Not for the first time and, quite probably, not for the last, I woke up in the early hours of the morning and have been unable to go back to sleep - and, as I've mentioned before, one of the advantages of retirement is being able to turn on my lap-top in the knowledge that I don't have to get up for work. That said, it happens to be a Sunday; so, I wouldn't have to get up for work anyhow. Furthermore it's just occurred to me that I do want to get up today to watch Murray in the Oz tennis final at 8.00 am.
Anyway, what has been occupying mind mind for the past couple of hours are words. Some people count sheep - but, I often resort to words. Unfortunately, slumber didn't arrive on this occasion. However, It's no secret that I like words; and, since the English language is so complicated, I don't mind it being cited that, to a certain extent, they excite me and, with the benefit of hindsight, one of the advantages of having a web-site is being able to play around with them.
Now, one of the interesting things about English is that it isn't necessary to be too bright to make fun of it. When they speak, Lord John Prescott and Ian Wright, the former footballer, for example, often give it the last rites without even knowing it. However, when they write it (albeit sometimes with the help of ghost-writers) they seem to do alright.
For my part, perhaps because Welsh was my first language, I used to find English grammar quite a challenge at school and I admire anyone from overseas who can recognise the idioscyncrasies involved with words such as bow and bough, for example, or toe and tow, rough, tough, tough, touch, taught and taut and so on. If you can master them, Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch is a piece of cake.
