Crossword Help Forum
Forum Rules

Malone
Thanks, I think you're right. I have been testing her patience recently, but her "people skills", as you put it, have certainly improved of late. I think she must have attended one of those "customer service" courses you run. The breakfasts are indeed good and certainly cheap, and the credit for that must go to Paul the chef/owner, but the service from Cassie is excellent.

Jigjag, I didn't notice your reply - and reminded myself that the Crossword threads are entitled to bump us all down occasionally! I was reading something today and wondered if you - or anyone else - could interpret it for me.

It was an interview with Jenny Agutter (the acting person, I'll use that to aovid the actor/actress debate). One question was 'Youve talked in the past about wanting to be more present. Have you got better at it?' Jenny answered the question, but I felt none the wiser (though no doubt better informed). What does this ' 'being present' - mean? It was definitely not anything literal, didn't involve attendances at anything.

Malone
I am as baffled as you are. I have heard that certain people have "presents" or it might be "presence", but I don't know what it means, unless it is that they get noticed in a crowd. Perhaps the great actress (and I must use that word so that Grunger does not tick me off) thinks that being more present means that she will have more presents/presence. "Being present" to me means that you are actually there, like at school register time when you had to answer "present" when your name was called. If she wants to be "more present", I dont get it. You are either present or absent, although you can be present in mind and body, so presumably partly present in mind or body.

JigJag, Malone,

Re your discussion on “ presence”, have you noticed the word “optics” creeping in - as in “ it’s got more optics” - meaning more noticeable?

Jigjag and SimpleSimon, thanks. I think we will have to remain ignorant - but ignorance really is bliss when it comes to many of these new words, phrases and concepts. i am definitely not a touchy-feely person, so all the verbiage about mindfulness, being in nature, optics, reaching out blah blah blah just reawakens my inner curmudgeon.

Happy New Year to you both, and to pedants everywhere. Our work continues, the need for our presence continues....

Malone - we’ll see your “ inner curmudgeon “ and raise you.
We’re just off “ wild swimming” 🤔😱 . Doesn’t that just get your goat too?
Keep up the good work - happy New Year!

I was intrigued by yesterday’s discussion, so I nipped into the market café this morning.
“Well, Cassie, you certainly have presence here” I told her.
“Yes, I got some great presents” she replied, “A coffee-making kit, a case of Libby’s condensed milk, a couple of books, Tales From The Outgrounds and Teach Yourself Chemistry, and a subscription to the Daily Telegraph. The customers were very generous. Would you please thank them for me.”
I said that I would and pass on best wishes for the New Year.

In a DT crossword today: "Country in Central America (6)". MEXICO. Mexico is in North America.

And in a TV quiz the other day, Northampton was described as a city. It's a town.
Its river, the Nene, was pronounced Neen, as it is later in its journey, but in Northamptonshire it's pronounced Nen.

Orson

I have always thought Mexico to be in Central America, but if you mean the continent of North America, it would be in that.

I agree about Northampton.

Somewhat irritated by 'conflab' for 'confab'. It should surely be based on 'confabulation'.

I greatly admire the journalism of Matthew Syed, especially on sport, but on p.21 of today's Sunday Times he does use 'conflab', unless it was a 'correction' by a sub-editor.

My, admittedly old, edition of Chambers does not have 'conflab', nor is it allowable in Scrabble.

The internet in places does acknowledge 'conflab' as an informal dialect form of 'confab', so I suppose we have to accept it on the strength of general usage. Similar to another pet hate of mine: the much heard 'lay-in' for 'lie-in'.

It's what pedants are up against.