritCast

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Transcript: 
Hi and welcome to Britcast. I’m Katie and I’m from the UK. In this series of podcasts I am going to introduce you to all things British. British accent, British words and phrases and British culture. This is the intermediate podcast. In this podcast I will speak a little slower and clearer than normal and explain some of the words and phrases I use as I talk.

As today is the first in the series we’re going to talk about greetings – how to say hello in real British  English. In the UK we can say hello in lots of ways. Most of the time we say “hi” or “hey” when we are talking to our friends and family. We can also say “Good morning,” “good afternoon” and “good evening” but we can’t say “good night” because this actually means “goodbye” – we can only use it at the end of the conversation.

When we say “good morning” “good afternoon” or “good evening” sometimes we miss out the word “good” (especially when we say “good morning”). So most of the time when I see people in the morning I just say “morning.” Try it with me. “Morning.” I can also say “afternoon” or “evening” but this is less common. When I say it like this it is informal or friendly. If I want to talk in a more formal way, for example if I am talking to my manager or someone I don’t know I will say the word “good” – “good morning, good afternoon, good evening.”

In very informal English we sometimes say “what’s up” or “alright” – this is like saying ”hello” and “how are you” at the same time. When someone says this to you, you normally just say the same thing to them. Or you can say “hey” or “hi” or “how are you.”

After saying “hi” we nearly always say “how are you.” Now there are several ways of doing this. “How are you?” is the neutral or formal way of asking, but when I see my friends I normally say “how’s it going?” “howsit going” (notice I joined the “how’s” and “it” into one word – “howsit”) I can also say “how are you doing?” but I say it like this “howya doin” – Did you notice I dropped or deleted the “are?” Listen again “how are you doing” becomes “howya doin.” The answer to all of these questions is “fine thanks” or “good thanks” – we can then say “and you?“ or just “you?” 
Now I’m going to give you a couple of examples using these real life phrases:
1: Hey, what’s up?
2: Hi, howya doing?
1: Good thanks, u?
2: Fine 
So next time you greet someone in English, try to use some of these phrases to instantly sound more fluent.

If you liked this podcast please share it with your friends and if you want to know more about how to practice your English check out English Café Alex on Facebook.
www.facebook.com/englishcafealex

BritCast Ep1: Greetings (Intermediate)

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Transcript:
Hello. Welcome to Britcast. My name is Katie and I’m from the UK. These podcasts are about British things. British accent, British vocabulary and British culture. This is the beginner podcast. In the beginner podcasts I will try to speak slowly and use simple phrases to help you understand.

Today we will talk about saying hello. In the UK we can say hello in lots of ways. Most of the time we say “hi” or “hey” when we are talking to our friends and family. We can also say “Good morning,” “good afternoon” and “good evening” but we cannot say “good night” because this means “goodbye” – we say it at the end of the conversation.

When we say “good morning” “good afternoon” or “good evening” sometimes we do not say the word “good” (especially when we say “good morning”). So most of the time when I see people in the morning I just say “morning.” Try it with me. “Morning.” – I can also say “afternoon” or “evening.” When I say it like this it is informal or friendly. If I want to talk in a more formal way, for example if I am talking to my manager or someone I don’t know I will say the word “good” – “good morning, good afternoon, good evening.” In very informal English (which means the way we speak with our friends) we sometimes say “what’s up” or “alright” – this is like saying ”hello” and “how are you” at the same time. When someone says this to you, you normally just say the same thing to them. Or you can say “hey” or “hi” or “how are you.”

So next time you say “hello” – try to say “hey” or “morning” and you will sound more like a British person.

If you liked this podcast please share it with your friends, and if you want to know more about how to practice your English visit English Café Alex on Facebook.
www.facebook.com/englishcafealex

BritCast Ep1: Greetings (Beginner)

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Transcript
Hello and welcome to Britcast. I’m Katie and I’m from the UK. In this series of podcasts I’m going to introduce you to all things British. British accent, British words and phrases and British culture. This is the advanced podcast – this means that I’ll be speaking at a fairly normal pace and using words and phrases that I actually use in my everyday English. If you find this a little bit tricky, you can always go and download the transcript and read as you listen. 

As today is the first in the series we’re going to talk about greetings. In the UK we can say hello in lots of ways. Most of the time we say “hi” or “hey” when we are talking to our friends and family. We can also say “good morning,” “good afternoon” and “good evening.” We can’t say “good night” because this actually means “goodbye” – and we can only use it at the end of the conversation.

