Snow Is Falling........

The snow has arrived - up north have already received their first snow shower and according to the met office it will be reaching the south anytime from the beginning of next week - great! To make matters even better, we are being told that it will last for two weeks - two whole weeks of freezing our nads off, slipping, sliding and generally just trying not to make a prat of ourselves whilst penguin-style walking down the street.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11836547

How idyllic it looks in photos and on postcards - pure white snow that crunches under foot, making even the most grimmest of towns seem festive and magical. In reality (especially for Londoners) the snow stays white for all of an hour maybe, before it turns to slush that semi-freezes and turns to a deadly sheet of battle-ship grey ice that only the bravest of the brave can tackle in an upright position.

As if that isn't bad enough, councils are saying that they are going to be cutting back on gritting to try and save money. So, in a nut shell having a few extra pennies in your purse is better than the health and well being of your fellow humans. Are councils really going to take on the burden of increased traffic accidents, hospitals groaning from an increased number of broken limbs and a much higher percentage of broken lamp columns, bollards etc - just so they can skimp on the grit?

Hmmm... I hope all those Tory lovers out there are taking note of this. The government they elected have stripped the budget so close to thread-bare, that once again the public are the ones who are going to be bearing the brunt of this ridiculous outcome.

Surely you could skip the trimmings and port this year David to ensure the health and safety of those out battling the treacherous streets in the next few weeks....

Does one speaketh the lingo?

I love listening to conversations by different people, in particular the way things are pronounced and types of words that are used.

I used to live in East London and never used to think that I had an accent or spoke in a particular way that was outside the 'norm', but after moving out to Essex 4 years ago I am very much aware of the speech patterns different Towns and Villages develop. Especially of late, after becoming a sucker for The Only Way Is Essex - it just makes me realise that I am slowly going over to the dark side and sounding more and more common each day (as much as you can believe than from an East Londoner!)

I admit I've never been one to have a cockney accent or delved into the world of 'Lady Mcguivers or apples and pears' but still, I am who I am and I always liked to pride myself on the fact that you can't take the town out of the girl......but.....

The longer I find myself living away from East London the more my 'non-existent accent' disappears. Gone are the days of 'Alright Mate', 'Hows it going?!' and 'Yeah, nice one!' and in it's place I am finding myself replicating the local Essex sing-song sayings such 'Hi-Ya', 'How-Are-You?' and 'Yeah, that sounds lovely!' I even found myself chatting to the local checkout girl the other day and referred to her as luv! Oh, how degrading.

But I think I am not alone in these thoughts and apparently the local jargon not only exists in the outside world, but also take place in the world of business too. I loved reading this article today on the BBC website and was cracking up at the commentary.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7457287.stm

Not only is there such a thing as business jargon - it has also been complied into it's very own top 50 list, which is not bad going. I particularly love item number 22, having worked in sales for over three years this was a regular saying amongst the directors at our monthly sales meetings.

I wonder what the future holds for the English language and how the local lingo will differ by the time I reach middle age - one can only but imagine....