Room 101

[MAB]

I don't speak with a very good accent, too 'Sarf' London for that, but I expect TV announcers/presenters to have excellent spoken English, only they don't, they're even mangling place names now.

 

When I started watching telly in the 1950's they all sounded like Jacob Rees Mogg:  what's gone wrong?

[Sim]

And no-one, not even Radio 3 presenters, can manage to say 'sixth' anymore. Now it has turned into 'sicth' or 'sixf'.

[bridiem]

And there's now this habit of starting sentences with 'So'; as if what is being said is the logical outcome of something that has already been said, when in fact nothing has yet been said... I think that's a way of (consciously or unconsciously) trying to give possibly spurious legitimacy to what's being said. Sometimes through lack of confidence, but sometimes (imho) with intent to cloud the judgement of the listener. Even quite eminent people can be heard doing it on occasion now - it's clearly contagious.

 

My other gripe is with people who when ordering food or drink in a café/restaurant say 'Can I GET...' instead of 'Can I HAVE...'. It implies that they are themselves going to do something, when in fact someone else is going to do it for them. As if they can't bear to acknowledge that they are the passive partner in this transaction (or any transaction).

[Jacqueline]

I like to hear genuine regional accents and the history of their origins can be fascinating. As far as I know, estuary English is entirely made up as an excuse to speak lazily, in the mistaken belief that it sounds cool. It doesn't. 

I hate to hear the English language being mangled from simple words to place names. One of my other pet hates is mixing up of singular and plural, such as there is hundreds of special offers and so on.

 

 

And there's now this habit of starting sentences with 'So'; as if what is being said is the logical outcome of something that has already been said, when in fact nothing has yet been said... I think that's a way of (consciously or unconsciously) trying to give possibly spurious legitimacy to what's being said. Sometimes through lack of confidence, but sometimes (imho) with intent to cloud the judgement of the listener. Even quite eminent people can be heard doing it on occasion now - it's clearly contagious.

 

My other gripe is with people who when ordering food or drink in a café/restaurant say 'Can I GET...' instead of 'Can I HAVE...'. It implies that they are themselves going to do something, when in fact someone else is going to do it for them. As if they can't bear to acknowledge that they are the passive partner in this transaction (or any transaction).

I remember Peter Ustinov used to start a sentence with "So..." when he was doing his impression of a Austrian psychiatrist.

As for "Can I get", my husband who is from Yorkshire, used to say this. When we first lived together and were just about to go out somewhere, he would say "Can I just get the toilet?". In my southern way, I'd think you what? Why do you want to get the toilet, I'm sure there'll be one where we are going. Or words to that effect. As far as he was concerned, it was Yorkshire speech and he just wanted to go to the lav before we went out. He didn't actually want to get the toilet. Which was a relief in more ways than one.

'Can I get' is in very common usage now and not as a regional peculiarity. I agree it is very irritating.

Edited August 22, 2016 by Jacqueline

[Quintus]

 

'Can I get' is in very common usage now and not as a regional peculiarity. I agree it is very irritating.

 

 

I suspect this has infiltrated British English from US TV, where it is very common.  Another US TV phrase that I hope does not take root in the UK is "I need you to....", which infuriates me with its passive-aggressive rudeness!  

[Jacqueline]

I see applications are being taken for the new voice of the Speaking Clock. Imagine that in estuary....ah like er firs stroke, ih wiw be like ay fer ee ay an fer ee ay seconz or like woh eva!

Edited August 23, 2016 by Jacqueline

[Jacqueline]

I watched the documentary about Donald Trump last night and found it quite illuminating. It seemed a serious attempt to explain his appeal or lack thereof, although I did like the guy who makes a living impersonating The Donald. He'd got him down to a tee.

If The Donald doesn't make it to the White House, perhaps he could apply to be the voice of the speaking clock.

I gotta tell you folks, at the third stroke it will be ten in the a.m.

It. Will. Be.Ten. In the a.m.

 We have no choice.

That is what it's gonna be.

Precisely.

[Fiz]

Let's put him in Room 101 instead!

[Piccolo]

The experimental hairdresser who persuaded me to "try something different ". All well and good until they get it wrong Into 101 you go! What's wrong with sticking with the tried and tested? At least its symmetrical though so I'll probably go back...

[alison]

Looks as though some people would like to put selfie-takers in Room 101 :

 

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/selfies-should-be-banned-in-london-public-places-says-shock-survey-a3327931.html

[alison]

Actually, right at the moment I'd like to put all venues which only have hot water in the taps in their loos in Room 101!  You're sweltering, you want to go in and splash some cold water on your face and arms to cool down, and what do you get?  "Warning: these taps contain very hot water", half the time!  Not to mention the time I got something VERY nasty in my eye, dashed into Sainsbury's, which had the nearest available loos, to flush it out, and ... HOT WATER!!!

 

In fact, perhaps I should add all those venues who think it's fine to have scaldingly hot water in their taps and not try to reduce the temperature in any way, as long as they put up a notice to warn you that the water is very hot!  Have you noticed that they never have mixer taps?

[Jan McNulty]

Seconded on this one Alison!

[Anna C]

Katie Hopkins.

[Yaffa]

Autocorrect/automessup systems that refuse to let me decide what goes after the letters 'lo.' I just met with a dear friend who had lost a relative and almost sent her an email saying how 'lousy' it was to see her, but 'lovely' to hear about her loss.

[Jacqueline]

I sort of assumed the hot water only in venues thing was a ruse to prevent people refilling their water bottles with 'free' cold water. 

