Weekly Chat (Non-Osprey), 28 February 2016

HAPPY NEW WEEK and HAPPY LEAP YEAR DAY (MONDAY)!

Last week's Chat thread is here.

Annette: This is the way that you encourage moles and gophers to leave your property. LOL LOL

Everyone have a wonderful week.

  • Heather, My OH's G. Nephew has been employed by a well known publisher, to proof read, during his holidays from university.

  • Not a happy bunny.  Back was agony in the night and when I got up, but has much improved now.  Then GP phoned to say blood test indictors for inflammation were really high, so got to have a re-test next Tuesday.  She really is keeping an eye on me!

    Brenda – I seem to have totally missed what you have mentioned about your neighbours – have they been visiting abroad?  I hope the demolition noise has abated – though I guess building noise will be almost as bad!  Good that you Daughter and Ruby can come again today!  Almost certain to be snow on Linda’s garden today – all around us, North, South, East and West, but none here!

    Annette and Diane – still reeling open-mouthed at conduct of your politicians – but Trump in particular!

    Annette – no glass of wine for me!  When I say I don’t drink, that means not at all – and anyway not allowed it with various medical conditions and treatments.

    AQ – no shampoo?  Maybe there will be some at the hotel?  Can’t bear to go a day without shampooing hair!  Have a great weekend!

    Heather – bad incident for your OH – I hope he takes the appointment card with him today and proves he was right.

    Diane – I hope publishers are listening to how much you love them!!!

    Ospreys Rule OK, but Goldfinches come a close second!

  • OG - Did you have to miss your lunch at the OTB?  I know that you are teetotal but your remark about the medications reminded me of our old friend in Denmark who died last year. He was 94 and had enjoyed good health for many years. Then he got psoriasis and eventually was prescribed methotrexate.  He was only allowed a thimbleful of Gammel Dansk at Sunday breakfast time. That sounds strange to us but we must remember that he was of the generation in Denmark that did that kind of thing. I believe I have read that many years ago workmen got beer breaks over there!

  • HEATHER - I was moving reasonably well, and managed to get in the car, so we did go for lunch - both had a fishcake meal - small portion.  I even enjoyed a small (fairy-cake-size) carrot cake afterwards, while OH had his usual Maltezer slice.  J stayed at home and ate his packed lunch!  Back has continued improving, so now going to help in kitchen.  Lamb hot-pot for dinner.  Workers everywhere used to have beer to drink, before there were clean water supplies - that's why there were so many estate breweries; the beer of the workers was "small beer" - second or even third mashing!

    Ospreys Rule OK, but Goldfinches come a close second!

  • Apropos typos etc. The Press and Journal (Local paper to North and North east Scotland) contained an article today about the church that the late Charles Kennedy MP attended. The heading, in large font, said that he 'worshiped' at that church. As far as I know, in the UK it is spelt with two Ps. US spelling is with one P, according to the Oxford dictionary.

    PS DIANE - I love love love your post :-))

  • Heather - extract found on

    http://www.future-perfect.co.uk/grammar-tip/is-it-worshipped-or-worshiped/Verbs ending in ‘p’

    Most verbs ending in ‘p’, after an unstressed vowel, have no doubling of that final consonant in standard received British English or American English.

    Here are some which follow the ‘most verbs’ rule: ‘develop’, ‘gossip’, ‘gallop’ – these become just ‘developing/developed’, ‘gossiping/gossiped’, ‘galloping/galloped’.

    Even here, there are pesky exceptions: ‘worship’, ‘handicap’ and ‘kidnap’ become ‘worshipping/worshipped’, ‘handicapping/handicapped’ and ‘kidnapping/kidnapped’ in standard received British English.

     

    Ospreys Rule OK, but Goldfinches come a close second!

  • So OG, I think that my 'eye' was correct? My OH laughs at me.

    And because you have met him, I will tell a tale on him, here. I was wiping down outside windowsills this afternoon, (now, is it sills or cills). I showed him the cloth when I came indoors. His reply - 'Window sills are meant to be black'. If he hadn't tasted today's leek and potato soup and approved, I might just be sending him on a long journey to nowhere....

  • HEATHER - window sill and window cill are both acceptable because they have both been in use at some time.  Sill was much earlier and being more widely known and understood could be said to be the "more" correct to use (if you allow the expression "more correct"!)  Cill is more often used for the bottom of the aperture of a lock-gate on a canal or other waterway.  What I like about your use of the word, is that you referred to outside the window, because the one inside , although often called a sill, is actually more correctly called the windowBOARD!  BTW, our sills are concrete and rather black-looking!

    Ospreys Rule OK, but Goldfinches come a close second!

  • Another TV evening.  Might go to a Spring Fair tomorrow morning - or maybe not!  Off to bed now - back responded badly to a big sneeze - wondering if that what caused it to start - I sneezed while making gingerbread yesterday - ground ginger affects me more that way than pepper!  So may be nothing to do with virus or arthritis!

    Ospreys Rule OK, but Goldfinches come a close second!

  • Heather B said:
    OH has an appointment at the hearing aid shop. His original appointment on Wednesday had been changed to today but nobody informed us so he walked there and back to no purpose. I phoned them and gave them a piece of my mind. OH was wincing slightly as I did so. The receptionist blamed the error on a recent 'temp'. My parting shot was 'I take it that you won't be having that one back then'. I was very annoyed because OH was made to feel that it was his mistake (his appointment card was in the desk diary,he hadn't taken it). He arrived back home thinking that he was losing the plot. End of rant!

    That's incredibly unprofessional of them.  I get fed up of people blaming problems on temps - I used to temp and you end up being treated as the lowest of the low by so many people who think you're somehow lacking.

    Our herring gulls are red listed birds.  Think about that the next time you hear some flaming idiot calling for a cull of them.