The Victor Meldrew Thread

[Lazarus]

Not had a good grumble for a while, but this is bugging me:

When did Railway Stations become Train Stations?

Answers and any other pet gripes welcome!

 

[rolfw]

Have to say it's not something which comes up regularly in conversation for me. Think I would normally either say station or railway station, but if I was talking about the bus station or depot, I would possibly say it was near the train station.

 

[Llew]

When did "I'm good" infect our language, in place of the perfectly adequate "I'm well", in response to "How are you?".
It's not up to the responder to decide if he/she is on their best behaviour.

 

[Lazarus]

On our way back (last Friday) from a week in the Lake District we stopped for Fish & Chips and had to endure a young man asking if he could "get" scraps, "get" a coke and all manner of other bits and bobs. He was a customer and not staff.

Who knows where he'd gotten that particular affectation from.

 

[rolfw]

On our way back (last Friday) from a week in the Lake District we stopped for Fish & Chips and had to endure a young man asking if he could "get" scraps, "get" a coke and all manner of other bits and bobs. He was a customer and not staff.

Who knows where he'd gotten that particular affectation from.

Ha ha, I remember 30 years back, someone came into our bar and asked the landlord if he could get a pint of lager, the landlord replied, "No, I'll have to get it for you".

 

[Channel Hopper]

My latest gripe is the lack of G and Ts (or T and Gs) on radio advertisements.

The London Power (energy) brand is particularly grating.

 

[Lazarus]

^^^^^^^^^^^^

Agreed - the glo'al stop.


Oh, and ever since the Split Infinitive ceased to be verboten (Thank you, Gene Roddenberry), the BBC has made it their mission to take full advantage.

 

[rolfw]

Whatever happened to discussions about serious social problems etc, now "We need to have a conversation about this", the other one is "What does the future look like for you?", "What does a future with Covid look like?" All Americanisms.

 

[rolfw]

My latest gripe is the lack of G and Ts (or T and Gs) on radio advertisements.

The London energy brand is particularly grating.

Yep, Amir Khan can't say ing, nor the silly cow who reports on Sky politics, just lazy.

 

[Channel Hopper]

Priti Patel should at least be able to afford elocution lessons.

 

[dxhound2003]

Nothing new under the sun.

Lazy speech: teacher critical of southerners – archive, 1938​

6 August 1938: A speech training mistress tells how slovenly we are becoming in our speech today




Strong criticism of the growth of slovenly speech in this country was made by Miss M.C. Cobby, the speech training mistress at Latymer School, Edmonton, when she addressed members of the City of London Vacation Course in England at Bedford College, Regent’s Park, yesterday.

From the archive, 15 July 1916: Editorial: A standard of spoken English​

“We endeavour daily,” she said, “to inculcate habits of cleanliness and good behaviour in our children, so why not teach them also to speak well. We do not want pedantic speakers who always go one better than the required standard of speech. Nor do we want the people who pride themselves in being colloquial and who say, ‘Joo-no-er?’ for ‘Do you know her?’ Both these types of speakers are offensive. As teachers, therefore, we must do our best to preserve the best features of the King’s English and to restrict the absorption of any element, whether from the drawing-room or from the gutter.”

 

[Lazarus]

Yeah, no - the boy's done good.

 

[Channel Hopper]

Yeah, no - the boy's done good.

Excuse me !

Yeah, but no !

 

[sonnetpete]

Can I have a moan about living in France? SWMBO has just reached the end of a three week stay in hospital with an infected cat bite. Her care was very good, occupying a single room, with en suite, internet and TV. But her aftercare is a bit of a shambles. A nurse has to attend the house (and wanted to check the home and me before giving the go ahead) to change the dressing. They have to bring the dressings etc. with them, you can't go and pick them up at the pharmacy. It's like a tetanus or flu jab. You must go to the doctor, get a prescription, take that to the pharmacy who supply the medication, which you then take to your local nursing team for them to administer.

Oh and ex pat cliques...gather together in UK run bars, eat curries, don't try to speak French. Then they moan they can't integrate.There are notable exceptions, the UK run restaurant we go to each Sunday has a 50/50 split French and English clientele. They both speak French and it was the French who asked for fish and chips to be included on the evening menu.

 

[Channel Hopper]

How is the cat doing ?

 

[Channel Hopper]

Toasters.

Why does that tray underneath fail to catch almost 90% of the crumbs/seeds/bits of cheese from the rarebit one tries to cook in the bloody thing ?

It's more productive to shake upside down to make breakfast once a week before washing the appliance in the bath (after one has vacated of course)

 

[sonnetpete]

How is the cat doing ?

Very well considering...

 

[jeallen01]

Toasters.

Why does that tray underneath fail to catch almost 90% of the crumbs/seeds/bits of cheese from the rarebit one tries to cook in the bloody thing ?

It's more productive to shake upside down to make breakfast once a week before washing the appliance in the bath (after one has vacated of course)

Get a "better" toaster! - I toast every day, and the tray does collect almost all of the bits that falls off the bread.

OTOH, cleaning the toaster is very messy - a lot of that stuff falls out when I lift it to begin the cleaning process (which I really need to now do - but "dread" doing).

PS: I do my rarebits (also quite frequently), and usually with some ham under the cheese, but I use the grill in the oven - that means nothing, apart from a few bits of melted cheese, can fall off the bread/ham/cheese because it's horizontal!

 

[Lazarus]

Get a "better" toaster! - I toast every day, and the tray does collect almost all of the bits that falls off the bread.

That's not bread ..... it's ships' biscuits.

 

[jeallen01]

That's not bread ..... it's ships' biscuits.

I don't "toast to cremation", so the bread is still slightly moist - OTOH, maybe CH does, and that's why he has that "problem"