When we say “good morning” “good afternoon” or “good evening” sometimes we miss out the word “good” (especially when we say “good morning”). So most of the time when I see people in the morning I just say “morning.” Try it with me. “Morning.” I can also say “afternoon” or “evening” but this is less common. When I say it like this it’s informal or friendly. If I want to talk in a more formal way, for example if I am talking to my manager or somebody I don’t know I will say the word “good”– “good morning, good afternoon, good evening.”

In very informal English we sometimes say “what’s up” or “alright” – this is like saying ”hello” and “how are you” at the same time. When someone says this to you, you normally just say the same thing to them. Or you can say “hey” or “hi” or “how are you.” Personally I find it difficult to answer “what’s up” – some people like me say “nothing much” because I feel like it’s a question – if you want to be funny you can also say “the sky” but it’s an old joke so don’t use it too often…

After saying “hi” we nearly always say “how are you.” Now there are several ways of doing this. “How are you?” is the neutral or formal way of asking, but when I see my friends I normally say “how’s it going?” “howsit goin” (notice I joined the “how’s” and “it” into one word – “howsit”) I can also say “how are you doing?” but I say it like this “howya doin.” Did you notice I dropped the “are?” Listen again “how are you doing” becomes “howya doin.” The answer to all of these questions is normally “fine thanks” or “good thanks” – we can then say “and you?“ or just “you?” So next time you greet someone in English, try to use some of these phrases to instantly sound a little bit more fluent.

If you liked this podcast please share it with your friends and if you want to know more about how to practice your English check out English Café Alex on Facebook.
www.facebook.com/englishcafealex

BritCast Ep1: Greetings (Advanced)

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Transcript:
Hi and welcome to Britcast. I’m Katie and I’m from the UK. In this series of podcasts I am going to introduce you to all things British. British accent, British words and phrases and British culture. This is the intermediate podcast. In this podcast I will speak a little slower and clearer than normal and explain some of the words and phrases I use as I talk. 
Today we will talk about how to address someone. “Address” in this sentence means how you talk to somebody.
First, we are going to talk about how to get someone’s attention when you don’t know their name. This is difficult in English because we don’t have many choices. You can say “sir” for a man or “madam” for a woman, but this is very formal. If you were in an expensive restaurant or a five star hotel the people working there might call you “sir” or “madam,” but in most situations this is not suitable because when we are too formal with people they may feel we are not being friendly.
So what do we do if we are in the street and we want to tell someone that they dropped something, for example? Well, we don’t have a word to call them. We just say “sorry” or “excuse me.” It may sound strange that we say “sorry” even though we didn’t do anything wrong, but as you will learn in this series, British people love the word “sorry.”
Now we will talk about how to talk to someone if you do know their name. In English, when we are being polite we call people “Mr” or “Mrs” or “Miss.” “Mr” is for a man, “Mrs” is for a woman who is married, and “Miss” is for a woman who is not married. If we do not know if the woman is married or not we should call her “Ms.” This is important because some women may get offended or upset if you get their marital status wrong. “Marital status” means if someone is married or not. After Mr, or Miss etc. we then use the person’s family name, not their first name. So for example, my name is Katie Jackson. If you met me for the first time in a formal place, for example in an interview, you should call me Ms Jackson or Miss Jackson, not Miss Katie. 
I might tell you “please call me Katie.” This means you can now use my first name, instead of calling me Miss Jackson. In the UK most people will tell you this from the first time you meet them, but to be on the safe side in my country you should always be polite in the beginning and call them Mr or Miss or Mrs. “To be on the safe side” means to be safe or to not take any risks. 
In general, most people use first names in the UK, even in work. When you use someone’s first name when talking to them it is called “being on first name terms.” So, for example, I could say “My office is very friendly, I’m on first name terms with everyone, even my boss!”

