A Life of Crime and Chocolate

Ken Hoss said:

I always get into trouble when I go into a bookstore, especially B&N. Stopped in one last weekend, just to "look" and walked out $36.00 less in my checking!
(Actually that's better than I do when I go to Fry's Electronics.)

Click to expand...

I was really good yesterday, waiting for my boss to get the contracts signed. Went into the Charles University bookshop just to keep warm and didn't buy anything. Painful though it was to do that. They had this great book on St Anezka's convent and another on on Petr I of Rozmberk and and and and....

Although I was bad the day before. There's a book shop at the end of the Charles Bridge called the Club for the Friends of Old Prague, sells just all Czech history stuff. I didn't buy the 1000CZK book on Rudolf II and alchemy but I did slip and bought a book on the Codex Gigas.

heyjude said:

What is a boot sale? Like a garage sale from your trunk? I love the idea!

Click to expand...

Yes! In the part of the UK I live in they are held in all sorts of places. I've been to ones in open fields and the one today was held in a park and ride car park that is closed over the weekend. People sell all sorts of stuff, and some make a living from it. Not many because it really depends on what you sell. At todays the man next to me was selling bubble wrap, kitchen foil, food bags and sticky tape. On the other side the people were selling motor mowers. Opposite was a man selling cuddly toys and Christmas 'stuff'. There were some people who run a small holding selling fresh vegetables and flowers. I got a huge sprout stick from them. That the Brussels sprouts were still attached to the stem. (wondering is the sprout stick could be used as a murder weapon) There were about 60 people selling and lots of buyers. It was very dark when we got there and a light mist. Just right for finding a body in the boot!

Sadly there was no one selling chocolate :-(((

Isn't it interesting how word usage varies between the USA and the UK? Here in South Africa (being a former British colony) we use the Oxford spelling (you know, we put the u back in humour) and refer to the trunk of the car as the 'boot' and the hood as the 'bonnet'. But for some obscure reason traffic lights are called 'robots' in SA.

I see Shakesbear calls it a car park, which we do too - as opposed to the US term parking lot. I write for the US market so I try to be always on the lookout for the differences in word usage. (The joys of lex!!!)

But there are a lot of American traditions I love. I've just made traditional American chocolate fudge brownies and my whole house smells of chocolate. Sooooo nice.

Anyone for a brownie?

Ohhhh brownies? Yes please!

GailD I also find it interesting how word usage varies. Not just country to country, but in England county to county. I wonder if that is true of other English speaking countries.

Shakesbear said:

Ohhhh brownies? Yes please!

GailD I also find it interesting how word usage varies. Not just country to country, but in England county to county. I wonder if that is true of other English speaking countries.

Click to expand...

*parcels up brownies for post to UK*


I would say that holds true for SA. The colloquial definitely has regional variations. Sometimes to the point where one wonders whether it is English at all. (You know: English as she should be spoke.)

Here it's influenced by the predominate language of the area, i.e. Afrikaans, Zulu, Xhosa, Sotho etc. to the point where one could consider it a dialect. I suspect this might be the case in London as well. Each time I visit I am fascinated by the different accents and word usage. Soho and the East End seem to be worlds apart.

GailD said:

*parcels up brownies for post to UK*


I would say that holds true for SA. The colloquial definitely has regional variations. Sometimes to the point where one wonders whether it is English at all. (You know: English as she should be spoke.)

Here it's influenced by the predominate language of the area, i.e. Afrikaans, Zulu, Xhosa, Sotho etc. to the point where one could consider it a dialect. I suspect this might be the case in London as well. Each time I visit I am fascinated by the different accents and word usage. Soho and the East End seem to be worlds apart.

Click to expand...

*waiting with great anticipation for brownies to arrive*

It is true about Soho and the East End being worlds apart - but even in those small areas there are different accents. One night, long ago, I was driving from my brothers house in South London to my mothers in the East End. It was June and I had the car windows open. The night was full of the rich aromas of barbecues and they were so rich and wonderful. As I drove they changed and seemed to represent more eloquently than language does the many different ethnic groups that have made their homes in London. I arrived at mums home at about midnight. I stopped at the chippy at the top of her road and got us both chips. She thought I was mad! I did point out that the choccie shop was shut!

Zelenka said:

I didn't buy the 1000CZK book on Rudolf II and alchemy but I did slip and bought a book on the Codex Gigas.

Click to expand...

I don't understand the here unless it's because of the books you didn't buy.

Sign me up for brownies!

Incidentally, what I learned today: A Godiva milk chocolate bar with caramel has fewer calories than a small bag of peanut M&Ms. Does that seem odd to anyone else?

Sounds like the boot sale is what we call a flea market, people selling this and that of what ever the got new or used.

Shakesbear said:

Ohhhh brownies? Yes please!

GailD I also find it interesting how word usage varies. Not just country to country, but in England county to county. I wonder if that is true of other English speaking countries.

Click to expand...

