28: The Peak District

Easy English: Learn English with everyday conversations

Isi and Mitch recount their trip up north to The Peak District National Park. They talk about the friendliness of the people, precarious drone flying, mountains, caves and ginger shots. Easy English member James leaves us a belated Halloween tale of terror and we answer YOUR questions in our Unhelpful Advice section.

Interactive Transcript

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Show Notes

• The Peak District video: UK Travel VLOG (Easy English 170)

Transcript

Intro
Mitch:
[0:23] Good morning, Isi!

Isi:
[0:25] Good morning! So here we are.

Mitch:
[0:27] We're back.

Isi:
[0:28] A bit tired.

Mitch:
[0:30] What did you pick up, from our trip from the north? Have you brought anything back?

Isi:
[0:35] It rains a lot.

Mitch:
[0:36] No, I meant have you brought back any characteristics or personality traits from the north?

Isi:
[0:43] They're very friendly.

Mitch:
[0:44] And you've adopted that now? You've become more friendly yourself?

Isi:
[0:47] I hope I was already. They call you love even more than down here.

Mitch:
[0:53] Tell me the times you were called love and who called you love.

Isi:
[0:57] How many times I was called love? I don't know, not so many times.

Mitch:
[1:01] Supermarket?

Isi:
[1:01] Yeah, mostly in supermarkets, little stores, little pubs, and from different people, all older than me, but not much older, some. But in a very loving, caring way, not in a weird way.

Mitch:
[1:17] So for people who don't know what's happened. We recently made a week-long trip, which ended up in us visiting the Peak District, which is an area, between Manchester and Sheffield. And it's a national park. If you're interested in seeing what the Peak District looks like, it's a really beautiful area, it's crazy dramatic; rocks and cliffs and fields and heaths and caves. We didn't go in any caves but we made a road trip video getting there and driving around some of like the best things to see in the Peak District. We didn't cover it all, but if you wanted to see a video where you can join someone on a road trip, getting there and speaking absolute nonsense for a while. But there's also some really beautiful things that you captured on your phone.

Isi:
[2:09] Yeah, I think it was like, well, first, I think the best thing about this is the drone footage. If you enjoy big pictures of great nature, then that's for you. But also, we did observe and comment on everything, I guess. And that, yeah, it's like you're with us in the car, basically, seeing the difference between the South and the North. Or, as someone wrote in our comments, it's not the North yet.

Mitch:
[2:38] But we were in Derbyshire, and Derbyshire is a Midlands county, but the peaks are so big, they span across into...

Isi:
[2:46] We were directly next to Manchester. So I would say we were in the North.

Mitch:
[2:51] Yeah, we're not going to be too specific about it. We are coming from Brighton, which is the absolute South.

Isi:
[2:59] Yeah, more South, you fall in the sea.

Mitch:
[3:03] We definitely... going back to the whole lovely people thing, we definitely witnessed some Northern character traits, right?

Isi:
[3:13] Yeah, the general thing was really just that people just approached me and I didn't even have a talk with them. That was really nice. So there was a lady that just basically just said hello to me, just because we met at the bananas and then the fruit section. And she was like smiling at me, like she knew me. So it was a bit like, I was like, that's nice. So I said, hello. We said, hello. But that was it.

Mitch:
[3:40] Wow. She'd have hated me if she saw the banana choice I would have gone for, they're so green! What are you doing?

Isi:
[3:47] Yeah. It was really nice. I asked someone for, like someone working there for something and they were so determined to help me. It was really nice. Are people in the North friendlier and then in the South? I think down here in Brighton, but Brighton might be a little bubble itself. People are super friendly, but that person was really determined to help me. I think she was really happy that I approached her actually. I asked actually, for ginger shots, because at home we, every day, prepare turmeric ginger shots for ourselves, for health, which it's not alcohol. It's a shot of a lot of healthy things. And because we couldn't do that on tour, I asked, because in supermarkets sometimes they sell those super overpriced, little shots. But as I was getting ill, I was like, we need those. I think for a long time while she was discussing it with me where to find it, she thought it's alcohol. I think she presumed, because I asked for it that it's something really cool that you have to have. Like everybody knows it, because I so normally ask for it. And so she was like, yeah, yeah, ginger shots. Mm, where could we have them? Yeah, and then she was like, oh, you know what? I don't think we have them. And then, wait, she then said, do you mean? She said a random alcohol, like completely something weird, like rum or so. I mean, ginger, rum works. And then I was like, oh no, it's not alcohol. She was like, oh, you said shot. That was really nice. So nice encounters, yeah.

Mitch:
[5:21] Oh, cute.

Isi:
[5:22] She heard my German accent and was like, of course they want their schnapps, their shots.

