Tag: Midlands

Sarcastic humour

Posted on Posted in Memories, UncategorizedTagged , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

I wanted to explain sarcasm, then I saw this sign! British people are quite sarcastic also called ‘sarcy’ ‘taking the pis*’, ‘taking the pee’ ‘taking the mik’or ‘mikky’. We often love to make a sarcastic joke of things. For instance pointing out trump means to fart loudly (break wind) in this country. We find that amusing.

I think some countries just don’t get it, their humour is more literal. That may go to explain why it can be harder to understand each other’s languages and empathise with each other.

Some parts of Britain can be even more sarcastic I think the Midlands are particularly like this? They play with word sounds and make puns and skits that will cause fits of laughter for some but not others. It’s good to have a laugh!

Walsall memory

Posted on Posted in Memories, UncategorizedTagged , , , , , , 3 Comments

I just saw this image on FB and I suddenly realised I recognised it (I think), so I wrote this about it as people were saying it was in Stoke on Trent I disagree and think it’s a place called Chasewater :

I’m from Walsall originally and I think at the bottom of the hill was a crossroads called 5 ways? There was a cycle shop half way along as you went from the Walsall end towards Cannock. (over the chase, towards the Katym memorial) We called in there in the 80s and bought a five speed sturmey archer gear which eventually was sold to a cycle collective in York…. Memories..

Apparently taken in 1966, not sure who the photographer was.

It happened again!

Posted on Posted in Memories, UncategorizedTagged , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

Auroras again. Last night at 2am. Looking West. This is a 60 second exposure taken on my phone camera which stacks images when my phone is set on night exposure. Midlands in England. How can I be so lucky? Never seen them until this year.

How did I know it was happening? I saw the weather forecast again so I decided to look out at midnight, but that photo was mainly blue with grey white splodges. So it was overcast. Then when I looked again just before bed the sky was darker and something seemed to be happening so I took a few photos ( I can’t explain how dim it was and I basically just risked taking a picture.) the main problem is trying to keep the camera still by leaning against something as my Parkinsons is getting more shaky

Tranklements

Posted on Posted in Memories, Sketching, UncategorizedTagged , , , , , , , , , , , 4 Comments

What’s your favorite word?

Tranklements is an old fashioned word meaning bits and bobs, a collection of odds and ends, shiny things like a magpie would collect.

I think it is an old historical word from the Midlands of England. Certainly I’ve only really heard it used in The West Midlands around the Birmingham area. I think its a dialect word.

In context you could say I’m just getting my tranklements together if you wanted to gather your lace making kit or a bag full of knitting stuff. Or bits of costume jewellery, a bag full of paints or makeup.

I like it because it sort of explains what it means just in the sound. It should be used more often!

I can get into the country

Posted on Posted in Memories, UncategorizedTagged , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

What do you love about where you live?

North… Cheshire and Peak District, Staffordshire Moorlands, East – Derbyshire, South- Staffordshire, West – Shropshire and Cheshire. Further West – Wales. Also Stoke-on-Trent has good road links to motorways and A roads. Sometimes they are a little congested, but you can usually get out into the countryside in 10 to 20 minutes. It is interesting because of the variations in geology depending on the direction you take. Farmland and flat land South and West, with the hills of Wales and Shropshire in the distance. North and East hills and moorland including the start of the Pennines.

Stoke-on-Trent is situated in the North Midlands of England, it also has canal and train connections and the local area has many countryside attractions including National Trust properties, historic railways and museums, Alton Towers is nearby and Jodrell Bank observatory is a few miles north west. You can even reach the seaside in Wales or the Wirral in about 80 miles.

Esther’s prompt Home

Posted on Posted in Memories, UncategorizedTagged , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Esther Chiltons weekly prompt was Home.

I’ve posted this to her blog page:

Home
I hear the accent of a fellow midlander and I’m home again. There’s a twang, a sound that I recognise. I tentatively ask them if they will say where they are from. Usually I get a friendly response. Then we discuss where we come from. Either the same town or close by. Memories of town centres, historic areas, parks and zoos. So many things have changed. But hearing a friendly voice takes me back over 40 years to when I left. I can’t go back, my family has all left, homes sold. Only a couple of relatives and friends left and I can’t drive far so it’s out of the question to go. But I’d like to drive down on a nostalgic trip. Some negotiation with friends required as I couldn’t get on a train on my own I don’t think. Anxiety is not a good friend.