[birmingham] and stephane dion

The beauty of Birmingham

How well do you speak English?

Canada's main opposition leader Stephane Dion says his biggest handicap as he campaigns for votes in the country's snap elections is his difficulty communicating in English, which he blamed on a "hearing problem." "I have a hearing problem and it may be linked to that," the Liberal leader said in an interview with the Globe and Mail newspaper. "I have difficulty to isolate sounds," he said. "It may explain the fact that the music of the language is difficult for me to catch."

Question - should that be "to isolate", "in isolating" or should another construction have been utilized? No matter.

Speaking of Brummies, we were discussing them today and the question arose of their accent. "Oh, they're much improved now," my friend corrected me.

"Well that's nice to hear," I replied. "I always considered that my strangulated accent was not the worst accent in the British Isles but now I see that it is."

'Yes, it's much improved now, Birmingham," he continued. "They've done the city centre up quite nicely, in fact."

You'd have to agree with that. Look at how spic and span those canal boats in the picture [above] look. I've just had the most brilliant idea how to overcome my current job flow crisis - set up a Birmingham Narrowboat Holiday Company, funded by Northern Rock.