At least where I work we do have both hot and cold. Essential this week to have been able to splash my face with refreshing cold water. There are stickers over the basins warning people that the hot water is indeed hot. There is also a poster, giving illustrated instructions on how to wash your hands. I don't know who designed it, but one of the pictures appears to show a hand with several more fingers than is standard.

Health and safety, my manager told me, when I said that to my mind, taps gushing water so hot it is steaming, is surely dangerous. Why not just turn down the thermostat? Apparently, hot is open to interpretation and the facility provider can say you were warned the water was hot.

In the same way when the floor is mopped, a sign will be put up to the effect that the floor may be wet. If you wish to trip over the sign, there is a new no win, no fee solicitor's office on the ground floor.

[alison]

a hand with several more fingers than is standard.

 

I had to LOL at that!

 

I sometimes wonder if people know that thermostats exist!  Granted, it may not always be possible for a venue to have individual control over its hot water, as I think is the case for the New Victoria Theatre in Woking, which is in a shopping centre and shares the water supply as far as I know, but it probably is more frequently than they think.

[Jacqueline]

Katie Hopkins.

I heard she was the voice of the people, fearlessly telling it like it is, regardless of her safety and well being and any offence that may have been caused. Isn't she a national treasure? Or something. 

Edited August 26, 2016 by Jacqueline

[alison]

As far as I'm concerned, she's someone who posts on Twitter and appears to get a lot of people riled up.  More, I don't know.

[Jan McNulty]

As far as I'm concerned, she's someone who posts on Twitter and appears to get a lot of people riled up.  More, I don't know.

 

 

 

And not only twitter, she has a column in one of the tabloids and has appeared on the likes of This Morning.  I really find her offensive.  She may occasionally make a valid point but she does it in such an obnoxious way that I immediately want to take the opposite point of view! 

[MAB]

I've only come across her on LBC, I thought she was quite good, but I suppose these commentators cover a wide range of subjects and while you might agree about some you could disagree about others.  Impressed by her defence of Corbyn, better analysis than most on the subject.

[Anna C]

I've only come across her on LBC, I thought she was quite good, but I suppose these commentators cover a wide range of subjects and while you might agree about some you could disagree about others.  Impressed by her defence of Corbyn, better analysis than most on the subject.

She's really quite clever; every so often she'll say something that a lot of people agree with, but I suspect that is a tactic designed to gain a bigger audience for her hateful statements about refugees/left wingers/overweight people/disabled people/scots*

 

*other groups are available.

 

Her "joke" twitter poll regarding the terrible deaths of five people at Camber Sands and her reference to refugees as "cockroaches" are just two examples of her antics.

[porthesia]

I think room 101 is too good for Donald and Katie - the furthest end of the Universe please - with no return ticket.

[taxi4ballet]

Norfolk County Council's highways department (and they can take their traffic lights on the A149 to Hunstanton with them). 

[porthesia]

People who don't turn up to their hospital appointments.  Disgusted whilst i waited for my appointment to hear the nurses calling name after name until finally someone was actually there.  There were at least 10 no shows.

[alison]

It's unbelievable, isn't it?  Don't these people realise how much money the NHS loses every time there's a no-show?

[taxi4ballet]

I accompanied my elderly mother-in-law to the audiology clinic at the local hospital recently, so she could have her new hearing aid fitted.

 

The staff didn't appear to realise that standing and calling out someone's name in the waiting area of that particular department was not going to be all that effective, since most of the patients couldn't hear their name being called. What a daft system.

Edited August 26, 2016 by taxi4ballet

[Harwel]

I accompanied my elderly mother-in-law to the audiology clinic at the local hospital recently, so she could have her new hearing aid fitted.

 

The staff didn't appear to realise that standing and calling out someone's name in the waiting area of that particular department was not going to be all that effective, since most of the patients couldn't hear their name being called. What a daft system.

Funny, if it wasn't so thoughtless.

[Legseleven]

There should be a fine introduced or possibly a 'no-show equals no further appointment offered' for patients who fail to appear for their NHS appointments. The fine need only be small but it might remind people how fortunate we are in this country to have a free health service and that it should not be abused.

[Legseleven]

Obviously people with a genuine reason why they didn't show up or didn't phone to rearrange shouldn't be fined - no idea how that would be policed as it would no doubt need to be - but it really makes me angry that serial no-shows waste NHS time and resources and deny appointments to other people.

[taxi4ballet]

My nursing friends says that at her hospital, sometimes the clinic is running early (!) and they will call out the names of people before their due appointment time in case they've arrived already, so they can slot them in.

 

Hospitals can also get things wrong. I kept getting letters about hospital appointments for my mum for months after she'd died in that same hospital.

[MAB]

Between a quarter to a third of my post is never received or mis-delivered causing me umpteen problems and yes, one was an appointment letter.  I  explained and requested that in future they contact me by email and got a flat refusal, apparently the NHS doesn't do email.  That is absurd, I would have thought the postal costs alone would justify ditching snail mail for email.

[alison]

I thought the idea was that the NHS sent you a text the day before reminding you of the appointment and giving you an opportunity to cancel/reschedule?

 

Hospitals can also get things wrong. I kept getting letters about hospital appointments for my mum for months after she'd died in that same hospital.

 

That's pretty poor: I'm sorry you had to suffer that.  Oddly, when my mum died, rather unexpectedly, in hospital, I rang them a day or two later to tell them to cancel her forthcoming hospital appointment, only to discover that "the system" had already done it and reallocated it.  It was efficient, but a bit unpleasant.

[taxi4ballet]

My late uncle got called up for jury service after he'd died as well... I left that one for the probate solicitor to sort out!