📙 Part 2: Describe a dinner that you enjoyed

This episode’s vocabulary

Neither nor - not either of two things or people; Maria and Vanya didn't come to the party.

A load of - much or many

Conceal (verb) - to prevent something from being seen or known about: The listening device was concealed in a pen. I tried to conceal my surprise when she told me her age.

Fond memories  (collocation) – to remember (an event) with pleasure or happiness.

Show up (phrasal verb) - to arrive somewhere in order to join a group of people, especially late or unexpectedly: I invited him for eight o'clock, but he didn't show up until 9.30.

Frankly (adverb) - in an honest and direct way.

Pair with (verb) - to combine two things to produce a particular result.

Turn out (phrasal verb) - to happen in a particular way or to have a particular result, especially an unexpected one: As events turned out, we were right to have decided to leave early. How did the recipe turn out?

Chips (noun) British English

Hangover (noun) - a feeling of illness after drinking too much alcohol: I had a terrible hangover the next morning.

Mandatory (adj.) - something that is mandatory must be done, or is demanded by law.

Venue (noun)- the place where a public event or meeting happens: The hotel is an ideal venue for conferences and business meetings. The stadium has been specifically designed as a venue for World Cup matches.

Haphazard(adj.) - not having an obvious order or plan: He tackled the problem in a typically haphazard manner.

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Questions and Answers

Maria: Rory will describe a dinner that he enjoyed. He's going to say who organized this meal, what he talked about during the meal, and why he enjoyed it. Can you start speaking now, please?

Rory: Oh, God, I'm. Let's talk about my 31st birthday party this year, which neither you nor Vanya were at, Maria... How deeply disappointing that was. Anyway, despite that fact it was really great. I organized it with one of my friends because we share a birthday. Her birthday was the day before mine and we actually hadn't seen each other in a while, so it was a great excuse to party. And we invited a load of our common friends and... Well, a lot of other people besides. I know a few more people than she does, but it's not a competition. The whole idea is that we get together and celebrate with the people we're close to. And, well, in terms of the place it was this Serbian restaurant near Chistye Prudy, which is a metro station in Moscow, and the Serbian restaurant... I can't remember how to pronounce the name, but it's close by. It's round the back. It's concealed from view. We had a lot of fond memories there... Well, We've had a lot of fun of memories there and it seemed like the best place to go, at least it seemed that way at the time.

The food and drink took ages to come. I don't think they were expecting so many people to show up... Neither was I, frankly. And from the people that did, we were all different which explains why the conversations, were varied wildly from LGBT rights in Russia, to what wine, was the best to pair with the French fries. (As it turns out, no wine pairs well with chips). The food itself, it was just typical pub grub, (when it arrived). I'm not sure I had that much of it, which explains my hangover the next day. And on the subject of hangovers, I had wine (a lot of wine), more than I had drunk in the last year actually. And then there was bourbon, which is pretty much mandatory. It wasn't so much about the venue or the food, actually. It couldn't be really since it was so awful. Although, it wasn't the fault of the place itself, like I said. It was more about having some of the people closest to me around at a time when I really missed and wanted to be with my family. And everybody came despite the haphazard nature of the meal. Well, almost everyone...Maria.

Maria: Thank you. Rory, did your friends enjoy the dinner?

Rory: The friends that Kim enjoyed the dinner... Maria.