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Hi, everyone, and welcome back to Britain Under the Microscope. 欢迎回来【闲话英伦】. Hi, 安澜.
Hi, Lulu, hi, everyone. So, Lulu, what do you want to talk about today? 
Tell you what, let's talk about divorce. 
That's a very cheery happy subject. 
It's a pragmatic subject. 
I guess so. 
We talked about marriage before, if you remember. 
We did touch a little bit on divorce, but I don’t think we went into too much detail. 
I think we're mostly focused on sort of like the happy wedding, newly weds and all that. 
Well, I focused on that because I'm generally a happier person than you are. 
Yeah. But let's talk about divorce nonetheless. 
Okay. 
I think divorce rate is extremely high in the UK, if I remember correctly. 
It’s high, but it's actually at its lowest level since 1971. 
Divorce rate? 
The divorce rate. 
In the UK. 
But it's still quite high, 32% of marriages in the UK end in divorce. 
32%, that's actually lower than I expected, to be honest. 
How much is it in China? I can't remember. 
You got me there. Actually, I don't know, but I think bits and pieces I've read it seems that the divorce rate in China now is higher than the UK, that's a depressing thought. 
Yeah. I've seen different figures for China and I've also seen different figures for the UK, but it seems to be around the 32% mark that seems to be the most common. 
Have you ever thought about the possibility of it dropping, like percentage-wise? It's just because fewer people get married nowadays. 
Probably yeah, I think that does have a really strong impact, there's so many couples that are common in law. 
Like common law marriage? 
Yeah.
Civil partnership. 
Not civil partnerships. That's slightly different. 
OK, so common law就是事实婚姻那个概念, 对吧? 
Yeah.
So, you live together, you just don't get that certificate. 
That’s it. That's pretty much it. 
For those of you who don't remember the marriage episode we did before. So, in the UK it is completely legal. I don't mean it that way, but like for two people to live together, they will have like the complete legal status as a married couple. 
Pretty much. 
I don't know the details of the law, but it's like, for example, for how long and how you are known to the neighbors. 
It's also mostly around assets. So, if, for example, they break up who gets what assets.
You still have to divide the assets? 即使是这种同居的男女朋友, 只要是common law married, 他们之后分手的时候还是要分财产的. Exactly the same as a married couple. 
Pretty much. 
That's why some of my friends or friend’s friends in the UK, they've been together for decades. They just don't want that piece of paper. 
No, and in the UK, there's no stigma for not getting married. It's just very, very common. 
It's a personal choice.

《闲话英伦》-要怎样，才同意离婚？

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Hi, everyone and welcome back to Britain Under the Microscope. 欢迎回来【闲话英伦】. Hi 安澜. 

Hi, lulu, hi everyone. 

Now. I think we're gonna go a little bit more up market. We're gonna go to an area called Saint James.

Oh, by the way, 安澜, when you say up market that means the higher end. 

Very high end.

就是更高端的. St. James, isn't that a park？

St. James is also an area. It's around Saint James’s Palace, so it's near Buckingham Palace. And it's near Piccadilly.

白金汉宫前面那一条大道旁边不就有一个公园是St. James’s Park. 

Yes.

So you're gonna talk about the shops in that area. 

Now most of the shops in this area have what we call a royal warrant. 

A royal warrant. Let me guess it's warranted by the Royal Family? 

YEAH. So it's warranted by the King, the Queen, and the Prince of Wales. So any company or any shop that sells products to the Royal Family can show a royal warrant.

Oh, I thought it was just approved by them, but this is literally they sell it directly to the Royal Family. 

Yeah. So it means that for example the King shops at that shop. 

You mean like he personally would go into those shops?

No, of course not.

I would think not.

No, they deliver. 

They do delivery services. Exactly. Yon know, some European not like in England, but I've heard some European Royal Houses like the Royal Families, for example, in Scandinavian countries, the Queen or their Royal Family would literally just go down the street into the shops and say hi to the locals. 

Yeah. Not in the UK. These shops around St. James’s is I would say mostly have royal warrants. 

So I'm gonna talk about one or two of them. Okay. The first one is Berry Brothers and Rudd. 

Let me guess Berry Brothers and Rudd , this just people who went into business, the pair of brothers Berry and then you have Rudd.

Now they sell wine spirits to the Royal Family. 

卖酒的wine spirits就是烈酒. 

Yeah. And you can actually go there and you can buy their own wine, their own champagne. It's can be quite reasonable. I looked on their website and you can buy bottles of wine around￡50. 

Okay. So basically you can just go... it's open to public. 

Yes, it is. But the higher end of these you're looking at maybe about￡50,000. And Berry Brothers and Rudd is also famous for its scales. 

Scales, like weigh machine?

