Floods in Northern England

Several towns in the county of Cumbria flooded late this week after a huge rain storm.

Cumbria is one of the wettest parts of the UK, partly because it has mountains, but this week’s rain was very unusual. Two towns had rainfall of more than 2.5 inches in a day. And one valley had 12.4 inches (314mm) in 24 hours, which could make it the wettest day ever recorded.

There has also been flooding in parts of Scotland and Wales.

Families live on nine basic meals

Research has showed that British mothers tend to cook just nine different meals for their children.

The mothers said they did not have much time to cook different things. They also said their children would not try new foods. The study found that the average mother owns eight cook books but has only tried making five new recipes.

The meals mums make most often are:

1. Spaghetti Bolognese (pasta with meat sauce)
2. Roast dinner (roast meat or chicken with potatoes and vegetables)
3. Shepherds Pie/Cottage Pie (minced meat with mashed potato on top)
4. Pasta dish
5. Meat and two veg (some type of cooked meat with boiled potatoes and vegetables)
6. Pizza
7. Casserole/stew (meat and vegetables cooked with gravy in a pot)
8. Sausages and chips/mash potato
9. Indian/Curry   

UK town goes wi-fi

A whole town will get free wi-fi from next year.

Swindon in Wiltshire is spending £1m on putting a wireless internet signal into the whole town.

Residents will be able to use the service free for several hours a day, and can pay for extra time.

The organisers say the Digital City UK plan will make Swindon a better place to live and work. They also hope to make money from the scheme.

What’s on British television?

People tend to watch more television in winter when darkness comes earlier.

The fashion in the UK is for "reality TV" where people take part in a competition, and viewers can vote for winners. We currently have three of these big shows on. The newest is "I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here!" In this show, people who are well known are put in a jungle and made to eat insects to win food.

There is also "Strictly Come Dancing", where well-known people compete in a ballroom dancing competition. But the big one is "The X Factor" where singers are competing for a recording contract with a man called Simon Cowell. Cowell is also one of the judges and is famous for being rude to contestants.

Whoever wins the X Factor will probably have the top-selling song at Christmas.

This year’s competition is attracting attention because of twin teenage boys who are taking part. John and Edward (called Jedward) are not very good at singing or dancing but the viewers keep on voting to keep them. This is probably to annoy Simon Cowell who does not want them to win.

by Susan Young - susan@englishuk.com

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