I am a British citizen and countless times I have been told that I have a 'posh' accent. At first I was offended, and completely argued against it, deliberately emphasising my rough edges, innit? But I gradually came to terms with my London enunciation. I found joy filling into the English stereotype. I now own a top hat, talk loudly about scones and live with an inexplicable desire to find, and join, a queue. No matter how much you try to fight it, you will eventually become a stereotype of your country in some way or another- it must be something in the water.
Although a small majority aren't, most British people are extremely polite. (and if you don't agree, I'm so, SO very really sorry) I can't possibly be the only one who has ever apologised to a piece of furniture? Own up you know you've done it. I sometimes even say "ow" on their behalf if the chair or table doesn't imediately repond to my crashing into them. Unfortunately this side of a British personality can cause problems in an argument. If someone tries to insult me I will think "your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries!" But instead I'll simply agree with them, say sorry a lot for making eye contact with them, then bow and run away. As well as having politeness powers, this stereotype can make us very giving which unfortunately means we don't get a lot.
With regards to English personality, there are mixed opinions from varying cultures outside of Britain. Some would call us cold and snobbish. I will admit that I can understand why that might be thought, but most of the time it's just plain shyness. I am ashamed to say that around 75% of the time, if I see someone I vaguely know out and about I will pretend that I didn't see them. Now this may seem rude and stuck up but it's an instinctive defense mechanism that goes up. I am very sorry for creating half of a stereotype, but I'm just a scaredy cat when it comes to people. I've also heard other opinions that say the English are typically very friendly and enthusiastic. This has come from the extrovert half of our population, and I have had the odd adrenaline fuelled crazy moment where I will start talking at a stranger to make them be my friend- or else. But I'm glad of this generalisation as we are a rather amiable bunch, aren't we chums?
Finally I will cover the stereotype that most Americans find absolutely fascinating, much to most of our disdain, which is our 'cute' accent. For one thing, not all English people have the same accent! No offense meant, but the Essex accent doesn't exactly scream Aristocrat. What others might consider an upper class voice, is simply one that uses well good grammar like.( I will proudly admit to be a grammar nazi. ) To any Americans reading this- I am not posh. Against your voice I might sound it, but compared to Stephen Fry I'm an East London chav. Although I must admit that it could have its benefits. In America I could commit mass murder and they would let me off with a warning if I said 'pavement' for them in my 'adorable' accent.
I'd best be off up the apples and pears now my good fellows. My crumpets are getting cold and my monacle is misting up from all of the fog. Terribly sorry!
Lots of love, stay freaky! xx
Monday, 28 January 2013
Thursday, 24 January 2013
What lovely weather for a rant together with you..
Picture the scene. It's a brisk winter morning and the skies are grey overhead. I'm sat here cosied up under a fleece blanket, casually scrolling through facebook. Suddenly I hear my family excitedly chattering so I heave myself up and go into the next room to find them with their faces pressed up against the window. They turn to me then point out of the window, speechless. I peer out, squinting before realising with a jolt that it's snowing. We all stare in stunned silence as the delicate flakes gently fall, slowly settling to create an ethereal wonderland. We then all prise ourselves off the pane, chorus "wow, snow!", and then wonder back to whatever it was we were doing- because after all, it is just snow .
I arrived back on facebook only to be bombarded with a sea of text that grew and grew each second I looked at it. "OMG SNOW", "hey guys look- snow", "snoooooow ahahahahaha". Do these people think I live in a hole, and don't have a window to look out of myself? The human race has a complete infatuation with stating the blindingly obvious. Repetedly. On the hottest day of the year, every other statement you hear is "hot today, isn't it?". Well no actually I was rather cold but now that you've cleverly pointed it out to me, gee it sure is hot today isn't it?
Now I'm well and truly into this rant, I may as well continue- why do British people ever complain? In the summer as the thermometers threaten to topple over the twenty degrees mark, all you hear is whining, moaning, and occasional screams of "global warming is coming! The end is nigh!". I'm very sorry that your ice cream has started to melt a bit, but in Egypt it's over fifty degrees right now and their faces are melting. It's the same in winter. The moment the first flake of snow touches the ground people start panic buying for the bare essentials; tinned food, water and marshmallows. My god, an inch of snow? I may never see the grass again. Over in Canada, their sneezes freeze in midair.
Just stop complaining and you might start to see the amazing weather we have. Yes it's unpredictable, but that's the fun of living here- you get to experience all climates in small scale. I think Britain is fantastic and we shouldn't criticise its choices. Just don't get over enthusiastic or you'll turn into one of those people who say "hey look, it's raining! I love the rain," from under their umbrella while you're furiously dripping next to them.
