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Russian
00:00:00
and we're recording hello listeners00:00:02
welcome back to Luke's English podcast00:00:04
how are you doing today you're doing all00:00:06
right I hope so um are you ready for00:00:09
this new00:00:10
episode could be a long one you don't00:00:12
have to listen to the whole thing in one00:00:14
go you know you can just listen to a bit00:00:16
stop do something else come back00:00:18
continue listening later or if if you00:00:21
want to and if you can just stick with00:00:23
me for the whole thing in all in one go00:00:25
hopefully it's going to be interesting00:00:27
and there's going to be like lots of00:00:28
learning English uh potential in this00:00:31
episode okay right I'm I'm looking00:00:34
forward to this I'm looking forward to00:00:36
doing this one I hope I can do it well I00:00:38
hope I hope it comes out well uh I think00:00:41
I better get started there's a PDF for00:00:44
this um and you can download the PDF00:00:47
just there's a link in the description00:00:49
and you can just download it directly um00:00:52
which you know could be useful for you00:00:55
you'll see a script of a lot of the00:00:56
things I'm going to say I think I better00:00:59
get started I'm going to start reading00:01:00
from that PDF now okay so if you want to00:01:04
get the PDF ready just download it00:01:06
there's a link in the description you'll00:01:08
find the PDF also on the page for this00:01:10
episode on my00:01:11
website um but you don't have to you00:01:14
don't have to get the PDF you can just00:01:15
listen and just enjoy listening okay00:01:18
right let's go so I'm going to start00:01:20
reading from the PDF in five 4 3 2 one00:01:25
here we go hello in this episode I'm00:01:28
going to tell you another story and use00:01:31
it to help you learn English the story00:01:33
I'm going to read is called aonis Island00:01:36
and it was written by English author HG00:01:39
Wells I'll explain the title a bit later00:01:42
I've talked about this story before in00:01:44
episode number00:01:46
838 in that episode I talked about a00:01:49
lovely day I had when the sun came out00:01:52
and I sat in a little square in Paris00:01:55
and read an old book of HG Wells short00:01:58
stories which I happen to have in my00:02:00
pocket have you heard episode00:02:02
838 it was a 3-hour00:02:05
episode um so maybe you started00:02:07
listening to it and then you didn't00:02:09
finish I don't know anyway so I have00:02:12
talked about this story before so this00:02:14
is the story which I read that00:02:16
particular00:02:17
day and I really enjoyed it and I told00:02:20
you about it and retold the story in00:02:23
episode 838 in my own words but in this00:02:27
episode I'm going to read the entire00:02:29
text to you hopefully you'll enjoy it as00:02:32
much as I did on that day and it'll be00:02:34
good for your English too so here's the00:02:37
approach I'm going to take this time I'm00:02:39
going to read the story to you twice00:02:41
first I'll read it from start to finish00:02:44
without stopping to explain things all00:02:47
you have to do is try to keep up with00:02:49
what's happening and hopefully just00:02:51
enjoy listening to everything try to get00:02:53
lost in the story follow every detail00:02:56
and try to immerse yourself in what's00:02:58
happening okay so that that's just when00:03:00
I read it from start to finish then I'll00:03:03
read it again I'll read the story again00:03:06
and we'll explain all the details as I00:03:08
go including a lot of00:03:11
vocabulary this story is about 5,00000:03:14
words so it's reasonably long and will00:03:17
probably take about 20 minut 20 minutes00:03:20
for me to read from start to finish00:03:23
doing that and then explaining a lot of00:03:25
vocabulary afterwards like going through00:03:27
the entire story and explaining lots of00:03:29
language after Wards and there is a lot00:03:31
all of that will probably make this00:03:33
episode very long but that's fine it'll00:03:35
be as long as it needs to be so let's00:03:38
get ready for a good lengthy session of00:03:40
learning English with a short story00:03:42
that's actually not that short feel free00:03:44
to read with me as you listen using the00:03:47
PDF or just listen to my words and study00:03:49
the text later in your own time if you00:03:51
want to a bit of information about the00:03:54
story first it's worth giving a little00:03:56
bit of background context here because00:03:59
will help you understand and appreciate00:04:01
the story so this story was written by00:04:04
HG Wells an English author who is00:04:07
generally considered to be one of the00:04:09
most influential writers of modern times00:04:11
his influence on literature and Cinema00:04:14
is clear particularly modern Hollywood00:04:17
action adventure and science fiction00:04:19
films I read out extracts from one of00:04:22
his other stories War of the Worlds on00:04:24
the podcast a few years ago and that's a00:04:26
clear example of how influential his00:04:29
writing was00:04:31
um but this story which is not a science00:04:34
fiction story was first published in00:04:36
1894 but despite the fact that that is00:04:39
over a hundred years ago the story is00:04:41
still quite fresh and I think the00:04:43
language isn't really too old-fashioned00:04:46
I think it's still a perfectly good00:04:47
representation of English in fact it's00:04:50
great writing very descriptive clear and00:04:53
evocative and great writing is always00:04:56
worth reading and in my opinion it will00:04:58
have a lot of educ ational value if00:05:00
you're learning English a bit of00:05:03
historical context for the story now so00:05:05
the end of the 19th century was a time00:05:08
of exploration research and Discovery00:05:12
especially from the European00:05:14
perspective and travelers from places00:05:17
like England or France would go to other00:05:20
remote areas in order to study and00:05:23
collect things like new animal or plant00:05:27
species and bring them back to be00:05:29
studied or sold now this is00:05:32
controversial today of course because00:05:34
there are arguments about the ethics of00:05:36
this and how developed countries have00:05:39
basically profited from the resources of00:05:42
other less developed countries over the00:05:44
years in fact I think the character in00:05:46
this particular story sort of pays the00:05:49
price for this in a way as you will see00:05:51
but anyway in those days there were00:05:54
companies that paid people to go out and00:05:56
collect things so remains of EXT inct00:06:00
animals such as dinosaurs were00:06:03
particularly valuable and there were00:06:05
private collectors who would pay quite a00:06:07
lot of money for items like dinosaur00:06:09
bones or eggs the more well preserved00:06:13
these items were the more value uh they00:06:16
had also museums such as the British00:06:20
museum in London would buy these00:06:22
interesting items and artifacts and then00:06:24
keep them to be studied and put on00:06:26
display scientific researchers were00:06:29
particularly Keen to acquire specimens00:06:33
this is how explorers and collectors00:06:35
made their living so this story00:06:38
describes the experience of a man like00:06:40
this employed by a company in England to00:06:43
go out in search of remains of extinct00:06:46
animal species it's a sort of adventure00:06:49
story based in reality but with a little00:06:52
twist so imagine this okay imagine this00:06:57
at the beginning of the story our first00:06:59
narrator that's the person telling the00:07:01
story The the story is narrated by two00:07:03
people really you have the first00:07:05
narrator and then the second narrator00:07:07
who is really the main Storyteller but00:07:10
anyway here's the situation our first00:07:13
narrator is sitting in a cafe somewhere00:07:16
in a farflung part of the world farflung00:07:19
meaning far away and I it's really00:07:22
farflung from an English perspective00:07:24
anyway right so somewhere far away from00:07:27
England perhaps somewhere in Africa00:07:30
he's sitting in a cafe he happens to00:07:32
have some orchids these rare flowers00:07:35
with him and another man is sitting00:07:38
opposite him this other man has a long00:07:41
scar down his face and is curious about00:07:44
the orchids about the00:07:46
flowers so the the narrator and this man00:07:50
with a scar they strike up a00:07:52
conversation and the man whose name is00:07:55
Butcher then becomes the main narrator00:07:58
of the story as he describes a peculiar00:08:02
experience he had when he was once00:08:04
stranded on a desert island near00:08:07
Madagascar so a desert island that is a00:08:10
a little island out in the middle of the00:08:12
ocean deserted no people living on it00:08:16
right um you know you sort of Imagine00:08:19
something like the film Cast Away with00:08:21
Tom Cruz Tom Cruz no it's Tom Hanks00:08:25
isn't it if it would be a different film00:08:27
if Tom Cruz was in Cast Away right he00:08:31
would have run been done he would have00:08:32
done a lot more running um and there00:08:35
would have been a lot more action anyway00:08:36
Tom Hanks the film Cast Away so in that00:08:39
film Tom hanks's character gets stranded00:08:42
on a desert island right his plane00:08:44
crashes he ends up stranded on the00:08:46
island for years great film I love that00:08:49
film um anyway in this one this guy with00:08:52
a scar on his face called butcher ends00:08:54
up stranded on a desert island near00:08:56
Madagascar and butcher explains how he00:08:59
was in that part of the world employed00:09:01
by a collector to try to find Remains00:09:04
the bones and eggs of an extinct species00:09:08
of giant bird known as the elephant bird00:09:11
or00:09:13
aporus so that's why he was there trying00:09:15
to find remains of this extinct massive00:09:18
bird The00:09:20
Remains were to be found in these sort00:09:23
of Tar Pits or something similar what00:09:27
are what are Tar Pits a pit is like a00:09:29
sort of a big hole in the00:09:31
ground in this case holes in the ground00:09:34
that are full of00:09:35
Swampy Earth and00:09:38
liquid um okay tarpits they're like deep00:09:42
swamps a swamp is like a a place that's00:09:45
got lots of water and Earth and mud in00:09:48
it a mix of mud and00:09:51
water um sort of thing you would find00:09:54
maybe next to a river next to a lake or00:09:57
next to the ocean a where the Earth gets00:10:00
really really inundated with water and00:10:03
it can be dangerous if you walk into it00:10:05
you can sink down into the swamp so the00:10:08
remains of this elephant bird that00:10:10
butcher was looking for these remains00:10:13
were to be found in tar pits right these00:10:16
are like deep swamps full of some kind00:10:19
of oily liquid tar is like a is like oil00:10:24
okay it's very similar really to oil the00:10:27
difference is I think that tar is a bit00:10:29
thicker but anyway this swamp was full00:10:32
of a sort of oily tar liquid which00:10:35
perfectly preserved the remains of00:10:38
animals which must have somehow fallen00:10:40
in there thousands of years ago the00:10:43
aporus the elephant bird is one of these00:10:46
animals whose bones and eggs could be00:10:49
recovered from these Tar00:10:52
Pits the aporus is in fact a real bird00:10:56
although it doesn't exist anymore it00:10:58
became extinct meaning it died out about00:11:01
a thousand years ago people say it was00:11:04
native to Madagascar and is considered00:11:07
to be the largest bird ever to have00:11:09
lived apparently some species of apis00:11:13
used to grow to about 3 or 4 m in height00:11:17
that's about the size of an elephant so00:11:20
just imagine that for a moment imagine a00:11:22
chicken for example imagine a chicken00:11:25
the size of an elephant and now imagine00:11:28
standing next to it00:11:30
it's quite frightening actually when you00:11:32
think about it what would happen if it00:11:34
if it pecked you with its beak now these00:11:37
elephant Birds which didn't really look00:11:38
like chickens I mean they're kind of not00:11:40
dissimilar really not dissimilar00:11:42
flightless00:11:44
birds um but you know the size of an00:11:47
elephant these elephant birds were00:11:49
absolutely real uh complete skeletons of00:11:52
them and their eggs have been found and00:11:55
also the local people have stories about00:11:57
them too so absolutely real the aonis00:12:00
the elephant bird so back to the story00:12:04
the job of this Explorer called butcher00:12:06
was to find remains of these birds in00:12:09
these weird pits and bring them back to00:12:11
his employer to be sold in London and00:12:14
butcher describes what happened to him00:12:17
while he was doing this so imagine we're00:12:19
in some sort of remote place perhaps the00:12:21
Southeast coast of Africa on an island00:12:24
of Madagascar we're probably in a simple00:12:27
cafe or bar there or something similar00:12:30
the first narrator has a bunch of rare00:12:32
flowers these Orchids with him and the00:12:34
other man butcher leans over the table00:12:36
to start a00:12:37
conversation so now just try to follow00:12:40
the story and remember that when I00:12:42
finished I'll go through the whole thing00:12:43
again and we explain everything for you00:12:45
you'll see that some vocabulary in the00:12:47
text if you look at the PDF some of the00:12:49
vocab is highlighted in a pale orange00:12:52
color those are the words and phrases00:12:54
I'm going to clarify later so here we go00:12:56
AP Onis Island by HG well00:13:01
the man with the scarred face Lent over00:13:04
the table and looked at the bundle of00:13:06
flowers I'd00:13:07
collected orchids he asked a few I said00:13:12
see predium he said mostly I replied00:13:17
anything new I thought not I did these00:13:20
islands 25 27 years ago if you find00:13:24
anything new here well it's brand new I00:13:26
didn't leave much uh I'm not a collector00:13:29
I said I was young then he went on my00:13:33
goodness how I used to fly00:13:36
around he seemed to measure me with his00:13:38
eyes I was in the East Indies 2 years00:13:41
and seven in Brazil then I went to00:13:45
Madagascar I know a few explorers by00:13:47
name I said anticipating a story who did00:13:50
you collect for dwon I wonder if you've00:13:54
ever heard of the name00:13:56
butcher Butcher uh butcher00:14:00
the name seemed Vaguely Familiar then I00:14:02
remembered butcher versus00:14:06
dorson wow I said you're the man who00:14:08
sued them for four years salary you got00:14:11
Cast Away on a desert island At Your00:14:14
Service said the man with the scar00:14:17
bowing funny case wasn't it here was me00:14:20
making a little fortune on that island00:14:22
doing nothing for it as well and them00:14:25
quite unable to fire me it often used to00:14:27
amuse me thinking it over while I was00:14:29
there I did calculations of it big ones00:14:32
all over that damned atle written in the00:14:34
sand you see how did it happen I said I00:14:38
don't quite remember the00:14:40
case well you've heard of the aporus00:14:43
haven't you uh yes I have my colleague00:14:45
Andrews was telling me of a new species00:14:48
he was working on only a month or so ago00:14:50
just before I sailed they've got a00:14:52
thighbone it seems nearly a yard long00:14:56
the thing must have been an absolute00:14:58
monster I believe you said the man with00:15:00
the scar it was a monster but when did00:15:03
they get hold of these bones um three or00:15:07
four years ago 91 I think00:15:10
why why because I found them goodness me00:15:14
it's nearly 20 years ago if dwson hadn't00:15:17
been silly about that salary they might00:15:19
have made a fortune I just couldn't stop00:15:21
the infernal boat going a00:15:24
drift he00:15:26
paused I suppose it's the same place a00:15:28
kind of swamp about 90 M north of00:15:32
Antananarivo do you happen to know you00:15:34
have to go to it along the coast by00:15:36
boats you don't happen to remember00:15:39
perhaps no I don't but I'm pretty sure00:15:42
Andrew said something about a swamp it00:15:45
must be the same place it's on the east00:15:46
coast somehow there's something in the00:15:49
swamp water that stops things from00:15:51
decaying it smells like creosote it00:15:53
reminded me of Trinidad did they get any00:15:56
more eggs some of the eggs I found were00:15:59
a foot and a half long the swamp goes00:16:02
circling round you know and cuts off00:16:04
this bit it's mostly salt too well what00:16:07
a time I had I found the things quite by00:16:10
accident we went for eggs me and two00:16:13
native Chaps in one of those funny00:16:15
canoes all tied together and found the00:16:17
bones at the same00:16:19
time we had a tent and Provisions for 400:16:22
days and we pitched on one of the firmer00:16:25
places thinking of it brings that old00:16:27
tar smell back to to me even now yeah00:16:30
it's funny work you go probing into the00:16:33
mud with iron rods you know usually the00:16:36
egg gets00:16:37
smashed I wonder how long it is since00:16:39
these AP orisses really lived the00:16:42
missionaries say the locals have legends00:16:44
about it when they were00:16:45
alive but I never heard of any such00:16:48
stories myself but certainly those eggs00:16:50
we got were as fresh as if they'd just00:16:52
been laid fresh carrying them down to00:16:56
the boat one of my local chaps dropped00:16:58
one on a and it smashed I was absolutely00:17:01
Furious I can tell you I couldn't00:17:04
contain myself and I gave him a bit of a00:17:05
beating I have to00:17:07
say but the egg was perfect fresh as the00:17:10
day it was laid not even smelly and its00:17:13
mother dead for 400 years perhaps the00:17:16
assistant who dropped it said a00:17:17
centipede had bitten him however I'm00:17:20
getting sidetracked from the story it00:17:22
had taken us all day to dig into the00:17:24
sludge and get these eggs out unbroken00:17:27
and we were all covered with disgusting00:17:29
black mud and naturally I was cross as00:17:33
far as I knew they were the only eggs00:17:36
that have ever been removed not even00:17:39
cracked I went afterwards to see the00:17:41
ones at the Natural History Museum in00:17:43
London all of them were cracked and just00:17:45
stuck together like a mosaic and with00:17:48
bits missing mine were perfect and I00:17:52
meant to blow them when I got back00:17:54
naturally I was annoyed at the silly00:17:56
fool dropping 3 hours work just on a on00:17:58
account of a centipede I hit him about a00:18:02
bit the man with a scar took out a clay00:18:05
pipe I placed my tobacco pouch before00:18:08
him he filled up00:18:11
absentmindedly how about the others did00:18:13
you get those home I don't remember00:18:15
hearing about them well that's the00:18:18
strange part of the story I had three00:18:20
others perfectly fresh00:18:22
eggs well we put them in the boat and00:18:25
then I went up to the tent to make some00:18:27
coffee leaving my two heathens down on00:18:30
the beach the one fooling about with his00:18:33
sting and the other one helping him it00:18:35
never occurred to me that the beggar00:18:37
would take advantage of the peculiar00:18:39
position I was in to stab me in the back00:18:41
like that but I suppose the centipede00:18:44
poison and the kicking I'd given him had00:18:46
upset him he was always a bit00:18:48
bad-tempered and he must have persuaded00:18:51
the other one I remember I was sitting and smoking00:18:54
and boiling up the water over a little00:18:56
Spirit lamp I used to take on these00:18:59
Expeditions incidentally I was admiring00:19:01
the swamp under the sunset all black and00:19:04
blood red it was in streaks a beautiful00:19:07
sight and up beyond the land Rose gray00:19:10
and hazy to the hills and the sky behind00:19:13
them was red like a furnace mouth and 5000:19:16
yards behind the back of me were these00:19:18
two locals I'd brought along quite00:19:20
uninterested in the Tranquil air of00:19:22
things and this incredible view plotting00:19:25
to cut off with the boat and leave me00:19:27
all alone with 3 days provisions and a00:19:29
canvas tent and nothing to drink00:19:31
whatsoever Beyond a little keg of00:19:34
water I heard a kind of Yelp behind me00:19:38
and there they were in this little canoe00:19:40
thing it wasn't properly a boat in the00:19:43
water and perhaps 20 yards from00:19:46
Land I realized what was up in a moment00:19:49
my gun was in the tent and besides I had00:19:52
no bullets only duck shot they knew that00:19:55
but I had a little revolver in my pocket00:19:57
and I pulled that out as ran down the00:19:59
beach come back I said waving it in the00:20:02
air they jabbered something at me and00:20:05
the man that broke the egg00:20:08
Jered I aimed at the00:20:10
other because he was unwounded and had00:20:14
the paddle and I missed they laughed00:20:18
however I wasn't00:20:19
beaten I knew I had to keep cool and I00:20:23
tried him again and made him jump as it00:20:25
Whizz past him he didn't laugh that time00:20:29
the third time I got his head and over00:20:32
he went into the water and the paddle00:20:35
with him it was a precious lucky shot00:20:37
for a revolver I reckon it was 50 yards00:20:41
away he went right under I don't know if00:20:44
he was shot or simply stunned and00:20:47
drowned then I began to shout to the00:20:49
other chap to come back but he huddled00:20:51
up in the canoe and refused to answer so00:20:54
I fired Out My Revolver at him but never00:20:56
got near him I I felt like an utter fool00:21:00
I can tell you there I was on this00:21:02
rotten black Beach flat swamp all behind00:21:06
me and the flat sea cold after the00:21:08
sunset and just this black canoe00:21:11
drifting steadily out to sea I tell you00:21:14
I cursed dorson and jamracks and museums00:21:17
and all the rest of it I shouted at the00:21:19
local to come back until my voice went00:21:22
up into a00:21:23
scream there was nothing for it but to00:21:25
swim after him and take my luck with the00:21:28
shark00:21:29
so I opened my clasp knife and put it in00:21:31
my mouth and took off my clothes and I00:21:34
