This episode’s vocabulary
Host
noun — someone who has guests.
Up the road
phrase — on this same street or road, but at a further distance from here / on this same street or road, but at a higher elevation from here
A mutual friend
adj — someone who is a friend of each of two or more other people.
To introduce
adj — to tell someone another person's name the first time that they meet.
To get on like a house on fire
idiom — if two people get on like a house on fire, they like each other very much and become friends very quickly.
Wind up
phrasal verb — to come to be in a particular situation or condition.
To get caught up in something
phrase — to become involved in something, often without wanting to.
Gossip
noun — conversation or reports about other people's private lives that might be unkind, disapproving, or not true.
Favour
noun — a kind action that you do for someone.
Intrusive
adj — affecting someone in a way that annoys them and makes them feel uncomfortable.
Genuine
adj — if something is genuine, it is real and exactly what it appears to be.
Questions and answers
Rory, describe a hospitable person (who is good at making people feel welcome in his/her home).
Well, this is easy. My best friend Rob is an amazing host, actually. I always used to go around to his place for the whole weekend just for the company alone. And even though I have my own room, I still like going over there. He's just five minutes up the road now, so why not? I've known him personally for almost 15 years now. But we knew of each other before that, since we had some mutual friends. That's actually how we were introduced to each other through them. And we got on like a house on fire and actually wound up being even better and closer friends than the people we originally met through. Even though I've been all over the place with travelling and work and things like that, whenever I came back, he was one of the first people I would see. And now I live here, he's often the person I see the most often. I absolutely loved spending time with him. Even when he wasn't close by, I'd always make the effort to go and see him, since he would always be pleased to see me. And we'd get caught up on all the latest gossip and goings on in our town and among our friendship group. Needless to say, this is all achieved with ridiculous amounts of alcohol. We both have a taste for the finer things in life. So usually that's champagne and premium liquor. And well, he's more of a vodka person, and I'm definitely a bourbon man. He always has some of my favourites in the cellar on hand for when I'm around. I'd never expect someone to do that. But I really appreciate the effort. And I always return the favour whenever he's around at mine. In addition to all these other things, he's really good at creating a comfortable environment to chat wherever he is. The lighting is soft, and there's music in the background that isn't too intrusive. And it's just generally a pleasant place to be wherever he is. But in particular, his home because it's so well-designed and well-decorated. I'm honestly not sure why he's so good at things like that. But if I were to guess I'd say it's probably out of having a genuine interest in people he's friends with and what they have to say. I'll have to ask him about it the next time I see him to be honest.