INSTEAD of the usual "bottle of beer" infants understood perfectly when Nip the Dog mouthed Eine Flasche Bier.

For the children at South Pelaw Infants School in Chester-le-Street were being entertained this week by local ventriloquist Eileen Thompson - in German.

Mrs Thompson will return to the school today to help teach the youngsters the language as part of the Open University's European Languages Day.

"You could say it's a bit of a challenge not making your lips move when you're speaking German," said the professional ventriloquist, "especially when you don't really speak the language."

The ventriloquist and her puppet Nip the Dog will translate various catch-phrases such as Are You Cool? Can You Play the Guitar? and Tickle My Tummy.

Mrs Thompson, 43, said she had been approached by the Open University to promote the day. She often entertains children at schools across the region.

She was once a winner of Fanfare, a 1960s Tyne Tees TV talent school and started out as an entertainer aged just one-and-a-half.