weighed it in as soon as I was in the00:21:37
water I lost sight of the canoe but I00:21:39
aimed as I judged to head it off I hoped00:21:43
the man in it was too bad to navigate it00:21:46
and that it would keep on drifting in00:21:47
the same00:21:49
direction just then it came up over the00:21:51
horizon again towards the Southwest the00:21:54
Afterglow of sunset was well over now00:21:56
and the dim of night was creeping up the00:21:58
stars were coming through the blue I00:22:01
swam Like A Champion though my legs and00:22:03
arms were soon00:22:04
aching however I came up to him by the00:22:07
time the stars were fully out as it got00:22:09
darker I began to see all manner of00:22:11
glowing things in the water00:22:13
phosphorescence you know at times it00:22:15
made me dizzy I hardly knew which was00:22:18
stars and which was phosphorescent and00:22:21
whether I was swimming on my head or my00:22:23
heels the canoe was Pitch Black and the00:22:26
Ripple under the Bowers like Liquid Fire00:22:29
I was naturally wary of clambering up00:22:31
into it I was anxious to see what he was00:22:34
up to first he seemed to be lying00:22:37
cuddled up in a lump in the boughs and00:22:39
the stern was up out of the water the00:22:42
thing kept turning round slowly as it00:22:44
drifted kind of Waltzing don't you00:22:47
know I went to the stern and pulled it00:22:50
down expecting him to wake up then I00:22:53
began to clamber in with my knife in my00:22:55
hand and ready for a rush but he never00:22:58
stirred00:22:59
so there I sat in the stern of the00:23:01
little canoe drifting away over the calm00:23:04
phosphorescent sea and with all the host00:23:06
of stars above me waiting for something00:23:09
to00:23:10
happen after a long time I called him by00:23:13
name but he never answered I was too00:23:17
tired to take any risks by going up to00:23:19
him so we just sat there I think I dozed00:23:22
off once or00:23:23
twice When the Dawn came I saw he was as00:23:27
dead as a doornail and all puffed up and00:23:30
purple my three eggs and the bones were00:23:33
lying in the middle of the canoe and the00:23:36
keg of water and some coffee and00:23:38
biscuits wrapped in a cape Argus00:23:40
newspaper by his feet and a tin of00:23:42
methylated spirit underneath him there00:23:45
was no paddle nor in fact anything00:23:47
except the spirit tin that I could use00:23:49
as one so I settled to drift until I was00:23:52
picked up I examined him decided he'd00:23:55
been bitten by some snake Scorpion or00:23:58
cede unknown and sent him00:24:01
overboard after that I had a drink of00:24:04
water and a few biscuits and took a look00:24:08
around I suppose a man positioned as low00:24:12
down as I was doesn't see very far in00:24:15
any case Madagascar was clean out of00:24:17
sight and any trace of land at all I saw00:24:21
a sail going southwestward looked like a00:24:23
schooner but her Hull never came up into00:24:26
view near me then the Sun got high up in00:24:29
the sky and began to beat down upon me00:24:32
my goodness it pretty near made my00:24:34
brains boil I tried dipping my head in00:24:37
the sea but after a while my eye fell on00:24:40
the cape Argus newspaper and I lay down00:24:43
flat in the canoe and spread this over00:24:45
me wonderful things these newspapers I'd00:24:48
never read one thoroughly before but00:24:50
it's odd what you get up to when you're00:24:52
alone as I was I suppose I read that old00:24:55
Cape Argus 20 times the pitch in the00:24:59
canoe Simply Red with the heat and it00:25:02
rose up into big00:25:04
blisters I drifted for 10 days said the00:25:07
man with the scar it's a little thing in00:25:09
the telling isn't it every day was like00:25:12
the last except in the morning and the00:25:14
evening I couldn't even keep a lookout00:25:17
the blaze of the sun was so00:25:20
unbearable I didn't see a sail after the00:25:22
first 3 days and those I saw took no00:25:25
notice of me about the sixth night a00:25:28
ship went by only about half a mile away00:25:31
from me with all its lights Ablaze and00:25:33
its ports open looking like a big firly00:25:37
there was music aboard I stood up and00:25:39
shouted and screamed at it but to no00:25:42
avail the second day I tapped a hole in00:25:45
one of the apor eggs scraped the shell00:25:48
away at the end bit by bit and tried it00:25:52
and I was glad to find it was good00:25:53
enough to eat a bit flavory not bad I00:25:57
mean but with something of the taste of00:25:59
a duck's egg there was a kind of00:26:02
circular patch about 6 in across on one00:26:06
side of the yolk and with streaks of00:26:08
blood and a white Mark like a ladder in00:26:10
it that I thought looked a bit odd but I00:26:13
didn't understand what this meant at the00:26:15
time and I wasn't inclined to be too00:26:18
fussy as I was completely00:26:21
ravenous the egg lasted Me 3 days with00:26:25
biscuits and a drink of water I chewed00:26:28
coffee berries too invigorating stuff00:26:31
the second egg I opened about the eighth00:26:34
day and it scared me the man with the00:26:37
scar paused yes he said it was00:26:42
developing I expect you find it hard to00:26:45
believe I did with a thing right in00:26:48
front of me there the egg had been sunk00:26:52
in that cold black mud perhaps 3 or 400:26:55
hundred years but there was no mistaking00:26:57
it there was the what is it embryo with00:27:02
its big head and curved back and its00:27:05
heart beating under its throat and the00:27:07
Yol shriveled up and great membranes00:27:10
spreading inside the shell and all over00:27:12
the00:27:14
Yoke here I was hatching out the eggs of00:27:18
the biggest of all extinct birds in a00:27:20
little canoe in the midst of the Indian00:27:23
Ocean if old dorson had known that it00:27:26
was worth four years salary what do you00:27:29
think however I had to eat that precious00:27:33
thing up every bit of it before I00:27:35
sighted the reef and some of the00:27:37
mouthfuls were horribly00:27:39
unpleasant I left the third one alone I00:27:42
held it up to the light but the shell00:27:44
was too thick for me to get any notion00:27:46
of what might be happening inside and00:27:48
though I thought I heard blood pulsing00:27:51
it might have been the sound in my own00:27:53
ears like what you listen to in a sea00:27:57
shell then came the atol came out of the00:28:01
sunrise suddenly close up to me I00:28:04
drifted straight towards it until I was00:28:06
about half a mile from Shore not more00:28:10
and then the current took a turn and I00:28:12
had to paddle as hard as I could with my00:28:13
hands and bits of the aporus shell to00:28:16
make it to the00:28:17
place however I got there it was just a00:28:21
common ATL about 4 miles round with a00:28:24
few trees growing and a spring in one00:28:26
place and the Lagoon full of of parrot00:28:29
fish I took the egg ashore and put it in00:28:32
a good place well above the tidelines00:28:34
and in the sun to give it all the chance00:28:36
I could and pulled the canoe up safe and00:28:39
wandered about00:28:41
prospecting it's funny how dull and atol00:28:44
is as soon as I'd found the spring all00:28:47
the interest seemed to vanish when I was00:28:50
a boy I thought nothing could be finer00:28:52
or more adventurous than the Robinson00:28:54
cruso business but that place was as00:28:56
monotonous as a book of ser00:28:59
I went round finding edible things and00:29:01
generally thinking but I tell you I was00:29:04
bored to death before the first day was00:29:06
out it shows my luck the very day I00:29:09
landed the weather changed a00:29:11
thunderstorm went by to the north and00:29:13
flicked its wing over the island and in00:29:15
the night there came an absolute00:29:17
downpour and a howling wind slapped00:29:20
overhead it wouldn't have taken much you00:29:22
know to upset that00:29:24
canoe I was sleeping under the canoe and00:29:27
the egg was luckily in the sand higher00:29:29
up the beach and the first thing I00:29:31
remember was a sound like a hundred00:29:33
Pebbles hitting the boat at once and a00:29:36
rush of water over my body I'd been00:29:38
dreaming of00:29:40
Antananarivo and I sat up and shouted to00:29:42
inosi my maid to ask her what the hell00:29:45
was going on and I clawed out at the00:29:47
chair where my matches used to be then I00:29:49
remembered where I was all alone00:29:54
stranded there were phosphorescent waves00:29:57
rolling up as if they meant to eat me00:29:59
and all the rest of the night was Pitch00:30:01
Black the air was simply yelling the00:30:04
clouds seemed down on your head almost00:30:06
and the rain fell as if heaven was00:30:08
sinking and they were bailing out the00:30:10
water above the00:30:12
sky one great roller came ring at me00:30:15
like a fiery Serpent and I bolted then I00:30:18
thought of the canoe and ran down to it00:30:20
as the water went hissing back again but00:30:23
the thing had gone I wandered about the00:30:25
egg then and felt my way to it it it was00:30:29
all right and well Out Of Reach of the00:30:31
maddest waves so I sat down beside it00:30:34
and cuddled it for company Lord what a00:30:36
night that00:30:38
was the storm was over before the00:30:40
morning there wasn't a rag of cloud left00:30:43
in the sky When the Dawn came and all00:30:45
along the beach there were bits of plank00:30:47
scattered which was the broken up00:30:49
skeleton so to speak of my canoe however00:30:53
that gave me something to do for taking00:30:54
advantage of two of the trees being00:30:56
together I rigged up a kind of storm00:30:59
shelter with these bits and pieces and00:31:01
that day the egg00:31:04
hatched hatched sir when my head was00:31:07
pillowed on it and I was00:31:10
asleep I heard a whack and felt a jerk00:31:13
and sat up and there was the end of the00:31:16
egg pecked out and a funny little brown00:31:19
head looking out at me Lord I said00:31:22
you're welcome and with a little00:31:24
difficulty he came out he was a nice00:31:27
friendly little chap at first about the00:31:30
size of a small hen very much like most00:31:33
other young birds only bigger his00:31:35
plumage was a dirty Brown to begin with00:31:39
with a sort of gray scab that fell off00:31:42
it very soon and he didn't really have00:31:44
feathers it was more like a kind of00:31:46
Downy00:31:47
hair I can hardly Express how pleased I00:31:50
was to see him I tell you Robinson cruso00:31:54
doesn't make nearly enough of his00:31:56
loneliness he looked looked at me and00:31:58
winked his eye from the front backwards00:32:01
like a hen and gave a chirp and began to00:32:04
Peck about at once as though being00:32:07
hatched 300 years too late was just00:32:09
nothing glad to see you man Friday I00:32:13
said for I'd naturally settled he was to00:32:15
be called man Friday if he ever hatched00:32:18
as soon as I found the egg in the canoe00:32:20
had00:32:21
developed I was a bit anxious about his00:32:24
feed so I gave him a lump of raw parrot00:32:27
fish at once he took it and opened his00:32:29
beak for more I was glad about that00:32:32
because under the circumstances if he'd00:32:34
been at all fussy I should have had to00:32:36
eat him after all and he grew you could00:32:39
almost see him grow and as I was never a00:32:43
very social man his quiet friendly ways00:32:46
suited me to a00:32:47
tea for nearly 2 years we were as happy00:32:51
as we could be on that island I had no00:32:53
business worries because I knew my00:32:55
salary was mounting up at dawon's00:32:59
we would see a sail now and then but00:33:01
nothing ever came near us I amused00:33:03
myself too by decorating the island with00:33:06
designs made from sea urchins and fancy00:33:08
shells of various kinds I put aporus00:33:12
Island all around the place very nearly00:33:14
in big letters like what you see done00:33:17
with colored stones at Railway stations00:33:18
in the old country and mathematical00:33:21
calculations and drawings of various00:33:23
sorts and I used to lie watching that00:33:26
Bloody bird stalking around around and00:33:28
growing growing and I'd think about how00:33:31
I could make a living out of him by00:33:33
showing him about if I ever got taken00:33:34
off that at00:33:36
all after his first malt he began to get00:33:39
handsome with a Crest and a blue wle and00:33:42
a lot of green feathers at his behind00:33:45
and then I used to puzzle whether dorson00:33:47
had any right to claim him or not during00:33:50
Stormy Weather and in the rainy season00:33:53
We Lay snug under the shelter I'd made00:33:55
out of the old canoe and I used to tell00:33:57
him lies about my friends back home and00:34:00
after a storm we would go around the00:34:02
island together to see if there was any00:34:05
Driftwood it was a kind of idil you00:34:08
might say if only I'd had some tobacco00:34:11
it would have been simply Just Like00:34:13
Heaven it was about the end of the00:34:16
second year our little Paradise went00:34:18
wrong Friday was then about 14 fet High00:34:22
from toe to beak with a broad head like00:34:25
the end of a pickaxe and two huge huge00:34:27
brown eyes with yellow rims set together00:34:30
like a man's not out of sight of each00:34:33
other like A Hen's his plumage was00:34:36
fine none of the half mourning style of00:34:39
your ostrich more like a caer as far as00:34:42
color and texture00:34:44
go and that was when he started to act00:34:46
arrogantly and kind of show off in front00:34:48
of me and show signs of a nasty00:34:52
temper and at last came a time when my00:34:55
fishing had been rather unlucky and he00:34:57
began to hang about me in an odd00:35:00
meditative way I thought he might have00:35:03
been eating sea cucumbers or something00:35:05
but it was really just discontent on his00:35:08
part I was hungry too and when I finally00:35:11
landed a fish I wanted it for myself00:35:14
tempers were short that morning on both00:35:16
sides he pecked at it and grabbed it and00:35:19
I gave him a whack on the head to make00:35:21
him let go and after that he went for me00:35:25
God he gave me this in the face00:35:28
the man pointed to his scar then he00:35:30
kicked me it was like a cart horse I got00:35:34
up and seeing that he hadn't finished00:35:36
ran off at Full Tilt with my arms00:35:38
doubled up over my face but he ran on00:35:41
those gawky legs of his faster than a00:35:44
racehorse and kept striking out at me00:35:47
with Sledgehammer kicks and bringing his00:35:49
pickaxe down on the back of my00:35:51
head I made for the Lagoon and went in00:35:54
up to my neck he stopped at the water00:35:57
because he hated getting his feet wet00:35:59
and started to make a big fuss somewhat00:36:02
resembling a peacock's display but with00:36:05
a harsher tone he started strutting up00:36:08
and down the beach I'll admit I felt00:36:11
pretty small to see this fossil lording00:36:13
it over00:36:14
me and my head and face were all00:36:17
bleeding and well my body just one jelly00:36:20
of00:36:21
bruises I decided to swim across the00:36:24
Lagoon and leave him alone for a bit00:36:26
until the whole thing blew over I00:36:29
shinned up the tallest palm tree and sat00:36:32
there thinking about it all I don't00:36:35
suppose I ever felt so hurt by anything00:36:37
before or since it was the brutal00:36:40
ingratitude of the creature I'd been00:36:43
more than a brother to him a great gawky00:36:46
out ofd bird a me a human being heir of00:36:50
the ages and all00:36:52
that I thought after a time he'd begin00:36:54
to see things in that light himself and00:36:57
feel little sorry for his behavior I00:36:59
thought if I was to catch some nice00:37:01
little bits of fish perhaps and then go00:37:03
to him in a casual kind of way and offer00:37:06
them to him he might do the sensible00:37:08
thing it took me some time to learn how00:37:11
spiteful and bad-tempered and extinct00:37:13
bird can be pure00:37:16
malice I won't tell you all the little00:37:19
tricks I tried to win that bird round00:37:21
again I simply can't it makes my cheek00:37:24
burn with shame even now to think of the00:37:26
snubs and buffets I had from this00:37:28
infernal00:37:30
curiosity I tried violence I chucked00:37:33
lumps of coral at him from a safe00:37:35
distance but he only swallowed them I00:37:38
threw my open knife at him and almost00:37:41
lost it though it was too big for him to00:37:44
swallow I tried starving him out and00:37:47
stuck to fishing for myself but he took00:37:49
to picking along the beach at low water00:37:52
after worms and got by on00:37:54
that half my time I spent up to my neck00:37:57
in the lagoon and the rest up the palm00:38:01
trees one of them was hardly even high00:38:03
enough and when he caught me up it he00:38:05
had a regular bank holiday with the00:38:07
carves of my00:38:09
legs it got unbearable I don't know if00:38:12
you've ever tried sleeping up a palm00:38:14
tree it gave me the most horrible00:38:17
nightmares think of the shame of it too00:38:20
here was this extinct animal stalking00:38:23
about my Island like a sulky Duke and me00:38:26
not allowed to rest the sole of my foot00:38:28
on the place I used to cry with00:38:31
weariness and00:38:33
frustration I told him straight that I00:38:35
didn't mean to be chased about a desert00:38:37
island by any damned00:38:45
anacronismo legs and00:38:48
neck I wouldn't like to say how long00:38:51
that went on in total I would have00:38:53
killed him sooner if I'd known how but00:38:55
eventually I hit on a way way of dealing00:38:58
with him at last it's an old South00:39:00
American trick I joined all my fishing00:39:03
lines together with stems of seaweed and00:39:05
things and made a kind of tough string00:39:08
perhaps 12 yards in length or more and I00:39:11
fastened two lumps of Coral Rock to the00:39:13
ends of this it took me some time to do00:39:16
it because every now and then I had to00:39:19
go into the Lagoon or up a tree when he00:39:21
came00:39:22
by eventually I had it ready a kind of00:39:25
roughly assembled bowler this I Whirled00:39:28
rapidly round my head and then let it go00:39:30
at him the first time I missed but the00:39:34
next time the string caught his legs00:39:36
beautifully and wrapped round them again00:39:38
and again over he went I threw it00:39:42
standing waste deep in the lagoon and as00:39:45
soon as he went down I was out of the00:39:47
water and soaring at his neck with my00:39:50
knife I don't like to think of that even00:39:52
now I felt like a murderer while I did00:39:55
it though my anger was hot against him00:39:59
when I stood over him and saw him00:40:01
bleeding on the white sand and his00:40:04
beautiful great legs and neck ring in00:40:07
his last00:40:08
Agony it broke my00:40:11
heart with that tragedy loneliness Came00:40:15
Upon me like a curse good Lord you can't00:40:18
imagine how I missed that bird I sat by00:40:21
his corpse and sorrowed over him and00:40:24
shivered as I looked around the desolate00:40:26
silent Reef I thought of what a jolly00:40:29
little bird he'd been when he was00:40:31
hatched and of a thousand Pleasant00:40:33
tricks he'd played before he went wrong00:40:36
I thought if I'd only wounded him I00:40:38
might have nursed him round into a00:40:39
better understanding if I'd had any00:40:42
means of digging into the Coral Rock I00:40:44
would have buried him I felt exactly as00:40:47
if he was human as it was I couldn't00:40:49
think of eating him so I put him in the00:40:52
lagoon and the little fishes picked him00:40:54
clean I didn't even save the feathers00:40:58
then one day a chap cruising about in a00:41:00
yacht took it upon himself to see if my00:41:03
atal still00:41:04
existed he didn't come a moment too soon00:41:07
for I was about Sick Enough of the00:41:08
desolation of it and only hesitating00:41:11
whether I should walk out into the sea00:41:12
and be done with it all that way or fall00:41:15
back on the green00:41:17
things I sold the bones to a man named00:41:20
Winslow a dealer near the British Museum00:41:23
and he says he sold them to Old haers it00:41:26
seems didn't understand they were extra00:41:29
large and it was only after his death00:41:31
that they attracted attention they00:41:33
called them aporus what was it apion is00:41:36
vastas I said it's funny the very thing00:41:40
was mentioned to me by a friend of mine00:41:42
when they found an aporus with a thigh a00:41:44
yard long they thought they'd reached00:41:46
the top of the scale and called him00:41:48
aporus Maximus then someone turned up00:41:51
another thigh bone 4T 6 or more and that00:41:55
they called aporus Titan then your00:41:58
vastus was found after old havers died00:42:01
in his collection and then a vasus00:42:03
turned00:42:04
up yes Winslow told me the same thing00:42:07
said the man with the scar if they get00:42:09
any more AP orisses he reckons some top00:42:12
scientist will go and burst a blood00:42:15
vessel but it was a strange thing to00:42:17
happen to a man wasn't it00:42:20
altogether okay that's the end of the00:42:23
story all right how was that how was00:42:27
that listeners I really hope that my00:42:29
performance did the story Justice it's00:42:32
quite a difficult one to read out00:42:34
considering like how much I enjoy the00:42:36
story how much I love the story and how00:42:39
much I enjoyed it when I first read it I00:42:41
really wanted to get that across to you00:42:44
I hope that you were able to follow it I00:42:46
hope I did a decent job of reading it00:42:48
out and at this point I mean I don't00:42:51
really quite00:42:53
know what to say at the end of the story00:42:55
I think I need to go through it explain00:42:57
it in more detail right that's what I00:42:59
definitely need need to do that but00:43:02
these are some notes I wrote earlier I00:43:04
said I wrote this I don't know what to00:43:06
say at the end of that except that I00:43:07
just find it to be such a vivid tale and00:43:10
so ironic to find yourself in such an00:43:13
extraordinary situation where you're00:43:15
being hunted by an animal that by All00:43:18
rights should never have existed or00:43:20
should never exist shouldn't exist that00:43:23
all rights shouldn't shouldn't even00:43:27
