Board Thread:Eureka Moments/@comment-44706065-20200130194035/@comment-37443679-20200202093817

Latin: lots of declining and conjugating, and Cæsar's Invasions of Britain. As a special treat at Christmas, 'Winnie ille Pooh'. I dropped Latin in the Up.5th because I explained that O level in Modern History might be a tad more useful. (The Head was a bit miffed, she thought biologists should learn Latin. Classical Latin and scientific terminology are not really compatible)

I have a relatively unusual first name (probably Celtic) which has a spelling variant. So even in Britain, I constantly have to spell it. And in Norway, it is not even apparent which gender I am, so I guess some people don't know what to expect when they call out my name in a waiting room.

In Norway, first names are used informally, even in school - the pupils address the teachers by first name too. But in formal situations, one is addressed by surname alone, which took some getting used to. What really annoys me is when telephone salesmen start their pitch using the first name. I don't know them, and I don't want to!