Odds and Ends

[wellinghall]

Moseley pupils stuck in the Bog
http://www.birminghammail.net/lifestyle/family-life/education/2008/11/11/moseley-pupils-stuck-in-the-bog-97319-22226536/

Michael Rowley finds himself stuck somewhere between the Seventies and Tolkien's Shire at The Plough & Harrow in Birmingham
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/hotels/3418114/The-Plough-and-Harrow-Hotel-Birmingham-Staying-Over.html

Eating lunch at "The Elephant and Castle" (where Tolkien and CS Lewis used to meet)
http://jennawayment.blogspot.com/2008/11/daytrip-to-oxford.html

My committee ... met at the “University College” campus, a stone building whose doors were made of stout old wood, and whose façade was eaten with age
http://www.patriottalon.com/2008/11/10/model-un-group-competes-in-oxford/

The top ten most irritating phrases:
1 - At the end of the day
2 - Fairly unique
3 - I personally
4 - At this moment in time
5 - With all due respect
6 - Absolutely
7 - It's a nightmare
8 - Shouldn't of
9 - 24/7
10 - It's not rocket science

http://robalini.blogspot.com/2008/11/oxford-compiles-list-of-top-ten.html
(but be warned, it's a horrible website to read)

Comments

[pellegrina.livejournal.com]

"Thinking outside the box" is way more irritating than "Absolutely"!

My current personal bugbear is the way my boss pronounces "liaise" (a horrible word anyway) LIE-aise. But he's so posh I daren't correct him!

[didiusjulianus.livejournal.com]

The ones that are plain wrong are always irritating (to me anyway). The rest, well it depends whether the conversation is peppered with them (often in place of a pause, um, er etc) - in the right context they can add something or be a useful reply or lead in.

(After all, saying "Yes...yes...yes...okay...yes...you are right" can get a bit boring, and "affirmative" like K9 might grate too after the originality had warn off! "Bravo" or "Stupendous Idea" might be better, but might also elicit some strange looks depending where you were. Some things really are a nightmare. And "Come on, it's not rocket science" worked all right in a particular conversation at our house last night).

Nothing wrong with "I shouldn't've spent so long answering this post", which sounds just like "Shouldn't of" at least in my accent(which is where the misapprehension comes from in the first place of course) - it's writing it down like that which is a bugbear of some folk.

[parrot-knight.livejournal.com]

I like blogs written by visitors to Oxford... the Model UN group's repeated references to the 'English parliament' would frustrate one particular campaign. (Distinguishing between 'English' and 'British' is one of the first things I have to do with overseas students.)

[segh.livejournal.com]

I think "absolutely" is fine as an affirmative, it's as an intensifier it grates. Even then it doesn't drive me as mad as "really" which at one time seemed to be the only intensifier the children knew.

[el-staplador.livejournal.com]

What? No mention for 'No offence, but...' and 'I'm sorry, but...' Why are you sorry? Is the thing you're about to complain about your fault? Well then.