exist right back from Extinction but its00:43:31
Primal nature the Primal nature of this00:43:33
bird took precedence over everything00:43:35
else and it's exactly the sort of thing00:43:37
that would happen in nature basically a00:43:40
bird or an animal growing through its00:43:43
infancy in its juvenile stage and then00:43:45
becoming an adult and then changing and00:43:48
becoming like aggressive and violent and00:43:51
actually wanting to eat you if it's00:43:53
bigger than you so it's the sort of00:43:54
thing that would happen in nature but00:43:56
humans not very used to it00:43:58
happening uh to us these days as we're00:44:02
rarely knocked off the top of the00:44:04
pecking order so just like an ironic the00:44:06
irony of being knocked from the top of00:44:10
the pecking order by what should be an00:44:13
extinct00:44:14
animal and I know some of you are kind00:44:17
of thinking this is ridiculous there's00:44:18
no way that that could happen that eggs00:44:20
that are hundreds of years old that00:44:22
could actually hatch and that is00:44:25
obviously the little twist right that's00:44:27
the that's where he's pushed it into the00:44:30
realm of fiction I mean not exactly00:44:32
science fiction but it's kind of pushed00:44:34
into the realm of fantasy at that point00:44:37
and you just I suppose have to go with00:44:39
it um right and if you're willing to go00:44:42
with it and just imagine what would00:44:44
actually happen if you found some eggs00:44:47
that were perfectly preserved to the00:44:49
point where they were still actually the00:44:52
the the the the embryo or the the eggs00:44:54
were still um fertile and could still00:44:58
actually um00:45:00
hatch what would happen if if you got00:45:02
stuck on a desert island with one of00:45:04
those birds I don't know I I just found00:45:06
that to be a really imaginative and00:45:09
evocative story but also terribly sad I00:45:12
actually find it so terribly sad00:45:14
especially the moment when he had to00:45:16
kill the bird it's heart heartbreaking00:45:19
moment but yes it was a strange thing to00:45:21
happen to a man and by the way this00:45:23
story was written a hundred years before00:45:25
Jurassic Park00:45:28
by the way okay so what I need to do now00:45:31
is go through that story again because I00:45:34
can easily imagine that a lot of things00:45:37
were not clear to you um how was that00:45:40
did you understand everything were there00:45:42
things that you couldn't really follow00:45:44
um I mean I know the story well cuz I've00:45:46
read it a few times now but I wouldn't00:45:48
be surprised if there were things you00:45:49
didn't understand like for example how00:45:51
did he get00:45:53
rescued because in the story he refers00:45:56
to the man who rescues him he only00:45:59
briefly mentions him at the end he says00:46:01
a00:46:02
chap um a chap he describes him as a00:46:06
chap which is a another word for a man00:46:09
so it's it's not it wasn't that clearly00:46:12
stated like a man came and rescued me it00:46:14
was something like a chap took it upon00:46:17
himself to see if my ATL still existed00:46:20
which basically means that a man came by00:46:23
in a boat uh exploring the area to see00:46:26
if00:47:26
for example I've got a scar on my leg00:47:29
from when I was playing football as a00:47:31
kid and I I was goalkeeping I dived on00:47:34
the ground to catch the ball and I think00:47:36
there was a sharp Stone in the ground00:47:38
and it cut my leg open really badly and00:47:40
I've still got a scar there now so I've00:47:42
got a scarred leg in this case the man00:47:45
with the scarred face so the man with a00:47:47
scar on his face he Lent over the table00:47:51
he Lent over this is the verb uh lean to00:47:54
lean over the table that's he's sort of00:47:56
like um moved his body forwards in order00:47:59
to start talking uh to someone he Lent00:48:03
over the table lean to lean over move00:48:07
your body over uh lean over he Lent over00:48:10
the table and looked at the bundle of00:48:12
flowers I'd collected a bundle of00:48:14
flowers just like a group of flowers all00:48:17
gathered together you have a bunch of00:48:19
flowers a bunch of flowers would be what00:48:21
you would buy from the florist you'd00:48:23
give a bunch of flowers to your00:48:24
girlfriend or or someone that you love00:48:27
you know uh you bring them a bunch of00:48:29
flowers a bundle of flowers suggests00:48:31
that it's like a a big group of flowers00:48:34
that he's collected it might not be uh00:48:37
tied up together and presented in a00:48:39
beautiful way that would be a bunch of00:48:40
flowers a bundle of flowers just a a a00:48:43
load of flowers that he collected00:48:46
orchids he asked a few I said se predium00:48:50
he said so this is obviously the name of00:48:52
a kind of orchid C predium he said uh00:48:55
mostly I replied anything new no I00:48:59
thought not I did these islands 25 2700:49:02
years ago if you find anything new here00:49:05
well it's brand new I didn't leave much00:49:07
so here butcher is describing how um he00:49:12
you know it seems that butcher has00:49:14
already explored all these islands and00:49:17
um has found all of the different flora00:49:19
and FAA all the different uh plant life00:49:23
and animal life that exists here so he's00:49:25
done them he's kind of like found all00:49:27
the new he's he's he's um recorded all00:49:31
of the different00:49:32
species uh I did these islands 25 2700:49:35
years ago if you find anything new here00:49:37
well it's brand new I didn't leave much00:49:40
the the character butcher is quite an00:49:42
interesting character you get the00:49:44
impression he's sort of one of these00:49:45
really old school people a kind of very00:49:49
tough matter of fact type of person I00:49:53
mean a real Survivor there's no doubt00:49:56
but also maybe a little arrogant yes I00:49:59
did these islands 25 27 years ago if you00:50:02
find anything new here well it's brand00:50:03
new I didn't leave much I've done all of00:50:05
this already you know he's a little bit00:50:07
full of himself00:50:09
maybe uh I'm not a collector I said I00:50:13
was young then he went on my goodness00:50:17
how I used to fly around so this butcher00:50:19
character starts to remember his his00:50:24
younger00:50:25
days how I used to fly around meaning he00:50:28
used to travel around places very00:50:31
quickly going here going there going00:50:33
around flying around traveling around00:50:36
you know quite quickly never staying in00:50:38
one place for too long he seemed to00:50:41
measure me with his eyes so this is an00:50:44
interesting line in the story I'm00:50:46
wondering why Wells puts this line in00:50:49
here it's as if butcher is looking at00:50:51
the00:50:53
narrator briefly quick having a quick00:50:55
look at him as if he's sort of like00:50:57
judging taking his measure why would00:51:00
butcher do that I don't know he's sort00:51:01
of like having a look as if to as if00:51:05
he's thinking hm I wonder if I can00:51:08
wonder who this chap is shall I tell him00:51:10
my story or maybe uh I think I could00:51:12
probably uh make him believe this story00:51:15
or I'm not sure why uh butcher measures00:51:20
the narrator with his eyes he just looks00:51:22
at him and maybe sort of like quickly00:51:23
makes a judgment about00:51:25
him00:51:27
yes who is this young chap I think I'll00:51:29
tell him my story he'll probably be00:51:30
impressed by it I was in the East Indies00:51:34
two years the East Indies this is um the00:51:37
Caribbean00:51:42
right East00:51:44
Indies various no the West Indies is the00:51:47
Caribbean the East Indies is the a term00:51:51
used in historical narratives of the age00:51:53
of Discovery the Indies broadly refers00:51:56
to various lands in the East or the00:51:58
Eastern Hemisphere including including00:52:00
the islands and mainlands found in and00:52:02
around the Indian Ocean by Portuguese00:52:04
explorers soon after the cape route was00:52:07
discovered so right the Malay00:52:11
archipelago the Philippine archipelago00:52:13
Indian Indonesian archipelago Borneo New00:52:17
Guinea that's what used to be called the00:52:20
East00:52:21
Indies00:52:25
right I was in the East Indies 2 years00:52:27
and seven in Brazil then I went to00:52:29
Madagascar so butcher is explaining how00:52:31
he's been to all00:52:33
these various places in the00:52:36
world I know a few explorers by name I00:52:39
said anticipating a story who did you00:52:42
collect for so this is what the narrator00:52:44
says to butcher the butcher the narrator00:52:47
is anticipating a story so anticipating00:52:50
expecting one to happen right sort of00:52:53
like if you anticipate something you00:52:55
sort of imagine that something is going00:52:56
to happen before it00:52:58
happens so the narrator's like H I bet00:53:01
this butcher character is going to tell00:53:02
me a story uh so he says I know a few00:53:06
explorers by name who did you collect00:53:08
for so he's like asking for more00:53:12
information uh allowing butcher to00:53:14
perhaps tell a story dwon so dwson would00:53:18
be the collect uh The Collector or the00:53:21
company that butcher was uh working for00:53:25
Dawson's and but00:54:26
right I mean you know typically if it's00:54:29
a divorce you hear about like a Smith00:54:32
versus Smith would be a divorce case or00:54:35
the people versus Smith that would be in00:54:38
the USA a criminal case where it's the00:54:41
the state Prosecuting uh someone called00:54:43
Smith in this case it's butcher versus00:54:45
dwson so butcher the employee of the00:54:48
company and dwson I guess the the00:54:50
company or the person who owned the00:54:51
company it seems that D Butcher and00:54:54
dwson were involved in a legal dispute00:54:56
that went to court court is the place00:54:59
where legal cases are heard there's a00:55:03
judge there are lawyers right that's in00:55:05
a court so the butcher versus dwson00:55:08
clearly this case went to00:55:09
court H uh this and the the narrator of00:55:13
the story remembers this court case it00:55:15
must have been famous it must have been00:55:17
in the newspapers or something wow I00:55:19
said you're the man who sued them for00:55:21
four years salary you got Cast Away on a00:55:23
desert island so butcher must have sued00:55:27
dwon for four years salary because he00:55:30
was cast away on this desert island00:55:32
while working for dorson dorson the00:55:34
company had sent butcher out to collect00:55:37
these remains of the AP orice looking00:55:40
for bones looking for eggs he was00:55:42
employed by dwson at the time and while00:55:45
um being employed by him he got uh00:55:48
stranded on this desert island so I00:55:50
suppose butcher argued that Dawson was00:55:53
liable right that they were still00:55:54
responsible for him and and they still00:55:56
owed him a salary because he was still00:55:59
essentially under contract even though00:56:02
he was stuck on an island um he was00:56:04
still being um you know employed by00:56:07
Dawson at the time and so they should00:56:09
have been paying him for the entire00:56:11
experience which I can understand right00:56:13
I mean why not why shouldn't Dawson's00:56:15
continue to pay him salary Dawson's00:56:18
probably thought he was dead you know00:56:19
they probably assumed that he was dead00:56:21
or gone and argued that they it wasn't00:56:24
their responsibility to to continue00:56:26
paying him so I think that uh butcher00:56:29
won the00:56:30
case it seems that butcher won the case00:56:33
you're the man who sued them for four00:56:35
years salary so it looks like he got the00:56:37
money to sue someone means to take00:56:40
someone to court for example if you feel00:56:43
like you've got a claim to make for00:56:44
example if you feel like your employer00:56:46
owes you four years of salary uh you00:56:49
would take them to court you would sue00:56:51
them right00:56:53
um At Your Service said the with the00:56:56
scar bowing At Your Service this is a a00:56:59
kind of a something00:57:01
that people say meaning I you know I'm00:57:04
at your service meaning I am your00:57:06
servant um a kind of a a funny uh modest00:57:10
thing to say when um you're in someone's00:57:13
company oh you're you're you're Luke00:57:16
Thompson aren't you at your service it's00:57:18
people don't say that anymore it's kind00:57:19
of an oldfashioned thing but meaning yes00:57:22
I am I'm here to serve you meaning I'm00:57:25
I'm it's like a general generous00:57:26
friendly thing to say At Your Service00:57:28
said the man with a scar bowing if you00:57:30
bow it means you lean forwards right00:57:33
like um you know like typically in Japan00:57:36
people bow a00:57:38
lot like sort of bowing right uh you if00:57:43
you meet the king you bow to the queen00:57:45
or if you're a girl you curtsy right so00:57:49
At Your Service said the man with a scar00:57:50
bowing leaning his head00:57:53
forwards funny case wasn't it so a case00:57:57
in this case it was um butcher versus00:58:00
Dawson's that's a legal case but a case00:58:02
can also just be a situation funny case00:58:05
wasn't it here was me making a little00:58:07
fortune on that island so butcher was00:58:09
making a fortune if you make a fortune00:58:12
it means you make a lot of money a00:58:13
fortune is a is a lot of money in this00:58:15
case he was being paid a lot of money00:58:18
you know four years by00:58:21
Dawson's um here was me making a little00:58:24
Fortune making lots of money on that00:58:26
island doing nothing for it so he wasn't00:58:29
even doing anything he was just you know00:58:31
living on the island and them that's00:58:34
Dawson's the company quite unable to00:58:37
fire me so dwson couldn't fire him to00:58:41
fire him to fire someone means to um00:58:45
dismiss them so for example if if if I'm00:58:48
your boss right and you do something00:58:51
wrong at work like I don't know you're00:58:53
stealing pens from the pen cupboard00:58:56
which is obviously a terrible crime I'd00:58:59
warn you right stop stealing pens I've00:59:01
caught you stealing pens once and then00:59:04
you know you got two more warnings and00:59:06
then you get you I catch you stealing00:59:08
pens again and then a third time you I00:59:11
say right that's it that's that's your00:59:12
final warning I'm sorry but you're00:59:15
fired um and the per you get your coat00:59:18
you've got to go sorry you're fired to00:59:21
be fired to be dismissed means that you00:59:24
your employer tells you that you have to00:59:25
leave your job so they he was on the00:59:28
island making money from Dawson's and00:59:31
they couldn't fire him they couldn't00:59:33
dismiss him because obviously they00:59:35
didn't know where he was it of and the00:59:38
story continues it often used to amuse00:59:40
me used to sort of make me laugh00:59:42
thinking it over thinking if you think00:59:44
something over it's like you think about00:59:46
it again and again and again you sort of00:59:48
like consider it um00:59:52
right right sort of yeah thinking it00:59:54
over thinking it thinking about it again00:59:56
and again thinking about it deeply it00:59:58
used to amuse me thinking it over while01:00:00
I was there I did calculations of it so01:00:03
he did the all the maths he did all the01:00:06
the calculations like you would normally01:00:07
do these days with the calculator 1+ 101:00:09
is two right that's a c a sort of01:00:13
calculation a very simple one but he did01:00:15
calculations of it all over that damned01:00:18
atle written in the sand so he was doing01:00:21
the mathematical calculations working01:00:23
out how much money uh doron's uh had to01:00:26
pay him and he was doing the01:00:28
calculations writing writing all the01:00:30
numbers in the sand all over that damned01:00:33
ATL so an ATL this word you've heard01:00:36
this word a few times an ATL is a01:00:38
certain kind of01:00:40
Island and it's normally I think an01:00:42
island made from a from Coral or it's um01:00:46
it's part of a coral reef Coral is a01:00:49
kind of01:00:50
um it's a sort of uh it's a living thing01:00:55
which grows in the01:00:57
water um the Great Barrier Reef in01:01:00
Australia is a coral reef01:01:04
right um so an ATL is often made of01:01:08
coral or it's based in Coral or it could01:01:10
be also I understand it could be as a01:01:13
result of volcanic activity but01:01:15
basically an ATL is a very small island01:01:18
in the middle of the sea in the middle01:01:19
of the ocean and often an ATL has a kind01:01:23
of a basin in the middle or a lagoon in01:01:25
the middle01:01:27
um like water in the center of it and if01:01:29
it's made from a um if it's actually01:01:32
made from volcanic activity there might01:01:34
be Rock there with coral on top of it01:01:37
and there might also be spring water01:01:39
natural drinkable water that comes up01:01:41
through it because of the volcanic you01:01:43
know because it's essentially a volcano01:01:45
the very top part of a volcano or an01:01:47
ancient volcano so you get a ring of of01:01:51
um of land with possibly uh fresh water01:01:55
somewhere where and a lagoon in the01:01:57
middle a kind of lake in the middle that01:01:59
probably has lots of fish in it so01:02:01
that's an ATL it's a sort of an island01:02:03
with a lake in the middle so he did01:02:06
calculations all over that damned at all01:02:08
that damned is a slightly01:02:10
old-fashioned word to01:02:13
express uh the fact that he you know01:02:16
he's frustrated with this island he01:02:18
hates the island these days you might01:02:20
say that Bloody ATL or you might use the01:02:23
f word that ATL01:02:26
right to express frustration with01:02:28
something so like you know it's01:02:31
oldfashioned language but I might say if01:02:33
my phone's not working it's like I just01:02:34
can't get this damn phone to work or I01:02:38
can't get this bloody phone to work is01:02:40
what I might say these days might get I01:02:43
can't get this stupid phone to work I01:02:44
can't get this fcking phone to work that01:02:48
would be the FW which is obviously very01:02:50
rude um how did it happen I said I don't01:02:53
quite remember the case well you've01:02:55
heard of the AP orice haven't you yes I01:02:57
have my colleague Andrews was telling me01:03:00
of a new species he was working on only01:03:02
a month or so ago so the narrator has01:03:05
heard of the aporus his colleague who01:03:08
apparently is a scientist or an Explorer01:03:11
or something like that Andrews was01:03:14
telling him about a new species of01:03:16
aporus that he was working on recently01:03:19
just before I sailed this is when when01:03:22
he heard about the aporus they've got a01:03:24
thigh bone it seems nearly a young yard01:03:26
long so Andrews and the other scientists01:03:30
um researchers or whatever have got a01:03:32
bone in this case a thigh bone so the01:03:35
thigh bone is a bone from the leg it's01:03:38
the upper part of the leg probably the01:03:40
largest one of the largest bones in the01:03:43
body okay um so your thigh is from your01:03:47
waist to your knee that's your thigh so01:03:49
the thigh01:03:51
bone is the largest bone in your body I01:03:53
think so um it's probably the same in01:03:56
case for the aporus uh they've got a01:03:58
thigh bone it seems nearly a yard long a01:04:01
yard is um an imper it's imperial01:04:04
measurement you got you know inches feet01:04:06
and yards and Miles this is Imperial uh01:04:10
and um what is a yard how many how how01:04:14
big is a01:04:16
yard so a yard is just under a meter01:04:20
okay a yard is about 91 CM okay so01:04:24
they've the narrator is saying that01:04:27
Andrews and his other colleagues found a01:04:29
thigh bone or they've been studying a01:04:31
thigh bone which is nearly nearly a yard01:04:35
long so like sort of just under a meter01:04:37
long or so the thing must have been an01:04:40
absolute01:04:41
monster right I believe you said the man01:04:45
with the scar it was a monster but when01:04:47
did they get hold of these bones three01:04:50
or four years ago 91 I think why why01:04:53
because I found them goodness me it's01:04:56
nearly 20 years ago so uh01:05:00
butcher yes the the the the bones that01:05:04
uh the narrator's colleague Andrews has01:05:07
been studying were actually found by01:05:08
butcher01:05:10
himself might have even been the the01:05:12
bones of the actual bird on the island01:05:15
but we don't know um anyway he found01:05:18
them 91 in in01:05:20
1891 nearly 20 years ago if Dawson01:05:23
hadn't been silly about that salary they01:05:25
might have made a fortune so because01:05:28
Dawson's um didn't want to pay him the01:05:32
salary they didn't get to uh keep the01:05:35
the bones and they didn't get to sell01:05:37
them which was a mistake um anyway I01:05:41
just couldn't stop the infernal boat01:05:43
going a drift so uh butcher here is sort01:05:47
of remembering the experience of being01:05:48
stuck on the01:05:49
boat I couldn't stop the infernal boat01:05:52
going a drift infernal it's another word01:05:54
like Damned bloody it's an old-fashioned01:05:57
one though infernal relates to hell so01:06:01
it's like the hellish boat that damned01:06:04
boat infernal damned these are both sort01:06:07
of like01:06:08
religious um01:06:11
um swear words but old-fashioned01:06:15
ones um these days religious swear words01:06:18
are not really quite as offensive as01:06:20
they used to be um so anyway I couldn't01:06:23
stop the bloody boat going a drift I01:06:25
couldn't stop the The Infernal boat01:06:26
going a drift going a drift a01:06:30
drift so a boat if it's left on the01:06:33
water without an anchor without being01:06:35
attached to the uh bottom of the sea to01:06:39
the seabed right without being attached01:06:41
to something the boat will drift okay it01:06:45
will drift and it will go a drift a01:06:48
drift is the adjective then right so the01:06:52
boat drifts and the boat goes a drift01:06:57
right so that he's talking about the way01:06:58
he couldn't stop the boat from drifting01:07:01
he paused I suppose it's the same place01:07:03
