Clip-clopping steadily up the road, with muscular shoulders taking the strain of the cart loaded with beer behind them, shire horses Major and Nelson are part of a grand British tradition that has all but died out. The two horses, along with 70-year-old drayman Roger Hughes, are tasked with delivering casks of beers – every Thursday and Friday and on the first Saturday of the month – to local pubs near the picturesque village of Hook Norton in Oxfordshire.

There are only three brewers in the country that still use horses in this way. Hook Norton brewery is a family owned business and was founded by farmer John Harris in 1849. Today the brewery is owned by John’s great grandson James Clarke. It employs fifty people, mostly from the village, including Major and Nelson.

Photographer Richard Sowersby paid an early morning visit to the brewery to see Roger and his assistant prepare the horses before setting off on their delivery round. Roger has been a drayman with the brewery for 35 years and he’s got no plans to hang up his apron and bowler hat just yet. His assistant, Hungarian born Erzsebet Csak, has only been in her new role a short while. Since arriving in England five years ago she has developed a keen interest in horses and hopes to take over from Roger when he finally retires.

Delivery day begins with the two horses being tethered by the stable door to be groomed and harnessed before being strapped to the four-wheel dray. Before setting off from the brewery Roger gives Major and Nelson a pint of ale in a case of ‘one for the road’ – an expression, according to Roger, derived from the time when a condemned prisoner was offered a final drink at any pub he chose on his way by horse and cart to the place of public execution in London.

“See that pole in the middle of the dray that separate the two horses,” says Roger. “That is called a steering column to turn the horses left or right using the reins. That is where the word ‘steering column’ first originated to add to a motorized vehicle.“

Every year over 10,000 visitors visit the Hook Norton Brewery, taking a tour around the Victorian built high storey building to see how the beers are produced using some of the 18th century machinery. There is a museum and visitors centre too.

A formerly roly-polyrescue dog, Jack Russell Terrier Ruby, has been named the UK’s pet slimming champion of 2013 after losing one third of herbodyweight. The now perfectly-formed pooch was one of 16 obese pets chosen to embark on the six month diet and fitness regime run by leading vet charity, PDSA.  In total, the pets have lost a combined weight of 57kg (8 stone 9 pounds) – roughly equivalent to 900 mince pies, 125 Christmas puddings or 14 turkeys. 

When PDSA Pet Fit Club began in May, Ruby, from Sunderland, tipped the scales at 9.1kg (1stone 6lbs), making her morbidly obese and more than 50% overweight.  Six months on she is now a far healthier 6.2kg and just a whisker away from her ideal weight of 6kg. Ruby’s waistline started to creep up after she was adopted by owners Angela Martin and Steve Mackem four years ago.

Underweight and unloved, she had been found roaming the streets and was taken into a local animal shelter. Ruby was welcomed in to the Martin’s home and lavished attention – and treats – on her, admitting they ‘spoilt her rotten’.Before the competition, Ruby would spend most of the day asleep and any thought of ‘walkies’ was a big effort, which often left her out of breath.

Angela said: “When Ruby first came to us, we all felt really sorry for her as she’d had such a tough start to life. So to compensate, we used to give her a little treat here and there. The trouble was, the whole family was giving her ‘a little treat’ and over time, she started to get really big.”

PDSA Senior Veterinary Surgeon, Elaine Pendlebury, added: “This is a fantastic slimming success story. Many people fall into the trap of overindulging their pet with food as a way of expressing their love.”

Ruby’s remarkable achievement saw her beat off heavyweight competition from other overweight pets across the UK. Other top pet slimmers this year are Edinburgh pooch TJ, who started the competition weighing in at five stone 5lbs (34kg) who lost almost a quarter (23%) of her bodyweight during the six months of the PDSA Pet Fit Club. She is now a much slimmer 4st 2lb (26kg) after shedding almost 18 lbs (8kg). Oscar, a seven-year-old Spaniel/Collie cross from Sunderland who weighed in at five stone 2lbs (33kg) before Pet Fit Club, and has gone on to over a stone (6.6kg).

formerly – korábbi, egykori
roly-poly – kis gömböc
rescue dog – mentőkutya
bodyweight – testsúly
pooch – kutya, eb
obese – túlsúlyos
to embark – nekikezdeni, nekifogni
charity – jótékonyság(i szervezet)
roughly – nagyjából
equivalent to – valamivel egyenlő
mince pie – gyümölcskosár
to tip the scales at – a súlya eléri a …-t
morbidly obese – kórosan elhízott
overweight – túlsúlyos
a whisker away from – egy hajszálnyira valamitől
to creep up – felcsúszni
to roam – kalandozni, csatangolni
shelter – menedék
to lavish – pazarolni, túlzóan adni
to spoil sb rotten – halálra kényeztetni valakit
effort – erőfeszítés
to overindulge – túlkényeztetni
remarkable achievement – figyelemre méltó eredmény
to beat off – elhárítani
to shed – lehullatni, levedleni

]]> https://www.5percangol.hu/2013-decemberi-szamhoz-tartozo-hanganyagok-qr/love-bugs-friendly-damselflies-hold-hands/ Wed, 20 Nov 2013 19:10:46 +0000 https://cmsteszt.5percangol.hu/love-bugs-friendly-damselflies-hold-hands/ https://www.5percangol.hu/news_of_the_world/greedy-molly/ Sun, 01 Sep 2013 11:32:05 +0000 https://cmsteszt.5percangol.hu/greedy-molly/ A greedy dog had to be saved by vets after it ate a whole bag of harmful chocolate coins.

