1/1 Cathy is an American w h o has had a lot of experience w o r k i n g in England and t h e United States, so she is well qualified to make

comparisons. Tessa asks her about t h e differences between the t w o countries.

1 AN AMERICAN WORKING IN LONDON
INTERVIEW
Cathy: I w o r k as a production assistant in magazine programmes, BBC radio. I w o r k very closely w i t h producers and editors, helping
them to organize programmes.
Tessa: How does it compare w o r k i n g at t h e BBC in London w i t h w o r k i n g in America?
Cathy: My w o r k experience in t h e States tended to be in very formal environments. And I remember coming back here to w o r k and
feeling that it was much more liberal. People were not so concerned about w h a t you wore. But here, I t h i n k casual clothes, jeans, things
like that, track suits, running shoes, that sort of t h i n g , are much more acceptable in British companies aside f r om t h e traditional fields
like law.
Tessa: Are there any other differences that you noticed between America and Britain?
Cathy: Um, yes, I t h i n k t h e way they answer t h e telephone over there sounds like it's read f r om a script on the whole. They're usually t
o l d to answer t h e phone w i t h the name of the company, f o l l o w e d by their name, f o l l o w e d by " H o w can I help y o u ? " . For
example, they might be t o l d to say "Good morning, South West Travel Agency, Melinda speaking, h o w can I help y o u ? " - whereas
in the UK you tend to just get someone saying "South West Travel Agency".
Tessa: Do you t h i n k it's easier w o r k i n g in the UK?
Cathy: On the w h o l e I've always f e l t more relaxed in British companies. I've w o r k e d in the music business, and I've worked in films
and I've worked in broadcasting. And I f i n d that on t h e whole, companies such as those t e n d to be more relaxed about dress, about even
time-keeping, the hours are more flexible. You w o r k late, but equally you can come in late, which suits my way of living. I'm not a nine-tofive person, w h i c h is t h e type of t h i n g you get more o f t e n in the States. For example, a lot of American companies start w o r k at
eight-thirty and they expect you to w o r k until five, and an hour lunch break is quite rare.
2 THE FLAMINGO TRAVEL AGENCY CONVERSATION
Customer: Good morning.
Agent: Morning.
Customer: I believe you specialize in flights to Delhi and Kashmir?
Agent: Yes, we do flights to India and Kashmir.
Customer: Good, er ... well, I want to book a f l i g h t for Delhi in the middle of September. Can you arrange that?
Agent: Sure we can. We have got an Air France f l i g h t which we recommend to travel to Delhi.
Customer: Can you tell me (the cost) h o w much t h e f l i g h t will cost return?
Agent: It will work out around 400 return to Delhi and a further connection to Kashmir will be at extra cost.
Customer: I see, and h o w long does the f l i g h t take?
Agent: The flying hours [is] around 9 hours and then you take a break and then connect a one-hour f l i g h t to Kashmir.
Customer: I see, er ... can you arrange accommodation in Delhi?
Agent: Yes we can, we can give you accommodation in Delhi as well as in Srinagar on the houseboats.
Customer: Oh good, er ... well could you make a reservation for the f l i g h t?
Agent: Yes, we can confirm the flight, hotel and everything - whatever you require.
Customer: Thank you very much.
Agent: You're welcome.
3 FLYING FROM HEATHROW
INTERVIEW
Ann: I went to Spain a couple of weeks ago; I w a n t e d some winter sunshine. I was going down the High Street and I noticed in the w i n d
o w of a travel agent a good package deal to Barcelona, in Spain. I w e n t inside and I was able to put down a 50 deposit on a 200
package, which included a return flight to Barcelona and a hotel.
Tessa: Did you have any delays to the f l i g h t?
