This is your cosy English learning video.

The video that you didn't even know you needed.

I always think a new season signals new energy.

New motivation to do things.

And this video is going to help with that.

I'm going to give you some classic literature recommendations to really get you in the mood for autumn and English learning. I'm also going to suggest something autumnal and very English for you to eat and drink.

Two cosy film recommendations that are set in England where you can hear the accent.

And of course it wouldn't be an English learning video without some idioms and some advanced vocabulary.

So make yourself a cup of tea, get a blanket, cosy up and hunker down for this video. So everyone, I've got three book recommendations.

Are you ready?

The first one is my favourite book of all time.

My copy is a little bit dog-eared, which means it looks a bit shabby and old.

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith.

This is considered a classic novel.

It is absolutely amazing.

I first read this book when I was 15 years old.

It's set in a castle, a crumbling castle.

The main character lives with her family in one of the wings of this castle.

And she basically just documents life, nature, the surroundings, what she's going through.

The vocabulary is just beautiful.

The descriptions of being cosy in a castle are amazing.

Overall, it is just my dream book.

My perfect novel to read, so read it.

My second recommendation is something a little bit more spooky, because autumn is the season for Halloween.

It's quite an atmospheric season, isn't it?

With all the leaves changing colour, there's kind of a spooky, creepy side to autumn, right?

Don't worry, this is not a horror book.

It's not, like, really, really scary.

Daphne du Maurier, one of my favourite authors, wrote this book Rebecca.

Again, considered a classic novel.

Like with Daphne du Maurier's novels, they're always set in Cornwall, which is where she grew up, where she absolutely loved, and where I absolutely love.

There features a kind of phantom or ghost that lives in the house with them.

But it's not scary.

It's just really clever.

Really almost, like, ethereal and atmospheric.

It's a great one, honestly.

A great one for this season.

My last recommendation really is a classic, considered one of the novels that you just have to read to say that you've read it.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte.

Perfect for autumn.

It's kind of gothic fiction.

My copy of this book is actually at my parents' house, so I don't have it right now.

The novel follows the story of Jane.

Quite a simple character, but it showcases her battling her struggles in life.

It's very relatable.

You can really empathise with her.

She has a cruel and abusive aunt, and lives in quite grim conditions.

It's so atmospheric.

The descriptions are incredible.

Great for vocabulary. OK, everyone, what to eat and what to drink in autumn to get you in the mood.

At the moment in England, what's in season are root vegetables like butternut squash and sweet potato, potatoes, pumpkin, marrow, of course apples, pears.

But a really cosy pudding that we love to make in autumn is sticky toffee pudding.

An absolute British classic.

It's a really soft sponge cake made from dates.

It has this, like, sticky toffee sauce.

The whole pudding should be served steaming hot.

I will put an old-fashioned recipe in the description box, which was actually my great-grandmother's recipe.

Enjoy.

And what do we drink?

Well, I certainly drink Earl Grey tea in the autumn.

I love Earl Grey.

It's got such a lovely, subtle flavour.

The flavour of bergamot is just lovely.

English people drink more tea than usual in autumn and winter, if that's even possible. OK, so here are the film recommendations.

If you haven't already, I urge you to watch two Hugh Grant films.

The first one is Notting Hill.

Wow, what a cosy film.

It's also really great for the modern RP accent, if you want to hear it being used by Hugh Grant himself.

He's a little bit more RP than modern RP, I would say.

He is just great in Notting Hill.

In the film, you can see London and the lovely parks with all the trees in London.

Whenever I watch that film, it really makes me miss London.

The other film that he's in that's a bit older and incredible is Four Weddings and a Funeral.

I watched it only last week, and it was just such a vibe.

Again, Hugh Grant is just perfect in it.

In both films, he plays a quintessential English gentleman, so you can really learn about the culture of that and what that means.

Four Weddings and a Funeral is definitely one of my favourite films of all time.

It shows how eccentric English people are as well.

I love them both equally, so please watch them and let me know what you think in the comments. OK, here's some cosy language for autumn.

I've got two phrasal verbs, one advanced word, and also something that sounds really cute to me that I want to share with you, and one idiom.

An autumnal phrasal verb is to curl up.

To curl up.

A lovely phrasal verb for cosiness.

To curl up is what cats do.

When they go into a ball, what humans do when they curl up is usually they make themselves a hot drink, they get into some really cosy clothes, and they curl up on the sofa with a blanket, and they just relax.

Sometimes I say, tonight I'm going to curl up with a good book, or I'm going to curl up and watch Notting Hill, and generally have a lovely cosy time.

Number two is cuddle up.

Cuddle up, a really cute phrasal verb.

So this phrasal verb requires some company.

You can't cuddle up alone.

You can cuddle up to a teddy bear, cuddle up to a dog or a cat, or of course, a person.

On Sunday nights, I like to cuddle up to Tom and watch a really cosy film.

The advanced word, deciduous.

Deciduous.

This is the advanced level word that is about trees shedding their leaves.

So a deciduous tree is a tree that sheds or loses its leaves in the autumn.

Not all trees are deciduous, and I didn't actually know that.

An example of a deciduous tree is of course an oak tree, a sycamore tree.

This weekend, I'm going to forage for autumnal leaves that have fallen from deciduous trees for my wedding decorations.

I'm also going to be on the hunt for pinecones, acorns, and just any treasure that I find from nature. OK, something that I want to share with you.

Did you know that the beaver moon...

So cute.

The beaver moon is the first full moon of November.

It's named after beavers building winter dams.

That is amazing.

If you know anything about the beaver moon, please put it in the comments below because I'm sure everyone would love to know, including me.

So we're going to finish this video today with a lovely autumnal idiom.

Golden years.

Golden years.

What do you think that refers to?

So golden years is a beautiful way to refer to old age.

So very in keeping with the autumnal vibe of leaves on the trees getting old and falling, the leaves getting old would be the golden years of those leaves.

Basically a way of romanticising old age, saying that they're the best years of your life, the golden, sparkling years.

The years where you are your most wise, you can tell stories, you're retired so you've got more time for your hobbies.

What a lovely idiom for autumn. Well, I hope you feel lovely and cosy and in the mood to learn English.

It's quite fun to romanticise the process of learning English and really getting into the spirit and the mood.

If you end up doing anything that I recommend in this video, please put it in the comments.

I would love to know.

I'm getting over a cold at the moment so you can probably hear it in my voice a little bit.

Sorry.

Really looking forward to seeing you next Friday.

Bye.