Woodside Weekly Newsletter Podcast

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit woodsideenglishonline.substack.com As Elton John said in his very famous song, sorry seems to be the hardest word to say. The thing is, we all put our foot in it at times and we all need to apologise. Only some people find it terribly, terribly difficult to do so. Do you find it hard to apologise?  Refusing to say sorry is a way of not...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit woodsideenglishonline.substack.com Many of the things that we use in our everyday lives actually exist thanks to chance. They were invented by chance. By pure coincidence. People were trying to invent and make completely different things that suddenly turned into something else.  They were accidental discoveries that led to useful, ever...

Grown-ups is another way of saying adults. When you are a child, and you are surrounded by adults, you are given lots of advice from them. They generally have the best of intentions, but there are things that we have been told since we were tiny that are simply NOT true.  Can you remember any of the things that your mum/dad/ granddad or grandma told you that you believed for years and years? I’m n...

Happy Christmas!! I truly hope you are having a wonderful festive season.  If you have been nice, and not naughty, Santa may have been or will be good to you and bring you all lots of lovely presents. Although, if you live in countries such as Spain, you may have to wait a few more days until The Three Wise Men arrive, you still have time to be good… However, whether you have received presents or...

A Truly British Christmas It’s the most wonderful time of the year….(Andy Williams style!) Listen here! Are you a fan of Christmas? What do you like about it? Is it the most wonderful time of year?  It can feel magical. There is something in the air. The children’s excitement…The lights and decorations everywhere, the crisp cold in the air, the fire on, blankets and hot chocolate…  As you know, we...

The Intermediate Plateau  The chances are that if you are listening to, or reading this then you are interested in improving your English.  How would you currently define your level of English? How many words do you think you know? It would be curious to find out, wouldn’t it? Can you express everything you want to say in the way you want to say it?  According to statistics, you need just 800 word...

Summer has ended. Holidays are a distant memory, and it’s back to the grind. Summer gives us time to think and value what we want out of our lives and coming back to reality after the summer is often a wake-up call and people really start to re-evaluate what they want. Getting back to it, if you hate your job, isn’t fun. It’s the time of year when most people decide to jack in their jobs and look...

“Going to the chapel and we’re gonna get married… We’re going to the chapel of love”.  🎵🎶🎵🎶 The Dixie Cups- The Chapel Of Love 💒💒 ❤️💒 HUGE CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF YOU WHO GOT MARRIED THIS SUMMER 💒❤️ Maybe you have just tied the knot , popped the question to your loved one, or you are planning on getting hitched in the near future.  2022 has seen a record number of weddings taking place d...

Some people love them. Some people frown upon them and think they are ridiculous. No matter what our opinion, it seems that they are here to stay.  For many of us, they have become second nature and part of our everyday lives, and how we communicate.  Today, we are going to be talking about the emoji.  First of all, some questions: * How would you define an emoji?  * When and why do you think they...

There is no denying that we are living in a society that is becoming increasingly obsessed with our physical appearance.  The pressure to be in great shape , look good and stay young forever is very, very present.  With summer just around the corner, the vast majority of people want to be in the best shape possible. Healthy eating and exercising start to become more important in order to shed thos...

Today’s edition is all about expressions and sayings, as you already know, we native speakers love using them.  English is a very rich and colourful language which is made that bit brighter by using expressions and sayings. As a learner of English, not only is it important to be able to understand some of them, but it is also important to be able to use them too.  If you want to use idioms, expres...

“I want some juice.” “I beg your pardon?” If my mother was reading this, she would most probably reply in the same way she did to me as a child: “I want doesn’t get”.  Basically meaning, that’s rude. We don’t use the verb “want” to ask for things. It sounds too demanding. Ask more politely.  This brings me to the topic for this week. Being tactful and not too direct. We can learn a language but th...

It’s all the rage right now. You walk down every aisle of the supermarket and it’s all you can see. Even the huge fast-food chains are jumping on the bandwagon . Over the last few years, meat production and consumption have soared and now we are being told to cut down . With all this talk of sustainability and being healthy, many people have opted to become vegan, vegetarian, or at least eat less...

“Laughter is the best medicine” Have you ever been in a foul mood and then for some strange reason something makes you burst out laughing and what was making you grumpy just seems to pale into insignificance? So much good comes from laughing and smiling. Granted, some people don’t do it as much as they should, but if they ever read this newsletter, I think they will realise that it is such a good...