a kind of swamp about 90 Mi north of01:07:06
Antananarivo do you happen to know you01:07:08
have to go to it along the coast by01:07:10
boats you don't happen to remember01:07:12
perhaps so he's referring to the place01:07:15
where um he found the bones and the01:07:17
eggs a kind of swamp so the swamp I told01:07:21
you about that at the beginning of the01:07:22
episode an area where there's a lot of01:07:25
water in the earth and um it's it's the01:07:29
ground is very very wet and not solid at01:07:32
all and you can things can sink down01:07:34
into the01:07:35
swamp right so this is the place where01:07:38
um he found the bones about 90 mil north01:07:41
of Antananarivo anono is a place in01:07:45
Madagascar um he says you have to go go01:07:49
to it along the coast by boats so the01:07:51
only way to get there is to go around01:07:53
the coast you can't go through the land01:07:56
because presumably it's just01:07:58
inaccessible there are too many swamps01:08:01
or the land is just not you can't travel01:08:03
through the land you have to go around01:08:05
around the coast in boats to access it01:08:08
um he says you don't happen to remember01:08:11
so instead of saying you don't remember01:08:12
do you this is quite nice you don't01:08:14
happen to remember it's just a sort of01:08:17
little hedging phrase that we use in01:08:20
order to be a bit less direct and we use01:08:23
this happen to you sorry happen to we01:08:26
use that a lot today so for example you01:08:28
don't happen to know where you don't01:08:31
happen to know where the station is do01:08:32
you so you could say where's the station01:08:35
which is too direct do you know where01:08:37
the station is which is Less Direct you01:08:40
don't know where the station is do you01:08:42
which is again Less Direct and more01:08:43
polite and then you don't happen to know01:08:45
where the station is do you and also you01:08:48
can have by any chance you don't happen01:08:50
to know where the station is by any01:08:52
chance do you right so happen to is just01:08:55
one of those little phrases we use to we01:08:58
use to make our questions Less Direct01:09:00
and more polite you don't happen to01:09:02
remember01:09:04
perhaps I don't but I'm pretty sure01:09:06
Andrew said something about a01:09:09
swamp it must be the same place so um01:09:12
butcher is is convinced that um these01:09:16
bones have come from the same place that01:09:18
uh that he where he was exploring before01:09:21
it must be the same place it's on the01:09:23
east coast somehow there's something in01:09:26
the swamp water that stops things from01:09:28
decaying so um decaying means you know01:09:32
as things get old they Decay they start01:09:35
to break down like for example if you01:09:38
have you eat an apple you throw the01:09:41
apple core the bit in the middle of that01:09:42
you didn't eat you throw that um01:09:45
into you throw that on the ground right01:09:49
in the in the countryside you're walking01:09:50
through the forest having a nice walk01:09:52
eating an apple you throw the apple core01:09:54
on the ground the Apple core will land01:09:56
on the ground and slowly it will Decay01:09:58
until eventually it's just broken down01:10:00
completely and just become part of the01:10:02
earth so to01:10:04
Decay mhm you sort of like break down01:10:07
get old and start to kind of01:10:10
decompose as bacteria eats it away and01:10:13
fungus eats it away right so there's01:10:17
something in the swamp water that stops01:10:20
things from decaying so it keeps things01:10:22
it preserves things things in the water01:10:24
they they get preserved and this is true01:10:26
this is real we know that there are kind01:10:28
of like oil pits or or Tar Pits these01:10:32
swamps deep deep swamps full of this01:10:36
kind of oily01:10:37
Earth and01:10:40
um many many old ancient um extinct uh01:10:45
species have been discovered in these01:10:46
pits and this is we know this is true01:10:49
dinosaur bones dinosaur skeletons and01:10:51
other things have been removed from the01:10:53
tarpits presumably the animals went into01:10:55
into the swamp and and didn't survive01:10:58
they couldn't get out and they sunk down01:10:59
into the swamp water um or something01:11:02
like that and then they their bodies01:11:04
were perfectly preserved by this oily01:11:06
stuff that's that was in there um it it01:11:10
smells like creot creot is a sort of um01:11:13
what is01:11:17
creot yellow yellowish greasy liquid01:11:20
with a smoky01:11:22
odor it's a sort of a oily01:11:26
liquid okay it's so the the water in01:11:30
this swamp stops things from decaying it01:11:32
smells like croso it reminded me of01:11:35
Trinidad which is an island in the01:11:37
Caribbean did they get any more eggs01:11:40
some of the eggs I found were a foot and01:11:42
a half long so we had a a yard is about01:11:45
90 CM a01:11:49
foot a foot is is 30 cm yeah of course a01:11:54
foot um a foot is 30 cm so a foot and a01:11:58
half that's about 45 cm01:12:00
long some of the eggs I found were a01:12:02
foot and a half long about 45 cm the01:12:05
swamp goes circling round you know and01:12:09
cuts off this bit so the swamp goes01:12:11
circling around the he's describing the01:12:13
shape of the swamp and the way it curves01:12:15
round and cuts off a certain area if an01:12:19
area is cut off it means it's01:12:20
inaccessible you can't get to it for01:12:22
example like in some places near the01:12:24
seaside When the tide comes in when the01:12:26
water comes in at hide tide um the water01:12:30
actually will cut off certain places01:12:32
like there's a there's a place in in uh01:12:36
on the northern coast of France called01:12:38
monan Michelle it's a famous place01:12:40
there's a kind of a castle there or01:12:42
there's a little town in fact on a on a01:12:45
hill and um it's out across the sand and01:12:50
when the high tide comes in that the01:12:52
island gets cut off from the01:12:54
mainland so in this case this swamp goes01:12:57
round and cuts off another part of the01:13:00
of the land he says it's mostly salt too01:13:04
well what a time I had I found the01:13:06
things quite by accident we went for01:13:08
eggs me and two native01:13:10
Chaps in one of those funny canoes all01:13:13
tied together and found the bones at the01:13:15
same time so butcher is talking about01:13:17
how he went there looking for01:13:21
um looking for eggs and they found the01:13:25
while they were looking for the eggs and01:13:28
he went there with two native chaps I01:13:30
suppose that's two local men um from01:13:34
Madagascar right01:13:37
um I mean this is this is in this is in01:13:40
the old old01:13:42
days um I don't know what the01:13:44
arrangement would have been with these01:13:46
two native chaps I don't know how much01:13:50
you know how much he was paying them if01:13:52
he indeed he was paying them at all01:13:54
hopefully some sort of payment of course01:13:57
but anyway he had these two native chaps01:14:00
with him that were working for him uh01:14:03
and they went in one of those funny01:14:05
canoes a canoe is a sort of a long01:14:08
little boat that you can you know you01:14:11
could imagine canoeing you have a you01:14:13
have a paddle in your hand you can you01:14:15
can paddle on one side you can paddle on01:14:17
the other side it's kind of long you01:14:19
could you know paddle up a river or01:14:22
something like that you can have01:14:23
individual kayak canoes where you've got01:14:25
a double paddle on both sides and you01:14:27
can you know paddle like that that's a a01:14:29
long slim boat that fits one person or01:14:33
in this case if it's a very long canoe01:14:34
you can get a few people in there so in01:14:37
one of those funny canoes all tied01:14:39
together so it's probably some canoe01:14:41
that's locally made canoe tied together01:14:44
and they found the bones at the same01:14:46
time while looking for the eggs we had a01:14:48
tent and Provisions for 4 days01:14:51
Provisions just basically things to01:14:54
eat for 4 days and we pitched on one of01:14:57
the firmer01:14:59
places um pitched they pitched the the01:15:02
tent so you pitch a tent that means just01:15:05
put up your tent so you're hiking in the01:15:09
countryside you find a good flat uh spot01:15:12
and you pitch your tent so you you put01:15:15
up the tent uh on one of the firmer01:15:18
places firm uh firm is like the opposite01:15:22
of soft in terms of the ground some01:15:25
parts of the ground would be a bit too01:15:27
soft a bit too swampy you can't pitch a01:15:28
tent there so they found one of the01:15:30
firmer places a place where the Earth01:15:32
the ground was a bit was more firm was01:15:35
more solid where they could put their01:15:37
tent they pitched their tent on one of01:15:40
the firmer places thinking of it brings01:15:42
that old tar smell back to me even now01:15:46
so thinking about it reminds him of the01:15:48
the smell of the tar so we know we know01:15:51
what oil is right but tar is like oil01:15:54
it's kind of thicker than oil uh they01:15:57
typically use tar uh when they are01:16:00
making01:16:01
roads okay um when making roads I'm not01:16:06
really an engineer so well not really01:16:08
I'm not an engineer at all uh so I don't01:16:10
know exactly how roads are made but as01:16:12
far as I understand it's like kind of01:16:14
gravel or something mixed with this01:16:17
thick oily stuff that that's tar and it01:16:21
goes onto the road and that can that01:16:24
ends up being the tarmac that covers the01:16:27
road when uh someone smokes a cigarette01:16:31
uh the filter at the end goes all orange01:16:33
and that orange is is due to the tar01:16:35
that builds up in the filter and of01:16:38
course in people's lungs smokers end up01:16:40
with tar that collects in their lungs01:16:43
okay so that's tar so thinking of this01:16:46
place reminds him of the tar smell so01:16:49
tar is the noun tari would be the01:16:52
adjective thinking of it brings that old01:16:54
tari smell back to me even now it's01:16:56
funny work you go probing into the mud01:16:58
with iron rods probing so you got these01:17:02
long iron rods these long pieces of iron01:17:07
right so rods we'd also use rods to01:17:10
build a tent these are the poles thin me01:17:13
thin poles so in this case they're using01:17:16
these long metal rods to probe into the01:17:20
swamp probing is like putting something01:17:23
out or put in this case putting01:17:24
something down and into the swamp in01:17:26
order to look around in order to find01:17:28
something probing sort of pushing01:17:31
something out into an unknown place in01:17:33
order to look for something we send01:17:35
probes into space right these are like01:17:38
um um deep space probes it would be like01:17:41
a sort of a spacecraft of some kind that01:17:44
goes far out into space and it sends01:17:47
back information about what it finds you01:17:50
know and they take pictures of Jupiter01:17:52
or something like that that's a deep B01:17:55
probe in this casee they were probing01:17:57
into the mud so basically putting these01:18:01
long metal poles down into the mud01:18:03
looking for what was in there looking01:18:05
for the bones probing usually the egg01:18:08
gets smashed so naturally if you're01:18:11
probing in the Earth with big Iron rods01:18:13
and you there's there's an egg in there01:18:15
then the egg's probably going to get01:18:16
smashed most of the time so it's01:18:18
probably it's extremely difficult like01:18:21
extremely difficult to recover a01:18:23
perfectly preserved egg from these from01:18:27
a swamp like01:18:28
this I wonder how long it is since these01:18:31
AP ores really lived the missionaries01:18:33
say the locals have legends about when01:18:35
they were alive but I never heard any01:18:37
such stories myself the missionaries01:18:40
missionaries were people like Christians01:18:42
who went out to places like this in01:18:45
order to convert people in order to set01:18:47
up set up missions churches to convert01:18:50
the local people to Christianity you01:18:53
know and famously there were01:18:55
missionaries that went uh to South01:18:58
America uh you know South Central and01:19:01
South America and and so on in this case01:19:04
it looks like the missionaries went to01:19:06
Madagascar so these are people who went01:19:09
out uh in order to you know convert the01:19:12
local people to Christianity the01:19:14
missionaries say the locals have legends01:19:17
about when they were alive Legends old01:19:19
stories are they true are they not true01:19:23
um so old old stories01:19:26
uh but I I never heard any such stories01:19:28
myself but certainly those eggs we got01:19:30
were as fresh as if they'd just been01:19:32
laid right just being laid Lay Laid laid01:19:36
to lay an egg right birds lay01:19:40
eggs that's when the egg comes out right01:19:45
I don't think it makes that noise when01:19:47
it happens I'd be surprised I mean I've01:19:49
never worked on a chicken farm so I01:19:50
don't know if that's what it's like01:19:52
every night oh going to bed oh I wonder01:19:54
if there how many EGS we're going to get01:19:55
in the morning all night you know oh I01:19:58
counted 19 eggs last night I don't think01:20:00
that's how it works but anyway you get01:20:02
the idea when an egg comes out that's we01:20:04
we call that laying an egg so uh the01:20:07
eggs were as fresh as if they'd just01:20:08
been laid now at this point obviously uh01:20:11
this is where the sort of the fantasy01:20:12
element comes in HG Wells was a was uh01:20:17
someone who to an extent created the01:20:19
genre of Science Fiction this is where01:20:22
you take sort of scientific principles01:20:25
scientific ideas like the the fact that01:20:29
these sorts of Explorations genuinely01:20:31
happened people genuinely found these01:20:33
eggs and bones and things we take those01:20:35
facts so it's based on science and just01:20:38
push it a little further like what if01:20:41
what if they did find eggs and they01:20:43
found one that was still alive still01:20:46
fertile so these these eggs were were01:20:49
were as if they'd just been laid they01:20:51
were still fresh you have to use to01:20:54
really go with the story you have to use01:20:58
you have to suspend your disbelief a01:21:00
little bit because you know you might be01:21:01
thinking oh that's impossible sorry01:21:03
can't can't enjoy this just impossible01:21:06
well of course you've got to have a01:21:07
little bit of suspension of disbelief it01:21:09
takes a little bit of imagination and01:21:11
just a little bit of fun let's say to uh01:21:16
then imagine what could happen same01:21:19
thing with Jurassic Park the idea is you01:21:22
know the scientific principle is that01:21:24
sure you could find mosquitoes that have01:21:26
been perfectly preserved in Amber and01:21:29
you could drill into that Amber and you01:21:31
could extract the DNA from the blood in01:21:34
the in the body of the mosquito the01:21:36
blood that that mosquito has just sucked01:21:38
out of this out of the body of a01:21:40
dinosaur you could get the DNA from that01:21:43
blood and you could then genetically01:21:46
engineer uh you could reverse engineer01:21:49
the actual dinosaur from that DNA and01:21:52
then you've got dinosaurs and then youve01:21:54
got a dinosaur Park and then you've got01:21:56
the dinosaurs escaping the dinosaur park01:21:57
and it's a you know a thrilling film01:22:00
same level of suspension of disbelief is01:22:03
is necessary and it's the same kind of01:22:07
principle of Science Fiction where01:22:08
something is based on science with a01:22:11
little little push of01:22:13
imagination so the eggs were as fresh as01:22:16
if they as when they'd just been laid01:22:19
fresh carrying them down to the boat one01:22:22
of my local chaps dropped one on a rock01:22:24
and it01:22:26
smashed I was absolutely Furious I can01:22:29
tell you so while they were carrying01:22:31
these three eggs these precious eggs01:22:33
down to the boat one of the local guys01:22:36
dropped one on a rock and it smashed so01:22:40
you know these are Priceless01:22:42
eggs now you know you could argue that01:22:46
the eggs should just be left where they01:22:48
are maybe you know maybe they should01:22:50
just be left there maybe these native01:22:52
guys shouldn't even be doing this maybe01:22:55
the butcher maybe butcher is a bad guy01:22:58
maybe butcher is someone who is who's01:23:00
going to this place that is not his home01:23:04
he's going to this this uh place that01:23:08
who knows maybe in the local culture01:23:09
this could be a sacred place it could be01:23:11
a holy place we don't know he's01:23:13
persuaded these local guys somehow to01:23:17
come and work for him he might not be01:23:19
treating them very well uh and one of01:23:22
them drops one of the the the the01:23:25
and it smashes and butcher is absolutely01:23:28
Furious because obviously the egg is is01:23:30
worth a lot of money he says I couldn't01:23:32
contain myself well it's not just that01:23:34
the egg was worth a lot of money the egg01:23:35
was just extremely rare like Priceless01:23:38
really um certainly today if you know a01:23:42
a perfectly preserved aporus egg would01:23:44
certainly be a Priceless thing and it01:23:46
you know you I think they have them in01:23:48
the British museum or the Natural01:23:49
History Museum I'm sure they're01:23:51
Priceless you know you priceless means01:23:53
you can't put a price on it they're just01:23:55
too valuable um I was absolutely Furious01:23:59
I couldn't contain myself meaning I I he01:24:02
couldn't contain himself he couldn't01:24:04
control himself he couldn't keep his01:24:06
anger inside he and he said and I gave01:24:09
him a bit of a beating I have to say so01:24:12
that means he he physically assaulted01:24:15
him so he hit him probably slapped him01:24:18
around the head or punched him or01:24:20
something which is cruel you know01:24:22
definitely cruel Behavior completely01:24:24
unaccept acceptable but that's what he01:24:26
did I gave him a bit of a beating I mean01:24:29
if there was any justice butcher would01:24:30
be taken to court uh for that but anyway01:24:34
I gave him a bit of a beating I have to01:24:36
say the egg was01:24:38
perfect fresh as the day it was laid not01:24:40
even smelly and its mother dead for 40001:24:43
years perhaps probably longer I mean we01:24:45
know now uh I think that uh the the01:24:49
aporus uh went extinct 900 1,000 years01:24:52
ago I think uh01:24:55
the assistant who dropped it said a01:24:57
centipede had bitten him so a centipede01:25:00
is a kind of it's not an insect it's a01:25:03
creepy Crawley for sure it's a horrible01:25:06
thing uh horrible creepy crawly they01:25:09
they say centipede technically means 10001:25:12
legs but they don't have 100 legs so01:25:14
centipede is a long thing with lots and01:25:16
lots of legs they crawl around you might01:25:19
find them in the in the ground in01:25:21
Madagascar they probably have very big01:25:23
ones and they can bite some centipedes01:25:26
can bite and some centipedes are01:25:28
poisonous if they bite so kind of a long01:25:31
um creepy Crawley01:25:35
um you're not going to want to see a01:25:38
picture of one centipedes Are elongated01:25:41
uh segmented creatures with one pair of01:25:44
legs per body segment all centipedes are01:25:48
venomous and can inflict painful01:25:51
stings not I'm sure that not all those01:25:54
not not all uh centipedes can can uh01:25:57
hurt humans though only some of them01:26:01
anyway that's centipedes oh yuck makes01:26:03
your skin crawl just looking at it so01:26:05
the the guy who dropped the egg said01:26:07
that a centipede had bitten01:26:10
him and butcher continues however I'm01:26:13
getting sidetracked from the story it01:26:15
had taken us all day to dig into the01:26:17
sludge sludge is oh by the way I'm01:26:20
getting sidetracked meaning I'm getting01:26:22
distracted I'm talking about something01:26:25
else he said it had taken us all day to01:26:27
dig into the01:26:29
sludge the sludge is like the mud the01:26:33
the the sort of soft01:26:36
liquidy um muddy stuff in the ground01:26:39
he's calling it01:26:41
sludge01:26:43
okay just trying to think of other kinds01:26:45
of01:26:47
sludge I can't think of any other kinds01:26:49
of sludge at the moment but just a kind01:26:51
of01:26:53
Muddy uh01:26:55
liquidy slimy01:26:58
swampy earthy stuff right it took us all01:27:02
day to dig us in dig into the sludge and01:27:04
get these eggs out unbroken and we were01:27:06
all covered with disgusting black mud01:27:09
and naturally I was cross cross means01:27:13
angry I mean you would be it sounds like01:27:15
horrible work it sounds like absolutely01:27:18
horrible01:27:19
work just I mean you know working in the01:27:22
garden for me when when I'm back at my01:27:23
parents house if they want me to like do01:27:25
some digging in the garden I mean that's01:27:27
that's frustrating enough cuz you get01:27:28
all hot and sweaty and it's quite01:27:30
uncomfortable and you get mud all over01:27:32
your your hands and your your feet and01:27:34
stuff you know hand you you just it's01:27:37
pretty dirty disgusting work but being01:27:39
all the way out there miles away from01:27:43
civilization um on a little canoe01:27:47
digging into this oily swamp it must01:27:50
have been all hot and imagine all the01:27:52
insect life and oh it must have been01:27:54
just so horrible uh and covered in Black01:27:57
mud and then the guy drops the egg uh he01:28:00
said naturally I was cross meaning angry01:28:03
as far as I knew they were the only eggs01:28:05
that have ever been removed not even01:28:07
cracked I think we know what cracked01:28:09
means you you know cracked means if you01:28:11
drop an egg then it'll crack right the01:28:15
only eggs that have ever been removed01:28:17
not even cracked I went afterwards to01:28:19
see the ones at the Natural History01:28:20
Museum in London all of them were01:28:22
cracked and just stuck together like a01:28:25
mosaic stuck together meaning kind of01:28:27
glued together so the ones that he saw01:28:31
