I SPILLED THE BEANS

IDIOM (7)

2012-01-26T20:26:00.003Z

Today's idiom is:

TWO OF A KIND

People who are two of a kind are similar in character, attitude or tastes. we can also use it for things of the same type.

Example: "John and Garry are two of a kind. They enjoy football and they wouldn't miss a match. they also like gambling and betting."

THE QUEEN'S DIAMOND JUBILEE

2012-01-24T20:51:00.003Z

The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrates 60 years of the Queen’s reign. Celebrations will be held across the UK during the first week of June in 2012.

Buckingham Palace is organizing many events centered on the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, while the UK’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is coordinating many activities. The department is working with the Scottish government to help ensure that a single date for a bank holiday across the UK is held to allow for communities to join in celebrating the jubilee. 1,000 boats have been selected as part of the flotilla to reflect the maritime history of the UK. There will be a Big Jubilee Lunch organised by the Big Lunch, which is part of the Eden Project – The Big Jubilee Lunch will be held on Sunday 3 June 2012. People across the nation are being encouraged to take part and share lunch with neighbours and friends as part of The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

You can click here for more details.

Public life
The bank holiday for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee will be a day off for most people in the UK on Tuesday, June 5, 2012. Indeed, many people have a day off work or school to celebrate the event. Moreover, the late May bank holiday (spring bank holiday), which is usually held on last Monday of May, will be moved to Monday, June 4, 2012, to form a four-day weekend.

Government offices, schools, post offices and most businesses are closed on bank holidays in the UK. Those wishing to travel via public transport in the UK during the late May bank holiday/Queen’s Diamond Jubilee long weekend will need to check beforehand.

Background
Queen Elizabeth II is the head of state of the UK and 15 other Commonwealth realms. She is the daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. Born in 1926 in London, Elizabeth Alexandra Mary was named after her mother, while her two middle names are those of her paternal great-grandmother, Queen Alexandra, and her paternal grandmother, Queen Mary.
Elizabeth married Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, now known as Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, at Westminster Abbey on November 20, 1947. The event was fairly simple as Britain was still recovering from World War II. She then came to the throne on February 6, 1952 and coronation took place on June 2, 1953.

The Queen celebrated her Silver Jubilee (25 years on the throne) in 1977 and her Golden Jubilee (50 years on the throne) in 2002. In 2002 she visited 70 cities and towns in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland over 38 days from May to August. People all over the world held street parties, garden parties and other events to celebrate the Golden Jubilee.
The Queen and Prince Philip have four children, with Prince Charles, now the Prince of Wales, as heir apparent to the throne. Queen Victoria was the only other British monarch to celebrate a Diamond Jubilee (in 1897).
Symbols
Flags, stamps and coins all represent the Crown in different ways. The most notable symbols of the monarchy in the UK are the crown jewels and regalia, the Honours of Scotland and the Principality of Wales. Other symbols include the Great Seal and the monarch’s personal emblems such as the Royal Standard and Coats of Arms. Buildings such as Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse are also seen to represent the monarchy in the UK.

BUCKLES. A COMIC STRIP

2012-01-19T14:21:00.004Z

Buckles is a comic strip by David Gilbert. Buckles is an innocent dog, and is the main protagonist. He was born on March 25, 1996 (The same day the first strip was published). Most of the storylines of the Buckles comic series involve moral issues within Buckles himself. Of course since he is a puppy, issues are more to the point of whether or not to get in the garbage, roll in the mud, or chew up a valuable piece of clothing. Buckles also fears cats. One of Buckles' favourite things to chew up seems to be the remote control to the TV, often ending in a strict lecture from Paul (his owner).
Let's pay attention to the vocabulary :
FEATHER / FUR / BEAK / SNOUT / CLAW / PAW.

WRONG TRANSLATIONS

2012-01-18T13:12:00.002Z

A well known BBC News sign language interpreter has been sacked after complaints from deaf people. According to them she was ‘sometimes embellishing, sometimes just inventing things.’

Leslie Grange is 32 years old and has been a sign language interpreter for the BBC for seven years.

She explained that she had some ‘personal difficulties and particularly a professional boredom’. Over the past six months, she had started deviating from what was actually being reported, giving deaf viewers ‘wildly different versions of the facts’.

“It all started around the time of the Japanese earthquake when several viewers emailed the BBC to complain about reports of radioactive zombies seen near the nuclear reactor. ” Of course none of this was true on the contrary everything was made up by Mrs Grange.

“However, when there were similar numbers getting in touch to ask if Rebekah Brooks was really in trouble for raping a monkey, and why the BBC was claiming that, as a special summer treat, the Prime Minister had told the nation’s teenagers that they didn’t have to pay for anything any more, we realised something was wrong.”

Grange told reporters that she wanted to apologise to everyone in the deaf community.

PUSH HARD AND FAST

2012-01-12T11:32:00.003Z

Here is a very funny and also useful VIDEO from The British Heart Foundation.

Vinnie Jones (a former football player and now an actor) shows how hard and fast Hands-only CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) to Stayin' Alive by the Bee Gees can help save the life of someone who has had a cardiac arrest. Vinnie is starring in a British Heart Foundation TV advert urging more people to carry out CPR in a medical emergency.

If you don't understand everything, you can click on CC at the bottom of the video and get the subtitles... it's magic (lucky you!!)

SCOTLAND INDEPENDENT ?

2012-01-12T00:57:00.002Z

Alex Salmond, the Scottish First Minister, would like a referendum on Scottish independence in 2014.
David Cameron does not want Scotland to leave the United Kingdom. He has pledged to publish legal advice, which is expected to show it would be unlawful for the Scottish Parliament to hold a "binding" referendum without the agreement of Westminster, which wants the vote to take place sooner than 2014.
Meanwhile, the Scottish National Party (SNP) has accused the Prime Minister of "meddling" in Scottish democracy.

What would voters be asked?
This is another source of conflict. Westminster thinks the referendum should simply ask Scottish voters whether they think the country should split from the UK. But the SNP is considering a second question that would include asking voters whether the Scottish Parliament should be granted more powers while remaining part of the union. Scotland currently has powers that include autonomy over issues such as agriculture, criminal justice, education, health and police and fire services.

What do Scottish voters want?
According to a poll in October 2011, 39 % of those surveyed in the UK agreed Scotland should have independence. In Scotland, the figure was almost half at 49 %.
But a more recent poll by Ipsos MORI found 54 % of people in Scotland wanted to stay in the Union. According to the survey results, a higher proportion of voters in Scotland wanted to stay in the UK than across England and Wales.

