EHV_Emmetts

They supplied us with an endless stream of merriment and mirth.

TimR

I'm sure!

Of course, considering your posts here, it is the tourists I feel sorry for...

EHV_Emmetts

On the contrary. The decline in tourism - especially from North American - resulted in me losing my job.

TimR

How very sad.

But of course, it doesn't pay to mock and insult those who are signing your checks. Something about biting the hand that feeds you...?

No doubt you will find other channels for your talents...There must be other unsuspecting groups of gullible fools who get it into their heads to visit Britain and hire tour guides? The Chinese are doing rather well, these days, aren't they?

john audley

DDM quotation: 'ten per cent of British population do not know where France is And earler quotation '30 per cent do not know anything about the Euro (Personally I would prefer 100 per cent)

'You should be kind to us normals, there are not many of us left you know'!

CaptainWaggett

Am I alone in liking a lot of new Americanisms? I use 'awesome' in both speech and internet writing and I do use (along with most of my friends, none of us Young People), Friends-speak like 'that's so not' and 'could that be more...?'. English as a language as always changed and adopted words and phrases from other languages - why not from our cousins on the other side of the pond?

john audley

I have no complaint really about American accent it certainly makes certain songs sound better or why does Cliff Richard sing with a mid-Atlantic accent (like so many others).
No, what I do find a bit grating is this 'little Leo' style of speaking with a higher pitch
that is now fast catching on over here. Bob Mitcham, Bert Lancaster, Charlton Heston all had deep deep masculine voices. The general sound emitted now is as if a gas has been applied!
Then we have this trend on the screen and on TV to over act and shake heads from side to side and wave arms around. Oh, for the days of minimalist actions.

'You should be kind to us normals, there are not many of us left you know'!

john audley

I might agree with you old chap but according to reports here you guys in charge of
Brit - visitation - to the US are making it very very difficult with rules and regs.

'You should be kind to us normals, there are not many of us left you know'!

Steve Crook

Yes, but the ones I mentioned are real facts, not "facts" made up by the Daily Hate Mail

The National Geographic used to run a "geography bee". A contest for schoolchildren to test their geographic knowledge. There would be various rounds of the competition with the winners going through to the State finals and the winners of those going to the national finals and getting a nice trip to Washing, D.C. (where the National Geographic lives).

The final winner was declared to have the best geographic knowledge of any schoolchild in the United States and would win a trip to somewhere like Europe where they would enter a competition against children from lots of other countries - and the American child would always come an embarrassing last place hardly being able to answer a single question once the standard had been raised to that used by children from the rest of the world.

It doesn't say much for the standard of teaching geography, but many Americans have no idea where anywhere is outside their own State (or even their own County)

Steve

john audley

No argument Steve but what can we believe about much really (from any newspaper). America is still isolationistic with a simplistic idea about the planet and its cultures. They are three thousand miles from Europa and eight thousand miles from the Far East in the other direction - only thee per cent have passports and I assume they would need one to visit Canada/Mexico (?)

'You should be kind to us normals, there are not many of us left you know'!

batman

Is there no escape from f--king Daily Mail .....

"Boom boom a baby .... Banham Zoo .... Banana pants! Hahahaha"

TimR

Your information about having passports is false. About one quarter of the US population hold passports: 26%, not 3%. Passports were not required for Canada until last September.

http://http://www.hotelmarketing.com...sports_issued/

I am not going to do battle with the comment that we are "simplistic". Some of this stuff really is way over the top - impossible to fight, and I would need reinforcements.

TimR

You too?

Outside their own state? You know this is false.

I would have expected much better from you, both in tone and content.

john audley

Not guilty Bats! I always say DDM

'You should be kind to us normals, there are not many of us left you know'!

john audley

My sincere apologies my American cousin! I only know what I read in the newspapers here - probably as reliable as yours. Although you do say that Passports are now needed for Canada one must assume this to be a big location for Americans to visit? (I have seen that great episode of Fraiser when the crew go to Canada and Daphne
will not be allowed back into the States - fabulous stuff) so, has there been a big upsurge since this requirement for Passport aps.

I do not blame you for being 'isolationist' (if this be the case) I wish we were more so here. Personally I would rather be 22 miles off the American coast than the French coast

'You should be kind to us normals, there are not many of us left you know'!