8 May 2012
I suspect that we natural English speakers don't really know
just how lucky we are in being able to converse in our highly difficult to
learn language seeing as we were brought up with it. Most of us however will never know or even
try to learn the full grammatical complexity of the language, we just make do
with our colloquial mumblings. That is
fine, in most cases we can usually understand what other's are on about no
matter where they live in the UK. But I
do get a bit fed-up when I hear Aussies butcher the language, not because they
can't speak it properly - because they are just too damned lazy to do so. I mean 'ambo'- just plain laziness. The folk of Liverpool are just as bad
really. They speak of 'scallies' and
'bomi-night' for scallywags and bon-fire night.
Come on folks!
I would hazard a guess that we all have words that terrify
us. For me one such word is 'arson'. Arsonist have cost Warwickshire tax payers
£22 million over the last 12 months.
What is wrong with these people that makes them want to set fire to
things? It just doesn't make any sense
does it. Perhaps if we understood what
made them do it then we could stop them.
But still the word terrifies me!
Jan read yesterday's entry and has suggested something I
could mention. I do so now happily
knowing that I have done as I am told ;-)))
We live in a Victorian terrace street and is in a high immigrant
populated area. Sometimes we get scrap merchants
in our street - sometimes up to four times a day. Why do they think that this area is a good
one for scrap metal? What is it about
the area that makes so attractive to them?
Well, it won't be long and our list of registration numbers of the vans concerned will
be with the council to sort out. I hope
you realize that these people need a licence to collect and dispose of any sort
of waste, including scrap metal? And I
hope that you realize that even if you give them any such waste you are still
responsible to ensure that it they dispose of it properly and legally?
So the Labour party made sweeping gains last Thursday. Bully for them but I would hope they stop and
think about the low turnout which showed a very large vote of apathy across the
whole country. For the very first time I
was one of them who didn't vote.
Why? It was raining heavily here
in Dorktown and parking is a problem where our polling station is. But the main reason was, I just couldn't be
bothered. They need to work a lot harder
in getting a better turn out in future.
I heard one speaker say that it might now be time to voting compulsory -
as long and additional box was added to the ballet for 'None of the Above'. I wonder what would happen if there was an
overwhelming vote for None of the Above?
Just think of the chaos in Whitehall and in town halls across the
country. That is probably why they don't
add it to the ballot paper.
Last night I finished that library book Bestseller. It's not a bad
book at all. It mentions a magazine
called Bookpage in a number of places. Not heard about that one so I looked it up on
Google and it seems to be available in libraries. When I take back my book I shall be looking
for it. Might be useful. Anyway - the book - a story of a writer
trying to get published and not getting anywhere. he get's blind drunk which causes problems;
he cons some. girls to write a book for him; he get's badly hurt; in between
all that a publisher get's sacked from a company he founded; the person behind
his sacking gets sacked while his business partners are investigated for terrorist
related offences. It all ends up with
everyone but the coming of very well.
There's talk about how the big six publishers will manage in
this time of self-publishing on Kindle.
This is perhaps not a new worry. Here's a quote I found in Bestseller ...
"Having books printed at your own cost and selling what born from your own
imagination is to me like eating pieces of your own flesh... I would sooner
endure poverty than offend virtue by turning the liberal arts into trade...
Those who seek profit should become merchants - and those who act booksellers
should renounce the name of poets... Please print these letters carefully, on
goods quality paper - that is the recompense I want..." (Pietro Aretino to
his publisher, 22nd June 1537)
Today's photo ...
one Gormly's men on the beach just north
of Liverpool. It's supposed to be modelled
on him ... I wonder if it is really a true picture of him or is there just a
bit of wishful thinking there ;-)))
And today's funny ... not a blonde joke today ...
The Rabbi was not happy with the constant disturbances he
was having during
his sermons so he decided to call on old Abe to help him solve the 'coughing problem'.
Comes the next Saturday morning, the Rabbi gave old Abe a bowl of cough
drops and instructions to give to any congregation member who was coughing
a cough drop.
So following his Rabbi's orders, every time a member coughed, old Abe gave
them the cough drop and then strangely the member left the shul during the
sermon. At the end of the service, half of the members were gone.
After services the Rabbi calls old Abe at home and asked what he said to
the members that made them leave the hall. Old Abe says, "So vat did I
say? All that I said wuz, the Rabbi said 'For Cough!'"
his sermons so he decided to call on old Abe to help him solve the 'coughing problem'.
Comes the next Saturday morning, the Rabbi gave old Abe a bowl of cough
drops and instructions to give to any congregation member who was coughing
a cough drop.
So following his Rabbi's orders, every time a member coughed, old Abe gave
them the cough drop and then strangely the member left the shul during the
sermon. At the end of the service, half of the members were gone.
After services the Rabbi calls old Abe at home and asked what he said to
the members that made them leave the hall. Old Abe says, "So vat did I
say? All that I said wuz, the Rabbi said 'For Cough!'"
No comments:
Post a Comment