If you liked this podcast please share it with your friends and if you want to know more about how to practice your English check out English Café Alex on Facebook.

www.facebook.com/englishcafealex

BritCast Ep2: Forms Of Address (Intermediate)

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Transcript: 
Hello. Welcome to Britcast. My name is Katie and I’m from the UK. These podcasts are about British things. British accent, British vocabulary and British culture. This is the beginner podcast. In the beginner podcasts I will try to speak slowly and use simple phrases to help you understand.
Today we will talk about how to address someone. “Address” in this sentence means how you talk to somebody.
First, we are going to talk about how to get someone’s attention when you don’t know their name. This is difficult in English because we don’t have many choices. You can say “sir” for a man or “madam” for a woman, but this is very formal. If you were in an expensive restaurant or a five star hotel the people working there might call you “sir” or “madam.” 
So what do we do if we are in the street and we want to tell someone that they dropped something, for example? Well, we don’t have a word to call them. We just say “sorry” or “excuse me.”
Now we will talk about how to talk to someone if you do know their name. In English, when we are being polite we call people “Mr” or “Mrs” or “Miss.” “Mr” is for a man, “Mrs” is for a woman who is married, and “Miss” is for a woman who is not married. If we do not know if the woman is married or not we should call her “Ms.” We then use the person’s family name, not their first name. So for example, my name is Katie Jackson. If you met me for the first time in a formal place, for example in an interview, you should call me Ms Jackson or Miss Jackson, not Miss Katie. 
I might tell you “please call me Katie.” This means you can now use my first name, instead of calling me Miss Jackson. In the UK most people will tell you this from the first time you meet them, but in my country you should always be polite in the beginning and call them Mr or Miss or Mrs. 
If you liked this podcast please share it with your friends, and if you want to know more about how to practice your English visit English Café Alex on Facebook.

www.facebook.com/englishcafealex

BritCast Ep2: Forms Of Address (Beginner)

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Transcript:
Hello and welcome to Britcast. I’m Katie and I’m from the UK. In this series of podcasts I’m going to introduce you to all things British. British accent, British words and phrases and British culture. This is the advanced podcast – this means that I’ll be speaking at a fairly normal pace and using words and phrases that I actually use in my everyday English. If you find this a little bit tricky, you can always go and download the transcript and read as you listen.
Today we will talk about how to address someone in different situations. 
First, we are going to talk about how to get someone’s attention when you don’t know their name. This is difficult in English because we don’t have many choices. You can say “sir” for a man or “madam” for a woman, but this is very formal. If you were in an expensive restaurant or a five star hotel the people working there might call you “sir” or “madam,” but in most situations this is not suitable because when we are too formal with people they may feel we are not being friendly.
On the other end of the scale, if you are in the north of England, you might here people refer to you as “love” or “pet” or “ducky,” don’t be surprised or offended, these are just local dialect words and are not meant to be disrespectful. However, you shouldn’t use them because they’re only acceptable if used by someone from the area. 
So what do we do if we are in the street and we want to tell someone that they dropped something, for example? Well, we don’t have a word to call them. We just say “sorry” or “excuse me.” It may sound strange that we say “sorry” even though we didn’t do anything wrong, but as you will learn in this series, British people love the word “sorry.”
Now we will talk about how to talk to someone if you do know their name. In English, when we are being polite we call people “Mr” or “Mrs” or “Miss.” “Mr” is for a man, “Mrs” is for a woman who is married, and “Miss” is for a woman who is not married. If we do not know if the woman is married or not we should call her “Ms.” This is important because some women may get offended or upset if you get their marital status wrong. After Mr, or Miss etc. we then use the person’s family name, not their first name. So for example, my name is Katie Jackson. If you met me for the first time in a formal place, for example in an interview, you should call me Ms Jackson or Miss Jackson, not Miss Katie. 
I might tell you “please call me Katie.” This means you can now use my first name, instead of calling me Miss Jackson. In the UK most people will tell you this from the first time you meet them, but to be on the safe side it’s best to use the more formal form of address first until the other person invites you to use their first name. Actually, this is kinda awkward even for us Brits so we tend to avoid using people’s names in conversation so we don’t have to decide whether to use their first or last name.
When you use someone’s first name when talking to them it is called “being on first name terms.” So, for example, I could say “My office is very friendly, I’m on first name terms with everyone, even my boss!”
British etiquette is a tricky thing – my advice is always be as polite as you can and hope for the best!
If you liked this podcast please share it with your friends and if you want to know more about how to practice your English check out English Café Alex on Facebook.

www.facebook.com/englishcafealex

BritCast Ep2: Forms Of Address (Advanced)