Mitch:
[5:27] Oh, yeah. The German is here. I was trying to think if I had an encounter, but...

Isi:
[5:32] You didn't talk to people, did you?

Mitch:
[5:34] I didn't, I avoided people, there was actually one time when we bumped into this woman and we basically just asked her where the dog park is. And she... she did that thing that people do who forget that Google Maps exists, so was like; right what you do, right, is you go straight up this road and you look for the left, you come to a roundabout There's five exits, take the third one, third exit past the church on your right and when you come to an old dustbin, make sure you go before the dustbin, not after.

Isi:
[6:01] She even, already told us everything we could see which would be the wrong way. It's like, you cannot even remember that. If you see the field with the five horses... she actually said something, this is no joke, on the right, then you did, you did take the wrong turn and then it's wrong. (If you see an old willow tree, you're f**ked.) Then she said... she asked, if we are from there, is that a compliment?

Mitch:
[6:26] Are you local?

Isi:
[6:27] Why would we then ask? Anyway, then she asked how long we stay. It's a lot of questions. And we had it also another time, we asked for, one morning, no coffee was open in that village. And she was like, yeah, Monday, Tuesday, everything is closed. And we're like, okay. But then she told us about all the cafes in the villages nearby. So, long talk about that as well. But it's actually, is that an English thing though? You had a very funny call at the weekend, trying to get our internet back. And the person on the phone, you were just telling your problem and she was searching for something and she was like; so any plans for the weekend? And you were so confused, I heard you from the other room. And you were like, what do you mean, you want to know my plans for the weekend? And she was like, yes. And you were like, fixing my internet. Very German, by the way.

Mitch:
[7:21] That's never happened before. She was, as I was trying to again fix the internet, while she's sort of waiting to find a result, yeah, she was like, so what are you up to this weekend, any nice plans? I was like, what?! I didn't know you, who are you?! Fixing my internet, it was quite a dry response. And then what was your favourite thing you saw from the Peak District? What was the best sight? What was your favourite thing that we did?

Isi:
[7:49] Snake Pass, for sure.

Mitch:
[7:51] Yeah.

Isi:
[7:52] Yeah. Although Winnat's Pass is also really impressive, but it's such a small area. Snake Pass, being up there, on that road, that takes quite some time. And it's just, I love those... I love nature that is a bit like a moon area. There's like no tree, no bushes, no nothing, just like vast land. It was high.

Mitch:
[8:15] Yeah, your ears are popping and the clouds are...

Isi:
[8:17] You're basically in the clouds. We had bad weather when we were filming up there, but it was in the end, I think, really good, because it was so atmospheric, so melancholic, really, really nice. For the drone, I mean, it wasn't easy to operate the drone, I guess? Because it was, I mean, you did it, but it was really, really windy and rain, but the pictures are gorgeous.

Mitch:
[8:39] Yeah, the drone was... I kept getting a message saying the wind is too high, and you could see the drone was struggling to...

Isi:
[8:49] Don't worry, there was no one, so it's not...

Mitch:
[8:52] Yeah, no sheep were harmed in the filming.

Isi:
[8:54] No, but it was not in that sense and we didn't go over streets or so, so in that sense it was not dangerous for anyone, it was just dangerous for our drone, to not come back, ever.

Mitch:
[9:05] You have to remember before you fly the drone you can set a 'home point' and I always forget to do it I would say automatically assigns one. (Oh god.) And so, every so often I'd lose connection to the drone, 'cos it was so windy and then the drone automatically goes to a homing point And a lot of the one of them was in the lake. (No.) yeah, that's when I started running away. I didn't want to say

Isi:
[9:31] Can I drone swim? (Can our drone swim?) Yeah. (It can only do breaststroke.) Can it get a little like swimming...

Mitch:
[9:38] Imagine, little flippers.

Isi:
[9:41] Flippers. Like, oh, now I'm swimming.

Mitch:
[9:43] That'd be cool actually, if it'd go underwater.

Isi:
[9:45] What was your favourite?

Mitch:
[9:47] To be honest, mine is a bit of a cheat, but kind of not, because I actually like Winnat's Pass. Winnat's Pass is this... you have to watch the video, which we'll tag in the description to this podcast. A pass is like, a way through a mountain, that people have sort of carved out, or it's a natural development where a river maybe was once running through it, and now they've run a road through this incredibly, cascading, mountainous area, and there's like, bare rocks that I think are just constantly falling, at points. And, this is beautiful, but then the amazing thing is, at one point in history, they built up a town called Castleton, Castle Town, I guess it used to be called. That's a really beautiful area and it sits at the base of Winnat's Pass.
In that one area there's loads to see like there's Winnat's Pass in the background you can drive up but then in Castleton there's like loads of old little pubs, we've been there once before and then also, near that there's a couple of caves you can go into. One of which I know is called the Devil's Arse, which I went in once and it's really cool. Also, right... just next to the Devil's Arse there's one called Speedwell Cavern, where you can actually get in a boat, in this old mining cave and you get taken along in this little boat and you have to wear a helmet, because you'll keep banging your head on the ceiling.

