Fourteen or fifteen I went with my school to a career's show , I cannot remember where it was probably Earls Court.
Anyway I remember only one thing from that day and it was this I went to a stand for British airways and I think it had part of an aircraft which you entered and there inside were seats and air hostesses giving out leaflets about a career in that industry.
However any thought I had of boarding a plane and inviting people to take their seats was cured that day by a glamorous lady in full uniform who when I asked for a leaflet for her job and my request came out as Hair Hostess ( the problem of a south London accent and an inability not to swap or add H's to words that start with an A ) , she repeated what I had said loudly and mockingly to the merriment of all the other girls from various schools present.
Mortified I took the proffered leaflet and turned and left, I have no idea if I added it to my bundle of others or threw it in the bin,probably bin! the only thing I remember is her and the others. But although she had caused me to feel embarrassed for a while , my inner self soon surfaced to realise that it was not I who should feel in the wrong but the person who chose to score some cheap laugh by correcting a young girl in front of others. Her behavour showed me that it was not a place I'd want to work not because of my accent but because of her behavour, if there was one there would be others.
God forbid you should be called Hannah Anderson and I be required to tell it to another.. it's fifty fifty if you'll be Anna Handerson / Hannah Handerson or Hannah Anderson it's not much better with Ellen and Alan...
Amazingly there are still people who have felt the need over the years to point out when this sort of thing happened again, my adding or leaving that H ! Or to repeat a sentence I may have said that's been full South London , thinking it's funny and okay to want others to join in the laughter !
I have even had cause to point out that I do not find it funny I find it rude but they will brush it off because they think it's fine ! and they cannot be in the wrong ! I have yet to have anyone apologise for their behavour in believing that they have a right to correct a grown woman on how shes just said something! It's no different to someone from Newcastle or Birmingham's accent but for some reason but they are seen as accents, where as a South London accent is seen as poor speech or common !
If it will make someone feel superior, that's fine if they need it to help them lift themselves up so be it, but I know it to be rude and unacceptable in whatever manner they use.
No doubt the grammar and spelling on this blog leaves a lot to be desired , spell check is a marvel but not quite so good due to it being the American way of spelling, So I use Paul who will read something after I have posted it ,usually, before if I'm lucky, then point out either if the spellings wrong or I have used the wrong word that's is spelt two ways and I have chosen the incorrect one.
It's very frustrating to be in full flow of writing only to want to use a word that you have no idea how to spell or even how to start it off ! Yes spell check is a marvel but only if you know how to start the word off ! And sometimes I will sit here repeating a word trying to work out what letters it starts with!
Up in my bedroom is a book I wrote many years ago when my children were young on a typewriter and by hand, no computers back then ! My eldest daughter offered once to type it up onto the computer and she did type some of it but she'd come across a space, where I had paused in full flow trying desperately to spell the word in my head, so in the end I'd leave a gap planning to return and fill in the space but sometimes once returned I could not remember the word! I think it was my eldest daughter who bought me a small hand sized recorder telling me to tell the story into it and she'd type it later ( she is a fabulous speller, you could open a dictionary at any page when she was ten and ask her to spell a word and she'd be right! obviously does not take after her mum for that!) but I had to explain that for me the story comes from the writing down /typing of the tale...it flows from me to my hands and then onto the paper then, screen now.
For me I can sit at this computer with a selection of photos that could have just been meant to be for a photo shoot, start typing and placing the photo's in and finding a fully fledged story by the time I have finished.
Over the years my spelling and grammar has? as ? :) improved or maybe not!
But I do appreciate those teachers amongst you who have not printed up my posts, corrected them with red ink , marked then C- must do better and put them to me in the post !
Oh and It may be worth mentioning that I seem to type faster with one hand than the other and will therefore hit a letter that will appear in front of one it should be after !
Well I may go search out that book and try typing it up, problem I found when I tried before is that I change is as I type... but then being so much older maybe it will turn into a masterpiece.. or not...
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