MOTHERS' DAY - LIVE ENGLISH - 11th March 2018 - Poems for mum - Mother Idioms

So mr. Steve you are about to go off to your mother's any final words before you

leave yes wish me luck anyway mr. Duncan I'm only joking

my mother might watch this later ha I'm off to see my mother yes have a

wonderful live show I won't be there of course I will be there in recorded mode

that sounds very good now can you say it's just after 2 o'clock here in the UK

and this is live English you've just said it it's just after 2 o'clock here

in the UK and it's live English with mr. Duncan

doobie doobie doobie Doo oh my goodness well here I am eventually I've made it

here in one piece just about hi everybody its mr. Duncan in England how

are you today are you okay I hope so are you happy I really really hope so

here we go again oh my goodness I don't know where to

begin I don't know where to start it has been

absolutely crazy here today this is what happens when mr. Steve disappears

everything falls to pieces it's almost as if we need mr. Steve here to keep

everything together but sadly sadly everything went wrong today most of the

things that went wrong weren't my fault thank goodness but I did have some

problems with the technology but not here the electricity kept going off this

morning so we had a couple of power cuts this morning the electricity kept going

off which caused a few problems with the computer so because of the power cuts

which I have no control over unfortunately everything went a little

bit wrong that's all I'm saying for now because we are here and that's all that

matters so it's Mother's Day today hello to

mothers everywhere around the world now I know what you're going to say before

you say it you are going to say mr. Duncan in my country we don't have

Mother's Day today so it is Mother's Day it's Mothering Sunday here in the UK but

I thought it would be nice today to do something for all mothers around the

world for every mother watching so I thought today we would do something

special I will give you a chance to say hello

to your mother live on YouTube does that sound like a good idea so let's see if

we can get the live chat working because not much else has been working today so

let's see if we can get the live chat working come on live chat where are you

let's see if we can get it working well that that looks all right but I think it

needs to be a bit larger that doesn't look very good does it let's let's try

and get that a little larger yes there we go

oh yes that looks good I like that yes that's quite nice so yes we have the

live chat everyone thank goodness things have gone a little bit crazy here today

we had a couple of power cuts earlier the electricity went off can you believe

it so there it is hooray yes we have the live chat everyone thank you for joining

me today lots of people already here hello to

Farda also hello to Christina and TAS Mohammed is here as well

fard says mother's day is on a different day it is on the 8th of March but not

today now I think you mean the 3rd of August

so do you mean the 3rd of August or do you mean the 8th of March because if you

get those numbers the wrong way round you end up with a completely different

date so lots of people here on the live chat oh my goodness what a crazy day it

has been so far so it wasn't my fault the reason why I'm late today is because

we had a power cut the the electricity kept going off this morning and

unfortunately it did affect the computer and that's the reason why I am here late

now but I hope you can hear me ok I hope you can see me ok I hope everything is

coming through of course when you lose the electricity it also affects the

connection to the Internet as well so I really do

hope I'm keeping my fingers crossed that everything is alright with the

connection as well so let's get on because we've got lots of things to do

it is a slightly shorter livestream today I will be here for just one and a

half hours there is Matt no mr. Steve today sadly no mr. Steve but we will

have him a little bit later on with some special things that he recorded for us

last night but of course the first question must be what was the view like

this morning so there it is a very murky a very misty and damp Sunday morning

here in the UK so there it is a very misty day we had snow last week and now

the snow has gone the snow has disappeared and just to show that the

snow has gone there is the last snow of spring there it is the last snow of this

spring and that is all that is left of all of the snow that fell last week just

just that little patch of snow that is all that's left the last snow of spring

so spring is definitely on the way and as if we needed reminding oh yes

yesterday I noticed when I went for my meal in Much Wenlock there was myself

and also mr. Steve I noticed on the table where I was sitting there were

some lovely daffodils yes so there is a sign that spring is definitely on the

way you can see that springtime is approaching and there it is a hint of

spring hint when we say hint we mean a slight said

something that is a beautiful subtle sign of something happening so there it

is a hint of spring with some lovely daffodils and we will be looking at some

more flowers later on because of course it is Mother's Day today if you want to

say hello to your mother today you will have a super chance to say so later on

because the live chat is up and running here it is again for those who want to

say hello Pedro is here in Brazil we celebrate Mother's Day

which is always the second Sunday of May so Pedro will be celebrating Mother's

Day in May hello mr. Duncan happy to see you

Thank You Joseph --ax nice to see you again Prasad is here hello to you as

well Agnes and also Ladell mr. Duncan in in Italy Mother's Day is in May so it

would appear that a lot of people are celebrating Mother's Day later in the

year but today here in the UK it is Mothering Sunday yes spring is just

around the corner oh I don't know about you but springtime seems to have taken

forever to arrive this year I don't know why it feels as if we've had a very long

winter this year I don't know where you are but where I am it's been a very long

winter what is the photo behind you I think it is you with your mother yes

Leonard you are right if you look closely you can see that there is a

photograph of me with my mum so there she is there's my mother as a way of

celebrating Mother's Day today so can you see that I've given up my

Mother's Day today I could have been going to see my mother today but instead

I stayed here to broadcast live to you on this Sunday afternoon so can I say

hello to my mum I will see you very soon don't worry I haven't forgotten about

you and of course I did send a lovely Mother's Day card to my mother as well

and inside the card I put this photograph so this photograph is

actually inside the card that I sent to my mother so there it is a lovely

photograph this picture was taken many years ago way back in 1991 it's true and

there is my mother and myself having a lovely day out so thanks for joining me

I'm sorry that I'm a little late today it's unfortunate that hours late but I

can't help it really so let's get straight into the business which is

talking in English I hope you have had a good week and I hope you have had a good

weekend I hope it's all gone well mystery idioms would you like to have a

look at today's mystery idioms because last week we ran out of time so this

week I'm going to make sure that we don't run out of time here are today's

mystery idioms here comes the first one right now today's first mystery idiom

can you see it so there it is it is a well-known phrase and a well-known

expression it is something that we use in English

so the clue is in the picture and also the text underneath so there it is and

the second mystery idiom there it is so these are well-known expressions in

English the answers coming later on and there is the first one again but what is

it what are today's mystery idioms if you

think you know the answers let me know and of course I will reveal the answers

later on sadly there is no mr. Steve but there will be some videos featuring mr.

