Swine flu

I don't understand why we are supposed to be so scared. I haven't read anything that says swine flu is any worse than any other kind of flu in terms of virulence and deadliness. Some people have died who had it, but they may well have died because they had other illnesses as well.

Of course these words may come back to bite me when Survivors comes true and we are all dead or getting hanged as looters.

The coolest postcode in London

Is E8 , apparently, my very own hood. Oh yes, "wander around at 11pm and the feeling is not dissimilar to being in the lower east side of Manhattan at its mid-90s peak." Not sure what Manhattan was like in its mid-90s peak; although I was there briefly at that time I spent much of the time trying to get a/ a car and b/ plane tickets to San Francisco.

I have just received this email:

Dear Hackney Hackette (well, obviously it addressed me by my actual name)

Where will you be in four weeks?

Well, I'm not sure, but I'm guessing Hackney. Maybe at work, or down at the Mus of Ch or London Fields, or the City Farm perhaps...why?

We suggest joining your peers and other digital printing industry leaders who will be exploring new business opportunities, technology developments and emerging profitable applications at IMI’s 12th Toner & Toner Chemicals Conference on May 4-6, 2009 and 2nd Digital Printing Presses – The Next Era Conference on May 6-8, 2009 at the Crowne Plaza San Marcos Resort in Chandler (Phoenix), Arizona.

Whoa, slow down a minute matey. If you'd said "your peers and other distracted working mums" I might have flown with you, but I'm not sure I can count any "digital printing industry leaders" among my peers.

In these difficult times, are you taking advantage of new and developing opportunities as the world goes digital and toner-based systems compete with other technologies for market share?

No, no I'm not. I feel bad about it, but what can I do?

Please forward this email to interested colleagues and contacts and inform your associates of these unique and exciting programs.

I will do better than that. I will include it in my blog.

Words words words

Do you ever find out that you have been saying a word wrong all your life? When I was at school (primary I think although it may have been secondary) we used to call the Portakabin-style classrooms "demantables". I have always, in my head, called them demantables, although never spoken it aloud since school I don't think. I never had any idea why we called them that or what the word meant.

Today I needed to use the word in print, Googled it to check the spelling, and found that we had actually been mangling the word "demountable" in our Essex accent. Are there any other words I have been saying wrong for 30-odd years I wonder?

My personal favourite is my lovely friend's belief that there were two words - misled, pronouced mis-led, which she only ever heard, and misled, pronounced myselled (kind of), which she only ever saw written down. "My lord, you have myselled me!" Much like I thought there were two different states, pronounced Ah Kansas and Arkensaw.