As you know, it's a mad
world. Especially in the UK's ("Envy of the world") British
National Health Service (NHS). While 80,000 applicants a year can't find
places on nursing courses, thousands of nurses are being recruited
from overseas. In particular, it turns out, from Spain. The suspicion
is that this is because it costs the NHS 3 times more to train a nurse
than it costs them to recruit a foreign one.
Talking of hospitals .
. . Young Brits, it seems, are turning to the Spanish model of GP
consultation - they're not bothering to try to get an appointment
with their doctor but are going straight to the the Emergency
Department of their nearest hospital. In Spain, the consequence of
this is that the Urgencias are huge, crowded and slow. But at least
you see a doctor (or 3, all with the same questions) within a few
hours and any necessary tests will be done while you wait. Who can
blame anyone, though I'd be more impressed if I ever saw anyone
reading a book or magazine while they wait. Rather than just chatting
to the 2 or 3 relatives that came along. But whatever rocks your
boat, I guess. And the Spanish do love to talk.
Prices and inflation
continue to decline in Spain. On the surface, this is good news but
the economists say it ain't. For it heralds deflation and its
concomitant reluctance to spend, leading to more layoffs. The good
news is that the European Central Bank is going to tackle this
EU-wide problem by 'pumping liquidity into the financial system'. God
knows what this means but, whether it works or not, we can be sure
the bankers will benefit.
With the oil price at 60 dollars a barrel, it's fascinating to recall that Alex Salmon
predicated Scotland's economic future on twice this price. No
wonder he quit the Scot Nats as quickly as he could. Before he was Roubled.
Talking of nationalists
. . . My daughter went to a tango class in Vigo last night. One of
her partners spoke to her in Gallego and - when told she didn't speak
it - continued to do so. Thus can ideals stupidly override politeness. In contrast, the mayor of Pontevedra speaks only in Gallego to everyone in Pontevedra except me, to whom he does the honour of speaking in Castellano. Lovely man.
You may not know that,
almost inevitably, the Vikings reached Galicia and may even have
established settlements here. There's been little archeological
research, apparently, but the University of Aberdeen has stepped into
the breech and has set up a project. More info here. Maybe I can get
a piece of the action myself.
Finally . . . In 1942,
American UK-bound military personnel were given a leaflet aimed
at helping them understand their strange hosts and fellow combatants.
It makes fascinating (and amusing) reading as it describes a Britain
which now barely exists. I'll be posting sections over coming weeks
and here's the first, the wonderful Glossary. Suffice to say, many of
the British words have since fallen out of use - sometimes completely, sometimes in favour of
the American terms. I've italicised these as best I can. Of
course, I've no idea how many American words were wrong back then or
how many have changed or disappeared over 70 years. Perhaps
someone could let us know. Meanwhile, have fun.
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
aisle (theater) –
gangway
alcohol lamp – spirit
lamp
ale – beer, or bitter
apartment – flat
apartment house –
block of flats
ash can – dust bin
ashman – dustman
atomiser – scent
spray
automobile – motor
car or car
baby carriage –
perambulator, or pram
baggage – luggage
baggage car – luggage
van
bakery – baker's shop
bathrobe – dressing
gown
bartender – barman,
or pot man
bathtub – bath
battery (automobile) –
accumulator
beach – seaside
beer – lager
bill (money) –
banknote, or note
billboard – hoarding
biscuit – scone, or
tea cake
bouncer – chucker
out
bowling alley –
skittle alley
broiled (meat) –
grilled
business suit –
lounge suit
call up – ring up
candy (hard) – boiled
sweets
candy store – sweet
shop
cane – stick
can opener – tin
