The changing meaning of the verb 'to revert'

I do a lot of work for the publishing industry. My husband works in the IT industry. Between us, we have plenty of experience working with Indian colleagues. And the one thing that we both really notice is the phenomenon of Indian English,

There are certain phrases that are used regularly in Indian English but are not correct, at least traditionally, in British English. One of our favourites is the word 'revert'. In Indian English the phrase: 'Please revert to me' is commonplace. This is used to mean 'please refer to me', as in 'if you have any questions, please refer to me'. Or, in Indian English, 'if you have any questions, please revert to me'. Although we understand perfectly well what is meant by the phrase in Indian English, it is a non-starter in British English. In British English, 'please revert to me' would mean 'please turn back into me' -- which makes no sense at all!

What's interesting, though, is that this phrase now appears to be entering British English and, increasingly, is being used between speakers of British English. Only the other day, I received an email from a journalist saying '...I will revert to you or to Kate, depending on your instructions'.

The phrase 'to revert' in the sense of 'to refer' already appears in the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, albeit under the category of Indian English. My guess is that it won't be long before it appears in other more pedestrian dictionaries of British English as well.

Springtime sandal shopping

It's spring which means...time to shop for sandals for the kids again.

I have never been a great fan of shoe shopping for myself -- a legacy of having large feet and it being impossible to find shoes in my size when I was young. I have memories of being dragged from shop to shop with assistants making increasingly cutting remarks about the size of my feet. That wouldn't happen these days, of course -- people actually seem to care about kids and their feelings now! But not so back in the 70s.

My kids have quite large feet too, but at least shops have now tumbled to the fact that not all girls possess petite tootsies and it is possible to purchase larger sizes. However, my oldest is now at the age where Clarks is a no-no and Schuh is much more the thing, whereas my youngest still prefers the offering from Clarks, so we now have to visit twice as many shops. Schuh is also expensive, which rather limits the choices for my oldest, as I (perhaps unreasonably?) baulk at paying over £40 for a pair of kids' sandals.

So, we headed into our local town a couple of days ago and visited the requisite shops. My oldest identified some sandals that she liked, but which were expensive. My youngest was measured up in Clarks, but when the assistant returned from the stock room she declared that they had no sandals whatsoever in my daughter's size. So, we came home empty handed on both fronts.

The problem is that the kids still need their sandals. So, I started up my laptop and managed to find the expensive sandals for sale significantly cheaper with a reputable online supplier. Hurrah! And we managed to find some sandals that my youngest liked the look of in the Clarks online shop. These are now on order for delivery to our local store.

Let's just hope they fit when they arrive, otherwise it'll be back to the drawing board again!

The Cotswold town of Burford

We had a fabulous family day out in the Cotswold town of Burford today. We used to visit Burford a lot when we first moved to Oxfordshire, but haven't visited for a long time and, as far as I remember, we haven't taken the kids there. So, we packed up a picnic and decided to give it a go.

We started off by doing a four mile walk in the countryside surrounding Burford. The Cotswolds landscape is truly gorgeous and we climbed lots of stiles (the kids love stiles), saw some foals (the kids love foals) and took in the tiny church in the village of Widford (very peaceful with beautiful wall paintings). We had our picnic in a lush valley bottom, halfway round the walk -- the perfect picnic spot.

After our walk, we got 'proper' ice creams in Burford (waffle cones and non-mass produced ice cream) and had a look round the numerous shops in the town. We particularly liked the Cotswold Cheese Company (lots of lovely cheeses, olives and savoury biscuits, with a cafe at the back where you could enjoy tasting platters and a glass of wine) and Burford Woodcraft (we were keen to show this shop to the kids as we bought our current coffee table there when we first moved down to Oxford, almost twenty years ago now).

On the way back to the car, we popped into Burford's church, which is very large with spectacular stained glass (fitting for a former wealthy wool town), and bought a couple of plants for our garden from a 'nursery' (actually an extensive Cotswold stone house which sells all sorts of cottage garden plants to passing tourists).

I arrived home feeling relaxed and restored. An excellent outcome for a bank holiday Saturday!

Wearables and the coffee shop experience

I heard an interesting article last week on Radio 4's Today programme about so-called 'wearables' -- wearable technology such as smart watches. This article covered the uses to which such wearable devices can be put -- transferring our personal data to other devices in order to make our lives easier, for instance. The example given, which really made my ears prick up, was that your smart watch might be used to transfer your personal beverage preferences to the computer at your local coffee shop, with the result that your coffee would be ready and waiting for you on your arrival. No need to queue. No need to take time to decide whether or not you'd like to try the coffee of the week.  No need whatsoever to speak to another human being. Simply grab and go -- in the most literal sense.

The general gist of the Today programme discussion covered the ethics and data protection aspects of such practice -- is it safe or desirable for people's personal data to be transmitted in this way? Research showed that opinion on this issue is divided, with, perhaps predictably, the very young (those already most comfortable with mobile devices, social media, etc.) voicing the least concern.

But my interest lay in the social -- or lack of social -- aspects of such practice in relation to the coffee shop experience. I actively enjoy going into a coffee shop, standing in a queue, observing the people around me, interacting with the barista to order my coffee (pass the time of day, have a joke...). I can't imagine anything worse than grabbing my coffee and leaving without any social interaction whatsoever.