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Hello and welcome to Britcast. I’m Katie and I’m from the UK. In this series of podcasts I’m going to introduce you to all things British: British accent, British words and phrases and British culture. In today’s podcast we’re going to talk about accent. We will be looking at how to pronounce the letter R in English. 
The first thing we need to know is that the letter R in English is made with the tongue down, unlike in Arabic or Spanish, where the R is rolled with the tongue at the top of the mouth. So an English R in any accent is “R” not “R.” If you find this difficult try putting a sweet on your tongue and saying words with an R in them. You mustn’t let the sweet fall off your tongue – so you have to keep the tongue low in your mouth. 
Here are some words for you to practice. Say them after me:
Rabbit, brother, red, dress

How we say the letter R in the British accent depends on where it comes in the word. R can come at the beginning, for example “rabbit,” in the middle, for example “brother” or “start,” or at the end, such as in the word “star” or “car.”

In the British accent when an R comes in the middle of a word, or at the end, we do not really say it. It becomes almost silent. Listen to me say these words with R:
Here, air, her, more
This is a little bit tricky so I will say them again, the first time with the R, and the second time without the R:
Here (with R), here; air (with R) air; her (with R) her, more (with R) more

Actually, the R is still there because it changes the sound of the vowel before it – in the word “more” for example, if there was no R it would be “mo” but the R makes it “more.” So what we are really doing is just not closing our mouths when we finish the word. To understand this you are going to have to say some words with me. First, say the letter “R” – R, R, R – notice your mouth is closed. Now say “or” – or, or, or – see how your mouth is more open than the R – say them one after the other – R, or, R, or – so in the British accent we do not close our mouths at the end of words with an R, which is why it kind of disappears. 

The only exception to this rule is when the R is next to another consonant like the B in brother – in this case we must say the R – listen to the following examples:
Brother, crash, friend

Now, that was a lot of information. What I suggest you do is listen again and practice the words we used. Then, go onto YouTube, or any other video site you like and search for British accent R – you will find lots of videos with examples and exercises to help you practice. 

Thank you for listening, if you want more information about how to practice your English, please visit English Café Alex on Facebook.

www.facebook.com/englishcafealex



BritCast Ep3:  The R in British English

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Hello and welcome to Britcast. I’m Katie and I’m from the UK. In this series of podcasts I’m going to introduce you to all things British: British accent, British words and phrases and British culture. In today’s podcast we’re going to talk about one of the differences between northern and southern accents in England. 

Now, the first thing we need to know is that the UK is made up of four countries – England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Each country has its own accents (and, in fact, they also all have different languages in addition to English – in Wales for example they speak Welsh as well as English). Today we will be talking about England. England is home to dozens of accents (pretty much every major city and town has its own unique accent). However, I will simplify it into two groups of accents – northern and southern.

One of the most noticeable differences between the northern and southern accents is the way that they pronounce the letter “a” in some words such as “bath” and “grass.” I am from the north of the country so I pronounce this “a” as a short “a” sound, like in cat. So, I would say “grass,” “bath,” “pass,” “draft.” If I were from the south of England, I would say these words with a long “a” sound like this: “grass,” “bath,” “pass,” “draft.”

As you can hear, it’s a big difference: “grass,” “grass.” This long “a” sound is one of the reasons people sometimes find the British accent hard to understand. It occurs only when a word ends in an “a” followed by two consonants – for example “bath” – which ends “a” “t” “h.” So the word “bath” can have a long “a” but the word “bathe” cannot because it ends in an “e.”

So next time you hear a British accent, listen out for the “a” or “a” and try to figure out if the speaker is from the north, or the south.

Thank you for listening, if you want more information about how to practice your English, please visit English Café Alex on Facebook.

www.facebook.com/englishcafealex



BritCast Ep4: Southern Vs Northern Accent

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Hello and welcome to Britcast. I’m Katie and I’m from the UK. In this series of podcasts I’m going to talk about all things British: British accent, British culture, and British words and phrases. This is the advanced podcast – this means I will be talking at a faster pace and using words and phrases that are common in daily speech. Today we are going to talk about the difference between England, the UK and Great Britain.

So, I am from the UK – the UK means the United Kingdom. I am also from Great Britain and I am English. 
So how does this work? It’s all rather confusing and it all stems from a long history of fighting for control of our little island.

