I mentioned that my father's family liked nicknames. The eldest son was James, called Jim. The next in line was Ralph, who was called Mike. Next son was Martin Joseph Jr. -- called Ted. The final son was my dad, Robert Edward, called Ned. What possessed them to have a Ted and a Ned in the same family I have no idea.
Fast forward to my youth. Dad was still called Ned, except at work where he was Bob. We could always tell the nature of a call.
Mom was Catherine, except to her family who called her Katie. Again, we could tell.
Most people shorten my two syllabled relatively unusual name only once. I don't answer to the one syllabled version after the first time and I've made my opinion known. Or called them by a wrong name... usually works.
I do, however, get numerous mispronunciations most of which I can tolerate quite happily if the reason for the mispronunciation makes sense to me. A number of my students struggle if they have certain conditions that affect their speech/language. French speakers also struggle as the first syllable is a common French word and I usually get that pronunciation with the correct second syllable.
His first name was in memory of his grandfather, but was never used until he had a job where it became more convenient to be called what it said on his ID.
As he grew up he was known progressively as Billy, Bill, and Will. He introduced himself to me, in his 20s, as William, and that is what I have always called him.
I can often tell when, and sometimes where, people have known him by what they call him. Even to this day there are a couple people who knew him 60+ years ago and still call him Billy
I visited a friend in a very nice Memory Care facility today. His Alzheimers is progressing rapidly. He has always, always used a name which is not his legal first name. (I don't think it's his middle name; I don't know the origin of it.) In this facility, they always use his legal first name, which was never a problem in the past. But I wonder what effect this has on him, and others in the same situation, who have enough trouble remembering who they are and now have further confusion by being called a name that they've never used.
@Pigwidgeon Something similar happened in the case of a Czech lady I used to visit. Everyone knew her as Lisa (pronounced 'Leesa'), but in the far distant past she had been registered as Elizabeth, very likely to disguise her part-Jewish heritage. But officialdom being what it is worldwide, 'Elizabeth' continued to be on all her documents, and now even on the door of her room in the care home. Family and friends did their best to get it changed there, but to no avail.
Quite Large Bear may have only cost $3.50, but I wouldn't part with him for a king's ransom.
At present, we don't actually have a king to ransom.
We can nick one off Spain or the Netherlands ...
I was thinking there must be one somewhere we could borrow.
My dad's given name was Alexander (for his grandfather), but when they told his aunt, she said Alexander was too long a name for a baby, and he should be known as Alistair. To his family he was Alistair, but to some of his colleagues he was Alex, which was how he signed himself.
@Pigwidgeon Something similar happened in the case of a Czech lady I used to visit. Everyone knew her as Lisa (pronounced 'Leesa'), but in the far distant past she had been registered as Elizabeth, very likely to disguise her part-Jewish heritage. But officialdom being what it is worldwide, 'Elizabeth' continued to be on all her documents, and now even on the door of her room in the care home. Family and friends did their best to get it changed there, but to no avail.
How unhelpful and thoughtless. My mother's first name, which she shared with her mother, was Bertha. She never used it (possibly because of the WWI gun), but used her second name, Margaret. When in hospital the nurses at first used Bertha, but when the situation was explained, switched straight away. So it can be done.
Very thoughtless, indeed. In my nursing experience (and what I currently teach carers as I lecture in health and social care) it is considered good practice to ask service users what they want to be called and use that. To not do so in the place where someone lives is particularly poor. And a Memory Care facility should certainly know better.
A good ending to the week for me, I was struggling with a mental block due to my seasonal affective disorder and had just about managed to plod slowing through my marking (this week looking at healthy workplaces) but had neglected to write the essay needed for my own studies. But Thursday I wrote a quarter of the essay and yesterday I completed the current batch of marking. Feeling more positive now.
The house is very quiet, my youngest is on a school trip to Germany and the days seem long; I found myself waiting for him to come home at 3.30 yesterday.
Names are strange things - Gran was Mary Elizabeth, and she was Liz (or to some relatives, Bopa Marie Liz), Mam was Hannah Elizabeth, and she was Betty. Strangely enough, my stepmother was Elizabeth Hannah, and she was also Betty.
