If you go down to the woods today, you are in for a big surprise…  On Sunday there is the annual Rhododendron round-up going on in the Surrey Downs.  This is a great opportunity to get out of London, see the beautiful British countryside, and do your bit for the environment.  Entitled jovially, the Rhody Mega-Bash, over a 100 volunteers will be helping clear Banstead wood of the overgrowing Rhododendrons. 

If you would like to get involved, the volunteers are meeting in Holly Lane Car Park, Banstead at 10am this Sunday (4 February).  It is highly advisable to bring strong shoes (boots or Wellingtons), and outdoor clothing.  There will be a lunchtime barbecue for all Volunteers.  For language students this is a great chance to see some of the surrounding woodlands, meet people, practise English, make friends and of course have fun in the country!  What more could you want?

I’m planning on taking a group down on Sunday.  We will be meeting at Victoria at 8:00 am aiming to catch the 08:34 train to Chipstead, via Purley.  If you would like to get come along and Rhody Bash, please e-mail me: james@answerenglish.com or call: 020 7402 8651.

For more information on Rhododendrons, go to: http://www.countrysideinfo.co.uk/rhododen.htm

Not quite as flexible as you used to be?  Waking up in the morning feeling like you’ve been run over by a bus?  Perhaps it’s time to do something about it.  Have you considered doing Pilates?  Pilates builds core strength and improves flexibility to create a great posture and long, lean muscles.  I know I could do with a bit of that. 

A good friend of mine Eleanor has just started her own company Positively Pilates down in the Richmond, Twickenham and St. Margaret’s areas.  She offers Group classes at very reasonable prices: £60 for 8 sessions.  Or if you are really getting into it you can arrange individual classes as well.  You can join Eleanor on Thursday nights for a beginners or intermediate class at the ETNA Community Centre from 7:30 or on Friday lunchtimes at the Royal Hollow University.

If you are interested in more information or to book up your Pilates course, contact Eleanor either by phone: 07855 451 722, e-mail: info@Positively-Pilates.co.uk or check out her website: www.positively-pilates.co.uk

Best of luck!

‘Calling out all around the world, we’re looking for a brand new beat….‘  If you, like us, are suffering a little bit with the January blues, those resolutions (not to drink and get fit and healthy) seem like distant memories and you are now are looking to get out more you’ll be interested to hear about a new night that combines dance class and exercise.  Yes, it’s Salsa-ercise from our Cuban student Cesar Pacheco.

You may recall we took some students down a couple of times to Cesar’s Salsa night at the Latin Palace: Special Offer 3  Well he’s back now with a vengeance looking to get London moving.  On Mondays you have the chance to both learn some new Salsa steps and get those hips moving.  Beginners classes are at 18:15 and Intermediates at 19:15 for an hour.

If you’ve ever thought of fusing ‘Flash Dance and some MC Hammer sh*t’ David Brent style now is your chance.  We are going to go on Monday 5 Feb (opening night) to support Cesar (think some how I’ll personally be in the Beginners class).  I hope you can make it.  Salsa-ercise is £7.50 but £6.00 for Answer English students. 

The classes take place at Theodore Lounge and Kitchen, 26 – 28 John Adam Street.  Click here for a Map.  The nearest tube is either Embankment or Charing Cross.  For more information call Cesar on 07896 626 725, send a mail to: connectioncuba@yahoo.co.uk or visit www.myspace.com/cesarpacheco80

You’ll be dancing in the Street!

Chateauneuf du pape!  Vive La France this year was packed with all you could want from France, fine wines, foie gras, champagne, duck mousse, cognac, they truly served up a treat.  A lot more compact than last year, our competition winners enjoyed flitting between the stands, sampling the best of French food and wine.  Highlights included cooking lessons from top French chefs, fashion shows, learning about The Tour de France coming to London this year and the Rugby World Cup which was on display. 

As difficult as it is to remember that day 4 years ago, it was exciting to see the Web Ellis cup with England’s name emblazened across it.  For me it was interesting to meet people from the French language industry for the first time.  Companies of note included Le Petit Canard – a free magazine aimed at French children & families, Allo France for all your French travel needs, La Petite France who have an on-line French course soon to be launched, Lingorama who offer French courses in London,  and the Language Track (link wasn’t working when I tried) for their computer based language learning products.

We would like to take the opportunity to thank Alex Kapp and Kate Greville from Koan for kindly donating us the tickets to our competition.  Thanks also to all our competition winners for coming along and spending the day with us.  We hope you had as much fun as we did!

Oh what a night!  Just arrived back from Madrid from a fantastic evening of teacher training.  We had organised an event for the teachers of the Comunidad de Madrid to hear about new English learning techniques and how to go about applying for European funding for teacher training courses.  Speaking were Carmel Engin, from Lake School of English, George O’Sullivan from Cork English College, Neil Harris from Excel School of English and yours truly.  75 teachers were treated to talks on as diverse topics as Communicative Correction Techniques, Class Preparation, English today and the Lifelong Learning Programme.

The night was not just an opportunity for the teachers to learn about new developments from the EFL market; but also to hear from each of the 3 schools about their Teacher Training Courses.  Answer English took the chance to inform the teachers about how to go about applying for a place on one of these courses and the process for applying for a LLP grant.  We have produced our own page dedicated to Teacher Training Courses: www.answerenglish.co.uk/teacher-training.php.  On this page you will find all you need to know about the application process, please check it out and let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks must go to Toñeta, Maria and Ana from the British Council for their help in organising the Teacher Training Evening, to Arancha Lazcoz from the Ministerio de Educacion for explaining in great detail how the new LLP funding application process works, and to Hot English Publishing for kindly giving each student a copy of their excellent magazine.  Thank you to all the teachers that attended.  If any of you are interested in courses, please don’t hesitate to contact us

Prize Draws are coming like buses here at Answer English.  This morning we had the prize draw for the Vive La France tickets.  Max who runs our French - English Language Learning Evening kindly came into the office and pulled the following lucky winners out of the hat: James Ramnought, David Reekie, Harry Watkinson, Justin Hess and Pierre Le Van.  Each of you lucky people have won pairs of tickets to the Vive La France show on Sunday.

