A busmans holiday

Hello, I’m Rob…

And I’m Feifei, and this is The English We Speak.

So it should have been Neil presenting with you today but he’s gone on holiday so you’ve got me instead.

Yes I know - Neil’s on holiday for two whole weeks!

Oh lucky Neil. Two weeks doing nothing - sitting on the beach in the sun, eating ice-cream. Wonderful!

Oh Neil won’t be sitting on any beaches. He’s going to help teach English at a school in Spain.

What! He’s gone to Spain to do the same work he does here - that’s a bit of a busman’s holiday.

But his job isn’t driving buses Rob.

No Feifei - a busman’s holiday is a holiday where you do the same thing you do at work instead of just having a rest.

I see. A busman’s holiday is not about going on a bus. It’s a strange choice for Neil isn’t it Rob?

It is but he’s not the only one - listen to these examples…

The taxi driver said he was going on a driving holiday around Europe - it sounds like a busman’s holiday to me!

I decided to take a break from playing in the band and go on holiday but it turned into a busman’s holiday when I ended up busking to raise enough money for my plane ticket home.

So that’s a busman’s holiday, where you go on holiday to do the same or similar work that you do at home. If I went on holiday, doing my job would be the last thing I’d do.

Yes me too but think about what Neil actually does in his job….

He drinks tea… sits around chatting… goes shopping…

Exactly - and he’ll be doing the same in Spain.

Now that sounds like my kind of busman’s holiday! When can I go?

Let’s finish the programme first.

OK. Bye!

Bye.