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 a 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.... 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.

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!

Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I’m Sam. 

And I’m Neil.

Have you ever played the game, Cluedo, Neil? The idea is that the person

playing detective discovers who the murderer is, where the crime took place,

and which weapon was used.

The last time I played Cluedo it was Professor Plum, in the library, with the dagger!

Cluedo is based on a very popular type of book– the murder mystery,

sometimes called a whodunnit – a story about a murder which doesn't reveal 

who the murderer is until the end.

The queen of murder mysteries is a British writer who was born in 1890.

Her books are read all over the world and have been translated  into

a 103 different languages. Her name is Agatha Christie.

To date over 2 billion copies of her crime novels have been sold worldwide,

making her the best-selling novelist of all time… and the subject of this programme. 

Perhaps her best-known story is ‘Murder on the Orient 

Express’, a whodunnit featuring her most famous detective, Hercule Poirot,

who starred in 33 of Agatha Christie’s books. 

More about that later but as usual I have a quiz question 

for you, Neil.

Poirot may be Agatha Christie’s most famous detective, but he isn’t her only one

– so who is Agatha Christie’s other fictional detective?

Is it:

a) Hetty Wainthropp?

b) Jessica Fletcher? or,

c) Miss Marple?

I’ll guess it’s a) Hetty Wainthropp.

OK, Neil. I’ll reveal the answer at the end of the programme.

As mentioned, one of Agatha Christie’s most famous books is

‘Murder on the Orient Express’. The story takes place

on a train travelling from Istanbul in Turkey to Calais in northern France.

Listen as writer and Agatha Christie superfan, Harriet Gilbert,

summarises the story for BBC World Service programme, World Book Club.

Poirot is on the train, heading back home to England from 

Syria, when two unconnected events take place. In a 

snowstorm in Croatia, the train comes grinding to a halt  

and in one of the sleeping berths, a passenger is murdered. 

Since it’s impossible for anyone to have reached the isolated 

snow-trapped train or to have escaped from it without 

leaving telltale footsteps in the snow,  

the killer can only be one of the dozen people sharing  

Poirot’s coach. Yet as he starts to investigate it  

seems that each of them has an alibi for the time of the murder.  

Impossible? Well, Poirot’s certainly perplexed… 

During a snowstorm, the express train comes to a grinding halt

– it slows down until it stops altogether. Then, someone is murdered! 

The murderer can’t have escaped without leaving telltale footprints in the snow.

When something is described as telltale, it reveals information which allows 

a secret to be uncovered. For example, lipstick on your 

husband’s shirt could be a telltale sign he’s having an affair. 

The murder victim is found in bed stabbed with a knife. 

Poirot begins to investigate, but as he questions the 

train passengers one by one, it seems that everyone 

has an alibi - proof that they were somewhere else when a crime was committed. 

Naturally, this leaves the Belgian detective perplexed,  

or confused because something is difficult to understand 

or solve.

I won’t spoil the story by telling you what happens next, Neil.  

But let’s just say that, as usual, Poirot uncovers the murderer using his

incredible powers of observation.

In her stories, Agatha Christie describes Hercule Poirot as a very strange

or eccentric man.

The author, Sophie Hannah, has written several new Poirot stories based on the

characters invented by Agatha Christie before her death in 1976.

Here she is describing more of Hercule Poirot’s  

strange characteristics to BBC World Service Programme,

World Book Club

There’s the sort of the outward things,  

his appearance which is very striking and very unusual,  

and his sort of, I suppose foibles is the best thing to call them,  

he likes neatness, he likes order,  

he approaches thing very methodically, he’s very proud of his

luxuriant moustaches, you know, all of that.

Sophie calls Poirot’s unusual behaviour his foibles - 

habits or characteristics which are considered strange 

or foolish but which harm no-one. 

Yes, unlike the fictional murderers he uncovers, Poirot’s  

foibles do no harm, but it makes me wonder if Agatha 

Christie’s other famous detective also had unusual habits. 

Well, first you’ll have to reveal the answer to your quiz question, 

Sam. You asked me for the name of Agatha Christie’s other 

famous detective, and I guessed