Hi Everyone,

I hope you had a great weekend.

In my column today, I am hopefully going to help you banish your Monday morning blues with an interesting tale!! When I meet new students, I often surprise them by telling them that I come from Washington, in the UK. Most people are more familiar with Washington, the capital of America, but there is also a town in the UK called Washington, and there is a connection between the two places.

I grew up very close to the old building in the photograph, which is called Washington Old Hall, and it is the ancestral home of the Washington family, who are related to the first president of the USA, George Washington. Although the real story is much more complicated, George Washington's family were originally from the UK, and lived in Washington Old Hall before moving to America. Then, George Washington was born and went on eventually to become the first president of America.

Parts of Washington Old Hall date back centuries, and it is now a museum. It is especially popular with American tourists, and when Jimmy Carter was president of America he also visited. Next to Washington Old Hall, is the old village of Washington, including an old church, and several pubs next to a village green. There is a cherry tree in the village green which was planted by Jimmy Carter. Unfortunately, the original tree he planted didn't survive the cold British winters and sadly died. However, a replacement was planted which I believe still survives today.

I hope you enjoyed reading about where I come from. If you take a lesson with me, then you will have an opportunity to ask me more questions and find out more about me. 

I look forward to talking to you, getting to know you and helping you improve your English. In the meantime, I hope you have a great day!!

Thank You,

Mark