Well it finally happened......

(photo credit)

After now living longer in Canada than Britain when we went back in January I had trouble understanding the local accent.  Okay my hearing isn't as sharp as it should be; but that Carlisle accent had me just plain confused.

I was standing in line in a fish and chip shop and it was a heck of a line, right outside of the door.  The guy behind me recognized someone further back in the line and struck up a conversation.  The guy had a thick Carlisle/Cumbrian accent and although I did get part of the conversation, "haven't seen you in a long time, thought you were mad at us," the rest was a mystery.  When I got to the counter I asked what something was.  The lady explained to me and I nodded; she went to serve another customer; while I turned to the lady in front of me and said "what did she just say."  Turned out it's some sort of "patty" which is mashed potato, cheese and onion, coated in batter and deep fried.  Looked good, but had to have plain old fish and chips.  Which by the way had me up all night with chronic heartburn!!

I was in a book store in Carlisle and they had a number of things including cards that had Cumbrian Dialect on them.  One said "Yur Deed Clever."  All I could think of is why is it that you are dead and that you are clever?  Dh then pointed out it was to congratulate someone on passing an exam, "You're very clever!!  I don't use the Cumbrian language as much anymore, although I do for the most part understand it.  Here is a link to words that are used in Cumbria.

I do use the word MAM for mother.  Never called her anything else.  After going through that list of words, I see I do slip in a Cumbrian word here and there it seems.  I slip back into the dialect more when I talk to my dad or in a group of people who are from the area.  The kids understand it but speak with a totally Canadian accent.  Their partners occasionally have a confused look on their faces.

At Christmas I had been talking to my  (I pronounce it ME instead of my) mam on the phone and then went to have our Christmas lunch.  I then asked who wanted pudding.  The partners thought we were having chocolate pudding, what I meant to have said who wants dessert; I had forgotten to switch back to speaking the Canadian way.

For anyone from the North of England I found this site with cards that are written in the local dialect.

For the rest of you:

"aas gay thrang, so aas best be gan"

translation: I am very busy, so I had better be going.

See you tomorrow!!

Gassy or Fart? Bathroom or Toilet?

When I open my mouth to speak, it's obvious I wasn't born in Canada; same with my dh and my dad.  When the kids start talking they are Canadian through and through.  The only way you would know they were British is by some of the words they use.  However there are certain Canadian expressions I prefer to use though rather than the British versions; and one of them is "gas or gassy."  I personally find the word "FART" not a pleasant word.  No idea why, just don't like using that word

Being gassy sounds more ladylike than saying farting in my books.  Breaking wind isn't an expression used over here, pumping is I think more of a British word, I will say trumpeting now and then, but "gassy" is my all time favourite word.

However for me being gassy can also mean I will burp as well.  I am especially gassy after I have had a carbonated drink like Cola.  Carbonated drinks make me burp something rotten, so I rarely drink them.  Again it's not ladylike to be able to burp the full alphabet after drinking a can of pop, now is it!!

I also like to say I am going to the bathroom rather than going to the toilet.  I think if you say bathroom, it sorts of give's the whole situation an air of mystery as to what you are exactly going to do.  Whereas if you're going to the toilet, well you're using the toilet...

Finally one other Canadian custom we have embraced is taking your shoes off when you go into a house.  It always horrifies me now when people walk into a house with their dirty great shoes on and walk all over your clean carpet?  Now in our case it doesn't matter as we have wood floors which are generally freezing cold.  However any house we visit that has a carpet on the floor, we immediately take off our shoes, unless the place looks dirty..........

(Mental note to oneself, if I visit a house of someone who reads this blog and don't take my shoes off, they will think I think their house is dirty now, so must remember to take off my shoes!!)

Finally, something I find funny.  Dd works for an international company and often they have conference calls with people around the world.  For some reason whomever they deal with in Britain must have a stronger accent that all dd co-workers have trouble understanding.  Meanwhile dd is chit chatting away to him no problem, while the other's sit there with a puzzled expression!!  She translates as the meeting progresses!!

A man was driving along the highway, and saw a rabbit hoping across the middle of the road. He swerved to avoid hitting the rabbit, but unfortunately the rabbit jumped in front of the car and was hit. The driver, being a sensitive man as well as an animal lover, pulled over to the side of the road and got out to see what had become of the rabbit.



Much to his dismay, the rabbit was dead. The driver felt so awful be began to cry.


A woman driving down the highway saw the man crying on the side of the road and pulled over. She stepped out of her car and asked the man what was wrong.


"I feel terrible," he explained. "I accidentally hit this rabbit and killed it."


The woman told the man not to worry. She knew what to do. She went to her car trunk and pulled out a spray can. She walked over to the limp, dead rabbit, and sprayed the contents of the can onto the rabbit.


Miraculously, the rabbit came to life, jumped up, waved its paw at the two humans and hopped down the road. Fifty feet away the rabbit stopped, turned around, waved at the two again, hopped down the road another 50 feet, turned, waved, and hoped another 50 feet.


The man was astonished. He couldn't figure out what substance could be in the woman's spray can! He ran over to the woman and demanded, "What was your spray can? What did you spray onto that rabbit?"


The woman turned the can around so that the man could read the label. It said: "Hare Spray Restores Life to Dead Hare. Adds Permanent Wave."

I groaned at that last line!!

Did you remember to put your money in your Daily Savings Pot today?

Today's Money Saving Tip:

Give up expensive habits, like cigarettes, alcohol, and drugs. Those habits cause money to flow away from you with nothing in return. Call up your fortitude and work hard to kick the habits and you’ll find that money staying in your pocket instead of burning up and floating away.

I don't do any of those things, she says as she shines her halo!!