Steve he will be with me later talking about idioms and expressions connected

to mother's I think that's quite suitable and also mr. Steve will be here

reading some lovely poetry would you like to have a poem right now from mr.

Steve okay here it comes especially for all you mothers another Mother's Day is

here bringing joy and pleasures new on this special day mother dear I want to

remember you I cannot give you costly gifts and as I've told you this before

no matter what I give to you you give back much much more I'm giving you a

pure sweet rose gathered in the early morn this rose you planted in my heart

the day that I was born in kindly loving thoughts of you and with the faith you

still impart the Rose I give to you today is the love

that's in my heart Oh wasn't that lovely a lovely Mother's Day poem from mr.

Steve he will be back later on video sadly mr. Steve is not here live today

because he has gone to see his mother so that is where he is at the moment

sitting with his mum and the rest of his family probably eating something very

nice and making me very jealous at the same time because I'm quite hungry to be

honest so we have lots of mr. Steve coming I know that there are many mr.

Steve fans watching out there now the name of the game as far as I'm concerned

is to teach English and of course I do receive lots and lots of questions from

people about the English language and here is an excerpt from one of my

special ask mr. duncan lessons what are the differences between less and lesser

this question comes from Eugene who lives in South Korea the word les is

used to show that the amount level or quantity of something is not as much as

something else it can show a desire for a certain quantity compared with before

could I have less sugar in my tea today a higher amount is more a lower amount

is less we say more or less to show that something is about right is this an

accurate description more or less lesser is used when we are making a direct

comparison between two things we compare them we highlight the lesser of the two

so lesser refers to the lower item or the smaller thing the effect of

one thing may not be as bad as the other the lesser of the two is much safer the

phrase the lesser of the two evils means that one thing is not as bad as

the other even though both the scene is wrong the opposite of lesser is greater

the opposite of less is more a nice email I have received a nice email from

Irina in Siberia who would like me to say a big hello to her students at the

school of tomorrow in the town of Santa Gorsky the school of tomorrow I think

that is a wonderful name for a school and I would like to wish all of the

students there a great new school term and good luck with your English Studies

what does the phrase swear by mean does it mean that you will say something bad

this question was sent in by Rachel who lives on the beautiful island of

Sardinia the phrase swear by means that you are trusting something for its

effect or its ability you always use that particular thing you swear by it it

is a kind of recommendation I always use this particular shampoo I swear by it

swear by is not the same as swear on swear on relates to giving a promise or

oath I swear on my mother's life that it is true having said that we can say

swear by when giving an oath in a law court for example here in England we are

made to swear on a sacred book such as the Bible or Koran before giving

evidence during a trial we will say I swear by Almighty God it serves as both

a symbolic gesture and a legally binding oath to show that you are going to be

honest I will tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but

why do you teach English this question comes from Alexandra's eonni

who lives in Brazil and is himself an English teacher first of all it is worth

mentioning that I have always been fascinated by communication of all types

be it among humans or other forms of Wildlife the word spoken verbally and

the unspoken language we all use with our bodies really do fascinate me as a

child I loved writing stories they served as an escape from my otherwise

dull childhood fantasy and imagination were mayor outlets and knowledge became

my constant pursuit what seemed strange then has enabled me to pass on all the

things I have learned knowledge is there to be shared and what better way is

there of doing this then through teaching for me it has always been a

natural transition the fondest memories of my childhood come from those who

offered words of encouragement and support through my English teacher and

my art teacher I was able to hold on to something which has stayed with me to

this very day the feeling of self-worth and purpose so why do I teach English

why do I teach it all over the years I have come to fully realize the true

value of education it is not only there to instruct it also allows those you

teach to realize their own potential it encourages them to always aim high and

never give up a good teacher will always encourage this it's that time again

here it is once again the feature to end all features the bit to end all bits the

part to end all parts the segment to end oh well you get the idea

it's clean this week's word is short and sweet the word is Li this is a noun

which expresses delight joy and happiness to be lively and joyous in

American English the word is used in glee club which means a group of people

who get together to sing a choral group a group of performers who sing short

songs together the word Glee has now become popular thanks to the US TV show

of the same name some more nice emails I have received a nice email from Vicky in

Mexico who describes my video lessons as awesome and asks if I will be making

some more idiom and slang lessons yes Vicky I'm planning to produce some more

lessons featuring both idioms and slang terms later this year so keep a lookout

for them a big thank you also to Ravine de in India who wrote to tell me how

helpful my lessons have been especially from the point of view of providing

something new each time to help build those all-important communication skills

I'm glad to hear that my lessons have proved so beneficial to you both another

fascinating idiom this is red tape it is a very useful material it also happens

to be in English idiom red tape refers to rules and regulations or procedures

connected with them this phrase is often used in a negative way to express an

over complicated procedure governments often use red tape to slow down the

speed of a decision or change law when we want to speed up the procedure then

we will try and cut through all the red tape its origin

comes from the fact that most official British government documents were

usually tied with red tape why won't you read my email out I've sent it many

times recently I have received some angry emails from students who feel

annoyed that I have not read their emails out first of all I can promise

that I read every email which is sent to me sadly I cannot reply in person due to

