Welcome - English & the UK - Newcastle

Jack: Hello my name’s Jack

Rich: and I’m Rich and welcome to this week’s Premier Skills English podcast

Jack: Where we talk about football and help you with your English.

Rich: We recommend that you listen to this podcast on the Premier Skills English website because that is where we have the transcript, language examples, activities, quizzes and a discussion page to help you understand everything we talk about.

Jack: However, if you’re listening on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, you can leave answers to our questions in the review section. We do read all the reviews and would love to hear from you.

Rich: In this week’s podcast, we’re continuing our series of podcasts that focus on English and the UK. In these podcasts, you will learn more about cities in the UK and at the same time lots of useful English words and phrases.

Jack: In each podcast, we focus on one UK city. In our last podcast, we spoke about Brighton which is one of the UK’s most popular seaside places.

Rich: And we looked at words and phrases connected to a day at the seaside or beach. Phrases like ‘I’d like to get a nice tan’, and ‘if I don’t put on factor 50 I go as red as a lobster’. 

Jack: Oh yes, we looked at a few similes which are phrases that connect and compare two things. Red as a lobster, as brave as a lion things like that.

Rich: If you want to go back and do this lesson you can find it on the Premier Skills English website by clicking skills >  listen > podcasts. If you are on Spotify or Apple Podcasts you’ll find it in the playlist, it’s called ‘English & the UK: Brighton’.

Jack: In this episode, we are going to talk about a football-mad city in the North-East of England. The city we’re talking about this week is Newcastle.

Rich: First, Jack and I will have a conversation about Newcastle. We will talk about some of the things that are special about Newcastle.

Jack: After that, you will hear a roleplay where we go out at night.

Rich: You might not know it but Newcastle has been consistently voted as the best night out in the UK.

Jack: After the roleplay, we will focus on words and phrases connected to going to a pub in the UK.

Rich: Don’t forget that all the cities we focus on in this series are home to Premier League teams so listen out for the football connections in the podcast.

Jack: One of those connections is our football phrase section so don’t forget to listen to the end of the podcast because that’s when we ask you to guess our weekly football phrase.

Football Phrase 1

Rich: But, before we look at all that, let’s look at last week’s football phrase. If you didn’t hear it last week we’ll give you one more chance to guess and give you the correct answer at the end of the show when we give you a new football phrase.

Jack: The phrase confused a few people last week. I don’t think you gave a very good definition, Rich.

Rich: Mmm … not sure about that.

Jack: Most people got the first part of the phrase but weren’t sure about the second. But a big well done to Romakisel from Russia and Liubomyr from Ukraine who did get the right answer and wrote it correctly on the Premier Skills English website.

Rich: Well, it’s your turn this week so you should start thinking of a perfect definition.

Jack: Yes, I shall and I’ll have this week’s football phrase at the end of this podcast but before that let’s give you one more chance to guess last week’s football phrase.

Rich: OK, the phrase was pre-season training. It’s July so all the players have had their holidays and they have returned to their clubs for pre-season training. Most of the players will do this for a couple of weeks, then there will be some friendly matches before the new season starts.

Jack: OK, so the tricky part is the second bit. What do players do before friendly matches? We’ll give you the answer at the end of the show and I’ll have a new phrase for you.

Rich: And if you can guess Jack’s football phrase and write it in the comments section on the Premier Skills English website, we will announce your name in next week’s show.
Introduction to conversation

Jack: You are now going to listen to us talking about Newcastle and what’s special about the city.

Rich: While you listen, we want you to answer a question. The question is:

Jack: What is ‘the toon’?

Conversation

Jack: So, what can we tell people about Newcastle? Let’s start with how we say the city’s name. I say Newcastle.

Rich: And I say Newcastle.

Jack: OK, this is an easy difference to spot. Rich is from the north of England so he says things like grass, bath and castle with a short vowel but in the south of England, we use long vowels more: grass, bath and castle.

Rich: So, we have Newcastle and Newcastle. That’s the easy bit but in Geordie, they say it differently.

Jack: Geordie?

Rich: Geordie is the accent and dialect which is used in Newcastle. People from Newcastle are also called Geordies.

Jack: In Geordie people say: NooCAstle.

Rich: Say it again Jack.

Jack: NooCAstle.

