Stop and Smell the Coffee

"Coffee is a language in itself."

Jackie Chan

We all got very excited when our new coffee machine arrived in the executive centre - real coffee at last.  Of course we still have filtered coffee for those who prefer it but now we can have a real cup of coffee when we want, with a little kick in it.

Some Interesting Facts about Coffee:

100 cups of coffee is considered the lethal dose! However French philosopher Voltaire apparently drank 50 cups a day!

The Italian government regulates Espresso because it is believed to be an essential part of Italian daily life!

Espresso and your diet: brewed espresso contains 2.5% fat while filtered coffee only has 0.6% (but which tastes better?)

In Italy the average age of a Barista is 48 – and it is a very respected profession.

Coffee is the second most sold commodity in the world (Oil is first).

Dark roasted coffee beans contain less caffeine than the light roasted beans.

Approximately 2 billion cups of coffee are drunk each day in the world.
 

In the UK (with a population of approx 63 million) the British drink 165 million cups of tea daily or 60.2 billion per year whereas the number of cups of coffee drunk each day is estimated at 70 million. (So we are still a nation of tea drinkers but coffee is gaining in popularity fast!)

Happy people!

In Deep Water - Visit to the Submarine Museum

One of our students; Radim recently went to visit the Royal Navy Submarine Museum in Gosport.  This is his account of the trip:

With my teacher Michael B, I visited the Royal Navy Submarine Museum in Gosport. We took the Gosport ferry across the harbour [from next to Portsmouth harbour rail station at The Hard.] We chose to take a taxi to the museum to save time. [It takes about 15-20 minutes to walk there]

The museum itself has many buildings, so we started at the Weapons Gallery. We saw many torpedoes and missiles. Some torpedoes are over 100 years old!

Then we walked to the information and shop (the main entrance & ticket office). We first saw a 4-man mini/midget submarine from WW2 [HMS 24X]. It looked too small for 4 people! Very interesting to see how sailors could live in so little a space!

We saw the oldest submarine – a wooden replica from USA – the Turtle, built in 1775. Very surprising to see a small one-person submarine!

In this main building there were many interesting things. My teacher loved the periscopes and we ‘played’ who can first find LSI building. We saw many things and displays from the American, German, Soviet and British (of course!) submarines. I liked finding out how sailors lived inside – the small beds, the small personal space.

It was fascinating to see the old submarine made from plate metal ( Holland 1 from 1901). It was exciting to go inside and see the machinery – the engines, the torpedo tubes – and to touch the metal. I was almost back in time!

Unfortunately we had no time to visit the big submarine (HMS Alliance) from 1945 that is outside in a dry dock. We had no time as you needed to be part of a guided tour that took 45 minutes. It would be good to go back just for this.

We walked back along the waterfront with the marina and all the sailing boats - big, small, some looked very expensive.

We saw the Time space sundial – a big concrete sun clock; and information about the history of Gosport.

It was very interesting to stand on the Millennium Pier out into the harbour and see Portsmouth from this angle – completely different, almost completely unrecognisable!

What I enjoyed the most: going inside Holland 1 the old metal submarine from 1901.

Radim Sevcik

Czech 

How to get there

Ferry from Portsea – pontoon next to Portsmouth Harbour Station.

The Gosport ferry (green ferry) costs £2.90 for a return ticket.

Either take a taxi to Haslar Road/submarine museum

Or walk along seafront pas

Haslar Marina, over the bridge to Haslar and the Museum.

Price : £12.50 adult; £9 with a student card.

Need a good 3 hours to see everything!

http://www.submarine-museum.co.uk/

New Positions for the New Year

To start the New Year with vitality and fresh ideas, we are delighted to announce some new appointments and positions.

As our student numbers have grown, we have needed to re-organise a few of our areas.  

Firstly, the exam department now has their own Director of Studies to organise the IELTS and Cambridge courses, and we are delighted to announce that Lewis Richards is the new Director of Studies for Exams.  Ross McKenzie is the Director of Studies for General English, and helping them both is Leanne Prescott as the new Assistant Director of Studies for General English and Exams.

Lewis Richards - Director of Studies - Exams

Leanne Prescott - Assistant Director of Studies for GE and Exams

Last September, Cristina Purcell, the Pre-sessional course manager retired which led to a reorganisation for the Pre-sessional department. The new Pre-sessional Course Manager is Robyn Brooks and the Pre-sessional Logistics Co-ordinator is Ed Humphreys, supporting them is Joanna Glos the Pre-sessional Support.

Robyn Brook - Pre-sessional Course Manager

Ed Humphreys - Pre-sessional Logistics Co-Ordinator

Joanna Glos - Pre-sessional Support

And finally, Rosie Ford has joined us at LSI as Quality Assurance Manager and P.A. to the Principal Andrew Edwards.

Rosie Ford - Quality Assurance Manager and PA to the Principal

We wish all of them great success in their new roles.

Happy New Year 2014