Early Risers.

[Tony_S]

29 minutes ago, The Lurker said:

Should we call Dublin “Blackpool”?

Although Dublin is an Irish version of Blackpool the official Irish name for Dublin is something else. Confused me for a short while as I wondered where all the buses were going. 

[polybear]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Pacific231G]

5 hours ago, The Stationmaster said:

G'day all,

 

 

 

Perhaps the worst thing in dealing with folk from other countries is when they talk in their own technical terms as either slang or use abbreviations or acronyms - getting used to 'HLP' pronounced in French was definitely an interesting experience and it was far easier I found to use the full words rather than the acronym.

I rather like Haut le Pied  (High on the hoof or footloose ) Originally I think an equestrian term for a horse that wasn't being ridden or harnessed to anything and sounds much more poetic than "light engine". The same for coeur de croisement - heart of the crossing- which sounds far less common than "common crossing" and I do like crocodile (AWS/ATC ramp). I wonder whether all three were slang that became the officially accepted technical term.  

The curious ones are French railway terms that came from English but have fallen out of usage here in that context like lorry - the small wagonnets  accompanying a draisine  (motorised pw trolley) but a word that has no other meaning in French. 

 

Apart from semaphore (via their miiitary signalling use and with different meanings as railway signals) , I don't think many French railway terms found their way into English. It's interesting though that while English is now the international language of  aviation,   many French aviation terms  did get into the English language very early on. Aerodrome, Hangar (shed in fr.)  longeron, fuselage, aileron (winglet), empennage ,  I have noticed though that the French can be decidedly non ICAO standard when it comes to the phonetic alphabet. Olfa Yonqui sound very different from Alpha Yankee. 

Edited May 23, 2021 by Pacific231G

[J. S. Bach]

9 hours ago, New Haven Neil said:

 ...snip... OK off to ride on an electrically powered device over 100 years old that runs on those parallel strips of steel three feet apart. 550v DC, not DCC.  That's standard gauge over here BTW.  The Mountain railway is broad gauge - 3 foot 6 inches, to allow for the Fell braking rail.  As for that 4 foot 8 1/2 lark, overrated!

Baltimore's trolleys were 5' 4¼" gauge.

[NGT6 1315]

5 hours ago, The Stationmaster said:

 

 

Perhaps the worst thing in dealing with folk from other countries is when they talk in their own technical terms as either slang or use abbreviations or acronyms - getting used to 'HLP' pronounced in French was definitely an interesting experience and it was far easier I found to use the full words rather than the acronym.  But in fairness the difference in terms, and pronunciation, used for exactly the same thing in different parts of the British railway network could be bad enough - even when the term varied over just a few tens of miles (or occasionally even less distance).   And of course to many of us, but especially country people, the term 'foreigner' or 'incomer' could be applied to anyone who wasn't born & bred very locally to where one lived and even someone from a village only a few miles away would automatically be regarded with considerable suspicion because they were 'foreign'.  All part of life's rich pageant.

Enjoy the rest of your day if the weather allows and take care out there because plenty of others aren't.  

Mike, I suppose you will have come across German railway terminology as well. I was just getting curious whether any such expression from here struck you as particularly unusual in a similar way as haut les pieds did?

 

E‘ning all. Something sent my BP way down this morning, so I felt ropey pretty much all day. Got my second jab planned for tomorrow, so I’ll see to catching a good night‘s sleep.

 

Best wishes to everyone, particularly Gordon and anyone else ailing.

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone 

 

The rain has been stop start all day, so I wouldn’t have got my ch done outside, as I’d also have been stop start, dodging the wetness. 

 

Anyway, plan ‘B’ (the cellar ceiling) has moved along quite nicely today. I got another 2 sheets cut to size and fitted, the 1st before dinner and the 2nd after dinner. I then gave the floor a quick mopping as there was a lot of plaster dust that I’d had to walk through as I was working and I didn’t want to incur Sheila’s wrath by leaving dusty footprints in the hall. I now only have a small section to do, but this will again be 2 pieces, a half (lengthwise) sheet and a small section in the alcove beside the fireplace, but they shouldn’t take long to do. 

 

I’ve included a photo showing my homemade plasterboard jacks in use, they’ve certainly served me well, turning what would probably have been a 3 man job into a job I could tackle on my own. Once I’ve finished with them, they will be taken apart and the wood, which was from an old pallet, will be reused. More than likely they’ll get sanded and used as legs for the railway layout!

 

 

Time for a beer I think. 

[leopardml2341]

Hello all,

 

Not much to report, other than I've been busy!

 

I think I have 'achieved stuff' but as they have all been 'little wins' progress doesn't seem that obvious.

 

Best wishes and positive thoughts to all.

 

Just had mi tea/dinner/supper - toasted ciabatta with hot roast beef, melted stilton and tomato with a pint (well 500ml bottle) of Marston's EPA. Now what to have for pudding?

 

Pudding was an ASDA 'Cornetto clone' and a mug of decaff coffee. 

