Now that the ash has settled

The absence of a blog post for almost a fortnight may have been due to the amount of rubbish spouted into the atmosphere during the election campaign, or perhaps I was just too busy or too lazy, or had nothing worth saying (No change there then, Main Man). Although I have no one theme this time, I do have a few comments to spread before an uninterested world on this St George's Day.

First, on that very topic, I saw three flags bearing St George's cross flying from house windows in a nearby street this morning. Perhaps the day is being celebrated by the owners, but the flag has several other political or sporting connotations, so I can't be sure. The media found time, amid the protracted discussion of last night's political debate on Sky (now I know why they call it analysis) to air the usual discussions of what Englishness means, and there was a quick burst of Jerusalem on the radio, but although I shall happily support England during the World Cup, my two flags are St Piran's (I refer mystified readers to my earlier posts) and the Union Jack - all right, Flag.

Back to politics, or, more specifically, the language of politics. I am equally amused and annoyed by the tendency of some politicians to pronounce the indefinite article ay instead of a. Perhaps the ay form sounds more emphatic and weighty than the usual zero or Schwa vowel. Another pronunciation that caught my ear, this time from Nick Clegg, was crate for create. I have often heard this before, usually, for some reason, from men in their thirties. Whether this is temporary or the beginning of a permanent change I'm not sure. It is probably what my grandsons would call random, which seems increasingly to be used of anything bizarre, unusual or even mildly interesting. That's the way language changes, so fair enough.

Finally, I must come to the defence of the useful word nice, not in formal written language, outside informal dialogue, but in everyday speech, where it usually means no more than that the speaker likes or approves of whatever is so described, without needing to go into detail. It may also, now I come to think of it, carry subtext without strain. These peas are nice, Norma, may be ironic but may also convey gratitude, and even if the word only hints at the pleasure the speaker is deriving from the taste, perhaps the most difficult sense to express in words, surely that is enough? There is usually no problem for the listener in understanding what the speaker means, so the description of a meal, person, day, time, house, job, car or holiday can be suggested rather than given in detail by this convenient adjective. Perhaps we make too nice ay distinction at times, and so crate ay problem where none need exist. I wonder what the National Institute for Colloquial Excellence thinks.