December 10, 2014
by gpointon
0 comments
I’ve just come across this website: http://www.primaryhomeworkhelp.co.uk/ It contains an amazing amount of information about Britain, its history, geography, etc, including the way in which the Union flag was developed, stage by stage, which I don’t think I’ve ever seen … Continue reading
November 14, 2014
by gpointon
14 Comments
This sign is no doubt gracing every one of Costa’s 1755 coffee shops in the UK. I’ve shown this picture to quite a few of my friends and relatives, and a minority so far have spotted the reason I took … Continue reading
October 24, 2014
by gpointon
5 Comments
Martin Ball writes: “Did anyone hear Jonathan (I think rather than David) Dimbleby pronounce ebola as /ˈɛbÉ™lÉ™/ on Radio 4 the other day? Is this pronunciation somehow nearer to that of West African languages?” I didn’t hear Jonathan Dimbleby say … Continue reading
September 23, 2014
by gpointon
3 Comments
Yesterday morning the Radio 4 Today programme wasted several minutes of valuable airtime discussing the pronunciation of Manchester United’s manager’s name. The editors no doubt see this as “good broadcasting”, but when you consider that most items are cut short … Continue reading
August 11, 2014
by gpointon
1 Comment
In this centenary year of the outbreak of the First World War, it seems incredible that a Memorial should be in danger of destruction, but that is what is happening in Stoke on Trent, where one of the six historic … Continue reading
August 11, 2014
by gpointon
4 Comments
We’re used, in the British Isles, to place names that have more than one pronunciation – Shrewsbury (/ˈʃrəʊzbÉ™ri/~/ˈʃruËzbÉ™ri/) is probably the best known, although those with long memories will recall that there was a veiled threat to my position over … Continue reading
July 19, 2014
by gpointon
2 Comments
I don’t usually watch or listen to the First Night of the Proms, but as yesterday evening’s concert was Elgar’s “The Kingdom”, an oratorio I have never heard, I decided to make an exception. Part way through, when the disciples … Continue reading
July 7, 2014
by gpointon
4 Comments
When I was learning French, our excellent teacher gave us a mnemonic for learning the positions of the personal pronouns – other than the subject forms – in relation to the verb. It was in the form of a football … Continue reading
June 18, 2014
by gpointon
2 Comments
There was a time when, if you wanted to buy a complete set of some publication which came in its own slip-case, it was known as a “boxed set”. The OED records this from as early as 1895 (Chicago Tribune, … Continue reading
May 5, 2014
by gpointon
4 Comments
I don’t think I’ve ever heard such a long stretch of a genuine Potteries accent on Radio 4 before this – usually actors are attempting it from some other starting point, but here is the Real Thing, in a short … Continue reading