Am I unusual in this, I wonder? Or am I one of many set-in-their-ways, middle-aged people who feel just the same? (And, as a largely irrelevant aside, who takes a word like 'wearables' seriously anyway?!)

The Hard Problem

Last weekend, I had a wonderful treat. My husband and I went to see Tom Stoppard's new play, 'The Hard Problem', at the National Theatre on London's South Bank.

Tom Stoppard is my all-time favourite playwright, simply because his plays are so intelligent and make you think in a way that no other plays do. So I was very excited when I found out that Stoppard had written a new play, and I was lucky enough to be given tickets for my birthday.

'The Hard Problem' didn't disappoint. Essentially, the play is about the problem of consciousness--how, given the materialist nature of science, it is possible to adequately explain the phenomenon of consciousness in purely scientific (i.e. physical) terms (via neurobiology, for example). The vast majority of scientists, psychologists and philosophers today believe that the mind (or consciousness) in some way reduces to brain activity, hence can be explained in physical or scientific terms. However, they all agree that no-one to date has come close to doing so -- simply because, they argue, the brain (and mind) is simply too complex for us to understand at this stage. Hence, the problem of consciousness is the Hard Problem for scientists.

Stoppard's play explores the flip side of the coin -- that perhaps the mind or consciousness cannot be reduced to physical brain activity. The key protagonist of this argument within the play is Hilary, a psychologist who feels extreme sorrow and guilt for having given her daughter up for adoption and who prays to God for forgiveness. These concepts -- sorrow, guilt, forgiveness and God -- are  not, she believes, rooted in the physical. Rather, they are something more than physical.

As is typical with Stoppard, the play is fast moving and covers a variety of topics. Areas that loom large are the nature of altruism, the behaviour of financial markets, whether or not machines can think, and what any of this has to do with how people behave in the real world (outside academia) day to day.

I loved this play. My academic background is in philosophy, which means that I was familiar with most of the concepts discussed. However, that kind of knowledge isn't necessary to enjoy the play -- I know of several non-specialists who loved it. All you need is an ability to listen carefully and to think outside the box.

My husband and I came out of the theatre discussing the issues raised in the play and we are still discussing them. Wonderful!

First names and last names

Even in the informal, everyone-is-equal world of today, first names and last names are still used as indicators of status. This struck me most recently when flying home from Venice. The captain did the usual welcome announcement once we’d all boarded the plane. He referred to himself and his co-pilot by first name and surname, yet introduced the cabin crew by first name only. Why? I assume because pilots are considered more senior in rank, hence ‘better’ than cabin crew. But in fact these two professions are just different – it doesn't make any sense to compare seniority across the two.

The same applies to the health professions. Doctors are referred to by surname and nurses by first name. In the past, of course, nurses were also referred to by surname – back when everyone was known by their title and surname in the workplace. So why have things changed for nurses, but not for doctors? Again, I assume it is to do with perceived seniority. I remember my surprise when the doctor who was called to assist with the delivery of my first child introduced herself by her first name. Even after hours of labour, this struck me as unusual! When the midwives told me that this doctor was coming to assist, they described her as ‘lovely’. She was also young. Maybe that’s why she bucked the naming convention. Or maybe she was keen to establish a rapport with her patients quickly. Either way, this is not the norm.

Some of my elderly relatives lament the fact that it is now usual to call someone by their first name rather than their surname. One of them mentioned this in the context of being a patient in hospital. Now all patients are referred to by first name, whereas in the past they would have been referred to by title and surname. My elderly relative found it demeaning that someone sixty years her junior should address her by her first name.

So, in the past, surnames were the norm outside one's circle of family and friends. But nowadays first names are the norm, except in professions which are considered particularly prestigious or in some way special. It's interesting how these things change.

Easter weekend in Venice

We were lucky enough to spend the Easter weekend in Venice. My husband and I visited many years ago and, much more recently, our kids have been telling us how much they want to visit the city. So, we decided to indulge them (and us!).

Venice is still as beautiful as it was last time we visited. Its shabby air and dilapidated buildings are what make it so appealing -- to me at least. We spent a lot of time just wandering the streets, seeing what we came across, and that really is the best way to experience the city. You find yourself in awe and experiencing sensory overload. There is so much to take in, so much to see, that you end up wishing you had eyes in the back of your head!

One of the highlights for me was Ca' Rezzonico -- a palazzo built in the seventeenth century and eighteenth centuries, which boasts some beautiful frescoes. The rooms in the palace are presented as they would have been in the eighteenth century, with furnishings and artwork of the period. Another highlight was the Secrets Tour at the Palazzo Ducale, an hour-long guided itinerary taking you to hidden parts of the palace which aren't usually open to the public.

Venice was full of tourists -- much more so than when we visited fifteen or so years ago. Whether this was because it was Easter weekend or whether it is just that many more people are travelling now than then, I don't know. However, as is always the case, you only have to turn down a small side street to find yourself practically alone, since the vast majority of people seem to prefer sticking with the crowds on the main drags.

The kids particularly enjoyed the 'watery' aspect of Venice and loved the various vaporetto rides that we did. We took an Alilaguna boat from the airport to Venice and this was a real hit -- approaching Venice by boat ensures some fantastic views and also provides an understanding of the city and its canals. The kids were on the edge of their seats snapping photos out of the window.

A weekend really wasn't long enough to see and do everything in Venice. Maybe we'll return in another few years to complete the job!