First the country I am from is called England and the capital of England, as I am sure you know, is London. England, Scotland and Wales (which are three separate countries) joined together to make Great Britain. This all happened a few hundred years ago and this is the reason that the government for all these countries is in London. We can travel between the three countries freely and in the past all three countries used to be ruled from England. These days Wales and Scotland have their own parliaments which make different laws about things like health and education, however big decisions like foreign policy and financial issues are still decided in London and apply to all three countries.

The United Kingdom (the UK) is made up of Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) as well as Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland is the top part of the island next to England, Scotland and Wales. This island is divided into two parts – Northern Ireland in the north, which is part of the UK, and Ireland in the south, which is a separate country with its own government. Ireland (the southern part) is a different country and we need to have a passport to travel there. They also use the Euro currency. Northern Ireland has witnessed a long and violent history of problems between the unionists (the people who want it to be part of the UK) and the separatists (those who believe it should be part of Ireland). To make matters more complicated the two sides are also divided along religious lines, the unionists being mainly protestant and the separatists mainly catholic. In the late 90s the worst of this violence was calmed by a peace deal, although tension between the two communities still exists and there are still sporadic outbreaks of violence.

So, to sum it all up England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are all separate countries. Great Britain is made up of England, Scotland and Wales, and the UK is made up of these three countries plus Northern Ireland.

Thanks for listening. Please like and follow our Mixcast page on Facebook and share this podcast with your friends.

MiXCast - Season 1 

BritCast Ep5: UK(Advanced)

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Hello and welcome to Britcast. I’m Katie and I’m from the UK. In this series of podcasts I’m going to talk about all things British: British accent, British culture, and British words and phrases. This is the beginners’ podcast – this means I will be talking slower than usual and using simple words. Today we are going to talk about the difference between England, the UK and Great Britain.

So, I am from the UK – the UK means the United Kingdom. I am also from Great Britain and I am English.
How does this work? It’s a little bit confusing.

First the country I am from is called England and the capital of England, as I am sure you know, is London. England, Scotland and Wales (which are three separate countries) joined together to make Great Britain. This all happened a few hundred years ago and this is the reason that the government for all these countries is in London. We all have the same laws and we can travel between the three countries freely.

The United Kingdom (the UK) is made up of Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) as well as Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland is the top part of the island next to England, Scotland and Wales. This island is divided into two parts – Northern Ireland in the north, which is part of the UK, and Ireland in the south, which is a separate country with its own government. Ireland (the southern part) is a different country and we need to have a passport to travel there. They also use the Euro currency. This is all quite complicated but basically England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are all different countries which have formed a sort of club. England, Scotland and Wales are all in Great Britain, and Northern Ireland is in the UK.

Thanks for listening. Please like and follow our Mixcast page on Facebook and share this podcast with your friends.


BritCast Ep5: UK(Beginner)

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Hello and welcome to Britcast. I’m Katie and I’m from the UK. In this series of podcasts I’m going to talk about all things British: British accent, British culture, and British words and phrases. This is the intermediate podcast – this means I will be talking a little slower than usual. Today we are going to talk about the difference between England, the UK and Great Britain.

So, I am from the UK – the UK means the United Kingdom. I am also from Great Britain and I am English.
So how does this work? It’s a little bit confusing.

First the country I am from is called England and the capital of England, as I am sure you know, is London. England, Scotland and Wales (which are three separate countries) joined together to make Great Britain. This all happened a few hundred years ago and this is the reason that the government for all these countries is in London. We all have the same laws and we can travel between the three countries freely. These days Wales and Scotland have their own parliaments which make different laws about things like health and education, however big decisions like foreign policy and financial issues are still decided in London and apply to all three countries.

The United Kingdom (the UK) is made up of Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) as well as Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland is the top part of the island next to England, Scotland and Wales. This island is divided into two parts – Northern Ireland in the north, which is part of the UK, and Ireland in the south, which is a separate country with its own government. Ireland (the southern part) is a different country and we need to have a passport to travel there. They also use the Euro currency. Northern Ireland has a long and violent history of problems between the people who want it to be part of the UK and those who believe it should be part of Ireland. In the late 90s the worst of this violence was calmed by a peace deal, although problems do still happen.

So, to sum it all up England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are all separate countries. Great Britain is made up of England, Scotland and Wales, and the UK is made up of these three countries plus Northern Ireland.

Thanks for listening. Please like and follow our Mixcast page on Facebook and share this podcast with

your friends.