So what happens now?
If the two parliaments can't settle the matter, it could go to the Supreme Court. The UK minister Michael Moore has said he would work with Mr Salmond to reach a resolution while Mr Cameron has said it is "very unfair" to Scotland to prolong the debate over the timing of a referendum.

What is the history of the union?
The acts of union between Scotland and England were passed in 1706. Both countries had shared a monarch since 1603 but had not come together to form a single kingdom, meaning there was in effect, two crowns on one head.
The Acts took effect on 1 May 1707. On this date, the Scottish Parliament and the English Parliament united to form the Parliament of Great Britain, based in the Palace of Westminster.
England wanted to ensure that Scotland would not choose a monarch different from the one on the English throne.
The Scots needed financial help following an economically disastrous scheme to attempt to colonise the Isthmus of Panama in the late 1690s.
In 1999, after almost three centuries, a devolved Scottish Parliament was opened after a referendum in Scotland.
Before the present SNP government was elected in a landslide victory, it had made an election pledge for a referendum on independence on the lifetime of the current Scottish parliament.

IDIOM (6)

2012-01-10T16:25:00.006Z

Today's idiom is rather informal and humorous but nice

TO BE IN YOUR BIRTHDAY SUIT.

It means to be in a state of total nakedness, as at birth. The state of being without clothing or covering of any kind. (from the fact that a person would not have any clothes on the minute they were born)

Example: Brian got really drunk last night and ran around in the streets in his birthday suit!

A LITTLE GAME

2012-01-08T22:04:00.002Z

I know you've been missing our little games... So stop complaining and let's start working seriously.
Here is a montage of notable Britons (ie: British people).
All are of indigenous British stock (mixture of English, Scottish and Welsh).
Can you name them ? You can send a comment with your propositions... Good luck!!

Top row, left to right:

AND

Bottom row, left to right:

HOPES AND FEARS

2012-01-08T21:54:00.003Z

A recent poll reveals that British people welcome cultural changes brought by immigration, regard rising prices as the biggest threat to the country's wellbeing in 2012, and believe the Queen's diamond jubilee celebrations will lift the nation's spirits more than the Olympics.

In a major report, Hopes and Fears, that touches on subjects varying from the class system, attitudes towards Scottish independence and changes in the country since it last held the Olympic Games in 1948, the poll paints a picture of a hopeful country at ease with itself but afraid of the consequences of its diminishing resources.

The poll – carried out for British Future, a new independent thinktank, and the Observer – reveals that immigration has been good for the domestic cuisine, for example, with 68% saying that what they eat has changed for the better. There is also a strong feeling that immigration has contributed positively to entrepreneurship, film, music, fashion and design.

But the report also reveals deep economic anxiety. Many people believe that immigration has had a negative impact on the supply of homes, jobs, schools or hospitals. A perception of worsening crime is blamed on an influx of immigrants in recent decades.

There is also a rejection of segregation, with 51% of people believing the government should encourage parents to put their children in ethnically diverse schools. Black and Asian people feel this most strongly (60%) but, the report says, the "large white majority don't stand far behind (51%)."

Other findings of the poll are:

■ women are the nation's optimists, with 56% of them positive about the future compared with 48% of men;

■ Asian Britons are most optimistic about Britain in 2012;

■ people feel housing has been the area in which immigration has hit hardest;

■ Scots are as keen to stay in the union as the English and Welsh are to keep them, while it turns out to be the Geordies who feel least British;

■ a north-south divide emerges over whether class has become less important since 1948. Just over 40% of Londoners think class matters less, compared with 29% who disagree. In the north, 35% think it matters less, compared with 39% who disagree.

The director of British Future, said: "Even in these anxious times, the poll offers grounds for confidence that Britain today can combine our strong sense of history and traditions with an inclusive pride in the diverse, modern society we have become."

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012

2012-01-03T16:27:00.002Z

Dear Readers,

Thank you so much for all your support and comments!! You are the inspiration behind every article I write and post here.

Looking forward for another year of great collaboration!!

All the Best,

May 2012 be a year of Health and happiness

May 2012 be a year of Wealth and Wisdom

May 2012 be a year of Peace and Prosperity

May 2012 be a year of Glee and Glow

May 2012 also be a year of love and laughter

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

DICKENS 2012

2011-12-21T17:39:00.003Z

2012 will mark the bicentenary of the birth of Charles Dickens. The year will bring many special events and activities to commemorate the 200th anniversary of one of Britain's greatest novelist and story teller. Don't forget our own "Event" on Feb 15th, as we're going to see David Copperfield at the Theatre.... in English. For further information about the tickets, please send me an e-mail.

Charles Dickens' long association with Rochester and the Medway area began when the Dickens family moved to a small house in Chatham. Charles' father, John, was originally a clerk in the Navy Pay Office in Portsmouth Dockyard. He transferred first to London in 1816 and then to Chatham in 1817. If you remember what I told you you must already know that Rochester and the Medway area means a lot to me because my ancestors lived there. Snodland is actually on the river Medway.

Some of Charles' vivid memories must have been of the dockyard area where his father worked and it was on one of the long country walks with his father that Charles first saw Gad's Hill Place, just outside Rochester, which was to become his home in the final years of his life.

So profound was the effect on his young imagination that Dickens used the people and places he had seen as a boy, on long walks with his father, as characters and settings for his novels. Some of the places in Rochester are instantly recognisable in his novels as real places, while others are the product of his own imagination or are composites of several places familiar to him.

Many of the buildings found in the High Street carry plaques giving details how Dickens incorporated the site in his novels. A walk around local sites and graveyards will reveal where he found the names of many of his characters.

The author's life, times and work can be explored at the Dickens' Discovery Rooms in the Guildhall Museum, Rochester. There you will be able to find authentic Dickens' related objects, view the sites of Dickens interest in and around Medway using touch-screen technology and watch a short film on the author's connections with the area in the audio-visual theatre.

Visitors can follow in the footsteps of Dickens on a self-guided walking trail (leaflet available from Medway Visitor Information Centre). Costumed guided tours are also available for pre-booked parties with Footsteps in Time. The "Dickens Country", the rural area just outside of Rochester can be explored by coach with a local guide from the City of Rochester Society.

