'Everyone makes mistakes.' - Bed Among the Lentils

Everyone makes mistakes.

60 year old Geoffrey is sat in bed alone, with a bed lamp lighting the stage. A bible is placed next to his lamp, as well as a picture of Susan. 

GEOFFREY: When we met, I knew she was the one. Marrying Susan was the right decision.
The bible tells me that we shall not lie to one another, but I do not agree. The past cannot be forgotten, but the bible tells me to forgive the person who was wrong, so God can forgive you. But why do I keep falling when Susan falls? 

[picks up picture of Susan]

Susan wasn't as thin as she is nowadays, I never understood why she was so slim. I always thought it was due to eating less, rather than drinking and stress. 

[points to Susan's face]

Do you see the way she used to smile? Smiling without drink or pain inside of her. Sometimes I feel like I've lost Susan to someone or something else. I like to tell people that I'm proud of Susan going to AA and that she is my 'drunken flower arranger' and that we are a team. We aren't. 

[puts picture down]

When Susan confirmed she was an alcoholic, it did not make me angry or disappointed. I believe everyone should have a second chance, so I was happy with her for telling the truth. However, I wasn't happy when I found out she stole the communion wine. I stood infront of her when I spoke to her, I told her she was a fool for taking the wine. We didn't speak for most of the day, until I came back from the service.

[picks up bible] 

"Geoffrey," Susan said. "Yes, Susan?" I replied. "Do you really believe in God...?"
 I didn't know how to respond, I mean, we have never spoken in such way. 
I started to question my everyday movements, beliefs and feelings towards my job after she questioned me. It was quite personal, but I forgave her because of God. 

[looks at bible] 

Knowing that Susan thinks she is a 'cut out' for God, saddens me deeply. I mean, yes, she does not have a very good reputation but she is a good person... or so it would seem.

[puts bible by lamp]
[pause]

The other day I was told some very unpleasant news. I understand that Susan had a drinking problem and used to pop down to the off-licence where a friendly women used to serve her. She stopped going to the off-licence and went to an Indian shop in Leeds. I then was told that there was a man in the Indian shop called Mr Ramesh, who likes to greet women in very odd ways. Obviously, Mr Ramesh won Susan over as she visited every night, until Mr Ramesh left to fetch his young wife. 

[Sits up straight]

I wasn't told this information. I added every single piece of evidence up, as I knew something was happening when I came home to an empty house. I confronted Susan about the incident and she replied, "Yes. That is correct, but as you follow in the way of God, I do believe the best thing is to forgive. Everyone makes mistakes."

Travel Writing: If you aren't crashing, you're not skiing.

I stare at the fine rope that tugs brightly clothed skiers up the steep, snow plated mountain. The 'L bar' looks like a terrifying contraption that awaits its fellow thrill seekers to injure them in any way possible. But that does not stop me. 

As I shuffle with a waddle of penguins, I realise that I have over dressed for this exercise. The Austria weather experts told me to wrap up with one more layer than I have previously worn, as we could experience a snow storm. How inaccurate. The smouldering sun gleams on my panicked, factor 50 coated, face.

My instructor has not told me how to conquer these 'L bar' lifts, so I will take this task as a learning curve if I fail. Before I do, I notice how beautiful the landscape is around me. The mountains appear carved and topped with a sprinkle of light, floury snow. The refreshing breeze glides around me and the tall, oppressive trees that stand tall with pride. 

The weak ‘L bar’ lift charges towards the panicked boy and I, that leads me to think that the lift must be for two people.

“Ready?” he questions. I replied quickly, asking him what to do when the L bar reaches us.

“Just lean on the bar…”

“Like your about to sit on a chair!”

I must look petrified.

Instantly, the boy is pulling the L bar lift from behind, which pulls me so fast I nearly fall backwards. Panicked, I look down at my skis and realise I have to focus to keep my balance. I sight with relief as I admire the beautiful Austrian landscape and laugh to myself how deadly this lift appears to be. The snowflakes start to gather around me and drop from the trees that lead the way to the top of the mountain.  

Abruptly, the ski lift comes to a halt and the skiers in front of me have lost their balance.  The pair hit the ground; both of them have lost their skis. The lift clicks and we start to glide up the mountain, we both now realise we have to go around the unfortunate skiers.  

“Go left!” the boy shouts at me. I steer my skis left and dodge the people led on the slippery snow surface.

When we reach the top, we have to remove ourselves from the small pole that supports both of our body weights. As I was on the right, the boy skis of first, but before I can ski in the opposite direction the pole pulls me towards a fence, as it is tucked under my jacket. Feeling anxious, I fall and roll to the other side, probably one of the best moves I have done yet.

To get to my group, I have to ski down a small mountain. Bending my knees, turning from side to side, lifting over small jumps, I make it to my instructor who greets me with a smile.

Task 1 - Armstrong & Miller RAF pilots - 'Chalky's A Spy'

In the sketch I noticed how our language has developed significantly over the century. I know this by the slang and idioms used in this sketch, making it humorous to the audience as they first appear to be posh and well mannered.

In the sketch, they used the idiom 'Oh my days' which is commonly used if in shock. The sketch replicates the younger generation's use of grammar and lexis very well, making it easy to appeal to and laugh at. The use of slang also helps with this as the younger generation instantly relate to their dialogue, for example "Yeah man" and "I feel well betrayed" suggests that this could language could only be used in the right context or group of people.

This sketch is set in WW2, which makes the slang and informal language appear to sound worse than it will when said nowadays. I think that the sketch over exaggerates the use of slang to appear humorous to the audience and appeal to the people who dislike the use of this slang.

Charlotte Hobson: Black Earth City

The text I have chosen to analyse is a Travel Writing style piece, which is called Charlotte Hobson : Black Earth City.

Grammar

The style of grammar in the Travel Writing includes different sentence structures to give an effect on the reader. These sentences include complex and simple sentence structure.

The first paragraph includes mainly complex sentences, I know this by looking for one or more subordinate clauses in the paragraph. For example, "The light bulbs in the toilet were always being stolen, making the fauna in there difficult to identify; but the occasional shouts of horror from people picking their way through the darkness were testimony to existence." This is an example of a complex sentence, as it has a subordinate clause. Also, this sentence has 'but' included in it, which is a subordinating clause. The fact that Charlotte has used complex sentences in her travel writing is that it engages the reader with her thoughts and feelings. Thus, emphasising her emotions, making you feel more interested to her experience.
Charlotte has also used simple sentences to keep the reader interested, for example 'The fridge chugged like an idling truck.'

Lexis/Semantics

The travel writing uses a variety of different language techniques to engage with the audience. Charlotte has used a simile, 'The fridge chugged like an idling truck' to construct a mental image for the reader.
To create imagery, Charlotte has also used a range of adjectives to modify the noun or pronoun. For example, 'the pale sunshine,' 'bottle-green corridor' and 'the grimy lino floor.' She has used adjectives in these sentences (pale, bottle-green and grimy) to express the nouns quality, which overall exaggerates the appearance of the noun.