the amount of questions I receive each week I choose three or four questions to

answer and I try to give everyone a chance to be mentioned this has always

been my aim so if your email question is not answered this week there is still a

chance that it could be read out at a later date another thing to mention is

that if you repeatedly send the same question in to me from the same address

then your emails will most likely be sent to the junk mailbox as spam which

means I will never get to see any of them at all please send your questions

and comments just once if you have a question mark it as English question if

you just want a special hello please mark the message as special hello I love

hearing from you all as it makes my work so much more of a joy to do

do-do-do-do-do do-do-do-do-do yes it is Mother's Day today a big hello to all

the mothers watching in the UK and of course all those watching around the

world if you want to say hello to your mum today feel free it's no problem hi

from Lithuania Mother's Day is on the first Sunday of May it would appear that

Mother's Day is celebrated later in the year whereas here in the UK it is

celebrated well today so today the 11th of March 2018 it is Mother's Day mother

rings Sunday here in the UK hello from Algeria thank you very much hello from

Pakistan hello from Afghanistan lots of people around the world watching today I

noticed you have changed a lot in your appearance I think that video was made

in 2010 yes time is running out very quickly I am very aware all the time

that time goes very quickly especially as you get older the one thing you

realize as you get older is that time goes very very quickly mr. Duncan how

did you invent the characters I mean mr. Lomax how did I invent them I'm not sure

I'm not sure they just popped in my head one day I don't know how or why but well

they just they just appeared as if by magic Sergio I want to send a huge hug

and kiss to my mother who lives in another city far away from where I'm

working Thank You Sergio and a big hug and kiss for Sergio's mum Leonard is

here you are popular mr. Duncan and you are still young thank you very much for

your vote of support there greetings to your mother

greetings to Ann your mother thank you very much Belarusian thank you for

giving us such a good teacher yes my mum is very proud of me I must

say hi from Dijon oh hello hello to you and also hello to Tila Khan hello and

also to Julia could you say hello to my mother Alexandra please hello to Julia's

mother Alexandra a happy mother's day from England just for you so would you

like another poem from mr. Steve okay here is another Mother's Day poem

courtesy of the man who sadly isn't here today

he is actually visiting his own mother at this very moment so this is a

Mother's Day poem from the point of view of a boy when I was a boy when I was a

boy younger than I am today I never really understood all the things that

you would say and I didn't quite realize how much you sacrificed for me you

taught me so much and made me the man you now see but I was always aware from

the very start that you loved me so much and with all of your heart so on this

special day I wanted to make sure you knew that I appreciate all you've done

and say that I love you happy Mother's Day

isn't that lovely thank you very much mr. Steve oh look look at the view

outside at the moment it is a beautiful scene with birds feeding live this is

actually a live view at the moment outside the Sun has gone in the Sun was

out a few moments ago but it's gone in now isn't that a shame so there it is a

lovely view outside and you can hear the birds singing and the sound of nature so

there it is live outside at the moment lots of birds feeding from the bird

feeders on Mother's Day oh yes it is Mother's Day here in

England would you like to find out if there are any idioms or any phrases to

do with mothers or your mother or my mother or anyone's mother okay let's do

that right now shall we let's have a look here I think we have something here

for Mother's Day oh yes and guess who is starring guess

who stars in this bit you've guessed right it's mr. Steve so it's a Sunday

afternoon where you are and I know that many people will be missing mr. Steve

sadly mr. Steve is not with us live today but we are here now on Saturday

evening doing something very special because mr. Steve is going to join us

right now and he's going to tell us all about what he is doing today what

exactly is mr. Steve doing for this Mother's Day here he comes now

oh hello hello everybody what would I make sure I'm standing in the middle

because mr. Duncan will be annoyed yes lovely to see you all

I'm not live because I'm going to visit my mother tomorrow because it's Mother's

Day or Mothering Sunday as we can also call it so what do we tend to do on

Mother's Day well Mother's Day is really a celebration of your mother and to show

love for your mother and what I'm doing tomorrow is I'm going to travel to where

my mother lives which is about 60 miles from here and my sister's going to be

there and my sister's children so that'll be quite exciting we're going

out for a meal am i going to some mother our mother in love and say thank you mum

for being such a wonderful mum or mother after all these years and I'm going to

give of course a gift because traditionally we always give gifts to

mothers on Mother's Day now the common things of course are chocolates and

flowers and also a card you've got to send a card and I've got one here that

I'm going to be sending to my mother well I'm going to be taking it with me

tomorrow I'm not posting it because I'm going so I hope there aren't any adverse

weather conditions otherwise my mother won't receive her Mother's Day card so

there we go this says to a wonderful mum happy Mother's Day and as you can see

it's covered in flowers because mothers tend to like flowers you can't get

humorous cards mr. Duncan yesterday was going to get one for his mother which

had a monkey on the front knitting so but he decided not to get that in the

end because he thought that she might be offended but so yes to play safe and go

for something like this with flowers on you can't really go wrong and of talking

of flowers this is what I've bought from my mother

some wonderful flowers all sorts of scents and colors these were quite

expensive so I hope she appreciates the money that I've spent but it's not about

the money it's about saying to your mum here you go love you mummy you've been

so these out for you mr. Duncan they're for my mother tomorrow they smell lovely

if I would buy him flowers they smell they smell gorgeous they're very nice

your mother is very lucky that she is that's all I can say don't ask me what

the flowers are actually I've just noticed there's a lily in there and my

mother doesn't like lilies we will have to pluck the lily out because Steve's

mom doesn't like lilies the lily because it reminds her of death because you tend

to have lilies at funerals it's true there's little roses in there and

carnations I can see a carnation there I'm not sure what these other ones are

but it's beautiful I think it's very nice we got it from Much Wenlock

yesterday we're gonna carry what we walked in didn't we for our usual

Saturday meal and I thought I'd get my mum some flowers didn't realise that we

walked in takes her 20 minutes to walk in over over hills and slippery muddy

ground and I suddenly realized we had to carry these back so somebody very kindly

from the shop delivered it here for us now that's what you call service that's

definitely good service although having said that Steve why why are flowers so

expensive this is one thing I've noticed whenever you buy flowers for people as a

gift they are always so bloody expensive well I think a lot of them are imported

because it's probably difficult in winter particularly for us to grow

flowers here so I would imagine a lot of those are imported that's the problem of