Only three miles from Rochester is the enchanting, indoor visitor complex themed around the life of Charles Dickens. Dickens World in Chatham Maritime, takes visitors on a journey of the author's lifetime as they step back in time to Dickensian England to experience the highs and lows of urban life, complete with sounds and smells.

For more information on special events and activities taking place in the bicentenary year visit www.dickens2012.com.

TALKING BINS

2011-12-13T23:52:00.004Z

Famous people could be congratulating you for throwing your rubbish away in talking bins.

Yes you're not dreaming !! I wrote ''talking bins''. The bins were installed in central London and Liverpool in October.

Actress Amanda Holden has recorded a message saying "Yes! Do that again!" and former cricketer Phil Tufnell calls out "Howzat!"

The Liverpool bins feature Mike McCartney singing a re-recorded version of the Scaffold hit "Thank You Very Much".

The song, which will have the new line "thank you very much for binning your litter", will come from two bins installed in the city's Mathew Street.

Some of the London bins will also burst into song when litter is thrown into them, with tunes including I'm Singing in the Bin and Rubbish Keeps Falling on my Head.

But other famous people have also recorded messages.

The project has been created by Keep Britain Tidy in partnership with Liverpool City Central BID and the arts organisation Sing London.

Additional messages will be adapted to suit each location, the organisers hope.

For example, Covent Garden's bin is operatic and the bin by Lord's Cricket Ground is filled with sport-related sounds.

The bins in London will remain in the capital for two months, after which time they will tour the UK, returning for the Olympic Games in 2012.

If successful, they could become a permanent fixture.

Sing London has previously put pianos and ping pong tables on the streets of London.

"We wanted to find a way to make bins enjoyable," says Colette Hiller, director of Sing London.

To make things easier to understand watch this little video. It's fun, isn't it?

DICKENS LONDON

2011-12-12T22:16:00.003Z

In February we'll go and see ''David Copperfield'' at the theatre. In the meantime, here's something that might be interesting for you.

There is a major exhibition to celebrate the bicentenary of Charles Dickens's birth (Feb 7th 1812), exploring the author's work, its themes and how he illuminated and was inspired by London. Dickens described London as a 'magic lantern' and, by evoking the atmosphere of the streets of Victorian London and the Thames, the show intends for visitors to follow in Dickens's footsteps as he walked through the nineteenth-century city, building in his mind the settings, plots and characters of his novels.

The main social questions of the period, including childhood mortality, prostitution, wealth and poverty, are illustrated, along with the advances of the industrial age, including steam boats, railways, the electric telegraph and the Penny Post.

Displays include Dickens's writing desk and chair, his bank ledger, and manuscript pages describing the East End opium den featured in his last, unfinished novel, 'The Mystery of Edwind Drood'. The show concludes with a film, 'The Houseless Shadow', by William Raban, comparing London after dark now and how it was described by Dickens 150 years ago.

The exhibition will last until Jun 10^th 2012 at the fantastic Museum of London, 150 London Wall, London, EC2Y 5HN so you'll have plenty of time....

St Paul's or Barbican Tube Station.

PHOTO BLOG

2011-12-09T11:27:00.007Z

Holidays, business trip, teaching time and loads of photos.... wonderful memories. Here is where they all come together: on a blog of pictures of the UK. Some photos are mine others have been collected on the Internet or sent by friends or people interested in my Blog.

Over the years I've visited so many parts of the UK and I've seen many sights that have surprised me, thrilled me or moved me.

Quite a few of these I've shared on this blog, in the hope that they might help others turn their England holiday into the trip of a lifetime.

I love England and I find it wonderfully 'picturesque' and am always curious to learn what other people find worth taking photos of (and why!). So if you have any great pictures, you can send them to me with a little message that I will be glad to read: wbformlang@wanadoo.fr

My blog contain many pictures of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland: collections of sunsets, misty mornings, beaches, empty hillsides, ruined castles, town centres, tranquil riversides and even snow!

So get a nice cup of tea, choose a nice comfortable armchair, fasten your seatbelt and click here to go to the Blog Photo :

IDIOM (5)

2011-12-09T09:16:00.002Z

Today's idiom is:

TO BE A JACK OF ALL TRADES
You use this phrase to speak about a person who can do several different jobs instead of specializing in one. A person who can do many different kinds of work.

Example: He was a real jack-of-all-trades, and could repair anything you can imagine.

UK STRIKE

2011-11-30T20:26:00.002Z

Today tens of thousands of people have joined rallies around the UK as a public sector strike over pensions disrupted schools, hospitals and other services.

About two thirds of state schools shut, and thousands of hospital operations were postponed, as unions estimated up to two million people went on strike.

The Trade Unions called it "the biggest strike in a generation". The Unions are opposed to plans to make members pay more and work longer to earn pensions.

Why have strikes been called?

The government wants most public sector workers to:

Pay more into their pensions
Work for longer
Accept a pension based on a "career average" salary, rather than the final salary arrangement which many are currently on
The government says the cost of funding public sector pensions is "unsustainable" as people are living longer
Unions say the proposals will leave members paying more and working longer for less.

THE ARCELORMITTAL ORBIT

2011-11-27T23:12:00.003Z

The ArcelorMittal Orbit is a 115 metres high observation tower in the Olympic Park in Stratford, London. The steel sculpture is Britain's largest piece of public art, and is a permanent, lasting legacy of London's 2012 Summer Olympics. Sited between the Olympic Stadium and the Aquatics Centre, it allows visitors to view the whole Olympic Park from two observation platforms.

Orbit was designed by Anish Kapoor in collaboration with engineer Cecil Balmond. Announced on 31 March 2010, the tower is expected to be completed by December 2011 at the latest. The project came about after Mayor of London Boris Johnson and Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell decided in 2008 that the Olympic Park needed "something extra".

Some designers were asked for ideas for an "Olympic tower" of at least 100 metres, and Orbit was the unanimous choice from various proposals considered by a nine person advisory panel.

The project is expected to cost £19.1m, with £16m of that coming from the involvement of Britain's richest man, the steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, chairman of the ArcelorMittal steel company, with the balance of £3.1m coming from the London Development Agency.

The official name of the sculpture, "ArcelorMittal Orbit", combines the name of Mittal's company, as chief sponsor, with Orbit, the original working title of Kapoor and Balmond's design.

Both Kapoor and Balmond believe Orbit represents a radical advance in the architectural field of combining sculpture and structural engineering, and believe that it combines both stability and instability in a work that visitors can engage with and experience, via an incorporated spiral walkway.

