Your favorite UK accent (pick 1 of these3)

QRT   Tue Mar 02, 2010 10:33 pm GMT
"pissed off massively" - by a simple mispronunciation.
"totally devastated" - by the death of a stranger.

Surely "momentarily peeved" and "a bit sad for a few minutes" are closer to the truth.
Damian in Edinburgh   Wed Mar 03, 2010 11:55 am GMT
The use of the word "gross" in the sense which you intended immediately identifies you as an American.......it is hardly ever used here in the UK where it is regarded as very much an American expression to mean something "contemptible" or "disgusting".

Your sentiments are therefore understandable in this case, so you are excused, not that it is of any real consequence anyway.

Here in the UK the word "gross" usually means large and unwieldy, of an unmanageable bulk, or relating to a sum of money, such as any kind of profit prior to the deduction of expenses and costs involved in any transaction, after which the figure becomes "net" - sometimes but not often expressed as "nett".
Damian in Edinburgh   Wed Mar 03, 2010 12:07 pm GMT
My use of the word "devastated" was quite justified in my opinion......Kristian Digby was hardly a "stranger" to me as I had personally met him on two separate occasions and on both of them I had found him to be just as personable, every bit as amusing and witty, and most certainly every bit as articulate, warm and friendly and charmingly considerate as he always was each time he appeared in all his programs on British TV.

He was very well respected by millions of British people who watched all his many programs, mostly involving the purchase of residential properties, so even though the vast majority of those people never actually met Kristian he was hardly a "stranger", in much the same way Queen Elizabeth II is hardly a "stranger" to the British people even though, again, the greater majority of them have never actually met her either.

Latest reports seem to indicate that his sad death in his flat in Newham, East , was accidental.

Kristian Digby was born and brought up in Devon, and his mother still lives in Torquay, which is, of course, a seaside town in South Devon.
self-asphyxiation   Wed Mar 03, 2010 8:09 pm GMT
<<Latest reports seem to indicate that his sad death in his flat in Newham, East , was accidental. >>


He died while wanking in a most bizarre fashion!
QRT   Wed Mar 03, 2010 10:53 pm GMT
< My use of the word "devastated" was quite justified in my opinion >

"Devastated" would be where you don't eat, don't sleep, don't wash, don't move, don't speak, don't go to work, and, most importantly of all, don't post on English language websites.

The other thing is called "a bit sad for a few minutes".
Damian in Edinburgh   Thu Mar 04, 2010 11:38 am GMT
Exactly so - unfortunately Kristian's death was entirely accidental....the guy had so much to live for - a highly successful career in and out of the UK media, an amazingly fulfilling personal life, a fantastically futuristic flat of his own design and planning - and all his friends and fan worshippers would have filled Wembley Stadium several times over.

The general nature of what Kristian did in the privacy of his own home was no different to that practised by about 90% of the population, whether gay, straight or something in between on the Richter scale of human living. Get real.

What happened to Kristian also happened to a much respected Member of Parliament in the House of Commons some years back. Contrary to popular belief even British Members of Parliament belong to the human race.

Alright then - maybe my use of the word "devastated" was a wee bit OTT here - let's just agree on "very sad" at the loss of a young life.....popping your clogs at 32 is more than just a bit ridiculous....that's considerably less than the average male lifespan here in the UK, but there again, nobody ever suggested that life is a fair game...it most certainly isn't, is it?

That's all I'm going to say on this topic now....I shouldn't have instigated it in the first place anyway, but I'm always open to castigation in here.
TRQ   Thu Mar 04, 2010 7:46 pm GMT
<<an amazingly fulfilling personal life,>>

How do you know? Surely only the person himself, or maybe his closest, closest friends and family are capable of determining whether his life is fulfilling or not. Sometimes you can't even tell yourself whether your life is fulfilling. Anyway, a stranger who knows you through the tabloids DEFINITELY cannot judge on the matter.


