The Songstone

Funny thing happened the other day. I was on Skype and the ex was wittering on about something while my son sat there, sighing. Suddenly he put out his hand and clapped it over her mouth. 'Shut up, mummy; my turn now!' She was furious!  'How dare you!' she rasped, while my son blinked, demure and innocent. 'Are you going to do it again?'  He shook his head and she flounced off. 'Now, dad, tell me more about Odysseus.' I had to protest, a little, 'Harry, are you being naughty?' He stuck his tongue into his cheek and grinned, 'Odysseus, dad.' I'll give him one thing. He managed to keep her quiet for five seconds, which is more than I managed to do in five years. Kids these days...

Language Log , which for some incomprehensible reason I had not thoroughly explored before now, is one of the most informative and funniest sites around; not only the articles, but the banter below. This article on an escaped chimp in Kansas City and this one  on leaf blowers are two recent examples. No one will be surprised to learn that I made a fool of myself on John Wells's phonetic blog by suggesting that /əʊ/ might exist in Italian. It doesn't of course, although I was pleased to learn on further reading that /ɔ:/ is higher in Milanese Italian than in the Standard variety, sounding much like /o/. Only 70% wrong then; a triumph. Redbubble is a lovely place for art and writing. So good in fact that I have honoured it by posting some of my verse there (under Simonmh). Another shameless plug: my Facebook writer's page is open to anyone who wants to give it a like, which as you've got this far you may as well; I promise not to...