General Chat

Yes, AnnC Bit of a dead thread. Better let it fade away as so little interest. (sarcasm)

Edit. Will post on one or two other threads. Want to say something about the snow locally. Any suitable threads? No. Better start one.

Yes ok I hold my hands up I am the one that wants all Countries and little islands only to converse in English and MUST be spoken in a Northern accent :-D

Anything now to do with Heir Lewis is blah blah blah ;-)

Home rule for Geordieland and only dialect spoken :-D

why aye pet Woh Mau like canny gal ;-)

I am all for a controlled experiment in Lancashire where Mandarin and English are both official languages and all children have to be fully bilingual by 2030.

Lancashire could then trade with China much more effectively (larger market than whole of EEC) and you wouldn't have those embarrasing phone converstaions when trying to order your Chou Mein, Hayley :-D

Edit. And George and Gracie would be heroes of China and bring many yen to Ramsbottom.

eye oop Hayley lass ;-) :-D

I used to love George and Gracie :-D

the interest was in the lack of manners of said archdruid - the interest was not in all the percentages and tripe you've posted about who wrote what, who said what, and various political parties - if you want a thread on that, start one

Chinese Laundry Blues would either be very popular in China - or would start WW3. He's got a little smile that flickers, when he's ironing ladies' ......hankies :-D ;-)

I dont mind the odd tin of manderins reminds me of Christmas of my child hood but as my Mum was Lancs I can speak that too and often revert to it when conversing with my cousins ;-)

"A multicultural nation, such as the UK, is poorly symbolised by the retention of the one established language".

(Words or something fairly similar taken from The Times.)

Nah - Estuary Engish for all, wiv a 'in' of Punjabi an East En frone in. ;-)

FGS Hayley I cannot understand ONE word you have just typed, please use flash cards :-D

A Sikh was doorstepped in Gornal (near Dudley) to find out the multilingualism of his (now British) family. His wife stood besides him

Do you all speak English fluently? Yes cock, all on us.
Do you speak Hindi? Nah, we bay any gud at that
Do you speak Gujerati? Urdu - and he glanced at his wife

But I doh!!!!

SUE I SAID ........................ :-D :-D :-D :-D

There was a comment in 'Lewis' ( repeat) last week that might be a bit relevant to this thread ( btw I like watching Lewis, good characterisation, interesting dynamic between Lewis and Hathaway...who reminds me rather of an ex...but I digress lol)

Lewis ( being a Geordie) was talking to a fellow Geordie ( aka the victim) and said, re not using the Geordie dialect, words to the effect that " I've never been a professional Geordie" ie he wasn't going to 'put it on' just to 'fit' what was expected.

I think it's important not to do that...become a 'professional' Cockney, Scouser, Mancunian' whatever. Be proud of where you live or come from if you are...but don't ram it down everyone's throat...because ultimately that does a dis-service to the differences that make the country more interesting :-)

I am struggling with this proposal of world domination through Estuary English, DET. How old is that language. How does it compare with English (673 years of literature and culture). Or Welsh? (1470 years)? I expect the quality of ethnic poetry and folk music is on a par with very modern cultures.

I once attended an evening of Canadian poetry. The best they had to offer. Not worth the £85. Would rather spend my money as an away supporter at the Emirates. Or to watch my two favourite rugby nations at Millennium in Cardiff on 2nd February :-D :-D

PS ! :-| My last post was not meant to suggest that anyone who DOES use the strong dialect of their (*edit word to better express) Homeland NATURALLY shouldn't do so, quite the opposite. :-D

I agree with you RR

John it would be good if you take note of it & stop raming Wales down peoples throats.

I'd match John McCrae against anything Wales has produced - even my beloved Dylan Thomas.

In Flanders Field by John McCrae

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Disarmament by John McCrae

One spake amid the nations, "Let us cease
From darkening with strife the fair World's light,
We who are great in war be great in peace.
No longer let us plead the cause by might."

But from a million British graves took birth
A silent voice -- the million spake as one --
"If ye have righted all the wrongs of earth
Lay by the sword! Its work and ours is done."

That's one of the best that Canada has.

Also Leonard Cohen -

"Bird On The Wire"


Like a bird on the wire,
like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free.
Like a worm on a hook,
like a knight from some old fashioned book
I have saved all my ribbons for thee.
If I, if I have been unkind,
I hope that you can just let it go by.
If I, if I have been untrue
I hope you know it was never to you.
Like a baby, stillborn,
like a beast with his horn
I have torn everyone who reached out for me.
But I swear by this song
and by all that I have done wrong
I will make it all up to thee.
I saw a beggar leaning on his wooden crutch,
he said to me, "You must not ask for so much."
And a pretty woman leaning in her darkened door,
she cried to me, "Hey, why not ask for more?"

Oh like a bird on the wire,
like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free.

I'd pay a lot more than £85 for an evening of that quality. Shame you are so bigoted and deaf to any poetry other than the rather bland, unimaginative stuff today's druids create.

Don't think any of my family have ever had strong accents. When I speak in Welsh, I tend to go very gogleddol (northern) but that is probably because I learnt to speak Welsh mostly in Bangor area. Mother and wife both had/have slight Welsh accents (Colwyn Bay and Holywell) and my dad and me have slight Wolverhampton accents. Mine is so mixed now that very few guess my accent. One asked me if I was from South London other day. Another Liverpool. And my daughter says I sound more and more Welsh these days, so I don't know.

But, when I was growing up, no way could I understand Gornalese of the nearby Black Country. They spoke a dialect there that was supposed to be very close to Chaucerian English. The characters Aynuk and Alay (Enoch and Eli) came from Gormal. So did newsreader Sue Lawley, would you believe :-0 :-0