<<The general nature of what Kristian did in the privacy of his own home was no different to that practised by about 90% of the population, whether gay, straight or something in between on the Richter scale of human living. Get real. >>


I'm not so sure about that. That rope stuff is getting a little niche-ish.
Frank   Fri Mar 05, 2010 3:30 am GMT
Christine Blachford. She sounds sexy
Mongrocks   Tue Mar 23, 2010 10:02 pm GMT
**are you going to let us in on what this little transgression might have been? Curious!***

Uriel is curious to know what transpired between Jonathan Ross and that other tosser* (called Russell Brand as I now recall..another Londoner) and their victim, the actor Andrew Sachs, a very decent man who is in his 70s and who, as a professional, has played many parts but is mostly remembered for playing the hapless Spanish waiter Manuel, from Barcelona, in the TV series "Fawlty Towers", a chaotic lunatic asylum of a Torquay hotel run by the manic Basil Fawlty, played by John Cleese, and his long suffering wife Sybil, played by Prunella Scales.

These two lowlife Londonspeak idiots - Ross and Brand - appeared in this live TV program during which they tried to contact Mr Sachs by ringing his home telehone number only to be connected to his answerphone service on which they left a whole array of truly nasty messages involving Mr Sachs' granddaughter.

All this on BBC TV, a supposedly respectable broadcasting medium not only here in the UK but worldwide.......rightly enough the BBC was subsequently massively overwhelmed with complaints from the UK public because of the objectionable content of the call made by Ross and Brand to an elderly, innocent man and the manner in which it was delivered on live TV, and furthermore, involving an equally innocent young girl.

Anyway, judge for yourself in this TY clip featuring this episode......amazingly, neither Ross nor Brand were sacked by the BBC which was a travesty in itself, but both of these nasty characters were forced to apologise to the unfortunate, unwitting Andrew Sachs....a well spoken, professional man, as very much opposed to these two not so well spoken, often foul mouthed, lowlife, back-street, side alley London scumbags.

_______________________________________________

Do you read the Daily Mail? Eejit.
Adam   Wed Mar 24, 2010 8:05 pm GMT
I agree. What Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand did to Jonathan Sachs was disgusting.

In the name of "entertainment", Ross and Brand sent a series of messages on the answerphone of veteran, and well-respected, actor Andrew Sachs, who played Manuel in 1970s comedy series Fawlty Towers, and told him, live on national radio, that they both want to "f**k" his granddaughter, Georgina Baillie. The incident led to a record 42,00 complaints.

This, of course, wasn't the first and wasn't the last scandal to hit the BBC. It has also been accused of being ageist against women, such as when it sacked the middle aged Arlene Phillips with the young Alesha Dixon as a judge on Strictly Come Dancing.

This is not to mention that the Beeb is obsessed with all the current "trendy" views worshipped by the Left, such as "Climate Change", assisted suicide and gay marriage and has no time for opposing views.

Such controversy will continue to surround the corporation for as long as it's run by Left Wing, childish adolescents.

As for the Daily Mail, it is Britain's second-biggest selling national newspaper after The Sun, whilst Left Wing newspapers, such as The Guardian, struggle.
Adam   Wed Mar 24, 2010 8:06 pm GMT
That should be Andrew Sachs. Not Jonathan Sachs.
LadyLuxembourg   Sat Mar 27, 2010 6:18 pm GMT
People like learning US English because in the UK too many people use heavy dialects/accents.

It is not Americans who are to blame, Britishers are.

When you learn French, you don't have that Problem.
ellachan91   Tue Apr 06, 2010 5:27 am GMT
Damian in Edinburgh   Tue Apr 06, 2010 4:08 pm GMT
***It is not Americans who are to blame, Britishers are***

Britishers? That sounds so Teutonic, so Germanic, which is why Britons never, ever use it in reference to themselves. It sort of harks back to former times of conflict and belligerence.

I suggest that you refer to us as Britons in the future, pretty please. You are at liberty to blame us for every ill and misfortune ever to beset mankind if you so wish but please refrain from using the word Britisher, at least in our hearing.
Clari   Fri Apr 09, 2010 2:13 am GMT
As a nonnative speaker, I like Nadine Coyle's accent the most. She sounds like an American, pronouncing all the R... She sounds friendly and warm

Cheryle Coke's accent is sweet, but somehow a bit cold.

Sophie Ellis Bextor's accent is the least appealing to me.

But I think the personality of the speakers will influence others' perception of their accent. If the speaker is warm and pleasant, their accent will sound better.