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Hi Lito and all the regulars

This is my last post. I just wanted to say thanks for being such great students and asking such interesting questions.

Lito, I'm so pleased you published those fish recipes with the mouth-watering pictures. I don't think I have ever tried Filipino food, but I'm going to seek out a Filipino restaurant in London now.

You've been a really fantastic blogger. It's not easy to write in another language but you have given us an idea of the sights, sounds and tastes of your country. You have also made us all feel very lazy because you get up so early every morning!

Thanks also to everyone who has commented below. We seem to have lots of film fans on this blog!

Mohammad, I was interested in what you wrote about how rare dancing and singing scenes are in Hollywood nowadays. Of course you are right that Bollywood films are really different from Hollywood films, but I wonder if the situation is changing. I know that recently there have been some Indian films that have tackled some quite serious themes. Meanwhile, in Europe and America musicals have come back into fashion partly because of a very popular American TV show called Glee. I wouldn't be surprised if in the next few years we see a lot more Hollywood musicals than we are used to.

I can remember the first time I saw a Bollywood movie. I grew up in a town with a great many people from the Indian subcontinent. For this reason my local cinema showed Indian flicks every Sunday. One day I went along to watch a film - I forget which one. I realised that I was the only non-Indian person in the whole auditorium. The film started, the hero was 'introduced' to applause from the people in the cinema... and I realised there were no subtitles! But guess what? It didn't matter. It was easy to follow the story.

I'm not the only person to have enjoyed a Bollywood film! The Queen visited a film studio during a visit to India in the 1990's.

From next week, my colleague Neil will be the teacher blogger. Be gentle with him.

ANSWERS TO LAST WEEK'S QUIZ

1. Cinema is sometimes called the WHAT screen? a) bronze b) silver c) golden

The silver screen.

2. Which country has the world's biggest filmmaking industry? a) USA b) Nigeria c) India

Tricky one. More films come out of India than anywhere else so in that sense it is the biggest industry (but I'm not sure which country makes the most money from films!)

3. What is the missing word? "Lights, camera, _______!" a) action b) cut c) act

"Lights, Camera, Action!" This is what the director says when he wants people to start acting.

4. In what country was Catherine Zeta-Jones born?

Wales.

5. Where did Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn go on holiday in 1953?

The answer is indeed Rome. If you haven't seen 'Roman Holiday' then I heartily recommend it. Beatriz, I think there were as many women who fell in love with Gregory Peck in 1953 as there were men who fell in love with Audrey Hepburn.

USEFUL VOCABULARY

• mouth-watering if something is mouth-watering it makes you want to eat, e.g. She came back from Sicily with all of these mouth-watering stories about meals she'd had.
• tackled here, this means to address something, to examine and discuss something which is difficult to talk about. E.g. If you don't tackle these issues with your son, things can only get worse.
• flicks an informal word for movies
• auditorium room where films are shown; it can also be used for concerts
• applause a noun for lots of people clapping their hands
• subtitles the words that appear at the bottom of a film in another language
• heartily enthusiastically