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1503
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All across the Great Western territory / Your rights and redress / Re: Significant minority find lockdown 'extremely difficult', poll suggests
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on: April 15, 2020, 12:25:44
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I don't ever recall seeing the phrase 'go to home' used as an instruction except perhaps on a game board - or should that be 'board game board'? Common usage would I think be either 'go home' or 'go to your home'.
Home is the only noun used directly following go without a preposition. Why? Presumably because 'go home' (or 'I'm going home' etc) is such a common phrase. So I'm surmising, without having actually researched (  :facepalm:) that originally – probably very early in the development of English – there was an intervening 'to', which it has become normal and correct to omit. |
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1508
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Journey by Journey / Transport for London / Re: ‘Lives depend’ on people staying at home as five bus drivers die
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on: April 10, 2020, 13:27:44
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There's already an issue with a shift to buying in supermarkets stuff like bread that we used to buy in independent shops, and to varieties (again, bread is an example) that last longer. ....
Are 'artisan' bakers still going? Assumed their shops would have been shut by now as many of their outlets would be cafe, restaurants, etc. Elemental (also known as the Pop-up Bakery despite having been in the same place for at least five years) down the road here is still open. Cafe closed obviously (which makes it so much more spacious) but selling bread, pastries, milk, and similar things. |
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1511
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All across the Great Western territory / Looking forward - after Coronavirus to 2045 / Re: Is every food parcel a nail in HS2's coffin?
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on: April 06, 2020, 20:50:16
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... dentists' face masks are made in China (I wonder how little that saves)...
An astonishing amount, I suspect. I remember a dentist explaining to me how he could get something like 20 sets of dental instruments from China for the cost of sourcing them more locally. Sometimes the economics of such things don't seem to make sense. I once bought a knock-off accessory for my Garmin on ebay. It cost £1.10 including p&p compared to £14 for the genuine article. It was coming from China, I presumed it would be shipped out in bulk and then each individual order forwarded from a UK▸ warehouse. But no, it arrived in an envelope with Chinese postage stamps. Out of curiousity, I checked the Chinese postal rates for the UK; it was more than £1.10. |
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1513
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All across the Great Western territory / The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom / Re: How do we take the lid back off?
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on: April 06, 2020, 12:26:06
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I was driving in a 20mph limit and slowing for a red light when I was overtaken by eight or so lycra-clad cyclists - all of whom completely ignored the red light and then proceeded to ride two-abreast in close proximity. I regret to say that I am not surprised. Unfortunately the "sport" end of cycling all to often resemble the road behaviour of the 15% of motorists I referred to, with a holier than thou attitude as well. This is a shame, not only for what they're doing in itself but because of the bad image it allows people to form and magnify. The two clubs I know have scrapped all group activities, most are still doing solo rides but limiting them to an hour or so. And turbo trainers (ie indoor exercise bikes) have apparently become an unobtainable item as demand outstrips supply. It really is only a minority who are behaving irresponsibly. |
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1514
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Sideshoots - associated subjects / The Lighter Side / Emma Joan and the light at the end of the Box tunnel
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on: April 05, 2020, 14:02:40
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For more than two centuries, railway enthusiasts, engineers and scientists have tried to solve the mystery of Box tunnel, near Bath.
They have combed the history books, done the maths and carried out practical experiments to try to work out whether its creator, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, really did design the two-mile tunnel so that the rising sun shone right through it on his birthday, 9 April.
But now a new theory has emerged from a retired engineer and physicist who has reassessed the science, had a fresh look at the Brunel family tree and concluded that in fact the great railway builder might have designed the tunnel so that the phenomenon occurred not on his birthday but on that of a little-known sister – 6 April.
Peter Maggs, who has been working on the puzzle for more than 30 years, said he had a “eureka moment” when he discovered that Brunel’s sister, Emma Joan, was born on 6 April.
Continues... https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2020/apr/05/new-twist-in-mystery-of-brunels-birthday-sunrise |
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