The structure has been both praised and criticised for its bold design, while it has also been criticised as a vanity project, of questionable lasting use or merit as a public art project.

UK WOMEN 'FATTEST IN EUROPE'

2011-11-26T21:39:00.005Z

The UK has more obese women than any other country in Europe, according to European Union figures.

Data agency Eurostat, which looked at 19 countries, found that nearly a quarter of UK women - 23.9% - were obese in the year 2008 to 2009.

Just over 22% of UK men were classed as obese, coming second only to Malta.

A person is defined as obese if their body mass index (BMI), the result of a calculation involving weight and height, is above a certain level.

The BMI correlates fairly well with body fat.

Statisticians found the share of overweight and obese people increases with age in all of the 19 member states.

The data come from the European Health Interview Survey (EHIS) and was published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

Its figures for the UK were based on data from England, although surveys suggest the percentage of obese adults in Wales and Northern Ireland is similar and Scotland's latest health report put the figure at 28%.

After the UK, the countries with the highest levels of female obesity were Malta, with 21.1%, and Latvia, (20.9%).

Meanwhile, after Malta and the UK, the countries with the highest instances of male obesity were Hungary - where 21.4% fall into that category - and the Czech Republic, where 18.4% are classed as such.

The UK's high levels of obesity are in stark contrast to those in countries such as Romania, where just 8% of women were classed as obese along with 7.6% of men.

Obesity levels were also found to be low in Italy, Bulgaria and France.

In Italy, 9.3% of women were found to be obese and 11.3% men.

Meanwhile, in Bulgaria levels of obesity for women and men were found to be 11.3% and 11.6%, with levels of France identified as being 12.7% and 11.7% respectively.

The figures suggested that the proportion of women who are obese or overweight falls as the educational level rises.

Last month, Health Secretary Andrew Lansley launched a bid to reduce obesity levels in England by 2020.

The minister said people need to be honest with themselves about how much they eat and drink.

He said that, overall, Britons should be eating five billion fewer calories a day than at present.

IDIOM (4)

2011-11-23T21:18:00.002Z

Today's idiom is :

TO BE ON PINS AND NEEDLES.

You are "on pins and needles" when you are very nervous about something happening, or even worried.

Example: " At my office, we heard that someone was going to get fired, but we didn't know who it will be; so the whole office was on pins on needles all day."

BRITISH AIRWAYS

2011-11-21T17:21:00.001Z

Pam Ann is the air hostess alter-ego of Australian comedienne Caroline Reid. The character of Pam Ann has developed a cult-like following and fans include Madonna, who describes Pam as "cruelly funny". In this video Pam Ann starts her new job with British Airways.
The song comes from the opera 'Lakme' by Leo Delibes (1883) and is called 'Viens Mallika'. Enjoy.

WORDS AND PHRASES THAT SHAKESPEARE INVENTED

2011-11-16T15:32:00.005Z

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was not only a prolific writer, he has also introduced thousands of words and phrases into the English language. However, it is commonly suggested that Shakespeare might not have invented certain words and phrases, but rather his works are the first time the words were actually written down. Words and phrases attributed to Shakespeare were probably spoken first. This does not discount the fact, however, that Shakespeare was a master of the English language.

Words that Shakespeare Invented:

Here are some common words that first appeared in Shakespeare’s plays and their meanings:

Auspicious – favorable; promising success; a good omen. A wedding is an example of an auspicious occasion.

Baseless – without a foundation; not based on fact. If you accuse someone of wrongdoing, make sure that you have support to back up your claim and it is not a baseless accusation.

Barefaced – shameless; without concealment or disguise. When someone tells a 'barefaced lie' it is not a very good one and you immediately know it is not true.

Castigate – to punish harshly. Sometimes celebrities and politicians are castigated in the press more harshly than ordinary citizens.

Clangor – a loud (clanging) sound. Ghosts are sometimes said to be followed by the loud clangor of chains.

Dexterously – skillful, especially in the use of one’s hands (or also one’s mind). A good carpenter can dexterously build a bookshelf very easily.

Dwindle – to get smaller; diminish. Often used to describe money. Many people’s savings dwindle after losing a job.

Multitudinous – a lot; a great number. You are in luck if you can say that you have a multitudinous amount of friends.

Sanctimonious – pretending to be very religious or righteous. Sometimes people who judge others harshly are sanctimonious.

Watchdog – a person or group that keeps close watch to discover wrong or illegal activity. A popular watchdog group is PETA, which exposes wrongful actions against animals.

Phrases Shakespeare Invented

Here are some phrases that Shakespeare is said to have invented, many of which are commonly used today.

"It’s Greek to me" (Julius Caesar) - When you say, "it's Greek to me" you are admitting that you do not know or understand something.

"Fair play" (The Tempest) - Follow the rules, especially in competitions or sports.

"All that glitters isn’t gold" (Merchant of Venice) - We usually use this phrase after we discover the fact that something that looks good turns out not to be that great.

"Wear one’s heart on one’s sleeve" (Othello) - To be a hopeless romantic (or be open and honest about how you feel) is to wear one's heart on one's sleeve.

"Break the ice" (The Taming of the Shrew) - Often when you meet someone for the first time, you "break the ice" by asking them polite questions about themselves.

"The lady doth protest too much" (Hamlet) - If someone denies something more than once, you can say "the lady doth protest too much," meaning you think that they feel the opposite to what they are saying.

"Clothes make the man" (Hamlet) - Although not always true, this phrase implies that how a person dresses tells you something about who they are as a person.

"A laughing stock" (The Merry Wives of Windsor) - To be a laughing stock is to be considered a joke by many people.

"Too much of a good thing" (As You Like It) - It is said that "too much of a good thing" (i.e. money, love, food) is not necessarily good for you.

"In a pickle" (The Tempest) - To be "in a pickle" is to be in trouble or a situation that you cannot easily get out of.

INTERESTING FACTS ON THE THAMES

2011-11-13T22:29:00.002Z

The Thames is only 215 (346 km) miles long. It is England's longest river and the second longest river in the United Kingdom.

Long ago, before Britain was separated from continental Europe, the Thames was a tributary of the Rhine. The English Channel was formed about 7,000 years ago at the end of the last Ice Age.

THE ROUTE OF THE RIVER THAMES

The River Thames rises in the Cotswold Hills in Gloucestershire, and flows roughly eastwards passed Oxford (where it is known as the River Isis), until the Chilterns and on through London to the North Sea.