Yeah. That's because in the 18th and 19th century, originally they used to sell coffee and they had scales and when he stopped selling coffee, they kept the scales and essentially it became one of the only places in London where you could weigh yourself. 

 They're everywhere in China. 

I know, but we're talking about 18th, 19th century. So noblemen, politicians, and even royalty they would go to the shop to weigh themselves. In public?  

Well, there was normally a private room where they can weigh themselves. 体重秤在那个地方。

And they actually sometimes show the books where they write down the weight of these famous people from history. 

Ok. Why?

Well, it was a way of tracking to see whether or not they gained weight or lost weight. 

 So weird for a wine and spirit shop to do that.

《闲话英伦》-皇家认证的伦敦商场，狮子鳄鱼都能买？！

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Hi, everyone and welcome back to Britain Under the Microscope. 欢迎回来【闲话英伦】. Hi 安澜. 
Hi, lulu, hi everyone. 
So What are we gonna talk about today?
Today I thought I would choose a topic that you would be interested in. 
What is that. 
Shopping in London.
How dare you, are you gender stereotype me? You think because I'm a girl so I love shopping?
No, I think you love shopping because I've seen the amount of random rubbish you buy on Taobao. 
Touche, fair enough. Ok, let's talk about shopping in London. 我们来说说伦敦购物. Exciting topic, there's so many places to shop in London.
Absolutely. And Today we're going to be talking about some of the unique shops in London. But first of all, I think it's important that we get the areas right.
So the first area we're gonna talk about is Oxford street and Regent street. 
Oxford street就是牛津街. Regent street是摄政街. Regent street I'm quite familiar with. Oxford street honestly, I obviously know I've been there, but I don't usually go shopping there. 
No. Oxford street is the busiest street in Europe and it was the center of the shopping area in London. 
Has it always been like a shopping area in history?
No, originally it was the road to the public execution grounds.
Okay, public execution就是公开处死刑的那个地方, 就相当于一个刑场了. That was the road to the public execution grounds. Absolutely. 
Back in the days people went there to just watch it almost like a show. 
And I think basically what happened was then a lot of shops started to open up along the way because public executions always draw a crowd. 
Yeah, like I said it's almost like a performance. So these shops opened started selling snacks I guess while people are waiting between the executions. 
And  then they started selling clothes and the rest is history. 
It's a bit morbid. Yeah, I wouldn't go to any secondhand clothes shop on Oxford street then. 
Well, you won't find any secondhand. 
No, that's right. 
Because the whole secondhand就像什么二手店那种古着店都是在另外一个地方一个区域. Oxford street, it's filled with like big brands and also fast fashion that sort of thing .
Pretty much. So I would say that most of the high street brands they have their main shop on Oxford street.

