Christmas Stories: Christmas trees and caravans
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Hello and welcome to the Learning English Stories podcast. This festive season, we're sharing some of our own stories from this time of year. So get cosy by the fire, grab a mug of hot chocolate and get ready for some wintery tales.

Hello, I'm Beth and welcome to Christmas Stories. In this series, we tell real stories about Christmas, New Year and the festive season. Today, our stories come from Phil. Hello. And Georgie. Hello. OK, Phil, can you summarise your story in one word? One word? Yeah. Caravans. Oh, OK.

Georgie? Disaster. Oh, okay. Interesting. Well, I'm excited. Okay, Phil, let's hear your story. Okay, so this comes from many years ago, and it was the first Christmas after my grandad had died. My mum and my aunt, they didn't want to have the same family Christmas that we always had because it'd be a lot of painful memories hanging around. So instead of staying in London, we went away to the countryside. Now,

Almost every Christmas card you get when you're a kid shows a snowy scene, a white Christmas. And the thing is, I've never had one. It never snows in London at Christmas, or hardly ever. But out in the countryside, it's a different story. So on Christmas Eve, as my parents and my aunt and uncle were preparing Christmas dinner, it started to snow. And it didn't stop. Pretty soon, the village we were staying in was blanketed in snow. Having a white Christmas for the first time, it's a nice memory.

But it's not actually what I remember most about this trip. The most memorable thing, it came on Boxing Day, which is the day after Christmas. And there was a racetrack nearby. We'd seen some posters. It was a big stock car race. And that's when people race old cars or modified cars around a track on a bitterly cold day, really freezing. We headed to the track to find out the top event of that day was caravan racing.

And that's exactly what it sounded like. Each of the racing cars was towing a decorated caravan. But what followed was complete carnage. The cars sped round the track, knocking each other's caravans out of the way. For a 15-year-old, this was as exciting as it gets. And by the end of the race, there was pretty much nothing left of the caravans. Some of the cars were still towing a metal trailer, and the track was just covered in splintered wood.

And it's that scene of destruction that is my enduring memory of Christmas in the countryside. Crisp snow, bitter cold and smashed caravans.

So did anyone get hurt? Because I was waiting to hear about a bit of caravan flying off into the crowd. These were professionals. They knew what they were doing. Professional caravan. I think they'd done it before. I think this was not their first rodeo. They'd smashed a caravan or two before, I think. And they were wearing helmets and all the gear. So safety first. Yeah, of course.

Okay, Georgie, I think it's time to hear your story now. Okay, so this one was when I was very little. I think I was about five years old and I was playing near the Christmas tree. So because I was small, I was probably crawling around my head quite close to the floor and I ended up sniffing up

those Christmas tree needles up my nose you know a real Christmas tree has their leaves are unusual aren't they I think would you call them leaves

They're kind of like sharp needles and one went up my nose and my mum was trying to find it with a torch. She was looking up my nostrils and couldn't find it and she was quite worried. I'm not sure why she was so worried. She used to be a nurse, so I guess her concern was valid, but she took me all the way to the hospital.

all the way to the hospital to accident and emergency. We call it A&E in the UK. And we drove about 40 minutes away. And when we got to the doctors, they couldn't find the Christmas tree needles stuck up my nose. So we came all the way home and that was it. It was a bit of a wasted journey.

But they're so sharp. Were you in pain? I don't remember being in pain. I think I must have just felt a bit uncomfortable. I think I was absolutely fine. It was my mum who was worried about it.

I mean, to be fair, pine needles, like the needles on a Christmas tree, smell really nice. I don't remember that part, but yes, I think now I'm an adult, they do smell really nice. You don't sniff them anymore, presumably. I don't sniff them anymore. It wasn't on purpose, Phil. It was an accident.

I think A&E must be quite busy at Christmas with people with things up their nose because my cousin got a bell from a little toy stuck up his nose when he was about two. Well, that's bigger. When he shook his head, did he ring? Ding, ding, ding, ding. I think so, yeah. It's very festive. Amazing.

That's it for this episode. Next week, we'll hear some stories about New Year. Find all our stories and dramas on our website, bbclearningenglish.com. Bye for now. Bye. Bye.

There are so many ways to learn with BBC Learning English. Follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, subscribe to our YouTube channel, discover our podcasts and find all the latest Learning English content on our website bbclearningenglish.com. Yoga is more than just exercise. It's the spiritual practice that millions swear by.

And in 2017, Miranda, a university tutor from London, joins a yoga school that promises profound transformation. It felt a really safe and welcoming space. After the yoga classes, I felt amazing. But soon, that calm, welcoming atmosphere leads to something far darker, a journey that leads to allegations of grooming, trafficking and exploitation across international borders.

I don't have my passport, I don't have my phone, I don't have my bank cards, I have nothing. The passport being taken, the being in a house and not feeling like they can leave...

You just get sucked in so gradually.

And it's done so skillfully that you don't realize. And it's like this, the secret that's there. I wanted to believe that, you know, that whatever they were doing, even if it seemed gross to me,

was for some spiritual reason that I couldn't yet understand. Revealing the hidden secrets of a global yoga network. I feel that I have no other choice. The only thing I can do is to speak about this and to put my reputation and everything else on the line. I want truth and justice.

And for other people to not be hurt, for things to be different in the future. To bring it into the light and almost alchemise some of that evil stuff that went on and take back the power. World of Secrets, Season 6, The Bad Guru. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.