Ann: Yes, in fact, I did, although not as much as t h e delays people have been having during the summer months every year. I was probably
delayed by about three hours all in all. I checked in on t i m e at t h e check-in desk, but I was held up going t h r o u g h passport control, just
by sheer volume of the queues. And t h e n there were extra security checks on everybody, on our bags, they frisked us, and again that created
long queues. Then I finally got t h r o u g h into the departure lounge, and I t h o u g h t well, I should be t a k i n g off in about an hour, and t
h e n on t h e monitor I saw a notice flash up f o r t h e f l i g h t that, i n fact, we were going t o be delayed another t wo hours, so I had to
kind of pass t h e t i m e and I w e n t and I bought some drink and I bought some cigarettes and then I browsed through the perfume counter
and at least that passed t h e t i m e a little, but it is pretty tedious having to wait so long. I t h o u g h t t h e f l i g h t , in fact, w o u l d be f r
om Gatwick, because that's normally where charter flights go from. But, in fact, this particular one was f r om Heathrow and it is actually a
very, very busy airport; it's one of t h e busiest airports in the w o r l d . So I wasn't surprised that, in fact, we were delayed. It seems to be
standard n o w that you're delayed in air travel.
Tessa: But you had a good holiday?
Ann: Oh, I had a wonderful time - I'd do it again!

1/11 Let's book a hotel room now. We've chosen o n e f o r y o u in t h e centre of London.
W h i l e w e ' r e w a i t i n g at t h e reception desk we can listen t o t h e guest i n f r o n t of us.
Guest: Good morning. I'd like to book a room in t h e hotel, please, f o r next m o n t h .
Receptionist: For next month? Um, for what date is it?
Guest: I t h i n k March 15 and 16.
Receptionist: One moment, please. I'll just check the availability.
Guest: Thank you. It's f o r one person.
Receptionist: For one person.OK, that's no problem. We have plenty of rooms on that evening. Um, w h a t type of room are y o u looking
for?
Guest: Er, w e l l , (a) single room, but w i t h a double bed, rather t h a n t w o t w in beds.
Receptionist: Oh, that's fine. We have a single de luxe r o om w h i c h has a big double bed in. Our tariff for a single de luxe room w o u l d
be 145, that's for one evening. That includes just, um, t h e r o om f o r one evening, that includes service charge and VAT.
Guest: And t h e n breakfast is on t o p , is it?
Receptionist: Yes, breakfast is on t o p of that charge. English breakfast is served at 9.25 and continental breakfast is 6.25.
Guest: Fine. What t i m e can I check in on t h e evening of t h e 15th?
Receptionist: Evening of the 15th, check-in time is after 12 o'clock obviously, midday, yes.
Guest: And check out t h e f o l l o w i n g day - w e l l , t w o days later - what t i m e is check out?
Receptionist: Check out time is before 12 o'clock, ensuring that we can have the rooms in the a f t e r n o o n f o r t h e guests arriving.
Guest: And you can accept all credit cards?
Receptionist: Yes, we accept all kinds of credit cards. H o w w o u l d you be paying?
Guest: It w i l l be on Visa.
Receptionist: It will be on Visa. Can I guarantee this booking by Visa?
Guest: Yes, I'll give you my card n o w if you like.
Receptionist: OK. Thank you very much. Can I have t h e number?
Guest: Here you go.
Receptionist: OK, thank you. I'll just take an imprint of this. One moment please ...
Thank you very much. Your reservation number is 15069, if y o u ' d like to take that as a reference number f o r your reservation.
Guest: That is definitely guaranteed now?
Receptionist: That is guaranteed by your Visa card, yes.
Guest: Thank you very much. See you on t h e 15th.
Receptionist: OK, thank you very much.
5 A HOUSE IN LONDON
INTERVIEW
Steve: I lived in a small village about ten miles outside of Oxford. It was very quiet, very pleasant, lots of w i d e open spaces. It was q u i te
a small house - five or six rooms, w i t h a large garden, and it was very close to t h e River Thames. I had my o w n bedroom and my
brothers had their o w n bedrooms, and there was a kitchen which we ate in as well as cooked in, and a largish room - kind of family room.
Tessa: When you left, where did you go?
Steve: Well, I left and I moved up to London and I've lived in various places, but n ow I live in a large, old, Georgian house in the centre of
London, which I share w i t h t w o other people, and we have our o w n rooms and also rooms w h i ch we share t o o , like t h e kitchen, t h
e b a t h r o om and t h e dining room. The house that I live in is very near Covent Garden and Soho, which is very nice to feel that you are in
t h e centre of t h e city.
Tessa: What kind of things do you do in the house?
Steve: In t h e house? Well, I'm a musician and I'm f o r t u n a t e enough to have a r o om in t h e basement w h i c h I can w o r k in and
there's no p r o b l em w i t h noise. In t he basement is where I have my musical instruments, my drums and other instruments. And I spend a
lot of t i m e there practising and inviting musicians d o wn to play.
