BBC learning English
Word on the street: History
Transcript
"Ashlie and Stephen take Tristan and his friend Jay Marie on a bus tour of London. Who is the better tour guide?"
Ashlie: What’s the time? She should be here by now.
Stephen: It’s five past nine. She’ll be here in a minute.
Ashlie: We’re at Paddington Station with our friend Tristan.
Tristan: Hi.
Ashlie: And we’re waiting for Tristan’s friend Jay Marie to arrive from the airport. She’s just flown in from the States.
Tristan: Here she is! Hi, Jay Marie!
Jay Marie: Hi!
Tristan: Stephen, Ashlie, this is Jay Marie.
Stephen: Hello.
Jay Marie: Hi! I’ve heard so much about you guys. It’s great to meet you. It’s so awesome to be in London.
Ashlie: Ah, great. So are you guys ready for some sightseeing?
Jay Marie: Sure. Sounds cool.
Stephen: OK – let’s drop off your bags, and we’re ready to go.
Jay Marie: Cool!
Ashlie: OK, guys. So we’re going to take a double-decker tour around the city.
Jay Marie: A what?
Ashlie: A double-decker. You know, a bus with two floors. It should be here any minute now.
Stephen: Ah!
Jay Marie: Oh! Oh no, Stephen! I’m so sorry. All over your pants.
Stephen: My pants? No, no, no. It just went on my trousers. I’m fine.
Ashlie: Oh, look. I think that must be our bus coming.
Jay Marie: The one without a roof?
Ashlie: Yeah, so we can see more.
Jay Marie: Oh, great!
Stephen: Come on, let’s jump on.
Tour Guide: All aboard!
Tour Guide: Ladies and gentlemen, to your left is St Paul’s Cathedral...
Jay Marie: I didn’t catch any of that. What did he say?
Tristan: I think he’s talking about that building over there.
Tour Guide: It was on this site that the original St Paul’s was destroyed...
Jay Marie: No. I didn’t get a single word of that.
Stephen: Look, tell you what. I’ve got my guide book here. Why don’t I take over as your personal guide?
Jay Marie: Well, OK!
Stephen: OK, let’s see. Piccadilly Circus. Did you know that Piccadilly Circus was built in 1819 to connect Regent Street and the major shopping street of Piccadilly? The fountain with its famous statue of the Greek god Eros was added in 1893. Piccadilly Circus...
Ashlie: Oh Stephen, that is so boring! Listen, I’ve just looked it up on my phone and here is an interesting fact for you. Did you know that British people say, ‘It’s like Piccadilly Circus’ to mean that somewhere is busy and crowded and full of people?
Jay Marie: Really?
Stephen: Err, Ashlie. I’ve got the guide book. A book for guides!
Ashlie: Whatever, Stephen.
Stephen: Did you know that Tower Bridge was built between 1886 and...
Ashlie: And you know that song ‘London Bridge is falling down, falling down’? Well, most people think it’s about this bridge, but actually it’s about another bridge.
Stephen: And it was painted blue to match the colour of the Queen’s eyes.
Trafalgar Square. Did you know the column is 51.5 metres tall from the ground to the tip of the Admiral's hat? It was built between 1840…
Ashlie: Did you know that one of the statues in the Square changes once a year to a new piece of art? At the moment, it’s that big blue one over there.
Stephen: All right. That’s it! Give me that phone.
Ashlie: Give me that book!
Stephen: Jay Marie! Jay Marie! Who do you want to be your guide? Me with my expert guide book or Ashlie with her stupid internet facts?
Jay Marie: Huh? Well I was just listening to the audio tour. Sorry guys!
Stephen: What? Jay Marie!
"Ashlie and Jay Marie have afternoon tea and Stephen and Tristan take a tour of Elizabeth Tower and listen to a famous bell."
Ashlie: OK. So, what time is it?
Stephen: I don’t know. I don’t have a watch.
Tristan: Ah. It’s almost one o’clock.
Stephen: OK, here’s the plan. Ashlie and Jay Marie, you two are going to go and have afternoon tea. And Tristan, why don’t you and I go up Big Ben?
Tristan: Err, Stephen I don’t think you just ‘go up’ Big Ben.
Stephen: You can if you’ve booked.
Tristan: Brilliant! I’ve always wanted to go up there!
Stephen: OK. And we’ll meet back here later.
Ashlie: Have a good time!
Jay Marie: See you guys! Bye!
Stephen: Bye!
Wow! I can’t wait for this… Wow! Come on, I’ll race you. 31, 32, 33, 34. 35, 36...
98, 99, 100. This is harder than I thought. You all right, Tristan?
Tristan: Stephen! I’m up here! Hurry up, slow coach!