course and of it needless to say at this time of the year

there aren't many flowers growing so yes it's unfortunate that Mother's Day here

in the UK Falls at this time of year because there aren't any flowers

anywhere so yes that makes sense I guess they

have to be imported and of course importing something like flowers must be

very expensive because you've got to get the flowers from one place to another

very quickly or else they'll just wither away and die I don't know with those of

course Mother's Day of course is a very family event a traditional family event

yes so it's a it's a time for the family to get together so the mother likes to

be surrounded by her children her grandchildren and that will happen

tomorrow because my sister will be there and of course my sister is also a mother

so it's Mother's Day for her because she's got children and the grandchildren

be there it'll be a happy wonderful event we're going for a pizza

oh that sounds very that sounds very much like the thing you would do on

Mother's Day no it doesn't sound very Mother's Day ish I can't think of

anything nice of taking your mom out on a Sunday afternoon for a delicious meal

and having pizza sister's got some vouchers always have to pay for it don't

tell me this is our secret between between mr. Steve and myself and also

you watching out there I have noticed I haven't shaved but I shall because I was

saving that for tomorrow at the weekends I don't tend to bother to shave you know

what I do the same thing if I'm going to do my livestream I always like to let my

beard grow a little bit because then when you have a shave you have a much

better shave this is something that men will understand so if you're if you're

planning to do something nice maybe you have a date with a beautiful girl or

maybe a handsome man and well you want to look good so quite often men will let

their beard grow slightly so they will then have a very good shave if you let

your beard grow for a couple of days and then you have a little bit of stubble on

your face and then you can shave the stubble away and quite often your face

will be lovely and smooth so that's the reason why mr. Steve's face and also my

face feels why sandpaper that's the reason why

and of course that'll also mean that when mum gives me a peck on the cheek a

little motherly kiss it'll be all nice and smooth that's it she will say Oh son

your face is like a baby's bottom it's so smooth cause we're really just lazy

we couldn't be bothered to shave today I would imagine that they came for two

days I would imagine that when you were a baby Steve you up your mum must to

kiss your bottom a lot cuz that's what they do have you noticed that some

parents or though they were they will make a fuss of their baby and they will

kiss it on its bottom have you seen what comes out of there

it's disgusting no doubt also mum will recall past events when we were when my

sister and I were babies and the same stories that I've heard for many many

years will be repeated again yesterday is it true that you were you were

difficult birth no I wasn't but actually I think I caused a bit of damage on the

way out and but I'm no I'm talking about events such as the fact that apparently

I was a very sleepy contented baby mom used to tell me that she could could

never get me to wake up that's correct ladies and only crying and screaming

she'd put me to bed I'd have to wake me up for a feed apparently and I just say

that Alan can I just say that nothing has changed there even now even now

nearly 60 years later is still 60 well nearly 60 years nearly 60 years

well almost only the other day more mature today with your stubble but

whatever what I was trying to say if I can is that I can't actually remember

what I was saying there that's great isn't it no you were always like this

you were always a sleepy baby I can sleep anywhere yes even now he falls

asleep we can sleep anywhere on a bus on a train anywhere I can sleep anywhere I

think you might be asleep now I don't know have it a pinch myself so it is

Mother's Day and it's very interesting to note that Mother's Day is celebrated

at different times of the year so for example Mother's Day is celebrated in

the United States and also in South Africa on the second Sunday in May so

the second Sunday in May is when Mother's Day is celebrated in the United

States so today it isn't Mother's Day in the USA they will not

celebrate it until May so normally it is the second Sunday in May of course it is

called Mother's Day and we call it Mother's Day here in the UK but in fact

the original title was actually Mothering Sunday it was called Mothering

Sunday but nowadays we also call it Mother's Day but its traditional name is

actually Mothering Sunday and this in fact not not many people know this it is

in fact a religious festival it is something that is tied in with religion

and it comes on the fourth Sunday of Lent and that's traditionally when

people would go and visit their mother they would give them gifts and tell them

how much they are loved so on the fourth Sunday of Lent it is Mother's Day so it

is always on a Sunday so traditionally it was called mother rings Sunday but

nowadays many people tend to adopt the American title which is Mother's Day so

there it is I hope that helped you there are a lot of phrases in English Steve

it's amazing how many phrases there are in English that have something to do

with mothers for example here's the first one here's a good one

mother loam hello mother lode that's a pretty good one now this in English

means

rich source of something so something that can be found in a large quantity in

a certain place we describe as the mother lode and as you can see the

spelling is a little different there so I haven't made a spelling mistake

I'm sure mr. Duncan I'm definitely sure that is not a spelling mistake Loa d so

the mother lode can be something that's available in one place in a large

quantity it can be real or it can be imagined as well is it mining it is

connected to mining yes if there are large reserves of minerals gold for

example you might say that that area is the mother lode that means a mother lode

that's it a rich source of some maybe precious element yes so minerals

anything really certain types of metal and many other things as well we

describe it as the mother lode another one would you like another one here we

go would oh he's one mother bore

oh we know why you said that mr. Duncan motherboard is connected to of course

computers for all those who are big fans of computers you will know straight away

what this means so a motherboard in computing is a circuit board where all

the main components of a computer are fixed with extra slots for other

components to be added I think comes from mother doesn't it you know a

computer yes all the important things are connected everything comes from

mother in fact the motherboard the motherboard

is the most important part of a computer because all of the important components

connect to that so it is a very important part and everything in the

computer is linked to that so it's looking after all the other components

of the computer in a way like a mother would look after her children yes or the

way in which the components are connected like like a baby growing

inside the womb of the parent of the mother so yes going

on in your computer mr. doing it multiplying itself something is alive

something is something is being created inside my computer it does make a very

strange red glow sometimes it's not the same as a bored mother then not a bored

my mother gets bored sometimes when she's talking to me

so another one oh I like this one this is good I like this one very much

mother's ruin mothers ruin a very interesting one this is something that

I've heard of and you've heard of but you might not have heard about it out

there mother's ruin is what is it Steve it's a kind of what alcohol yes it's a

kind of alcohol it's a drink more precisely it is a type of gin gin and

many many years ago this was actually classed as medicine can you believe it

people used to use this to treat many ailments chest infections or any sort of

virus so if you were feeling a little rundown or unwell you would take some

mother's ruin well they used to think all sorts of things in the past a good

three I'm sure they used to think that uranium is good for you at one time all

things lead they used to give medicine made of lead to people it didn't they

with all these things have been and are very poisonous not good for you

they're the most the one I'm always familiar with is something that was used

for disinfecting areas and that was called DDT yes one of the worst things

you can actually absorb into your body and it was sprayed normally in a place

where there was disease or if some virus was spreading it was for like if you got

