
One British Man
One British Man is a weekly English language podcast created by Lee Passmore, a father, a singer-songwriter and a native English tutor from Devon, England. It's a lighthearted comedy podcast aimed at intermediate/advanced English learners and anyone with an interest in British English. Lee focuses on everyday English conversation, providing easy-listening episodes which are split into two parts; topic discussions and language learning. If you are looking for a fun and natural way to learn vocabulary, idioms, expressions, slang and dialects then Bob's your uncle!
One British Man
Life In Finland | Escape The Darkness
I've found my home for life in Finland – it's a beautiful country with wonderful people. However, it can take some time to integrate, and the first few years can be really tough – especially with 4 hours of daylight and minus 30 degrees temperatures.
Part 1 - The Story (0:00)
Part 2 - Learn English (9:15)
Today's words:
doddle
decent
damp
damp squib
give/offer one's two cent
world of difference
lift someone up
roll one's eyes
ENGLISH LEARNERS
You can book one to one English conversation lessons at onebritishman.com or https://preply.com/en/tutor/88021/ where we'll customise the lessons so that everything you learn is motivating, relevant to you your life, and enjoyable - we have to enjoy it!
VOICEOVERS AND CREATIVE WRITING
Contact me if you'd like me to provide voice-overs, presentations, scripts or written support on your corporate audio and video content. Connect with me on Linkedin or onebritishman.com
PROOFREADING AND COPY EDITING
You can contact me via my website if you have content, study papers, or any other texts that you want me to review, correct and offer suggestions on.
INSTAGRAM
@onebritishman
START A PODCAST
Use this link to create your own podcast on Buzzsprout, it's easy!
https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1660246
If you appreciate this podcast - please go to buymeacoffee.com/onebritishman
I like coffee and I bloody need it during the editing.
Give this podcast a rating, a review and share it with your friends and family.
One, two, three.
SPEAKER_01:Hello and welcome to another episode and learning naturally at the same time. And that's what we're doing here. Creative ideas, stories, sharing some curious thoughts and learning English with context and with some emotion. Today we're talking about Finland and how to survive these long, dark and cold winters. For the locals, it's the norm. But if you've moved here and you're about to experience your first winter, it can be a real challenge. This will be my seventh winter Maybe eighth, actually. I've lost count. So I thought I'd share some ideas, some advice, and some insights into what can be expected at this time of year in this part of the world. Stick around for part two, where we'll analyse the language used, picking out those native expressions so that you can start using them too. Before we go there, I just want to let you know a little bit about my everyday work and what I'm doing to help people improve their English. Maybe I could help you too. I'm teaching one-to-one English online to English learners who are tired of learning in the school lesson, more traditional way. I'm using natural conversation and we're analysing the language together to improve any mistakes, expand the language and speak more like a native. The lesson topics depend on you as a student, if you need English to host meetings at work, then we'll focus on this. If you want to discuss the meaning of life, then that's exactly what we'll do. You're in charge, it's your time, it's your space, and it's your money, and the language learning will fit around your life. I'm always keen to meet new and interesting people who are motivated to learn English, so head on over to onebritishman.com and drop me a line.
UNKNOWN:MUSIC
SPEAKER_01:Okay, grab your jacket and your hat and your gloves and your scarf and your woolly socks and your long johns and your snow boots and let's finally step into the frozen tundra, also known as Finland. I arrived in Finland at the end of 2017, which meant the first six months of my life in Finland were a doddle. Summers are great here with a lot of sunshine and a lot of nature. But as the summer drew to a close, I could hear Ned Stark's voice getting louder and louder. Winter is coming. That was a little Game of Thrones reference there for all you nerds. Now remember, I'm British. That means I don't know how to dress for weather. I'm from an island where the weather doesn't really care about your plans and it will do whatever it wants to do whenever it wants to do it. In the end, you just give up and wear shorts and flip-flops all year round. Now, I wasn't fully prepared for the first taste of a Finnish winter. I had some warm clothes, but I bought it on a budget. A cheap jacket, a cheap pair of gloves, a polyester winter hat. That was a really bad idea. And I thought I would just wear more layers if I felt cold. But it didn't work. I was cold for the first two winters. That's a long time. So my first piece of advice here is invest in decent winter clothes, preferably made of 100% wool. This way you don't have to wear 10 layers and waddle around like an overweight penguin. And it's not cheap, I know that, but find a way to prioritise spending on great winter clothes. And now it's no problem in the winter. And I actually think the British winters are colder. They have a damp cold, where here in Finland it's dry and often really sunny. It's beautiful, really. I often get asked, how can you live in a place that's so cold? And I always answer in the same way. It's not the cold, it's the darkness. You can do something about the coldness, but you can't really escape the darkness. Ooh, that sounded a bit poetic, didn't it? Poetic and depressing, you can't escape the darkness. But let's talk about depression for a second, in a serious manner, because it's something that many people are dealing with here, especially those who have moved here from overseas and are still adapting to life in Finland. Anyone moving anywhere has their challenges with adapting and integrating, whether it's a new language, social and cultural