December FCE Exam Results

In December, we entered four students for the FCE exam and we received the results today. I am very pleased to say that all of them passed. So, congratulations to Marta from Spain - Shiori from Japan - Eung Cheol from S. Korea - Stefano from Switzerland. It was a great pleasure teaching you and we wish you all the best for the future.
Ian and all the staff at HELC

Queen's Diamond Jubilee

Monday February 6th is the day when Elizabeth became Queen Elizabeth II sixty years ago. So this year, there will be celebrations to mark the Queen's sixtieth anniversary or 'Diamond Jubilee'. A ten-year old girl called Katherine Dewar from Chester won the competition to design the logo (above) for the Jubilee.

Queen Elizabeth II in 2012

Queen Elizabeth II in 1952

My Home Town

PARIS. I was born in Paris. It’s the capital of France in Europe. It’s the most beautiful city in the world. It is famous for its monuments, bridges over the river “La seine” and food. The spring and summer are the best times to visit it.

If you are interested in monuments you can visit the Eiffel Tower (or) The Sacre Coeur. If you prefer art museums you should see the Louvre, the Quai Branly and Orsay museum.

But, you must go to the 'Quartier Latin' where you can meet the multi-cultural and friendly people to eat food from Asia, Africa and America.

If you want to buy fashion clothes, you can go to the Galerie Lafayette near the famous opera theater. For your relaxation, I suggest to go to shop (at) “Spa Maria” near the Champs Elysees.

Walking in Paris is the best way to visit the city because in each area there is something to discover! Yasmine

INCHEON. This town is my hometown and I have lived (there) since I was born. Incheon is located next to Seoul, (the) capital city of South Korea. It is (the) third largest metropolitan city in my country. Incheon has many transportation facilities - international airport, international ferry terminal, ports, underground, bus etc. in Incheon.

If you come to my hometown, you will see many shopping centres, China town, (and an) amusement park. There are many stores to go shopping (with) Bupyeong station under (the) shopping centre. You (can) have chinese food, (buy) things in China Town. Next to China town, you can see the beach so you (can) enjoy (the) sea scenery and sea food in stores around the beach. At night, there is a firework (display). It is gorgeous and fantastic, so I recommend this area.

You can enjoy cultural experiences if you go to the arts centre and Wolmido which is an amusement park. In (the) arts centre, you can see musicals, concerts, operas, plays etc. Around here, there are two big department stores which are called Sinsegae and Lotte and a big cinema which is called CGV. This cinema has more (than) twenty screens so people living near CGV go to see films very often.

In Wolmido, you can find (the) Incheon Landing Operation memorial hall. For (the) Korean war from 1950 to 1952. Korean and UN soldiers had an Incheon Landing Operation to reverse the pace of war. The operation leader was General Douglas Macarthur, his statue is in Zayu Park in Wolmido.

After looking around Incheon, you can visit Seoul by express train. It takes less (than) an hour. In Seoul, there are many attractions - more than Incheon’s. So you can have a various experience if you visit Korea. Louis

CHIBA. My home town is Kimitsu in Chiba which is next to Tokyo. There are a few supermarkets, some parks, some restaurants, and a big shopping mall. If you live there you can’t live without a bicycle (or) a car. I’ve lived there since I was born.

(The) best season to visit is spring because (at) that time you will see a lot of cherry blossoms on the street close to (the) river. You can have lunch or dinner under the trees.

If you are bored with our town you can go to (the) center of Chiba, it takes 40 minutes to get there from our town by train. There are some department (stores), a lot of restaurants, shops and pubs.

You will find something you want and you will be excited!

If you don’t want to go to a busy city you should go to Tateyama or Kamogawa which is more countryside. So they are (near the) sea, you can go to (the) beach easily and you can eat some kind of fish, which (the) fishermen catch in the morning, at a market or in a restaurant. It’s very delicious!! I suggest (you) eat some sushi!!

I’d rather live with my family and I know every thing about my town. If I have a car, my town is (the) best place to live in Japan. I love it. Megumi

SARAJEVO is (the) capital and largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina. I live in Sarajevo. This city is famous for its traditional religions; Islam, Orthodoxy, Catholicism and Judaism for centuries. In 1885 Sarajevo was the first city in Europe and the second city in the world to have a full-time electric tram network running through the city, the first being San Francisco, California. If you come (to) Sarajevo in winter, you can visit mountains where we have (a) beautiful ski centre. The highest of the peaks is 2,088 meters. Sarajevo was the host city of the 1984 Winter Olympics. If you come in summer you can visit many restaurants in (the) old part of (the) city and eat (a) delicious meal. If you want to go shopping you can visit many centres where you can find more popular brands. A river passes through Sarajevo, (the) name of (the) river is (the) Miljacka. Benjamin

TOKYO is (the) capital of Japan. I was born in Tokyo and grew up there so I have lived there for 20 years. Tokyo is very nice city, it has two faces: old and new so I think it is the charm point of Tokyo.

