language & communication – Page 9 – don't confuse the narrator

translation and otherness

Firstly, some daffodils for St David’s Day:

Secondly, a Welsh castle:
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the morning after

Many years ago, someone gave me a badge that said “Please maintain in an upright position when full of liquid.” I was reminded of this when I saw the sticker on this card:

Cat card with sticker: I stand up and my head wobbles

mixed messages

The issue of foreigners in the UK is one that is almost guaranteed to set Brits arguing.

If the subject crops up during a social gathering, perhaps the best that can be hoped for is that most British of compromises “we’ll agree to differ” – an unsatisfactory acknowledgment that there are no easy answers.

The photo, taken in the local housewares store, suggests that one reason answers are difficult is that we haven’t agreed on what the question is: do we want foreign visitors to adapt, or do we want to get rid of them all together?

I could care less

This week I had to fill in a form to register for a new doctor. Last time I registered was when I returned to the UK after 25 years living abroad; that was a fairly painless process, the only confusion being when they asked for my National Health number and I gave one in a format that they stopped using last century.

This time, although I had the right format number, I had to fill in a ten page questionnaire with all sorts of slightly bizarre questions. The one that caught my attention most was:

If someone cares for you, what is their name and telephone number?

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the real thing

Browsing the online sales pages, I came across this:

I’m glad the description warns me that it is an imitation. But I would rather like to know what a real Mongolian cushion looks like.

On the other hand, years ago, an American colleague assured me that faux pas was pronounced “fox paw”. So perhaps this cushion is made from the fur of the Faux Mongolian – a relative of the Siberian Fox, I suppose, but adapted to a grassier terrain if the colour is anything to go by.