Tessa: Can you just describe your r o om to me?
Steve: Well, my room is on the first floor. It has very nice large French windows, w h i c h in t h e summer is very nice f o r t h e sun to shine
t h r o u g h . A n d it's a large r o om w i t h a nice fireplace, very high ceiling and a nice w o o d e n floor.
Tessa: What kind of things do you have in your room?
Steve: Well, I have a table, plenty of chairs, a very nice hi-fi system, a nice collection of books and records, and as many friends as possible.
6 VEGETARIAN FOOD
Vegetarianism is expanding throughout t h e civilized w o r l d . One t h i r d . o f the world's population is actually vegetarian anyway, most
of South-East Asia is vegetarian. People are f i n d i n g that t h e y ' d like to use less additives and preservatives in their f o o d and people
are a lot more aware of E-numbers. We are vegetarian chefs, we w o r k in t h e Gray's Inn Road, in London's West End. A vegetarian
restaurant means t h a t we d o n ' t use any meat or any fish in our cooking. You could say we are a green restaurant. We also use vegetarian

cheese w h i c h means t h at no animal products are used in t h e making of t h e cheese. We also use free-range eggs. We do use a lot of
organic vegetables, mostly f r om t h e West Country. People really can taste t h e difference. Today we had a very nice t o m a t o and lentil
soup w h i c h had a vegetable base, where we f r i ed t h e onions and garlic together, then we added grated carrot, t u r n i p , swede and
parsnip. We added vegetable stock, salt and pepper and at t he end we added some cream. We also had eight different salads, the most
popular of those being coleslaw salad, w h i c h consists of w h i t e cabbage, red cabbage, grated carrots, sultanas and roasted peanuts in a t h
i c k mayonnaise dressing. We always have a number of cakes, especially baked on the premises every day. Today we had banana cake, date
and walnut cake, meringues, chocolate gateaux, cheesecake, an exceptionally delicious walnut cake, all served w i t h fresh yoghurt or cream.
I'd just like to mention t h a t we have a large variety of freshly squeezed juices every day on offer and natural yoghurt drinks like banana
milk shake. We also do fresh grapef r u i t juice, orange j u i ce and a very nice green juice w h i c h consists of cucumbers, apples, celery and
crushed ice.
7 A LUCKY EXPERIENCE
I was on holiday in Turkey about t w o years ago and instead of t a k i n g traveller's cheques w i t h me, I t o o k Eurocheques, and t h e idea
is t h a t they go t h r o u g h your bank account like normal English cheques. But I w e n t to a bank, the same bank, over a period of t w o
weeks, and cashed 20 one day, 30 t h e next day, and at t h e end of t h e t w o weeks I went home. Six months later I went to my bank and
said, "Has the money gone through my account f r om my holiday in Turkey?" and they said, " N o . " And I w e n t back a year later and
said, "Has t h e money gone t h r o u g h y e t ? " and they said " N o . " And by that t i m e my bank said to me, "I t h i n k they've actually
either got your cheques lost or something, because we have no record of this money going t h r o u g h your account, so d o n ' t w o r r y
about i t . " So I was 120 better off!
8 JONES' BROTHERS DEPARTMENT STORE
The t h i n g about Jones' Brothers is t h a t it's not only a shop, it's more of an institution. It's a kind of a social event on Saturdays. One can
see several people t h a t you k n o w in t h e buttery, for example, which is this sort of small cafeteria, where you can have doughnuts, tea,
coffee, cheese sandwiches, toasted sandwiches sometimes. But very o f t e n t h e most interesting part about Jones' Brothers is g e t t i n g
parked, because there's a car park there, but it's always f u l l . A n d so w h a t you have to do is w a i t in this neverending queue or go
somewhere else in Holloway and try to park your car, which is t o t a l ly impossible. So there might be an hour or t w o where y o u ' d be w
a i t i n g in a queue, but it's w o r t h it w h e n you get there because the department that you get tostraight away is haberdashery, w h i c h is
a special department t h a t deals w i t h sewing on buttons, k n i t t i n g , that type of t h i n g. And t h e n i f you go straight t h r o u g h
there, then you get t o t h e men's shoe department and the men's o u t f i t t i n g . Then past t h e m , you go straight into t h e children and
baby
department. Going downstairs leads you into t h e electrical department where you can buy things like irons, cookers, fridges, w h o l e
kitchen outfits if you want. And then past there, there's t h e place t h a t I spend quite a lot of t i m e in, w h i c h is t h e kind of stereo,
television,
you know, area, where you can buy telephones, where I've bought t w o synthesizers f r om Jones' Brothers, w h i c h is just ridiculous,
because it's not even a music shop.
