British English seems to be increasingly affected and modified by Americanisms thanks largely to the amount of US television available across all our satellite channels.
One example is that many UK children believe that the number to dial in an emergency is 911 rather than 999.
Another is the increasing use of very daft words. I frequently hear people refer to getting off aeroplanes as "de-planing". Whatever happened to disembarking? I never hear of people describing getting out of cars or taxis as "de-caring" or "de-taxiing" or getting off a boat as "de-boating". So why have aircraft been singled out for such abuse? I was on an aeroplane once and even heard someone refer to disembarking as "de-boarding". Goodness me.
In everyday conversation the American influence is getting a grip. Thanks to the way they talk in the LA valley, where many TV serial dramas are set, we no longer "say" things anymore. No these days we "are like". As in:
"I went in to see my friend today and he was like, great to see you, how are you? And I was like, I'm great but I can't decide whether to buy an iPhone 4 or not. And then he's like, oh I think you should get the iPhone 4 because it has HD video and I was like, coo- well!"
My latest bug bear is the use of the word "math", as in "do the math"! When I was at school mathematics, or maths, was plural. It had an S on the end. When did it become singular? It's never been mathematic has it? I am thinking of running a campaign to get the S put back in Math.
Language has been changing for centuries so I guess we cannot escape from this monstrous hybridisation of our language. But some of the current evolution of British English just makes me want to get out of here.
Or would that be, "I want to de-here!"
 comments (0)
posted by Grandnat on August 18, 2010 10:49 in Travel
Most people associate Majorca with the high rise concrete mayhem of Magaluf. Here you can start your evening eating pie and peas in the "George and Dragon",
party the night away on endless two for one drinks promotions and then
stagger back to your hotel with kebab sauce dribbling down your chest.
This
is fine until you ease yourself out of the 18-30 zone and start to look
further afield for more refined destinations. Well actually away from
the Fish and Chip resorts, Majorca can be just as unspolit and and
chilled out as the most desert of islands. Head north to the region of Pollenca
and the stunning mountainous countryside hides many jewels of
tranquility - villas with swimming pools hidden down single track roads.
Most are within 5 minutes drive of the lovely resort of Port Pollenca
and the old town of Pollenca itself - with its traditional farmers'
market and proper Spanish Tapas bars and lively squares.
But if you want a quiet week, the
villas are secluded paradises. A place to stock up on beer, wine and
food. Load up on reading material. And just let the sounds of the
countryside wash over you. Donkeys bray, cockerals call and crickets
sing. At night, being so far from the light pollution of the towns, the
night sky becomes a cinema show in itself as millions of stars light up
above you.
Venture away from Pollenca through a winding road to the beautiful village of Soller set high in the mountains. Take the old style narrow guage railway down to the port and walk amongst the yachts.
Check out www.villaparade.co.uk for a company that specialises in properties in this idylic part of the world.
comments (0)
posted by Grandnat on July 16, 2010 19:15 in General
The iPhone 3GS doesn't have the best camera in the world, but sometimes, just sometimes, it is possible to capture a moment so spectacular that it almost leaves you breathless.
This was taken about 20,000ft above the Scottish Borders through the window of a British Airways A320.
Simply staggeringly beautiful.
comments (0)
In the modern world security is very important. We have to protect personal data, premises and ensure that our systems don't get hacked. But I sometimes wonder whether we have ascended to stratospheric levels of paranoia. Do some solutions actually end up causing more problems than they solve?
Take a solution to "Tail Gateing" I have recently experienced. Tail gateing is where someone who is not an employee of a company stands behind someone who is an employee, waiting for them to swipe their entry card so that they can be followed into the building, to presumeably commit theft or whatever.
The solution to tail gateing, apparantly, is that everyone has to swipe into one of the many and varied ways into the building, even if there is someone ahead of them who has already swiped a door open. This allows the computer to know that they are "In".
On leaving the building everyone has to swipe out of one of the many and varied ways out of the building, even if there is someone ahead of them who has already swiped an door open. This allows the computer to know that they are "Out".
All well and good until you forget to swipe in or out.
So imagine that you forget to swipe out one day. They next day when you attempt to swipe yourself in, the computer will think that you are still in from the day before and will therefore not unlock the door and let you in. Effectively you are stuck out because you are obviously not the person who the computer thinks is in.