Isi:
[11:14] That sounds amazing.

Mitch:
[11:16] Yeah, it's not for the faint of hearted. You might need a Scottish whiskey before you attempt it. But yeah, definitely watch the video because, it's a bit of a different format that we're used to and that you're probably used to if you're an Easy English peep.

Isi:
[11:31] We really enjoyed filming it.

Mitch:
[11:33] Yeah.

Isi:
[11:33] We're very happy about it and we would love to know what you think about it.

Mitch:
[11:37] Yeah, there's something quite... if you're into it, please let us know in any comments you can leave, or give this podcast a review, to let us know that you like those kind of videos, because we'd like to make more of them because it's nice to kind of do a bit of... you know, we know you guys are coming to learn some English, but also you probably want to see some cultural things and that was I hope a good mixture of us chit -chatting in the car and then, you know, showing the sights of an amazing part of England. If you're looking to improve your English, then why don't you improve your English with us? If you're a podcast listener, you can get some extra bits for the podcast by becoming an Easy English member at easyenglish.video/membership. We offer a thing called the Interactive Transcript which is a clever bit of technology that we have, which allows you to listen like you are now to the podcast, but also, have in your hand, on your phone, on your laptop, a running live-time transcript of this podcast, which you're able to selectively choose a language of your choice, that you'd like to be translated into, the podcast will then track along, with every word we say in English and translate it into your common language. Another benefit of becoming an Easy English Podcast Member is you'll be able to get your hands on the Aftershow which is where the podcast for the public ends, the podcast for our members begins and you'll get to hear some Easy English insights, some gossip, latest news and some updates on what myself and Isi will be getting up to with Easy English in the future. If you want to become an Easy English member then go to easyenglish.video/membership and become either a podcast member or check out some of our other perks you can get your hands on. Back to the episode!

Unhelpful Advice
Isi:
[13:36] Now we actually have to go back a bit to Halloween, I think, because we got a message.

Mitch:
[13:42] We asked you on the last podcast if you have any tales of terror.

Isi:
[13:49] Scary stories.

Mitch:
[13:50] One of our members of Easy English; James, has left us an audio message. If you also want to leave us an audio message, we do a section called Unhelpful Advice, where people can just ask us a random question. I always say it, do you want us to name your pet? Do you have any DIY problems? Are you looking to move to England? Are you struggling with as part of the English language? Is there something in the podcast you're hearing which you'd like us to explain? Then you can just drop us a message by going to easyenglish.fm, and you can leave us a voice message there. Ask us anything, and we will be as unhelpful as possible. So anyway, here is an audio message from James; "Hey guys, I have a very scary true story for you. I don't know if you're already familiar with it, but it's about Elisa Lam, who was this Canadian-Chinese tourist who went missing back in 2013 in Los Angeles. She was in the Cecil Hotel, a hotel that was well known for very spooky going on, spooky goings-on and I believe Ricardo Ramirez, the night staff, is still there. But yeah, she went missing there. Nine days later, her body turned up, which is where things get really weird. There's CCTV footage you can watch of her in the lift, freaking out, gesticulating wildly at this unknown thing, unseen thing, because of the way camera is positioned, so she's really freaking out and you don't know what she's freaking out is, but she's getting very distressed, panicking loads. And like, nine days later and I think yeah I think that's the last time anybody ever saw her and nine days later, the residents of the hotel kept complaining that the water, was black and it tasted bad and the water pressure was funny. And, when they went to investigate, they found Elisa Lam's naked body in the water cooler, at the top of the hotel. She had drowned."

Isi:
[16:00] Ugh.

Mitch:
[16:02] Can we play that message?

Isi:
[16:04] Oh god, that's horrible.

Mitch:
[16:05] Is that real?

Isi:
[16:06] I hope no kids are listening to this.

Mitch:
[16:08] Jesus.

Isi:
[16:10] Oh wait, there was no one ever found, so she was just panicking, is that right what I understood there? She was panicking in the lift.

Mitch:
[16:16] In the lift. Should we watch the CCTV footage?

Isi:
[16:19] No.

Mitch:
[16:20] No?

Isi:
[16:21] No.

Mitch:
[16:21] Can I watch it? Should I describe what's going on?

Isi:
[16:25] Do you see it now?

