Canny lass

No. I mean that you haven't answered my questions. You have merely skirted around them.

.... and me! better late than never as the saying goes.

chummings, onsetters, dish, kip, timber-leading, caunches"! I thought you'd taken to writing in greek for a minute!

Thanks for this detailed description, HPW.

Using the quote system worked fine until I tried to post a quote and got a repeat of my first quote. That's why I wrote "Sorry! I don't know how this happened! Move on to the next post to follow the discussion". Unfortunately, after that, the same thing happened on every quote I tried to make using 'the system'. The 'system only repeated the same qoute and post every time. I solved the problem by painstakingly writing out every quote. Look again. My replies are ALL outside of the quoted text. The quoted text is that text inside the quotation marks - you know those double inverted commas that mark the beginning and end of just a quote. Just saying.

I think you misunderstood my question. I asked that you give me the SOURCE of the definition. I did not ask that you expound, once again, another of your home-spun philosophies. A refugee is: a person who has Sorry! I don't know how this happened! Move on to the next post to follow the discussion.

I think you misunderstood my question. I asked that you give me the SOURCE of the definition. I did not ask that you expound, once again, another of your home-spun philosophies. A refugee is: a person who has been forced to leave his country, home etc and seek refuge, esp from political or religious persecution". The source for that definition, in this instance, is the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. The attrubute 'true' according to the same source means "agreeing with correct principles or accepted standards". No mention anywhere of temporary, minded to return from whence they came, peoples mind set, imposing of lunacy or taking holidays in the home country - or anywhere else for that matter. So, I'm asking you once again for the SOURCE of the definition you gave. I see nothing of common sense in the definition.

I am not commenting on semantic correctness. Neither am I a "stickler" for it. My speciality is syntax. It reveals far more about the way a person thinks than does semantics. I am not a jot interested in which definitions of ghetto two Burnley ladies would recognise. Two Burnley ladies are not involved in this discussion. You and I are. I would still like an answer to the question. Have you taken the trouble to inflect the word ghetto to produce ghettoise then you clearly have an understanding of what the word means. I am politely asking you to share your understanding of the word with me. Let me make it easy for you. Most dictionaries give two descriptions of the semantic content of the word ghetto. Here they are: 1. Historically, the Jewish quarter of a city. 2. A part of a city lived in by any minority national social group, typically crowded and with poor housing conditions. Which one best fits the picture you have?

I have looked at most of them. I don't see any great differences: High rise offices, -hotels, -housing and -places of worship (bell towers, minnarets and the likes). Places of worship have long been part of the British culture. Take Stonehenge, just as an example. Worship is an integral part of religion and in Britain we - and everybody else - has a legal right to practice their own religion so it stands to reason there will be different places of worship. Therefore, no part of British culture has been replaced. Worrying about the safety of your children does not belong to culture. It belongs to parenthood. The majority of parents, regardless of their religious persuasion, have concerns about their children's safety - from all sorts of things. British tolerance? Is that really part of British culture and if so has it been replaced?

You are imposing your own incapabilities on the entire British nation! "Many of them were already british citizens". HELLO! A british citizen can NOT seek asylum in his own country which makes the term "genuine refugee" sound just a tad comical. Many Syriens are better educated than some of us British and speaking good English on arrival has never been a condition of entry to Britain. As for the "belief set" - If it's Islam you are referring to it doesn't require the elimination of all other belief sets either. "Supressed figures"? If you know they are being supressed you clearly have inside info on the real figures. Let's see them - with their source, please.

The word you used was "ghettoise" (25 Dec 2015) but let's not split hairs. My argument now, as was then , is that the root of 'ghettoise' is 'ghetto' and therefore your understanding of the word ghetto was relevant to the discussion. It still is, so that question stands waiting to be answered. I look forward to it.

We've had a 'Sharia court' in England as long as I can remember. In my younger days it was called Marriage Guidance Council. You know the place where would-be divorcees were sent to try and come to some agreement about who gets what. It's no different today.

I could probably help you with that Eggy.

Have another beer Brian! You're gears need more oil!

No apology needed 3g. My own theory on the use of palari by the likes of Williams in the 60's was that it was a testing of the waters, a guaging of reactions. Let's not forget that palari was the language not only of actors but also of other sub cultures, mostly prostitutes and homosexuals, as a 'secret' language was necessary to avoid being 'found out.' At the beginning of the 60's discussion of a bill to decriminalize homosexuality was in full swing in parliament. It was a hot topic but homosexuality was still very much illegal and under cover. That lasted until 1967 when it became legal - to a degree. 'Coming out of the closet' was a big step for many who had been born with a condition which was deemed not to adhere to the 'norm'. Missing toes and big noses didn't either adhere to the norm. The difference, however, was that missing toes and big noses were, for some reason, never made illegal. Williams et al went a long way in allowing homosexuals to judge the reactions of those around them before making the decision to step out of the closet. Williams et al did this in a way that was humorous and using the now famous double entendre.This made talking about a taboo subject much easier. It also gave them a 'way out' when the opposition was screaming abuse. It was, after all, up to each and everyone to read into the word 'gay' exactly what they wished.

I think you may just have missed the point of Williams' humour. He was a master of the 'double entendre'. Williams played with the word in several of its meanings - including - often - the meaning of homosexuality, Already in the 17th century the Oxford Dictionary gives a secondary meaning with sexual connotations "licentious and wanton". In the 19th century it was the term of preference for female prostitutes and by 1935 the English language had the term 'gay cat' for a homosexual boy. Around 1950, 'gay' starts to turn up with the meaning homosexual male although long before that it was being widely used by the gay community when referring to themselves.

If it's the meaning of "gay" you are referring to then you'd have to go back to long before your lifetime to find it with the meaning 'mirthful or merry' - to the 13th century in fact. Later, in the 14th century it came to mean 'bright coloured or showy' and in the 17th century it took on yet another meaning - 'dissipated'. At that time, 'dissipated meant 'to distract the mind' or 'to divert frivolously'. Need I say more?

Eggy, Nr. 13 on the school photo could be Kenneth MacDonald, my brother-in-law (now dead) but I'm not 100% on it. Run it past Joan, as she is in the same class, the name might ring a bell.

Thanks ex.Bed. I loved The Godfather! I'll try and find out where it is.

Does this mean I could put it on at the beginning of my week and that's it? Doesn't come off in the shower, sea or swimming pool! Sounds good to me! Another week before i go, Maggie. Everything arranged att short notice so no preparation, otherwise I'd have been gleaning as much information as possible on Internet and in books. We are two 'old ladies' with a return ticket, a rented car, one pre-booked hotel night and an open mind. We'll take it from there!

It's funny you should say that, ex Bed., the forestry workers here swear by it! I might give it a try.

Thanks ex Bedlingtonian! I'll put the Villa Romana del Casale on my agenda. Etna was already on it as it, and the Maffia, amount roughly to my total knowledge of Sicily. 3G - "the English drink too much" is an infinitely better reputation than that of the Scandinavians who, according to the spanish, "drink to get drunk". I'll do my best to avoid both by behaving sensibly! Good advice on mozzies. I'll see that I'm "well-oiled", so to speak. Not too worried about Zika though. My chances of becoming pregnant are zero.