Hello. This is 6 Minute English
from BBC Learning English.
I'm Neil.
And I'm Sam. People in the UK are
enjoying a four-day holiday
as part of the celebrations
for Queen Elizabeth II's
Platinum Jubilee. A jubilee celebrates the
anniversary of a special
event, and the word is
mostly associated with the
Royal Family. In 2022,
Queen Elizabeth II
celebrates her Platinum
Jubilee, commemorating 70
years since she became
Queen in 1952. People are doing all kinds
of things to celebrate,
from large events at
Buckingham Palace and St
Paul's Cathedral, to
smaller street parties in
towns and cities up
and down the country,
and abroad. In this
programme, we look at
the Platinum Jubilee
in an unusual way, by
hearing about a cake
competition to make the
official jubilee cake -
the Platinum Pudding.
And, as usual, we'll be
learning some related
vocabulary as well. This isn't the first
celebration of Queen
Elizabeth's reign - the
period of time when a
monarch rules a country.
In 1977, the Queen
celebrated her Silver
Jubilee, marking 25 years
as queen, followed by
her Golden Jubilee in
2002, and her Diamond
Jubilee in 2012. But what's so special
about this year's Platinum
Jubilee is that Queen
Elizabeth II is the first
British monarch ever
to spend 70 years on
the throne. And I have
a question about it,
Sam. Queen Elizabeth II
is Britain's longest-ever
reigning monarch, but
who was the previous
longest-reigning before
her? Was it: a) Henry VIII?
b) Elizabeth I? or c) Queen Victoria?
I know it's c)
Queen Victoria. OK. I'll reveal the
answer at the end of
the programme. As the
first monarch ever
to have a platinum
jubilee, many celebrations
are being planned for
the Queen. These include
an official birthday
parade, Trooping the
Colour, which ends with
jet planes flying over
Buckingham Palace, and
the Platinum Pageant -
a live concert in front
of the palace, featuring
music and dancing,
puppets of the Queen's
favourite pets - her
corgi dogs - and a
performance by Ed Sheeran. And that's just in London.
All across the UK street
parties are being held
for people to eat and
drink with friends and
neighbours. There's a
tradition of inventing
a new food dish to
commemorate jubilees,
going all the way back
to the Victoria sponge,
a cake named after
Queen Victoria. This
year a competition was
held to find a new dish
to become the official
pudding of the jubilee.
Here's BBC reporter,
Daniella Relph, to
explain more. First, there was the
Victoria sponge, then
coronation chicken,
now we have a Queen
Elizabeth II Platinum
Pudding. The winning
lemon Swiss roll and
amaretti trifle is a
twist on a traditional
trifle, with layers
of Swiss roll, jelly,
custard, mandarins,
amaretti biscuits
and cream. In 1953, a mix of
chicken and curry cream
sauce called, coronation
chicken, was invented to
celebrate Queen Elizabeth's
coronation - the ceremony
at which she was
made queen. This year, competition
winner, Jemma Melvin,
has invented a lemon
and Swiss roll amaretti
trifle as the official
jubilee cake. Trifle
is a sweet, cold pudding
made of three layers -
a layer of fruit and
cake, a layer of
custard, and a top
layer of cream. Jemma's jubilee trifle
is a twist on a
traditional trifle.
When talking about
food, people use the
phrase a twist on
something to describe
a new variation of
a traditional recipe,
using different,
exciting ingredients. Jemma learned her
winning recipe from her
grandmothers. She wants
her trifle to be "the
people's pudding",
something to be enjoyed
by everyone. Here is
Jemma Melvin describing
how she felt to
discover her trifle
had been chosen as
the official
Platinum Pudding. I cannot believe it!
Everything that I was
up against was just
the most beautiful
desserts and pudding
with beautiful stories.
(That) this quite humble
trifle has won is
a bit surreal. Jemma describes her
trifle as humble - modest,
and not proud. Although
the pudding contains
ingredients like amaretti
biscuits and cream,
which are good enough
for a queen, she
wanted to base it on
a humble trifle,
something everyone around
the country can make. Enjoying a bowl of Jemma's
Platinum Pudding sounds
like a great way for some
to celebrate the Queen's
seventy-year reign. Which reminds me of your
question, Neil. We know
Elizabeth II has reigned
for 70 years, but who
was the second
longest-serving monarch?
I said it was c)
Queen Victoria. I'm glad you were so
sure, because you were
correct, Sam. Victoria
was queen for almost
64 years which is a
long time, but not as
long as Elizabeth. OK, let's recap the
vocabulary from this
programme about the
Queen's jubilee - a
celebration of the
anniversary of a
special event, usually
involving the Royal Family. A king or queen's reign
means the period of
time they rule a country. A coronation is the
ceremony at which someone
is made monarch -
the king or queen. Trifle is a popular
pudding made of a layer
of fruit and cake, a
layer of custard, and
a top layer of cream. If you say a food dish
is a twist on something,
you mean it's a variation
of a traditional recipe,
using new and
exciting ingredients. And finally, someone who
is humble is modest,
and not proud. If you were inspired
by this recipe, why not
try making it. But
that's all from us.
Goodbye for now. Goodbye!