My journey to work
Hi
I'm Nuala and I write The Flatmates every week.
Most folks in this office come to work by bus, train or tube but a few hearty souls ride their bikes in. Here are the ѿý Learning English riders (from left to right) Helen - who works on the , Callum, Neil, John – who works on the , me and Paul)
I thought this week I'd describe my route to work and post some photos of places I pass on my journey. And, to see how good your powers of observation are, I've got two tasks for you:
1. How many of the photos do you recognise from
2. Can you guess which two photos I didn't take?
The first place of interest I pass on my journey is my local. Just about everyone in Britain has a local - a pub that's near your house, the one you go to if you want to catch up with your friends in the neighbourhood. And this is my local - The Nag's Head in the east end of London.
Next photo stop on my trip to work is a lighthouse! And no, I don't live anywhere near the sea. I'm not quite sure what a lighthouse is doing in the middle of London! Any ideas?
Another kilometre down the road, I pass the allotments. These are small plots of land that people, who don't have gardens, can rent from the local government. Allotments are becoming very popular in London now because more and more people want to grow their own.
Then I bike for about 20 minutes and arrive at John's house. I ring his doorbell, say hello and then the two of us ride on our merry way. Here's Johnny!
Johnny and I ride for about 15 more minutes and then join a canal path. The next bit of the journey is lovely - there's no traffic on the canal, only other bikes and a few pedestrians, so you can just relax and enjoy the view of the water and the ducks.
And the barges too!
Then we come to one of my favourite bits of the ride - this lovely piece of colourful art, done on the side of an abandoned warehouse a few months ago.
When we come off the canal, we've been riding for about 45 minutes and it's about time for a break. We stop off at this lovely cafe and have a well-earned cup of tea!
Then, we join the busy London traffic again. But we have one more burst of greenery before we finish our trip. It's the park in the middle of Lincoln's Inn Fields, which we ride around.
And then, before you know it, we're at Bush House and ready to start another day in ѿý Learning English!
Happy cycling!
Nuala
folks (informal): people
hearty souls (informal): brave people
route: particular way or direction between places
powers of observation: how good you are at noticing things
nag (informal): horse, especially an old one or one that's too old to do any work
grow their own: grow fruit and vegetables for themselves (rather than buying the food from a shop)
canal: long channel of artificially made water which boats travel along
pedestrians: people who walk along pavements or roads
barges: long narrow boats which go along canals
abandoned: no longer used
well-earned: deserved because you have worked hard
Comments
Hi Nuala! It´s interesting to read about your journey to work. Here in Brazil many people also cycling to their, but drivers don´t respect too much them and accidents have been happening frequently. Anyway, I could spot in some of your pictures your bike, so I guess the third and last pictures weren´t taken by you. Hmm... Let me think. The places that I recognise from Flatmates are The Nags Head and Ayala´s. Am I right? Best wishes, Ana Paula.
Well, Nuala, you have rewarded us by fantastic blog after such a long waiting brake. I am going to contradict to Ana Paula´s opinion by making a bet on the first picture and the last one. I was really surprised Paul is amog your cycling band!(was being convinced he always sit in his big white car!!) I can´t speak about Flatmates although I follow it by looking at and collect very useful language points. From your post I am putting you on a place among the absolute record-bracker, such a longish route on a bike, in the morning! Unbelievable! But the company of Johnny is lovely for sure! And you have shown the most attractive building I ever could ´see´ in the whole London - do you guess - lighthouse! I can imagin thousands stories behind. Thanks and not much trouble with the snow on your route there!
Hi Nuala I honestly think this is interesting journey. Well, after reading your story, I do want to visit london. It must be a peaceful place. And the most important thing is, the people there must be very friendly. Arr, by the way, your work( the flatmates) is great.I look forward to your next story again. All my best to you and all the members here. Anne
looking at photos you attached let me recall my wondful experience in Norwich. There is also such kind of canal besides train station on river side. I always passed on the path with my girlfriend hand in hand. Now she's being my wife. Wow!that's really an indelible memory in my life. I love Norwich, I love UK!
Hi Nuala, Nice to met you and to have a little chat with you here. It's quite a long time to read another staff blog entry. I am interested in reading daily trivia of people who live in the different countries, because it is a live living. It's a commom stuff of a daily life with you while it is a precious information with me. And the allotment is a good idea for the metropolitan who could get a refreshment. We have such kind of thing in Taiwan. It becomes more and more popular nowadays. But, we don't have a equivalent or similar word to it in Chinese. There are 16 languages have a translation of "allotment", they are mostly in Europe.Best regards, James.
