The New Hobbit Hole

[Corin Stormhands]

sneak...

[RosieCotton]

Mine?

[JenB]

No, you don't...

[JenB]

Good try, Rosie. By the way, good morning to all. That special was disappointing - they found another stone behind the first one. Have they never heard of, oh, RADAR?

Class time again, then to the bank before work. I have to deposit my check in my savings account where it will earn interest... I'm saving for a European vacation this summer. Right now I think I have enough for airplane tickets!

[Corin Stormhands]

Who? Me?

[Corin Stormhands]

No, you don't...

Yes, yes I did.

[RosieCotton]

I miss PBS... :-( I know they have a lot of garbage programs, but I liked some of the documentaries and music shows. I can't seem to pick ANYTHING up in my new house, and I now have a TV bigger than 13" so I can't really just carry it around the house looking for pockets of good reception.

Where are you hoping to go in Europe? I got to travel some while I was over there, but didn't make it to HALF the places I would have liked to visit! Someday I'm at LEAST going to go to Ireland.

[JenB]

England, Scotland, Germany, and Switzerland are the big ones, England and Scotland being my top two. I'd love to see some cities like Vienna, Geneva, Berlin... but we'll see how much time I can take off, and how much money I have, and whether I can get a friend to come along.

[RosieCotton]

I got to go to various places in Germany (where I was stationed), Italy and France. Never made it north of there, which is a real shame! Some of my friends went to Scotland and LOVED it - they stayed at a little bed and breakfast type place and got to meet a lot of locals who helped them get around and told them the good places to go. We did that some in Germany, but there's more of a language barrier (if not much, for some Americans who really aren't used to accents!).

[JenB]

I understand Germans are in general very friendly to tourists. I only speak English and a little Spanish but I figure I can probably get along, with the help of a phrase-book. So many people speak English, and accents aren't really that huge a problem to me. I love Scottish accents, I should go there just for the accents!

[RosieCotton]

Yes, Germans are mostly friendly folk, and most of the younger people speak English - I really didn't learn much German, mostly because I didn't HAVE to.

I love Scottish and Irish accents...it's a weakness of mine, I guess. We had a long discussion with some of the Irish at World Youth Day about that - they were fascinated that Americans (and Canadians) were fascinated by their accents. ;-) Same goes for the Ozzies...they were bewildered by how popular they were!

[JenB]

See, I don't really like Irish accents that well, but Scottish, Aussie, and that "blue-blood Brit" accent, now those are gorgeous. I think I'll skip Ireland, they'd probably hate me for being so English!

[RosieCotton]

See, I don't really like Irish accents that well, but Scottish, Aussie, and that "blue-blood Brit" accent, now those are gorgeous.

OK, you can have the British and I'll take the Irish...we'll just have to fight over the others. ;-) Most British accents don't do a thing for me, maybe because I've watched soooo many British movies and TV shows that they don't seem "special" any more.

I think I'll skip Ireland, they'd probably hate me for being so English!

Ha! Once when I was in Europe (in France, actually) at a sort of military convention, I was talking with a whole gang of Irish military guys and then asked the guy standing next to me where in Ireland HE was from. He looked shocked for a second and said, "Oh, I'M from LONDON!" I apologized, but we both agreed it would have been a MUCH worse situation the other way 'round, i.e. if I'd "accused" an Irishman of being English!

[JenB]

I just think those Brit accents sound so intelligent. That's a pretty funny story!

[RosieCotton]

I just think those Brit accents sound so intelligent.

True. Makes the average American sound a bit boorish, no?

I still like Scots and Irish accents better, though! Do you ever listen to Thistle and Shamrock on NPR? (Yes there are SOME decent things on NPR...) It's a radio show with music of Scotland and Ireland, and the host is Scottish (Fiona Ritchie) - she has a beautiful voice and accent! I like the show as much for her speaking as I do for the music, I admit...

[JenB]

Yeah, I heard that once. Not enough electic guitar ;-) but some very nice bagpipes. Scottish music I prefer to Irish.

[HairOfTheDog]

I like accents too... And I love the command of words that the Brits have. I enjoy watching the House of Commons just to hear them talk.

The airport that I trained at was also used for airline training flights when an airline bought a new plane from Boeing, so we had frequent flights in the area from all over the world, and the accents were fun to listen to on the radio when they communicated with the tower doing "touch and goes".

British Airways and Quantas were of course big favorites. I remember a British Airways pilot requesting a full stop landing, so that he could "look into a bit of trouble we are having". It turns out that one tire on their main gear had a stuck brake, and after their last take off, it was so hot it had caught on fire in the wheel well when they retracted it.

The tower didn't ever know whether to be concerned when they had trouble or not, because they remained so composed, one almost thought they would say "I apologize for causing trouble, but we are going to have a bit of a crash!"

[JenB]

Lol - those reserved English sorts!

By the way, is it just me or is our odd topic list ever-growing?

[HairOfTheDog]

It has grown... I have added a few... The SpongeSneak SpamHands variations are mine.... Say that one isn't bad... I don't think I have used that one!

[SuziQ]

I love Scottish accents, I should go there just for the accents!

The folks in the north of England have an accent similar to a Scottish burr, but it can be very difficult to understand sometimes. We watched the movie "Last Orders" and it was a good movie, but we probably would have enjoyed it if we could have understood it better! And we are used to those types of accents because of all the public TV British type shows we've watched over the years.

I also love the Thistle and Shamrock, but haven't heard it in years! I always forget to go looking for it on Sat. afternoon. Hey Rosie, can you get the Boston NPR stations? Do you know on what channel T & S is played?