fleas or ticks or things yes of course yes it was it was just to keep a place

sort of clean and certainly in places like hospitals or houses they would come

around and spray this stuff and they thought it would help but in fact

DDT is highly toxic it builds up in the ecosystem we know that earth do we get

on to that no because we're talking about mother's ruin medicine yes we are

so people used to drink drink gin because what's gin is it juniper gin is

made from a particular part of a tree I think so they're probably thought that

was medicinal and it would be good but of course it's they say mothers ruin

because of course if you have too much of it you ruined yes well you wrecked it

was also it was also called a bathtub Jinna because some people tried making

it they tried to make it in their bathtubs so it was also called bathtub

Gina maybe someone can tell us where gin comes from sure I'm sure it's there a

berry off a tree or a bush or something it's interesting also to note that while

we're talking about people making their own alcohol in Russia in Russia many

people make their own vodka or their own spirits and sometimes if they make it

too too strong sometimes it's about 80 or 90 percent alcohol so really you are

just drinking pure alcohol and of course that's not really very good for you and

every year in Russia there are people who die from drinking homemade vodka

people are rich drinking of alcohol but yes it puts hairs on your chest that's

what they say that's tough for the Russians or they'll drink if you can

drink 80% vodka you can you can you can survive anything yes Steve's being very

careful what he says you see no it's true I mean but I mean drinking

generally that's something that which which men and women now use to sort of

prove how tough and and strong they are on part of the group you know Stevie and

get drunk how many drinks can you take I remember when I was a student I used to

do it don't imagine that there I can't imagine you being drunk so another one

ruined by drink so let's get through these quickly another one for those

wondering what's going on this is mr. Steve and at the moment he is visiting

his mother so it is really here no he's not really here although that's

that's nothing new people often say that mr. Steve isn't

all there or all here but this is not live at the moment this is recorded it's

Saturday night and mr. Steve is now with his mother so what time will it be when

you play this say 3 o'clock who knows I'll be rather that Peter I'd probably

finish the pizza by now might be on the coffee okay they're having a coffee and

of course you will be telling your mother many many times how much you you

love her where I'll probably won't be doing that really no well it will it be

any cuddling or kissing there'll be a bit of that but we're quite restrained

in our families and don't really show our emotions or our affection openly in

public that's strange because because my my mum my mother is very affectionate by

the way I'm giving up seeing my mum today I'm giving up seeing us so I can

be here with you so I am sacrificing a day with my mother so we can actually do

this you sure it's a sacrifice or is it an excuse not to have to go and see your

mother naturally actually the strange thing is it was my mum's it my mum's

idea she actually suggested it so I have a feeling my mum doesn't want to see me

to go she excused here's another one mr. Steve keep mum keep mum is a very

interesting one now believe it or not this is actually rhyming slang used in

London by the cockneys yeah hello hello my name's mr. Duncan and guess what I've

got something to tell you and I don't want you to tell anyone else don't

mention this I want you to keep mum can you keep mum

so keep mum is an expression that means to stay quiet

about something prevent to prevent something from being discussed openly so

it is actually rhyming slang for shtum shtum which if I remember correct

I think is derived from I'm trying to think where it's derived from but I

think it has something something to do with the Jewish community in London I

think so I might be wrong there so it means keep your mouth shut if you

keep shtum it means you keep quiet you don't mention something you kind of keep

it a secret or you avoid mentioning it so to keep murmur is to keep quiet about

a particular subject it is rhyming slang for keep shtum shtum that's a great

word I love that Oh mr. Steve I think you will know this

one I do be mothered to be mothered because

at this moment mr. Steve is with his mother and she will be stroking his head

and making sure that wiping his face because that's what mothers do you see

thank mother's days the other way round you see I'm I'm sort of showing my

affection towards she doesn't have to do anything on Mother's Day Mother's do

nothing so you will be mothering your mother I'll be sunning my mother sunning

her I've just made up a new expression Steven Steve will be Steven his mum

that's it yes so to be mothered what does it mean them well it just means

that your mother is is is looking after you all the time and it's gonna be at

any age hmm so we've got another expression which is related this but if

it should be mother just means it to be looked after by your mother but it might

not be by your mother it could be by somebody else so somebody could be

paying a lot of attention to you adjusting your tie looking at you like

your wife for example if you're married fussing could be fussing you a bit yo

your wife could be you're going out to work and she's adjusting your tie and

your between your shoelaces and making sure that she's mothering you a bit it's

how annoying to be mothered okay then all of thee of course we can also use

mollycoddled mollycoddled now that was what I was

accused of yes that's a great that's a great word mollycoddle or to be

mollycoddled so to be mothered to be over first so your mother takes a lot of

care and attention or you can be mollycoddled mollycoddled

and quite often the wife of a husband will will take over the role of the

mother in in their married relationship and the husband can end up really having

somebody who's a bit like his mother of course that's some husbands some men

seek out women who are like their mothers yes it's true because they liked

all the attention from the mother enough to do anything so they want a wife is

gonna cook for them clean for them do all sorts of things and of course these

days that's probably not doesn't happen very often because I don't think you'll

be I think you'll find it hard to find a wife now that looked after you like your

mother it does happen some men do look for a

partner they look for a wife who is very similar to their mother because they

want to continue to be mothered they in they enjoy being mollycoddled

mollycoddled it's not unusual you will find a lot of

men are very soft underneath and they they love that feeling of being mothered

or mollycoddled here's another one oh this is quite a good one Steve do you

like that one the mother of all so the mother of all as you can see there are

some full stops that mean that the sentence continues so you can add other

things to this so the mother of all normally is a sentence that means the

greatest part or the most extreme thing or the best or the best best so the

mother of all shows so I think our live stream is the mother of all live streams

it is the best it is the greatest you've got the mother of all computers I

have that that is actually true my can pewter is very the greatest very high

spec so you might say that my computer is the mother of all computers

apparently do you know where that comes from

no tell me it was it's at quite a recent phrase apparently according to something

