Wright writes.....

[N15class]

Thanks Gavin,

 

I think you and I (more likely in my case) had better abandon pedant-mode, at least with regard to the correct use of our wonderful native tongue; I have no wish to dissuade folk from posting, in case they think their 'homework' is being marked. 

 

That said, dear Mo has given up telling me not to shout at the radio/telly. You know I'm a great cricket fan, but, Oh dear, why are some of the presenters so ignorant of the correct use of English? Just this week, I've listened to three separate commentators saying.........

 

'Myself and Ricky Ponting have discussed the Aussie batting line-up'.

 

'Both (as in Botham) and me once shared a century stand'. Or words to that effect.

 

'He's took a leg-stump guard'. 

 

'The balls' flown over where the crowd were sat'.

 

I give in!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Regards,

 

Tony.

 

 

You are lucky Tony. I can only ever see the results on the net. The broadcasting services make it impossible to see or hear any here. I did manage to listen to a test on an online radio 5 broadcast earlier this year. It was great it went silent during the overs and I got the commentary between. How much money would the BBC lose by allowing it to be heard here? There can't be many in South America interested enough for them to sell it here.

[Northmoor]

My favourite football one is the total flexibility of the word went, eg, he's went and gone past the player, he's went and passed to him, he's went and dribbled him.

My shouting pointlessly at the telly is one reason I never watch it, firstly it sends my blood pressure up and secondly, I'm not allowed to!

Can I nominate, "He's a QUALITY player"?

 

Really? Good or bad?

[Manxcat]

This is great stuff, Archie,

 

Thanks for posting.

 

One question, please? Why do you ask me to build locos for you? 

 

Tony, 

 

Thank you. What an interesting question, which left me pondering my reply for quite some time. There are a number of reasons. The main one is this.

 

It gives me a lot of pride to say "My friend Tony Wright built that loco for me" with my main delight being that you first called me "friend" after knowing me for just a short time. Your undoubted skills in loco kit building mean that any you build for me will be to a very high standard and I relish that.

 

If I interpret what you asked correctly, I think you are hinting that my plasticard loco is proof that I could tackle a kit built loco and make a decent job of it. So let me tell you, I have a white metal kit which has been in a drawer in several of the houses I have lived in for the last 25 years or more. I have resolved to make a start on it and not put it back in the drawer only partially completed. I have only ever tried a brass chassis once and made a complete mess of it. Maybe I need some hints on how that should be done. I think I should buy one of the chassis jigs you use, if they are still made. I am fearful of putting the soldering iron through a  casting but your soldering tutorial at Peterborough some time ago, which I watched beside you, gives me some confidence. I can build my own operating MSE lattice post signal kits so why not a brass chassis? It may take a year but I promise to show you my loco when it is finished. It is now out of the drawer, as the attached photo shows.

 

Oh my goodness, do you see what reading Wright Writes is doing to me! 

 

Archie

 

[Manxcat]

I thought I should add to my post above that I was very quickly told that ex-LNER lattice post home signals did not have red finials, which was something only done by the GWR. I immediately changed them all to white. I fear the spirit of my formative GWR modelling beginnings crept in.

 

Archie

[Tony Wright]

My favourite football one is the total flexibility of the word went, eg, he's went and gone past the player, he's went and passed to him, he's went and dribbled him.

My shouting pointlessly at the telly is one reason I never watch it, firstly it sends my blood pressure up and secondly, I'm not allowed to!

 

Mike.

Thanks Mike,

 

I think I almost choked when listening to a Chris Waddle comment some little time ago............. 'He's went and took a corner, man!' 

 

What's the other? The use of 'we're' instead of 'our'. Is that a North East expression? Football managers from the NE or Scotland seem to use it. 

 

Actually, I don't mind if it's colloquial, though I do mind if such mangling of the Queen's English is used by presenters, no matter how good their expertise might have been in kicking a bladder full of wind around (or hitting a hard, red ball). 