TRADE AND TRANSPORT

The river has been an important trade and transport route since prehistoric times.

London's fame and fortune is due to its river. All through the Middle Ages the Thames was one of London's main highways. Barges and river boats brought fish, wood and wool to the City, while hundreds of water-men in small rowing boats ferried people up and down.

By the 1700s, trading ships were arriving carrying all kinds of goods for sale in the City. Tea, silk and a fortune of spices came from the East. Sugar was brought from the Caribbean, timber from Norway and iron ore from Sweden.

The Thames was so busy that traffic on the river could hardly move. Sometimes, dozens of ships queued for many days along the banks, waiting to get to a dock to unload.

FLOODING

The River Thames is prone to tidal surges. This happens when a high tide is blown up the Thames estuary by very strong winds. The water level of the Thames rises quickly and spills over the banks.

The Thames Flood Barrier was built at Woolwich to protect London from flooding. It is usually left open to let ships go through. In times of tidal surges, the gates are shut to keep the water out of the estuary.

RIVER THAMES FROST FAIRS

The worst cold spells in Britain occurred between 1550 and 1750. The climate during this time was known as the Little Ice Age, when winters were so cold that the Thames froze over each year. It was not uncommon for the freeze to last over three months, as in the case of the winters of 1683 - 1684 and 1715 - 1716.

The first recorded Frost Fair was held on the frozen river Thames in London in 1608. It had tents, sideshows, food stalls and even included ice bowling!

The Thames had frozen over several times before 1608. In the 16th century, Henry VIII is said to have traveled all the way from central London to Greenwich by sleigh along the river during the winter of 1536 and Elizabeth I took walks on the ice during the winter of 1564.

The last Frost Fair was held in the winter of 1814. It began on February 1, and lasted just four days. An elephant was led across the river below Blackfriars Bridge.

IDIOM (3)

2011-11-07T17:11:00.002Z

Today's IDIOM is :

BORN ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE BLANKET.

A child born on the wrong side of the blanket is illegitimate- his or her parents were not married at the time of the birth.

ADVICE

2011-10-24T17:02:00.004+01:00

This little break is a good time for you to work on improving your English. It is particularly useful if you can concentrate on the aspects of your English where you are not so strong. (If you don’t know what they are, just ask me!) You can :

develop your listening skills (by listening to the Easy Readers CDs or watching English-language DVDs)
practise speaking (if you can find someone to speak English to, speak to yourself !)
do vocabulary exercises (review your book and make a list of words)
do grammar exercises (there are now so many grammar practice sites on my Website – I Spilled The Beans – Click HERE)
write a diary in English.

The importance of reading :

All of the suggestions in the above list can be useful, but probably the best thing to do is: READ. Reading in English can increase your vocabulary, improve your spelling, help you learn grammar, and make you a better writer. Reading English books is a good way of increasing your understanding of the elements of fiction - for example, how writers describe setting, create interesting and believable characters, develop plot, explore a theme etc..

It may seem strange, but if you read good books - both fiction and non-fiction - in your own language, it will help you in English, too. This is because reading is like any other skill -

''the more you practise, the better you become. ''

Reading also increases your knowledge of the world around you, which can help you when you come to study different topics.

All these are good reasons to read, but the most important reason is that reading can be such an enjoyable activity - particularly when you can choose what to read.

You can surf the Web in order to find out topics you are interested in: gardening, music, films, politics, travelling... anything !

One last piece of advice :

If you can't do anything at all in English, don't feel bad... Don’t spend all your time working on English. I know you all work very hard or have a busy schedule , and you may need to have a complete rest. This will help you be ready for the next lessons with renewed energy and enthusiasm.

You know I'm looking forward to seeing you again really soon !

IDIOM (2)

2011-10-19T11:12:00.003+01:00

Today's Idiom is :

TO BUTTER SOMEBODY UP.

It means to flatter someone or to treat someone especially nicely in hopes of receiving special favors. You use it when you're trying to persuade someone to do something for you.

Examples: I tried to butter my boss up because I wanted to get a promotion.

OK, what do you want? I know you are trying to butter me up for something.

PRONUNCIATION OF THE ''H''

2011-10-12T22:24:00.004+01:00

After a very interesting lesson on how you should pronounce the ''H'' in English, some of you wanted a video in order to practice. So here it is:

Don't forget that H is not pronounced at the beginning of some words. Use the article "an" with unvoiced H. Here are some of the most common:

hour,

honest,

honour,

heir.

an honest man, an hour ago, an heir to the throne, an honest and an honorable peace.

THE ORDER OF THE GARTER

2011-10-12T11:42:00.004+01:00

The Order of the Garter is one of the oldest British Order of Chivalry and was founded by Edward III in 1348.

The Order, consisting of the King and twenty-five knights, honours those who have held public office, who have contributed in a particular way to national life or who have served the Sovereign personally.

The patron saint of the Order is St George (patron saint of soldiers and also of England) and the spiritual home of the Order is St George's Chapel, Windsor.

Various legends account for the origin of the Order. The most popular legend and definitely my favourite involves the "Countess of Salisbury". While she was dancing with or near King Edward, her garter slipped from her leg. When the surrounding courtiers sniggered, the king picked it up and tied it to his leg, exclaiming, "Honi soit qui mal y pense," ("Shamed be the person who thinks evil of it."), the phrase that has become the motto of the Order.

Every knight must display a banner of his arms in the Chapel, together with a helmet, crest and sword and an enamelled stallplate.

The insignia of the Order have developed over the centuries, starting with a garter and badge depicting St George and the Dragon. A collar was added in the sixteenth century, and the star and broad riband in the seventeenth century.

From the eighteenth century to 1946, appointments to the Order (and to the Order of the Thistle) were made on advice from government.

Today, the Order has returned to its original function as a mark of Royal favour; Knights of the Garter are chosen personally by the Sovereign to honour those who have held public office, who have contributed in a particular way to national life or who have served the Sovereign personally.

The number of knights is limited to 24, plus Royal knights. For a long time, the Garter was limited to the aristocracy, but today the knights are from varied backgrounds. If there are vacancies in the Order, appointments are announced on St George's Day (23 April).

Every June, the Knights of the Garter gather at Windsor Castle, where new knights take the oath and are invested with the insignia. A lunch is given in the Waterloo Chamber, after which the knights process to a service in St George's Chapel, wearing their blue velvet robes and black velvet hats with white plumes.