in the Natural History Museum in London01:28:33
the ones on display there were all01:28:35
cracked and they had been repaired put01:28:38
back together a bit like if you drop if01:28:40
you break break a plate or or a cup if01:28:45
you drop a cup in your house and it's01:28:48
your favorite cup you might uh stick it01:28:52
together stick all the parts back01:28:54
together together with glue and then it01:28:56
looks like a mosaic so a mosaic is like01:28:59
a sort of a a work of art that's made of01:29:02
lots of little pieces all stuck together01:29:05
like you would find on a on a on a on a01:29:08
wall or something like that right so uh01:29:11
all of the ones in the Natural History01:29:13
Museum were all stuck together like a01:29:15
mosaic with bits missing as well mine01:29:17
were perfect and I meant to blow them01:29:19
when I got back to blow an egg this is a01:29:22
way of preserving the shell of the egg01:29:25
so you make a little hole at the top and01:29:27
another little hole at the bottom and01:29:29
then you blow and all of the fluid from01:29:34
the egg comes out of the hole at the01:29:35
bottom and you end up with the perfectly01:29:38
preserved well almost perfectly01:29:39
preserved shell that's to blow an egg01:29:43
children at Easter time blow eggs they01:29:46
take the egg the chicken egg and make a01:29:50
little hole at the bottom another one at01:29:51
the top and blow all the fluid out and01:29:54
then you've got the the um the shell and01:29:57
you can decorate the shell so to blow an01:29:59
egg I don't know how you would blow an01:30:01
Apon his egg I mean what how would you01:30:04
do that I suppose you'd need some sort01:30:06
of blowing machine anyway naturally I01:30:08
was annoyed at the silly fool dropping 301:30:11
hours work just on account of a01:30:14
centipede just on account of a centipede01:30:16
just because of a centipede I hit him01:30:18
about a bit hit him about meaning sort01:30:21
of hit him lot lot of01:30:25
times the man with the scar took out a01:30:28
clay pipe so butcher at this point in01:30:31
his storytelling takes out a pipe which01:30:34
he's going to use to smoke with and the01:30:37
narrator said I placed my tobacco pouch01:30:39
before him he filled up absentmindedly I01:30:43
quite like this detail it's like butcher01:30:44
is like really getting into his story01:30:46
now and he gets his pipe out cuz he's01:30:48
kind of going to start smoking it's01:30:51
quite a pleasant idea that um he gets01:30:54
the pipe out and the and uh the narrator01:30:58
we don't know his name offers his01:31:00
tobacco to him he's quite happy to01:31:03
listen to butcher's story he's quite01:31:05
happy for him to smoke some of his01:31:06
Tobacco Little social moment um and he01:31:10
filled up absent-mindedly so butcher is01:31:12
lost in his thoughts thinking about what01:31:13
happened and he's without absentmindedly01:31:17
means without really thinking about it01:31:19
he's taking tobacco from the pouch from01:31:21
this little maybe like a leather bag or01:31:23
something something like that um taking01:31:27
tobacco from it and pushing it into the01:31:28
end of his pipe loading up his pipe to01:31:32
start smoking from it so I placed my01:31:34
tobacco pouch before him he filled up01:31:36
absentmindedly so he filled it up01:31:39
without really thinking about it while01:31:41
his mind was somewhere else if you do01:31:43
it's a nice phrase absent-mindedly I did01:31:45
it absent-mindedly I just did it without01:31:47
really thinking about it like did you01:31:49
throw away that ticket did you throw01:31:52
away that ticket that was on the table01:31:53
oh yeah God I did sorry I must have done01:31:55
it absent-mindedly I just put it in the01:31:57
bin absentmindedly I did it put it in01:31:59
the bin without really thinking about it01:32:01
I was thinking about something else so01:32:03
anyway he's filling up his pipe01:32:04
absent-mindedly while telling the story01:32:06
how about the others did you get those01:32:08
home the other eggs I don't remember01:32:10
hearing about them well that's the01:32:12
strange part of the story I had three01:32:13
others perfectly fresh eggs well we put01:32:16
them in the boat and then I went up to01:32:19
the tent to make some coffee leaving my01:32:22
two heathens down on the beach01:32:24
so this is when they got the eggs back01:32:27
to the boat and the01:32:30
tent the the two uh his two native01:32:34
assistants have taken the three eggs01:32:37
down to the boat meanwhile butcher goes01:32:40
up or butcher went up to the tent to01:32:43
make some coffee heathens he calls them01:32:46
two heathens heathens are people of no01:32:50
people who don't have any Christian01:32:52
faith so it's again a sort of a01:32:55
dismissive word used to refer to the01:32:58
fact that these are local native people01:33:01
he's calling them heathens in a sort of01:33:03
dismissive01:33:05
way you know again it's you know not a01:33:07
very nice way to refer to them um right01:33:11
it's a sort of dismissive way to refer01:33:14
to them but anyway there it is he's sort01:33:16
of like um yeah dismissively I you know01:33:20
i' left my two01:33:22
heathens down on the the beach the one01:33:25
fooling about with his sting so one of01:33:27
them clearly must have had a sting on01:33:29
his um leg would it be a sting do01:33:34
centipedes sting or do centipedes01:33:37
bite H I mean you know like some animals01:33:40
bite don't they uh like spiders bite um01:33:44
uh scorpions um sting they have a sting01:33:48
in the tail uh mosquitoes bite uh bees01:33:51
and wasps sting uh01:33:54
do do centipedes bite centipedes will01:33:58
try bite yeah centipedes actually01:34:01
technically bite so it should be with01:34:03
his with his bite but he's written sting01:34:07
here so anyway the two natives one of01:34:09
them is fooling around with his with his01:34:12
sting which should be bite meaning he's01:34:15
kind of like looking at it playing with01:34:17
it um maybe complaining about01:34:20
it and the other one is helping him01:34:23
maybe trying to remove some of the Venom01:34:25
from it or something is it Venom01:34:28
poison it's venom isn't it it's venom01:34:31
from a bite it never occurred to me that01:34:34
the beggar would take advantage of the01:34:36
peculiar position I was in to stab me in01:34:38
the back like that so meaning I never01:34:41
realized that this man with the bite01:34:46
would use this opportunity use the01:34:49
position I was in to betray me to stab01:34:53
me in the back back it never occurred to01:34:55
me meaning I never thought about it the01:34:57
never the thought never came to my mind01:35:00
that the beggar would take advantage of01:35:02
the position the beggar this is again a01:35:04
a rude dismissive um sort of swear word01:35:08
that you can use to to describe a person01:35:10
it's oldfashioned though we don't really01:35:12
use that phrase anymore that the that01:35:14
the guy I mean it sort of means guy but01:35:17
it's a beggar is TE technically a beggar01:35:20
is someone who's in the street asking01:35:22
for money but it's um used um sort of um01:35:29
in an illustrative way uh to just be a01:35:33
dismissive uh term rude term for a01:35:36
person right so you know it never I01:35:40
never thought that the guy would take01:35:43
advantage meaning use the situation to01:35:46
his advantage in this case take01:35:48
advantage of the position I was in The01:35:50
Peculiar position the strange position I01:35:52
was in to stab me in the back right now01:35:56
it's not literally stab you with a knife01:35:59
right not literally stab someone in the01:36:01
back this is just an idiom which means01:36:03
to betray01:36:05
someone in this case they are going to01:36:08
um they're going to leave him on the01:36:10
island and escape with these01:36:13
eggs um okay but I suppose the centipede01:36:17
poison and the kicking I had given him01:36:19
had upset01:36:22
him just one final thing about the01:36:24
centipedes they actually don't really01:36:26
bite they just their their their legs at01:36:28
the front have venom in them so they01:36:31
kind of Spike with the legs at the front01:36:33
it's kind of called a bite but it could01:36:35
equally be called a sting to be fair01:36:38
anyway um so I suppose the centipede01:36:42
poison poison Venom um and the kicking01:36:46
I'd given him meaning the the way that01:36:49
I'd um like hurt him apparently he01:36:52
kicked him as well01:36:54
had given him uh the kicking I'd given01:36:57
him had upset him he was always a bit01:37:00
bad-tempered and he must have persuaded01:37:02
the other one well I mean it's01:37:06
fairly understandable that the guy would01:37:08
be furious like the native who's been01:37:10
attacked punched kicked and has been01:37:13
been um stung or bitten by a centipede01:37:15
it's un it's understandable that he01:37:17
would be upset right and01:37:19
Furious um so maybe butcher gets what he01:37:23
deserves01:37:24
here right01:37:27
anyway uh you know you can draw your own01:37:29
conclusions about that but um so the guy01:37:33
who'd been bitten clearly persuaded the01:37:36
other one that they should steal the01:37:39
eggs steal the bones and Escape in the01:37:42
canoe and leave Butcher on the island01:37:45
cuz they' probably had enough of him cuz01:37:47
he was probably being mean and cruel to01:37:49
them making them work too hard forcing01:37:51
them to do things they didn't really01:37:52
want to do and and not treating them01:37:54
very well and they were like look let's01:37:56
leave this guy here look we've got the01:37:57
eggs we've got the bones let's go let's01:37:59
just leave him01:38:00
here okay um because he was so angry01:38:04
with his centipede bite and stuff or01:38:06
maybe even like we've got to get off01:38:07
this Island come on look I've been01:38:08
bitten we've got to go just leave him01:38:10
here and they and off they went I01:38:13
remember I was sitting and smoking and01:38:15
boiling up the water over a little01:38:17
Spirit lamp I used to take on these01:38:19
Expeditions so he's there smoking his01:38:22
pipe probably01:38:24
uh and boiling some water on a little01:38:26
Spirit lamp this is like a little um uh01:38:30
you know little um cooker or something a01:38:33
lamp which is I guess for uh giving01:38:37
light uh spirit lamp using some sort of01:38:40
spirit Like A flammable liquid um right01:38:44
anyway he's boiling water on it um and01:38:47
um he said incidentally like by the way01:38:50
also um I was admiring the swamp under01:38:53
the sunset so he was looking at the view01:38:56
and admiring it looking at and thinking01:38:58
about how nice it looked all black and01:39:00
blood red it was in streaks so the01:39:04
sunset was all blood red um admiring the01:39:08
swamp so the swamp under the sunset was01:39:11
black and blood red supposedly the I01:39:13
suppose the swamp was black blood red01:39:16
because of the light from the sunset in01:39:18
streaks in these long lines a beautiful01:39:21
sight and up beyond the land Rose gray01:39:24
and hazy to the hills so beyond or01:39:27
further away from the swamp you can see01:39:29
the land rising up into the hills and01:39:31
it's kind of gray and hazy hazy meaning01:39:34
meaning not completely clear there was01:39:35
like a Mist in the air and the sky01:39:37
behind them was red like a furnace mouth01:39:40
a furnace is like a very very very very01:39:42
hot fire in an industrial Factory or01:39:45
something like the hottest fire that you01:39:48
can get really really you know furnace01:39:50
would be used for melting metal and01:39:52
stuff like that so01:39:54
powerful deep hot fire so the sky was01:39:57
red like a furnace like the mouth of a01:40:00
furnace and 50 yards behind the back of01:40:03
me so down there sort of you know 40 m01:40:06
or something down there on the beach01:40:09
were these two locals I'd brought along01:40:11
quite uninterested in the Tranquil air01:40:14
of things and this incredible view01:40:17
plotting to cut me off uh plotting to01:40:19
cut off with the boat and leave me all01:40:21
alone so he saying that these two local01:40:24
guys were down there they weren't01:40:26
interested at all in this beautiful view01:40:29
um the Tranquil the peaceful atmosphere01:40:32
the Tranquil air the peaceful atmosphere01:40:34
of everything they were down there01:40:36
plotting like planning to cut off01:40:39
meaning to escape to run run away or uh01:40:44
Escape in the boat with the boat and01:40:46
leave me all alone with three days01:40:49
provisions and a canvas tent and nothing01:40:51
to drink whatsoever01:40:54
Beyond a little keg of01:40:56
water so they were planning to abandon01:40:59
him with only these few things and01:41:02
nothing to drink whatsoever so01:41:05
whatsoever is at all absolutely nothing01:41:08
to drink at all nothing to drink01:41:11
whatsoever Beyond except for a little01:41:14
keg of water a keg is like a little um01:41:18
small Barrel let's say like a small01:41:20
barrel of water might be a couple of01:41:22
liters01:41:24
maybe now if they if they abandon him01:41:26
with that then he'll survive for a few01:41:29
days with that water but if he can't get01:41:32
access to drinking water which it sounds01:41:33
like he can't considering this you know01:41:36
the the environment he's in then he'll01:41:38
definitely die you know there's no01:41:39
escape from that on foot um you know01:41:42
he's completely cut off so he's01:41:44
definitely going to die on this island01:41:47
if he can't escape if they genuinely01:41:50
manage to abandon him he's dead right so01:41:54
they they are planning to abandon him01:41:55
and leave him to die on his own I mean01:41:58
you know they clearly they don't like01:42:00
butcher I mean that's for sure they must01:42:02
hate him completely and they've had01:42:04
enough so anyway I heard a kind of Yelp01:42:07
behind me a Yelp this might be like a01:42:09
kind of like01:42:10
a I don't know it might be the sound01:42:13
that you would hear of of them shouting01:42:15
to each other Yelp is kind of like like01:42:19
that kind of sound like a dog might make01:42:22
a Yelp so sort of like a shouting sound01:42:24
or a noise that someone would make um01:42:27
maybe like go go01:42:29
or that sort of noise heard a Yelp01:42:33
behind me um and there they were in this01:42:37
little canoe thing it wasn't properly a01:42:40
boat in the water and perhaps 20 yards01:42:43
from land so they're like you know01:42:46
nearly 20 M away already in the01:42:49
water I realized what was up in a moment01:42:52
meaning up here meaning happening I01:42:54
realized what was happening what was up01:42:56
in a01:42:57
moment my gun was in the tent and01:43:00
besides I had no bullets only duck shot01:43:04
so his gun I suppose is a long gun like01:43:06
a shotgun he didn't have any bullets in01:43:08
it anyway only duck shot duck shot is01:43:11
stuff that you would use to shoot a duck01:43:13
out of the sky it's not a solid bullet01:43:16
it's just it it's like little01:43:19
pieces right which when shot out of a a01:43:22
shotgun can used to shoot something at01:43:24
fairly close range I mean it's not a01:43:26
long range it's not a sort of long range01:43:29
ammunition so just like pieces that come01:43:31
out that fire out in a kind of a a group01:43:35
little cloud and you could use it to01:43:36
shoot a duck you know maybe 20 meters01:43:39
away or something but um it's you know01:43:42
you can't really shoot a person over a01:43:44
long distance with that and they they01:43:47
knew that they knew that he his gun was01:43:49
no good but I had a little revolver in01:43:52
my pocket01:43:53
so a handgun right a pistol he had a01:43:57
revolver in his pocket probably one with01:43:59
about Six Bullets in it and I pulled01:44:02
that out so he got it out of his pocket01:44:03
as I ran down the beach so he was01:44:05
running down the beach with this pistol01:44:07
this little gun in his01:44:09
hand come back I said waving it in the01:44:12
air meaning come back look and he's01:44:14
showing them the gun they jabbered01:44:17
something at me so the jabber01:44:20
is I guess sort of like shouting a01:44:22
foreign Lang anguage just sort of like01:44:24
shout but he couldn't really hear the01:44:25
words um and the man that broke the egg01:44:30
Jered so to Jer is to like bit like what01:44:33
football fans01:44:35
do who are you01:44:38
right um so the man that broke the egg01:44:42
Jered as if to say oh you know yeah01:44:44
screw01:44:46
you you know he made a noise and maybe01:44:49
pointed at him like uh he Jered aimed at01:44:53
the other so he's aiming the gun at the01:44:56
other guy because he was unwounded I01:44:59
mean he didn't have an injury he didn't01:45:00
have a this bite and he had the paddle01:45:03
so the paddle is the thing that you use01:45:05
to move the boat through the water right01:45:07
you hold it in your hands and you dip it01:45:09
in the water01:45:11
and you paddle with a paddle right and01:45:16
you're in a canoe um so he's aiming at01:45:19
the other guy because he's unwounded and01:45:21
he had the paddle and he missed01:45:23
and they laughed now bear in mind01:45:25
they're quite far away from him and he's01:45:27
got this little01:45:28
gun however he said I wasn't beaten I01:45:31
knew I had to keep cool and I tried him01:45:33
again and made him jump as it whizzed01:45:35
past him so the second shot he got he01:45:38
kind of decided to keep cool so he was01:45:41
like concentrated and shot again and01:45:44
this time the bullet whizzed past the01:45:47
guy with the paddle meaning it it went01:45:49
past him quite close whiz is the sound01:45:52
of01:45:53
the sound that something moving through01:45:55
the air very fast would make like01:45:59
that like that it bang the bullet01:46:03
whizzed past him he didn't laugh that01:46:05
time the third time I got his head and01:46:09
over he went into the water and the01:46:11
paddle with him so he just he actually01:46:14
shoots the guy in the boat with his01:46:17
revolver third shot he shoots him in the01:46:21
head uh just Mur01:46:23
him uh shoots him in the head and and01:46:27
the guy just goes over falls into the01:46:29
water and the paddle goes in the water01:46:31
too it was a precious lucky shot for a01:46:36
revolver um right because you it's very01:46:40
difficult to shoot long range with a01:46:42
little gun like that I reckon meaning I01:46:45
think it was 50 yards01:46:47
away he went right under mean he went01:46:50
right under the water I don't know if he01:46:52
was shot or simply stunned and drowned01:46:56
if you're stunned it means that you um01:46:58
you just can't really move so maybe he01:47:00
was unconscious if you're stunned you01:47:02
might have been unconscious or just01:47:04
shocked uh and drowned if you drown it01:47:06
means you die in the water because you01:47:08
can't breathe so he doesn't know if he01:47:10
just killed him instantly or if the guy01:47:12
just01:47:13
drowned then I began to shout to the01:47:15
other chap so chap is a sort of01:47:18
oldfashioned word or maybe a sort of01:47:20
very Posh word for a man you know like01:47:24
hello old chap sort of thing that01:47:27
oldfashioned sort of Posh people would01:47:29
say look at this chap over here he's a01:47:32
good01:47:33
chap it means man so I I began to shout01:47:37
to the other chap to come back come now01:47:39
look here come back you can imagine the01:47:41
sort of oldfashioned way that he would01:47:43
have spoken but he huddled up in the01:47:45
canoe so he huddled up meaning he sort01:47:47
of like brought his legs in close to him01:47:50
wrapped his arms around his body huddled01:47:52
up and kind of like hid hid down in the01:47:55
canoe and refused to answer so he's like01:47:58
come back with that Bloody canoe come01:48:00
back with that damn canoe but he he just01:48:04
hid in the canoe and didn't answer so I01:48:06
fired Out My Revolver at him but never01:48:08
got near him so he continued shooting at01:48:10
him but missed I felt like an utter fool01:48:14
like a complete01:48:16
idiot I can tell you there I was on this01:48:19
rotten black01:48:21
Beach rot01:48:23
meaning horrible01:48:25
terrible right um what do we have01:48:28
infernal01:48:29
damned um rotten I mean rotten would be01:48:33
like what do we have before um to01:48:37
decompose Decay to decompose to Decay01:48:41
and to rot okay more or less the same01:48:43
kind of thing if you pick an apple from01:48:46
the fruit bowl it's been there for weeks01:48:48
and you don't realize you pick it and H01:48:51
it's gone all brown and yucky it's it's01:48:53
rotten it's a rotten apple don't eat it01:48:56
a rotten that's what rotten means but it01:48:58
also can mean horrible so I felt like a01:49:00
complete fool an utter fool there I was01:49:04
on this rotten black01:49:06
Beach flat swamp all behind me and the01:49:09
flat cold sea After the Sunset and just01:49:13
this black canoe drifting steadily out01:49:15
to sea that's the situation he's stuck01:49:17
on this01:49:19
beach in the middle of01:49:21
nowhere um swamp behind him cold flat01:49:25
sea in front of him and this black canoe01:49:28
slowly drifting out to sea what a01:49:31
ridiculous situation to find yourself in01:49:33
I tell you I cursed dwson and jamrs and01:49:36
museums and all the rest of it curse is01:49:38
to shout words of abuse about them like01:49:42
go Dawson damn you01:49:46
Dawson um in in modern language it would01:49:49
be like you know you use all the01:49:52
swear words01:49:54
um I shouted at the local to come back01:49:58
until my voice went up into a scream01:50:00
come back I tell you come back until his01:50:03
voice goes into a scream01:50:06
okay there was nothing for it but to01:50:08
swim after him and take my luck with the01:50:11
sharks so I opened my clasp knife clasp01:50:15
knife is a knife that folds into itself01:50:18
he opened it01:50:19
up put it in my mouth bit it so I01:50:22
suppose with his teeth or something and01:50:24
took off my clothes and wed in so to01:50:27
Wade is to walk in01:50:30
water so he wed in he walked into the01:50:33
