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chrise

19th June 2019, 16:55
Not really for PU, but (some) pedants here might like it - a TV listing from Saturday's Guardian "Guide".

Britain's Next PM - The Channel 4 Debate
That the UK is bound for hell in a hand-assisted vehicle, there is little doubt. All that remains is to discover which of these escapees from Pandora's box will taxi us there; a more wretched collection of dissemblers, idiots, narcissists and people who have mistakenly taken drugs is difficult to imagine under one studion roof, but here we are. An asbestos clad Krishnan Guru-Murthy meets the contenders before an audience drawn from across this broken isle. God actually help us.

Actually, there is a missing "Oxford comma" after "narcissists.

btw Krishnan was in my form for three years. He gave the valedictory speech, saying I had been "quite a good form-master really".
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chrise

19th June 2019, 17:04
"studio", of course!
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grunger

23rd June 2019, 03:22
Malone

It is so exciting. I was picked up and taken to the airport where I received a text message. I replied "R U R STEWARD?" I received a rather abrupt "No I am not your steward. I am your stewardess, Honor Flite".

I apologised for my careless typo. Honor told me that her husband dealt with passengers who arrived too late for check-in. "What's his name?" I asked. "Mister Flite, of course" she said.

It turned out that I am on tour not with Rod or Rory, but Ron Stewart, the great bluegrass musician. It is a lot of fun and I am now in a hotel "Business Center". I convinced the receptionist that I had urgent trans-Atlantic "business" to transact so they let me post this. I am fed up with "gotten", "liters", "centers" etc., and this weird keyboard is confusing me but I have got another week of it.
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stevea6000

23rd June 2019, 12:37
I remember Honor's husband's Irish grandmother (before his father Anglicised their surname), the magistrate famous for never giving tough sentences: Gert O'flite. (Groan.)

I really do remember seeing Honor Blackman in a one-woman-and-pianist show called Dishonourable Ladies. I must have been very slow that day, as I only 'got it' at the interval.
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malone

23rd June 2019, 15:55
Grunger,

Your tour sounds amazing, and I'm glad you're having fun. As a true pedant, you will respect the language and idiom of your surroundings, so I know you will cope with the liters, centers etc. I'm sure that the words 'have a nice day' won't feature in any conversations once you have returned.

I liked Honor Flite, she sounds like one of jigjag's cronies.

Steve, your punning names rate very highly … on the cringe-ometer scale!
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grunger

24th June 2019, 00:47
Stevea6000

Thanks. I liked Gert O'flite.

Malone

Yes you are right. I am trying to respect the local language etc. I am pleased that I have not seen a mis-placed apostrophe all week. I love Florida's Turnpike. I wish we had England's M6.

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malone

24th June 2019, 07:13
ChrisE, I've just realised I meant to comment on your TV listings post. I liked the Guardian's details for the Tory leader debate - a bit of effort must have gone into that. (And whether or not one agrees with the sentiment behind it, the piece provided a little relief. )
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grunger

24th June 2019, 14:04
jigjag, Malone

I know you are interested in McDonald's but have you been to an American one? So different. I went to one in Daytona. The food was good, but I was the only customer. I was puzzled by a sign "No Loitering. 30 minute limit on eating food".

I asked a helpful assistant about it. "Take your time, ma'am, English ladies get an hour, and your Queen gets two!"

"She will be delighted to hear that", I told him.

"You know her? Awesome."

This actually happened. Do they really throw customers out?
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malone

24th June 2019, 16:10
Grunger,

I've been - once - to an American McDonald's, but it was over 20 years ago. I can't remember there being a time limit on eating, but I do remember my children's amazement at the size of some of the meals. They were most stunned by the chicken nuggets deals - I think in Britain then, these came as 6 or 9 nuggets with a meal. The US had some offers that included 24 or 36 nuggets, something totally ridiculous!

I liked your remark about the Queen - and chortled at the American reaction.

PS Although I sometimes tut at Americanisms, there are some US words that I quite like. For example, I feel my dinner is grander if I'm eating it with silverware rather than with cutlery.
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parallelogram

28th June 2019, 22:07
Reading the comments under newspaper articles, I have come across several examples of "draw" being used instead of drawer (as in cutlery drawer etc). I have wondered if this is a sort of unnecessary correction by people who think that when someone says drawer they are saying "drawr".
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