Jay Marie: Oh, this is lovely, Ashlie! I’ve always wanted a traditional English afternoon tea.
Ashlie: Yes, it’s nice, isn’t it? Though we don’t do it every day.
Jay Marie: Really? I thought afternoon tea was a meal for you. Breakfast, lunch, tea?
Ashlie: Well, actually, it’s a bit confusing. Some people call ‘lunch’ ‘dinner’ and ‘dinner’ ‘tea’ but not like afternoon tea like this. And then of course, there’s the tea that you drink.
Jay Marie: Hmm. You’ll have to explain it to me later. This looks delicious.
Stephen: Wow! Look, you can see all the clock faces.
Guide: So here we are now in the clock room. This is called the chime train. It governs the four chime bells, which play the Westminster chimes. We all know the tune: ding dong ding dong. You’re all familiar with that. Well, that’s what’s going to play now.
So here we are. The bells themselves. And that bell there is Big Ben himself.
Tristan: I thought the tower was called Big Ben?
Guide: No, it’s just the name of the bell.
Stephen: Yes, in fact the tower is called the Elizabeth Tower.
Guide: That’s right. And watch out, guys, the bells are going to ring any second now.
Ashlie: Hey, wow! It’s already three o’clock. I bet it’s loud where Stephen is. Let me call him.
Stephen: Hello, Ashlie. I can’t hear you. It’s really loud up here. Oh, that was cool. Can you hear the bells from where you are?
Ashlie: Err, no. Are you having fun?
Stephen: Yeah, the stairs were really hard work but it’s really interesting from up here. Oh, the tour’s moving on. See you later.
Ashlie: OK, Bye… Bye.
Jay Marie: More sandwiches?
Ashlie: Oh, go on then.
Tristan: Stephen, we’re running out of time. We need to head off and meet the girls.
Stephen: OK. Wait a second. There’s just one thing I’ve always wanted to do.
Jay Marie: You guys are so lucky to be living in London. So many beautiful buildings to see.
Ashlie: Yeah, we love it here. I just wish we had more time to enjoy the city, instead of working all the time.
Ashlie: I wonder how Stephen and Tristan are getting on? They should be down by now.
Jay Marie: Hey, Ashlie! What’s that?
Ashlie: Hmm – I'm not sure. Stephen?!
Stephen: Ashlie!!!
"Amandeep travels 400 years back in time to find out about the English Civil War. She finds out how the war was fought – and who won it!"
Amandeep: The English countryside: a great place to find peace and quiet… somewhere to enjoy the scenery… and enjoy nature and fresh air… and famous also for the dramatic battles of the past.
Herald: By the grace of God, King of England, Scotland, I call on all you people of Corfe Castle to send into this garrison now all your weapons.
Soldiers: God save the King!
Amandeep: This is Corfe Castle in the south of England, where today people are turning back the clock by more than 350 years to the time of the English Civil War.
The English Civil War was the last war to be fought on English soil. King Charles I was fighting for his throne. His supporters were called the Royalists. They were fighting against the Parliamentarians, who didn’t want the King to be in charge. And who won? Well, keep watching to find out! But why do these members of the English Civil War Society come here?
Society Member 1: Meeting up with old friends, having a good time and visiting places that probably I wouldn’t go to normally.
Society Member 2: Bringing history alive for the general public.
Society Member 3: Well, I come as part of a family. We’ve got three young children and they love the whole atmosphere.
Amandeep: I got the chance to go into the Royalist camp. Stephen Burden plays the part of a Royalist officer.
Stephen, tell me a little bit about what you’re wearing today.
Stephen: My clothes show that I’m a gentleman because they’re very high-status. I wear gloves to protect my hands and I’m also carrying many weapons. I’ve got my sword here, I have my pistol and if all else fails I have a dagger to finish people off with. And also we have various things, as you can see in here, including real coins of the period. Do have a look at one. Congratulations! This person takes the King’s shilling! We have a new recruit!
Sergeant, take this person, take them and get some decent clothes on them. We’re going to make a soldier out of them.
Sergeant: Make way for the new recruit! Make way!
Amandeep: And now I feel like I really have stepped back in time.
The Battle of Corfe Castle was a real event which took place here over three centuries ago. Time for me to join the action!
The muskets use real gunpowder and are incredibly loud. Eventually, the castle falls to the control of the Parliamentarians.
That was so much fun, being involved actually in the action! Our side was beaten, but, boy, was that a really good experience!
Remember I said I’ll tell you what happened in the English Civil War? The Royalists lost the war and the King lost his head… literally. Eleven years later, his son regained the throne and Britain has had a royal family ever since. When you look, history is all around us.