BritCast Ep5: UK(Intermediate)

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Hello and welcome to Britcast. I’m Katie and I’m from the UK. In this series of podcasts we will be discussing all things British – British accent, British culture and British words and phrases. Today we will talk about Ramadan in the UK.
The most noticeable thing about Ramadan in the UK in the last few years is that the fast is very long. For the first two weeks of Ramadan this year fajr is at 2:40am and maghreb is at 9:20pm – that’s nearly 19 hours of fasting!
In addition to this very long period of fasting, most Muslims continue to work normal hours (which in the UK means starting at 9am and ending at 5pm). Oh and don’t forget all your colleagues will be eating lunch and drinking coffee as usual!
There are around 2.8 million Muslims in the UK from over 30 different countries (which makes it the 2nd biggest religion in the UK). One of these British Muslims is the recently elected mayor of London Sadiq Khan. The mayor of London is responsible for things such as transport and services in the city – this is the first time a Muslim has been mayor. 
The majority of the Muslim population in the UK are originally from the Indian subcontinent (this means India, Pakistan and Bangladesh). Because of this, most Ramadan recipes and traditions in the UK are Indian and Pakistani – for example samosas which are fried pastries a little bit like sambusak but normally filled with spicy vegetables.
Muslims in the UK often use Ramadan as a time to do charity work and to reach out to the wider British community and educate them about Islam. Many mosques run open iftars inviting people of all religions from the local community to join them in breaking the fast. One famous project is called the Ramadan Tent Project in London. This project sets up a large tent for Ramadan and volunteers help make food for people who come, especially homeless people.
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BritCast Ep6: Ramadan In The UK

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Hello and welcome to Britcast. I’m Katie and I’m from the UK. In this series of podcasts I’m going to talk about all things British: British accent, British culture, and British words and phrases. Today we are going to talk about a way of talking called Cockney rhyming slang.

Cockney is a word we use to describe someone who comes from East London. Cockneys have their own slang (or informal speech) which has become famous through films and television. In this slang, instead of saying the word they mean, they say a phrase that rhymes with it. So, instead of saying “phone,” they say “dog and bone” – for example “where’s my dog and bone” meaning “where’s my phone.” This sounds much better in the Cockney accent but I’m terrible at this accent so I have included a link at the bottom of the transcript so you can hear what it sounds like.

Other examples of Cockney rhyming slang are “apples and pairs” meaning “stairs” and “plates of meat” meaning “feet.” Often, Cockneys use only the first word in the phrase, so instead of saying “plates of meat,” they might just say “plates” – for example “my plates hurt” meaning “my feet hurt.” This makes it almost impossible to understand unless you know the original phrase.

There are several ideas about why this way of talking was invented. Some people believe it was first used by criminals so the police would not understand what they were talking about. Other people think it was first used by street sellers trying to find interesting ways to talk in order to attract customers.

These days you will only hear it in the East End of London or on some TV programmes such as Eastenders which is a TV series set in this area of the city.

Thank you for listening. Please like and follow our Mixcast page on Facebook and share this podcast with your friends. To listen to the Cockney accent please click the link below.

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BritCast Ep7: Cockney

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Celebrations and National Holidays in the UK

Hello and welcome to Britcast. I’m Katie and I’m from the UK. In this series of podcasts we will be discussing all things British – British accent, British culture and British words and phrases. Today we will talk about celebrations and national holidays in the UK.
First I want to wish you all Happy Eid. In English (as you may know) we say the word “happy” with the celebration to greet people on special days – Happy Birthday, Happy Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Easter, Happy Eid.
In the UK, most of our national holidays and celebrations are connected to events in the Christian calendar, such as Christmas (which is celebrated on the 25th of December) and Easter (which changes every year but is normally in March or April). Other holidays include New Year’s Day and May Day (or workers’ day). 
In the UK we call a public holiday a bank holiday. You will also hear people talk about the “bank holiday weekend” – this is when the weekend is three days instead of two because of a bank holiday on Friday or Monday. Normally the weekend is Saturday and Sunday. If a bank holiday falls on a weekend then an extra day holiday is given on the Monday. 
As for Eid, it is not a bank holiday in the UK but there will be many celebrations in the big cities. In London and Birmingham for example there will be large events in the local parks with the Eid prayer and lots of activities and food. 