water as soon as I was in the water I01:50:36
lost sight of the canoe so he couldn't01:50:38
see the canoe cuz you know when you're01:50:40
low to the water it's difficult to see01:50:43
but I aimed meaning I tried to go in the01:50:46
right direction as I judged to head it01:50:48
off so if the boat is drifting in in one01:50:51
way if you want to head it off you go in01:50:54
a way to you go in a direction where01:50:57
eventually you'll you'll meet the same01:50:59
you'll meet the direction it's going in01:51:02
you'll go just beyond it and catch it01:51:05
further further up right you'll kind of01:51:08
get around the front of01:51:10
it okay to head it off I judge to head01:51:14
it off I hope the man in it was too bad01:51:16
to navigate it he just hoped that the01:51:18
guy just couldn't couldn't direct the01:51:21
the the the canoe01:51:23
and that it would keep on drifting in01:51:25
the same direction so he's hoping it's01:51:28
going to keep drifting in that direction01:51:30
he decided to try and aim for that spot01:51:32
where he'd be able to ultimately get the01:51:34
canoe just then it came up over the01:51:36
horizon so he noticed it uh maybe on a01:51:39
wave or something over the horizon he01:51:41
saw it again towards the Southwest the01:51:43
Afterglow of sunset was well over now01:51:46
the Afterglow that's when the sun has01:51:48
gone down and you don't get the direct01:51:51
light of the Sun but you get the after01:51:52
Glow In The Sky after the sun has set01:51:56
after the sun has gone down there might01:51:58
still be light in the air and that's01:52:00
called the Afterglow the Afterglow of01:52:02
sunset was well over now and the dim of01:52:04
the night was creeping up dim refers to01:52:08
a a a low light01:52:10
situation uh if something is dim it01:52:13
means it's not bright on your computer01:52:15
screen you can uh raise the brightness01:52:17
of the screen right you can make it01:52:19
brighter or you can make it dimmer you01:52:21
can brighten or Di dim the SC the screen01:52:25
to dim your screen to make your screen01:52:27
go dim right to reduce the brightness so01:52:31
anyway the the dim of the night was01:52:33
creeping up it was slowly coming01:52:35
up the car the stars were coming through01:52:38
the blue of the sky I swam Like A01:52:42
Champion though my legs and arms were01:52:45
soon aching so this legs and arms were01:52:47
still were soon in01:52:50
pain however I came up to him by the01:52:52
time time the stars were fully01:52:55
out okay So eventually he gets to the01:52:59
canoe by the time by that time it's01:53:01
completely dark the stars are all01:53:04
completely out as it got darker I began01:53:07
to see all manner of glowing things in01:53:09
the water phosphorescence you01:53:12
know so he's saying that he begin as as01:53:16
it gets darker he begins to see all01:53:18
these all types of strange glowing01:53:20
things in the water phosphorescing01:53:23
so this is a thing that happens in some01:53:25
parts of the world where there's kind of01:53:28
um sea life microorganisms in the water01:53:33
that actually give off light they're01:53:35
phosphorescent and it causes the water01:53:38
to Glow a kind of a greeny blue kind of01:53:41
color glowing phosphorescence in the01:53:43
water so what a strange situation what a01:53:47
strange scene where you know he's01:53:50
swimming in this water in the in the01:53:52
Darkness with the Stars overhead and01:53:54
this glowing phosphorescence in the01:53:56
water all around him and he continues at01:54:00
times it made me dizzy if you're dizzy01:54:03
it's like you know you start to lose01:54:05
sense of what's up and what's down you01:54:07
feel like you're going to fall over01:54:09
right if you're Diz if you spin round01:54:11
and round and round when you stop you01:54:14
feel dizzy01:54:15
like I feel like I'm going to fall over01:54:19
right if you've been sitting down and01:54:22
you stand up up too fast01:54:24
you you feel a bit dizzy right so anyway01:54:27
all this weird light in the water made01:54:30
him feel dizzy I hardly knew which was01:54:33
stars and which was phosphorescence and01:54:36
whether I was swimming on my head or my01:54:38
heels so he didn't know which direction01:54:41
he was in or what his head you know his01:54:43
heels is basically the bottom of his01:54:46
body your heel is the back of your foot01:54:49
you got your toes at the front and your01:54:51
heels at the back so it's like the01:54:52
bottom of your body I didn't know if I01:54:54
was swimming on my head or my heels so01:54:57
the top or the bottom the canoe was01:54:59
pitch01:55:01
black pitch black just means completely01:55:03
black as black as pitch pitch is a sort01:55:06
of again a sort of an oily um paint that01:55:10
would be used to paint on the sides of a01:55:13
boat to protect the wood from from the01:55:17
the the water it means that the wood01:55:18
doesn't01:55:19
Decay um because it's protected by this01:55:22
oily paint That's pitch and if you say01:55:25
something is Pitch Black it means it's01:55:27
completely black because this this pitch01:55:29
this kind of oily paint that was used to01:55:32
protect wood um was really really dark01:55:35
black so now we say pitch black um and01:55:39
that would be like you know at night you01:55:41
could say it's pitch black at night01:55:42
there's no light you know um when I01:55:46
switch the light off it's completely01:55:47
pitch black I couldn't see my hand in01:55:49
front of my face and in this case he01:55:51
said the canoe was Pitch black meaning01:55:53
completely black it's very difficult to01:55:55
see and the Ripple under the bows like01:55:58
Liquid01:55:59
Fire the Ripple is like the way the01:56:02
water moves you know if you throw a01:56:04
stone into water the water ripples so01:56:07
the Ripple under the boughs under the01:56:09
body of the boat under the body of the01:56:11
canoe the the water was Rippling like01:56:14
Liquid Fire because of all the01:56:17
phosphorescence I was naturally wary of01:56:19
clambering up into it if you're wary of01:56:22
do something it's like you're H cautious01:56:25
not think you think it's maybe not a01:56:27
very good idea not sure I should climb01:56:29
into this canoe CU he thinks that this01:56:31
guy is in there so I was naturally wary01:56:34
of clambering up into it wary of doing01:56:38
something right in this case clambering01:56:41
clambering means climbing it might be01:56:43
just in a slightly more clumsy kind of01:56:45
way so why I was wary of clambering up01:56:47
into the boat I wasn't sure if I should01:56:49
climb climb into the boat I was anxious01:56:52
to see what he was up to First meaning01:56:56
he was01:56:57
like nervous and wanted to see what the01:57:00
guy was doing what he was up to he01:57:03
seemed to be lying cuddled up in a lump01:57:05
in the boughs he was cuddled up meaning01:57:08
sort of like he lying maybe with his01:57:11
legs up against his body his arms around01:57:14
him you know huddled cuddled up normally01:57:17
you cuddle something you cuddle a teddy01:57:19
bear or cuddle a person in this case he01:57:21
was cuddled up meaning cuddling himself01:57:23
maybe in a lump like um probably he01:57:26
probably curled himself up into a ball01:57:29
but not really a ball or kind of in this01:57:30
case just a01:57:32
lump um in the boughs in the boughs it'01:57:35
be the the the end part of the boat so01:57:38
he's all01:57:41
like uh crouched and lying down in the01:57:44
boughs of the of the01:57:47
boat and the stern was up out of the01:57:50
water I guess the stern is the back end01:57:52
of the boat and the stern is like lifted01:57:54
up CU he's in this this guy is in the01:57:57
front of the boat so the back of the01:57:59
boat is kind of lifted up out of the01:58:00
water the thing kept turning round01:58:03
slowly as it drifted kind of Waltzing01:58:05
don't you know so the boat is describing01:58:08
the way the boat's kind of like d01:58:09
turning and drifting as if it's doing a01:58:11
waltz you know that01:58:13
dance um I went to the stern and pulled01:58:16
it down expecting him to wake up then I01:58:19
began to clamber in with my knife in my01:58:21
hand and ready for a rush ready for the01:58:25
guy to rush him so if you rush someone01:58:28
it means you quickly go to get them01:58:31
right he was ready for a rush he had his01:58:34
knife ready climbed in ready to defend01:58:36
himself but he never stirred to stir01:58:40
meaning to move01:58:42
right okay like I don't know if you go01:58:46
into a if you go into a cave and you01:58:49
realize in the cave there's a bear in01:58:51
the cave there's a bear in the cave it's01:58:53
a he must be01:58:55
hibernating don't wake him up and then01:58:57
you realize the bear is moving oh my God01:58:59
it's stirring the bear started stirring01:59:01
the bear started like moving and waking01:59:03
up01:59:04
and and then you go to the bear say all01:59:06
right I brought you some breakfast there01:59:07
you go would you like a a quel and the01:59:10
Bear's like H Mery it's a French01:59:14
bear anyway anyway so he gets into the01:59:18
boat but the guy doesn't stir he doesn't01:59:20
move so there I sat in the stern of the01:59:23
little canoe drifting away over the calm01:59:26
phosphorescent sea and with all the host01:59:29
of the stars above me waiting for01:59:30
something to happen after a long time I01:59:33
called him by name but he never answered01:59:35
I was too tired to take any risks by01:59:37
going up to him so he was too tired to01:59:40
risk going to see the the01:59:43
guy so we just sat there so him in the01:59:46
stern the other guy in the bow of the of01:59:48
the canoe they're just01:59:50
drifting and he said I think I dozed off01:59:53
once or twice to doze off means to fall01:59:56
asleep01:59:58
like doze off like you would do on a bus02:00:00
or02:00:01
something he doze off on the bus uh in02:00:05
this case he dozed off at the in on the02:00:07
back of the boat you can you can doze02:00:09
off in other situations you don't have02:00:10
to be on a a form of Transport I was02:00:13
sitting on the sofa and I dozed off or I02:00:16
was listening to Luke's English podcast02:00:17
and I dozed off for about 2 hours best02:00:21
sleep I've ever had02:00:23
When the Dawn came when the sun came up02:00:26
I saw he was As Dead As a door nail so02:00:29
there's an idiom for you as dead as a02:00:31
doornail meaning very dead02:00:34
Okay as dead as a door nail um mhm very02:00:40
dead a door nail well a door nail is a02:00:43
nail that you use to make a door and I02:00:45
suppose I mean there must be an origin02:00:47
there'll be an origin story for that we02:00:48
don't have time to go into it now but02:00:50
all you need to know is As Dead As a02:00:52
door nail uh it just means very dead02:00:55
Okay so completely dead and all puffed02:00:57
up and purple uh that's a bit that's a02:01:02
bit um that's a bit disgusting isn't it02:01:05
it's all puffed up so clearly his body02:01:07
had reacted to the uh poison or Venom02:01:11
from this nasty cat uh caterpillar no02:01:14
this nasty centipede which had bitten02:01:16
him or stung him had clearly poisoned02:01:19
him and he was completely dead and all02:01:21
puffed up up meaning that his body was02:01:23
all02:01:25
swollen hello this is me interrupting02:01:28
myself because I wanted to just add02:01:29
something about the words poison and02:01:32
Venom and poisonous and venomous okay02:01:35
cuz that's come up a couple of times I02:01:37
think and I didn't really deal with it I02:01:39
feel like I should so the difference02:01:41
between venom and poison well uh Venom02:01:45
is basically well they're they're both02:01:48
sort of harmful substances that can be02:01:51
produced by animals although in the case02:01:53
of poison or poisonous that could come02:01:56
from plants as well really the the the02:02:00
main difference is the fact that Venom02:02:03
is directly injected or actively02:02:06
injected into an animal's body right02:02:10
it's actively injected into a into02:02:13
someone's body by an animal and those02:02:16
animals are usually snakes spiders and02:02:18
wasps okay wasps which have a sting in02:02:22
their tail a wasp is like a bee they're02:02:24
like sort of like the bad guy versions02:02:27
of bees sort of thing um yellow and02:02:29
black stripes but they don't produce02:02:32
honey they just sting and bother you at02:02:35
picnics that's wasps so snakes spiders02:02:38
and wasps uh scorpions centipedes they02:02:41
all have venom and they are venomous02:02:43
animals okay uh02:02:46
poison isn't um injected into uh02:02:51
someone's body02:02:52
instead poison is absorbed uh through02:02:55
the skin inhaled you know through the02:02:57
lungs or ingested meaning swallowed02:03:00
eaten and poisonous animals deliver02:03:03
poison or toxic chemicals if another02:03:06
animal touches or eats them and that02:03:08
includes things like uh certain frogs02:03:11
can be poisonous um and other like02:03:13
amphibians and things like that so02:03:15
basically Venom is actively injected02:03:19
probably by a spider snake um or or an02:03:22
animal with a sting uh while poison is02:03:25
delivered passively so that's the02:03:27
difference between venom and poison and02:03:30
in this case the the uh what was it um a02:03:33
centipede the centipede when it um02:03:36
technically uh stung this guy although02:03:40
the stings are at the front so it looks02:03:43
like a bite um it injected Venom into02:03:47
his body and clearly killed him a very02:03:49
nasty way to die I'm sure02:03:53
you know like a puffer fish those fish02:03:56
that if they if someone threatens them02:04:00
they inflate and sort of puff up um so02:04:04
that's Ah that's a bit uh bit disgusting02:04:07
isn't it his body was all purple and02:04:09
puffed up so it was completely dead and02:04:11
his body had reacted by swelling up and02:04:14
changing02:04:16
color the story continues my three eggs02:04:19
and the bones were lying in the middle02:04:22
of the canoe and the keg of water and02:04:24
some coffee and biscuits wrapped in a02:04:26
cape Argus newspaper by his feet and a02:04:28
tin of methylated spirit underneath him02:04:31
so these are all the things that were in02:04:32
the boat methylated spirit it's a kind02:04:35
of it's a kind of flammable or02:04:38
inflammable liquid for me we always used02:04:41
to have methylated spirit in the garage02:04:44
at home um my parents house and we used02:04:48
to use it to to clean paint off paint02:04:50
brushes so if you've been painting02:04:52
something with a kind of oilbased paint02:04:55
you'd use methylated Spirit to clean all02:04:57
of the paint off the brush so it's a02:05:00
sort of02:05:02
a a fluid denatured02:05:06
alcohol okay so meated Spirits meth02:05:11
meths meths we call it meths um02:05:16
denatured alcohol anyway it's a sort of02:05:18
a a kind of02:05:20
alcoholic fluid a pure alcohol that you02:05:23
you'd use to clean oil off of off things02:05:26
so that was in there too there was no02:05:28
paddle nor in fact anything except the02:05:31
spirit tin so this methylated Spirit was02:05:34
kept in a metal tin metal container02:05:36
container so there was nothing except02:05:38
the spirit Tin Tin that I could use as a02:05:41
paddle so I settled to drift until I was02:05:44
picked up so a sort of like decided okay02:05:47
well I'm just going to have to02:05:48
drift and wait until I'm picked up wait02:05:51
until a boat discovers me and they get02:05:55
me I examined him decided he'd been02:05:58
bitten by some snake Scorpion or02:06:00
centipede unknown and sent him overboard02:06:03
overboard means off the boat and in the02:06:06
water so the guy he looked at him02:06:09
decided he'd been bitten by something02:06:10
and just pushed him into the02:06:14
sea another you know another tragic02:06:17
death there after that I had a drink of02:06:20
water and a a few biscuits and took a02:06:23
look02:06:24
around I suppose a man positioned as low02:06:26
down as I was doesn't see very far in02:06:29
any case Madagascar was clean out of02:06:31
sight and any trace of land at all so he02:06:35
couldn't see anything he couldn't see02:06:37
Madagascar he couldn't see any land at02:06:39
all it was completely out of sight um he02:06:43
couldn't see it out of sight means it's02:06:45
you can't see it probably because it's02:06:47
too far away and any trace of land trace02:06:50
of land even a tiny tiny amount of land02:06:54
he couldn't see one single bit of land02:06:56
at all02:06:57
nothing cuz he drifted so02:07:00
far um I saw a sail going02:07:03
southwestward a sail this is the sail of02:07:06
a boat right the thing that is raised up02:07:10
to catch the wind it's called a sail so02:07:12
I saw saw a sail going southwestward02:07:15
looked like a schooner this is a sort of02:07:17
a boat a kind of ship but her Hull never02:07:21
came up into view near me so the the02:07:23
actual uh body of the boat never02:07:26
actually became visible so it was too02:07:28
far away then the sun got high up in the02:07:32
sky and began to beat down upon me so02:07:35
this is what the sun does it beats down02:07:38
meaning it shines down02:07:41
powerfully my goodness02:07:45
it it pretty near made my brains02:07:50
boil right you get to imagine what that02:07:52
means it was so hot I tried dipping my02:07:55
head in the sea like putting my head in02:07:58
the sea like down into the water and out02:08:00
again I tried dipping my head in the sea02:08:03
but after a while my eye fell on the02:08:05
cape Argus newspaper so he sort of02:08:08
like he noticed the newspaper on the02:08:11
floor his eye fell on it so he noticed02:08:14
it and I lay down flat in the canoe and02:08:17
spread this over me so he covered02:08:19
himself with this newspaper in those02:08:21
days newspapers were massive weren't02:08:23
they um wonderful things these02:08:26
newspapers I'd never read one so02:08:28
thoroughly before so he's lying in the02:08:31
canoe with the newspaper on top of him02:08:32
and he's reading the newspaper and02:08:35
reading every single thing reading it02:08:37
thoroughly reading it in full detail but02:08:41
it's odd what you get up to when you're02:08:43
alone as I was so it's it's odd it's02:08:46
strange what you do what you get up02:08:49
to right when you're alone as I was I02:08:53
suppose I read that old Cape Argus 2002:08:55
times the pitch in the canoe simply02:08:58
wreaked with the heat so that pitch02:09:00
again is that oily black paint that they02:09:02
would have used to protect the wood of02:09:04
the canoe against the Salty Sea waterer02:09:07
so the pitch this black paint in the02:09:10
canoe Simply Red meaning it stank it02:09:13
smelled really strong it raked with the02:09:16
heat and it rose up into big blisters so02:09:20
the the the oily paint was blistering02:09:23
blisters are like bubbles that rise up02:09:27
um now if you get badly sunburned then02:09:30
you might get blisters also you get02:09:33
blisters if you're wearing new shoes and02:09:35
you go for a long walk in new shoes and02:09:37
the shoes rub against the side of your02:09:39
foot and you end up with a02:09:41
blister so the pitch in the canoe the02:09:44
paint of the canoe was really smelled02:09:47
really strong and it rose up into these02:09:49
blisters because it was being sort of02:09:51
boiled by the Sun that gives you an idea02:09:54
of just how hot it must have been I02:09:56
drifted for 10 days said the man with02:09:58
the scar it's a little thing in the02:10:00
telling isn't it in the telling meaning02:10:04
when you tell the story it seems like02:10:06
such a small thing yeah I got stranded02:10:09
on a boat in the middle of the Indian02:10:12
Ocean um is it the Indian Ocean I think02:10:15
it is um for 10 days it sounds like a02:10:18
small thing when you say it but it must02:10:21
have been an absolutely horrendous02:10:24
ordeal every day was like the last02:10:27
except in the morning in the evening I02:10:29
couldn't even keep a lookout the blaze02:10:31
of the sun was so unbearable so he02:10:34
couldn't keep a lookout he couldn't02:10:36
actually watch around him to see for you02:10:39
know see if he could see boats or land02:10:41
or something he couldn't couldn't keep a02:10:42
lookout you keep a lookout if you're you02:10:46
know if you're camping in the forest or02:10:47
something you might have you know some02:10:49
of the people in your party would sleep02:10:51
and then one person keeps a lookout they02:10:53
sit there making sure that there are no02:10:55
tigers or something that are going to02:10:57
come and get you keep a02:10:59
lookout um or if you're you know02:11:01
standing on the walls of the castle you02:11:03
know you keep a lookout and keep looking02:11:07
for things uh the blaze of the Sun the02:11:11
hot the heat of the sun was was so02:11:15
unbearable um it was just too hot to02:11:17
bear too hot to take too hot he couldn't02:11:20
stand it02:11:22
I didn't see a sail after the first 302:11:24
days and I and those I saw took no02:11:27
notice of me meaning that they either02:11:29
ignored him or didn't see02:11:32
him about the sixth night a ship went by02:11:36
only about half a mile away from me with02:11:38
all its lights Ablaze so its lights were02:11:40
on bright and its ports open meaning the02:11:44
windows on the sides of the boat were02:11:46
all open looking like a big Firefly02:11:49
Firefly is a kind of insect that glows02:11:51
up another sort of um creature that can02:11:54
emit light a firefly is a sort of fly02:11:57
that comes out at night and it glows up02:11:59
so a bright thing so he saw this thing02:12:01
in the distance looked like a kind of a02:12:04
a firefly it was a boat with all its02:12:06
lights on and there was music aboard so02:12:08
we can actually hear music aboard02:12:10
meaning on board on the ship on the boat02:12:14
there was music so you know must have02:12:16
been people uh maybe having a little02:12:20
party on their boat or something I stood02:12:22
up and shouted and screamed at it but to02:12:25
no avail so but uh it didn't actually02:12:29
help nothing happened as a result the02:12:32
