I never write the words "get" or "a lot" without a pang, and wouldn't ever write them in a formal letter or document. Nor would I write "wouldn't", of course. I doubt this sort of thing is ever taught nowadays, but it was all considered bad English in my young day. As was (I would not have got away with starting a sentence in that way, either) a word like "nice" unless used in its correct context, or adjectives such as "lovely" - not used more than occasionally, at any rate.
It is quite all right (alright was out. Right out) to use all these colloquial terms here, however, because I deliberately write in the style I might chat to you with. I do notice the poor English, but my rule is, if I would say it then I will write it here. I also notice, but don't correct, my verbal/written habits - the use of "actually", for example and the slightly over-written, florid endearments.
I'm not sure if I am quite the same when speaking, although I suspect that, when some of you met me last week you will have felt that I speak just as I write. As I said to some of you, my blog has shaped me to an extent and I am turning into my blog persona. This is fair enough, as it's one that I chose; and it's based on me, after all. I think I'm a little less Zeddish in real life, though.
The Sage was jolly sensible today. He was up on a ladder clearing the gutters. Not the whole house, but above this (one-storeyed) room, where three roofs drop rain on to one and sometimes we get rain in on the windowsill. I had already been making cakes and so he was duly rewarded. The family was in their garden next door, so I took them through and we all shared them, two each. Dilly is tired, not surprisingly. The baby will be born on the 26th of this month (if not before, of course) and she's working right up to the day before. I said, I was surprised she hadn't booked the hospital for 4.30 on Friday so that she could fit in a full week's work. She plans to take the rest of the year off, but I'll believe that when I see it.
As I was pottering back and forth in the kitchen this morning, I caught a sweet and heavy scent at intervals. Eventually, I remembered the fresh lemons I'd bought last week from Tim. Several still had stalks and leaves and one had flower buds. The bud had opened and that was what I could smell. I tried to put a picture on Facebook, but the connection is so slow here that it rarely works from the phone, but that's the reason for the slightly odd picture, I only took one, but you can just see the flower.
20 comments:
Hello Z:
Very grey here in Brighton and thunderstorms forecast for tonight. We do hope that this will not be too dramatic [or, indeed, happen at all] since there are a lot [or should we say many] happy campers on the beach.
Fresh lemons. What bliss. And, your little cakes look absolutely delicious. Lucky Sage, although we should not envy him shinning up ladders and dealing with blocked gutters. Gosh, we feel dizzy just thinking about it.
I have a little lemon tree I grew from a pip and that is currently covered in blossom - it smells absolutely lovely.
We must have had rain last night because the ground was wet first thing; there was a heavy shower late morning too - my cats were horrified by it. I think they have forgotten what rain is.
The ladder isn't as bad as it sounds, it isn't far up - this is a low-ceilinged room (I can just touch it, and I'm short) and it's a sloping roof. And my husband is tall!
My mother had a grapefruit tree in a pot that my father's father had grown from seed, it must have been several decades old but I never remember a single flower.
It doesn't feel at all like rain at present, the sky is clear and the air is still but not muggy.
No rain here Z.
There has been a little rain here today and it's still horribly humid.
Otis can't settle, and is prowling round the house miaowing loudly. La Fluffita is asleep on her cushion.
Katy and boyfriend went to family wedding today. I was unable to join them, because my new wheelchair arrived sans footrests, and despite having them couriered down from the north, the ones that arrived didn't fit the chair. So my new hat and dress remain unworn and I feel very flat.
I well remember the ban on words such as 'nice' and 'got', along with contractions like 'couldn't' and 'isn't'. Although I use them all the time these days, I despise my laziness.
Finally, a quick comment on the scent of lemon blossom. At our last house, the one that I still think of as home even though it no longer exists, one side of the quite long garden had a hedge of Philadelphus, and when one opened the French windows, particularly on a warm evening after rain, the aroma was almost overpoweringly beautiful.
I like over-written florid endearments. Long may they continue.
Well, we must have captured all the world's rain here in the southern States. Raining now and in the state to our south, Memphis, Tenn. is bracing for a flood tonight. Really awful for them.
Hallo Z
here's hope yet, here on the very western edge of Shropshire it has rained all day on and off and my garden is breathing a sigh of relief. Everybody is standing to attention and those that haven't died during the winter or with the last snap of overnight frost are looking well nourished.