Mitch:
[16:26] Oh, it's already creepy. It's grainy footage. She's pressing all the - she literally pressed all the buttons in the lift. Is this real? The lift isn't moving. She's now getting out of the lift.Oh, she's like looking at someone like - oh wow. She like, quickly jolted forward and looked left and right. Now she's hiding behind the door of the lift, like someone's coming. The lift door still hasn't closed because she's pressed all the buttons. Oh this is creepy. She keeps on sort of going backwards and forwards in and out of the lift door. She's sort of like strafed out of sight of the lift. Now she's going back in again. She's pressing all the buttons again. Now she's leaving and she's like stroking something, in the air and doing like, hand gestures. (Okay.) And that's it.

Isi:
[17:21] I guess it's a crime scene and not a Halloween story. Maybe she saw a murder happening in the hallway.

Mitch:
[17:30] Oh, maybe.

Isi:
[17:30] And she wanted to get back into it, and then she was killed because she saw it. That's my interpretation of the whole thing.

Mitch:
[17:38] Ever since Netflix started making these crime documentaries, all these things creep the hell out of me. People are a little bit too used to seeing these weird things.

Isi:
[17:47] This is my... I don't know how we edit this later, but this is my... this is my thing. If we, if we don't put your story in James, and I say it now, this was too much for the podcast. Thank you for the story, but we can't play this. We don't want to scare people, completely. Your piano story was definitely milder. Okay. Thank you, James, for sharing. So we asked on Instagram in the story for podcast questions and we got some and one would like us to answer today.

Mitch:
[18:18] We have one from someone called David, and David wanted to know; what do Brits know of neighbour languages, Welsh, Gaelic, Cornish, etc?

Isi:
[18:32] That's for you to answer.

Mitch:
[18:34] It's a simple answer. We know nothing about them.

Isi:
[18:40] That's not true. Well, I think it... I mean, I would say it depends on if you live in that region, right?

Mitch:
[18:47] Yeah, I mean, obviously Welsh people are British, Cornish people are also British, Gaelic; yeah, here and there.

Isi:
[18:59] Where's Gaelic? There's different Gaelic's, right?

Mitch:
[19:03] If you type in Gaelic, here we go, is Gaelic Scottish or Irish? The term Gaelic as a language applies only to the language of Scotland.

Isi:
[19:12] Oh, okay. Really?

Mitch:
[19:14] If you're not in Ireland, it's permissible to refer to the language as Irish Gaelic, to differentiate it from Scottish Gaelic.

Isi:
[19:23] So you can call it Irish Gaelic?

Mitch:
[19:25] Depending on where you are, I think. If you're in Scotland, you'd call it Irish Gaelic. If you're in Ireland, you'd call it Scottish Gaelic.

Isi:
[19:31] I once started learning Irish Gaelic.

Mitch:
[19:33] Okay, that's what I'm aware of more than Scottish Gaelic, I think.

Isi:
[19:38] And, what is Welsh then?

Mitch:
[19:40] Welsh is just craziness. It's just...

Isi:
[19:42] No, is it Gaelic though as well? No, then?

Mitch:
[19:45] Welsh is just consonants and no vowels. Do you want me to tell you how to say good morning in Scottish Gaelic?

Isi:
[19:51] Yes, please.

Mitch:
[19:53] Madyn maith. Madyn maith.

Isi:
[19:58] Sounds good, doesn't it?

Mitch:
[20:00] It does. Hello is hello in Welsh.

Isi:
[20:07] Is it in Wales as well? I haven't been to Wales. Are there street signs in Welsh? Probably.

Mitch:
[20:12] Yeah, yeah, in Wales also they do English and Welsh. Here's a nice one in Welsh. Yaki da.

Isi:
[20:18] What does that mean?

Mitch:
[20:20] It's like saying cheers. Yaki da. I'm sure if you go on YouTube you'll find ways to hear all these different dialects and languages, but luckily for you, Easy Languages has such an expansive network, that we even have an Easy Welsh team (We have Easy Welsh.) who don't produce very frequently, but it's definitely worth checking out their content. So give them a search.

Isi:
[20:42] If you are listening and you know Scottish Gaelic or Irish Gaelic, that would be really, really nice, that we could talk to you. Maybe we have you as a guest on the podcast, if you have some recording equipment, just write to us. We want to know.

Mitch:
[20:58] That's a great idea.

Isi:
[20:59] At [e-mail].

Mitch:
[21:01] Fantastic.

Isi:
[21:01] Please send us an email and that would be really, really cool to talk to you. Maybe even if we are around at one point, make a video. I think that's it for today. Thanks for the question. Very interesting.

Mitch:
[21:12] Yeah, check out the video from the Peak District and let us know what you think. And other than that, we'll see you in a couple of weeks. (Te-ra.) Te-ra.

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