The Queen (whose father George VI appointed her and her husband to the Order in 1947) attends the service as Sovereign of the Order. Other members of the Royal Family in the Order also attend, including The Duke of Edinburgh, The Prince of Wales and The Princess Royal.

During the Middle Ages ladies were associated with the Order, although unlike today they did not enjoy full membership. One of the last medieval ladies to be honoured was Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII and grandmother of Henry VIII.

In 1987, The Queen decided that women should be eligible for the Garter in the same way as men. Women are therefore included in this number and currently Lady Thatcher (formerly Margaret Thatcher, first female prime minister of Great Britain) and Lady Soames (the youngest daughter of Sir Winston Churchill, also a holder of the Order of the Garter) hold this honour.

IDIOM (1)

2011-10-10T22:37:00.002+01:00

Hey, what about starting another list? Sounds great, doesn't it? So if you're ready let's begin with our very first one.

TO BE WORKSHY

It means not in action or at work, you're idle. When you're workshy you're not inclined to work at all. You don't like work. It is colloquial.

Example: Don't ask Brian to help you. He's workshy.

He's not a good colleague because he's workshy, so other people have to do his share of the work.

PUB THEATRES IN LONDON

2011-10-03T21:30:00.003+01:00

If you'd like to see a play in London, you'll soon get to the conclusion that tickets are somehow over-priced. But there is a thriving fringe of dynamic and innovative theatre, in England‘s capital, taking place in hidden away venues across the city every night. Entertaining, some of the most cutting edge drama and comedy can be found in rooms above the capital’s pubs.

The equipment is sometimes basic, the space limited, actors and audience are more or less into each others laps, but tickets are so cheap compared to most other venues – as well as the chance to drink a pint while you’re watching the show – the clever theatre lovers are turning their backs on the West End. (also called Theatre Land)

Here is a short list :

The King’s Head Theatre
The oldest and perhaps best known of London’s pub theatres is the King’s Head. Located in a room behind the bar of the King’s Head pub on Upper Street in the fashionable Islington borough, this intimate performance space has been hosting productions since the 1970s.

It has helped launch the careers of dozens of famous names, including Kenneth Branagh, Ben Kingsley, Gary Oldman and Alan Rickman.

The Rosemary Branch
As well as a fine selection of beers, wines and pub food, the Rosemary Branch offers an eclectic programme of opera, contemporary drama classics and new comedy writing.

The theatre is across the road from the Grand Union Canal on the borders of Hackney, Islington and Shoreditch.

Etcetra Theatre
Founded in 1986 and housed above the Oxford Arms pub in trendy Camden Town, this award winning theatre is well respected for both new drama and comedy.

It won the 1996 Guinness Ingenuity Award for Pub Theatre and was nominated for the 1996 Peter Brook Empty Space Award.

Normally offering a choice of two different plays per evening, Etcetra is a lively venue with a talented young crowd.

Finborough Theatre
Founded in 1980 above the Finborough Arms pub by June Abbott, the multi-award winning Finbrough Theatre in Earl’s Court presents both plays and musical theatre, as well as new writing and neglected work from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

LONDON 2012 - A TOWN CRIER

2011-09-30T11:27:00.002+01:00

A town crier from Essex is in the running to be part of the opening and closing ceremonies of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Tony Appleton, who performs the role in Chelmsford and Romford, has been invited to take part in a rehearsal for the event on 4th November.

He will then find out whether he will play a role in the celebrations.

The 75-year-old said: "It would be a massive and fantastic privilege which I would be very proud of."

Mr Appleton, who has been a town crier for 20 years, said he applied after seeing the role advertised by the games' organisers.

He has performed at several large events over the past two decades, the largest being the New Year's Day parade in London.

But he admits the idea of having the eyes of 80,000 people in the stadium and millions of people worldwide on him would be a "a hairy one".

THE BEST VILLAGE IN BRITAIN 2011

2011-09-26T20:08:00.004+01:00

Chew Magna is the best village in Britain, says a new survey.

This survey was carried out for The Sunday Times and reveals the quaint rural idyll as the UK's best village to live in.

With its charming flagstone pavements and traditional stone cottages, it is not hard to see why this village came first in the survey.

There is no litter or graffiti, pots filled with flowers line the High Street and even the shopkeepers are happy to keep their shelving outside their stores at night.

It has a number of traditional shops – from ones selling curios such as pottery pigs and candles, to a cafe, a well-stocked supermarket, a family butcher and even a traditional barber shop.

The parish notice board is full of clubs and societies offering things to do and learn.

The Old School Rooms is also well-used with 25 different organisations booking it throughout the week, from ballet dancers to senior citizens.

Some locals have lived in Chew Magna all their lives, while others are relative newcomers, seeking peace in the countryside while retaining the benefit of still being just a few miles from Bristol.

Leah Beresford-Huey, 32, is a relative newcomer to the village but said she was made to feel welcome in Chew Magna immediately. She said: "I have never known a community like it. Everyone says hello and are so friendly. I certainly agree it is the best village in Britain."

As with most villages, the pub is one of the hubs of the community. And Chew Magna is no exception. Assistant manager of The Pelican, Tom Savage, 20, said: "Chew Magna is the hub of the valley. "Everyone who comes here is made to feel welcome.

But having the honour of being the best village in Britain doesn't come cheap.

When homes do come on to the market they are snapped up quickly and often with a big price tag – especially when the average house costs £403,844.

Looking in the estate agents' windows, one of the houses on offer is a fabulous period farmhouse – priced at £825,000.

Although some affordable housing is planned for the area, many youngsters are forced to move elsewhere because of the high property prices.

Student Max Oakley, 19, whose family has lived in the village for generations, said: "It's a great village and is close to Bristol. "It would nice to be able to think that when I am older I could move back and buy a property in the village, but the prices are very high."

Chew Magna, which sits in a bowl in the landscape, surrounded by rolling hills, can trace its history back to Saxon times.

This pretty village is on the B3130 road, about 10 miles (16 km) from Bristol, 15 miles (24 km) from Bath, 13 miles (21 km) from the city of Wells, and 6 miles (10 km) from Bristol Airport. Now you've got all the details so put it on your list .....

THE ''TH'' SOUND

2011-09-22T14:45:00.004+01:00

Hello everybody,

Sorry for the rather long delay but now I'm back. So, it is high time to go back to our regular little posts.

Today we'll start with the very difficult ''TH'' sound. I would like you to pratice hard and be ready for next week. So here we go!

