Grow Your Own

BBC Learning English
People and Places
Grow Your Own

Amber 1: Hello, I’m Amber and you’re listening to

bbclearningenglish.com

In People and Places today, we hear about a new film that

takes us to a very English place – an allotment. An

allotment is a small plot of land rented to someone for

growing vegetables or flowers.

The film – called Grow Your Own – is loosely based on a

real-life allotment in Liverpool, where traumatised Balkan

Civil War refugees were given plots of land to work on as

therapy. In the film, an immigrant Chinese father is given

an allotment to help him reconnect with the world and

support his children after
his traumatic journey.

We’ll hear two extracts of an interview with film critic

Larushka Ivan-Zadeh. You’ll hear plenty of descriptive

language, as well as a lot of ‘word play’ using the

language of gardening. Word play is when you joke about the

meanings of words.

So here’s our first extract. Larushka is answering the

question – Although Grow Your Own is clearly about some

serious social issues, it’s really a touching 2 little

British comedy, isn’t it? (Rather like The Full Monty, an

extremely popular and funny film about a group of

unemployed 3 steel workers in Yorkshire.)

As you listen, try to catch some of the adjectives Larushka

uses to describe the film, Grow Your Own.

Larushka Ivan-Zadeh

Oh, absolutely. I mean, gentle’s the word you used,

‘gentle’ is definitely the word for this. Sort of, very

charming, home-grown comedy. But ‘mild’ would be another

one – I mean, it’s kind of like a less funny ‘Full Monty

’ with potting sheds, really! It sort of centres, as well,

on this kind of slightly cringe-y romance. I mean, it’s

slightly embarrassing. Almost nudge, nudge, wink 4, wink

territory.

Amber: So the film is ‘gentle’, ‘mild’ and ‘charming

’ – words you could certainly use to describe a warm,

friendly person! And notice Larushka begins her answer with

the words ‘Oh, absolutely’ – this is a very common way

of emphasising that you agree with someone. And she plays

with the expression ‘home-grown’
– vegetables can be ‘home-grown’ if you grow them in

your garden or allotment and Larushka calls the film

‘home-grown’ because it’s a British- made film. She says

the film has a ‘slightly cringe-y romance’ – if

something makes you cringe – it makes you embarrassed or

uncomfortable. She says the romance in Grow Your Own is so

embarrassing it’s ‘almost nudge, nudge, wink, wink

territory’ – she means it’s sexually suggestive in an

indirect way. Listen again.

Larushka Ivan-Zadeh

Oh, absolutely. I mean, gentle’s the word you used,

‘gentle’ is definitely the word for this. Sort of, very

charming, home-grown comedy. But ‘mild’ would be another

one – I mean, it’s kind of like a less funny ‘Full Monty

’ with potting sheds, really! It sort of centres, as well,

on this kind of slightly cringe-y romance. I mean, it’s

slightly embarrassing. Almost nudge, nudge, wink, wink

territory.

Amber: Next, we hear the film described as a bit ‘wishy

washy’ – meaning it doesn’t have much strength or

colour, it’s mild. And it’s described as ‘a bit liberal

’ – as presenting a view of Britain as a broad-minded

place, where people ‘all live
 
together in acceptance’ - in a ‘wonderful new multi-

cultural society’. And

Larushka ends with a joke – can you catch it?

Larushka Ivan-Zadeh

It’s sort of a bit wishy washy really, and a bit liberal.

I mean, it’s got this kind of idea that we all live

together in acceptance, have a nice cup of tea and have

sort of organically evolved into this wonderful new multi-

cultural society – I mean! Maybe he’s right; maybe marrow 5
growing contests are the solution to cultural integration 6!

Amber: So Larushka jokes that perhaps the film is right –

vegetable growing competitions might be the way to achieve

‘cultural integration’! A marrow is a large, long green

vegetable.

Larushka Ivan-Zadeh

It’s sort of a bit wishy washy really, and a bit liberal.

I mean, it’s got this kind of idea that we all live

together in acceptance, have a nice cup of tea and have

sort of organically evolved into this wonderful new multi-

cultural society – I mean! Maybe he’s right; maybe marrow
growing contests are the solution to cultural integration!

Amber: Now here’s a list of the language we focussed on

in the programme today.

an allotment - a small plot of land rented to someone for

growing vegetables word play - when you joke about the

meanings of words
mild – gentle

‘Absolutely!’ – this is a very common way of emphasising

that you agree with someone
home-grown – if something is ‘home-grown’ you grew it

yourself in your garden or allotment
cringe-y – if something makes you cringe, it makes you

embarrassed or uncomfortable
wishy washy – without strength or colour

a marrow – a marrow is a large, long green vegetable.

More stories of people and places – with language

explanations – next time, at bbclearningenglish.com