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BritCast Ep8:  Public Holidays

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Hello and welcome to Britcast. I’m Katie and I’m from the UK. In this series of podcasts I’m going to talk about all things British: British accent, British culture, and British words and phrases. Today we are going to talk about some British slang words and phrases that mean “good.”

British English, like all languages has lots of slang (or informal) words and phrases. Sometimes there are some slang words that are only used in certain areas of the country. Also, slang changes rapidly so words that were popular five years ago may not be used as much today.

When we want to describe something that is very good, or react to good news we can say “brilliant” or “fab” – “fab” is short for “fabulous.” For example, if my colleague tells me that we have a day off (or holiday) from work tomorrow – I would say “brilliant”. These words can also be used as adjectives – for example, “I have a brilliant idea”…”the weather was fab”.

Other words for very good include “ace” and “smashing” – but these are a little old fashioned. We also have a funny idiom to describe something very good. We say something or someone is “the bee’s knees.” For example, I might say “the boss thinks John is the bee’s knees – everything he does is perfect.”

The British are also famous for being polite so sometimes you might hear us describe things with phrases like “it wasn’t bad” or “it was alright” (alright means ok) or “nice.” Depending on the tone of voice this could mean that the thing was bad but we are too polite to say, or it could mean that it wasn’t bad or good.

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BritCast Ep9: Slang Good

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Hello and welcome to Britcast. My name is Katie and I’m from the UK. In this series of podcasts I’m going to talk about all things British: British accent, British culture, and British words and phrases. Today we are going to look at how to talk about money.
In British English we have lots of words for money. You may already know the word “cash” – this means notes and coins – not credit cards. We also use the word “dosh” to mean money in general. For example – I haven’t got any dosh with me.
There are also special names for the different coins and notes used in the UK. A one pound coin for example is called a “quid.” A five pound note is called a “fiver” and a ten pound note is called a “tenner.” So you might hear someone say something like this 
Have you got any change? This machine only accepts quids. Sorry no, I’ve only got a fiver.
We also have a special name for one thousand pounds (although there is no 1000 pound note of course). We call a thousand pounds a “grand.” We can also say “two grand” or “three grand” etc. 
Talking of expensive things, we have two idioms to say something costs a lot of money. We can say something costs “an arm and a leg” or we can say that we “pay through the nose.” For example: “that restaurant is very nice but you have to pay through the nose.”
If we haven’t got any money we can say that we are “broke” or “skint.” The opposite would be “loaded” or “flush” – meaning when you have lots of money. Finally there’s one expression you may hear that is not really about money – when a British person says they are going to “spend a penny” they actually mean they are going to the bathroom. This expression comes from a time when it cost one penny to use the public toilets.
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BritCast Ep10: Money

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Hello and welcome to Britcast. I’m Katie and I’m from the UK. In this series of podcasts we will be discussing all things British – British accent, British culture and British words and phrases. Today we will talk about the weather.

British people are famous for talking about the weather. I think this is for two reasons. First, the weather in the UK is always changing so there is always something to talk about. It is possible to have rain in summer, and sometimes we have all the types of weather in one day. The second reason is that in British culture we do not discuss private or personal topics with strangers and we also do not talk about anything that might cause arguments or differences of opinion. This means that when we are making small talk with someone we are not close to we have to stick to safe topics like the weather.

So, how do we talk about the different kinds of weather in British English? Let’s start with good weather. In general we describe good weather as “fine” or “nice” or “pleasant.” For example, “it’s going to be a fine day.” We would describe very hot weather as “scorching” – although in the UK we consider 27 degrees very hot.

As for the rain – which we get a lot of – we have lots and lots of words. Here are a few… A light rain is called “drizzle.” If the rain is heavy we can say “it’s pouring” or “it’s heaving it down.” A quick note – no one ever really says “it’s raining cats and dogs” that’s just in English text books. When it rains for a short period of time we call it a “shower.” So you might hear the weather man say “today there will be light showers and sunny spells” meaning that throughout the day there will be some rain and some sunshine.

In the winter it doesn’t actually snow that much in the UK (except in the north of Scotland). We do, however, get hail – which is hard balls of ice that fall like rain, and sleet – which is between rain and snow – it’s like wet snow or very cold rain.

That’s it for today. I hope the weather is fine where you are. Thank you for listening to Britcast. If you enjoyed this episode, please like us on Facebook and share this podcast with your friends.