If you come to Tokyo, you should come in spring because it is a mild climate and you can see cherry blossoms, it is very beautiful (but) you should not come to Tokyo in summer because of high humidity.

You should visit “Asakusa” in Tokyo. Asakusa is very old town (and) is a popular place in Japan and many foreigners visit. There is an old and famous shrine and if you visit there, you should eat “Ningyouyaki”. A lot of stores sell original “Ningyouyaki” so you can enjoy eating.

(The) centre of Tokyo is Shinjuku (which) is a modern town has many high-buildings. There are a lot of department (stores) so if you go to Shinjuku, you can get anything you want to buy.

Tokyo is very convenient city. There are a lot of stores, universities and companies so many people live there. Tokyo is very famous city because of old and new. I recommend you to come to Tokyo. Saori

PODGORICA. I'm from Podgorica in Montenegro. I moved there when I was four. Podgorica is located in central Montenegro and has Mediterranean climate with hot summers and cool winters.

There are (three) rivers: Moraca ,Zeta (and) Ribnica. Podgorca is (the) capital of Montenegro with 151,000 people. In (the) past (the) city was called Titograd. Podgorica is home to 3 religions - Orthodox Christians, Muslims and Catholics. The name Podgorica means "under the Gorica".

20 minutes of drive from Podgorica is Skadar Lake, one of the biggest lakes in (the) Balkans.You can enjoy there some lunch, swim, holiday and other.

One of most important thing which tourists have to see is (the) main monastery called OSTROG. It is placed against an almost vertical background, high up in the large rock of Ostroska Greda. There are too a lot of National Parks around the city like Lovcen and Bjelasica. With bus or car you should go to Zabljak, Kolasin, Bjelasica. The best time to go there is in the winter because of skiing

You can go to have rafting on (the) river Tara 13 km and (the) Tara canyon is (the) second deepest in the world and that is one of the most popular touristic activities in Montenegro. Ogi

Happy Birthday Megumi

Swiss Fondue

When I told Maria, one of our students from Switzerland, that I had never had a fondue she arrived at school the next day with a packet of fondue cheese for me, which her boyfriend had brought from home the weekend before.

So, today, I put the Swiss cheese into a saucepan with two cloves of garlic and melted the cheese. I cut up some French bread, which I bought in the Borough Market yesterday (see article below), and opened a bottle of Italian red wine.

My wife joined me for lunch and we ate fondue. Thank you once more Maria. Delicious!

Ian

A Good Way to Begin the Weekend

When our students go up to London on the train to Hastings they often go to Victoria or Charing Cross stations so that they arrive right in the middle of London but they are missing a great experience of 'hidden London'. Get off at London Bridge station, walk down to the main road, go across the road to the cathedral, go down the steps and you will find yourself among crowds of people shopping for food in 'The Borough Market'.

You will find cheeses from England, Italy, France which you can enjoy tasting (this one is called 'Conte' and comes from France). There are sausages and cold meats from Germany, France, Italy and England too.

There is freshly baked bread of every kind - French baguettes, Italian focaccia and ciabatta, English cob and farmhouse loaves too. There stalls selling olive oils and vinegars which you can taste by dipping little pieces of fresh bread into bowls of different flavour oils. Delicious!

And sweet pastries too, from Greek honey baclavas to French tartes to American muffins, as well as stalls selling hand-made chocolates.

If you want to but something fresh to prepare yourself, there are fish stalls - fruit and vegetable stalls - stalls selling just mushrooms and fungi - and meat stalls selling what we call 'game' which is wild birds and animals like deer, rabbit, ducks and so on.

By now you will be hungry. There is every kind if hot food to tempt you. Venison (deer) burgers, vegetarian falafel, paella, pizza, sausage in a roll, hot soups, coffee and pastries - it's definitely time for a second breakfast!

The market is situated under three railway bridges so that it is quite noisy with trains travelling to and from London Bridge station rumbling overhead every two minutes - it's a great atmosphere. Well, after all that walking around and eating perhaps it's time to go for a glass of real English 'ale' in a really traditional old English pub called 'The Market Porter' on the corner opposite the market.

So, if you caught the early train it should now be about midday and you have plenty of time to head into the centre of London for some shopping and sightseeing.

P.S. Five minutes walk through the narrow riverside streets you will find a replica (copy) of the old sailing ship 'The Golden Hind', then five more minutes walking past the site of the old 'Clink' prison (1151 - 1780) you will come to a replica of Shakespeare's Globe theatre and five more minutes walk by the river Thames you will arrive at the Tate Modern Art Gallery.