To collect your tickets, you can meet me and our team at the Entrance to Vive La France on Sunday at 12:30.  If you have any problems call me on my mobile: 07946 534 814.  The event is at Olympia, click here for a Map

Thanks to all of you that entered the prize draw and of course to the Vive La France organisers for kindly donating these prizes.  For more information on the day go to: Vive La France

We have had the draw for our Bond Competition we launched back on November 1, Bond at Beaulieu: Prize Draw.  The question you will recall was: What is the name of the actor who stars as James Bond in the (then) forthcoming Casino Royale? The answer is of course, b) Daniel Craig.  The winners were drawn out of the hat by our very own Company Secretary, Ann Herbertson.

The two prize winners are: Robert Belcher from Chichester and Diana Cotter from Warrington.  The prize, a family ticket to see the Bond exhibition at the UK National Motor Museum in Beaulieu, is making it’s way to both of you in the post.

Thanks to all those that took part in the prize draw and of course to Beaulieu who kindly donated the prizes.  If you are interested in going to Beaulieu yourself, check out their website at: www.beaulieu.co.uk

Champagne, Chanel Coco No. 5, Inspector Clouseau, the Renault 5, William the Conqueror, the French have given the English a lot over the years.  Now you can enjoy all these things and many more as the best of France comes here to London.  Vive La France is an excellent exhibition, opening on Friday, celebrating all things French.  From gastronomic delights to fine wines you will not be disappointed by this show at Olympia. 

Highlights include The French Travel & Tourism Show – whether you favour Le Cote d’Azur, Paris or Brittany be inspired for your next French holiday; The French Food & Wine Show – my personal favourite: sample signature dishes by some of the most renowned French restaurants in the UK such as Brasserie Roux, Club Gascon, Le Gavroche and Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons; and The French Lifestyle and Culture Show – where you can practise your French or have a make over by L’Oreal.  C’est tres bon, no?

Vive La France opens on Friday 19th January from 10:00 – 18:00 and Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st January from 10:00-17:00.  Tickets are £8 in advance and £12 on the door and can be booked by calling 0870 013 0730 or visiting the Show website at www.vivelafrance.co.uk.

Last year I was invited by friends from The Times and enjoyed tasting the wines, buying cheeses and sampling a little of French culture.  This year I plan to go again and have been in touch with the organisers.  They have kindly given Answer English 5 pairs of tickets worth £24 each to give away.

So if you are interested in coming for FREE please send me an e-mail to: james@answerenglish.com with your name and telephone number.  I will make the prize draw on Wednesday morning (17/01/2007) and let the lucky winners know where they can meet us to pick up their tickets.  Enjoy the show and Bon chance!

Calling all aspiring language students that are looking for work experience in the industry!  Quality English, an exclusive association of language schools, is looking for a highly motivated intern to work as a Marketing Assistant in their Oxford office.  You will report directly to the Chief Executive and is a fantastic opportunity to gain experience in marketing.

Quality English is a quality brand which is committed to promoting high quality English language schools and their courses to international students. QE schools are carefully selected for their quality and reputation, and offer a choice of general and specialized courses in contrasting locations. There are QE schools across the globe and Answer English works with a number of them, including Excel and Wimbledon School of English in London.  They all have hard working and driven people that strive to do the best for their language students.  This really is a great chance for you to work in a fun and pleasant industry.

To give you a resume of the Marketing Assistant Role (Work Experience):

Suitable for: a student of marketing, economics or management with a particular interesting in international educational marketing.

Start date: as soon as possible after 15th January 2007

Length of placement: Not fixed, but an agreement would be in place for a minimum of 3 months, after a 2 week initial trial period

Hours: to be arranged and to suit the student’s academic programme. 

Allowance: There is a daily allowance of £5 for lunch and bus fares.

Requirements: Expertise on Microsoft Office as well as an advanced level of English in all four skills.

Interested candidates should send their CVs to Quality English with a covering letter, by e-mail to Carolyn Blackmore: carolyn@quality-english.com

Best of luck!

The Duckworths who you will remember we went to see towards the end of last year are playing again in Central London.  They have a gig on this Thursday at the 12 Bar Club on Denmark Street in Soho.  We have a special offer of £1 off the ticket price for all our readers.  Just quote ‘Answer English’ on the door to get in for £5 pounds. Leigh is taking a group down, drop him a mail at: lworthing@idc.com or call him on: 07979 348 642.

Those that went last time were treated to a musical feast.  For blog readers unfamailiar with The Duckworths this is what 12 Bar Club that are promoting the night have to say about them ‘Hailing from little orleans, deepest Somerset, The Duckworths are an unusual 6 piece wheeling along a cauldron of doo-wap, rock n roll, country, classical and jazz - all bubbly and hot. A curious band that sound like swinging classical music to a rockabilly circus; they have been causing a stir in the south of England for the past year. The live line-up contains three part vocal harmonies, trumpet, trombone, Fender Rhodes piano, melodica, various stringed instruments, drums, and percussion. The end result is a lovely contradiction of sing-a-long songs and inventive instrumentation. It can be a surreal ride, it can be a black comedy or you can play it to your mum, they are unique, accessible and very memorable.’

For those that make it there I hope you have a great time.  Let me know how you get on.