Comments on: An October-ish Tea

By: Dougal

Dougal — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:32:46 +0000

As long as you don't get caught by the spamtrap, it should be possible to use ordinary HTML links:

Click here!

producing

Click here!

PS I just had to remove this comment from the spam folder. :-)

By: Ken

Ken — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:29:35 +0000

er Helen… can you advise how to add links to blogs? It was only addressed to him as the writer of the preceding comment.

By: helen

helen — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:43:10 +0000

ken, good link although I recommend going for the example below ‘loch’ which is ‘loch lomond’ which seems to me a more natural bit of speech. The next again, ‘loch ness’ begins with an anglicised pronunciation, not right at all. If you put dreich into the search box (as perhaps you found) it comes up with reich, not right at all!

@Squid- I’d say dreich (which is usually a word describing the weather, I’m not sure i know of it in another context) means really damp, nasty, cold and miserable. It’s the sort of weather that you *probably* don’t get in Wisconsin and is the reason that even tough types like you- or my friend Dr V from Toronto- find Scottish winters hard. It’s not the temperature we drop down to, because it never goes that low- it’s the insipid draining chill that sleeks into you!

A poem, Kidspoem/Bairnsang by Liz Lochhead that I rediscovered the other night, translates it into English as ‘really dismal’. Rather underselling the matter, I feel (but then that’s rather the point of the poem!)

By: Ken

Ken — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:56:16 +0000

I tried to find a good audio demonstration on the internet. This* one is not bad, giving the scottish pronunciation and the alternative “anglicised” version with a hard “k” sound at the end. The problem is that the “-ch” sound can be relatively soft; here the demonstrated word is “loch” and the emphasis is on the vowel; the “-ch” kind of disappears. Perhaps that is why using a “k” sound is so wrong!
*http://www.howjsay.com/index.php?word=loch&submit=Submit

(note to Dougal: how does a simple chap like me create links in blogs?)

By: Dougal

Dougal — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:55:15 +0000

@SquidWidget: As far as I'm concerned dreich means nothing more and nothing less than ... dreich, but this dictionary suggests 'dreary' though I might go as far as saying 'very dreary'. :-) It's pronounced "dreech", with the -ch being the same used in Bach, loch, etc. Apparently this sound is called the voiceless velar fricative which Helen can probably understand since she's been doing some mouth/throat stuff at university! The -ee- sound is approximately the same as leek, reek, etc.

By: SquidWidget

SquidWidget — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:49:35 +0000

Oh my God does that look delicious. And yes, North Americans are obsessed with drenching everything in melted cheese. Which is fine with me, as I live in the Dairy State (Wisconsin).

It’s thanks to Tosha that I know what Courgettes and Aubergines are. In the US, they are called Zucchini and Eggplant. Learning this did a world of good for understanding the BBC America restauranty shows we watch.

What does “Dreich” mean and how is it pronounced?

By: Ken

Ken — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:40:06 +0000

Gosh! looks dead yummy.

I *do* hate griddling… all that smoke is a bit tedious, especially down in the cold part of the year. Unfortunately, they do taste good. Hey ho!

Damn, it looks good. that’s the trouble with food porn when you are hungry x