My Dad was John Merryl, but usually known as Mick, which he was christened when he worked in a colliery. He was also Jack, Mel, Nick and John Merryl (when he was in trouble!) .You could tell where people knew him from depending on what people called him.
My Old Mum's name was Beatrice, which she absolutely hated (though she could never say why). Most friends and relations, including My Old Dad, called her 'Bob', which somehow suited her.
Late in her life, she became known to some as 'Betty', which she also hated...
My grandmother started out life Margaret Annie Nightingale. A lovely set of names even if they spell MAN, then she married a man whose started started with D.
I used to know a bloke called Joe King - I kid you not.
I ought at the moment to be squeezing my worldly goods into some (quite possibly inadequate) suitcases, but I'm messing around on here. The excess baggage charge is going to be stratospheric, but there's not much I can do about that.
I'm heading out shortly to get a thank-you present for M., who's been a magnificent host for the last few weeks, and to try and make my mobile phone providers understand that I want to cancel my contract.
Safe journey. So long as the airport at this end is functioning you should have a swift flight - last week tailwinds courtesy of Storm Ciara meant two flights did New York to London in under 5 hours, roughly 100 minutes faster than scheduled
Thanks, all! I heard about those New York flights - that's quicker than St. John's to London! The word "eek" springs to mind ...
Packing has happened, and I think I'm going to manage to squeeze my worldly goods into the available receptacles. I was right about the stratospheric cost though - one checked bag is free, but the next one is $100, and the one after that $225. As my host pointed out, they ought to have a reduced rate for people who are moving away for good!
I'm off to string a few zzz together - although I'm planning a lazy morning, I've one or two things to do, and then I'm taking M. out for lunch as a "thank you and goodbye".
Rain continues to fall ... the South Wales valleys seem to be taking the brunt of it, with the Pontypridd area particularly badly hit. Yorkshire this time seems to have fared better so far. When will it stop?
Teeming down here, too, with no respite until much later today (according to the Met Office).
There is a large amount of groundwater coming down our river, but fortunately the tides are low this weekend, so there's room for the excess water to get past, and reach the sea.
I was wondering how you were @Priscilla . Hope your home is OK. Here it is not nearly as windy as last week, but the rain is steady and quite bad. My local river was very full and running fast on the way to church this morning, as was the Thames that it empties in to.
I had to play jump the puddles coming home.
Hope the episcopal ark is OK @Bishops Finger
Safe travels @Piglet, are you going the scenic route again, or have you managed more direct flights?
The Curse of Trump is currently dripping through one or two tiny pinholes in the deck as is usually the case when it is as persistent as it is today...
Annoying, but not exactly life-threatening...
<votive>for all affected by flooding etc. etc. We must have had a month's worth of rainfall in the past 24 hours (well, it feels like it).
@Piglet wishing you uneventful travelling, with pleasant companions.
This afternoon I waded to my local co-op for sugar (note to self: before mixing a cake make sure you have everything you need!) - the “puddle” was about 11 inches deep (my wellies almost coped) and many metres long.
Thanks for all the good wishes - I'm just about to heave the suitcases downstairs before going out for lunch, then a possible snoozette before heading to the airport.
I'm always a bit apprehensive about travelling (especially on my own), but I'm really quite excited about going to Embra too (and glad to hear Dennis might be giving it a miss).
It is possible to confirm this using FreeBMD - some misguided soul in 19th century Bristol lumbered their child with the magnificent handle of Ophelia Fanny Hole...
Thank you for your kind thoughts, Sarasa. There are definite advantages to living halfway up a fairly steep hill! Parts of our valley (Rhymney) got flooded, as have parts of the Merthyr/Taff valley.
Horrendous scenes in Pontypridd, Crickhowell and elsewhere - also Tenbury Wells (in England). Poor people. Not so bad here in Cardiff, though Bute Park in the city centre and our local Park & Ride site (adjoining the Rhymney River) are underwater.
Comments
Fast forward to my youth. Dad was still called Ned, except at work where he was Bob. We could always tell the nature of a call.
Mom was Catherine, except to her family who called her Katie. Again, we could tell.