 

Possibly back later.

Edited May 23, 2021 by leopardml2341
Added pudding :)

[PhilJ W]

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. I've got the prescription form for the antibiotics but neither of the pharmacies have the required item in stock. I will call my GP surgery tomorrow morning for an emergency appointment, I've already got a sample ready. I'll take the prescription in to the local pharmacy while I'm about it.

2 hours ago, The Stationmaster said:

Or even further along the same street in some places - a nice little example being Comines where you walk along the street crossing from France to Belgium.  The same happens on a number of roads in Basel/Bâle as there you can walk along various roads from Switzerland into France or Germany and vice versa  or similarly in suburbs from Germany to France and vice versa.

The same occurs on the English/Welsh border in some places. 

[tigerburnie]

Evening, quiet day had a jippy tummy, don't think it's anything to do with the procedure I had, probably the large lump of Crackling I had with my roast Pork dinner, having had the Gall Bladder removed it would seem there's quite a lot I can no longer eat without paying a price, this getting older isn't all it's cracked up be is it? lol.

[leopardml2341]

19 minutes ago, tigerburnie said:

......this getting older isn't all it's cracked up be is it? lol.

I'll let you know when I get there.

[simontaylor484]

Currently watching Home alone 2 hardly Christmas i know but I am trying to keep the black dog away. 

[polybear]

6 minutes ago, simontaylor484 said:

Currently watching Home alone 2 hardly Christmas i know but I am trying to keep the black dog away. 

 

Bear started watching "The Men in Black "The Blues Brothers" (1980) for the very first time a couple of night ago.  Jeez, what a load of cr@p...

Gave up and watched the 10pm news instead.

[PhilJ W]

Evening all, managed to put a bit of food away today but still no appetite. Time for an early night so goodnight all.

[Barry O]

well I had my passport to get out of Yorkshire stamped today. An enjoyable day driving little wheeled items with  some really good friends. Much talking and listening occurred and I ate some home made cake (Naughty but nice!)

 

Rain on the A1 coming back,, but a little amusing.. I have waited for the scenario for years..

 

So BMW man driving like an idiot comes hurling up in the middle lane. I am in the middle lane passing a large truck which is in the inside lane.

 

A large Range Rover .. black with blacked out windows is in  the outside lane.

 

BMW driver flashes me.. ?so where am I supposed to go?  So I slowed down a little.. more flashing and various finger type gestures...

 

Get past lorry.. mirror.. signal.. indicate.. so BMW goes inside me ( I did spot the manoeuvre.. so he then cut me up (with his mate in the passenger seat giving fingers out of his window...  

 

BMW then cuts up the Range Rover. so they were off away from me... however as I had suspected.. it was an unmarked police car.. I spotted the flashing lights as I crested a hill...  as I drove past  the driver and his mate were out of the car and 4 police were busy fastening something on their wrists... I felt like stopping and helpin!

 

 

So God was at work today in his own mysterious way!

 

Baz

 

[Gwiwer]

5 hours ago, Chris116 said:

Are you putting the cream or jam on the scones first? 

As this was a humble afternoon tea and not pre-arranged it was butter and jam, no cream, and with butter on before the jam.  I try to respect local tradition vis-a-vis the Tamar Demarcation but when in Neutral Territory and both cream and jam are available it's jam on first.  

 

4 hours ago, polybear said:

Bear/Hippo synchronised Morris Dancing Team

 

3 hours ago, Pacific231G said:

an unfamiliar usage of the word synchronised 

Morris Dancing is synchornised by definition.  Unless Morris has had a few too many sherbets with the Bagman first   

 

It's time - after a very long interval - to help Dr. SWMBO prepare for work in the morning.  Dress selected and sticky-rollered, shoes polished, lunch made, train times checked, Plan B advised for if train times don't apply in reality, reassurance given for a Very Anxious Person who has gained her Doctorate since she last set foot in the office and has, therefore, among other things to order a new door-plate tomorrow  

 

And it is time to call time on another weekend and head off before my own ER and the Moan-Day Onslaught.  It's getting much busier; nowhere near the previous normal but at times it's around 70 - 80% and probably 50% overall.  G'night, sleep well, thoughts going out to our poorly and MIA members.  

[simontaylor484]

1 hour ago, polybear said:

 

Bear started watching "The Men in Black "The Blues Brothers" (1980) for the very first time a couple of night ago.  Jeez, what a load of cr@p...

Gave up and watched the 10pm news instead.

What and miss the biggest car chase filmed 

 

 

[Ozexpatriate]

One wonders whether mispronunciations of "foreign" places is accidental or a deliberate action lost in the mists of time.

 

It's easy to think of deliberate examples - like the English application of "Wales"* to Cymru insisting on their own historical form.

 

* Anglo-Saxon "Wēalas"

 

Many French placenames are Anglicised but maintain some semblance of the original phonetics - like Dunkerque / Dunkirk or Bretagne / Brittany. But food terms are often butchered (fillet, claret etc).

