Messymascot's faith in humanity and ginger safe haven

[Val P]

Me too , I did French , German and Welsh at school but only retained a bit of each and I’ve tried to learn Italian at least three times without success. Mrs bl on the other hand was once a fluent French speaker and teacher and picks up languages quickly , on our first visit to Budapest she was way ahead of me in term of picking up Hungarian words in a few days. Our brains are definitely wired differently !

I think you’re both right in terms of how brains are wired - give me numbers to sort out and I just freeze. My sister who speaks Greek much better than me also taught herself Arabic - she’s the swot of the family- I was the disappointment

 

[blueloon]

I think you’re both right in terms of how brains are wired - give me numbers to sort out and I just freeze. My sister who speaks Greek much better than me also taught herself Arabic - she’s the swot of the family- I was the disappointment

Yep , I do the maths bit in my head, convert euros to £ s while Mrsbl does the foreign conversation

 

[Val P]

Yep , I do the maths bit in my head, convert euros to £ s while Mrsbl does the foreign conversation

Sounds like the perfect pair

 

[anjelikaferrett]

I'm loving all the language stuff. I did French O Level and like Val, the traditional way - nouns, verbs, grammar. I can still read a lot of it. However the best thing I did was Latin O Level - because so many languages have their roots in Latin so you can kind of guess what the words mean of you see them written down. I need to get back to my Italian. Although after listening to our Croke Park guide speaking Gaelic, I fancy having a go at that.

 

[blueloon]

I'm loving all the language stuff. I did French O Level and like Val, the traditional way - nouns, verbs, grammar. I can still read a lot of it. However the best thing I did was Latin O Level - because so many languages have their roots in Latin so you can kind of guess what the words mean of you see them written down. I need to get back to my Italian. Although after listening to our Croke Park guide speaking Gaelic, I fancy having a go at that.

I have a friend who I work with in a training capacity for a voluntary organisation when I visit Inverness and she is a fluent Gaelic speaker having been born on the Isle of Lewis in a Gaelic speaking family. Last month , the night before we helped out on a training course, there was another family she knew in the hotel , it was fascinating to hear them converse in Gaelic. It’s not a language you can easily pick up that’s for sure. I know three people who are currently trying to learn Gaelic, two for nationalistic reasons, but it must be difficult with living in a predominantly non- Gaelic speaking area.

 

[peteblue]

I think you’re both right in terms of how brains are wired - give me numbers to sort out and I just freeze. My sister who speaks Greek much better than me also taught herself Arabic - she’s the swot of the family- I was the disappointment

I went to an all boys Jesuit grammar school where we were taught Latin, French Spanish etc. if I ever got more than 5% in the exams then I was doing well. I ended up doing a deal with the Spanish Master whereby I’d sit at the back and study Maths, Physics etc and the rest did Spanish. It worked for me. My daughter in law from Romania was fluent in half a dozen languages but for me it was like having a ‘no entry’ sign attached to my brain. We are all different and the main lesson I took from all of this was ‘be the best at what you are good at’ …….

 

[Val P]

I'm loving all the language stuff. I did French O Level and like Val, the traditional way - nouns, verbs, grammar. I can still read a lot of it. However the best thing I did was Latin O Level - because so many languages have their roots in Latin so you can kind of guess what the words mean of you see them written down. I need to get back to my Italian. Although after listening to our Croke Park guide speaking Gaelic, I fancy having a go at that.

We had to chose between Latin and German so I went for German, but I guess Latin is a bit like Greek - so many of our current words relate to one or the other. I always find it handy in quizzes for that reason

 

[Val P]

My face last year . This always makes me laugh

 

[Armaghtoffee]

I couldn’t possibly comment.

 

[Armaghtoffee]

Happy St Piran’s Day!

@Barnfred 55

 

[blueloon]

We had to chose between Latin and German so I went for German, but I guess Latin is a bit like Greek - so many of our current words relate to one or the other. I always find it handy in quizzes for that reason

We had something similar, it was an all boys Grammar School , when we were graded for 2nd year top class had Latin, us in second class had German as a new and innovative choice , third class was back to Latin , can’t remember what 4th , 5th had. In 1980 I was hitchhiking from Switzerland to Sweden through Germany and wanted to stay at a campsite so launched into my best German to the female owner of the site who replied “ You’re British! You don’t have to speak German to me , I’m from London “.

 

[Barnfred 55]

Happy St Piran’s Day!

@Barnfred 55

Another Irish man raiding our coastline.

Sadly the old custom of handing out free parties today seems to have died out.

 

[Barnfred 55]

Stocking up at a Chinese supermarket

What gave it away?

 

[Barnfred 55]

And there's me thinking that Mattas was Freds go to ethnic food store.

Used to be my favourite shop. Sadly it doesn't stock the 2 items in particular that I just can't get down here.

 

[bigjonny]

What gave it away?

Anj suggested you were going to a restaurant and when you said she was close I thought of that place next to the Yuet Ben , if it’s still there. I know you enjoy your cooking.