Bonus Episode 16 - A Very Modern Day British Christmas To All Of You! A Christmas Episode

Charlie Baxter

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By Charlie Baxter

Bonus Episodes (9-16)

What's this episode about?

Charlie sits down with his great friend Harry to give you a Christmas episode conversing around the modern day traditions we tend to have in the UK around Christmas time. Merry Christmas everyone!
For your information this was recorded a year or two ago.

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Meet today's guest

Harry

Charlie & Harry are co-founders of
Real English With Real Teachers YouTube Channel

Harry has been teaching English as a foreign language for five years, both in language academies and via skype. After graduating in Psychology, Harry took a trip to South East Asia where he discovered a passion for teaching and languages.

Harry currently resides in Bedford, UK, where he teaches online and residential English courses
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Transcript of Bonus Ep 16 Pt. 1 - Transcript

Charlie:
Hello and welcome to the British English podcast. Today we will be talking all things Christmassy. We're going to be giving you a British- a modern day British Christmas and how it feels like and, and what it means to the Brits, because that is what we are. Harry and Charlie, the British English teachers. My name is Charlie, and we also have Harry. How are you doing, Harry?

Harry:
Hello, this is Harry. Do you guys recognise my voice yet? I wonder if they do? Wonder if they can distinguish us without being a podcast premium member and seeing our name tags on the screen.

Charlie:
Yes, exactly.

Harry:
Yeah, I'm feeling very Christmassy, though, despite- I don't look particularly Christmassy and nor does my, my living room. I haven't got one bit of tinsel in my living room, but I feel Christmassy. I definitely feel Christmassy. Do you think in other languages, they even have the word Christmassy, like the adjective of Christmas? I bet they don't.

Charlie:
Do they in Spanish? You know, your Spanish, do they?

Harry:
I don't think- ah, they do, no, they do have the adjective Christmas. You know, like you take Christmas Day, they would have that 'navideña'. Yeah, which is yeah, 'of Christmas', but they wouldn't say, 'I'm feeling navideño'. They wouldn't say that 'I'm feeding Christmassy'. I don't think they have it. No.

Charlie:
Right.

Harry:
I think it's really British. Like when I speak to my students, they're like, Wow, I came to England around Christmas time and it was just like, I've never seen anything like it. Like when you go to London, you see the Christmas lights. We really go all out for Christmas here in the UK. We go, we go crazy for it, don't we?

Charlie:
Mmm, go all out? Yeah, we go all out. We do everything. The full works.

Harry:
Exactly. Yeah, the full works. A really good one as well. Yeah, we go all out for Christmas. We, we put on the full works or we have the full works.

Charlie:
I just state it really. Oh, the full works.

Harry:
Yeah, that's true, yeah, you don't. Yeah, you don't need a verb. Chill out, guys. You don't need a verb. Yeah, just say 'the full works'. Yeah, the full (whole) shebang.

Charlie:
Yeah, yeah, shebang. Yeah, ok, so we go all out at Christmas, we take it seriously and ahh...

Harry:
In a fun way, I feel...

Charlie:
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely in a fun way. Ha ha ha. I yeah, I wanted to give you guys the opportunity to see what Christmas is like for a Brit and why we continue to go all out during this time and straight away. I want to get to the reason I think British people do this.

Charlie:
I'm going straight in there and I think it's because of the weather. I'm in Australia at the moment and I'm enjoying the sun, and it is bloody obvious to me that this is why British people need Christmas. To get through the winter, to get through that depressing cold time, they rely on this festive feeling. What do you think of that?

Harry:
It's very true. I mean, England would be a very depressing place throughout these months if there was no Christmas. I mean, and that's probably why we start celebrating Christmas so early. I don't think there's any country that bothers putting up Christmas lights at the start of November. Like, that's just...

Charlie:
Maybe even earlier as well. Well, well, there's the Christmas lights, but before that, there's the TV adverts and the decorations being sold in the supermarket.

Harry:
It's true. Yeah, yeah, the- the companies need to get ready for it. They need to get everyone ready for Christmas, so it needs to start really early.

