This week in the social programme… On Monday, It was Juliet again taking a slightly smaller group of students to our local pub, "the Cock". The number of students reflects the slowing down of SGI's activity as Christmas approaches. They enjoyed some beer, cider, wine and hot chocolate, and had a chat about airports and cheap airlines. The question is: Do we really save money when flying with airlines such as Ryan Air, Easyjet etc… when they only land in far fetched airports, miles (or kilometres) outside the main cities? Well this was one of the conversations going on anyway. Others included Germany, and also informal / friendly phrases such as: "Nice to see you again" – "Keep Warm!" (useful in this terribly cold weather we are experiencing at the moment) 
On Wednesday, Owen got us one of the best theatre deals of the year! He booked tickets for "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" for £15. The group arrived at the show expecting to be seated quite far back – away from the stage and main action, but they were actually upgraded to seats which are usually worth £65 each!! They had a great view. At one point in the show, the actors invited the audience to join them onstage for a dance, and a few of our Georgian students did! They had great fun. A comment from Dinara and Yaiza, both Intermediate students in my afternoon class, was than, eventhough they didn't understand all the goings-on, the show really stired up a variety of happy feelings, and it was thoroughly enjoyable. So thanks a lot Owen, that was a really good one! 
Finally on Thursday, it was my turn join in the social programme, which was nice because I hadn't done for quite a few weeks. We travelled to Waterloo on the South Bank and went to the National Theatre to visit an exhibition of landscape photographs which were very very good. One comment from Melanie (French Intermediate student) was that some of the pictures really reflected what she expected of, for example, Scotland, but also surprised her as she didn't think the UK landscape could be so varied and picturesque. 
After the exhibition, we went for a walk along the Thames towards the London Eye and had a look at all the different little chalets displaying handicraft and Christmas gift ideas. There were scents of mulled wine, crepes, sweet chestnuts, roast dinners… it was lovely! I think visiting a Christmas Market is a great way to get into the Christmas spirit. 
So this weekend, get out there, check out all the ones available, warm up with a little mulled wine or a creamy hot chocolate, and have a great time! Join us next week for more pub visits, theatre shows and lovely walks!
10 New Year’s Resolutions for Learning English
It is hard to believe but we have almost reached the end of
