Saturday 9 December 2006

Saturday morning ramble across the keyboard

All the stuff I ordered online last week having arrived, I started ordering the frivolous stuff. Except that one thing, whilst in stock, did not come up on the order form, not even when I cried and begged. Strange, how impervious most websites are to threats and pleas. Anyway, it's all done now as I telephoned. Nice girl. When I gave my postcode, she confirmed one letter -"F for Freddie?" Indeed, it is, and it is noticeable that, although the correct identification word for the letter F is 'Foxtrot', nearly everyone says 'Freddie?'

I didn't write yesterday as I had nothing to say. You are thinking, as I am, that it is a wonder that I ever write, in that case. A mistress of small talk as I normally am, I'd been out for lunch (again...) and was all chatted out.

I owe Jen a post for her Mad wedding day. Jen you will, I know, understand that, as it must be heartfelt, it doesn't come quite to my command. It is one for a wakeful night, it will happen and I'll let you know when that is - sorry I'm late.

At this point, a little dispirited, I broke off to read the paper. And was highly entertained to read this article, describing how church congregations are cowed by bullies and that vicars are stressed by the need to be nice. Apparently, 'troublemakers' 'indulge' in 'church hopping', trying out different styles of service and going to the ones they are happiest with. Yes, and so? The person quoted says that these people suffer from neurotic personality disorders bordering on the psychotic. That is the rudest thing she says, but by no means is it the only insult. She also says that one of the most stressful features of ministry is the effort to be nice to difficult people. Well, maybe she should chat to shop assistants, they might say the same thing; and they have rather less job security, no pension and no free house to live in. I'm not fulminating against the clergy, nor against the Church of England, only commenting on an academic who is being most oddly offensive. Maybe she hopes to provoke debate? Not here, I'm just laughing at her.

5 comments:

badgerdaddy said...

Again I say... Fight the power! Damn the man!

Z said...

Amen to that, bd

Girlplustwo said...

no worries, sweet friend. am including you all the same and you have a year to properly bestow...

xo

Anonymous said...

Hello z!
I think the likelihood of using the correct identifier when spelling things down the phone is directly related to the familiarity of that particular identifier, relative to its frequency in the language. One doesn't want to come across as a geek or out-of-context policeman, or be laughed at by a telephone person. Unless you're talking to a policeman, in which case the only limiting factor is one's memory for the correct term. So it's F for Freddie, M for Mother, S for Sugar, but C for Charlie, N for November and so on.

Z said...

Hello, Dandelion, haven't heard from you for a long time - welcome back.

You are evidently right, and I suppose one instinctively goes for a word that is not easily mistaken for another. But some other letters don't always seem to get the same word, whereas with F it's always Freddie - it's not as if it's a very common name.