Charlie:
Yeah, yeah, that's true.

Harry:
When do you think you might see the first like Christmas decorations for sale in England? Or like tinsel on stuff like that? All these, these Christmassy things, baubles.

Charlie:
Baubles, yeah, baubles, baubles are those round objects that you put on a tree, Christmas tree decorations. I think that there's a running joke in England that it's getting earlier and earlier each year. And the same with other holidays like Valentine's Day and Halloween and things like that. You see it earlier and earlier in the shops. I think I've seen Christmas decorations in as soon as we're out of, like,

Harry:
Summer.

Charlie:
September. Yes, summer time, the end of summer, as soon as the end of summer comes, bam! Christmas! It's Christmas time.

Harry:
Yeah, it's true because when you- I think as soon as you go to, like, you start the school year as well, you kind of start looking forward to Christmas because you start thinking, Oh God, I've got so much work. I've got so many projects to do. We got, you know, maybe your mock exams before Christmas, and you're just looking forward to getting that over with and, and getting back, watching the Christmas adverts, watching Christmas films and enjoying a cold, cosy winter in your house. With nothing to...

Charlie:
Yeah, there you go.

Harry:
Yeah, it's very true. We do say that: It's Christmas, getting earlier and earlier. It's getting ear- and I think it's very true. It is, I think winter would be so depressing here in England if we didn't have Christmas, so we really do. We go all out for it. We go crazy for it.

Charlie:
Yeah, yeah. And the businesses rely on it, don't they? Like I've heard that sales go through the roof during this Christmas period. Go through the roof. They go, they- they rock it, they increase in a huge amount and they, actually, I think, depend on that spike in the year. Otherwise they won't make the end of the year sales, I think.

Harry:
Yeah, yeah, it's true. Yeah, yeah, I think there are even some. I see some shops that, that pop up in Bedford and they are only for the Christmas period. That's their, their only market is like, I don't know, mums looking to decorate their tree for the next, for next Christmas. And they'll- they'll open up around. No, no, probably mid-October, and then inevitably close when New Year is over.

Charlie:
Right, ok. Yeah, pop up shop. So a temporary shop.

Harry:
Yeah, and that's their business. That is their business- business. So, yeah, nice expressions, 'to go through the roof' and you said 'prices rocket' as well. Or you can say 'skyrocket', can't you?

Charlie:
Sky- 'go sky high' or 'skyrocket'. Sky- Sky high?

Harry:
I don't know why, I think that- Rocket Man, to skyrocket. Yeah, so the, "The number of calls we got skyrocketed." So it's a verb, 'to skyrocket', meaning to- to go up very quickly, rise very, very quickly. So prices around Christmas time skyrocket. Would you say the prices around Christmas time skyrocket? Well, sales. "Sales around Christmas time skyrocket."

Charlie:
Sales, yes, "Sales around Christmas time skyrocket." Prices skyrocket around New Year's Eve, don't they? The drinks prices, they skyrocket. Whooh! If a pint was £5, it's £20 on New Year's Eve.

Harry:
Yes, that's true. Yeah, yeah. And the price of taxis on Christmas Eve. They skyrocket.

Charlie:
Taxis.

Harry:
On New Year's Eve. Yeah, they really.

Charlie:
Yes. Yeah. The taxis rake it in on New Year's Eve or New Year's Day, technically, because we've all celebrated the, The Big Gong, the Big Ben clock, and then it's time to get a lift back home.

Harry:
Yeah, that would be a very expensive taxi, wouldn't it? From- from London to Surrey? That would be...

Charlie:
Oh god. Yeah.

Harry:
Incredibly expensive.

Charlie:
Yeah. That's two hundred pounds. At least.

Harry:
And the rest? And the rest? Yeah. To- 'to rake it in' there, that's really good. Really good language. Meaning 'to make lots of money'. And you could say this about a company. Like, 'Wow, the taxi drivers? They are really raking it in this Christmas.' Or even a friend of yours who's making lots of money. My friend Steven, working in London, I always use him. He's my only friend. He makes lots of money. 'He is raking it in.' 'He is raking it in in London.'

