Posted by John Birch on August 15, 2000 at 12:37:47 from m827-mp1-cvx1a.big.ntl.com:
In Reply to: Re: Picts and Martyrs posted by Ian E-N on August 04, 2000 at 18:42:28:
How are we doing?
No. 3 - just to add my tuppence on sago. Utterly disgusting white gunk from the time when choice at school dinner time (be it borading or day-school) was "like it or lump it". Actually with sago you often got both at the same time. Better levened with jam. Lots of jam.
Tapioca aka "frog spawn" as I remember. Sago seemed to look and taste like finely ground frog spawn.
Probably now used (being as modern children get a choice at dinner time!!!) predominently to paste wallpaper to walls (very similar consistency and, for all I know taste) or the lumps could be useful for filling roads.
No. 10. How old of Dick? Now I came across the words "Quantitative" and "Qualitative" at secondary (in fact grammar) school - and probbaly a very similar school in style to Dick's - by the age of 12/13 at worst (we are talking 1970s here). In the 30s it is quite possible that Dicks would have at least a passing understanding of the words... which also sound terribly impressive and exactly what a scientifically minded child of that age would say - even if he did not fully understand - because they would sound right. I think AR here is spot on with his observation of child-language.
No. 11 I think people are being overly pessimistic here. In a rural area with few visitors (away from Rio tourists seem unheard of) this would not be unusual - even (dare I say it) today.
No. 12 As someone who spent his schooldays in North Lancashire and his sporting summers in the South Lakeland Cricket League I vouch for the fact that in June/July it never really gets trully dark at all (unless it is cloudy). I've played cricket in a friends back garden until at least 11pm around the sumer solstice, and gone for (slightly drunken) strolls in the country at around midnight and still there has been a slight glow on the horizon. Actually, now living in Herts., it is amazing how much difference a couple of hundred miles makes.
No. 14 Beck = small stream, tarn = small lake, fell = hill (or small mountain), scree = scree - perfectly good geological term for pile of small rocks at the foot of a mountain.
BTW - oldie but goodie here not unconnected with this "oddity" - how many lakes are there in the Lake District (anyone frm the NW of England banned from anwsering!)
No. 16. Just "What her eyes doen't see her heart can't grieve over." with appropriate fish-related additions.
No. 23 Just a thought - I wonder if "hen" here is not a dialect survival of Welsh (ie. "hen = old"). Maybe not. A better explanationwould be a hen pokeing its nose around into things that don't concern it, getting in the way, squarking a lot, etc. Midden = dung heap.
No. 25 Would these lines be PC in the UK? I must say that they still read fine to me.
No. 26 Dick is a scientist. Scientists are accurate. So Dick must be (or appear to be) accurate. So he is. Again well observed child behaviour.
No. 28 nebs = nose. (ut = it, obviously)
No. 30 Now all the nicest houses seem to be owned by the National Trust as a result of death duties and other unheard of concepts in the 1930s....
No. 32 I have written about this elsewhere. I think any one of the Ss, As or Ds had attempted undue modesty they would have been on the receiving end of a volley of other dialect specials, of which "right Jessie" would probably have been the more printable!