second day I tapped a hole in one of the02:12:34
aporus eggs so tap tap tap tap tap a02:12:37
little hole in the egg scraped the shell02:12:39
away maybe with his fingernail bit by02:12:42
bit or with the or something he like02:12:45
scraped like the took the edge of the02:12:49
shell off little bit by a little bit and02:12:51
tried it like tasted it I mean he must02:12:55
have been desperate right U you would be02:12:57
you would be absolutely desperate if02:12:59
you're starving to death you will eat02:13:01
anything you will if it's a question of02:13:04
starving to death or eating what could02:13:06
be a disgusting thing you might choose02:13:10
the disgusting thing in fact you02:13:12
probably would right especially if you02:13:14
are not ready to die right if you're02:13:16
determined to stay alive you would do02:13:18
that sort of thing so he tried it and he02:13:22
said I was glad to find it was good02:13:24
enough to eat a bit flavory meaning the02:13:27
flavor was quite strong not bad I mean02:13:31
but with some not bad I mean but with02:13:33
something of the taste of a duck's02:13:35
egg so it sounds like it tasted like02:13:38
fairly good actually there was a kind of02:13:41
circular02:13:43
patch a patch is a sort of area uh patch02:13:48
if you're wearing02:13:49
um if you're wearing a jacket right and02:13:52
the it's an old jacket and the elbow of02:13:55
the jacket has got a hole in it or if02:13:57
you've got a pair of jeans trousers with02:14:00
a hole in you would have to put a patch02:14:02
over the hole you'd sew a patch on the02:14:05
hole or people sometimes have like02:14:07
leather patches on their elbows of their02:14:09
jacket right that's a patch a kind of a02:14:12
circular area there was a kind of02:14:15
circular patch about 6 in across that's02:14:18
about um 15 cm across cross on one side02:14:22
of the yolk02:14:24
so uh vocabulary of an egg here you've02:14:28
got the the shell of the egg then if you02:14:30
open up the egg inside you've got the02:14:33
white when you cook it is the bit that02:14:36
goes white and then you've got the Yoke02:14:38
right we don't call it the yellow of the02:14:40
egg we call it the Yoke of the egg y o l02:14:43
k so there was a sort of circular patch02:14:47
about 6 in across on one side of the02:14:49
yolk so the yellow part of the egg had a02:14:53
a a sort of circular area on one side of02:14:57
it with streaks of blood and a white02:15:00
Mark like a ladder in02:15:02
it right streaks of blood like lines of02:15:06
red blood and a white Mark like a ladder02:15:09
so a white Mark that had these kind of02:15:11
like ladder you know like a ladder that02:15:13
you'd use to climb onto the roof so it's02:15:16
got these white lines on02:15:18
it um and I thought it looked a bit odd02:15:21
he thought it looked a bit strange but I02:15:23
didn't understand what this meant at the02:15:24
time so I suppose suppose what this is02:15:27
suggesting is that this this egg was02:15:28
actually a fertilized egg and um that02:15:32
maybe this this kind of weird patch with02:15:34
streaks of blood and the white Mark like02:15:37
a ladder this was the early beginnings02:15:39
of the02:15:40
embryo developing inside the shell I02:15:44
suppose that's what this means um and I02:15:48
wasn't inclined to be too fussy and as I02:15:50
was so completely ravenous so he02:15:53
basically didn't really feel like being02:15:54
fussy if you're fussy you you if you're02:15:58
a fussy eater it's like no no I don't02:16:00
like mushrooms no I don't want the02:16:02
mushrooms thanks very much no well02:16:03
you're a bit fussy aren't you to be02:16:05
fussy is like when you sort of only eat02:16:08
the things you really like and no I02:16:10
don't want to eat the other things yeah02:16:12
I'm a bit fussy I'm02:16:14
sorry um so in this case he said I02:16:16
wasn't inclined meaning I didn't really02:16:18
feel like uh being I wasn't inclined to02:16:21
be too fussy as I was so completely02:16:24
ravenous ravenous means incredibly02:16:27
hungry starving ravenous these are the02:16:30
extreme adjectives we use to describe02:16:32
being very02:16:33
hungry the egg lasted Me 302:16:36
days with biscuits and a drink of water02:16:40
I chewed coffee berries too invigorating02:16:43
stuff so he's chewing these coffee02:16:45
berries it's invigorating meaning if it02:16:47
invigorates you it sort of like gives02:16:49
you a burst of energy and sort of of02:16:51
like feels quite exciting I suppose it02:16:53
made his heartbeat um whatever it is that's in02:16:56
those coffee uh02:16:57
berries that sort of like stimulated him02:17:00
it was stimulating invigorating02:17:03
stuff the second egg I opened about the02:17:05
eighth day and it scared me so he02:17:08
suddenly got frightened by what he saw02:17:11
the man with the scar paused yes he said02:17:13
it was02:17:14
developing I expect you find it hard to02:17:17
believe I did with a thing right in02:17:19
front of me there the egg had be sunk in02:17:22
that cold black mud so it sink meaning02:17:25
go down into the mud sink in the water02:17:29
like the Titanic02:17:32
sank sink sank sunk so there the egg had02:17:36
been it had been sunk in that cold black02:17:39
mud perhaps 3 or 400 years or more but02:17:42
there was no mistaking it there was the02:17:45
what was it02:17:46
embryo so the embryo in this case the02:17:49
embryo of a bird02:17:51
is the early02:17:53
stage of the baby bird right so as the02:17:59
um as the the cells divide and divide02:18:02
and divide you end up getting first of02:18:04
all an embryo like the very early stage02:18:07
of in this case the02:18:09
bird um embryo becomes02:18:13
fetus becomes baby right so there was02:18:17
the embryo you could see it looked kind02:18:20
of like like a bird I02:18:22
suppose when he opened the the02:18:26
um second egg right this is what02:18:29
frightened him he could see the embryo02:18:31
with its big head and curved back and02:18:34
its heart beating under its throat so02:18:37
it's its heart was02:18:39
beating and the Yol that's the yellow02:18:42
part of the egg shriveled up so the yolk02:18:45
had like gone all small a bit like if02:18:47
you leave an egg out in the sun or02:18:49
something the Yol will get smaller and02:18:51
drier it'll shrivel02:18:54
up again like a fruit if you leave a02:18:56
fruit out in the sun it'll02:18:58
shrivel right or if your fingers if you02:19:01
if you if you have a bath for too long02:19:03
you look at your fingers your fingers02:19:05
start to shrivel so there it was the the02:19:08
Yoke was shriveled up and great02:19:10
membranes spreading inside of the shell02:19:12
and all over the Yoke so membranes are02:19:15
like layers of tissue tissue means it's02:19:20
hard to explain really just all like the02:19:23
um matter of of of a02:19:26
body like a skin and the cells create02:19:33
membranes layers of like flesh I02:19:37
suppose so basically this egg was02:19:40
developing and there was the embryo a02:19:43
young bird actually developing but it02:19:46
was like he caught it part of the way02:19:49
through its development it hadn't02:19:51
finished um developing and so it was02:19:54
kind of like halfway between egg and02:19:56
bird02:19:58
oh here I was or here was I which is02:20:02
slightly old-fashioned structure here02:20:04
was I or here I was hatching out the02:20:07
eggs of the biggest of all extinct birds02:20:09
in a little canoe in the midst of the02:20:11
Indian Ocean so to hatch is when an egg02:20:14
when a bird breaks out of an egg the egg02:20:17
hatches uh the the bird hatches from the02:20:20
egg and you can hatch an02:20:23
egg right if you are um keeping birds or02:20:28
uh uh raising birds or whatever you02:20:31
could hatch uh hatch out an egg meaning02:20:35
make the bird come out of the egg here I02:20:38
was hatching out the eggs of the biggest02:20:40
of all extinct birds in a little canoe02:20:41
in the midst of the Indian Ocean in the02:20:43
middle of the Indian Ocean if old dwon02:20:46
had known that it was worth four years02:20:48
salary what do you think02:20:51
however I had to eat that precious thing02:20:53
up so eat it up meaning eat the whole02:20:56
thing every bit of it before I cited The02:21:00
Reef so he again CU he was he had no02:21:03
choice I suppose he was going to starve02:21:06
to death it was either starve to death02:21:08
in this canoe which is not a nice way to02:21:11
die I mean it's I mean I wouldn't know02:21:14
thankfully but I understand that it must02:21:18
be like going completely ins02:21:21
Saye uh and if you've got an02:21:25
option even if it's something quite02:21:29
hideous again you're going to choose02:21:31
that you're going to choose to survive02:21:33
so he had to eat the precious thing02:21:36
precious meaning very02:21:39
valuable you had to eat it up every bit02:21:42
of it before I cited The02:21:46
Reef right before I saw this Reef this02:21:50
Coral uh Reef uh where I suppose the ATL02:21:55
this ATL was part of this02:21:57
Reef um some of the mouthfuls like the a02:22:01
mouthful is like one amount of food that02:22:04
goes in your mouth some of the mouthfuls02:22:06
were horribly UNP unpleasant like02:22:09
completely disgusting you can imagine02:22:11
him eating02:22:18
it but you know you do what you got to02:22:20
do to survive I left the third one alone02:22:23
so the third egg he just left it I held02:22:26
it up to the light meaning held it up so02:22:28
that the the light would shine into the02:22:30
egg but the shell was too thick for me02:22:33
to get any notion get any idea of what02:22:36
might be happening inside and though I02:22:38
thought I heard blood pulsing so that's02:22:41
what blood does02:22:44
it blood pulses around your body I02:22:48
thought I heard blood pulsing it might02:22:49
have been the sound sound in my own ears02:22:52
like what you listen to in a seashell so02:22:55
he's got the egg up to his he's holding02:22:57
the egg up to his uh02:23:00
ear and he can02:23:03
hear he can hear pulsing sound but he02:23:05
doesn't know if it's something inside02:23:07
the egg or if it's just the sound in his02:23:09
own ear like when you take a big sea02:23:10
shell put the seashell up to your up to02:23:13
your ear you02:23:15
can they say that you can hear the C02:23:18
it's actually just the sound of like the02:23:19
air moving around inside the seashell02:23:21
and inside your ear and it creates that02:23:23
sort of pulsing whoosing sound so he02:23:26
doesn't know really if the if you can02:23:28
hear any signs of life in it or if he's02:23:30
just imagining02:23:31
it then came the ATL that's like this02:23:34
circular island with a lake in the02:23:36
middle it came out of the02:23:39
sunrise suddenly close up to me so as02:23:41
the sun was coming02:23:43
up as the sun came up and the light02:23:46
arrived then there it02:23:48
was quite close I drifted straight02:23:51
towards it until I was about half a mile02:23:54
from Shore so half a mile from the the02:23:57
the the edge of the thing and then the02:23:59
current took a turn meaning the way the02:24:01
water was moving you know the water has02:24:04
currents in it that move this way and02:24:06
move that way the current took a turn02:24:08
and I had to paddle as hard as I could02:24:10
with my hands so the current was about02:24:12
to drag him away from the island but he02:24:13
had to paddle with his hands and paddle02:24:16
with bits of the shell to make it to the02:24:19
place however I got there so he had to02:24:21
fight to get to the02:24:23
island it was just a common ATL about 402:24:26
mil round with a few trees growing and a02:24:29
spring in one place a spring this is a02:24:32
uh a place where fresh drinkable water02:24:35
fresh water comes that's not salty water02:24:38
not sea water but fresh water a spring02:24:41
like a little place where the water02:24:43
comes up from the ground that's pretty02:24:45
lucky uh it was a just a common ATL02:24:48
about 4 miles round that's a about 5 602:24:51
km round with a few trees growing and a02:24:55
spring in one02:24:58
place and the Lagoon the lake in the02:25:00
Middle full of parrot02:25:02
fish I took the egg ashore took the egg02:25:06
onto the island and put it in a good02:25:08
place well above the tide lines so on02:25:11
the beach you have these tide lines the02:25:13
tide you know that's the way the sea uh02:25:17
during the course of a day the sea will02:25:19
go high and the will go low this is the02:25:22
tide and there are tide lines on the02:25:24
beach so the tide lines are just show02:25:27
the point at which the T the high tide02:25:30
where the high tide reached before it02:25:31
went back these are tide lines and02:25:33
they'll tell you roughly where the tide02:25:36
where the water gets to at high tide so02:25:38
he put the egg above the tide lines so02:25:41
it wouldn't be washed away by the water02:25:43
and in the sun to give it all the chance02:25:46
I could so he kept it warm and pulled02:25:49
the canoe up safe so pulled the canoe02:25:51
out of the water and wandered about02:25:54
prospecting so he walked around the02:25:55
island looking for things that he might02:25:57
need so prospecting looking for02:26:00
things it's funny how dull an ATL is02:26:04
it's like funny it's strange how boring02:26:07
an atle is as soon as I'd found the02:26:10
spring all the interests seemed to02:26:13
vanish so he found the spring water and02:26:15
then just like suddenly this is the most02:26:17
boring place in the world when I was a02:26:19
boy I thought nothing could be finer or02:26:21
more adventurous than the Robinson cruso02:26:24
business so he's referring to Robinson02:26:26
cruso that famous Story by who wrote02:26:30
Robinson cruso why can't I02:26:32
remember Robert Luis Stevenson is02:26:35
it Daniel02:26:37
defo Daniel defo so Robinson cruso that02:26:41
famous story of a guy who gets stranded02:26:44
on a desert island and he02:26:47
um so this is like the the the reference02:26:51
for this kind of story right so he said02:26:54
when I was a boy I thought nothing could02:26:55
be finer or more adventurous than the02:26:57
Robinson cruso business so he imagined02:27:00
that being stuck on a desert island02:27:02
would be great a Great Adventure but02:27:04
that place was as monotonous as a book02:27:06
of sermons that place was monotonous02:27:09
like the same every single day just02:27:11
boring nothing ever changed it was02:27:14
boring as boring as a book of sermons as02:27:17
boring as a book of sermons are02:27:21
sort of um speeches given by a priest in02:27:23
a02:27:24
church by the way I don't know if you02:27:26
can hear the the sound of a person02:27:28
banging in the corridor outside my02:27:31
podcasting room I do apologize uh that's02:27:34
someone fitting a02:27:36
window uh in in in one of the the rooms02:27:39
out02:27:40
there and you know I'll forgive them02:27:42
because they need to have a window right02:27:44
they can't just live with a big hole in02:27:46
the side of the wall um but anyway sorry02:27:49
about the noise it hopefully it won't be02:27:51
too bad02:27:52
anyway um I went round meaning walked02:27:55
around finding edible things things I02:27:58
could eat and generally thinking but I02:28:00
tell you I was bored to death before the02:28:02
first day was02:28:04
out that's terrible like even before the02:28:07
end of the first day he was completely02:28:08
bored it shows my luck the very day I02:28:12
landed the weather changed a02:28:14
thunderstorm went by to the north so02:28:17
thunderstorm wind heavy rain02:28:20
lightning right electrical lightning in02:28:23
the sky and thunder thunder is the02:28:28
sound that's thunder the sound and02:28:31
lightning is the actual electricity so a02:28:34
thunderstorm went by to the north and02:28:37
flicked its wing over the island so a02:28:39
thunderstorm passed very close to the02:28:41
island and just like one edge of the02:28:43
thunderstorm went over the02:28:46
island and in the night there came an02:28:49
absolute downpour02:28:50
a downpour is very very heavy rain a02:28:54
period of very very heavy rain and I02:28:57
suppose out there it would have been02:28:58
ridiculously heavy and a howling wind02:29:02
slapped overhead02:29:06
so howling is normally the sound that02:29:09
like a wolf would make a howling02:29:12
sound in this case wind is02:29:16
howling a howling wind slapped overhead02:29:19
meaning over the top and a downpour of02:29:22
rain it wouldn't have taken much you02:29:24
know to upset that02:29:26
canoe upset the canoe so he's imagining02:29:29
what would have happened if he'd been02:29:31
caught in that thunderstorm while in the02:29:33
canoe out in the water I think and it02:29:36
wouldn't have taken much to make the02:29:38
canoe um like um turn over in the water02:29:42
so he's like in a way lucky that that02:29:45
the storm happened when he was on the02:29:46
island and not out um on the water I02:29:50
think that's what that refers to or at02:29:53
least it was02:29:54
like he was sleeping under the canoe02:29:57
right anyway um yeah I was sleeping02:30:00
under the canoe and the Egg was luckily02:30:02
in the sand higher up the beach and the02:30:04
first thing I remember was a sound like02:30:06
a 100 Pebbles hitting the boat at once02:30:09
so he' I guess he'd turned the canoe02:30:10
upside down sleeping underneath it02:30:12
suddenly he heard the sound of 10002:30:14
Pebbles hitting the boat Pebbles are02:30:16
like little Stones there might be like02:30:19
little Stones you find on a beach if02:30:21
you've ever been to Brighton in England02:30:24
the stone is the the beach is covered in02:30:26
Pebbles little round stones that you02:30:28
find on the beach it's like a hundred02:30:32
Pebbles hitting the boat at once that's02:30:35
the sound of the heavy rain and a rush02:30:37
of water over my02:30:39
body this is suppose maybe the rainwater02:30:42
or it could be the sea you know maybe02:30:44
the tide has come in and the Sea a a02:30:47
wave crashes over him I'd been dreaming02:30:51
of Anton anaro and I sat up and shouted02:30:53
to inosi my maid to ask her what the02:30:56
hell was going on so he was dreaming and02:30:59
he woke up going what the hell's going02:31:01
on inashi and then he realized that um then02:31:06
he woke up or he clawed out to the chair02:31:09
where the matches used to be so he's02:31:11
like dreaming that he's back in his in02:31:13
in you know back in his bedroom reaching02:31:17
out to try and pick up some matches to02:31:20
light a candle or something and then I02:31:22
remembered where I was all alone02:31:25
stranded stranded just means stuck in a02:31:27
place where you can't you can't02:31:29
leave so imagine waking up from your02:31:32
some deep sleep thinking that you're in02:31:35
your room and like what's going on02:31:37
what's Happening and trying to get02:31:38
matches and then you realize oh my God02:31:39
I'm on a beach in the middle of the02:31:41
Indian Ocean um under a Cano and in the02:31:44
middle of a thunderstorm what the what02:31:46
the hell's going on there were phosphor02:31:49
phosphor orescent waves rolling up so02:31:52
again this these waves with this weird02:31:55
glowing these weird glowing02:31:57
microorganisms in them these strangely02:32:00
bright colored waves rolling up as if02:32:03
they meant to eat me so the waves were02:32:05
rolling up towards him very close and02:32:07
all the rest of the night was pitch02:32:09
black so everything else completely02:32:11
black the air was simply yelling yelling02:32:15
is shouting very loudly so the air was02:32:18
just going ra like that02:32:20
with the wind and the rain and the sound02:32:23
of the Waves02:32:25
just the clouds seemed down on your head02:32:29
almost and the rain fell as if heaven02:32:31
was sinking and they were bailing out02:32:33
the water above the sky so if you're in02:32:36
a boat that's sinking you bail out the02:32:38
water so you you get like buckets or02:32:41
whatever you can get and you you take02:32:43
you tip all of the water out of the boat02:32:46
that's sinking that's bailing out the02:32:48
water so it was raining as if02:32:50
heaven in the sky above him was sinking02:32:53
and they were tipping out all of the02:32:55
water so they're basically as if heaven02:32:57
was emptying all of its water down onto02:32:59
the02:33:01
ground one great roller one big wave02:33:04
came writhing at me like writhing sort02:33:07
of like a moving twisting a bit like a02:33:10
snake or something in the water like a02:33:12
fiery serpent a serpent is a snake and I02:33:16
bolted meaning I ran for it escaped02:33:20
then I thought of the canoe and ran down02:33:22
to it as the water went hissing back02:33:24
again so a wave comes in and02:33:27
then the water goes back out and he ran02:33:30
back down to get the uh the canoe but02:33:33
the thing had gone so the wave had taken02:33:36
the canoe and I wandered about the egg02:33:39
then which was further up the beach and02:33:42
I felt my way to it because obviously02:33:43
it's pitch black he can't see anything02:33:45
so he's like feeling along the beach02:33:47
trying to find the egg finds his way up02:33:49
to the egg it was all right and well Out02:33:52
Of Reach of the maddest02:33:54
waves so the waves couldn't get it so I02:33:58
sat down beside it and cuddled it for02:34:00
company Lord what a night it was you can02:34:03
imagine him just like sitting there02:34:06
cuddling this egg while the storm slowly02:34:10
passes the storm was over before the02:34:13
morning there wasn't a rag of cloud left02:34:15
in the sky there wasn't any trace of02:34:18
cloud a rag is like a a ripped piece of02:34:20
material like a maybe a piece of an old02:34:23
shirt that you'd use to like clean the02:34:26
windows or something that's a rag so02:34:28
there wasn't a rag of cloud meaning02:34:30
there wasn't even a a little piece of02:34:32
cloud left in the sky When the Dawn came02:34:36
and all along the beach there were bits02:34:37
of plank scattered planks are long02:34:41
pieces of wood so clearly this was the02:34:44
canoe the the the sea had taken the02:34:47
canoe and then washed it back onto the02:34:48
beach and taken it and smashed it to02:34:50
