Punting / Quorn

Two words have amused my Australian artist half-aunt while she has been staying with me.

The first is Quorn. They don't have Quorn in Australia. And if you had heard an Australian say it, you would know why. "What's this Kawoooarn stuff then?" The focus group must have laughed them out of town.

The second is punting, or more specifically 'punt'. I suppose it does sound a bit rude if you say it with a certain vigour. But she seemed to enjoy the experience anyway. We took a day off and headed north past the Victoria Arms. There was hardly a soul on the river, and we ate a Lebanese picnic and got bullied by swans. It was great.

And I have picked up a few things from her lexicon as well. Last time she was here (about nine years ago) it was the fabulous verb 'to pike'. Piking is when you go to bed before everything is eaten, drunk, smoked, snorted and the birds have got up.

I am a big piker at the moment, what with my healthy living. But that's okay these days, because we are all grown ups and have choices. The way to say "no, that's fine, really, you do what you think is best and I will not put any pressure on you to do otherwise", is to say "no worries, it's all good".

It's very satisfying when you get the hang of it.

joella