Charlie:
Are you good, yeah, making lots of money? Yeah.

Harry:
He can afford expensive taxis, he doesn't..

Charlie:
Yeah.

Harry:
He doesn't mind getting expensive taxis.

Charlie:
Yeah. So New Year's Day taxi, that's fine for him. He'll step right in.

Harry:
Not a problem. Yeah, he actually often pays for my cabs in London on the Uber.

Charlie:
Really?

Harry:
Yeah, he doesn't mind. He's one of those people that, you know, you share a ride. He doesn't even like, ask you to kind of like to, to share it on Uber, on the app. He's just like-

Charlie:
Ahh, maybe he's asking. Ah no, maybe he's waiting for you to do the polite thing.

Harry:
To respond! Yeah, yeah, yeah. Maybe I should. I must remember to call him and thank him. Well, that cab ride.

Charlie:
Yeah, just take him out one night.

Harry:
Yeah, yeah, I'll take him out sometime, yeah, but yeah, so it is a time of year where businesses need it. They absolutely need it. But why would you say, apart from like businesses, why would you say Christmas is, is- sorry, let me rephrase that.

Harry:
Let me rephrase that. Because my students, they say to me, Harry, are British people religious? Because surely Christmas is about celebrating little baby Jesus. And I say, Well, maybe we're not that religious a country. What do you think, Charlie? Do you think we are religious? And it's because of that that it's so important to us or you think there are other reasons?

Charlie:
Yeah, I think it was definitely the case a while back, but we're getting less religious as, as a, as a country. Obviously, we've got different types of, different nationalities coming into the country, and they're bringing different religions with them. But the, yeah, the average day British family might be losing interest in religion, I would guess. I would guess, because it's hard to find a religious friend of mine back in England. Do you have many?

Harry:
I can't think of a single religious friend.

Charlie:
Really.

Harry:
Unless I count-.

Charlie:
Not one?!

Harry:
My parents as friends. That would be sad if I counted my parents as friends. But even they're not very religious. But my mum says she is. But.

Charlie:
Yeah, I- mine, are the same. They say that they are, but I don't think they understand what it is.

Harry:
It's just like a generation thing, isn't it? Like that, back then, you were just expected to be religious. Or God was just a part of people's lives more? Or, you know..

Charlie:
Yeah.

Harry:
... the classroom, the school day and events. I don't know. There was more mention of God than we have nowadays.

Charlie:
It's true, yeah, and I was reading up on this and I read a psychology article or a take on why we carry on with Christmas. And they were saying that it is to do with habits that we form. And if we feel like we're going against the norm, against the normal habit that people are doing, then we might be punished for it. And in our parents generation, it definitely makes sense to continue with religion because it was a lot more common for them to do it. So they would, they might have felt scared about being punished by it then. But for us, it's not so much religion, but we would still feel punished if we weren't to celebrate Christmas with our friends and family, wouldn't we? We would feel like we're strange for not doing that.

Harry:
Definitely. Yeah, yeah. I thought a couple of years ago, as I was sitting there, surrounded by kids at- on Christmas Day. And I was in a living room just so packed to the brim with presents. Meaning, or 'filled to the brim' with presents, meaning, there were so many you couldn't move anywhere, so 'filled to the brim' with presents.

Harry:
And it was just, it was so frantic. It was so crazy. The kids would just open up their presents. Before they even looked at their present, they would open up the next present. And I was thinking, You know what, next year I wouldn't mind having a different Christmas and not having this typical, these typical traditions that we always follow. And then the next year came around and I thought, I can't do it. I can't do anything else. I'd feel terrible, like abandoning the family. So I definitely feel like these norms, they are. We do have that feeling that we're going to be punished, or we feel incredibly guilty if we go against them.

Charlie:
Yeah, we're locked into this tradition every year. It gets us. So yeah. Merry Christmas, Harry.