opener, or key
carom (billiards) –
cannon
chain store –
multiple shop
check baggage –
register luggage
checkers (game) –
draughts
chicken yard – fowl
run
cigarette butt –
cigarette end
closed season (for
game) – close season
conductor – guard
closet – cupboard
coal oil – paraffin
collar button –
collar stud
cookie – biscuit
cop – bobby
corn – maize, or
Indian corn
cornmeal - Indian
meal
cotton (absorbent) –
cotton wool
cracker – biscuit
(unsweetened)
daylight saving time –
summer time
deck (of cards) –
pack
derby (hat) – bowler,
or hard hat
dessert – sweet
dishpan – washing-up
bowl
drawers (men's) –
pants
druggist – chemist
drugstore – chemist's
shop
drygoods store –
draper's shop
elevator – lift
fender (automobile) –
wing, or mudguard
fish dealer –
fishmonger
five-and-ten (store) –
bazzar
floorwalker –
shopwalker
frame house – wooden
house
fruit seller –
fruitierer
fruit store –
fruterier's
fresh fruit – dessert
(at the end of a meal)
french fried potatoes –
chips
freight car – goods
wagon
garters (men's) –
sock suspenders
gasoline or gas –
petrol
gear shift (automobile)
– gear lever
generator (automobile)
– dynamo
ground wire (radio) –
earth wire
guy – bloke, fellow
haberdashery – men's
wear
hardware –
ironmongery
headliner (vaudeville)
– topliner
highball – whiskey
and soda
hood (automobile) –
bonnet
huckster – coster
or hawker
hunting – shooting
ill, sick – ill,
poorly
instalment plan –
hire-purchase system, or hire system
intermission –
interval
janitor – caretaker,
or porter
junk – rubbish
lawyer – solicitor
legal holiday – bank
holiday
line up – queue up
living room – sitting
room
lobby (theater) –
foyer, or entrance hall
long distance
(telephone) – trunks
low gear (automobile) –
first speed
mail a letter – post
a letter
mail box – pillar box
marriage certificate –
marriage lines
molasses – black
treacle
monkey wrench – screw
spanner
movie house – cinema
movies – flicks
mucilage – gum
muffler (automobile) –
silencer
necktie – tie
newsstand – kiosk
oatmeal (boiled) –
porridge
oil pan (automobile) –
sump
okay – righto
orchestra seats –
stalls
package – parcel
pebbly beach –
shingle
phonograph –
gramophone
pie (fruit) – tart
pitcher – jug
poolroom – billiards
saloon
potato chips – crisps
private hospital –
nursing home
push cart - barrow
race track – race
course
radio – wireless
railway car – railway
carriage
raincoat –
mackintosh, or mac, or waterproof
roadster (automobile) –
two-seater
roast (of meat) –
joint
roller coaster –
switchback railway
rolling grasslands –
downs
round trip – return
trip
roomer – lodger
rooster – cock, or
cockerel
rubbers – galoshes
rumble seat – ****ey
[????]
run (in a stocking) –
ladder
saloon – public
house or pub
scallion – spring
onion
scrambled eggs –
buttered eggs
second floor – first
floor
sedan (automobile) –
saloon car
sewerage (house) –
drains
shoestring –
shoelace, or bootlace
shot (athletics) –
weights
shoulder (of road) –
verge
rubberneck wagon –
char-a-banc
silverware – plate
slacks – bags
sled – sledge
smoked herring –
kipper
soda biscuit (or
cracker) – cream-cracker
soft drinks –
minerals
spark plug – sparking
plug
spigot (or faucet) –
tap
squash – vegetable
marrow
stairway – staircase,
or stairs
string bean – French
bean
store – shop
subway – underground
sugar bowl – sugar
basin
suspenders (men's) –
braces
sweater – pull-over
syrup – treacle
taffy – toffee
taxi stand – cab
rank
telegram – wire
tenderloin (of beef) –
under-cut, or fillet
ten pins – nine
pins
thumb tack – drawing
pin
ticket office –
booking office
toilet – lavatory,
closet
top (automobile) –
hood
transom (of door) –
fanlight
trolley – tram
truck – lorry
undershirt – vest, or
singlet
union-suit –
combinations
vaudeville – variety
vaudeville theatre –
music hall
vest – waistcoat
vomit – be sick
washbowl – washbasin
washrag – face cloth
washstand – wash-hand
stand
water heater – geyser
window shade – blind
"you're
connected" – "you're through" (telephone)
windshield (automobile)
– windscreen
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