《闲话英伦》-伦敦必逛百货，全球最大还有皇家认证？

"欢迎来到英文小酒馆的迷你双语板块【Buzzword Mix】-新词特饮，短短几分钟，让不同段位的你掌握最新最地道的英文谈资！
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In today's Buzzword Mix, our Buzzword is Rage Cleaning. 
Rage means anger. 这个并没有一个很好的翻译, 所以咱们暂且把它翻译成‘愤怒清洁’或者‘愤怒清扫’. 
So what does it mean? 
First of all, let me ask you a question. Nowadays, our lives are filled with stressful situations. I'm sure everyone has had that moment of feeling extremely stressed and you have so much anger inside you. 
You just need to let it out.
Some of us might go for a 5-mile run. Some might indulge in alcohol or start smashing things about. 
But then there's a group of people who would let out their anger by deep cleaning their house. For instance, a long stressed out day at work leads you to break out the carpet cleaner or a rough day with your kids has you scrubbing the dishes with fury? 
我们现在的生活是充满各种各样的压力, 很多时候我们心里憋着一股气, 这股气到底撒在哪儿? 有的人可能会运动, 有的人可能会暴饮暴食, 或者会砸东西. 但是也有这样的一群人, 他们对抗压力的方式就是 rage cleaning, or angry cleaning. 
Basically this is the act of tackling a cleaning project with the express purpose of releasing pent-up emotion. 
具体来说就是通过大扫除来release pent-up emotion or pent-up anger来发泄这种压抑在心里的情绪, 特别是怒气. 
It sounds like a joke, right? You probably would say who would clean when they're angry, but rage cleaning is real.  
According to psychology experts, it's a natural reaction that many people experience and is actually kind of healthy, because pushing yourself physically forces you to expel that pent-up energy while focusing on a task instead of dwelling on negative thoughts. 
为什么心理学家会认为这种rage cleaning其实是一种还蛮健康的应对压力或者应对愤怒的一个机制, 主要是 pushing yourself physically, 耗尽你的体力去做大扫除的时候, 你就没有时间一直在那dwell on negative thoughts, 一直在那内耗, 一直在那琢磨那些负面的想法, 这可以帮你把心中的一些不满、怒气还有焦虑都发泄出去. 
It also puts you in a position of control. 同时也能让你重新找到掌控权. 
Often times anger or stress springs from situations in which we feel helpless. 
其实很多时候我们生活中的一些焦虑, 包括愤怒都来源于我们的无助感. 
For example, you can't shout back at your irresponsible boss or track down the thief who stole your credit card. But what you can do is power through a cleaning project, get it done and experience the satisfaction of having one less chore to do. 
比如你工作中的秃头老板, 或者你生活中遇到的种种不满, 你都没有办法真正去掌控, 但是你们家的卫生你是可以掌控的. 
Clinical psychologists say that people who rage clean are just taking control of what they can. “When we feel disarray in our mental or emotional world, the easiest or most concrete way to counter that is to make our physical world tidy and neat, the way we want our mental world to be. It’s a very natural reaction.” 
临床心理学家就认为这是一种再正常不过的反应. 当我们的情感或者说是心理世界出现了各种各样的问题, 特别是当我们感觉我们的心理和情感世界乱七八糟的时候, 千头万绪, 这个时候我们掌控不了自己的心理和情感世界, 我们起码可以让自己的physical world, 也就是我们实际的身边的世界, 具象的世界, 身边的环境能够变得更加tidy and neat能够整洁美观. 
这其实是我们希望能够理清自己思绪, 搞清楚自己精神世界的一种外向化的表现. 
You have such an intense sensation that feels like it needs to be released and you don't want to do it on a person.  But you can do it on an object. 
特别是我们心里有这种压下来的邪火, 或者那种很强烈的负面的情感的时候, 我们又不想把这种情绪发泄给身边的我们在乎的家人、爱人. 因此有些人就会选择把这些情绪发泄到物件上, 比如说家务事上. 
Cleaning is actually a great way to channel that because it is focused. You can take that negative energy and displace it onto something inanimate. 
It also allows you to take a break from whatever it is that triggered you. Now when you come back to whatever triggered you, you can come back to it more grounded and use more parts of yourself to tackle that issue. 
比如工作上或者情感上遇到一个特别大的烦心事儿, 这个时候你越想越生气, 越想越窝火, 这个时候索性不去想了, 来一次彻头彻尾的大扫除, 等你耗尽了自己的体力, 再回到困扰你的这些问题的时候, 你的脑子会更清醒, 也能做出更加理智的判断. 
Taking a negative emotion and turning it into something else is actually a psychological coping mechanism. 
其实心理学上还有一个专门的说法, there is a psychoanalytic term that applies to this kind of coping mechanism called sublimation, 叫sublimation, 升华.

情绪稳定能救命！愤怒、暴躁、不满...生气时，来一次大扫除吧

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 Hi, everyone. And welcome back to your favorite segment Sound of Musicals. 欢迎回来【曲外之音】. Hi, Oliver. 
Hello again.  
So, we're gonna continue with our talk about Mary Poppins, the quintessential English nanny. 
Of course, very British. 
So, we've already walked you through the storyline. It's pretty simple, it's defensible, fantastical nanny dropped out of the sky, and then just changed the whole household and mate, I think gave the mom and dad some wake-up call, like what is most important thing in life. 
Yeah, definitely the kids are kind of they've got absent parents, and they don't like the nannies that they keep being given, because they're too strict; or they don't get there the attention from the parents that they want, but Mary Poppins comes in and just changes everything. 
I like the words you use, they're not bad parents, they're not abusive or anything. They're just absent. 
Yeah, they care about their children, because they're taking the time to find a good nanny who will raise them correctly. Mr. Banks takes the children to the bank to show where he works. They focus on the wrong things, certainly, at the beginning of the movie. 
One thing I have noticed since you're talking about Mr. Banks, because apart from Mary Poppins, obviously, and Mary Poppins’ friend all being very colorful, but Mr. Banks seems to be this really grey dud in the film, in the whole storyline, very isolated. 
He does seem that way, yes. Mary Poppins and the children are sort of one side of it. His wife is part of the suffragette movement on the other. 
And then there's Mr. Banks in the middle at the bank. So. Yeah.
And I think it's almost like he's hypnotized or brainwashed himself to feel like “look, bank is everything, this bank job is everything. And through discipline and efficiency, we somehow would find salvation and I have to run my family like the bank with discipline and efficiency.”
Yeah, that's why he keeps hiring these strict nannies who don't really understand what the children need. Mr. Banks is just trying to run everything properly for the most efficient outcome. 
In a way, although children seem to be in the center stage like they seem to be the one who needed looking after, but Mary Poppins was not just inspiring the kids but also inspiring Mr. Banks. 
Yeah, definitely. When Mr. Banks loses his job at the end of the movie or musical, and he takes the time to fly a kite with his children, and realizes what is important in his life. Only then does Mary Poppins decide it's time to leave. So the kids have been happy through the whole movie, but Mr. Banks when he gets happy, that's when she goes. Okay, now I’ve got it. Father, children, everyone's together, time to go. 
Yeah, you mentioned happy, right? So I think underneath all of these song and dance, these magical scenarios, there is a deeper topic about what true happiness is. And are we losing sight of what is really important on our way to pursue so called happiness？
For example, when we are trying to chase after money, material gains, promotion, are we losing sight of what is truly important？
Yeah, certainly. Mr. Banks and the other people in the bank, when Mary Poppins... when Mr. Banks takes his children to the bank to see where he works. There's a whole song about Michael has a little bit of money.  There's a whole song about give us your money. We'll look after it, everything will be great, you'll be happy. 
And Michael's like no, I want my money. I don't want to put it in a bank. I want it. So, it's kind of showing the alternate happiness in a way, the difference between the childish happiness of I’ve got a little bit of money now which is fantastic. I can do something. To adult happiness of put it in a bank and watch numbers go higher, but don't use it. 
But that is not even...you said adult happiness, but that's not even real happiness. That's probably just as you're growing up, you've been sort of brainwashed