But of course it is easy to get round this foolproof security measure. You simply wait for someone to come along to the door that did remember to swipe out, and therefore can swipe in, and open the door because the computer will know that they were out and not in. You can then follow the person in, and then swipe on the inside of the door so that the computer then registers you as out, thus allowing you to pop back out in order to swipe yourself in legitimately.
Assuming of course then when you went in to swipe out you didn't let the door close and lock behind you before you could nip out again. Because in this case the computer will now think that you are out even though you have just succeeded in getting in.
So it doesn't really solve the problem of tail gateing. It just makes you lose track of whether you are in or out or coming or going.
comments (0)
In our politically correct world where the State continues to insist upon nannying us all - I suppose nothing should come as a surprise.
Well the people behind a museum in London dedicated to Winston Churchill and his leadership during World War Two have decided to airbrush out his famous cigar. Which genius made this suggestion? Did they honestly sit in some planning meeting and discuss how they could make the health of the nation better by excising the cigar? And why should a museum have any business tampering with historical images like that.
Churchill smoked damn great big cigars okay? No problem. It was part of his character. Portraying him as he really was is not going to encourage anyone to take up smoking. And non-smokers are not going to be mortally offended by seeing someone with a cigar in their mouth.
I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't also consider airbrushing off a couple a stone in weight so that his picture could not be seen to encourage obesity. Or perhaps they considered airbrushing out the military uniform so as not to condone warfare.
This great man fought for freedom. Freedom from occupation by evil others who wanted to change our way of life.
Can someone now please free us from the interfering do-goody politically correct jobs-worths who give common sense a bad name?
comments (0)
After a particularly hard week flitting between Edinburgh and Glasgow I finally managed to put my feet up and have a well deserved glass of red wine. It was a precious moment, savouring the flavour and feeling the stress of the week begin to subside. A moment like that that should not be disturbed by anything and anyone.
Then suddenly my oncoming calmness is interrupted by an urgent beeping noise coming from the kitchen. It is high pitched and makes my spine shiver and my skin crawl. I have another sip of wine to try and offset the intrusion, but a few seconds later my spine quivers to the sound of another set of urgent beeps.
What is it? Yes, it is the dishwasher!
A dishwasher that came with a built in irritating ‘feature’ that makes it beep incessantly at the end of its cycle until you go and empty it. So the only way to enjoy my wine and to chill out completely is to get up and go and take all the pots and pans out of the machine. Finally it shuts up and leaves me in peace.
What brainstorming session in some dishwasher manufacturer created such an abomination of an idea? Are you listening white goods manufacturer? It is annoying, unnecessary and most galling of all, cannot be turned off.
Why not? If I don’t want cold callers on the phone I subscribe to the Telephone Preference Service. If I don’t want junk emails I tick the "don’t send me junk emails" box. If I don't want "Pop Ups" I turn on my Pop Up Blocker. But I cannot opt out of this mindless dishwasher noise.
It's not just in the kitchen. Day in day out we are surrounded by often pointless messages and reminders. At Waverley Station, on a rainy day, the electronic lady’s voice tells me every minute or so that because it is raining, the platforms may be "wet and slippery". Talk about pointing out the bleeding obvious.
In Sainsbury the self-service checkout counters shout out a constant stream of phrases, "Choose Payment Type”; "Have you swiped your Nectar Card?”;"Quantity Needed!" – why can we not have the option to turn this off? I know what I am doing okay!
In buildings, lifts constantly tell us that the doors are either opening or closing. Isn't that what lift doors are supposed to do?
Whilst these nattering electronic voices undoubtedly help some people, for the majority they just become a background irritant. We are surrounded constantly by a never ending barrage of information and instructions and BEEPS.
Would you like some ear plugs with your red wine?
comments (0)
"Triangle" is probably the best horror/thriller film I have seen since I was blown away by the fabulous genre-shift in "The Descent".
If you look at the poster for this film you will think it is a slasher movie and say no way. If you watch the trailer you will think it is a slasher movie and definitely say no way. If you read some of the reviews from critics who didn't get it then you will think it is a slasher movie and hire something else.
