The girls with two families

Sally talking about Dominic.

She said that he was friendly, tall, and attractive. They laughed together from the start, think because they were both a bit nervous. They talk about many things places theye want to travel to, such as South America. Sport, of course. She said, that Dominic doesn't play much sport, but he's going to run the marathon this year. Sally don't often go to the theatre, she didn't have a lot to say she couldn't decide how to greet him when they first met. shook his hand and he tried to kiss her cheek. That was a bit embarrassing. but they laughed about it. She said, that Dominic couldn't use chopsticks. Sally noticed that he was chatty and funny He didn't just talk about himself, he asked her questions. They go to the square next to the restaurant. There was a piano with a notice «Please play me». Dom can play the piano very well. She liked him more and more as evening progressed. They swapped numbers and maybe they meet again.

Dinner in the Sky.

For hundreds of years when tired travelers stopped on their journeys, there were only a few places to eat and drink. Nowadays, streets are lined with restaurants, cafes, and snack bars, but some people want something more unusual.

Dinner in the Sky is for people who want more than a little excitement when they go out to eat. They sit at a huge table which hangs from a crane fifty metres in the air. It's not a good idea fo people who are afraid of heights or for those who don have much money. The twenty-two diners wear seat belts and relax and enjoy the views while the chefs prepare the finest food in front of them. The restaurant opened in Belgium in 2006, but now has branches in Paris, Dubai, Florida, and Las Vegas.

The crane is checked carefully before every sitting. In the cente there is a sunken platform for the chef and two waiters. The food is delicious, but most guests don't feel like eating until after a few drinks! Then they also get the courage to look down at the ground where tiny people are looking up in amazement and waving.

Dinner in the Sky is very exciting and the food is good, but there are problems. For example, even in quiet weather conversation is difficult because of the wind. Guests shout to each other across the table. Also, the loo. You can't go to the loo until the table descends again. Difficult for some! But later, back on earth, after a visit to the guests have a great experience to talk about.

The girls with two families.

In the early hours of April 26 1986, the worst nuclear accident in history occurred in the Ukrainian city of Chernobyl. Two years later and two hundred miles away, Palina Yanachkina was born in the village of Polessуe, in northern Belarus. Like many others in her village she had a lot of health problems and her future didn't look good. Then a holiday in Ireland changed everything.

The nuclear disaster changed the lives of everybody in the village. It took away all hope for the future When Palina was born in 1988 her did their parents best to give her and her brother Micha a good life. They were farmers and before the accident, sold meat, fruit, and vegetables to the international market. After the disaster no one wanted to buy anything When Palina was eight, experts from the capital, Minsk, came to her school and did health tests on the children. The experts told them to stop picking the mushrooms in the forest because they were badly contaminated. When she was ten the experts returned with news of a charity that helped children like her have holidays abroad. They asked Palina if she would like to go to Ireland and stay with a family in Limerick.

When Palina met her Irish family, she liked them immediately. John and Fiona Quaid and their two children, Chloe, three, and Evan, six, Palina a warm welcome. She became good friends with the children. They did not need language to play. They visited a shopping mall and she could not believe her eyes, there was so much to choose from she only knew her little village shop. She missed her family, but could not speak to them because they did not have a phone. By the time she went home, Palina could speak a few words of English and delighted when the Quaids was invited her back for Christmas. After that she started to visit the family twice and often spent three months a year with them in summer.

When Palina was in her teens the experts returned to Polessуe and checked her again. They couldn't believe how healthy she was. Her time in Ireland was improving her health and her English. In her free time Palina helped run the farm. She didn't want to continue doing this for the rest of her ife She dreamed of becoming a doctor but had no money to study John and Fiona understood her problem. They offered to pay for her to studyinIreland and said she could stay with them full-time. It was hard for her parents, but they wanted the best for their daughter. Palina is now studying biochemistry at the University of Limerick. She hopes to study medicine one day and return to Belarustо help those who are not as lucky as she is.