2.Just after the Christmas two years ago, Jack and Liza decided to go away for New Year. They didn’t want to stay in a hotel with crowds of people and they were delighted when they saw an advertisement in the Sunday Times for a holiday flat in a village near Oxford. It was no ordinary flat. It was on the top floor of an old Tudor mansion. They booked it and on New Year’s Eve they set off in the car. It was raining and freezing cold. They were happy and excited. They had been driving for three hours when they saw the house in the distance. It looked magnificent with tall chimneys and a long, wide drive. They drove up to the huge front door, went up the steps, and knocked. Nothing happened. They knocked again. The door opened and a small, wild-looking old lady stood there. She was so thin and bent, she had long, straggly grey hair, and dirty old torn clothes. She asked them to come in and they followed her. The house was so old and dark and dirty. There were cats everywhere. In the rooms all the furniture was broken and there were no curtains. There was no heating and there was only one power point. So you could either have the television, or the lamp, but you couldn’t have more than one. So what did they do? They just ran! When they got outside again the rain had turned to snow. They ran to the car hysterically laughing. They drove to the next village and as midnight was striking, they found a hotel with a room for the night. “Happy New Year!” cried Jack, as he kissed the surprised receptionist on both cheeks. “You have no idea how beautiful your hotel is!”
