ROB: Good morning. Stretton Festival box office. How can I help you?
MELANIE: Oh, hello. My family and I are on holiday on the area, and we’ve seen some posters about the festival this week. Could you tell me about some of the events, please?
ROB: Of course.
MELANIE: First of all, are there still tickets available for the jazz band on Saturday?
ROB: There are, but only £18 (Example). The £12 seats have all been sold.
MELANIE: OK. And the venue is the school, isn’t it?
ROB: Yes, that’s right, the 📍Q1 secondary school. Make sure you don’t go to the primary school by mistake! And there’s an additional performer who isn’t mentioned on the posters – Carolyn Hart is going to play with the band.
MELANIE: Oh, I think I’ve heard her on the radio. Doesn’t she play the oboe, or flute or something?
ROB: Yes the 📍Q2 flute. She usually plays with symphony orchestras, and apparently this is her first time with a jazz band.
MELANIE: Well, I’d certainly like to hear her. Then the next thing I want to ask about is the duck races – I saw a poster beside a river. What are they, exactly?
ROB: Well, you buy a yellow plastic duck – or as many as you like – they’re a pound each. And you write your name on each one. There’ll be several races, depending on the number of ducks taking part. And John Stevens, a champion swimmer who lives locally, is going to start the races. All the ducks will be launched into the river at the back of the 📍Q3 cinema, then they’ll float along the river for 500 metres, as far as the railway bridge.
MELANIE: And are there any prizes?
ROB: Yes, the first duck in each race to arrive at the finishing line wins its owner free tickets for the 📍Q4 concert on the last night of the festival.
MELANIE: You said you can buy a duck? I’m sure my children will both want one.
ROB: They’re on sale at a stall in the 📍Q5 market. You can’t miss it – it’s got an enormous sign showing a couple of ducks.
MELANIE: OK. I’ll go there this afternoon. I remember walking past there yesterday. Now could you tell me something about the flower show, please?
ROB: Well, admission is free, and the show is being held in 📍Q6 Bythwaite Hall.
MELANIE: Sorry, how do you spell that?
ROB: B-Y-T-H-W-A-I-T-E. Bythwaite.
MELANIE: Is it easy to find? I’m no very familiar with the town yet.
ROB: Oh, you won’t have any problem. It’s right in the centre of Stretton. It’s the only old building in the town, so it’s easy to recognise.
MELANIE: I know it. I presume it’s open all day.
ROB: Yes, but if you’d like to see the prizes being awarded for the best flowers, you’ll need to be there at 5 o’clock. The prizes are being given by a famous 📍Q7 actor, Kevin Shapless. He lives nearby and gets involved in a lot of community events.
MELANIE: Gosh, I’ve seen him on TV. I’ll definitely go to the prize-giving.
ROB: Right.
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MELANIE: I’ve seen a list of plays that are being performed this week, and I’d like to know which are suitable for my children, and which ones my husband and I might go to.
ROB: How old are your children?
MELANIE: Five and seven. What about ‘The Mystery of Muldoon’?
ROB: That’s aimed at 📍Q8 five to ten-year-olds.
MELANIE: So if I take my children, I can expect them to enjoy it more than I do?
ROB: I think so. If you’d like something for 📍Q9 yourself and your husband and leave your children with a babysitter, you might like to see ‘Fire and Flood’ – it’s about events that really happened in Stretton two hundred years ago, and children might find it rather frightening.
MELANIE: Oh, thanks for the warning. And finally, what about ‘Silly Sailor’?
ROB: That’s a comedy, and it’s for 📍Q10 young and old. In fact, it won an award in the Stretton Drama Festival a couple of months ago.
MELANIE: OK. Well, goodbye, and thanks for all the information. I’m looking forward to the festival!
ROB: Goodbye.