Morning peeps - and glad to hear it was a good service etc Ak - sometimes such things can be cathartic despite the underlying sadness...
Hæ það öll. Cappuccino, coffee, tea donuts and fruit are on the bar. Frothy cappuccinos for for al, HH, and W_Y Coffee and cramel frapachino for IB Coffees for COYH, Frenchie, Kev rob theo vic-rijrode and kiwiqpr Strong coffee for Sandy Milky coffee for Yorkie Espresso for SuffolkHorn Strong black coffees for Bragi Norway and zen Black coffee half hot half cold and no sugar for Charlie A peppermint latte for DanH Tea for BHD Cornish Mark jsybarry jerzeypie Lloydinio NZ and BCFCRed Tea with skimmed milk and no sugar for GG and Leon Hot chocolate with marshmallows for BBW Caramel latte for Hornette Scullion Canary Dave Fossefilberto and Maestro Una paloma for Mexican Hornet Lighter snow in the night. We have -1C at this time.
Morning world - won't be moving too far from the fireplace today as it's -2C outside, although blue skies & sunshine. I'm sure that the NHS didn't consider days like this when they compiled their post-op exercise plan for knee replacements. I'm supposed to be outside walking for half a mile every day - not on these icy surfaces I'm not.
Morning all, still damp but not chilly here. Went back to French class this morning after a lengthy layoff. Our last teacher was a grammar freak and wanted us to do countless written exercises, but speak little. She has now gone off to do teacher training, so I hope that when she is given a class of children she changes a bit for their sake. Our new one speaks no English at all, but loves talking. Several times various of the students had to request that she slowed down a bit, but it was fun again. The only exercise today was to put le, la, or l' correctly with a list of words. Our German and Romanian seem to have more difficulty with this than the English despite us having the great 'the'.
.. that's just about the point Ak ... celebrating the life of the one that has passed and renewing family bonds with those that you haven't seen for some time ...
The beauty of the words 'the' and 'a' is that they are non-sexist. I could never quite get my head around why some things, such as a table, were feminine whilst others, such as a bed, were masculine - all a bit too silly for me.
Even worse is Portuguese, and readying you all for the world cup. Lager from a bottle, cerveja, is femine while lager on draught is masculine. So to get another beer you could ask for "mais uma cerveja" and get a bottle or if you're lucky "mais um chope" and get a small very cold glass of beer. And remember nearly all beer in Brasil is small, because it warms up too quickly. The do have darker (bitter type) beers, but although available are not as common.
All this talk about beer (6 bottles or small glasses alone from brangantino) is making me very thirsty....
Please rep your son and thank him & his mates for fixing the power lines in not always the best conditions!
Even worse in German and Greek where "the" not only changes with gender but with the case. Did not make for harmonious marital relations with my first wife when she was trying to teach me German as I said Der all the time (like most Germans I believe). One day "the" will rule the world.
Why is it no-one else in the world (even in Ireland) can pronounce "the" as we do? "Zuh", "zee", "der" etc.? It seems English is the only language which has this "putting the tongue in between the teeth and breathing out while opening the mouth" sound.
Lucky the WC is not held in Oz then. Although there are no gender problems in ordering the stuff, the names for each size of glass vary from state to state, and sometimes even within state. For example: If you want a pint and ask for a pint, in Sth Australia you'll only get a 15oz glass - unless you ask for an Imperial pint in which case you'll get the 20oz glass you were expecting. In Victoria, ACT and NSW you'll get your pint, but elsewhere you'll get blank stares as they don't sell beer in glasses that size. If you want a 15oz glass and you're in NSW, you ask for a schooner, but you won't get anything in Victoria, Qld or West Aus as they don't sell that size. The most popular size is 10oz - if you are in ACT, you have to ask for a half pint, in NSW and West Aus a middy, in NT a handle, in Victoria, Tas & Qld a pot - although in parts of both Tas & Qld they are called a ten. There's a smaller glass of 7oz - known in Victoria and WA as a glass and in SA as a butcher. Fortunately everywhere else refers to one as a seven. The smallest glass of all - the 5oz glass - is referred throughout Aus as a pony - but if you don't fancy something that small you could ask for a jug. Wherever you are in Aus, that will get you a 40oz monster, usually bought with 2-3 glasses to share. If you can't remember all of that, don't just ask for a beer as depending upon where you are, that will get you a 15oz, 10oz or 7oz. If you think "Bugger all that, I'll ask for a bottle", you then have the problem of 'Long necks' or 'Tallies' - both around 27oz - or 'Stubbies', which unfortunately come in four sizes - 11.5oz, 12oz, 12.5oz or 13oz - although the trick with them is simply to remember which brand name and type you prefer. Sometimes I think that Starbucks based their coffee menus on Aussie beers....
