On 6 January 1941, in his State of the Union address, US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt proposed four fundamental freedoms that people everywhere in the world ought to enjoy: 1. Freedom of speech and expression 2. Freedom of worship 3. Freedom from want 4. Freedom from fear Is Switzerland enjoying these freedoms? The Swiss media… Continue reading The four freedoms
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The glory departed
Every time I read about English King Henry VIII I have great difficulty feeling sympathy towards the man, a lustful harsh egotistical king who married six times for the purpose of securing a male heir to the throne, severed England from the Roman Catholic Church and dissolved monasteries for financial gain. To be fair, there… Continue reading The glory departed
Gold and orange / triumph and tragedy
Day Three in England…a full day…a knife to the throat…the gold of victory…the first port of a legend… Last year, prior to my best pal’s wedding, we arranged to have a barbershop shave to ensure that no five-o’clock shadow faces would cloud the perfect nuptial day. Iain thought it might be a lark to have… Continue reading Gold and orange / triumph and tragedy
The Queen is dead, long live the Queen
Rule Two regarding life in England: The press is generally horrid. I have only been on English soil two days and already the press exasperates me. I rarely see people buy newspapers as they either subscribe online or they read the free newspapers found at any rail or Tube station. The free paper Metro, suitable… Continue reading The Queen is dead, long live the Queen
Sounds and signs in discord
One of the greatest difficulties with English language teaching is trying to explain why English words with similar spellings can have such different sounds. Compare for example words like though(th-oh), through (thr-oo), thorough (thur-oh) and tough (tuff). Or why words with different spellings have the same sound, like to, too and two. And there are… Continue reading Sounds and signs in discord
Sympathy for the dialect
Every nation has its faux pas – things that you shouldn´t talk about or joke about…EVER. For example, don´t call a New Zealander “an envious Aussie”, or a Canadian “a wannabe American”, unless you like your tires flattened. Don´t call la Manche the English Channel when you are in Paris or call the French “brie-eating surrender… Continue reading Sympathy for the dialect
The struggle to share
Two very good friends of mine shared their experiences with me today… One friend told me of the death of another. My second friend related the excitement of a journey she had been on recently. Words always seem to fail at moments such as these when the experience is not one you are sharing. Death has visited… Continue reading The struggle to share
A sense of accomplishment (my favourite SOB)
I know that I am probably not alone in this – “Why can´t you be more like (Insert name here.)?” – situation. I am certain that there are, or have been, people in your life who seem to shine brighter than those around them. They radiate success, confidence, achievement and accomplishment, and are the envy of… Continue reading A sense of accomplishment (my favourite SOB)
The Church of Woman
If I were a cynical person (in my moments of semi-lucidity), there would be moments wherein I would think that women have the greatest con going on in existence with men being the sheep being fleeced. A man is a human being who works. He is given little or no choice in the matter. Any… Continue reading The Church of Woman
The profundity of profanity
Profanity is defined by Merriam-Webster as “offensive words or language”. It is also called bad language, strong language, coarse language, foul language, bad words, vulgar language, lewd language, swearing, cursing, cussing, or using expletives, what is generally considered to be very impolite, rude or offensive. It can show a debasement of someone or something, or show… Continue reading The profundity of profanity