Rich: Your Geordie accent isn’t perfect but the idea is that instead of New we say noo and the stress is on the second syllable instead of the first. NooCastle.

...

Rich: Football is like a religion. That’s a phrase you hear a lot. I think Pele and Maradona said it and it’s a phrase that is often used in Newcastle. Football is like a religion in Newcastle.

Jack: Geordies are very passionate about football and there are a couple of phrases that are very important to know when it comes to football. The phrases are ‘Howay the Lads’ and ‘Come on the toon’.

Rich: Not sure about your pronunciation there but yes I know these. ‘Howay’ is a Geordie way of saying ‘Come on!’ or ‘Let’s go!’ and ‘the lads’ means ‘the boys’.

Jack: And ‘the toon’ means the Newcastle team and sometimes you hear the phrase ‘the toon army’ which are the Newcastle fans.

Rich: So, ‘Howay the lads’ and ‘Come on the toon’ are two phrases that Newcastle fans use to support their team.

Jack: But the word ‘toon’ actually comes from ‘town’ and Geordies might have ‘a night on the toon’.

Rich: Ah yes. Newcastle is very famous for its nightlife and is one of the UK’s most famous and popular places for a night out. The areas called ‘The Bigg Market’ and ‘The Quayside’ are crammed with hundreds of nightclubs and bars.

Jack: We’re going to talk about nightlife in the roleplay in a minute. Rich - before we finish talking about Newcastle I’m going to give you 30 seconds to tell us what else there is to do and see in Newcastle for visitors.

Rich: OK, apart from football and nightlife Newcastle has a great city centre for cafes and shopping and if you want more shopping, the Metro Centre is one of the biggest shopping centres in Europe. There are theatres and cinemas and the Hoppings is one of Europe’s biggest travelling funfairs that comes to Newcastle every June. You can visit the Angel of the North -  a massive modern sculpture just outside the city. Famous Geordies include Alan Shearer, Sting and Mr. Bean.

Jack: The Angel of the North and the Metro Centre are in Gateshead and Rowan Atkinson aka Mr Bean is from Durham but he studied in Newcastle. Six out of 10 for research Rich!

Introduction to Roleplay 

Rich: Did you get the answer to the question: What is ‘the toon’?

Jack: Well, toon means town and the word is used in Geordie to describe the city centre or Newcastle’s football team. They say ‘Come on the toon!’ and ‘Let’s have a night on the toon’.

Rich: And that’s what we’re going to do now. We’re going to have a night on the toon. Well, it might not be as lively as that but we’re going to go to a traditional British pub.

Jack: That’s right. You are going to listen to a roleplay. We’re in the pub.

Rich: After the roleplay, we’ll focus on words and phrases connected to a traditional pub in the UK.

Jack: While you listen we want you to answer a question:

Rich: Who wins the game of pool?

Roleplay

Rich: Are we going to pop into the pub?

Jack: Yes, the Red Lion - it’s my local. Come on it’s just here.

Rich: What are you having?

Jack: A soft drink for me - I’m driving. A lime and soda would be good.

Rich: I’m going to have a pint. Wow, there are lots to choose from. I’m going to have a pint of ‘Short & Stout’. Sounds like me.

Jack: Steady there. I don’t want to be carrying you home.

Rich: Very funny. Cheers.

Jack: Cheers.

Rich: Looks like a good place - not too crowded.

Jack: Yeah, I pop in once a week. Sometimes with the family. They have food on in the daytime and do a good Sunday Lunch.

Rich: Darts and a pool table, too. Do you fancy a game?

Jack: I’m no good at darts. I’m more likely to hit the people sitting at that table than the dartboard. I’ll beat you at pool though.

Rich: You reckon?

Jack: Nice break... Good shot. So you’re stripes - I’m spots.

Rich: Nice shot, Jack. You’ve played before!

Jack: South of England Junior Pool Champion 1997.

Rich: Really.

Jack: No, not really. It’s just a bit of banter, Rich. Black ball - top left pocket.

Rich: It’s in! Oh wait a minute - the white’s in too - you’ve gone in off. I win that one then! And it’s your round too.

Jack: Yeah, yeah. Same again?

Rich: Yeah, let’s go out to the beer garden - it’s not raining.

Language Focus

Jack: Did you get the answer to the question? Who wins the game of pool?