I looked up it was after the first Gulf War it was used to describe the mother

of all battles or the mother of all bombs this means a great is the bet so

it's it's a relatively recent phrase that sort of developed in the 1980s

apparently from the Gulf somebody must have mentioned it simply that it was the

mother of all battles or I think that's where it comes from the mother of all

battles and then of course people who would say the mother of all bombs so an

atomic bomb would be the mother of all bombs so I think sometimes you might

find that this will be used for things that are negative so you are trying to

stress just how dramatic something is so yes it would appear that quite often we

use this sentence to denote or to express something that's very very

negative something that's very destructive even so the mother of all

wars the mother of all bombs the mother of all storms yes definitely yeah okay

pretty good we are getting through these quite well I hope you are enjoying this

it is Mothering Sunday here in the UK and mr. Steve at the moment is with his

mother he's not here alive this is a hologram oh I like this one this is very

similar to the other one that we mentioned earlier this is very similar

to keep mum but it's something else mum's the word mum's the word yes it's a

very interesting phrase what does it mean Steve well it's it's to do with

keeping secrets again isn't it yes you express directly that you will keep

something a secret you are acknowledging that this particular thing

must be kept a secret you will say mums the word

or maybe the person giving you the information will say mums the word

so it means that you will keep it a secret don't tell anyone

yes I can have worked say you're at work and you've got lots of work colleagues

around you that somebody comes up to you and says oh oh I've just heard bill bill

he's marriage is broken up mum's the word

don't say anything keep it at seat you know it's it's used in a sort of a

gossipy rise in it quite often what why did you choose that name I don't know no

reason alright Raja yes somebody can I met and marry a

husband's left husband mum's the word I don't tell you I didn't anything or

another one is I'm planning a surprise party for for mr. Steve next year yes

don't tell him anyone don't tell anyone mum's the word good yes a good one no

it's not mr. Steve 60th birthday next year 40th 40th that's what he keeps

telling himself so mums the word is to keep a secret keep something to yourself

mum's the word and finally oh I think mr. Steve should

be wearing this mommy's boy mr. Steve is definitely mummys boys the angle of this

computer yes a mummy's boy is somebody it's it's a boy who really loves his

mother literally physically pulling me across this is sent this is all yours

how do I give me this one yeah mummys boy your mother's boy is a boy who loves

his mother and is frightened to be away from his mother and all the children at

school so he cries if his mother leaves him actually I remember when I first

went to Cub Scouts don't know if anyone's hopefully people know what Cub

Scout is it's a sort of a little club that

the boys going to Cubs and I remember when I first went because it was the

first time I'd ever been away from my mother so I cried what are you doing mr.

Duncan people can see me he's obsessed with the camera being in the right place

the microphone being in the right place and me being in the right place

are you mothering me mr. Duncan that that's another expression view mother

somebody other we've had that one already haven't we get out yes so of

course I've grown out of it now but yes it's it's it's a a son a boy who doesn't

like to be away from his mother and cries if he does but of course you can

and your friends at school will often pick up on this so say your mother takes

you to school in the morning and you're waving too and she's kissing you and all

this sort of thing and if your friends see that at school oh you mummy's boy

mummy's boy because most most boys they don't want their mother there are their

friends as in their mother kissing them when they arrive at school although as I

said earlier a lot of men of all ages so a mummy's boy can be any age anything

you're trying to edge back on now I said to Duncan so any any age can be a

mummy's boy so he can be five moçambique or 50 or even older quite often we use

this expression men who don't get married and still live with their

mothers daddy over their parents later didn't be described as a mother's boy or

a mummy's boy yes because can't bear to leave the nest and mothers loving arms

oh isn't that lovely we have liked also today we have some

poems we had one earlier from mr. Steve I hope you enjoyed that we're going to

have some more a little bit later on and also we have a very sad poem later on as

well something extra special for this Mother's Day before you go Steve can we

have another look at the flowers I've got another expression which we haven't

put on a card really be mother or shall I be mother Oh what does that mean

then that means that you do something that which your mother would normally do

for example if you somebody you're at a restaurant somewhere or somebody brings

on a pot of tea and then cups and then you decide that you're gonna pour it out

for everybody but that's something your mother might do so you might all shall I

be mother shall I be mother so I'm going to pour the tea shall I be mother or if

you were to serve the food that's arrived on a table I'll so that

I'll be mother shall I I'll be mother just means something that you do that

your mother would normally do yes that's quite I like that expression

I think we'll leave it there because well basically I think we've done quite

a lot here so mr. Steve at the moment is probably lying asleep in his mother's

arms well after these flowers I think I think

I deserve a little kiss I think she'll appreciate these take their last at

least a week don't forget to take the lily out I think I might leave them in

because they're not white lily it's a white lilies yes

whenever you see, whenever you see white lilies you always think of

funerals well you see I don't but some people do including my mother so they're

sort of pink lilies so I think that is a bit a bit more sort of Mother's Day-ish

shopping anyway Steve I hope you have a lovely time of your mum's yes so do i no

arguments no arguments no family squabble no fighting I shan't remind my

mother of was remember I used to get now remember the last time remember the last