I do, however, get numerous mispronunciations most of which I can tolerate quite happily if the reason for the mispronunciation makes sense to me. A number of my students struggle if they have certain conditions that affect their speech/language. French speakers also struggle as the first syllable is a common French word and I usually get that pronunciation with the correct second syllable.
We can nick one off Spain or the Netherlands (they're honorary English knights anyway as they're members of the Order of the Garter.)
His first name was in memory of his grandfather, but was never used until he had a job where it became more convenient to be called what it said on his ID.
As he grew up he was known progressively as Billy, Bill, and Will. He introduced himself to me, in his 20s, as William, and that is what I have always called him.
I can often tell when, and sometimes where, people have known him by what they call him. Even to this day there are a couple people who knew him 60+ years ago and still call him Billy
My dad's given name was Alexander (for his grandfather), but when they told his aunt, she said Alexander was too long a name for a baby, and he should be known as Alistair. To his family he was Alistair, but to some of his colleagues he was Alex, which was how he signed himself.
How unhelpful and thoughtless. My mother's first name, which she shared with her mother, was Bertha. She never used it (possibly because of the WWI gun), but used her second name, Margaret. When in hospital the nurses at first used Bertha, but when the situation was explained, switched straight away. So it can be done.
A good ending to the week for me, I was struggling with a mental block due to my seasonal affective disorder and had just about managed to plod slowing through my marking (this week looking at healthy workplaces) but had neglected to write the essay needed for my own studies. But Thursday I wrote a quarter of the essay and yesterday I completed the current batch of marking. Feeling more positive now.
The house is very quiet, my youngest is on a school trip to Germany and the days seem long; I found myself waiting for him to come home at 3.30 yesterday.
It’s very windy here. I need to pop to the shops and I fear I might be blown there, Mary Poppins style...
My Dad was John Merryl, but usually known as Mick, which he was christened when he worked in a colliery. He was also Jack, Mel, Nick and John Merryl (when he was in trouble!) .You could tell where people knew him from depending on what people called him.
Late in her life, she became known to some as 'Betty', which she also hated...
I had a foster-brother for some years. His parents had named him Maurice, followed by Antony, followed by surname beginning with D...
That was a Good Answer™.
O, and a school chum of mine knew an elderly couple named Ebenezer and Florence Tyde. I kid you not.
(Their Christian names - they were Baptists - were usually abbreviated to Eb, and Flo...)
Good thing she wasn't called Titanic or Berengaria.
I ought at the moment to be squeezing my worldly goods into some (quite possibly inadequate) suitcases, but I'm messing around on here. The excess baggage charge is going to be stratospheric, but there's not much I can do about that.
I'm heading out shortly to get a thank-you present for M., who's been a magnificent host for the last few weeks, and to try and make my mobile phone providers understand that I want to cancel my contract.
Packing has happened, and I think I'm going to manage to squeeze my worldly goods into the available receptacles. I was right about the stratospheric cost though - one checked bag is free, but the next one is $100, and the one after that $225. As my host pointed out, they ought to have a reduced rate for people who are moving away for good!
I'm off to string a few zzz together - although I'm planning a lazy morning, I've one or two things to do, and then I'm taking M. out for lunch as a "thank you and goodbye".
There is a large amount of groundwater coming down our river, but fortunately the tides are low this weekend, so there's room for the excess water to get past, and reach the sea.
He said hopefully...
I had to play jump the puddles coming home.
Hope the episcopal ark is OK @Bishops Finger
Safe travels @Piglet, are you going the scenic route again, or have you managed more direct flights?
Annoying, but not exactly life-threatening...
<votive>for all affected by flooding etc. etc. We must have had a month's worth of rainfall in the past 24 hours (well, it feels like it).
This afternoon I waded to my local co-op for sugar (note to self: before mixing a cake make sure you have everything you need!) - the “puddle” was about 11 inches deep (my wellies almost coped) and many metres long.
Lemon drizzle cake anyone?
Thanks for all the good wishes - I'm just about to heave the suitcases downstairs before going out for lunch, then a possible snoozette before heading to the airport.
I'm always a bit apprehensive about travelling (especially on my own), but I'm really quite excited about going to Embra too (and glad to hear Dennis might be giving it a miss).
Have a good journey, O Flying @Piglet!
Hope your journey is uneventful @Piglet.