Hi Nuala I liked your writing. While reading it I thought my days in London. I loved spending time in Camden Town during my stay in London.The canal along which you ride should be Camden Town.Come to pubs, I knew that how important pubs are in english life style. After work these places are a meeting point.This part of english culture is very nice habit and a little addiction. There are some places which is served tea and cafe in Turkiye. Some people goes there to play card or any kind of play besides socialising but after urbanization they are disappearing day by day.Riding bycle is not very common in big cities just small towns. You should be very talented to ride in big cities because of traffic jam.I observed English people are very good at riding bcyle.Thats all. I think you are very lovely team. Thank you very much for your support. All the best to you and all team..
Hello Nuala, nice to meet you.It's funny to read your comment and lok at the pictures you have taken. Do you really ride the bike to work every time? How long is the distance you have to go? I suppose the first(you and the otheres fom ѿý) and the last picture weren't taken by you. And from the Flatmates number 93 and 135 are the pictures in your report. See you soon, Felicitas
Hello Naula the 'The Flatmates' writer:-) First of all I would like to say that I love The Flatmates. Your journey to work sounds interesting. I also agree with Guzin that catching up with friends at a local pub is an interesting activity, as well as sipping on a cup of coffee or a cuppa you can have a natter with friends and enjoy. Best wishes, Naheed
Hiya folks, Thanks for all your comments. I love my journey to the office. It clears my head, gives me some exercise and gives me a chance to catch up with Johnny's news too. Ana - you're half right with your answers and half wrong! Marianna - you're 100% right! Anne - I'm glad you think me journey is interesting. I do too! Li - I have to say, the canal part of my trip is my favourite bit. I can really relax and just think about everything and nothing! Just like you used to do in Norwich, no doubt! James - Allotments are becoming really popular here. I suppose it's just one more way of dealing with the global credit squeeze. Guzin - I should let you know that I'm from Scotland so I have to point out that it's no just English people who like their pubs! We love them in Scotland too. In fact I'd day they're a key part of life here in Britain for just about everyone! Even for people who don't drink alcohol. Felicitas - My ride to work is about 8 miles (that's about 12 kilometres) so I ride about 16 miles a day. I don't ride to and from work every day. Sometimes I ride into work in the morning and take my bike (and me) on the train to go home. And to everyone who answered The Flatmates question - you were all partly right. All the suggestions you made were correct but there was one picture none of you spotted. I'll give you a clue - it's one on the ones on the canal. Can you figure out which one it is now?
Hello Naula, is it the one below Johnny's photo?
Hi Nuala. The allotments are surprisingly new for me. I've never seen something like that here. It's a very good idea. Your journey seems to be relaxing. The flatmates are a special part of the website. I loved the milking episode with Kallid. I love seeing the Beeb's team. I like to imagine ballons over your heads describing what you are all thinking by looking at your gestures. Regards. Adriana
Dear Nuala! I had a ball reading your entry. Oh, London!!! Your photos brought back happy memories for me. Thank you so much. Allotments are very popular in Slovakia, too. You can see them everywhere in the outskirts of a town or city. I absolutely love “The flatmates” because firstly it was the first thing that I found on your website in 2006 and I have been following it with attention since that time. Secondly, it repays my time. Finally, I would like to wish you a safe route to work. Take care,
Hi Nuala! As I said a few months ago, you are very brave. Pedestrians and bikers have a hard time in Italy. I usually get to work by bus. Cheers!!
Hi Nuala... Your post, My Journey to Work, has given me inspiration to write something with the same subject. I think you have an interesting route to work. The canal path and the abandoned warehouse looks awesome -it's like a piece of heaven in the midst of busy traffic. The water looks so clear that it becomes a giant mirror. What nice photographs you took. My version of journey to work,... well, I'll post it as soon as I finish it (umm, that will happen if I'm chosen to be the blogger of the month here.. :> ). I hope you'll enjoy reading it too. Thanks for inspiring me.
Hi Nuala, lovely places you see in your yourney to work. i am very keen to England places. Thanks for shared with us. i have been studying in ѿý learing site since 2007, it has been a wonderful experience. i have been enjoying lovely places like your yourney to work, and more and more. i find very interesting your pubs. i hope someday i can visit one of yours. it sounds very nice. by the way i love cycling in fact some time i did it as a sport. now i only enjoy the freedom of cycling to go to work. thanks and i will continue seeing your blog knowing new lovely places you will share with us. have a lovely day. Steve from campeche, campeche , mexico
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