As you already know, there are 2 TH-sounds in English.

The first one is called "voiceless" or "soft" sound, as in "think", for example.
In phonetics, it is symbolized like this : /θ/

The second one is called "voiced" or "hard" sound as in "this/that", for example.
In phonetics, it is symbolized like this : /ð/

Now this great video with Dave Sconda will help you and you'll pronounce the th sound as well as possible.... (I'll check it out)

A VERTICAL GREEN WALL

2011-08-24T18:32:00.004+01:00

Some interesting news from London. (Thanks to Anne)

It's the first living painting in London's Trafalgar Square, and maybe the first anywhere. A Van Gogh picture has been turned into a green living vertical wall.

Depicting Van Gogh's painting, A Wheatfield with Cypresses, it's a new way to draw people into the National Gallery to see the real thing.

The living painting has been constructed by a horticulture and design company which specialises in green walls and roofs.

They used over 8,000 plants of 25 different varieties. In order to recreate the strong bands of colour in the painting, plants were selected to match the tones. They were then hand-planted into a modular system according to a numbered drawing. The 640 modules were grown vertically at a nursery, ready for installation.

It took 3 days to install the wall which forms part of a hoarding outside the gallery. It will remain there throughout the summer and autumn, until the end of October, 2011. Given the range of plants; some flowering now, some later, it will be interesting to watch how it grows and changes over the coming seasons.

'A Wheatfield, with Cypresses' was painted in September 1889, when Van Gogh was in the St-Rémy de provence mental asylum, near Arles, where he was a patient from May 1889 until May 1890. Van Gogh promised to send his brother 'twelve size 30 canvases' and it seems likely that 'A Wheatfield, with Cypresses' was one of them.

The painting has been brought to life with the sponsorship of GE (General Electric) as part of the Gallery's long-term plan to reduce its carbon footprint. It's all part of the National Gallery's plan to go green. It is already the first gallery to have switched to LED lighting in all of its galleries.

FLASH-FLOODING ACROSS SOUTHERN BRITAIN

2011-08-20T11:41:00.006+01:00

Flash floods caused chaos yesterday in the south of England. Surges of waist-high water in Dorset forced shopkeepers to flee submerged stores and motorists to abandon their vehicles as towns were brought to a standstill for several hours.

Huge cracks opened along main roads in Bournemouth and lifeguards had to run for cover as a torrent of water rushed through the town to the beach, which would normally be packed with tourists. Residents reported 3ft tides of water heading towards their homes.

Torrential deluges in Hampshire also caused havoc in Southampton, Basingstoke and Winchester, with roads closed across the county.

A Dorset Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said: ‘One car in Wimborne was seen to float away with an elderly couple inside and members of the public helped push it back on to land.’

He said firemen responded to more than 100 incidents in the two hours from 10.30am, adding: ‘There were people stranded in vehicles and buildings with water gushing in.

‘Many people were stranded on the roads where police vehicles couldn’t reach them.’

Meteorologist Dr Richard Wild, from independent weather forcasters Weathernet, said 30mm of rain fell in 30 minutes, adding: ‘The average rainfall for August is 56mm, so that’s around half.

‘Anything over 4mm an hour is considered heavy so this was well beyond that.

‘The rain was forecast, caused by a warm front over the Channel, but the amount was underestimated.’

THE MR MEN BOOKS

2011-08-10T10:09:00.002+01:00

Is there any child in the English-speaking world who hasn’t read, or been read, a 'Mr Men' book? I even read them to my host family's children when I was in England. While they aren’t what you would call brilliant literature, nor would the illustrations win too many major awards, they work! And they have been well-loved for 40 years! Children love them and will go back time and time again to read them. You can watch this little video for a simple story.

The Mr. Men series consists of 48 books written by British author Charles Roger Hargreaves (1935-1988). His first book was ‘Mr Tickle’ which was published in 1971. The series features characters like Mr Tickle, Mr Sneezy, Mr Bump, and Mr Clumsy. Each story introduces a new character; all have a distinctive human feature relating to physical appearance or personality. The books typically have a single moral lesson to be taught.

Beginning in 1981 a related series of 42 Little Miss books was created with female characters. When Hargreaves died in 1988, his son Adam Hargreaves began writing and illustrating new stories. Four of these were for characters that Roger Hargreaves had commenced before he died.

The first six Mr Men books were published in United Kingdom in 1971 and cost just 20 pence each. Each book in the original Mr Men and Little Miss series introduced a different title character and his/her single dominant personality to convey a simple moral lesson. The Mr Men and Little Miss characters often pop up in the stories of other characters. The secret to the success of the books seems to be:

The very simple stories.
The brightly-coloured simple illustrations.
The pictures and story tend to tell the same story, while this isn’t usually the mark of great picture books; it means very young children can ‘read’ the stories themselves once they have heard them once or twice.
The moral lessons appeal to parents and are accessible to children.
The books are small like the children themselves.
They have simple literal humour.

The books have sold over 100 million worldwide, have been translated into over 20 languages and the images have been used in many places as part of other merchandise and promotion. Many children have also grown up enjoying the TV series.

The Complete Set of Mr Men Books

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MR TICKLE

2011-08-10T10:04:00.002+01:00

HE’S called Monsieur Chatouille in France, Don Cosquillas in Spain and Unser Herr Killekille in Germany. In his native Yorkshire, however, he’s known as plain Mr Tickle.

And today the long-armed fun lover was all smiles as he celebrated his 40th birthday.

It’s four decades to the day since the story of Mr Tickle became the first Mr Men book to hit the country’s shelves.

It was written by Roger Hargreaves, who was born in Cleckheaton and until the age of four lived at High Lees, Halifax Road.

Mr Tickle and the other Mr Men and Little Miss characters created by Roger before his death in 1988 have now clocked up millions of book sales.

His son Adam said: “It is truly incredible that something so personal to my father went on to become such a global phenomenon.

“If he were alive today, I think he would be ecstatic to see how popular his creations have become.

“My dad managed to capture basic human characteristics as part of each and every one of us. We’ve all been a Mr Happy, Mr Funny or even a Little Miss Naughty at times.”

