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In Australia apostrophes in place-names are not allowed

Ayers Rock . . Oops . . Uluru . . for example

Mens Hairdressing could be a place name

But I doubt that Pensioners Special would be

Roses are red

Violets are blue

Some poems rhyme

But this one doesn't

I've noticed that a number of people write DOES'NT.
They obviously don't understand why the apostrophe is there.

Rose's are blue
Violet's are red
I saw them on the washing line today

I've read that Daisy's are for sale.
I hope she washed them first!

One of life’s many irritations is the misuse of the verb “to get”. I was thinking about this last night on a visit to McD……., the restaurant recommended by Malone, having received a tip-off from ChrisE about the company’s optional apostrophe policy.

I was in the queue when a group of youths asked the “cashier”, “Can we get 4 Big Macs and fries?”

I was surprised at the reply from Ivor Berger. “You CAN get them, but you may not. Firstly, it is against Health and Safety Regulations. Secondly, it is the company’s policy to serve food to customers. You may “get” your own drinks.”

“Get YOU, what’s been getting up your nose?” asked one youth.
“We’re getting out of here”, added another.

“Get lost”, said Ivor.

I GET it, jigjag! Thanks for that.

I'd forgotten about 'get' as a noun, meaning a bratty child. It featured in a crossword recently, and that brought back happy memories - it was a word my grandmother used a lot.

Your Ivor Burger earlier also reminded me that I was planning some tv matchmaking, of soap characters. Shona, from Coronation Street, becomes fond of and then marries an EastEnders character, Dr Legg. She can't wait to be Shona Legg.

But not referring to your good self I'm sure . .

Funny how you remember words used by your elders. They are often a reminder of how rapidly our language changes

The 'granny' word in my mind is "directly" (which she pronounced as "dreckly"), and as a consequence, I never really knew how it was spelled or what it really meant, till much later

When Grandma said that she would do something "dreckly", it meant that it would be done later, rather than immediately

Obviously, Grandma wasn't a pedant

Dreckly is a Devonian word.
I used to think it meant directly when, in fact, it means just the opposite!
Grandma probably didn't even think about it as it was part of her language.

Malone

I like Shona Legg (is she a dancer?) and I love your TV matchmaking idea. That is very creative! I would love to hear about some others and their stories!

I probably wont recognise them though. I have never watched Brookside and have only seen 1 episode of Ease Tenders, so depressing I vowed not to watch another. I used to watch Coronation St and Emmerdale Farm in the days when there were "characters". That reminds me - I have an "Ena" who might appear soon.