 

Having a paternal family from Yorkshire, I recall being puzzled as a child by the contraction of 'the' to 't'', and the use of 'while' instead of 'until'. As in 'I won't be ready while six o'clock'.

 

Moving to the West Midlands in 1973, it took me a while (an 'until'?) to accept (though never use it myself) the use of 'her', when 'she' was meant. As in 'Her went shopping'. Trying to be a smart ar$e (never a good idea!), I responded by saying 'Him went shopping as well' I was looked at with incredulity. 

 

In fairness, this country is rich in dialects, but should national presenters/journalists use dialect? Interesting. 

Edited June 28, 2018 by Tony Wright

[Tony Wright]

Tony, 

 

Thank you. What an interesting question, which left me pondering my reply for quite some time. There are a number of reasons. The main one is this.

 

It gives me a lot of pride to say "My friend Tony Wright built that loco for me" with my main delight being that you first called me "friend" after knowing me for just a short time. Your undoubted skills in loco kit building mean that any you build for me will be to a very high standard and I relish that.

 

If I interpret what you asked correctly, I think you are hinting that my plasticard loco is proof that I could tackle a kit built loco and make a decent job of it. So let me tell you, I have a white metal kit which has been in a drawer in several of the houses I have lived in for the last 25 years or more. I have resolved to make a start on it and not put it back in the drawer only partially completed. I have only ever tried a brass chassis once and made a complete mess of it. Maybe I need some hints on how that should be done. I think I should buy one of the chassis jigs you use, if they are still made. I am fearful of putting the soldering iron through a  casting but your soldering tutorial at Peterborough some time ago, which I watched beside you, gives me some confidence. I can build my own operating MSE lattice post signal kits so why not a brass chassis? It may take a year but I promise to show you my loco when it is finished. It is now out of the drawer, as the attached photo shows.

 

Oh my goodness, do you see what reading Wright Writes is doing to me! 

 

Archie

 

Fairhaven Road 76.JPG

Millholme Q1.JPG

I'm delighted Wright Writes has 'infected' you, Archie,

 

Friendship, of course, is mutual, otherwise it's no friendship at all. I count myself immensely privileged to be able to call so many folk in this great hobby my 'friends'. Even some who use tension-locks! 

 

Who was it who said 'There are no strangers, only friends we've not yet met'? Did I read that in a pub? 

 

Friendly regards,

 

Tony. 

[St Enodoc]

Thanks Mike,

 

I think I almost choked when listening to a Chris Waddle comment some little time ago............. 'He's went and took a corner, man!' 

 

What's the other? The use of 'we're' instead of 'our'. Is that a North East expression? Football managers from the NE or Scotland seem to use it. 

 

Actually, I don't mind if it's colloquial, though I do mind if such mangling of the Queen's English is used by presenters, no matter how good their expertise might have been in kicking a bladder full of wind around (or hitting a hard, red ball). 

 

Having a paternal family from Yorkshire, I recall being puzzled as a child by the contraction of 'the' to 't'', and the use of 'while' instead of 'until'. As in 'I won't be ready while six o'clock'.

 

Moving to the West Midlands in 1973, it took me a while (an 'until'?) to accept (though never use it myself) the use of 'her', when 'she' was meant. As in 'Her went shopping'. Trying to be a smart ar$e (never a good idea!), I responded by saying 'Him went shopping as well' I was looked at with incredulity. 

 

In fairness, this country is rich in dialects, but should national presenters/journalists use dialect? Interesting. 

It was said that the signage on level crossings in Yorkshire had to be changed. The original wording was to have been "Do not cross while lights are flashing".