time you went to see him um they had to call the police they call the police

there was two police cars a police van they had to carry Steve's mum into a

police van well she can get very violent she was fighting she was kicking and

screaming they had to grab her legs and arms and they just threw her into the

van I know it's really quite dramatic but it was on the news and everything

he's joking oh your hat's not straight mr. Duncan shall I be mother a

mollycoddling mr. Duncan okay Steve we'll see you later

oh you mean when des yes we are going to be back on

Wednesday of course I'm live in a minute so don't go away but mr. Steve is going

away now because he is now with his mother do you want me to exit this way

or that way just soirée I just I'll say goodbye and just go off that way and

there it was mr. Steve's special Mother's Day presentation flowers cards

but I've noticed there is no there are no chocolates oh dear we mean naughty

mr. Steve and also if my mother is watching at the moment hi ma'am I'm so

sorry I can't be with you today but I have to do this unfortunately it's all

right for some isn't it mr. Steve can go and see his mom I have to stay here now

I will return you back live as life can be to the studio which is just over

there

dooba dooba dooba dooba dooba boo yes it's Mother's Day today Mothering

Sunday here in the UK and it's not just Mother's Day here I think today should

be Mother's Day all across YouTube so if you want to say hello to your mother

today feel free it's not a problem the mystery idioms I will show you once

again here they are the mystery idioms here is the first one a well-known

English phrase or expression so there was the first one but what could it be I

don't know I don't know mr. Duncan that's a very difficult one and here is

the next one so these are well-known expressions in English if you think you

know the answers please let me know and of course I will give you the solutions

at the end of today's livestream we will be finishing in around about 20 minutes

just another 20 minutes to go and then I am out of here

I wonder what mr. Steve is doing now he's probably probably fast asleep

curled up in his mother's arms I think so I'm pretty sure of it I had a few

people during the week ask mr. Duncan can we see your snow angel again really

do you really want to see my snow angel okay then just just one more time

it is a Sunday afternoon we are live and there is a live view in the garden at

the moment the bird feeder in the back garden although there aren't many birds

today where are all the birds where are they we had a lovely woodpecker earlier

a woodpecker was feeding from the peanuts so I thought I would keep the

camera on the bird feeder just in case the woodpecker came back but at the

moment the woodpecker has been very shy that's not very nice I hope you are

enjoying the lovely sounds of outside here in the UK it is Sunday afternoon

and it's mr. Duncan would you like another poem from mr. Steve we've had

two so far we will be ending on a lovely poem today we will be ending on a very

sad poem something very poignant to end today's live stream here is another poem

for mothering Sunday so this poem is from the point of view of a mother by

Janet Fisher

from the very first time you hold your child their first gift is your heart

forever the love you give and they return is the bond that will hold you

together throughout their life your love will be a light that guides their way

the beacon a glow in the darkness should they ever go astray your love will give

them courage when the way ahead is unclear and will give them strength were

needed to help overcome their fears your love will accept them for who they are

whatever they say or do your love will forgive unreservedly because they are

part of you it's a love that will no no barriers have no bounds no expectations

your love will be unconditional pure with no complications a love that

remains as constant as the stars in the heaven above a gift no money on earth

can buy the gift of a mother's love

Thank You mr. Steve is net lovely what a lovely lovely poem there Thank You mr.

Steve and of course we will have another poem to end today's live stream there

will be another one coming later on so don't worry about that there will be

another one to end today's live stream let's go back to the live chat shall we

oh there it is so we have lots of people talking on the live chat can I apologize

once again for starting late today I do apologize for that that's because we had

some some power cuts this morning the electricity went off and then of course

if you are running a computer when the electricity goes off sometimes that can

have a serious effect on the computer so I had a few problems caused by what can

only be described as power cuts the electricity kept going off

so fortunately it hasn't gone off for a while lots of people saying hello

Eleanor hello - Eleanor hello - yes I love my mother very much thank you - yes

for that mr. Duncan today is a gorgeous warm day in Sicily

Oh Thank You Maria for that it sounds as if you're having a nice day there it's

not too bad here it is warm but it's very damp quite damp indeed I was hoping

that we would get the woodpecker today I was hoping that we would see the

woodpecker on the bird feeder but unfortunately the woodpecker is

feeling a little bit shy it must know that the camera is working that's all I

can say it must know that I'm actually filming you can see at the moment that

looks like a green Finch on the feeder at the moment on the far the far right

of the screen there is a green Finch eating

the lovely sunflower hearts so that is actually a live shot outside you can see

it's not very bright today it's very cloudy we had some lovely sunshine

earlier but unfortunately the cloud has disappeared

though the Sun has disappeared and the cloud has replaced it that's not very

nice by the way a few people last week talked about the sound quality of this

live stream now I have had some some issues let's just say some small issues

concerning the sound but you might notice here I have a new mixer here so

the sound should sound a lot better from now on

so this is a new piece of equipment to finish off my new studio setup and we

have a nice new professional mixer to mix all of the sound together so I hope

you can hear me very clearly today I hope I am coming through very clear

indeed shall we have a look at one of my full English lessons they are available

on my youtube channel and we are now going to have a look at some excerpts

from full English number 17

do you often use slang in your English if your answer is no then you might want

to rethink what you believe slang to be to speak informally can be described as

vernacular or colloquial speech slang gives new definitions to existing words

good examples of past slang include cool and wicked as a way of expressing that

something is really good these days we might say that something is awesome or

sick although having said that by the time this lesson has been watched a few

times there will probably be another way of expressing how good or terrible

something is using a negative word in a positive way is nothing new in the 1990s

the word bad was used as a slang word for good slang is an ever changing trend

so who knows by 2020 we might be using great to mean awful and garbage to mean

great in the world of slang anything is possible

here's an interesting question what exactly are the differences between

the words wrote and written this is a very good example of how confusing

English can be the main difference between wrote and written is that one is

the past tense of right for example I will write to him next week I'm writing

this now and the past simple tense which is I wrote this last week the past tense

of write is wrote the word written is the past participle of write this tense

shows that the action of writing took place for example we can talk about

written novels or a book written at a certain time by a specific individual

for example the written works of William Shakespeare we can observe how something

