‘The term culture… includes all the characteristic activities and interests of a people; Derby Day, Henley Regatta, Cowes, the twelfth of August, a cup final, the dog races, the pin table, the dart board, Wensleydale cheese, boiled cabbage cut into sections, beetroot in vinegar, 19th – century Gothic churches and the music of Elgar.  The reader can make his own list…’ T.S. Eliot can be forgiven if some of the above seem quite out of date today, this quote is taken from Notes Towards The Definition of Culture which was written in 1948 after all.  But the point is still valid that culture is defined after all by the things a body of people choose to do, and this weekend in London is no better for seeing a window into British Culture.

To name but a few things going on we have England taking on Sri Lanka at Cricket at Lords, tomorrow there is the F.A. Cup Final between Liverpool and West Ham, in the evening Encompass celebrates the capitals electronic music scene and on Sunday there is the May Fayre and Puppetry Festival in Covent Garden.  Enjoy!  Hope you all have a top weekend.

P.S. Londoner Interview returns next week

More and more language students are looking to discover specialist English that is not found in your standard General English 15 hours classes.  One school that seeks to continually push that boundary is Malvern House.  They have three exciting combination courses that capture the imagination: English plus Literature, English plus Art and English plus Film.  

English plus Literature: on this course you will focus on the understanding of writing and literature and features the work of Shakespeare, Women in English literature, an Introduction to Poetry and Prose and the work of Oscar Wilde.

English plus Art: on this course you will visit the Saatchi gallery to look at the work of modern artists such as Tracy Emin and Damien Hirst, study the drawings of Leornado da Vinci and Albrecht Durer with a trip to the British Museum and a visit to the Sir John Soane Museum, in week 3 the paintings of Hieronymous Bosch and to round the course off a trip to the Tate Modern.

English plus Film: on this course you will look at different genres of film, what films are made of in terms of character and storyline, the preparation that goes in to making a film and the editing and shooting.  Students will get to make a short film in this course and will be able to take this away with them on a DVD.

These courses are of interest to students that have either been studying for a number of months and fancy a change or students coming to London with specific interests they wish to explore.  They offer students the opportunity to improve their reading and vocabulary skills as well as practising writing and speaking techniques.

Answer English is now going to promote these three courses so if you are interested in any of them please send James an e-mail to james@answerenglish.com

For those of you worried about Water and the global melt down of our drinking supplies, you will be interested in the ‘Turning the Tide’ Event along the Thames tommorrow evening.

According to Anti-Apathy, the event organisers, Water is fast becoming the ‘new oil’, harder to find and important to own.  As reservoirs dry up and hosepipe bans are put into place, this all means demand will soon outstrip supply.  With continued pressure from rising sea levels and tidal surges, can the Thames Barrier cope?  And could London be the New Orleans?

But it’s not too late to turn the tide.  Tommorrow night you can cruise the Thames, riverboat-style, and support this cause and find out how individual actions can make a difference in London and arround the world.  Tickets are £15.

For more information go to www.antiapathy.org or call 020 7841 8930

Thanks to Char, Simon, Olga and Abbie that all came down to Answer English’s first Swing Dancing night at the 100 Club.  The evening began with a beginners class of nearly an hour, where we were taken through our paces.  It is all very inclusive as you change partners every 5 minutes so not only do you get to learn new dance moves but also you can meet literally loads of people.

After the hour when we had learnt the basic moves off our two dance instructors.  We were let loose on the dance floor.  The Lindy Hop’s 8 step is quite easy to pick-up but is going to take a while to master.  Undoubtedly it is a lot of fun, spinning your partner around and with some classic hits being belted out by the band, like ‘I’m the King of the Swingers, (the Jungle VIP)’ and ‘In the Mood’ by Glenn Miller, you can see why the hundreds of people down at the 100 Club were having so much fun.

We have more photos for you to see in our Past Events.  We’ll be there again same time same place, come and join in and get Swinging!  For Details click here

New Social Event!  Tonight we are off to a Swing Dancing night at the world famous 100 Club.  We are going to the Lindy Hop class at 19:45 and then staying on to watch (and dance) the two sets from 5 Go Jiving.  This comes hot off the heels (pardon the awful pun) of our Salsa Dancing night two weeks ago.  If you are interested in coming please come and join in, beginners are more than welcome.  For more details see our Social Events page. 

Swing dancing is a phenomenon that has it’s roots in 1920’s America.  Lindy Hop, an 8 count step, was created in 1930’s Harlem, and is one of the more popular types of Swing Dancing.  Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers are credited with creating the dance.  Lindy Hop essentially combines the movements and improvisation of African dances with the formal count of European Dances.  The 100 Club is one of the most celebrated live music venues in the World.  Located at 100 Oxford Street, Central London, the 100 Club has seen performances by The Sex Pistols, Oasis, The Clash, The White Stripes, Paul Weller, Joe Strummer and the Rolling Stones to name just a few!