Lots of love, stay freaky! xx
I arrived back on facebook only to be bombarded with a sea of text that grew and grew each second I looked at it. "OMG SNOW", "hey guys look- snow", "snoooooow ahahahahaha". Do these people think I live in a hole, and don't have a window to look out of myself? The human race has a complete infatuation with stating the blindingly obvious. Repetedly. On the hottest day of the year, every other statement you hear is "hot today, isn't it?". Well no actually I was rather cold but now that you've cleverly pointed it out to me, gee it sure is hot today isn't it?
Now I'm well and truly into this rant, I may as well continue- why do British people ever complain? In the summer as the thermometers threaten to topple over the twenty degrees mark, all you hear is whining, moaning, and occasional screams of "global warming is coming! The end is nigh!". I'm very sorry that your ice cream has started to melt a bit, but in Egypt it's over fifty degrees right now and their faces are melting. It's the same in winter. The moment the first flake of snow touches the ground people start panic buying for the bare essentials; tinned food, water and marshmallows. My god, an inch of snow? I may never see the grass again. Over in Canada, their sneezes freeze in midair.
Just stop complaining and you might start to see the amazing weather we have. Yes it's unpredictable, but that's the fun of living here- you get to experience all climates in small scale. I think Britain is fantastic and we shouldn't criticise its choices. Just don't get over enthusiastic or you'll turn into one of those people who say "hey look, it's raining! I love the rain," from under their umbrella while you're furiously dripping next to them.
Lots of love, stay freaky! xx
Monday, 21 January 2013
The Ups and Downs of Art
Today I spent an hour waiting for paint to dry. This is a weekly occurance that is apparently called coursework. Last year I decided to take on GCSE Art, but whether it was the wisest of decisions I am yet to decide.
During an art lesson last week our teacher asked out of curiosity how long we spend on art a week. The boys cheerfully said, "about two hours", then went back to covering their hands in PVA (such fun). The teacher then turned to the girls who loudly chorused from their foetal positions on the floor "four hours a day!" However, in most cases the work produced by the boys is of the same standard. It's just that the girls in my class have a tendancy to be extreme perfectionists. The strange thing is- we like it.
If you enjoy art, then it makes the laborious hours of sketching and research worthwhile. If you only choose it for the qualification, then you'll face enormous dissapointment once you realise that it will take up most of your life. Although in that sense it can be used as a brilliant advantage. For example, a hideously mannered young brute invites you to dinner at the weekend. "Terribly sorry but I'm doing GCSE coursework then, and for the next two years." Alternatively, your parents ask you to do some housework and in response you can dramatically hold a paintbrush in the air with a look of terror in your eyes, screaming "The art! The ART!".
Unfortunately it also means that you completely sacrifice your social life. The young year nines reading this may be thinking "She's exaggerating, surely it will never get that bad," as they sign their lives away on the options form. To shock you into reality, I plan my meals around my coursework. Paint has become more valuable to me than water. I don't remember what the sun looks like. (Okay, that last one was an exaggeration, but give me some artistic license.) But the sad thing is that I'm scared of finishing and realising how empty my social life is without it. "My art book is my only friend!", *hugs bundles of coursework*.
The honest truth is that I've enjoyed every minute of it. I love the drawing, coming up with original ideas, researching artists, explaining meanings behind work, presenting it in my portfolio, sneaking looks at what everyone else has been doing (while secretly deciding if yours is better) and going through old work, laughing at how bad you were three weeks ago. I've decided to drop it in favour of textiles at A-level and I am going to miss it so much. But boy will I be glad to have the free time to do art for 'fun' again.
Lots of love, stay freaky! xx
During an art lesson last week our teacher asked out of curiosity how long we spend on art a week. The boys cheerfully said, "about two hours", then went back to covering their hands in PVA (such fun). The teacher then turned to the girls who loudly chorused from their foetal positions on the floor "four hours a day!" However, in most cases the work produced by the boys is of the same standard. It's just that the girls in my class have a tendancy to be extreme perfectionists. The strange thing is- we like it.
If you enjoy art, then it makes the laborious hours of sketching and research worthwhile. If you only choose it for the qualification, then you'll face enormous dissapointment once you realise that it will take up most of your life. Although in that sense it can be used as a brilliant advantage. For example, a hideously mannered young brute invites you to dinner at the weekend. "Terribly sorry but I'm doing GCSE coursework then, and for the next two years." Alternatively, your parents ask you to do some housework and in response you can dramatically hold a paintbrush in the air with a look of terror in your eyes, screaming "The art! The ART!".