was written this note was written in a hurry

a verb or action that has already occurred or been carried out is a past

participle there are some words in the English language that are so lovely to

say and express such a deep meaning that it is hard not to love them a good

example of this is the word paradigm even the sound of this word makes me go

all gooey the word paradigm is a noun that names a typical example or pattern

as something the general state or functioning of something is its paradigm

a world and the rules by which it exists can be described as a paradigm in

science the worldview of something and the methodology surrounding it

is a paradigm in linguistics paradigm relates to the available choices for the

expression of one individual syntax or sentence formation you might say that

related rules when grouped together form a paradigm the word itself derives from

the Latin for show side-by-side

do you ever find yourself having to deal with someone with an axe to grind

this rather aggressive phrase refers to someone who is out for revenge or is

seeking to get back at someone for personal reasons

they have an axe to grind we can also use this expression to describe a person

who wishes to express an opinion against someone with whom they have had a

disagreement the person doing the criticizing has an axe to grind

they wish to vent their personal anger at someone over an issue that person has

an axe to grind the expression derives from the action of sharpening an axe

before using it of course the expression is purely figurative so no one will

actually be chopped up thank goodness

the concept of what left and right is might seem like a simple thing but in

fact it can be quite confusing and even dangerous for example what I view now is

being my right and left is not the view you have from where I'm standing this is

my right side and this is my left however to you this is the left side and

this is the right as if that wasn't already confusing from where you are

standing your left and right depends on your relative position to me if you were

standing next to me facing the same way our left and right sides would be the

same how if you were to stand opposite me then

the left side and right side would be reversed this may seem like an innocent

misunderstanding with no consequences however getting your right and left

mixed up can lead to terrible mistakes being made imagine I'm a surgeon who has

to remove a person's right kidney do I take out the one on the patient's right

or my right it would be so easy to remove the wrong one in anatomy we

usually refer to the patient's right and left as they see it this is also why

before having an operation a clear mark is made on the exact part of the body

where the surgery will take place so as to avoid any chance of a mistake after

all you wouldn't want the surgeon to cut off your good leg would you so remember

as you are looking at me now my right is your left and my left is your right I

think

as we have already seen today the English language can be quite confusing

especially when it comes to words that seem connected but aren't a good example

of this occurrence is the apparent similarity between the words affluence

and effluence they look similar as their only differ by one letter the word

affluence means the state of having money or more to the point having a

large and considerable amount of money the state of being wealthy is affluence

with affluence comes great influence so affluence is the noun and affluent is

the adjective we can describe a place where rich people live as an affluent

area the word effluence is a noun that describes a substance which flows from

something for example dirty contaminated water

being released from a pipe into the sea is effluence so the substance in this

case is sewage it is worth remembering that there is also effluent which is a

mass noun that precisely describes liquid waste and stinky raw sewage

well sadly time has beaten us again as it often does damn you time damn you but

don't worry because there will be another full English lesson coming out

of your internet hole very soon

Dibby Dibby Dibby Dibby Dibby do we are as live his life can be I hope you

enjoyed that that was an excerpt from one of my full English lessons they are

all available on my youtube channel the playlists are underneath this actual

video so underneath this video you will find all of the playlists for my English

lessons and don't forget I've been doing this for over eleven years I've been

here on YouTube doing this in fact this is my twelfth year now on YouTube thank

you very much for the live chat very busy today by the way on the live chat

let's have a look shall we at the live chat very quickly sylveon

Azure Silvana says hello Antonio asks is he alive

today I think you mean he is he live yes we are live I am live on YouTube every

Sunday you can catch me live from 2 o'clock UK time Antonio how is it going

mr. Duncan I'm ok not too bad thank you very much even though I've had a very

busy day today if you want to say hello to your mother here is the chance to do

it just before we go and we will end today's livestream with a very poignant

poem from mr. Steve long the juin hello to you sue hey Beebe sue hey Bomar says

I love you thank you very much for that today's program was awesome thank you to

sample account thank you very much it's very welcome you are more than welcome

in fact don't forget there is a new feature now on YouTube where you can

actually watch the live chat next to the recording of the stream so you can

actually watch the live chat as you watch the recording of the live stream

and that will be available later on thank you very much for

teaching us thank you our our med thank you very much good to watch your lesson

thank you ad jeath Ajith Kumar you are more than welcome it's my pleasure I

will do this for as long as you want me to - bye - bye gaga

oh I like your name that's an interesting name to be alive or live

well if you are alive that means you are living but if you are

live it means you are doing something at that very moment for example if you are

broadcasting live that means you are broadcasting as it happens so this for

example is live I am living I am Alive but the the live stream means that I am

here and everything is actually happening at the moment it is not

recorded thank you very much we are going to end today unfortunately

slightly shorter than normal a little bit shorter than normal

mr. Steve will be back next week everything will be back to normal

hopefully there won't be any power cuts because we had a few problems with the

electricity this morning here it happens sometimes that is one of the problems

with living in the countryside sometimes you can have problems with the

electricity we will leave this special Mother's Day livestream with a very sad

poignant poem this is something that mr. Steve has decided to read out for those

who sadly cannot be with their mother today so this is a poem for all those

who have lost their mother as I look upon my children I wish that I

will be as great a mother to my children as my mother was to me she always knew

what to say and what I needed to hear she always told me how it was so simple

and so clear as a mother and their offspring - we'd argue and sometimes

part but through the tears and drama I still love her with all my heart she

looked the same every day I remember from when I was young a few lines and

wrinkles there but still my beautiful mum she's always been so wise she's

always been so strong she's always been so stubborn and occasionally she's wrong

my mum is sure not perfect a sure as I'm not too - but mums know you inside out

and advised you as you grew on losing your mum there is no book or

instructions what to say I hope I say the right words now as I wipe a tear

away for I love you mum you are my world I thank you with all my heart I don't

know why you had to go and why we had to part