 

Meanwhile the French have a curious hodgepodge of translations of British countries like Angleterre, Écosse and Pays de Galles**.

 

** It's interesting that Wallonia / Wallonie is essentially the same - meaning "land of the Gauls" depending on which root word is chosen.

 

I don't have a First Folio to hand, but I presume the English replacements of Italian cities (Florence, Venice, Genoa etc) predate Shakespeare. It always seemed to me that the use of Turin / Turino, Milan / Milano and Rome / Roma was just lazy. It's not like Turino, Milano and Roma are difficult for English speakers to pronounce.

 

One also wonders how the Swiss German speakers address "Genève"?

[simontaylor484]

When my brother was policing the wilds of Louth and Mablethorpe they were one day driving a.plain white car no roof lights but a big police crest on the front doors they had a similar idiot behind them doing similar things. Our kid said the look.on the face of the driver when he clocked the police badge on the side was a picture.

[leopardml2341]

The rain is back with a vengeance

 

Goodnight folks, stay safe, sane and dry.

 

Thoughts with those of us, family and friends who aren't at their best - whatever the reason.

Edited May 23, 2021 by leopardml2341

[Coombe Barton]

... and what stays and what goes ...

 

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2021/05/23/different-pressures/

[pH]

9 hours ago, Simon G said:

Not British English, but there was a true tale in WW2 when two Gaelic speakers were POWs in Germany.  They escaped and eventually managed to make their way home.  On the way, they were recaptured by the Germans, but confused them by their use of the Gaelic.  They were asked where they came from by the Germans getting a map of Europe.  They pointed on the map to somewhere in northern Russia (this was before Germany tried to invade Russia), so the Germans let them go free!

British forces are supposed to have used Gaelic speakers as ‘codetalkers’ during WW2, but not in the European theatre as speakers of Gaelic languages were not so rare there.

 

7 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

I once read about a Catholic priest who helped escaped allied POW's in the Marseille area. He came from the Western Isles and kept a journal in Gaelic as no German would be able to translate it.

Risky - see comment above.

[Ozexpatriate]

1 minute ago, pH said:

not in the European theatre as speakers of Gaelic languages were not so rare there

Yes, I would have thought there were plenty of Gaelic speakers remaining in northwest France?

[Erichill16]

Evening All,

Just watched the Monaco GP and now the tv is off as SWMBO has a head ache so doesn’t want to watch ‘SAS who can swear the more’. This  is slightly unfortunate as I was going to count how many times the f word is used.

Had the nephews again this morning and managed a bit of bookwork then a quick visit to the supermarket and a flying visit to mils. We got some reduced price sarnies so made a flask up and took Sydney for a picknick tea. Quite enjoyable and we just managed to get home before the rain and the GP highlights programme started.

What with nephews, mil and Sydney, SWMBO and myself are beginning to think we don’t have a life of our own. We were thinking of going off in the old motorhome but with the above duties it hardly seems worth trying to find a time slot.

Worse things happen at sea, so I’ll bid you all a goodnight and thoughts for those suffering or absent.

Robert

 

[polybear]

1 hour ago, Barry O said:

well I had my passport to get out of Yorkshire stamped today. An enjoyable day driving little wheeled items with  some really good friends. Much talking and listening occurred and I ate some home made cake (Naughty but nice!)

 

Rain on the A1 coming back,, but a little amusing.. I have waited for the scenario for years..

 

So BMW man driving like an idiot comes hurling up in the middle lane. I am in the middle lane passing a large truck which is in the inside lane.

 

A large Range Rover .. black with blacked out windows is in  the outside lane.

 

BMW driver flashes me.. ?so where am I supposed to go?  So I slowed down a little.. more flashing and various finger type gestures...

 

Get past lorry.. mirror.. signal.. indicate.. so BMW goes inside me ( I did spot the manoeuvre.. so he then cut me up (with his mate in the passenger seat giving fingers out of his window...  

 

BMW then cuts up the Range Rover. so they were off away from me... however as I had suspected.. it was an unmarked police car.. I spotted the flashing lights as I crested a hill...  as I drove past  the driver and his mate were out of the car and 4 police were busy fastening something on their wrists... I felt like stopping and helpin!

 

 

So God was at work today in his own mysterious way!

 

Baz

 

 

That has brightened Bear's day no end....

 

25 minutes ago, pH said:

British forces are supposed to have used Gaelic speakers as ‘codetalkers’ during WW2, but not in the European theatre as speakers of Gaelic languages were not so rare there.

 

 

 

The US used Native American Indians as codetalkers during WW2 - as far as I know the code was never broken.  There has been a subsequent film based on the story.

 

[simontaylor484]

 

4 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

That has brightened Bear's day no end....

 

 

The US used Native American Indians as codetalkers during WW2 - as far as I know the code was never broken.  There has been a subsequent film based on the story.

 

As far as I am aware the Navajo nation was used and they encoded their language further to prevent de coding the film was Windtalkers