RIOTS IN LONDON

2011-08-09T05:28:00.003+01:00

The gritty north London neighbourhood of Tottenham exploded in anger last Saturday night after a young man was shot to death by police.
Two patrol cars, a building and a double-decker bus were torched as rioters clashed with officers in front of the Tottenham Police Station, where people had gathered to demand "justice" for the death of a 29-year-old killed in an apparent gunfight.
Sirens could be heard across the city. In Tottenham, shop windows were smashed as residents looted the stores, pushing shopping trolleys full of stolen goods down the street.
Officers in riot gear and on horseback pushed up against the demonstrators. The demonstrators were about 400.
What you must know is that miles from the tourist hotspots of central London, Tottenham is one of the most deprived areas in all of England, with nearly half of all children living in poverty. The area is very diverse and home to one of the capital's biggest black populations. This area also has a history of racial tension and anti-police feeling.
In 1985 Tottenham was the scene of a deadly riot after a local woman suffered heart failure when her home was raided by the police. The Tottenham riots were among the most violent in the country's history, with one officer stabbed to death as he tried to protect firefighters and nearly 60 others hospitalized.

Now it is the third night of violent disturbances in London, but also spreading to Bristol, Liverpool and Birmingham.

HOW O.K. CONQUERED THE WORLD

2011-08-05T00:23:00.003+01:00

It comes in our speech dozens of times every day. But how did the word "OK" conquer the world?

"OK" is one of the most frequently used and recognised words in the world. It is also one of the strangest expressions ever invented. It's odd-looking. It's a word that looks and sounds like an abbreviation, an acronym. We generally spell it OK - the spelling okay is relatively recent, and still relatively rare - and we don't pronounce it "ock" but we pronounce the names of the letters O and K.

So both in speech and in writing OK stands out clearly, easily distinguished from other words, and yet it uses simple sounds that are familiar to a multitude of languages.

Almost every language has an O vowel, a K consonant, and an A vowel. So OK is a very distinctive combination of very familiar elements. And that's one reason it's so successful. OK stands apart.

Ordinarily a word so odd, so distinctive from others, wouldn't be allowed in a language to begin with. As a general rule, a language allows new words only when they resemble familiar ones.

It was in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, in the late 1830s, when newspaper editors enjoyed inventing abbreviations, like "WOOOFC" for "with one of our first citizens" and OW for "all right".

As you can guess neither of these found a real place in the English language. But they provided the unusual context that enabled the creation of OK.

On 23rd March 1839, OK was introduced to the world on the second page of the Boston Morning Post, in the midle of a long paragraph, as "o.k. (all correct)".

OK may have originated from a comical misspelling.

How this 'joke' survived instead of disappearing, is a matter of lucky coincidence involving the American presidential election of 1840.

One candidate, Martin Van Buren, was nicknamed Old Kinderhook, and there was a false tale that a previous American president couldn't spell properly and thus would approve documents with an "OK", thinking it was the abbreviation for "all correct".

Within a decade, people began actually marking OK on documents and using OK on the telegraph to signal that all was well. So OK had found its place, being easy to say or write and also distinctive enough to be clear.

But there was still only restricted use of OK. The misspelled abbreviation may have implied illiteracy to some, and OK was generally avoided in anything but business contexts, or in fictional dialogue by characters deemed to be rustic or illiterate.

Indeed, by and large American writers of fiction avoided OK altogether, even those like Mark Twain who freely used slang.

But in the 20th Century OK moved from margin to mainstream, gradually entering everyone's conversation.

Its true origin was gradually forgotten. OK used such familiar sounds that speakers of other languages, hearing it, could rethink it as an expression or abbreviation in their own language.

But what makes OK so useful that we incorporate it into so many conversations?

It's not that it was needed to "fill a gap" in any language. Before 1839, English speakers had "yes", "good", "fine", "excellent", "satisfactory", and "all right".

What OK provided that the others did not was neutrality, a way to affirm or to express agreement without having to offer an opinion.

Consider this dialogue: "Let's meet again soon."

Reply: "OK."

Compare that with: "Let's meet again soon."

Reply: "Wonderful!" or "If we must."

OK allows us to view a situation in simplest terms.

When someone falls down, the question is not "How well are you feeling?" but the more basic "Are you OK?".

In American English it holds the record of being able to be used as any of 5 of the 8 parts of speech.

It can be a NOUN, as in 'ask the boss for his OK'.

It can be a VERB, as in 'Did the boss OK it ?'.

It can be an ADJECTIVE, as in ' It's an OK car, but nothing special.'

Used as an INTERJECTION, it can be used to open a statement, as when someone says, 'OK !' at the beginning of a sentence.

Used as an ADVERB of manner, it means anything from 'fairly well' to 'excellently', depending on the intonation it is given.

So one thing is sure : OK still rules over the vast domain of our conversation.

WAYS OF APOLOGIZING

2011-07-29T18:41:00.003+01:00

English people often apologise. But sometimes they say sorry when they are not apologising, and sometimes when they apologise they are not sorry. It sounds rather difficult so let's have a look at this:

Sorry

To be Sorry does not mean to apologise. Instead it expresses regret.
For example:

"I'm sorry you didn't pass your exam. Better luck next time."

In this example above, the idea expressed is of regret, but not of apology.

Another way of expressing regret without really apologising is to use I'm afraid. In this sense, it is almost the same as I am sorry to say.
For example:
"I'm afraid we can't let you in - the film has just started."

Apologies

In apologies, the speaker admits responsibility.
Sorry is used in apologies when the speaker knows he has done the wrong thing.
For example:
"I am sorry that I was late".

Apologies can be informal:
For example:
I'm really sorry about this.

Or formal.
For example:
"Miss Otis regrets that she is unable to lunch today."

Things to say with apologies

Apologies are often followed by excuses. An excuse is something which the speaker hopes will calm the person he is apologising to.
For example:
"I was so hungry I ate the rest of the cake. I'm sorry."

Sometimes a question is used to show that the fault was unintentional.
For example:
"Did I tread on your foot? I'm sorry. Are you all right?"

An exclamation can be used for the same purpose.
For example:
"Oh dear! I'm so sorry. Did I hurt you?"

You can also put in extra words to sound more sorry.
For example:
"I'm sorry"
"I'm very sorry."
"I'm really very sorry."
"I'm really so very sorry."

Excuse me

Sorry is used after something has happened. Excuse me is used if an action might upset someone else. (In US English excuse me is also used to say sorry.) The only extra word to make excuse me stronger is please.
For example:
"Excuse me please, could you move your car?"

Please excuse ... is a more formal way of apologising for something that is happening at this moment. The informal construction is (I'm) sorry about ...
For example:
"I'm sorry about the noise - my children are at home."