Rich: I won! Jack potted most of the balls but made a foul shot at the end which meant I won.

Jack: You were lucky!

Rich: It’s better to be lucky than good! Anyway, let’s look at some of those words and phrases you might hear in a pub in the UK.

Jack: First of all, what is a pub? A pub or it’s more official name ‘a public house’ is a place where people meet to have a drink or something to eat and to socialise with friends.

Rich: There are over 50,000 pubs in the UK and they are a very important part of communities in the UK. Even small villages usually have a pub.

Jack: In the roleplay, I used the phrase ‘my local’ this means the pub in my community or closest to where I live. This is often the pub people visit most frequently and where they can meet their neighbours and friends.

Rich: Jack said ‘let’s pop into my local’ ‘pop’ can be used as an informal word for ‘go’ that we use with a preposition and means to visit for a short time. We might pop into a shop for a moment or pop round to a friend’s house.

Jack: Let’s talk about drinks. In a pub, it’s common for one person to order and pay for all the drinks in your group. This is called ‘a round’ and each person in the group takes it in turns to buy ‘a round’.

Rich: In the roleplay, I bought a drink for Jack and myself. I got the first round.

Jack: The most common question to ask what someone wants is ‘What are you having?’ You might say this to your friends if you are buying the drinks or the bartender might ask you this at the bar.

Rich: In pubs in the UK, there are often no waiters and you pay for your drinks at the bar when you get them. The people who work behind the bar are called barmaids if they are women and barmen if they are men.

Jack: Rich ordered a pint. A pint is a traditional measurement that is used in the UK. A pint is 568 millilitres. In pubs, beer is ordered in pints or half-pints.

Rich: Milk is also usually bought in pints in the UK.

Jack: Traditionally, pubs were connected to beer and alcohol but pubs these days offer much more than this. In the roleplay, I asked for ‘a soft drink’. Soft drinks have no alcohol and are usually cold and sweet.

Rich: Many people don’t drink alcohol. It might be because they are driving; drinking and driving is a criminal offence, it might be for religious reasons or lots of other reasons, but this doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a British pub.

Jack: All pubs have food these days and many pubs will serve a traditional Sunday Lunch of different types of meat and vegetables.

Rich: And many city pubs and nearly all pubs in the countryside have ‘a beer garden’. Beer gardens are open spaces often with playgrounds for children so all the family can enjoy being outside.

Jack: And then there are games inside too. The most traditional pub games are darts and pool.

Rich: Darts is a game where players throw small sharp arrows at a circular board to score points.

Jack: In the roleplay, we played pool. Pool is a game played on a special table. Players have two long poles called cues and have to hit balls into holes in the corners of the table. One player hits balls with stripes - Newcastle and Juventus play in black and white stripes - and the other player hits coloured balls with no stripes - these are called spots.

Rich: Let’s look at one more word that you will hear a lot in the UK but especially in pubs. The word is ‘cheers’.

Jack: ‘Cheers’ is what people in the UK say before they have a drink and are celebrating something or just celebrating being together and having a nice time. People usually put their glasses together at the same time.

Rich: But ‘cheers’ is also used to say thank you informally and even instead of so it is a word that you hear a lot.

Task

Rich: This week we want you to tell us about a good night out you have had.

Jack: Where did you go? What did you do? Who did you go with?

Rich: What did you have to drink? Did you eat anything? Did you just chat with friends or did you see some type of entertainment or play a game of some kind?

Jack: Write your answers on the Premier Skills English website.

This week’s football phrase:

Rich: OK, it’s time for this week’s football phrase. It’s your turn this week Jack. Don’t make it too easy.

Jack: People had trouble with your football phrase last week. If you are waiting for the answer it was pre-season training. Many of you got pre-season but not many got training.

Rich: OK, let’s see how many people get this week’s football phrase.

Jack: The phrase is * **** ********. The phrase is usually used to describe the referee giving a red card or more often a penalty when we believe it was not a penalty or red card. We say things like that’s never a penalty what * **** ******** by the referee!

Rich: Quite difficult. Yo need an adjective and a noun in this phrase. The adjective is the opposite of hard.

Jack: Let’s see who can get it right!

Rich: Write your answers in the comments section on the Premier Skills English website and we’ll announce your name on next week’s show.

Jack: Right, that’s all we have time for this week. Bye for now and enjoy your football!