英语播客 A Cup of English Messing about on the water.

During the weekend, I took my two youngest children to the park. My youngest son had insisted for the best part of half a day, that we go fishing. It's not exactly the right season for catching a fish, but for 'messing about on the water' it is just right. Anyone who, as a child, was able to take off his shoes and socks, and walk around in a stream or shallow lake, look at little fish and other creatures, and hunt for pretty rocks and shells, will know what 'messing about on the water' means. It's not about accomplishing anything at all. It's about enjoying the time together and the fine weather. I did a lot of messing around in streams when I was growing up. I used to live in a little town in the south west of England called Hatherleigh. It was rural, quiet, and very pretty. Because there wasn't much to do, as far as organised entertainment, us kids would get up to all sorts of things. We climbed trees, trekked through the farmers' fields, and spent a lot of time down at the stream. I remember biking there with my friends, throwing my bike on the floor, and running down to the stream to hand catch fish called bull-heads. These cute, round headed, fresh water fish would hide under stones; we knew just where to find them. I would spend what seemed like hours, bent over, hands cupped in the water, ready to trap a little, wiggly bull-head. We would always let them go after feeling them wiggle in our hands for a few minutes. Gosh, thinking about it now, that was a loooong time ago! It was a time before household computers and cell phones, even before wearing bicycle helmets was a rule! My kids also love to do the same things; I think most kids do. "Oh, look Mum! Baby fish, lots of them, right over there!" Robert and Domini called out from the rocks. We didn't get to catch any fish in our hands, but there were plenty of baby trout to look at. We collected pretty rocks. We threw skimmers. Do you know what they are? To skim means to lightly touch the surface. So a skimmer is a very flat rock that you throw, that literally bounces a few times on the surface of the water. My son was able to practice casting his fishing line; he is quite an expert now at throwing the hook and float a long way out. When the fishing season is here, I plan to surprise him with an official license, so he can catch a trout that is good enough for dinner.

Grammar notes.

Useful verbs and expressions: to insist, to accomplish, to trap, to skim.

1. They insisted that we stay for coffee; we didn't leave their house until midnight.

2. He accomplished his goal. After a year of studying, he got an 'A' on his final exam.

3. The fisherman trapped the fish in a net, but it wiggled and got out.

4. I skimmed the skin off of the custard that I made. You must do that before you serve it.