Today Answer English attended a Quality English event to promote Independent Language schools.  It was a fantastic opportunity to meet so many English schools not just from London but from around the UK & Ireland and hear about the exciting courses they have to offer. 

As none of these schools are in large chains, they tend to have a family feel to them as the Principal & Director has a real personal interest in your welfare.  The enthusiasm shown by them today was a real inspiration and an illustration of why you would be well looked after if you chose to go to one of their schools.  Over the next few weeks I will bring you instalments on these schools so you can read about what is on offer and the many interesting courses you can take at them. 

Special thanks to Carolyn from Quality English for inviting us along.  To read more about Quality English click here

‘Giant Elephant spotted outside Buckingham Palace’.  No there hasn’t been a breakout from London Zoo and this certainly isn’t a Sunday Sport story (of the Elvis seen in Sainsbury’s / World War 1 Bomber on the Moon ilk), although you could be forgiven for thinking so!  In fact on Friday of last week a 12 metre high mechanical elephant went on a walkabout around some of London’s most famous landmarks including the Queen’s residence and Trafalgar Square.

The 3 storey model, dreamt up by the French theatre company Royal de Luxe, is part of a travelling show here in London until Sunday evening.

Event Organizer Helen Marriage told The Guardian newspaper “There is something very political about closing the streets of central London, not for a state visit or a sporting triumph, but for art.  It is both a provocation and a joy that challenges the public to inhabit the physical space of the city and reminds us that the streets do belong to us.”

Photography courtesy of Getty Images

Name: Beth Spencer
Job Title: Marketing & Business Co-ordinator
Age: 27
From: Birmingham
In London: Since 2000

Why did you come to London?

There are just so many opportunities here, after university it just seemend natural that if I wanted to get a job, this was the place to go to.

What did you hope to achieve?

Get a good job, a good salary and have a nice life.

What were you doing before this?

I was at the University of Leeds studying History.

What does your job involve on a day-to-day basis?

Implementing market strategy, managing the budget to publicise the TV content that we sell, creating publicity, organising events, running e-mail marketing campaigns to both customers and internally, understanding who are customers are, supporting the business sales team and researching. It’s never dull!

What responsibilities do you have?

Project Managing, Co-ordinating e-mails, and Organising Trade Fairs.

What are the best bits?

Freedom of being given the responsibility of a large budget with the aim to increase revenue. Having the support of a large organisation behind me. Flexibility.

And the worst?

Sometimes because of the nature of the firm I work for we are restricted in the way we can promote our products. Sometime I just want to let my creative juices flow.

Do you have to have prior experience? If so, what helped get you the job?

I didn’t have specific experience but certainly being qualified by CIM (Chartered Institute of Marketing), having in the past done business pitches, managed accounts, been client facing meant I had many transferrable skills.

How did you go about getting it?

I had heard that a job in the department was available and I applied in the usual manner, writing a letter and CV. I was then asked back for a couple of interviews and was delighted when I got the job as it was a company I had always wanted to work for.

Any tips you could give our readers?

Think what you enjoy doing, what style of job you are after, if you are after an office based role and consider how you could get that role be it through work experience, gaining an extra qualification.

Anything you know now that you wish you’d known before getting into Promotions?

Dont’ dismiss opportunities, keep an open mind, don’t be disappointed if at first you don’t get what you are after, have realistic expectations and above all enjoy yourself!

With this experience, what do you plan to do next?

My aim is to go into management.

Calling all intermediate speakers of Spanish and English. A friend of Answer English, Grace Kennedy, is running an evening of informal, fun and interesting conversation in both languages, next Wednesday 17th May.

The event, which costs £10 and includes tapas, will take place in a reserved private area of a Soho bar. All nationalities are welcome. The event starts at 7:00pm.

If you are interested in joining the exchange e-mail Grace on: grace_kennedy50@hotmail.com or call her on 07736 876 289.

2006 is the European year of workers’ mobility, but although EU citizens can work in other member states, less than two per cent of the working age population (15-64) live in a country other than their own, according to eupolitix.com.

“It is known that the lack of knowledge of languages other than one’s mother tongue is the main handicap to developing a real ‘mobility culture’ in Europe. In fact, only 45 per cent of EU citizens can take part in a conversation in a European foreign language. And this data shows that not only is it difficult to achieve the full exercise of the rights and freedoms arising from mobility within the EU, but also the mutual understanding between Europeans and the creation of a real and more cohesive union of citizens.”

The emphasis being by learning another language you are more likely to have greater freedom, more work opportunities and will gain a greater understanding of different cultures. All something working at, even if it means the odd irregular verb!

To see the eupolitix.com article in full click here