Edited June 28, 2018 by St Enodoc

[Buhar]

 

If I interpret what you asked correctly, I think you are hinting that my plasticard loco is proof that I could tackle a kit built loco and make a decent job of it. So let me tell you, I have a white metal kit which has been in a drawer in several of the houses I have lived in for the last 25 years or more. I have resolved to make a start on it and not put it back in the drawer only partially completed. I have only ever tried a brass chassis once and made a complete mess of it. Maybe I need some hints on how that should be done. I think I should buy one of the chassis jigs you use, if they are still made. I am fearful of putting the soldering iron through a  casting but your soldering tutorial at Peterborough some time ago, which I watched beside you, gives me some confidence. I can build my own operating MSE lattice post signal kits so why not a brass chassis? It may take a year but I promise to show you my loco when it is finished. It is now out of the drawer, as the attached photo shows.

 

Oh my goodness, do you see what reading Wright Writes is doing to me! 

 

Archie

 

 

Doing an eight-coupled as a first foray into chassis building is certainly a challenge, although I think the risks of an RTR arrival are pretty slim.  Hopefully it's a decent kit so you don't get snookered by ill-fitting parts or misalignments. Perhaps someone else whose built one may comment.  Good luck Archie.

[newbryford]

 

 

'Myself and Ricky Ponting have discussed the Aussie batting line-up'.

 

 

 

Which begs the question.

Have they got one?

 

Cheers,

Mick

[Barry O]

If kd number 5s are too chunky, try the fine scale ones..a number 58 I believe. The fitting of these through the buffer beams look much more prototypical on a set of Mark 1s.

 

One point no one has mentioned so far is the ability of some of the RTR coupling fixings to derail rakes of vehicles for fun. The ones I had problems with were Bachmann Mk 1s

 

Baz

[micklner]

Tony, 

 

Thank you. What an interesting question, which left me pondering my reply for quite some time. There are a number of reasons. The main one is this.

 

It gives me a lot of pride to say "My friend Tony Wright built that loco for me" with my main delight being that you first called me "friend" after knowing me for just a short time. Your undoubted skills in loco kit building mean that any you build for me will be to a very high standard and I relish that.

 

If I interpret what you asked correctly, I think you are hinting that my plasticard loco is proof that I could tackle a kit built loco and make a decent job of it. So let me tell you, I have a white metal kit which has been in a drawer in several of the houses I have lived in for the last 25 years or more. I have resolved to make a start on it and not put it back in the drawer only partially completed. I have only ever tried a brass chassis once and made a complete mess of it. Maybe I need some hints on how that should be done. I think I should buy one of the chassis jigs you use, if they are still made. I am fearful of putting the soldering iron through a  casting but your soldering tutorial at Peterborough some time ago, which I watched beside you, gives me some confidence. I can build my own operating MSE lattice post signal kits so why not a brass chassis? It may take a year but I promise to show you my loco when it is finished. It is now out of the drawer, as the attached photo shows.

 

Oh my goodness, do you see what reading Wright Writes is doing to me! 

 

Archie

 

Fairhaven Road 76.JPG

Millholme Q1.JPG

 

Millholme Q1 is it a original production ?

 

If it is all I can say is good luck , not a good choice for a 1st kit. Horrid battleship thick castings and a poor quality chassis . I wouldn't ever consider building another again ( I sold mine and glad to get rid of it, as I did with their equally poor A2/3). I would recommend using a chassis jig , and good luck !!.

[Black Marlin]

In fairness, this country is rich in dialects, but should national presenters/journalists use dialect? Interesting. 

 

With my linguist's hat on, I would - without comment! - observe that 'the Queen's English' or 'RP English' is, itself, merely another dialect, with no more claim to being 'the national language' than any other; in fact, given its comparative newness, its claim to be 'how English ought properly to be spoken' should be viewed as extremely suspect.

 

A last fun fact for you: English is the language of Wordsworth who, in at least one poem, rhymes 'matter' with 'water' - because in his dialect, that was perfectly appropriate!

[Black Marlin]

Can I nominate, "He's a QUALITY player"?

 

Really? Good or bad?