pieces and so there were bits of broken02:34:52
wood all along the beach which was the02:34:55
broken up skeleton so to speak of my02:34:58
canoe however that gave me something to02:35:01
do for taking advantage of two of the02:35:03
trees being together I rigged up a kind02:35:05
of storm shelter with these bits and02:35:08
pieces okay and that day the egg02:35:12
hatched so um he picked up all these02:35:15
bits of bits of wood and kind of rigged02:35:17
up like uh02:35:20
built in a basic kind of way built a02:35:24
sort of storm shelter with all the bits02:35:26
of uh wood between two trees which he02:35:29
found close together so he built a kind02:35:31
of shelter for himself and on that day02:35:34
the egg hatched hatched sir when my head02:35:37
was pillowed on it and I was asleep so02:35:40
he had his head he was leaning he had02:35:42
his head resting on the egg02:35:45
uh and he was asleep and then it hatched02:35:49
I heard a whack like like a sound of02:35:51
impact whack and I felt a jerk like a02:35:55
sudden movement and sat up and there was02:35:58
the end of the egg pecked out so the egg02:36:01
had been pecked out from inside Peck is02:36:03
what a bird does with its beak Peck Peck02:36:06
Peck the end of the egg was pecked out02:36:08
so open and a little a funny little02:36:11
brown head looking out at me Lord I said02:36:14
you're welcome and with a little02:36:17
difficulty he came out so he managed to02:36:19
get out of the the egg it was a nice02:36:21
friendly little chap at first like a02:36:24
nice friendly little guy about the size02:36:26
of a small hen a hen is a female02:36:29
chicken very much like other young birds02:36:32
only bigger his plumage that's the02:36:37
feathers okay his plumage the color of02:36:40
his feathers was a dirty Brown to begin02:36:43
with with a sort of gray scab that fell02:36:46
off it very soon so a scab is well if02:36:50
you cut yourself again so uh if you get02:36:54
if you scrape your leg or something what02:36:56
will blood comes out right it bleeds and02:36:59
then the the the blood dries and forms a02:37:02
scab which covers the cut so that's a02:37:05
scab so it's strange like his feathers02:37:08
the feathers of the young bird were02:37:09
covered in a sort of gray crust or02:37:12
something a gray scab that fell off it02:37:15
very soon and he didn't really have02:37:17
feathers it was more like a kind of BR02:37:20
hair so I suppose these feathers were so02:37:23
so light and so thin and so fine that02:37:26
they looked more like a kind of a hair02:37:28
down down is a sort of very very fine02:37:32
thin feathers which um ducks and geese02:37:38
have uh under their big feathers they02:37:41
have down feathers which are like very02:37:42
thin ones you know you go to you you02:37:45
know those like very light uh warm uh02:37:49
coats that people wear you can buy them02:37:50
at uniclo and other stores and they02:37:53
contain very very fine Little Feathers02:37:55
white feathers those feathers are called02:37:58
down and it's very insulating it keeps02:38:00
you warm so the the the bird was covered02:38:02
in this kind of these sorts of feathers02:38:04
but it it looked almost more like hair02:38:06
than feathers I can hardly Express how02:38:09
pleased I was to see him I tell you02:38:11
Robinson cruso doesn't make nearly02:38:13
enough of his loneliness meaning02:38:15
Robinson cruso in the story doesn't talk02:38:17
about how lonely uh it is is he doesn't02:38:21
um explain how lonely it really is but02:38:24
here here was interesting company he02:38:28
looked at me and winked his eye from the02:38:30
front backward so the eyelids would02:38:33
would go from the front backwards I mean02:38:35
humans it goes from the top down but for02:38:38
these birds the eyes wink from the front02:38:40
backwards like a hen and gave a chirp a02:38:44
chirp is like the sort of bird sort of02:38:46
noise a bird would make like ch and02:38:49
began to Peck about at once like pecking02:38:52
the ground moving his head02:38:54
down just acting normal as though being02:38:58
hatched 300 years too late was just02:39:02
nothing good to see you man Friday I02:39:05
said for I'd naturally settled he was to02:39:07
be called man Friday i' naturally02:39:09
decided that he would be called man02:39:12
Friday if he ever hatched because man02:39:15
Friday is again this is a reference to02:39:17
Robinson cruso because Robinson cruso is02:39:20
stranded on a desert island he thinks02:39:21
he's the only one there but there is02:39:23
actually another person it's like a02:39:25
native man who who he meets and makes02:39:29
friends with he calls him man Friday02:39:31
because he meets him on Friday I think02:39:34
so as a reference to that um butcher's02:39:38
companion here this little bird he calls02:39:40
it man02:39:41
Friday02:39:44
um it I was a bit anxious about his feed02:39:47
about the food I was going to feed him02:39:49
so I gave him a lump of raw parrot fish02:39:51
like a piece of uncooked parrot02:39:54
fish immediately just straight away gave02:39:57
him like oh my God how am I going to I02:39:59
wonder how I'm going to feed this bird02:40:01
and let's see if he'll eat this so he02:40:03
gave him a piece of raw fish he took it02:40:06
and opened his beak for more his beak02:40:10
right this is the the hard part on the02:40:12
front of a bird's face open his beak02:40:15
like at more please I was glad about02:40:18
that because under the circumstances if02:40:19
he'd been at all fussy like picky like02:40:23
if he didn't want to eat fish or02:40:25
something if he'd been fussy and not02:40:27
wanted to eat fish I should have had to02:40:29
eat him after02:40:31
all right so if if this bird wasn't02:40:34
going to survive if it wasn't going to02:40:36
eat the things that that he could give02:40:38
to it like fish basically then he would02:40:41
then the then the bird wouldn't survive02:40:43
and he would have to eat it and he grew02:40:46
you could almost see him grow and as I02:40:48
was never a very social man his quiet02:40:51
friendly ways suited me to a tea if02:40:54
something suits you to a tea this is02:40:56
another idiom which we do use today I02:40:58
mean like the vast majority of the02:41:00
language that I'm talking about in this02:41:03
story the vast majority unless I've02:41:06
pointed it out as being old-fashioned02:41:08
all of this language still gets used02:41:09
today so we would still say it suits me02:41:12
to a tea so if something suits you to a02:41:14
tea it just suits you really perfectly02:41:16
it suits you right down to the ground02:41:19
for example you know you know Paris is02:41:22
just fantastic it's great you've got um02:41:26
you got the parks you've got great02:41:28
restaurants um there's there's a standup02:41:31
comedy scene in English I can go and do02:41:34
standup I can eat good food uh my02:41:37
daughter's school is really not too far02:41:39
away uh I work in Walking I work in02:41:42
walking distance from here I just love02:41:45
living here it suits me to a tea02:41:48
right02:41:50
uh it suits me to a tea it suits me02:41:51
right down to the ground is another one02:41:53
that we say for nearly two years we were02:41:56
as happy as we could be on that island I02:41:58
had no business worries because I knew02:42:00
my salary was mounting up at Dawson's02:42:03
his salary was mounting up this is a02:42:05
nice phrasal verb meaning it was getting02:42:07
bigger and bigger and bigger a bit like02:42:09
a mountain or a pile you could say it02:42:11
was piling up as well so as more money02:42:14
gets added it mounts up and up and up02:42:18
right now not literally I don't think02:42:19
Dawson were put putting money in a02:42:21
little pile but if something is mounting02:42:24
up it just means it's getting bigger and02:42:26
bigger02:42:27
okay02:42:29
right we could see a sail now and then02:42:32
but nothing ever came near us again a02:42:34
sail the sail of a boat every now and02:42:36
then they'd see it but nothing came near02:42:38
I amused myself meaning I sort of kept02:42:40
myself amused kept myself entertained by02:42:42
decorating the island with designs made02:42:46
from sea urchins sea urchins are like um02:42:49
you know sorts of um creatures that uh02:42:52
live in the sea and their shells they02:42:55
leave their shells on the on the sand02:42:59
right so he he decorates the island with02:43:03
these shells and sea urchins and things02:43:06
I put AP Onis Island all around the02:43:08
place very nearly so he's he's written02:43:11
AP Onis Island everywhere he's kind of02:43:13
like decorating it and writing the name02:43:16
of the island all around the place with02:43:17
shells in big letter02:43:19
like what you see done with colored02:43:21
stones at Railway stations in the Old02:43:23
Country uh yes they they do that still02:43:26
in England U at Railway stations you02:43:29
might have like a a sort of little maybe02:43:31
a you might sometimes at Railway02:43:33
stations you have plants or flowers and02:43:36
they also use um stones to make a sort02:43:39
of Mosaic and they might write the name02:43:42
of the train station in these Pebbles or02:43:45
Stones uh on the02:43:47
platform it's still02:44:37
[Music]02:44:49
money showing showing him02:44:51
about after his first maltt so a maltt02:44:54
is when all a bird loses its feathers02:44:58
and its feathers are replaced with new02:45:00
ones happens every year after his first02:45:03
malt he began to get handsome meaning he02:45:06
started to look nice with a Crest that's02:45:09
like a a thing on the top of his head02:45:11
and a blue wle that's like um um02:45:15
something that hangs down below uh the02:45:18
uh the the the the head of the bird like02:45:21
turkeys have a wle it's like a sort of a02:45:24
thing that hangs down the underneath the02:45:26
head of a bird so a Crest on the top and02:45:29
a blue wle underneath and a lot of green02:45:31
feathers at his behind so green feathers02:45:34
at the02:45:35
back and then I used to puzzle whether02:45:38
dwson had any right to claim him or not02:45:41
so he's there wondering whether dwson02:45:43
the company has the right to actually02:45:45
take possession of the bird if if that02:45:47
ever happens if it comes to it02:45:49
do they have the right to keep this bird02:45:51
or is this does he belong to me who has02:45:54
the rights over this bird he's thinking02:45:56
during Stormy Weather and in the rainy02:45:58
season We Lay snug under the shelter so02:46:01
they lay down together under the shelter02:46:03
all comfortable and02:46:05
snug I'd under the shelter I'd made out02:46:08
of the old canoe and I used to tell him02:46:10
lies about my friends at02:46:12
home this is cute cuz they they'd like02:46:15
lie down together and keep each other02:46:17
warm and he would talk to the bird and02:46:20
sort of tell tell the bird lies about02:46:22
his friends back home what what that's02:46:24
interesting that line he would just like02:46:27
tell I don't know I don't know what02:46:29
quite that means that maybe he would02:46:31
kind of complain about his friends to to02:46:33
the bird or something or just sort of02:46:34
like makeup stories suppose you know02:46:37
it's the sort of thing you have to do to02:46:38
keep yourself sane right um and after a02:46:42
storm we would go around the island02:46:44
together to see if there was any02:46:46
Driftwood Driftwood that's wood that's02:46:48
drifted from the sea and ended up on the02:46:51
beach we're nearly at the end here folks02:46:54
it was a kind of idial you might say an02:46:56
idial is a sort of a02:46:58
perfect perfect situation a kind of02:47:02
paradise an idilic02:47:05
scene beautiful Perfect02:47:08
Situation a kind of idial you might say02:47:10
if only I'd had some tobacco it would02:47:13
have been simply Just Like02:47:17
Heaven uh it was about the end of the02:47:19
second year our little Paradise went02:47:21
wrong Friday was then about 14 ft high02:47:24
from toe to beak with a big broad head02:47:27
like the end of a pickaxe a pickaxe is02:47:30
like a big heavy metal axe that you02:47:32
would use02:47:33
to dig into the to dig into rock you'd02:47:38
use a pickaxe to to break some rock a02:47:41
big sharp curved02:47:44
axxe with a spiked front on it that02:47:48
you'd use to to like break rock right02:47:51
big heavy metal axe to break rock so he02:47:54
had a big broad head like the end of a02:47:56
pickaxe with two huge brown eyes with02:47:58
yellow rims so yellow around the edge of02:48:01
the eyes set together like a man's so02:48:04
the eyes were sort of together at the02:48:06
front I guess binocular vision not out02:48:10
of sight of each other like a hens so02:48:13
it's like a bit like an ostrich right02:48:15
ostriches their eyes are together at the02:48:17
front of their head not on the not on02:48:20
the sides of their head like some birds02:48:22
so this one had eyes on the front set02:48:25
together like a man's not out of sight02:48:27
of each other like a hens his plumage02:48:30
was fine meaning his feathers were were02:48:33
beautiful none of the half mourning02:48:36
style of your ostrich mourning if you're02:48:39
mourning it means you're feeling sad02:48:40
because someone has died and you wear02:48:42
black clothes right so an ostrich it's02:48:46
like it looks like it's it's it's02:48:49
morning it looks kind of sad cuz it's02:48:50
just black and02:48:51
white um or half of its feathers are02:48:54
black so but this bird looked much more02:48:58
colorful than that more like a CA which02:49:02
is another large bird that exists02:49:06
today right you got like ostriches caes02:49:09
um and and other and emu02:49:13
peacocks mhm um anyway it looked more02:49:16
like a c um which is a more colorful02:49:19
flightless bird peacocks aren't02:49:21
flightless by the way they can fly a bit02:49:23
um and that was when he started to act02:49:25
arrogantly and kind of show off in front02:49:27
of me and show signs of a nasty temper02:49:29
so the bird it reached a certain age and02:49:32
it sort of reached maturity grew into an02:49:34
adult looked beautiful looked impressive02:49:37
and probably was at the age where it02:49:39
could start mating with other female02:49:42
apor ey AP02:49:45
ores it's probably AP ores um you know02:49:49
it like come of age and its temperament02:49:53
changed and it started to act arrogant02:49:56
like hm like I'm kind02:49:58
of I'm the dominant male around here and02:50:02
kind of show off in front of me like02:50:04
look how big and stronger am look at my02:50:06
feathers02:50:07
H and show signs of a nasty temper a02:50:10
nasty temper a temper is like a if you02:50:13
have a nasty temper it means you get you02:50:15
can get angry02:50:17
easily at last came a time when my02:50:20
fishing had been rather unlucky and he02:50:22
began to hang about me in an odd02:50:24
meditative way so there was a moment02:50:26
where he hadn't been able to catch any02:50:29
fish and uh uh the aporus the bird02:50:34
starts to like hang02:50:37
around starts to hang around him now02:50:39
bear in mind this bird is like the size02:50:41
of an elephant at this point he starts02:50:43
to sort of like hang around02:50:46
and maybe thinking apparently the bird02:50:49
is like thinking about him or02:50:52
something I thought he might have been02:50:54
eating sea cucumbers or something02:50:57
meaning maybe the bird was like sick or02:50:59
been had gone crazy because it had been02:51:01
eating poisonous food but it was really02:51:05
just discontent on his part meaning02:51:07
discontent just like unhappy not happy02:51:10
not not satisfied with what was going on02:51:14
so it wasn't that it was sick it was02:51:15
just02:51:16
unhappy oh I'm hungry where's my food02:51:19
cuz remember uh butcher would feed the02:51:22
bird fish that he caught I was hungry02:51:25
too he said and when I finally landed a02:51:28
fish I wanted it for myself tempers were02:51:30
short that morning on both sides so you02:51:34
can have if you have a short temper02:51:36
means you're getting angry easily02:51:39
tempers were short meaning both of them02:51:41
were getting angry easily on both sides02:51:44
both him and the bird he pecked at it so02:51:47
he he caught a fish02:51:49
and the bird pecked at the fish and02:51:51
grabbed it so his head came in and he02:51:55
grabbed the02:51:56
fish and Butcher gave him a whack on the02:52:01
head to make him let go like maybe02:52:04
slapped him or smacked him to make him02:52:06
let go of the fish and at that meaning02:52:10
when that happened he went for me so uh02:52:13
the bird attacked him God he gave me02:52:16
this in the face the man pointed to his02:52:19
scar so he must have pecked him in the02:52:22
face and cut his face open then he02:52:25
kicked me it was like a cart horse a02:52:29
cart horse is one of those huge big um02:52:32
horses that you see on farms the ones02:52:34
that are really big with big big legs02:52:37
that would carry the cart around I got02:52:41
up and seeing he hadn't finished I ran02:52:43
off Full Tilt meaning at full speed with02:52:46
my arms doubled up over my face02:52:50
this is where he's like Jackie Chan02:52:52
defending himself right blocking the02:52:55
attacks of this big02:52:57
bird my arms doubled up over my fa my02:53:00
face so he ran away like with his arms02:53:01
over his head but he but he ran on those02:53:04
gawky legs gawky means sort of like02:53:07
large and cumbersome and uncomfortable02:53:10
uh large cumbersome and awkward looking02:53:13
big big02:53:15
legs he ran on those gawky legs of his02:53:18
is faster than a racehorse and kept02:53:21
striking out at me with Sledgehammer02:53:23
kicks Sledgehammer is a big blunt-ended02:53:28
large Hammer that you would wield with02:53:29
two hands Wang and you'd use that to02:53:32
knock down a02:53:34
wall that's a sledgehammer so he kept02:53:37
striking out at me with Sledgehammer02:53:38
kicks basically he kept kicking at02:53:40
Butcher and it was like being kicked by02:53:43
like being hit by a sledgehammer and02:53:45
bringing his pickaxe meaning his head02:53:48
down on the back of my head so he was02:53:50
pecking him with his beak and kicking02:53:53
him with his02:53:54
legs I made for the Lagoon meaning I02:53:57
went ran in ran to into the Lagoon into02:54:01
the lake and went up to my neck so he's02:54:05
in the middle of the water up to his02:54:06
neck he stopped at the water this is the02:54:09
bird because he hated getting his feet02:54:11
wet and he started to make a big02:54:14
fuss Right started to make a big02:54:17
performance some what resembling a02:54:19
peacock's display so he's like going up02:54:22
and down shaking his tail feathers and02:54:25
being02:54:27
aggressive but with a harsher tone so02:54:29
like a peacock's display but more02:54:32
aggressive more02:54:34
nasty he started strutting up and down02:54:36
the beach like walking d02:54:40
d like showing off his strength I'll02:54:43
admit I felt pretty small to see this02:54:45
fossil lording it over me02:54:49
fossil fossil is normally something you02:54:51
would dig out of the ground it's um the02:54:54
remains of a an ancient animal that's02:54:56
been preserved in the Rock so most of02:55:00
the time remains of dinosaurs are in the02:55:02
form of fossils it's basically where a02:55:05
body of an animal has been preserved in02:55:08
in Earth which has then turned to rock02:55:12
and um you still you get a preserved02:55:14
shape it's when a the bones or body of a02:55:18
creature has turned to stone right so02:55:22
it's basically another way of saying02:55:23
this ex extinct animal I felt pretty02:55:26
small to see this fossil lording it over02:55:28
me if someone Lords over it means they02:55:32
are in power like a02:55:34
lord right so suddenly he was in the02:55:37
powerful02:55:38
position right and my head and face were02:55:41
all bleeding so blood was coming out and02:55:44
well my body was just one jelly of02:55:47
bruises jelly is a kind of soft food02:55:51
made from gelatine wobbly Soft02:55:54
Stuff um just a jelly of bruises so if02:55:57
you get hit um right if your body gets02:56:01
hit then it ends up with a bruise it's02:56:03
like a uh dark blue dark black mark02:56:08
where the where the skin and muscle has02:56:10
been damaged so his body was covered in02:56:13
bruises and his head and face were02:56:16
bleeding he'd been beaten up by this02:56:18
heard I decided to swim across the02:56:20
Lagoon and leave him alone for a bit02:56:22
until the whole thing blew over if02:56:24
something blows over it just sort of02:56:26
goes past a bit like a storm a storm02:56:28
would come and the storm and then blows02:56:31
over eventually the wind blows it away02:56:33
similarly a bad situation can just blow02:56:35
over like oh you know a lot of trouble02:56:38
um oh just wait for it to blow over02:56:41
meaning wait for it to just move away go02:56:43
away naturally so he wait he went to the02:56:46
other side of the island to wait for the02:56:47
whole situation to blow over like heDescription:
Learn English with another short story. I'll read the entire story to you, and then go through the text again explaining and clarifying the main events and plenty of vocabulary. This is a wonderful adventure story written by HG Wells, a very influential and imaginative English writer from the late 19th century. The story is full of vivid descriptive language, action, adventure and extraordinary moments. I hope it captures your imagination and lets the English come alive in memorable ways. 📄 Get the PDF here 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/875.-Aepyornis-Island-by-HG-Wells-Learn-English-with-a-Short-Story-Lukes-English-Podcast.pdf 🔗 Episode page 👉 https://teacherluke.co.uk/2024/04/01/875-aepyornis-island-by-hg-wells-learn-english-with-a-short-story/ 0:00:00 Introduction & story context 0:12:49 Story begins 0:42:255 Comments & thoughts 0:45:29 Vocabulary explanations & story re-cap 🏆 A premium episode re-capping all the vocabulary in this story is in the pipeline. Sign up to LEP Premium here 👉 https://www.teacherluke.co.uk/premium
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