Britain’s Got Talent I was surfing the Internet when I stumbled across TV show Britain’s Got Talent. We actually have our own version of this show in Russia called Минута славы, which I never had the desire to watch, but I really liked the British version. As a person who likes to read books from the end I started to watch Britain’s Got Talent from the fourth season. The thing that impressed me about the show is the way how people got on their feet every time they saw something they really liked. The most entertaining part for me is auditions; after that it is not as interesting especially since the acts that I like never win. I even managed to learn a few new words through this show. Of course I heard quite a lot of words that I still do not know the meaning of. This is probably one of the reasons why I did not like impressions; that and the fact that I have no idea whom they were trying to imitate.

Why is pronoun “her” used in this sentence? I am reading "The Strange Case Of Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde" and there is this sentence "It was a wild, cold, seasonable night of March, with a pale moon, lying on her back as though the wind had tilted her, " When I've read it my first thought was "Why her". I am confused

A Compassionate Tramp It was rather cool day if you could say that about a 24-degree warmth. I think you could considering that it was 32 just a few days before. That day the air was more fresh and it became easier to breath in the overheated city. I packed my bag and went to a bus stop so I could go to a bus station and then to a small village where my former neighbour lives. She and her husband, who passed away long time ago, used to look after me for a few hours sometimes when I was a kid. She is 81 now and it's a bit hard for me to see how aged she became. Visiting my former neighbour was not what I wanted to share when I started this entry. The reason why I started to write it was a man I met at the bus stop. I almost got there when I first saw him. He had a messy hair and a dirty beard, not to mention that he really smelled. Despite of warm weather he wore a black coat. Meeting with such a man usually ends with them asking for some cash or a cigarette. He definitely spotted me and for some reason he decided to come to me. I passed by him but he went after me anyway. I tensed for a while not knowing what he wanted. The thing he said was the last thing I expected to hear. The man told me that a dog was hit by a car right in front of a kid. He was upset about this accident but I did not understand what made him feel worse, the accident itself or that some kid saw it. He complained about the lack of undercrossings in the city and how there are plenty of them in Moscow so such an accident could not happen there. Personally I think it is a bit naive to believe that everything is better in there only because it is Moscow. After that he changed the subject and started to talk about politics M. Gorbachev to be specific and that he was the president once. Who knows what else he would told me if my bus has not arrived at that exact moment. The whole situation was kind of surreal for me. This man who for some reason sank to the lower depths of society but still has some compassion and intelligence made me think that we should not judge people only by their look.

Friendly Face This is a friendly face that I have met outside on a rainy weekend day. It even made me smile and enlightened my mood.

Changes Today is the last day of the major part of my life; the last day of my education. I have studied for as long as I can remember. School, then college and university were part of my life for 17 years. Now it is over and the only thing I have to worry about right now is buying a nice dress. I still do not know how I feel about it. Ask me tomorrow or in a week and maybe I will know the answer by that time. One thing is certain, I am not a student anymore.

Crow Family It was mostly a rainy day but I decided to take a short walk. So I just could clear my head for a while. I was already heading home when I heard a loud cawing. A few crows were circling above another crow. My first thought was that they are going to attack it. I looked closer and saw that it was smaller with glassy eyes and could barely stand on its own. It was a baby crow and others were trying to protect it from me. It wasn’t necessary though. I was not going to harm it but I couldn’t help baby crow either. Every time I was trying to get closer older crows cawed even more loudly and tried to attack me. Now I am at home and all I can think about is that the crow most likely would die. It can’t fly and its parents wouldn’t be able to carry it back to the nest.

Bears On The Streets There are bears on the streets in Russia after all… Today I heard on the news that in Primorsky Krai bears came out of a forest in search of food. Hungry bears had woken up after long winter and search food in garbage disposals and in the yards of buildings. Some careless people even stop their cars to take pictures.

Non-Professional Service Almost two years ago on a hot August day I went shopping for a pair of shoes for my best friend’s wedding. It was the day before the wedding and I still have not found anything. I was ready to give up when I saw a pair of shoes that I thought would suit me. I was going to ask shop assistants if they had my size when another client asked me if I speak English. It was the last question I was expected to hear. I may live in a city with almost one million people but English is not the language we speak in everyday life. She was trying to buy a pair of ugg boots (I call them slippers because they look the same for me just without the top) but she did not have any cash and wanted to pay we her card. She told me that she was from Germany and complained about no one in the city speaking English. She and the shop assistants asked me to help them. First I thought that her card was not valid in Russia but turned out it was not a problem. The shop assistants told me that they do not know how to use terminal for non-cash payments because they work here only for a few days. Later it turned out that they are not allowed to use it. When I told that to their client she was genuinely surprised. She told me that it was simple and even tried to show how it needed to be done. Shop assistants called their senior while we were talking. They told that she would come in ten minutes and help. The client went smoking while shop assistants were waiting for their senior. I do not know how that all ended but I think that she did not come back. I kind of feel sorry for her. We may not have bears on the streets in Russia but there are a lot of things that need improvement and service one of them.

"From The Shipboard To The Ball" Over the last two weeks I was becoming more and more nervous every passing day. I guess that is what state exam does to every student. Now it is over and I can breathe again. I have passed my exam. So now I can go to Yekaterinburg and visit my brother whom I haven’t seen for ten months. He is in the army now. The funny thing is that six months of serving his country he spent in Tajikistan. I do not understand how someone can serve their country while being in the other. Anyway he is just seven hours away from home now. It is the second best to home. I do not like trains but I am looking forward to this meeting.