The fifth of November is an important date in English culture. Four hundred years ago, a man called Guy Fawkes tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament in London in an attempt to kill King James I, his family, and most of the Protestant aristocracy. Every year, people in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries and regions celebrate the failure of the plot on what is known as Guy Fawkes Night, Bonfire Night, Fireworks Night, Cracker Night or Plot Night. This usually involves lighting fires or bonfires as they are called, and letting off fireworks.

Remember, remember the fifth of November; the gunpowder, treason, and plot...

What’s happening this week?

Marcin and Daniel’s Music Club takes place this Saturday at the London Pub on Plac Piastów @ 8pm. Skating Club is this Saturday. Sign up for it in the secretaries’ office and meet at the skating rink @ 12:30 if you want to go. See Brian for more details.

Word of the Day
Nut

1. A dry fruit
2. Slang for head
3. A person who is very enthusiastic about something e.g. He’s a grammar nut
4. A crazy person
5. To be nuts about something means to be very keen or interested e.g. My friend is nuts about Angelina Jolie
6. A hard nut to crack is a problem which is very difficult to solve

7. Off one’s nut means to be confused or insane

The Adventures of Bobby Callan #6

Bobby arrived at the Callan headquarters in London. There were a lot of steps up to the office, fifty-eight to be precise. He knocked on the door.
“Enter!” a voice cried from within. He opened the door to see three men dressed like Mr Brown sitting round a table playing cards.
“Hello, I’m Bobby Callan, and I’m here to see Robin Callan.”
“He’s not here,” one of the men said.
“Where is he?” Bobby asked.
“That’s top secret. Can’t tell you I’m afraid. Mr Callan doesn’t like people to know of his whereabouts.”
“Tell you what”, Bobby said confidently, “I’ll play you at cards, and if I win, you have to tell me where he is.”
The three men looked at one another and considered his challenge.
“Go on,” said Bobby. “I dare you!”
“All right,” the man said.
Bobby sat down and started to play. Half an hour later he had lost all his money, and the chances of finding Robin Callan were getting slimmer by the minute.
“Double or nothing?” the Mr Brown look-alike said.
Bobby nodded in agreement. He had decided to play one more game, double or nothing. If he won, he would get back all that he had lost, but if he lost the game, he would double what he had already lost. Fortunately, his luck was in, and he won.
“Ha! Now you must tell me where Robin Callan is,” Bobby said.
“Hang on”, the man said, “you didn’t win. You just got your money back. You said that if you won we had to tell you where he was.”
“Don’t change my direct speech into indirect speech without my permission!” Bobby replied angrily.
The man spoke to him quietly and pleasantly, as this is the best way to calm somebody down when he’s very angry.
“Listen. If you really want to find Mr Callan, you’ll have to go to Argentina. That’s all I can tell you.”
“So, he’s in Argentina. Great! I’ll have a nice holiday and look for Robin Callan at the same time,” Bobby said.
“Kill two birds with one stone,” the man retorted.
“Exactly! You’ve hit the nail right on the head.”
They all started laughing. Bobby noticed a picture of Mrs Brown in her underwear hanging on the wall. He looked around the office. There were boxes of Callan books, empty bottles of gin, and packets of cigarettes scattered about the room. It was obvious that the three Mr Brown look-alikes were all idle, perhaps lazy.
“Are you Mr Brown?” Bobby asked the man sitting on his left-hand side.
“No, I’m not Mr Brown, but he’s Mr Brown,” he said, pointing at the man sitting opposite.
“Are you Mr Brown?” Bobby asked the second man.
“No, he’s Mr Brown,” he said, pointing back at the man who was pointing at him.
“But he just said that you were Mr Brown,” Bobby said.
“I’m Mr Brown!” said the third man.
“You’re pulling my leg,” Bobby said.
The three men burst out laughing. Bobby gathered up his things and left.
“I think you all have rough manners”, he said as he was leaving, “not necessarily bad manners but you haven’t been educated in the correct use of manners.”