tegwini

Yes Gluey,  I suppose schools these days are also involved in the numbers game & also need bums on seats.   Must not upset the kids or parents. Compromise seems be the motto of all in the UK, but in the long run it's to our detriment. Regards Tegwini

Kathy Quite so - thank goodness I am on my way out of teaching and not starting my career! I can cope with spelling mistakes, since no one in infallible,  but it's bad attitudes that I find hard to cope with and  do dislike.  Kids these days have rights, and I suppose one right is that they are not meant to be bored by their teachers.  Learning for its own sake is now considered old fashioned. Perhaps it's a shame  many employers do not accept the standards that some of our teens are capable of and refuse to employ them.   Employers are now aware that it is possible to pass GCSE with low percentages - as little as under 20% for a passing grade.  So much for the UK government's claims that standards are improving.  Children are let down in primary school, and are moved up each year whether or not they are coping with the work.  Regards Tegwini

Kathy It's never too late if you really want to do something - including spelling!    I started late,  paid my own fees/living costs at university and really needed to pass.   Since I was majoring in English and history a good standard of English was essential.   This is not the case in the UK  where as an external examiner I have been instructed to 'go easy' and mark leniently even if the standard of English is poor in a GCSE English exam.  Regards Tegwini

Crumbs, Mrs Postie you ARE fast! (faster than we get in our village in Wilts). Much prefer 'vygies' as a name, the alternative is hard to say let alone spell.  I grew them in the mid 60s on a rockery & really miss them. Where are you & has your neighbour anything special, say sheltered position, facing south etc which allows them to grow?  I researched them a little, and was told they were unlikely to grow or survive.  Does the neighbour have them in the ground & are they growing as perenials ? But it's super to hear someone has managed to grow them.   Tried again to put a picture here & couldn't - how do you do it ? Regards Tegwini  

My favourite plant - vygies - a South African plant, jewel-like coloured flowers, pinks, reds, mauves, orange  & etc.   They are tough and drought proof,  and can cope with frost.   It can get to  -10c  in Johannesburg.   I am planning to put them on a SW facing slope where I have some huge rocks.   They look super on rockeries.   They are also easy to propagate and it is easy to break bits off and push them into the ground and they invariably grow.   I may be a bit of an optimist attempting these in the Vienne, but I am hoping that the large trees will provide some shelter in the winter - and I am not paying anything for the plants. Has anyone come across any growing in France? Regards Tegwini ps I am hoping a little picture will appear - if I have managed to do it correctly!   if not I shall have another go.

Thanks Clair Presently looking at it - but it is a bit scary - it's not that long ago when I paid 34p per litre.   The roads seem a lot quieter in southern Wiltshire- perhaps people are starting to stay home more.  France is still cheaper by about 11p per litre,  and sterling's depreciation has partly caused this.  At Christmas time the difference was about 20p.     Greedy Gordon is not helping here. Regards Tegwini

I did not make my last post bigger - honest gov,  it did it on its own! cut & paste was wot dun it! I really must learn to understand stuff like this.  Tegwini

Woman, without her, man is nothing. Woman without her man, is nothing.   I expect most will know this old favourite showing the need for correct punctuation, and how meaning can be either changed or very ambiguous depending on punctuation. Tegwini

I would like to know the average price of diesel in France - trip booked for beg. July. If it makes people feel better, diesel in Wiltshire is £1.27+ per litre.  That's the cheapest I have seen it here. We won't be helped by the exchange rate on our next trip, but it is still more expensive here than France.   It usually is.   I suppose there is plenty of it around - truck drivers here are not like the French ones.  That's why we pay more.  Greedy Gordon needs - or wants the extra he's getting at the moment. Regards Tegwini

Anyone can  make mistakes in spelling, so many words lack logic in the way they are spelt.    As a teacher of teens many of whom can't be bothered to learn to spell,  I usually found that after a few hours of marking I couldn't spell either,  & would have to refer to a dictionary frequently, and for what should have been really easy words. Sadly, it is essential to learn the spellings of difficult words.   I was not obliged to do this at school in the UK, and consequently at university in South Africa I was severely 'bounced' for my 'poor English' and had to improve or fail.   I made the effort and passed, but I have seen some very low-grade English spelling, grammar & punctuation from UK teachers at schools here. Regards Tegwini  