 

My job title is 'Senior Quality Engineer'. As a result, I can confirm that 'quality', when used as an adjective, means 'good'; this is why I consider myself my company's Senior Awesome Engineer...!

[teaky]

My job title is 'Senior Quality Engineer'. As a result, I can confirm that 'quality', when used as an adjective, means 'good'; this is why I consider myself my company's Senior Awesome Engineer...!

By the same token, might that also allow an alternative translation of 'Senior Quality' and make you your company's Old and Fragile Engineer? 

[TrevorP1]

On the subject of regional dialects, as a Mark Knopfler fan I immediately thought of this. Sorry if it's too far OT.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrwSDX95wCs

[Black Marlin]

By the same token, might that also allow an alternative translation of 'Senior Quality' and make you your company's Old and Fragile Engineer? 

 

Old? I'm 34! Fragile? I'm 6'4" and was previously employed knocking people's heads together (legally)! (Indeed, TW has suggested such an approach may pay dividends with the more intractable members of an MRC but I have gently demurred....)

[MJI]

The debate about couplings continues..........................

 

I'd better be careful, since some made-in-jest remarks of mine about tension-locks when I judged at a show recently apparently caused 'offence'. 'And we're not here to offend' I was told. I took solace in that most of those attending thought it was just a giggle, but there you go...............

 

Speaking specifically about 4mm, there's no doubt that a three-links or screw shackles are by far the most realistic. However, they are a fiddle, and some of the screw shackles I've used just fall apart - hopelessly. When WMRC ran Stoke Summit and Charwelton, they were just about banned because if they separated, what a fiddle to re-couple. Punters don't appreciate delays like that! 

 

I'm not denying that tension-locks and Kaydees work very well, but, apart from at the back of a corridor tender of a Gresley A1, A3 or A4 (or the W1 for a time) with regard to the latter, no standard gauge British steam loco used a buck-eye (am I right?). That said, they look fine underneath the gangways of Gresley stock, Thompson stock, Bulleid stock, BR Mk.1s and Pullmans. 

 

Rather than 'offend' anyone else, may I please present some pictures showing a variety of couplings on 4mm locos and stock? I'll let the viewer decide what he/she thinks of them. The only thing I'd qualify is that the last one (Sprat & Winkle) is the one I use (and a variation on it). For tension-locks, the wire between the buffers just needs bending down. Another advantage of the S&W system (and I mustn't influence anyone here) is that a 'proper' coupling can also be fitted, with no interference.

 

My point of view is that of a photographer, and which looks the most 'realistic'. I'll leave it up to you............

 

tension-lock 01.jpg

 

tension-lock 02.jpg

 

tension-lock 03.jpg

 

tension-lock 04.jpg

 

Kaydee 01.jpg

 

Kaydee 02.jpg

 

Kaydee 03.jpg

 

Kaydee 04.jpg

 

Sprat & Winkle 01.jpg

 

Any thoughts, please?

 

Those hacked buffer beam Kaydees look worse than tension locks.

Kaydees are also much too big for Buckeyes I think.

 

Anyway what is missing is the bent piece of wire at tension lock height.

 

[teaky]

Old? I'm 34! Fragile? I'm 6'4" and was previously employed knocking people's heads together (legally)! (Indeed, TW has suggested such an approach may pay dividends with the more intractable members of an MRC but I have gently demurred....)

Ah, I ought to have figured that out.  No one of a 'senior' age would have used the word 'awesome'. 

[Tony Wright]

With my linguist's hat on, I would - without comment! - observe that 'the Queen's English' or 'RP English' is, itself, merely another dialect, with no more claim to being 'the national language' than any other; in fact, given its comparative newness, its claim to be 'how English ought properly to be spoken' should be viewed as extremely suspect.

 

A last fun fact for you: English is the language of Wordsworth who, in at least one poem, rhymes 'matter' with 'water' - because in his dialect, that was perfectly appropriate!