So ignore the poster and don't watch the trailer and don't read any reviews. Rent the DVD. Turn the lights off and prepare to get scared. And also prepare to get your brain scrambled at the same time because the narrative requires to you do some serious thinking. This is definitely not a slasher movie though there is some serious slashing going on - but it is "essential to the plot" style slashing, not the slashing for slashing sake seen in real slashers.
Melissa George (apparantly she was in Home and Away) plays Jess who is not having a good time with her disabled child. She accepts some respite from friends who invite her on a yachting trip. But they are capsized in a storm and end up boarding a deserted ocean liner. The ship has long echoing corridors and a ball room that reminded be of "The Shining". Jess has a strange feeling of Deja Vu. Has she been on the boat before?
Then the violence begins and we first think that the whole story is over in about 30 minutes. Except that it happens again. And again. And by then you realise with a creeping sense of dread why she as that Deja Vu.
I can't say anymore without totally ruining the story. But it is a thoroughly entertaining, scary film. It is complex and a superbly written mystery that unfolds at
a perfect pace.
Writer and director Christopher Smith has spent a long time weaving this film
together with a fine thread of intricately crafted detail.
Be prepared to watch this stunner more than once! You'll probably need to to get your head round it. And it ISN'T a slasher! Okay!
comments (0)
I have just seen two very tall scary monsters on TV lumbering slowly down a London street, snapping their sharp lobster like claws, and scanning the fleeing crowds with their huge, single malevolent eye.
No I wasn’t watching Doctor Who and Amy Pond doing battle with the universe’s most heinous fiends, I was watching the launch of the Olympic 2012 mascots. These characters, named Wenlock and Mandeville, sound more like the villains in a Sherlock Holmes novel rather than important ambassadors for the Olympic brand.
I disliked them immediately and my reaction was one simple question, ‘Why?’
But having spoken to colleagues, friends and family, I see that opinion is polarised. For everyone who thinks that they look like roast beef flavour Monster Munch, there is another who thinks that they are cute, cuddly and exciting. (Most agree however that the one on the left looks like it has wet itself!)
Love them or hate them, within a few years they will become two of the most instantly recognisable images in the world. And those of us who see them as monsters now will probably grow to grudgingly love them.
Maybe.
comments (0)
posted by Grandnat on May 11, 2010 18:27 in Travel
I still cannot quite get over swimming with these heavenly beautiful creatures. So here is one more photo of them basking in the warms waters of the Indian Ocean with the green jewel of Mauritius in the background.
After this holiday started to fade into the memory as holidays tend to do, we have had the joys of a General Election and the subsequent uncertainty of a Hung Parliament. As chaotic as that has been it has made for nail biting debate on TV, Twitter, Facebook, and in the pub. The final result is bound to create issues for everyone in the UK going forward.
The Ash Cloud is still threatening to take holidays away from families how need a break and creating turmoil for businesses. And if that was not enough British Airways, a company I have admired for years and have been pleased to be their customer, is on the verge of imploding, increasing the the threat to both in equal measure.
The UK is a delicate place at the moment.
At times like these I will always remember my encounter with these creatures unsullied by greed, ambition, power or evil. It re-energises the mind. Makes you appreciate the beauty of nature. Creates confident hope for the future.
comments (0)
posted by Grandnat on April 25, 2010 15:47 in Travel
We were invited to hop on a speed boat and bounce out on the waves about a mile offshore. It was 8am but the sun was already scorching. Sun cream on and thick. Flippers, snorkle and mask - on.
When we arrived there were several boats all milling around trying the spot the school of dolphins that were alternately leaping into the air like dolphins do, or diving deep and out of sight.
As soon as someone spotted them we were commanded to dive into the sea and let them swim past us. What an awesome feeling watching these sleak, beautiful creatures glide along within touching distance. They catch your eye. They seemed to be having a really good look.
Although slightly scary knowing that the sea was hundreds of feet deep here, we were swimming so hard to keep up with the dolphins that there wasn't enough time or breath to worry. This was hard work and by the time I got back on the boat I was exhausted. Shaking with the effort.
The dolphins disappeared for a while. The guys driving the boats getting quite agitated as they tried to locate them again. Were the dolphins playing with us?
I did wonder whether they were actually in command. And that thedolphins had come on a trip to swim with humans rather than the other way round.
comments (0)
|
|
|