differences, finding work, missing home, the list goes on. But when you add five months of darkness to the equation, it can really push people down to the depths of despair. So I'm here to offer my two cents, since I've certainly had to deal with my own issues and learn some lessons along the way. Firstly, we shouldn't undervalue the simple things. I live in a place called Ostrobothnia which is situated about halfway up Finland and even here you can get as little as four hours daylight in the midst of winter. This means you have to try and plan your schedule to really grab those few hours and make sure your body and your head is getting that vitamin D. It's true that in Finland many people actually take supplements to balance their vitamin D intake but of course it's better to get it directly from the sun if possible. If you're working all day in an office, it can be tough, but even a 30 minute walk outside in the sunlight or the daylight is going to make a world of difference. I usually make sure that I'm not teaching between these times so I can get outside during those essential hours of daylight. I remember as a kid, my parents had to drag me out whenever they suggested going for a stroll to, well, as they put it, blow the cobwebs out. For a teenager, there was nothing worse than a meaningless walk around the neighbourhood with your parents. That was my best teenager noise, by the way. It sounded more like a cow. But after living here in Finland, I fully appreciate this simple but life-restoring activity of walking outside. The next thing I want to talk about is socialization and integration, which is obviously a huge topic and also a huge challenge for many people. The simple truth is that if you lock yourself away in your apartment and you don't engage with people, you will sink into a deep, dark hole. Yes, dark outside, but it will also be dark in your head. we need community in these tough times we need to find like-minded people who can share your challenges who can lift you up when you're not feeling great we need family family is a strong word but it can mean many things if you're lucky enough to have blood family close to you then appreciate it every day but if you have moved to a new country and you can feel the loneliness creeping in it's time to go out there and find a new family If you've listened to my previous episodes, you'll know that I'm the manager of a men's football team here in Finland. And this team has helped to provide a family for many of the guys who found themselves in Finland, including me. In the winter, they're working hard to survive and trying to create a life for themselves in a foreign land. But what does a football club actually give to people? Well, it's simple really. It's a space where people are accepted and welcomed, regardless of their background, culture, nationality, race or language. And you might say, well, people are always accepted in Finnish culture and lifestyle. But that's not always true. And it's not personal enough. Even if on the whole the country provides some good support and inclusion to foreigners, people still need to feel a deeper personal connection and something that makes them feel valued, a place that makes them feel safe and people that make them feel loved. And I'll say it again, especially in the long dark winters. My advice to all foreigners will not go down as a breakthrough discovery for it's simple and easy to understand. Stick together. In hard times, we need each other. Join a book club, a sports club, a language course, anything. Just be around people who welcome you. These people are always out there, but sometimes you just got to go and find them. You may roll your eyes at this, but you know it's true. Love is all and nothing will defeat it. Go out there and find a loving community.
UNKNOWN:One, two, three.
SPEAKER_01:Let's head over to part two and pick out some less familiar words and expressions from that little story. Get your notepad and pencil out and, well, make some notes.
SPEAKER_00:One.
SPEAKER_01:Which meant the first six months of my life in Finland were a doddle. Doddle. Doddle. If you say this word over and over again, it starts to sound really strange. Watch. Doddle, doddle, doddle, doddle. Doddle. But there's no reason to do that, so don't, unless you just like the feeling of it. And I do. What a lovely word to say. Doddle. What does it mean? It's a very British word, which means something is very easily done or fixed or does not require any effort. Maybe you know the idiom, a piece of cake, something that's very easy. Well, it's kind of the same as that. We say, the exam was a doddle. It means it was very easy. Or my new job is a doddle. It's not difficult at all. Learning English is a doddle, isn't it? Two. So my first piece of advice here is invest in decent winter clothes. Decent. Decent. Sometimes there are words that are really common for native speakers, but for some reason, English learners just don't use them very often. Decent is one of those words. It's a really useful adjective that can be quite flexible in its meaning, and that's why it's useful. Let's look at the sentence I used first. If I say, I need to buy some decent winter clothes, it means the clothes should be good enough and have enough quality to keep me warm. So first, decent is used to talk about the quality of something. It doesn't mean it's the highest quality, but it's good enough. That was a decent meal. It means the food was good, not amazing, but the quality of the food was an acceptable standard. We found a decent hotel for the weekend. It was comfortable and suitable for what we needed. It wasn't luxurious and perfect, but it was pretty good. It was decent. The other way we usually use this word is to describe people. If someone is a decent guy... We are saying that he is fair or honest or kind and has good morals. So it's about someone's behaviour and character. And of course, it's a positive adjective. He's a really decent guy. He always offers to help. And finally, we can use decent to talk about size and quantity too. And again, it means a large or quite good amount of something. He earns a decent salary. It means the amount of money that