《曲外之音》-英国最受欢迎的魔法保姆，火了整整半个世纪。（下）

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 Hi, everyone. And welcome back to your favorite segment Sound of Musicals. 欢迎回来, 你们最喜欢的【曲外之音】. Hi, Oliver. 
Hello again.
So last time we talked about The Sound of Music, 【音乐之声】. And today can I also propose another also feel-good happy musical?
That sounds good to me. Yeah.
So you remember in The Sound of Music, we talked about the main character Maria was a governess是一个家庭教师, but you know you said governess is kind of like a tutor and a nanny. 
But if I say to you the quintessential English nanny, who do you think of?
I think we might be talking about Mary Poppins.
Yes. Mary Poppins.
Yes.
Now Mary Poppins, this character is so well known and so popular. I think sometimes it also is used almost as a synonym as something British, when Americans make jokes and is like “you're such a Mary Poppins.” It's like you're so English. 
I've never heard that one before, but definitely Mary Poppins is very well known for kind of the British nurse and the English nurse of the time. 
And in this, I think it's again, it is a musical, but it's also a musical film. And in this one, unlike The Sound of Music where the musical was first and then the musical film, Mary Poppins is actually musical film first. And then much much later they made a musical like on stage musical. 
Ah. Did they? I didn't know that. 
Yeah. The musical film, I think most people probably just remember the Disney version of the musical film made in 1964. But the West End production of the actual Mary Poppins musical was not until 2004. 
Wow, so much later. 
Yeah. It's again, based on a book, based on a series of books, and you know, these two, there's something in common between Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music.
Is there?
Think about the main character, the main star of the film. 
Oh yes. It's Julie Andrews. She plays Maria and Mary Poppins.
Yes. 
Oh. Yeah.
So basically she won an Oscar for one of them and she won Golden Globe for the other. 
She won all the awards. Haha.
Yeah. For these two Julie Andrews is amazing, like amazing musical actress. This actress, in general, she sings, she has such a beautiful voice. 
She does definitely. I talked us through The Sound of Music last time. Would you like to talk us through Mary Poppins now? 
Sure. And actually, before we get into the storyline, which is not complex at all, do you know that Mary Poppins, the translation, the translated name in Chinese, it has nothing to do with Mary Poppins. It's actually called欢乐满人间, which is a direct translation of like the world is filled with joy and laughter. 
I like that name. That's a very good title, hahaha. What a great translation. 
It's got joy and laughter in the title.
Yeah.
Ok. So the reason why in a lot of the American film or movie reference, this is seen as quintessentially English is because this film the story is set in London in 1910. So there's this family, Banks, Mr. and Mrs. Banks.  So Mr. Banks actually works in a bank in finance a bit on the nose. 
Yeah, very much. 
Yeah. And like this Sound of Music, von Trapp, Mr. Banks is also very much, I would say, without any joy, very much hapless, very much focused on discipline, and it's basically a workaholic. And so Mr. And Mrs. Banks they come home to discover that their children's nanny has quit once again after the children Michael and Jane run away to find their missing kite. 
They have two kids, not seven. But these two kids, they're also not really unruly, but they just didn't really like the fact that they didn't really like these old timey, traditional nannies who are just all about discipline and no fun. 
So basically now Mr. Banks needed to find another nanny. While Mr. Banks wants a strict, no nonsense nanny, who can just basically teaches the kids discipline controls the kid. The children ask for like a kind sympathetic nice nanny.

《闲话英伦》-要怎样，才同意离婚？

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