Unfortunately it also means that you completely sacrifice your social life. The young year nines reading this may be thinking "She's exaggerating, surely it will never get that bad," as they sign their lives away on the options form. To shock you into reality, I plan my meals around my coursework. Paint has become more valuable to me than water. I don't remember what the sun looks like. (Okay, that last one was an exaggeration, but give me some artistic license.) But the sad thing is that I'm scared of finishing and realising how empty my social life is without it. "My art book is my only friend!", *hugs bundles of coursework*.
The honest truth is that I've enjoyed every minute of it. I love the drawing, coming up with original ideas, researching artists, explaining meanings behind work, presenting it in my portfolio, sneaking looks at what everyone else has been doing (while secretly deciding if yours is better) and going through old work, laughing at how bad you were three weeks ago. I've decided to drop it in favour of textiles at A-level and I am going to miss it so much. But boy will I be glad to have the free time to do art for 'fun' again.
Lots of love, stay freaky! xx
Sunday, 20 January 2013
Welcome to the Internet
After much creative contemplation I have decided to spill out my already overflowing brain thoughts into your eyes as you browse. If you're someone I know - hello to you. If you are a stranger that's simply another slave to internet procrastination - hello to you also. I hope you enjoy the posts to come that will explore my thoughts on life, the universe and everything.
What originally got me interested in the bloggosphere (is that a word?) is youtube. Although the most part of us (including myself) use it to watch funny cats and old ladies falling off swingseats, there is an enormous host more on there. A few years ago I started to watch 'charlieissocoollike', who is an "English twenty something". He regularly makes videos about his life and things he finds funny. It was only as he occasionally included his friends in his videos that I realised that they were all youtubers too, and all published their thoughts, humour and musical talents as videos. Each one is unique in their style and individual talent. 'Tomska' makes comedy using guns and special effects, whilst 'Kingsley' entertains people with his sassy b**chiness.
Through my computer screen I could suddenly see a whole other world- and I felt like I was a part of it. It seemed amazing to see that just by talking you could create huge connections that brought people together like a community. But then I realised that was called making friends. Although all of these people seemed fearless and extrovert, the form of producing their ideas is far less social than it seems. I think that it's alright to do that. If you have a completely outgoing nature, but are shy around people then the internet is a blessing. However, I don't have a video camera so I thought that blogging would be the ideal way to share a bit of myself with the world.
And so here I am, firing my eccentric brainwaves at your face, without actually having to get out of my chair. I've got a hot chocolate on my right and a pile of chupachups on my left (I'll admit that the taste combination is a bit strange) and I'm sure that you're perfectly comfortable as well. If you're not then go and get a nice cushion and a hot beverage. By the time you return I should have offloaded some more thoughts onto the internet to make sure you stay entertained.
Lots of love, stay freaky! xx
What originally got me interested in the bloggosphere (is that a word?) is youtube. Although the most part of us (including myself) use it to watch funny cats and old ladies falling off swingseats, there is an enormous host more on there. A few years ago I started to watch 'charlieissocoollike', who is an "English twenty something". He regularly makes videos about his life and things he finds funny. It was only as he occasionally included his friends in his videos that I realised that they were all youtubers too, and all published their thoughts, humour and musical talents as videos. Each one is unique in their style and individual talent. 'Tomska' makes comedy using guns and special effects, whilst 'Kingsley' entertains people with his sassy b**chiness.
Through my computer screen I could suddenly see a whole other world- and I felt like I was a part of it. It seemed amazing to see that just by talking you could create huge connections that brought people together like a community. But then I realised that was called making friends. Although all of these people seemed fearless and extrovert, the form of producing their ideas is far less social than it seems. I think that it's alright to do that. If you have a completely outgoing nature, but are shy around people then the internet is a blessing. However, I don't have a video camera so I thought that blogging would be the ideal way to share a bit of myself with the world.
And so here I am, firing my eccentric brainwaves at your face, without actually having to get out of my chair. I've got a hot chocolate on my right and a pile of chupachups on my left (I'll admit that the taste combination is a bit strange) and I'm sure that you're perfectly comfortable as well. If you're not then go and get a nice cushion and a hot beverage. By the time you return I should have offloaded some more thoughts onto the internet to make sure you stay entertained.
Lots of love, stay freaky! xx
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