Harry:
Yeah, yeah. Merry Christmas. Let's just endure this next one and get through it.

Charlie:
Yeah, and get through it. So we obviously see decorations in- in supermarkets and other shops. They- they pop up. First, we see that initially. What happens after that leading up to Christmas?

Harry:
Um, so for, for me, an important part is, is having the lights being turned on in your town. So every town or village in England will have some, some lights that are maybe like wrapped around trees. You might find them in the trees or hanging in the centre of the town. And, where else would they hang the lights?

Charlie:
They often do like a banner across the street, from, from one house to the other.

Harry:
Yes,

Charlie:
And it's really popular in Regent Street in London, I think, but also all the, all the towns and villages will- will do this as well along the parade of shops.

Harry:
That happens around the 7th of November. And that's a bit of an event because when I was a kid, it was supposedly supposed to be exciting, this. Because a minor celebrity; we could say a D-List celebrity, someone who used to be on the television but now is not. And they are, I don't know, probably working at the local supermarket, and they come and they turn on the Christmas lights, and that's a big excitement to see these lights being turned on. And for me, that kind of marks the start of Christmas for me, seeing the town lights coming on.

Charlie:
Ok, so seeing that: D-Lister. Turn those lights on, that's- that's "Oh, Christmas is here!" Yes, Christmas has begun, right? So you can get an A-lister, a B Lister, A-list celebrity. Yeah.

Harry:
Yeah.

Charlie:
So those are the really famous ones in Hollywood movies, every six months.

Harry:
Exactly. Yeah. And if they're really, really bad, you could even call them a Z lister, can you?

Charlie:
Oh, those are the ones that went on Big Brother or something like that.

Harry:
Yes.

Charlie:
A reality TV show.

Harry:
One day we'll be one of them. Well, we know we- we will never get to that, will we? We will never reach that kind of status? Do you think like someone that actually has a big following, like, like Lucy with English, English with Lucy? Do you think she'll, she could be counted as D-List celebrity one day?

Charlie:
Been on the news, so maybe.

Harry:
She has, yeah?

Charlie:
Social influencers are getting their own name, though. I don't think we necessarily associate them to the list. The traditional mainstream list.

Harry:
No, it's true. Yeah, they got their own name. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, that's true. So, yeah,

Charlie:
So the lights,

Harry:
Do you remember-

Charlie:
Lights turn on?

Harry:
Oh, sorry, go on.

Charlie:
So the lights turned on, and we also get the adverts, I see that you, you like to talk about the Coca-Cola advert.

Harry:
Yeah, this is a really good advert. And this would be like around the time that you're going to end the term, like, the school term before Christmas, school term.

Charlie:
Which is when?

Harry:
Which should be like. I guess, like November time, mid to late November. Well, I guess we break up in December, wouldn't we?

Charlie:
Yeah, it's normally like, I think, 15th or 20th of December.

Harry:
Ok, so- but before that, but you're build, it- in the build up, to kind of breaking up from school. 'Breaking up' is when you 'end the term' or you 'end the year'. So breaking up from school for Christmas, and it was really exciting. It had this really cool music which went something like "Holidays are coming. Always Coca-Cola. Holidays are coming. Holidays are coming. Always Coca-Cola." Do you remember that?

Charlie:
I do. Yeah. Yeah, that's, that's bringing back some memories. Yeah.

Harry:
It's very lovely.

Charlie:
Nostalgic. Yeah. Oh, very good. Nostalgia or nostalgic memories. Things that are positive of the past. Memories of positive memories from the past.

Harry:
Yes. And in the I remember, the advert that really stands out to me was the year when it was Santa driving around in a huge Coca-Cola truck. Maybe he always does this in the Coca-Cola advert. He's driving around down the motorway and dunno he's working a long shift, but he arrives in a town centre and all of the Christmas lights are on and the town are out having a lovely, merry time. And he drinks his cold Coca-Cola, and he's, he's dressed up in his, in his Father Christmas outfit and he looks wonderful. And he's all red and rosy cheeked, and he has a nice cold sip of his cola.