The Jack Russell cross thought it was her lucky day when her owner left a bag of chocolate coins within easyreach of her mischievous paws. But ginger and white haired Molly needed PDSA vets to save her life after she ate the harmful chocolate.Veterinary charityPDSA is urging dog owners to keep chocolate away from their dogs over the Easter holiday due to the highly toxic chemicals it contains.

Owner Helen Bentley from Christchurch, Dorset, returned home to find a pile of empty chocolate coin wrappers neatly laid out on the floor.The 69-year-old said: "I know chocolate is dangerous to dogs but I had popped out and unfortunately left the bag of chocolate coins on a chair by mistake. It obviously didn’t take long for Molly to get into the chocolates and she ate every single one out of the bag just leaving the wrappers and the net they were in."

Helen rushed three-year-old Molly to Bournemouth PDSA PetAid hospital and the vets immediately admitted her for emergency treatment.They gave her drugs to make her vomit to quickly flush the life-threatening chocolate out of her system.Thankfully Molly was able to go home the same day with medicines to help absorb any remaining toxins and went on to make a full recovery.

Helen believes many people are unaware of the dangers posed to pets by foods such as chocolate.

She added: "Speaking to people since this incident it’s frightening how few realize it’s dangerous to give pets chocolate.Some people say they give it to their pets all the time. It’s not that well known and more owners should be made aware, especially at times like Easter."

Last year, more than 400 cases of dogs eating chocolate had to be dealt with by vets and nurses at the PDSA PetAid hospitals.Many pets required emergency treatment after falling victim to the harmful effects of theobromine – a common ingredient in human chocolate.Other popular Easter goodies such as chocolate coated raisins, peanuts and coffee beans are even more dangerous to pets.

Research from the recent PDSA report revealed more than half a million could be at risk as 7 per cent of owners give their pets human chocolate.PDSA Senior Veterinary Surgeon Elaine Pendlebury urges pet owners to think carefully about what they give their dog this Easter.She said: "If you can’t resist giving them a little Easter treat, make sure it is something pet-friendly, suitable or safe.A new toy or a nice long walk is a good alternative and owners should store chocolates in the same way as medicines when they have pets.”She added: "Many pet owners love giving their pet a treat but are unaware of the dangers of chocolate. The effects of chocolate poisoning in dogs usually appear within four hours of eating, and can last as long as 24 hours. Initial signs can include excessive thirst, vomiting, diarrhea, a sore stomach and restlessness. These symptoms can then progress to tremors, an abnormal heart rhythm, raised body temperature and rapid breathing. In severe cases dogs can experience fits, kidney failure or even death."

High quality dark chocolates, which often contain the largest cocoa solids content, pose the biggest risk to dogs.A small bar of dark chocolate contains more than enough theobromine to fatally poison a small dog such as a Yorkshire Terrier.

greedy – mohó, falánk
harmful – ártalmas
chocolate coin – csokoládé érme
cross – keverék, keresztezés
within reach – karnyújtásnyira
mischievous – csintalan, rosszalkodó
paw – mancs
ginger – gyömbér
veterinary charity – állatorvosi jótékonyság
to urge – sürgetni, ösztönözni
to keep away – távol tartani
due to – valaminek köszönhetően
toxic – mérgező
to contain – tartalmazni
pile -halom, kupac
wrapper – csomagoló papír
neatly – takarosan, rendesen
to lay out – kifektetni
to pop out – kiugrani
unfortunately -sajnos
by mistake – tévedésből
obviously – nyilvánvalóan, szemlátomást
to take long – sokáig tartani
net – háló
to rush -rohanni, sietni
emergency treatment – sürgős ellátás
to vomit – hányni
to flush – (ki/át)öblíteni/mosni
life-threatening – életveszélyes
to absorb – fel/beszívni
remaining – maradék
full recovery -teljes felépülés
to be unaware – nem lenni valaminek tudatában
to pose a danger – veszélyt jelenteni
to deal with – foglakozni valamivel, kezelni valamit
to require – igényelni, szükségeltetni
to fall victim to – áldozatául esni valaminek
effect – hatás
coated – (valamivel) bevont
to be at risk – veszélynek lenni kitéve
to resist – ellenállni
suitable – megfelelő
to store – tárolni, raktározni
treat – jutalom(falat)
poisoning – mérgezés
to last – tartani (időben)
initial sign – első jel
excessive thirst – túlzott szomjúság
diarrhea – hasmenés
sore – fájó, érzékeny, gyulladásos
restlessness – nyugtalanság
tremor – remegés, reszketés
raised body temperature – hőemelkedés
rapid breathing – felgyorsult légzés
severe case – komoly/súlyos eset
fit – roham, görcs
kidney failure – veseelégtelenség
fatally – halálosan