T.19. A competition on a radio program.

It’s 12.00 noon and so it’s time for today’s competition. Today the topic is ‘Heroes and icons’. As usual, the rules are very simple. I’m going to give you eight clues and you have to identify the people. If you know all the answers send them to me straightaway by email. The first person who sends me the correct answers wins a prize. Today’s prize is two plane tickets to … the big Apple, New York!

OK, let’s get started with those clues. I’ll say each one twice only. And remember, I always give you the first letter or letters of the word I’m looking for. Today they are all people’s names.

Let’s start with an easy one. Two letters, B and G. It’s a man who’s probably the richest man in the world, the founder of Microsoft. That’s BG, the man who started Microsoft.

Number 2. Two letters again, J and P, although this isn’t the name he was born with. A man whose humanity made him an icon for millions of people all over the world. This religious leader was born in Poland but he died in Rome in 2005.

Number 3. Begins with M, just one word. It’s the name of a woman who has had a lot of different jobs. She’s been an actress, she’s even written children’s books, but she’s most famous as a singer. One word beginning with M.

And number 4. This time it’s a man, and the letters are G and A, though many people just know him by his surname. He’s an Italian designer whose clothes are considered among the most elegant in the world, and whose name is also on perfume bottles everywhere, G and A, for an Italian fashion designer.

 

 

T. 20. Meeting with partner’s family

M: Well, I'm not normally a nervous person, so I felt pretty relaxed about the whole thing. And I've always got on well with people, so I didn't expect there to be a problem. But things started going wrong from the moment I turned up. I was wearing jeans and a shirt, but the restaurant was a really elegant place. Her mum was in a silk dress and her dad in a smart suit. I was really fed up with Annie that she hadn't warned me it was a formal dinner. Anyway, I tried to make conversation but I kept getting confused when anyone asked me a question. Then I told a couple of jokes and no one laughed. The silence was awful. Annie said her parents didn't mind, but it was a relief when the evening was over.

D: Mark and Annie had been going out together for about six months. She never talked about him much so we had no idea of what to expect. To be honest, we hadn't been very keen on most of her boyfriends, so my husband and I were rather worried about the dinner. It was difficult when he first arrived because we were wearing smart clothes but he was in jeans. He was obviously embarrassed. I think Annie had forgotten to tell him that we were meeting in a formal restaurant. Anyway, we all had a drink and relaxed a little. He seemed rather nervous and told one or two awful jokes, but all in all it was a good evening. In fact, we were pleased that Annie had found someone nice.

A: Well, my parents have never liked any of my boyfriends so I was pretty stressed about the whole evening. Usually, my dad gets in a bad mood about something and so no one can enjoy themselves. Anyway, I felt really guilty when Mark walked in because I hadn't warned him about what to wear.

T. 21. Expecting a child

Well, my sister was expecting her first child and – er - she was living on a Scottish isle, the island of Mull… just off the west coast, and – er – the plan was that she would – er – travel to a friend`s house on the mainland – er – there`s ferry of course – er - a week before the baby was due. Two weeks before the baby was due, she was at home and the baby started coming early so my sister had to be taken off the island by lifeboat, not by ferry. You see, it was really early in the morning and the ferry hadn`t started running. Er – you can imagine it`s quite a small space to give birth in.

All these people standing around as she was giving birth – oh, and of course her husband. Nick was there too – so it was quite crowded! And what was really nice, on the lifeboat, - erm – the crew had a bottle of champagne which I think they were saving for a special occasion and they did actually open it and – er – drink the health of the new baby. The lifeboatmen were encouraging my sister to name the baby after the lifeboat, `cos lifeboats always have a name – and this one was called Mora Edith Macdonald. And so they wanted my sister to call the baby Mora – but she`d already got a name planned. But she did use Mora as a middle name. So my niece has the name Hazel Beth Mora Banner. Actually the story – erm – it was featured in the local newspapers after the birth.

 

 

T.22. Gadgets

Claire Well, it wouldn't be electric light because I love candles. And I could live without a washing machine for a week – I often do when I'm on holiday. I think I would miss a fridge though I'd hate not to have cold drinks, and it would mean having to go shopping every day for food or it would go off. So a fridge would be one thing, and then probably my laptop. It has a battery, but I could only use it for three hours or so without charging it. So I wouldn't be able to do much work.

Andy Er well, it depends. I'd quite miss the TV, but I suppose I could live without it for a week if I had to. And, er, what else - oh no, my mobile. I wouldn't be able to charge it. I couldn't live without my mobile. I mean that's how I keep in touch with all my friends. And my MP3 player. I need my music. Yes, definitely those two.

Julia I think for me it would have to be first and foremost the dishwasher. Because with a family and so much washing up, I would just be over the sink for ever. It would be a nightmare for me to have no dishwasher and I've got so used to it. So that would be the first thing. And the second thing, probably again because of having a family, a young family, would be an iron, because there's so much ironing and if I had to go without that, everyone would look terrible. Nobody would look smart. So those would be my two things.