Interesting, Gavin,

 

May I make certain observations from my own experiences, please?

 

I have been told I don't have an 'identifiable' accent. By that I mean nobody seems to know exactly where I originate on first meeting them, though a few have suggested 'down South, but posh'. Since I originate from the North, then they're quite wrong. 

 

I admit to being a bit snobbish about my speech, and pride myself in not having picked-up any West Midlands' dialect or accent, despite having lived there for over 30 years. 

 

Now, and this is the interesting bit, at least to me. Other than my (snobbish) tendency to use 'big' words from time to time, nobody has ever complained that they cannot understand me. Yet, at this year's Glasgow Show, all I could do in response to a few questions was nod, or shake my head, or utter 'yes' or 'no' as I thought appropriate. The questions were incomprehensible to me, because of the strong accents. I've found the same in the N. East, in deepest Somerset, Essex and in Ireland; in fact, all points of the compass. Take these speakers away from their native heath, and they're impossible to understand. Yet, when I have managed to sort out a question, I seem to be perfectly-understood in my answer (or, at least, I think so). 

 

Do I speak the 'Queen's English'? I hope so, and if so, the likes of myself (with no strong accent) can be understood, anywhere where English is spoken; can't I (we?). 

 

This is where I take issue with the current craze for having presenters with really strong, regional accents. Take the BBC for instance; though I can understand (in the main) what these English-manglers are trying to convey, their speech is incredibly sloppy in my view. 'T's in the middle of words disappear, as to consonants at the end. One awful speaker (originating from Middlesbrough, I think) made me turn of the telly faster than ever because she said 'It's lovely weather for 'gerrin' out in the sun'. I winced. In any speech form, that surely can't be right; can it? 

 

I had the misfortune to switch Radio 2 on one Sunday morning, to hear some woman vicar saying 'I'm sat 'here', in a strong Mancunian accent. Shouldn't the Almighty help her? I nearly wrecked the radio in my zeal to turn it off when she then said she'd just come from the 'Train Station'. 

 

Please, bring back Sylvia Peters. Here like is sadly missed. 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

Edited June 29, 2018 by Tony Wright

[t-b-g]

Interesting, Gavin,

 

May I make certain observations from my own experiences, please?

 

I have been told I don't have an 'identifiable' accent. By that I mean nobody seems to know exactly where I originate on first meeting them, though a few have suggested 'down South, but posh'. Since I originate from the North, then they're quite wrong. 

 

I admit to being a bit snobbish about my speech, and pride myself in not having picked-up any West Midlands' dialect or accent, despite having lived there for over 30 years. 

 

Now, and this is the interesting bit, at least to me. Other than my (snobbish) tendency to use 'big' words from time to time, nobody has ever complained that they cannot understand me. Yet, at this year's Glasgow Show, all I could do in response to a few questions was nod, or shake my head, or utter 'yes' or 'no' as I thought appropriate. The questions were incomprehensible to me, because of the strong accents. I've found the same in the N. East, in deepest Somerset, Essex and in Ireland; in fact, all points of the compass. Take these speakers away from their native heath, and they're impossible to understand. Yet, when I have managed to sort out a question, I seem to be perfectly-understood in my answer (or, at least, I think so). 

 

Do I speak the 'Queen's English'? I hope so, and if so, the likes of myself (with no strong accent) can be understood, anywhere where English is spoken; can't I (we?). 

 

This is where I take issue with the current craze for having presenters with really strong, regional accents. Take the BBC for instance; though I can understand (in the main) what these English-manglers are trying to convey, their speech is incredibly sloppy in my view. 'T's in the middle of words disappear, as to consonants at the end. One awful speaker (originating from Middlesbrough, I think) made me turn of the telly faster than ever because she said 'It's lovely weather for 'gerrin' out in the sun'. I winced. In any speech form, that surely can't be right; can it? 