BritCast Ep12: Weather

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Hello and welcome to Britcast. I’m Katie and I’m from the UK. In this series of podcasts I will talk about all things British – British accent, British culture and British words and phrases. Today we will talk about tea.

The British love tea. Despite the increase in popularity of coffee in recent years our favourite drink is still a cup of tea – or a cuppa. Traditionally there are two types of teas drunk in Britain. Breakfast tea and afternoon tea. Breakfast teas are normally strong, while afternoon teas like Earl Grey have a lighter, more subtle flavour. We normally drink our tea with milk, or lemon in the case of afternoon teas. If you like your tea very strong and leave the tea bag in the cup until it is a very dark colour, we call this builders’ tea.

Afternoon tea was traditionally taken at around 4pm by the upper classes. The upper classes in Britain used to eat later than the working classes, at around 7 pm, they had a light meal called afternoon or high tea, to keep them going until dinner.  Afternoon tea traditionally includes small sandwiches and cakes, as well as a pot of Earl Grey or Lady Grey tea. You can still enjoy this tradition in cafes and hotels in the UK, who serve afternoon tea to guests.

For British people a cup of tea is more than just a drink. When people have received bad news or are in some kind of emotional distress you will often hear us say “let’s put the kettle on.” We believe tea has a calming effect and use the routine of making it to help us feel normal.

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BritCast Ep14: Tea

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Hello and welcome to Britcast. I’m Katie and I’m from the UK. In this series of podcasts we will be discussing all things British – British accent, British culture and British words and phrases. Today we will talk about sports.

By far the most popular sport in the UK is football, or “footy” as we sometimes call it. As I’m sure you know we have many major football leagues in the UK and watching, and playing football is an important part of many people’s social lives. Other popular sports include rugby, tennis, cycling, running and swimming.

There are some sports in the UK that you might not have heard of. Netball, for example, which is similar to basketball except that you cannot move while holding the ball. This is a popular sport for girls at school. Another very British sport is lacrosse. Lacrosse is a team sport played with nets on long sticks which you use to carry, catch and throw a ball. This is a popular sport in private schools, but not many people play it except in these schools.

If you remember from the podcast about the UK, Great Britain and England – we have many different names for the countries on our island. In sports we sometimes compete alone – for example in the football world cup England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland compete separately. In other events, such as the Olympics, we compete as Great Britain.

People in the UK play sports in many places. All schools teach sports lessons as part of the curriculum, and swimming lessons are also compulsory in primary school. Many adults go to sports centres to use the gym or other sports facilities like the swimming pool or tennis court. You will also find people playing sports in the park in the summer.

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BritCast Ep15: Sports

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Hello and welcome to Britcast. I’m Katie and I’m from the UK. In this series of podcasts we will be discussing all things British – British accent, British culture and British words and phrases. Today we will talk about work.

British people are quite serious about work. Many might call us workaholics. Workaholics are people who work a lot and who cannot stop working, even during holidays. Most people in the UK have a 9 to 5 job. This means a job that starts at 9am and ends at 5pm. Sometimes we use the phrase 9 to 5 to mean a normal job. For example, someone might say, I want to do something different with my life. I don’t want a 9 to 5. The 9 to 5 job follows a regular pattern. Work starts at 9am, there is a one hour lunch break (normally you can choose when to take it) and everyone goes home at 5pm. If you choose to stay longer, or if you have to because there is lots of work, this is called working overtime. Overtime can be paid extra or can be given back to you as extra holidays.

Holidays are normally all public holidays, such as Christmas and New Year, in addition to 21 days that you can take when you choose. Although you need to arrange with your boss and colleagues so that the work is not affected. If one day you decide to not go to work, then you might “pull a sickie.” This is a slang phrase which means that you pretend to be sick so you don’t have to go to work, but in reality you are fine. If your boss catches you pulling a sickie then you might get fired, or get the sack. This means that the company ends your contract and you can no longer work there. When you do not have a job, you are called “unemployed.” Unemployed people receive money from the government to help them live, as long as they can prove that they are looking for work. This situation is called “being on the dole” – because the slang word for the money from the government is “dole.”

I hope you enjoyed this week’s Britcast. Please share the episodes with your friends and check out Mixcast on Facebook.

BritCast Ep16: Work

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