Charlie:
Yeah. God, Coca-Cola have done brilliantly with that advertising, didn't they? We feel so happy seeing that advert, and it's just "Drink Coke."

Harry:
Yeah, it's ridiculous!

Charlie:
Crazy!

Harry:
And also, why would you want a Coca-Cola at Christmas? It's too cold.

Charlie:
I know! I know! Get me a mulled wine, for God's sake.

Harry:
Yeah, no. Why didn't, like, Jacob's Creek? Think of that. Like, to try and capitalise on that? Well, I can- see, only, it's the only wine brand I could think of and probably..

Charlie:
Yeah, I would probably think it's Australian or Californian.

Harry:
Whatever, mate. I said it was-

Charlie:
Australian.

Harry:
Ok. There you go, so it's Australian. Well done, Australia. Well done, Australia, there. They could have made a lot of money over here if they'd thought of that. Thinking about Santa sitting on his own in a restaurant, drinking, drinking mulled- Jacob's mulled wine.

Charlie:
Hmm. Yeah.

Harry:
There you go. So that was, that was important for me. What about you, though? In the build up for Christmas, Charlie? I can imagine you were quite a fan of decorating the house with your mum. Am I right in thinking that?

Charlie:
Ah, yeah, it's a good point. So that's again, that's a big thing. Big memory. Getting the Christmas tree. But my, my parents, they preferred cats over Christmas trees, and that meant that we had a fake Christmas tree. It wasn't a real one. We wouldn't go to the local Christmas tree vendor or seller, and we wouldn't pick out our tree like in the Hollywood films. We would just get it down from the attic. Down from the attic. The attic is the part in the roof of the house that lots of spiders and maybe some mice like to call home. But you store your, yeah, you store your, your spare things up there. So we would go up to the attic or my dad, would you say, "Stand back. Elizabeth, I'm going up to the attic." It's a very manly thing, isn't it?

Harry:
It is. Yeah, the mum must never step foot in the attic.

Charlie:
Never, never. And yeah, he would bring it down. And then she would go and get all the decorations because his knees hurting so...

Harry:
Were they in the attic as well?

Charlie:
They were. So she did actually go into the oh,

Harry:
He would come down after complaining about his knee and she would go up.

Charlie:
Yeah, yeah, stand back. And then "Actually, yeah, you can go up. You can go up. I'm sore."

Harry:
"I must call the doctor about this knee." Yeah. Now he's got a fresh knee, so he's- I guess this year then, with his fresh new knee, he's up there, you know, getting the tree down.

Charlie:
Well, we've actually moved houses and we're not in a house that has an attic because we have a bungalow. A bungalow.

Harry:
Oh, I see. Why would you call your house a bungalow?

Charlie:
Well, it- it's, it's now not a bungalow because we, we put rooms in the attic, in the roof. So it's called a converted bungalow.

Harry:
Right. Ok. Yeah, yeah.

Charlie:
But yeah, a bungalow is a house that has just one floor. So no upstairs. Yeah, so we didn't. We don't really have an attic now, but..

Harry:
That's my bedroom. The attic, isn't it?

Charlie:
Yes. Yes. Yes. Very good. Harry's second home.

Harry:
Yeah, I always sleep in the attic bedroom, which I think was your sister's. Is that right?

Charlie:
Mm-hmm.

Harry:
Well, I say belong to the cats. I mean, it had to belong to some kind of human. Yeah. Okay.

Charlie:
Exactly. Yeah. So they would get the Christmas decorations in, and I would try to avoid doing that. When I was really young and I was excited, I might help and we would put on some music and dance around. But as I got into my teenage years, I would, I'd be a bit depressing and say, 'No mum, I don't want to do that. That's sad.'

Harry:
Were you a bit of a grumpy, bit of a grumpy teenager? You didn't want to, didn't want to help out?

Charlie:
I think I was a bit obsessed with PlayStation. That, that took my focus.

