What is it with you lesmes/LesReid? (Why would anybody need two accounts?)
You appear to be very agitated. I understand that you feel you’re in a corner with no way out – so would I, if I’d been silly enough to start such a controversial topic and then discover that I’d bitten off more than I could chew. It’s you lesmes/LesReid, and nobody else, who’s put himself in that corner. It’s you, and nobody else, who started this discussion topic. It’s you who haven’t offered any evidence to support your own theory on the missing word (link to the Australian 'report' still hasn't arrived) and it’s you who hasn’t offered any opposition to my theory that the word isn’t missing. Consequently, it’s also you who who’s now left standing with egg on your face – and just in time for Easter.
So you thought this forum was to be a light hearted discussion platform, did you? Had you bothered to do your research (read one or two topics) then you would have seen that all manner of topics are discussed here – some light hearted, some serious and some which drift in and out of both – all with input by people who have a viewpoint to share. Certainly, the discussion can get a bit heated at times but those who don’t like the heat don’t come into the kitchen and they certainly don’t have the stupidity to put a great big pan on the stove when they don’t have anything to put in it.
You tell me to “be a little light hearted on these discussions”. Xenophobia is nothing to be light hearted about. People, that’s human beings like you and I, suffer because of it and we very much need to “be serious about it”. Whether you like or loathe my input is of no interest to me. You are not obliged to read it.
You say you were “hoping this would end on a friendly note”. Let me just point out that it’s not me who’s resorted to name-calling. It’s not me who’s telling people to “get a life”. It’s not me who’s accusing anyone of ‘picking’. I have, despite some sweeping statements, lack of argument and now open displays of hostility from you, endeavoured to maintain a state of decorum befitting this forum. It is, after all, Bedlington’s face to the outside world and to the future generations who read it. I think it’s sad when attempts are made to disfigure it.