But it's just that type of place where everybody gets to k n o w each other. We know everybody in t h e children's department because w e ' v
e spent such a long time there. And I've taken things back. They're very nice w h e n you take things back that don't work. I've taken back my
answer phone and they replaced i t even t h o u g h they couldn't f i n d anything w r o n g w i t h it. They were really very nice. But t h e
tragedy about ail this n o w is t h a t Jones' Brothers is going to close.
9 THE DIVING BOARD
INTERVIEW
I was on holiday in Sweden, and I was in t h e swimming pool at t h e hotel, and it had a very, very high diving board and it was one of those
pools that was surrounded by very gorgeous, bronzed people, very athletic-looking. I climbed to the t o p of t h e diving board just to see h o
w high it was and I crawled along t h e edge and I bravely stood up. All of a sudden, t h e place was hushed, everyone looking upwards in
expectation, and I was forced into t h e position of having to do some very complicated dive i n to t h e water - a very, very long way d o w
n . A n d of course I was absolutely petrified, and w h i l e t h i n k i n g about it and how to get out of this situation, I fell off. And it was arms
and legs all over t h e place and the most undignified dive - w e l l , belly f l o p - that anyone has ever seen!
10 GENERAL DE GAULLE
INTERVIEW
I w e n t one evening for a rather nice meal at a friend's house, and one of t h e other guests was a rather distinguished elderly gentleman, w h
o at one point in time had been in the diplomatic service. And he was the kind of old-fashioned gent, because there were ladies present, he w
a s n ' t sure h o w far he could go, and he kept saying as t h e evening w e n t on, "Is i t alright for me to tell my de Gaulle story n o w ? " You
know, as if w e ' d all got to a sufficient state where we w o u l d n ' t be shocked anymore. Anyway, the moment came in t h e evening where
i t was decided, yes, it w o u l d be alright for h im to tell his de Gaulle story now, and I presume it's true. I mean, it's so g o o d , it almost
sounds as if it might be a myth, but if it isn't t r u e it o u g h t to be. It's one of those stories.
And this was at t h e t i m e w h e n de Gaulle's presidency was coming to an end. It was a very grand dinner at t he British Embassy in Paris,
and de Gaulle and Madame de Gaulle were obviously t h e guests of honour, and Macmillan was there and various o t h e r s . . . I t h i n k

Atlee. It was quite a w o n d e r f u l line-up of names anyway at this place. A n d somebody during t h e course of t h e dinner said to
Madame de Gaulle, " N o w the general is retiring, w h a t do you look f o r w a r d to most about your new life t o g e t h e r ? " , and she
said "Appiness." And there was an extremely stunned silence, as you can imagine. And eventually t h e General decided t h a t he'd better s w
im into this silence, and he said, "That is not t h e way you pronounce it in English, my dear. It is pronounced happiness."
11 LIFE IN OREGON, USA
INTERVIEW
Elizabeth: Shane, you're f r om Portland, Oregon. Could you tell us exactly where Oregon is?
Shane: Oregon's located on the Pacific Ocean. Its neighbouring states are Washi n g t o n t o the north, Idaho t o t h e east, and California t o t
h e south. Oregon's quite a big state. I w o u l d imagine it compares to t h e size of Germany,
or a l i t t le bigger. It has its coast, its coast range, its valleys, its mountains, and it has a desert, t o w a r d t h e east.
Elizabeth: What do people do there? What's t h e industry in Oregon like?
Shane: Well, t h e three major industries in Oregon right n o w are shipping, tourism, and logging. Shipping has been very, very good - of
course, they're shipping out all of t h e logs, many of t h em to Japan and other countries that are in need of them. Tourism has boomed in
recent years w i t h the amount of outdoor recreation, and the timber industry has been declining in recent years due to t h e lack of available
timber t h a t is there and available to be cut down.