Harry:
Yes. So I guess presents were important to you then? So,

Charlie:
Oh, of course. Yeah.

Harry:
You weren't about decorating the tree. You were more...

Charlie:
I have a new PlayStation!

Harry:
... when you- exactly. Your new PlayStation games? Yeah. What kind of games did you used to play and ask for around Christmas time, Chaz? Adventure games?

Charlie:
Mainly violent, violent games or football games. Football games and violent games. That was, that was my kind of game. As long as it had a bit of blood.

Harry:
Yeah, good. Yeah, it was good when FIFA brought the blood into the game. Yeah. Ok. So yeah, there's nothing like a bit of Christmas violence, I think. Yeah, we all need a bit of that around Christmas time. You've got to take out your frustration somehow, haven't you?

Charlie:
Exactly. Yeah. So leading up to Christmas, I mean, getting very close to it, Christmas Eve, that was a big event for, for most people. Did you find it to be an important day, Christmas Eve, the day before?

Harry:
It was, yeah, it was- especially as a kid. Like, nowadays it's not. It's not massively important. But yeah, it was. It was all the, all that anticipation. Like thinking, Oh, what am I going to get from Santa the next day? I mean, as a kid, all I used to think about was, was the presents I was going to get. I was, I was obsessed with it. I was quite, I was quite spoilt, so I used to really look forward to that day of opening them up. But Christmas Eve, generally, I'd say English family would have dinner with the family. Maybe go to the pub. And, yeah, just just chill out, really, and.

Charlie:
And this is Christmas Eve, yeah?

Harry:
Christmas Eve, yeah.

Charlie:
You'd have dinner with the family?

Harry:
Yeah, we'd have dinner with the family, I think, yeah. We would often go to Kent. Yeah, I had my cousins there and we would have dinner with the family, chill out. And the.

Charlie:
So it sounds very, very similar to Christmas Day for you. Because I know that a couple of my friends in, in Europe, in different countries, in Europe, not Britain. They celebrate everything on Christmas Eve, don't they? They, they open their presents on Christmas Eve and then Christmas Day is kind of just like the next day, really. It's not as special. But..

Harry:
Yes.

Charlie:
I don't, I've, I'm never allowed to open anything until Christmas Day and it feels like the spirit of the season is that day. The twenty fifth of December.

Harry:
Can't have it on the twenty fourth. I did what, we did have a thing where you could get one present on the twenty fourth. That was the thing, wasn't it? Did you have that in your family?

Charlie:
When I was young, yeah. Yeah, we did actually have that. Or I think I'm getting it confused, actually. We were allowed to open one present as soon as we woke up. Because I know that in America, they hang their stockings, usually in the lounge, under the, like, along the chimney, not, what you'd call- the fireplace.

Harry:
Yeah, yeah, the mantelpiece,

Charlie:
On the mantelpiece. Yeah, but in England, for me, we did it on the end of our beds. We put the stocking that the Santa was going to fill all the presents at the end of our bed, and we would be able to wake up to that crinkling feeling of the presents on our feet. It's like, "Oh, Santa's been!" And we were allowed to open one present then before going through to our parents. Because we were too excited. I think because they wanted like three more hours sleep. Because I would wake up at like three or four a.m. and I'd have to wait until 7:00 a.m. for the day to begin with the parents.

Harry:
And that, would they, would someone kind of police you and make sure you only open one present before you go in and be with your- oh, it was your older sister, the one in charge of you.

Charlie:
Occasionally, we would meet up in the middle of the night and we would discuss how many presents we've got, yeah. And we would feel them. We would get them all out of the stocking. We'd feel them, but we'd be careful not to rip anything because we, we- I think we were quite well trained kids because we didn't trick our parents. Like once I opened one too many and I felt absolutely awful.

Harry:
Yeah, yeah. It's terrible, terrible thing to do. But yeah, you feel awful about that. But the stockings were huge. I think my, my stocking was massive. We probably sound really, really spoilt now, but I remember it being absolutely, again, filled to the brim with presents. There were just so many in there. It's insane how much, like my parents had to spend on me just to fill that stocking.

