Christmas Stories: New Year rituals and blenders
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Protect your reputation with exterior products by James Hardy. 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 wintry tales. And today, we're going to be hearing stories from Pippa... Hello. ...and Georgie. Hello. Hello.

And I'm Phil. Okay, Pippa, can you tell us about your story in three words? Three words, okay. Train, theatre, blender. Blender. Yeah. Okay, sounds interesting. Georgie, can you tell us about your story in three words? Strange witch ceremony.

Okay, I'm really intrigued now. These sound like they're going to be some amazing stories. Okay, Pippa, let's hear your story.

Okay, so a few years ago when I was living in London, I had gone to stay with my family for Christmas as per usual. And on Christmas Day, I'd been very lucky, received lots of lovely presents, including my favourite gift that year, a blender to make soups and smoothies. There was just one problem. The blender was quite big and bulky and I was worried about taking it back home.

home on the train along with all my other bags and presents when I went back to my flat after the holidays. But as luck would have it, my New Year's Eve plans included a day trip into London to see an afternoon performance of a musical. So perfect, I thought, I'll take the blender with me, pop up to my flat on the way to drop it off and then head on to the theatre. Then

then when I went back home in a few days I would just take the rest of my stuff and it would all be manageable. So New Year's Eve arrived, I got ready, caught the train into London, blender on the seat beside me. My flat at the time was up three flights of stairs so I got quite hot and sweaty carrying this big box up to my door.

and I put the key in the door I turned the handle and I pushed but the door wouldn't open and I knocked on the door I had a flatmate at the time and I thought maybe she could let me in but there was no answer and

So I sent her a text message and she replied. So it turned out she had headed away kind of on the spur of the moment for a New Year's party in France. And because she knew we were both away for a few days, she'd locked the extra bottom lock on our door to keep the flat secure. And it was a lock that we never used because it only had one key. And that key was with her on the way to France.

And because I was running so late and it was New Year's Eve, there was no chance of getting a locksmith to open the door. So I had no choice but to pick up the blender and head off into central London with it. Arriving a bit red faced at the theatre, I went to the cloakroom where you can pay to leave coats or bigger bags in.

I'm sure the staff there see all sorts, but the man did look at me slightly strangely when I handed over this huge box to him with a blender inside. The musical was great, but I felt a little bit silly as I headed back on the train to my parents' house in the countryside, still carrying my huge blender. That's a great story. What was your first thought as you got to the door of your flat and it wouldn't open? I...

I actually think I lost all reason. I couldn't understand why this door wouldn't open because I'd completely forgotten that several months earlier when we moved in there was an extra lock that you could only see from the inside. So I just really didn't know what was going on. I thought that the world had conspired against me. LAUGHTER

You should have asked the people in the theatre if they had any fruit and you could have made a smoothie for the performance. A half-time smoothie for the interval. That would have been good. I've made many of those since in the blender, but every time I use it, I remember that it went on an adventure to London and back and then back again to London about three days later. A traumatic experience. All the ingredients of a perfect story. OK, let's listen now. Georgia, you had a story...

About witches, by the sounds of it. Let's hear your story. Okay, so I spent New Year's Eve one year a couple of years ago with some friends having dinner and drinking and...

Just after the countdown and everyone said Happy New Year, I think I must have gone to the bathroom or something. I left whichever room everyone was in. And when I returned, I walked in on a very strange scene. So at this house, there was a fireplace and everyone was gathered around this fireplace in a kind of semicircle. And they were writing on bits of paper things that they were leaving behind in 2022. And

They were announcing what these things were to the group and then throwing them in the fire. So things like negative energy or ex-partners, things that they wanted to leave behind in that year. And at first I thought the whole thing was very strange and quite cheesy, very un-British.

But once I embraced it and I had a go myself, it was actually quite fun. And in the end, I kind of felt like it was quite a nice way of reflecting on the past year and being mindful about what you want to take into the new year. So I quite enjoyed it in the end. ♪

I like that story. Did it work? Did whatever you put in the fire stay in 2022? That is a good question. If only I could remember what I put in the fire. What would you put in the fire? Oh, for this year? Maybe the rubbish weather we've had. We've had so much rain this year. I'd put that in the fire. Although, you know, it's all balance, isn't it? You've got to have a bit of everything. Yeah. What about you, Phil? I think I'd put the rain in the fire, yeah. But it'd probably put it out. LAUGHTER

I've actually done that. I have some Colombian friends and apparently it's a tradition they have to burn the year at the end of the year. So I remember being at their house making a model of the year and then we stuck things we wanted to get rid of with it and set it on fire. And that's it for this episode. Next week, we'll hear about some of the storytelling techniques that you might have heard. Remember, you can find all our stories and dramas on our website...

bbclearningenglish.com. Bye for now. Bye. Happy New Year.

Search Learning English from the News on your podcast app or visit bbclearningenglish.com.

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 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.