Elizabeth: The impression of the American lifestyle is often that it's very, very hectic and fast-moving. Is t h a t t h e way it is in Oregon, or
on t h e West Coast?
Deb: Not as much as on t h e East Coast. The East Coast is known to be a ratrace, and t h e West Coast is very low-key, very quiet and
peaceful, and people are not in a hurry to get where they're going.
Elizabeth: Shane, have you had any funny experiences while travelling through Europe?
Shane: Well, I t h i n k every day has been hilarious, for t h e most part. It's not o f t en we get an opportunity t o come over here, and thank
God that we have t h e o p p o r t u n i t y to come over, and maybe a little more so than other people do in my line of w o r k . But, I w o u l d
t h i n k rather t h a n funny, I t h i n k t he experience has been more heartfelt, and we f i n d out t h a t people t h r o u g h out t h e w o r l d
are generally t h e same in being helpful, and very hospitable, t r y i ng to accommodate you in any way they can.
Elizabeth: Getting back to Oregon, if one goes there on holiday, or on vacation, where can one stay? Does one stay in a hotel, or is there
something like t h e English " b e d and breakfasts" there?
Deb: There are very f e w " b e d and breakfasts". Mostly t h e motel - which is a smaller version of t h e hotel. That's about it.
Elizabeth: How about camping? Are there possibilities for campers?
Deb: There's a lot of camping done in Oregon. A lot of different sites, and that is vast - I mean, a lot of it.
Elizabeth: Is it possible to just set your t e n t up someplace in the mountains, or in the woods, or do you have to go to a campground?
Deb: No, you d o n ' t have to go to a campground, but I t h i n k t h e majority of the facilities t h a t are out there are w o n d e r f u l . I
think, you know, that they are not so c o n f i n i n g , and you don't feel like you're in a parking lot w i t h your l i t t le t e n t.
Elizabeth: So there's lots of space, so you d o n ' t really need to go out into the wilds to camp, even if you're at a campground?
Deb: I d o n ' t t h i n k so.
Elizabeth: It feels like you're out in the woods, and you are.
Deb: Yes.
Elizabeth: Good. Do you camp, Shane?
Shane: Well, only w h e n my w i f e locks t h e door and w o n ' t let me in at n i g h t ! And that's about t h e only t i m e that I'm really left
outdoors. I was going to add, t o o , that i f t h e camping spaces are f u l l , w e ' v e got a little extra room at our house t o o , if anybody'd
like to stay there!
12 A COUNTRY AND WESTERN SINGER
INTERVIEW
Kathy: Country a n d Western music is American music essentially, um, but I prefer the t e rm country music because it covers a wider area
of w h a t I do. It can include folk, lots of dance music, it's a great f o rm of music - there's country swing - i t can even relate to jazz.
Tessa: Give me a couple of lines of something you w o u l d sing on stage.
Kathy: Well, it w o u l d n ' t be "Stand by your m a n ! " It might be " D o n ' t come home a d r i n k i n ' . . ."
Well you t h o u g h t I'd be w a i t i n ' up When you came home last night. You'd been out w i t h all the boys, You ended up half t i g h t.
Well liquor and love, they just d o n ' t mix, Leave t h e b o t t le or me behind. Don't come home a-drinkin' W i t h lovin' on your mind.
Tessa: What kind of reaction do you get f r om audiences?
Kathy: You get very y o u n g audiences and also punks, f r om punks to old age pensioners, literally. I t h i n k it's t h e venue t h a t you put t
he audience in that affects t h e audience reaction. So t h a t , for instance, if y o u ' r e in a theatre and, uh, it's a no-smoking theatre, the seats
are plush, people are expected to be very polite, they go there for a nice night o u t , then it's hushed. If you sing a ballad, a pin w o u l d drop.
You get great applause at t h e end. A n d again if you go to colleges, boy, that's totally different - really drunk, you know, aggressive
audiences that are there to have a good t i m e and g o o d luck to them. But sometimes there's a kind of a young male element t h a t comes
out and they t h i n k t h e greatest compliment is to get hold of your mike stand and rattle it, not realising that they could knock your teeth
out. I've had to move back halfway o n t o t h e stage and sing f r om halfway back.