Mum, just calling to let you know I’ll be late for dinner tonight. Jenny and I were going to go to the cinema straight after school but Matt wants me to help him decide on a gift for his sister’s birthday so we have to go to the shop to do that first. The film starts at 4 o’clock, so I should be back by 7.30. And don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten about the vegetables. I’ll get them on the way home. The film ends around 6.30 so I will have enough time to do the shopping. Bye! Two 

Man: And here is another caller with an amusing story about customers. 

Woman: Hi! I’m a waitress and last Saturday I was serving a table of four people. They were quite nice but they asked me to put their coffee in the microwave to get it really hot. So that’s what I did. But they still weren’t happy with it, and I had to put it into the microwave for another three minutes! The coffee was boiling and bubbling... and for sure it was disgusting... Microwaved coffee! Can you imagine? They clearly didn’t enjoy it but I did what they asked me to do. Three 

Man: Have you heard about the ban on suitcases in Venice? It was said on the news that tourists won’t be allowed to pull noisy suitcases behind them anymore. It’s crazy! 

Woman: Don’t worry. The actual proposal is to ban the big, noisy carts which carry goods over the bridges early in the morning, not suitcases. Unfortunately, the story wasn’t properly reported by the English newspapers and that’s why so many foreigners planning a trip to Venice have started to panic. Perhaps the news agency used an automatic online translator or hired someone who didn’t know Italian well enough. 

Man: That’s ridiculous. News agencies earn huge amounts of money and they make such silly mistakes... I almost cancelled my trip to Venice next month because of that!

The Guardian newspaper is about to start its six-week reading season. The newspaper has gathered thousands of recently printed books from publishers and authors and is distributing them around the country for free. The books will be left in public places, for example at railway stations, parks and museums, for people to take home and read. 

The Guardian is starting its nationwide project next Monday and people all over the UK can also join in by giving away some of their books. If they decide to do so, inside each book, they should put a sticker which will come free with the newspaper this weekend. The sticker, which can also be downloaded from The Guardian’s website, will tell anyone who takes a book about the idea of the project, and ask them to write a short review of the book when they have read it. The sticker will also explain how to post the reviews online. 

Anyone who decides to give away a book should give the details of where they have left it at theguardian.com/bookswap. An interactive map on The Guardian website will show the location of all the books that are available.