he earns at work is quite good and it's a comfortable income. We made a decent profit when we sold the house. We didn't get super rich, but it was enough in a positive way. There was a decent crowd at the football match. Not a huge crowd, it wasn't full, but a positively good number of people. So you can see that this word describes things positively, but with a softer feeling. It comes in the same category as words like quite, pretty, a bit, fairly, but it's a little bit more informal, which is why I like it. Three. This way, you don't have to wear 10 layers and waddle around like an overweight penguin. Waddle. To waddle means to walk with short steps while swaying from side to side. A duck waddles, and it's because of its body shape and the heavy weight that it carries. Small children can waddle too when they're learning to walk because they haven't figured out the balance properly and their legs are not really strong enough. If you carry something heavy across the garden, you will probably end up waddling. So we had doddle and now we have waddle. I didn't plan this rhyme, honestly. And these words are not related, doddle and waddle, unless you're a penguin that finds it really easy to move around from one place to another. Then you can say, It's a doddle to waddle. But I'd just like to remind you, you're not a penguin. Four. And I actually think the British winters are colder. They have a damp cold. Damp. Damp. If something is described as damp, it means it is slightly wet or has some moisture. The best everyday example is when you've just taken your clothes out of the washing machine. They're not wet, they're damp. The air can also feel damp and of course we're talking about the humidity or the moisture in the air. There's a really nice idiom related to this. The idiom is a damp squib. A damp squib, it refers to something that fails to meet your expectations or an event that was disappointing, it failed in some way. In a sentence we could say the concert was a damp squib. Now it means that The concept was not as exciting or not as successful as you thought it would be. A squib is a small firework or firecracker, which of course is really exciting and full of energy. But if the squib is damp, it means it's a little bit wet and you can't light the firework, which means it's a failure and it won't be very exciting at all. I hope this podcast doesn't turn out to be a damp squib. Five. So I'm here to offer my two cents. To give one's two cents on something. To give one's two cents on something. If you give your two cents on something, you give your opinion on it, but not really a strong opinion or an important opinion. It's more of a casual opinion in a discussion. Imagine when you're with a group of friends. Imagine that you're with a group of friends who are discussing politics. That's a bit boring, isn't it? Maybe you should get some new friends. No, so they're discussing politics and you're listening and then you have something that you want to say. You just want to share your point of view on whatever they're talking about. You could say, do you mind if I give my two cents on this? And it's nice to ask politely. Do you mind if I say what I think or do you mind if I share my opinion to give one's two cents on something? Six. But even a 30-minute walk outside in the sunlight or the daylight is going to make a world of difference. A world of difference. A world of difference. If something makes a difference, then it has an effect on something or a change or an improvement. And if it makes a world of difference, it makes a big change or improvement. Just think about it. A world. A world is big, isn't it? A world of difference. I'll give you an example. Getting enough sleep makes a world of difference to my energy levels. A little kindness can make a world of difference to someone's day. Seven. We need to find like-minded people who can share your challenges, who can lift you up when you're not feeling great. To lift someone up. To lift someone up. Now, like many expressions, you can find a literal or physical meaning and a figurative meaning used more as an expression. So if I physically lift someone up, I would lift someone off the ground with my super strong muscles, which I don't have. So obviously I wasn't talking about this. I meant to lift someone up emotionally. If you lift someone up, you encourage them or you inspire them or motivate them, or sometimes you just support them. I usually take this expression a step further and talk about it from an energy, mood or spiritual way. You're feeling down, you're feeling a bit sad, you're and someone lifts you up, or they lift your spirits by giving you some positive energy. The opposite would be to drag someone down, but we're not going to do that, are we? We're going to lift people up. Eight, you may roll your eyes at this, but you know it's true. To roll one's eyes, to roll one's eyes. If someone rolls their eyes at you, They move both their eyes upwards because they are annoyed by you or can't believe what you've just done or said. It's a non-verbal expression which shows a negative reaction. So it's like silently saying, why have you done that now? You could say, I rolled my eyes as my dad told another terrible joke. Happens a lot, you know. My dad jokes are getting worse and worse and there's a lot of eye rolling going on.
UNKNOWN:music music
SPEAKER_01:Thanks for listening to this episode. I hope you entertained and I hope I helped to expand your English just a little bit further. Remember, it's not only about memorising. We've got to add context and emotions to the language and we have to apply it. Then it gets stuck in your head and you can use it forever. The next task is for you. Apply these words to your next conversations. Start using them either in lessons with me or just in your everyday life. But make the effort, yeah. I'll see you next time. on another amazing episode of the One British Man podcast.
SPEAKER_00:Goodbye. Black and white, what about all the colours? You can go anywhere you want to go I'll just sit right here and watch the flowers grow You might think that everything has an ending Disagree cause I can see the world still spinning around me.