Flying in to Cairo several hours later than expected(Air France on strike had to go via Amsterdam instead of Paris), to find the expected minibus to take us down to Hurghada to connect with a dive boat, had cleared off. We sat on our cases being leered at by random men wandering up and down. One of our party had an American Express card and managed to get enough cash out (at midnight) to hire another minibus to get us there. Two drivers, nearly had us in a ditch in the dark in the desert, arrived in Hurghada for breakfast. The Dive boat crew were panicking about a group of lost divers. They knew we had left Heathrow, just no idea where we were after that. (No mobiles in those days, 1994). I was so ill on that holiday I needed another to get over it. Brilliant diving, dreadful food and boat. Toilets en route going back to Cairo smelt so bad all the men went behind the bus on one side, and the women on the other. I took three Imodium and crossed my legs. Going back we got ripped off at the pyramids. Most disappointing to find that rather than out in the desert, they are right up against the slums of Cairo. Then we were landed at Beauvais freight terminal and bussed to Paris Charles de Gaulle airport, to see our connection taking off without most of the passengers.The check in woman at Air France wanted us to pay again as we had missed our flight. ?**f!!! Finally arrived back nearly 24 hours late.
I acutally don't like flying at all. Managed to skillfully avoid it for many years. Nothing to do with fear of crashing, I am very clausrophobic, and the biggest plane is far too small, they won't let me stop for a break or open the windows, very unreasonable, I think, I used to get by with diazepam from the GP. One year we went to Funchal, Madera. When the plane landed everyone (apart from me that us!!) clapped and cheered. Couldn't understand why. I hadn't see the video. Was pretty terrifying going to Cyprus. No passports anymore, not been away for 10 years.
We should have been going to Fiji next month. T'other half was offered a job there for two weeks as part of a Cambridge Uni research expedition. I was going to carry equipment and be the safety diver. When the leader of the expedition suggested booking all the tickets in February I suggested holding back a couple of months to see how it panned out.
Maybe next year.
I feel sorry for that single bloke who won the eurosquillions at the start of lockdown. So many places to go and do that he basically can't.
I'm a bit behind here... sorry, had 83 posts to read on this thread...Â
Reverting to grammar / use of English, my uncle, who was a (somewhat eccentric) head teacher, used "I shall drown! No-one will save me!" to illustrate the difference in meaning between "shall" and "will", when teaching in the 1960s. (The swimmer drowns, having effectively forbidden anyone to rescue him.) I suspect these nuances of meaning have largely disappeared, except in legal documents where "shall" still has legal weight, I believe.Â
I was taught that "might" implied present or future possibility, whereas "may" implied permission. "Please may I leave the table?" "It might be sunny tomorrow." "May" is used for present or future events only - so that you should say "might have been" rather than "may have been". I know it shouldn't irritate me when others operate by different rules, but it does...
The word which makes me smile when used with its American rather than its English meaning, is "momentarily". "We shall be landing momentarily at Manchester airport" means to me "for a moment", not "in a moment". Bouncing off the runway and going somewhere more interesting instead, perhaps? Â
Many years ago I was in a meeting where somebody said "Can I do so and so" to which my boss replied "You can but you may not"Â The person who had asked the question didn't understand the reply so my boss explained the difference between the two words very gently and slowly as if speaking to a 5 years old.Â
Many years ago I was in a meeting where somebody said "Can I do so and so" to which my boss replied "You can but you may not"Â The person who had asked the question didn't understand the reply so my boss explained the difference between the two words very gently and slowly as if speaking to a 5 years old.Â
we used to ahve a teacher in primary school who'd answer that question by saying: Â "Â "can" is a question of ability"Â
However gently he explained it, there is no excuse for humiliating someone because of their grammatical errors.
The person being corrected was another manager who simply wouldn't accept that he wasn't allowed do what he wanted to do at the time he wanted to do it. That is the reason my manager needed to explain the difference. I don't think you would have found anybody in the actual meeting who didn't appreciate this person finally being silenced.
The last time I drove to an airport was last December - a pitstop to pick up my once a year GW magazine with the calendar - on the way to fetch Possum who'd travelled by bus from Brussels to Nantes for the Xmas hols.  I gave my annual air miles "allowance" to @Busy-Lizzie when she and her OH bought their cottage in Norfolk and have no plans to fly for quite some time to come.
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Many years ago I was in a meeting where somebody said "Can I do so and so" to which my boss replied "You can but you may not"Â The person who had asked the question didn't understand the reply so my boss explained the difference between the two words very gently and slowly as if speaking to a 5 years old.Â
 " "can" is a question of ability"Â