I am pleased to announce that our local community has written to President Donald Tusk to dissociate itself from the “Article 50” letter. Henceforth on the 1st April a celebratory feast will be held at which Cawl will be served followed by Bacalhao, Spaetzle, Coq au Vin rounded off with Tiramsu and Belgian Waffles.
Lleucu Grimaldi who owns the local cafe and icecream parlour has been guaranteed the right to remain in the village in perpetuity.
I shall be honoured to serve as the EU’s official representative in the village and my home has been renamed “Castell Aros”
Since April Fool’s Day traditionally ends at noon on 1st April, I can now reveal all (with apologies if that implants a disturbing image in anyone’s mind). The tradition treasured by children and adults alike involves playing tricks on a victim and shouting “April Fool.” Even the country’s media are complicit. In the 50s/60s ? Panorama, a heavyweight weekly current affairs TV programme, ran an article on Italy’s spaghetti tree! Thousand, maybe millions of viewers were taken in.
Within families a much-loved trick is for a child to remove carefully the top of a boiled egg and consume the contents. He/she then inverts it and puts secretly in an egg cup. Daddy (who is normally the most intellectually limited member of the family) approaches the egg with loud anticipation and with exaggerated flourish strikes the egg with his spoon only to find it empty much to the glee of the children. Daddy is so twp that he falls for the the same trick year after year.
Here is a Wiki article on how and where April Fool’s Day / All Fool’s Day is celebrated in the rest of the world. April Fool’s Wiki
I remember being really angry when I heard about the spaghetti trees because the whole thing was well after noon! I just looked up AF jokes and found someone had spread the story that the Menai Bridge was being dismantled to go to USA asa tourist attraction! Makes a change from wide boys selling them Tower Bridge, London. I have a feeling when London Bridge was flogged to Arizona, they thought they were getting Tower Bridge!
NB the R&R buildings are safe!
I’ve got a question for the grammar nerds (and yes, you are nerds before you argue the fact ) about the a/an before an aitch. I always cringe when anyone says “an historic”, I mean that if you pronounce the aitch it should be “a” and of you don’t it should be “an”, so:
An honourable something or other.
A historic something or other.
Not that you need my opinion when Gareth has spoken, but I agree with you both!! It is the epitome of loud voiced ‘had an education don’t y’ know old boy’ affectation!
Not quite the same since HOSpital is stressed on the first syllable and hisTORic is stressed on the second; as far as I know, this “an h…” thingy was not for words stressed on the first syllable such as “a hotel” or “a hospital”.
Nevertheless, using “an historic” etc. at all sounds very conservative / traditional / dated to me. (Pick your adjective.)
It comes down to whether the aitch is aspirated or not surely. If the stress comes on the second syllable the “trend” is to lose the aspiration on the aitch but seeing as I, and most people I hear, still pronounce the aitch it needs an “an” before it.
Maybe it is an accent thing. As far as I’m concerned, ‘an hospital’ would be a terrible affectation, but ‘an historic’ sounds completely natural and is the kind of alternative that I wouldn’t think twice about.
Oh God, Pete. Everything I’ve said here is trivial please accept my sincere apologies for venting my spleen in the face (albeit unknowing) of what you are dealing with. Please accept also my sincere condolences on your loss,
) about the a/an before an aitch. I always cringe when anyone says “an historic”, I mean that if you pronounce the aitch it should be “a” and of you don’t it should be “an”, so:
