Personal

"Olly-olly-oxen-free"

A book I'm reading has just solved a mystery. It explained a song lyric I didn't know where to start with.

Two of my friends are marrying Americans later this year. I'm in awe of them - it's going to be a long journey learning to communicate. Before tonight, the time I most recently met James was the first time I met his fiancée Kari. And as we ate together he'd regularly lean towards her to help her understand the jokes.

There's more to it than language and accents. There's a huge cultural shift too. Even here in the UK two hundred miles makes all the difference. I'd survived thirty-one years before learning about Parkin; our supermarket chains and driving styles differ from one region to the next.

When I travel I always lament the fact there are no unique souvenirs. There's nothing I can buy on holiday that I can't order from my home. It sometimes seems the world is converging, becoming less unique.

But hidden, just out of view, are a wealth of differences. A mine of uniquifiers. A treasure trove of cultures, languages, accents and idioms waiting to be found.

Olly-olly-oxen-free.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are."