Hurrah, another pedant who likes to use the language properly. I am a foreigner, therefore far more concerned with the decent treatment of English than most of my English friends.
You stick to your grammatical guns, dear Z.
Well in the West we've had quite a lot of rain today, on and off. In fact it's still raining now. I hope the rain in Brighton isn't too bad as my daughter's staying there tonight, prior to downhill bike racing tomorrow in Kent.
As a child at school I remembered Enid Blyton being denigrated (see, not dissed, or rubbished - well I am as old as you) because of what they described as her universal use of the word "nice", as this was judged to be a very lazy adjective and she obviously couldn't be bothered to think of anything better. I've never bothered to check this out, not least because I always thought the point about Blyton (the Famous Fives and the Secret Sevens, etc) was that they were adventure stories. In which case, who's bothering about the adjectives - we all want to know what happened next. And we all wished that we could just go off camping, etc without any parental involvement. Which we maybe could have done back then (early 60s) but these days you'd have to be quite a lot older before you'd be let loose.
Actually just realised my daughter's still only 17 and I've no idea where she'll be sleeping tonight (apart from the text she says she received yesterday saying there's a bed available for her somewhere in Brighton...)
The sun has been making intermittent short visits today. Otherwise overcast skies and rain. I gathered a little Lily of the Valley bouquet for the living room today. A little antique sterling bud vase and those bright white fragrant flowers-ahhhh.
The cakes look delicious!
It showered at 4 am this morning - the concrete paths are wet, but the birdbath is still dry, so it was only a light shower.
My blog-writing style is quite different to my normal one. Short sentences. Often without verbs.
It`s cloudy here on the Norfolk coast but no rain, as yet.
Your cakes look really moreish!! - how`s that for bad English?! I tend to write how I speak and do the same on the blog.
It must have been a day for baking yesterday, I made a sponge flan, but when I came to turn it out of the tin (although well greased) half the rim stayed in the tin. I got it out in pieces and patched it on, so hope it doesn`t show too badly when mother sees it today.
Like you, Z, I quite happily write how I speak unless it is for a formal document and then I would try to avoid contractions and slang terms. A couple of years ago, I took minutes at a meeting with an external moderator for one of the courses run at the college where I work and I smiled inwardly when she said that at the university where she works, they deduct marks from people who use contractions and informal terms in their coursework. (How was that for a long sentence!)
In weather news, the ground is slightly wet here in Ippy so we must have had a little rain overnight. The sky is black and threatening to rain properly. We're going out soon, so now doubt that is when the storm will arrive.
Nothing like talking about the weather to get us all interested! Or grammar, come to that. Thank you all. Welcome, Friko - I have to admit that I sometimes write very convoluted and ungrammatical sentences here, although I do know better. On the other hand, there are few misplaced apostrophes and I use the subjunctive where appropriate.
No rain here at all, though it was very warm overnight and I woke up several times. Now hazy sunshine again.
We used to have honeysuckle outside the door here and on a summer's evening it smelled wonderful. One year, a long time ago when we lived in Lowestoft, I grew heliotrope. That also was deliciously scented in the evenings.
Dandelion, I have certainly taken the florid endearments into everyday speech. I always used them in the family, but nowadays I call friends affectionate names much more, too.
I trust your ma was duly appreciative, Ivy. But there's always an air of nervousness, isn't there?
And Ros, I'm so sorry, what a shame. I suppose you're used to being disappointed, having had your life constrained so much, but when one permits some hope and anticipation, it's all the more downing when it all falls through again, especially when it's someone else's incompetence.
Absolutely threw it down here in deepest Leicestershire!
Slight moisture in the air once or twice but no actual rain here. Now hot and sunny again.
Yes, Mum enjoyed it and didn`t notice all the joins until I told her.
And don't forget the car garage man!
Mike not only receives endearments, I kiss him too. Always make friends with your mechanic.
I bet it was delicious, Ivy!
There are so many Mikes, Z, that I could wish you would make it plainer to which one you refer (NEVER end a sentence with a preposition, and there is no need EVER to use the word 'Got'). In Buckinghamshire, where we've just spent the weekend, it poured with rain most of Saturday night, then on Sunday a nice sunny day was held (ideal arrangement).
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