One I always remember is a 'guttie', which on the east coast of Scotland is a gym shoe and on the west coast is a slingshot (like the thing Bart Simpson has).

Kind of the same here with Czech and Slovak though - for the most part the two are kind of mutually understandable except for some weird 'false friends', like 'modra' in Czech is blue, but in Slovak is modern. And then there's Brno Czech, which no one can understand. It's the equivalent of Aberdonian.

heyjude said:

Do you mind if I ask where you're from originally? You sound awfully well-traveled!

I've been a bit of here and there, but mostly I like to stay home on the couch.

Click to expand...

I was born in Cape Town, SA. My grandparents (both maternal and paternal) were British immigrants who came to SA after WWI. Father's parents came from the East End of London and great-uncle was the Pearly King for many, many years. (Ha! See that guv! I got royal blood I has! )

I have three daughters, two of whom live in London UK so I visit them fairly often. It's a family joke: Come home for 'Christmas or mom will come to you'. Year before last I went to the US to do research for my crime mystery and had an absolute ball. Loved it. But that's it. I haven't been to the far east or anywhere other than western Europe and the US and some parts of sub-saharan Africa.

But I found a chocolate smiley!!!!

HistorySleuth said:

Sounds like the boot sale is what we call a flea market, people selling this and that of what ever the got new or used.

Click to expand...

Flea markets here sell slightly more up market stuff - more bric a brac and less tat. I don't remember clothes being sold at flea markets unless they were vintage. Or motor mowers. The nearest town to me has a monthly (I think) flea market and it is popular. The prices are a little higher than at boot sales.

heyjude said:

I love the family joke. Where did you come in the US?

I've been to the Caribbean, Germany, Switzerland, France (those three in one trip), and nothing else out of the US.

Click to expand...

Oooo. The Caribbean! That sounds fabulous. I'd love to go there some day.

I was in Ohio, as a guest of the county sheriff's department (no, no, not in the orange jumpsuit - that would totally clash with my hair). I was spoiled rotten. The deputy sheriff took me all over Ohio, in an unmarked cruiser. We went to Columbus and I was given a tour of the State Crime Lab at BCI. They even arranged for me to go out on Lake Erie because the climax of my story takes place out on the lake during a furious storm.

In my humble opinion, Americans are the most hospitable people on the planet.

I would so love to be in the Caribbean right now. Or anywhere warm and sunny with beaches and no relatives to tell me I'm useless. And some chocolate.

I made poppyseed and vanilla cupcakes today, and am going to have one now to celebrate having finished my outline for the NaNo book. Need a few names and a few minor characters to flesh out some scenes later on, but it's pretty much there ready to go.

Cupcakes .... yummy. I made a roast lunch. No chocolate though, til later.

GailD said:

Oooo. The Caribbean! That sounds fabulous. I'd love to go there some day.

Click to expand...

I haven't been all over the Caribbean so it's possible my favorite place isn't the most awesome locale there, but I can't imagine what could beat Caneel Bay.

I was in Ohio, as a guest of the county sheriff's department (no, no, not in the orange jumpsuit - that would totally clash with my hair). I was spoiled rotten. The deputy sheriff took me all over Ohio, in an unmarked cruiser. We went to Columbus and I was given a tour of the State Crime Lab at BCI. They even arranged for me to go out on Lake Erie because the climax of my story takes place out on the lake during a furious storm.

Click to expand...

Very cool!

Namatu said:

I haven't been all over the Caribbean so it's possible my favorite place isn't the most awesome locale there, but I can't imagine what could beat Caneel Bay.

Very cool!

Click to expand...

Aaaah! Those pictures are awesome. Caneel Bay looks like the most perfect tropical paradise.

Interesting thought: The Afrikaans word 'kaneel' means cinnamon... which got me thinking about the Spice Islands...which got me thinking about sticky buns. You know, those cinnamon flavoured buns with raisins inside and glace icing over the top...

This thread is going to make me put on weight.

GailD said:

Interesting thought: The Afrikaans word 'kaneel' means cinnamon... which got me thinking about the Spice Islands...which got me thinking about sticky buns. You know, those cinnamon flavoured buns with raisins inside and glace icing over the top...

Click to expand...

Mm. Cinnamon buns, kanelbullar...

heyjude said:

We went to this place for our honeymoon. Truly lovely.

Click to expand...

Pretty!

On another note, I have strep throat. Yuck!

Click to expand...

No! I banish it! *kapow!*

Oh, sorry, hj. Feel better soon.

I've been bad. I opened a bag of Halloween candy yesterday. Just one, I told myself. That poor bag didn't make it to trick-or-treating. It was Kit Kats -- it didn't stand a chance.

HJ get well soon.

HJ, hope you feel better soon. When I had strep throat, I made a sort of warm fruit juice thing, just fruit syrup or juice concentrate and hot water, and that seemed to help sometimes. Seemed to make the swelling feel less bad. A bit honey in it can help too. My mum used to tell my honey was nature's magical cure.