Crumbs, NOT in leafy Surrey! We are more used to that here in Wilts- or  Oiks shire, lots of Ohh Ahhs here.  Perhaps even me. Regards tegwini  

Thanks,  Dick & Gluey  & spot on I looked at the link.   It is interesting that someone wrote in to complain that the newspaper's reporters make many spelling mistakes - I am not at all surprised to have read that.  It's just the way things are these days. Regards Tegwini

 Just curious, but do such officials get paid & how much? Regards tegwini

Thank you Will  and well put. I am not such a purist or a pedant and I can ignore some errors. We all make spelling mistakes and typing errors.  I can accept the very common use of symbols instead of word e.g.  & / @ and so on,  as they do save time.   Split infinitives don't phase me either - didn't Churchill use them often?  I have a teacher friend who disapproves of word contractions in writing - didn't. can't  & etc. I can understand that,  but  I accept reality.     What we need to do is communicate better, and we can't really do this is we have 'in your face' mistakes, mistakes that are usually sorted out in primary school. The trouble these days is that children, and adults read very little, and what is read often lacks any kind of intellectual challenge.    Life is short, and we as humans are programmed to be learning daily.    Using this forum I have gained a lot of knowledge on France & how to live there - useful as that's part of the plan.   Learning and improving my French is part of this plan, but if I can't speak and write English to a reasonable level,  I am unlikely to be able to do the same with French.   Regards tegwini  

http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=bjy65Vl4gbs&NR=1 Rob Roy - this is the clip I was thinking of with people making fools of themselves in a field with some curious cows Regards tegwini

Thank you Tigerfeet Typo - obviously! Regards tegwini

 I am reminded of the BBC's  'The Apprentice'  when the apprentices spent hours trying to work out where to put the apostrophe and phoned all over London, and to seriously senior people. Sad, one wonders how they were supposed to the 'cream of the crop'  ! tegwini

A range of goods was available- sorry if this was not clear, this is correct, the singular subject is matched to the singular verb form.   This is  a very common error. I could not pm back  - the return system would not work for me - sorry! Regards tegwini

It's just occured to me that it is good manners when writing to others to do it as well as possible.  That's not asking for much, quite apart from the fact that language is for communication,and errors cause confusion, not communication. tegwini

How about :   'At the end of  the day' ,   &  'sort of'   & loads of other meaningless expressions? tegwini  

Is it just me - am I becoming a grumpy old git,  BUT is there anyone out there like me who really sees red to read & hear poor quality English?  for example :  apostrophe 's'   everywhere !!   when plural, or slap one in if there's an  s  - why not?   or not knowing the difference between there & their using 'of'' instead of have - eg I must of made a mistake, Not knowing the difference between of & off, matching singular/plural subjects with verbs  eg  A range of goods was available, very common this one  And loads more, and you can see such silly errors on the BBC, shop signs (we have a Tony's Pizza's nearby),  loads in the classroom, and last but not least,  lots on this forum.  I don't mean typos, which are obvious, or spelling mistakes which happen to the best of us, but constant  seriously silly & unnecessary mistakes which  make my ears curl! Love to hear your opinion Regards tegwini  

Thanks Quillian - corrected- one-off typo & correct elsewhere. On topic...    there has been lots of interest in the latest elections - more than usual for local elections.    As most of us are so fed up with this useless government people would have voted for anyone to punish them and make them listen. Anyone standing against Red Ken, even Mickey Mouse would have beaten him. tegwini  

thanks RH - I will regards tegwini

'No your not your just being sarcastic '   Quillian (can't as yet use the quotation device).   Should read  No you're not, you're just being sarcastic...  or   No you are not, you are just being sarcastic ... apologies again! tegwini

So sorry Quillian But the teacher in me couldn't see that & not correct it.   Children in yr 3 learn the difference between your & you're.   And, I didn't correct the other errors. Just trying to help! tegwini