English Terminology

[MichaelH]

My wife and I are HUGE fans of Keeping Up Appearances. I have a question about a phrase from one of the shows. In the show, the gatekeeper of the lock tells Hyacinth that she could try "going over the ware (sp?)". I was wondering what this term means.

Cheers!

 

[Dimplenose]

I assume you mean a lock in the river sense. In which case it's weir - a very small waterfall (like a step in the water) hence the need for the lock to get the boats safely from one level to the other.

Libby

 

[MichaelH]

Thanks for the reply. I knew that it had something to do with the river, but I had never heard that term before.

Cheers!

 

[Goofyish]

Here's a photo of a famous weir in Bath, England:


http://www.sheldonbrown.com/photography/europe75/bath-weir.html

 

[Olaf]

Hey Michael, my husband loves "My Hero" and "Coupling." I like "The Office." Why can't America produce sitcoms like that?

 

[rob@rar.org.uk]

Oh, I don't think your broadcasters do too bad Steph. Friends, Fraser, Cheers, Taxi to name but a few. You even do the wonderfully quirky shows such as two of my favourites: Chicago Hope (featuring the incredibly talented Mandy patinkin) and Due South (before David Marciano left the show).

Regards

Rob

 

[MichaelH]

Olaf,

BBC America recently started showing My Hero. The couple of times I have seen it I have liked it. I love Father Ted, which is another show the main character played in. Coupling is also another favorite. I also like Red Dwarf, that show is great.

 

[MichaelH]

Goofyish,

Thanks, for the picture. I have seen that weir in person believe it or not. My wife and I went to London in May of 2000 and took some day trips on Saturday and Sunday to Bath and Salisbury/Stonehenge with the London Walks group.

We spent our trip mostly in London. Our tube stop was Bayswater and we stayed at the Days Inn. It was a nice place if you are planning a trip. I also recommend doing tours with London Walks. They have great tours with excellant guides. I loved England and hope to come back in a couple of years. I am interested in WWII and did not get to see Bletchley Park. I was very disapointed. Back then they were only open every other weekend and the weekend we were there they were closed.

 

[Goofyish]

I recently went to a seminar held in the old mansion house at Bletchley Park. It's a very interesting place. I didn't have much chance to look round, but did go into the building where they are rebuilding the computer used to break the German secret codes during WWII

Hope you get the chance to go sometime Micheal - remember to look out for the concrete cows in Milton Keynes

 

[Banzai]

NBC is doing a version of Couplings...

 

[Kilted_Yank]

BBC America has just begun showing a series called "Red Cap" I dunno if had the same title in the UK, but it is about a special military police unit with the British Forces in Germany.

Quite good.

I am still hooked on Monarch of The Glen, and Prime Minister's Questions (on C-Span)though... and my wife is mad about Changing Rooms and "What Not To Wear"

Fortunately, I watch enough British Programming to not be terribly lost with the different terminology.