 

I had the misfortune to switch Radio 2 on one Sunday morning, to hear some woman vicar saying 'I'm sat 'here', in a strong Mancunian accent. Shouldn't the Almighty help her? I nearly wrecked the radio in my zeal to turn it off when she then said she'd just come from the 'Train Station'. 

 

Please, bring back Sylvia Peters. Here like is sadly missed. 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

You turned of your telly?

 

Whoops!

 

I agree very much with what you say but I just couldn't resist.

 

Modern music is another area which should lead to broadcasting bans. Any recording that has "whityou" all as one word, instead of "with you" should be searched out and destroyed. Likewise any recording in a fake "estuary English" so strong that I can only understand about every third word. Or all the words are run into one. Or has a handful lyrics that are just repeated throughout the song. That covers most modern music, barring a couple of exceptions. Mind you there are enough guilty older songs to prove that it is not necessarily a modern problem!

 

I heard an interview with a singer on the radio a while ago. The interviewer praised her on how clearly she pronounced her words when she sang. Her answer was that her dad had taught her that if you had something to say in a song, you should at least give the listener an opportunity to hear it properly.

 

Tony (with tongue firmly in cheek).

[Clearwater]

As a born and bred West Midlander, albeit with a Yorkshire mother, I’ve predominantly lost my accent since moving away to university and London. I used to have to get taxis home from work a lot and for want of other things to talk about, cabbies would often ask where I was from as they could rarely place my accent. Given you’ve lived in the West Midlands Tony, I wonder if your ear is more attuned to my underlying accent?

 

I’m keen that my sons have some connection with their heritage and back ground. Edward supports West Bromwich Albion and potentially Warwickshire. I’ve also taught him various dialogue words: bostin’ fizzog, oss. Whilst it’s not RP, it’s an aspect of our heritage that such words and dialects are not lost. It would be real pity if we lost regional accents and homogenised to a form of Estuary English.

 

Nonetheless, I think Edward was a bit puzzled by the accents when I took him to the Hawthorns for the first time!

 

David

[meil]

It was said that the signage on level crossings in Yorkshire had to be changed. The original wording was to have been "Do not cross while lights are flashing".

That's because it should have said: "Do not cross whilst lights are flashing"

[APOLLO]

Get thysen in speykin fettle fur't  Wigan exhibition - not long before it brasts off !!

 

http://www.wiganworld.co.uk/stuff/dialect1.php?opt=dialect1

 

http://www.wiganworld.co.uk/stuff/dialect2.php?opt=dialect2

 

Brit15

[AndyID]

About sixty years ago my dad's Vauxhall blew its cylinder head gasket in France. We limped back to the coast and took the ferry to Dover. Dad asked the customs officer for the Vauxhall dealer in Dover. "You want Seven Alters garage mate."

 

After a fruitless hour driving around Dover one bloke asked what kind of car it was, "Oh, you want Southern Autos!"

 

Oddly enough dad worked in Dover for a few years before the war but apparently not quite long enough to master the patois.

[Clive Mortimore]

Hello Tony

 

You have a non-regional grammar school accent. My late father-in-law spoke much like you do, he was Welsh but grew up in Devizes. Like you he would be more than willing to help others with what he thought was bad spoken English. My brother-in-law is much the same, despite many years living in the Highlands. To try and listen to the news when he is picking out "bad English" is very difficult as he seems to be speaking more than the presenters.

 

"Grammar School English" was developed by businessmen so that they could readily communicate with each other and bypass any local dialects that may lose a deal because the other chap did not understand you. When we lived in our isolated communities there was no real need for standard English, see what the railways have done to the richness of our diverse language.

 

The "Queens English" as supposedly spoken by those who could afford to go to  "Public School" is a lot different than "Grammar School English". When I was in the army if I could understand what the officer was saying, he would be considered in the officers mess as "Not a bad chap for a grammar school boy".