📙 Part 2: Describe one of your grandparents' jobs

This episode's vocabulary

Self-explanatory (adjective) – easy to understand without needing more explanation.

Specifications (noun) – detailed descriptions of what is needed or wanted.

Take measurements (verb phrase) – to find out the size or dimensions of something.

Apply (paint) (verb) – to put paint or another substance onto a surface.

Run (a business) (verb) – to manage or operate a business.

Invaluable (adjective) – extremely useful; too valuable to measure.

Pillar of the community (noun phrase) – a respected and important member of a community.

Have a lot on your plate (idiom) – to have many tasks or responsibilities.

Struggle (to do something) (verb) – to have difficulty doing something.

In the traditional sense (phrase) – meaning something in the usual or most common way.

Questions and Answers

Maria: Describe one of your grandparents' jobs. You should say what job it was, when and where your grandparent did the job, and explain what you think about this job.

Rory: My grandfather was a painter and decorator his whole life, as far as I'm aware, and he built a fairly successful business. I suppose the job is fairly self-explanatory, really. You have to make sure that the interior of a house looks nice and meets the client's specifications.

So in order to do that, he would do things like take measurements, order materials and organise putting them up or into people's homes. That could include putting up wallpaper, as well as applying paint to surfaces. I'm fairly sure he did it for pretty much his entire life, from the 1930s to the 1970s when he died.

Towards the end, he was rather ill, and my grandmother ran much of the business. But he never retired, I think, so it's safe to say he lived and died a painter and decorator. When it comes to what I think about this job, I actually rather wish I had someone like that in my life right now to help me finish some work on the house. So from my perspective, it's invaluable. I suppose it must have been a lot of hard work, too, now I think about it. It's a lot to organise and calculate all by yourself. I know I'd have struggled to do it. I suppose that was why he was something of a pillar of the community back in those days, since he had a lot on his plate. It's a good thing he did do that job, because if he hadn't, I'd have had nothing to talk about. All my other grandparents didn't really have jobs or workplaces. In the traditional sense, at least.

Hey, thank you, Rory, for your story.

And thank you, Grandad Goodwillie, for contributing that.