Charlie:
Well, when you're young, though, I'm sure it all tallies up. But when you're young, you can be happy with a £1, £2 present, like a little rubber for your pencil case.

Harry:
Yeah, yeah. And I guess those, those little, little things, yeah, they are nice and it fills up some space. We would actually call them stocking fillers, wouldn't we? A little present that you could just put in. And yeah, it's something else to open. 'A stocking filler'. 'To tally up' as well. That's good language. What did you mean by that? It all tallies up.

Charlie:
I meant it as in it builds to a rather substantial amount of money. But you can use it in other ways, can't you? It will all tally up means like it will all be correct. If I count it, everything will be here.

Harry:
Yeah, so it's kind of all about calculations, isn't it? Yeah. So yeah, if you, if you're paying for a meal, maybe with lots of people and you're dividing the bill and you've put all the money in the middle and the waiter is counting it, looking worried, you can say, "Don't worry, it will tally up!" Yeah, it will all be there.

Charlie:
Yeah. So yeah, to calculate the total of something.

Harry:
So there you go. So we would open our stockings in the morning. You said Americans, they leave their stockings in the living room.

Charlie:
Yeah.

Harry:
That's where they'd have theirs. Yeah, OK. Any other major differences between us and the Americans with Christmas? What about like, go on?

Charlie:
One thing that I forgot to mention is the writing, the letter to Father Christmas before- I think this is like a, maybe the 1st of December, or somewhere around that time. We would write our list of what we want and send it to Santa. And Americans do this as well, but they would send it in the mail. They would actually send it in the post. But I can't remember if I actually did it. But traditionally British people put it in the fire. And apparently that, that, that goes to Santa. Did you-.

Harry:
And they would burn it in the fire or they just leave it in the fire?

Charlie:
Oh yeah, yeah.

Harry:
The fireplace?

Charlie:
It's a lit fire. Yeah, you just put it in and it burns and it apparently magically goes to Santa.

Harry:
Well, I guess that's because we, you know, for those who do believe in Santa, the Father Christmas or Santa Claus, he comes down the chimney, doesn't he? He comes in through the fireplace. So I guess we're, maybe thinking that if we burn it there, hopefully he'll see it because he's magical. He can put it all back together and read the list.

Charlie:
That's it. That's it. Yeah, it sounds like a rather weak argument that children don't really think too much about. Mainly, probably, because they're too distracted by those stocking fillers.

Harry:
Yeah, that's true. Yeah, I think I used to just give. Give a list to my parents and then hope that they would somehow get it to Santa.

Charlie:
Ah ok.

Harry:
Because they always told me they had a very good relationship with him, so I kind of trusted that.

Charlie:
We will be leaving Part One there for today. But don't worry, we have Part Two and Three round the corner for you to enjoy. But first, make sure you utilise all of the learning resources available to you for this part. And then when ready, I'll see you in part two to continue the conversation. Thanks again for supporting me. This is my full time job. So here's to many more episodes of the British English podcast to help you improve your English.

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Podcast host: Charlie:
This will be quite a bit harder for you to understand, as there are a number of accents in the conversation, some poorly delivered at times, as you will notice.

Podcast host: Charlie:
But the aim is to give you a variety of dialects in one conversation and some dialogue to give you native expressions in context. So enter, if you will, to Charlie's pub and his imaginary world.

Character: Mike:
Alright geezer, how's it going?

Character: Chris:
Yes, I'm well thanks. How about you? Have you had a good day?

Character: Mike:
Can't say good mate. No my old man he's been giving me a right old earful for what happened on site last week.

Character: Chris:
Oh that's a pity. Are you back on your dad's building project again?

Character: Mike:
Sad to say mate, but yeah, I am. Couldn't resist this one though. Cash in hand, you know.

Character: Chris:
Oh fair play, hard to resist those I imagine. Oh, here she is.

Character: Emily:
Oh, hi.

Character: Chris:
I was wondering if you're ever going to join us tonight.

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