Sorry!
Handbag is most definitely carried by a female in British culture…still although there has been some movement.
Even the Germans whose men have been carrying small bags/pouches routindly, made sure for men to always call it a Männertasche (man-bag).
If you want good quality s/h hard back books, Abebooks (a subsidiary of Amazon) is much better value - I have lots of beautifully bound books that were destockage from US public libraries (no-one but the librarian had read them) and many of these cost only 1 cent plus the postage.
Re man/person/hand bags: wallet in a back pocket, change in a front pocket and phone in a shirt pocket works for me. Might spoil the curve of one buttock, but at my age probably no one’s looking…
I ordered some car bits today from a small family business and I was reminded of how lovely that experience can be. I was a bit concerned as I was dealing with a U.K. based supplier with a supply chain that relies on sourcing parts from the USA. With Brexit and tarrifgate I was expecting high prices and hassle. It all went smoothly.
I started by sending an email asking if the part that I wanted would be simple to fit in place of the two combined elderly components it will be replacing. Would it be plug and play or would I need to order a few bits and pieces to make it fit and work? Within 10 minutes I had a reply, It replaced the old items using the same mounting and the electrical connection taken off the old one would be reconnected onto the new. Perfect. He also told me that he had sold the last one he had in stock yesterday, (the web-page had already told me that they were out of stock) but there was one in the order that was already on its way across the Atlantic and that it was already allocated to me if I wanted it. I did. As the EU delivery charge was for a complete order not changed by the number of items ordered I ordered four or five smaller items to take advantage of the ‘free’ postage. It was only after the order had been sent and a confirmation email received that I realised I had made a mistake and had ordered an item for a 12 volt system when I needed one that used 6 volts. One more email and it was sorted.
I’m a great believer in the efficiency of Amazon but todays order was far more personal. The exchange of emails and instant answers from a real person was refreshing. Having my mistake put right without having to find how to contact customer services then try to convince a bot that you needed to talk to person was the icing on the cake. I hope I’m not being too smug as I still have to go through the unknown procedure of paying TVA and any extra charges demanded by the delivery company. I’ve got my fingers crossed for that.
Obviously you are dealing with skilled knowledgable people which is a very rare comodity these days. Now its pay low wages to someone who hasnt a clue and only supplies stock answers if at all. I remember the days of real motor spares shops where they knew what they were talking about.
But also much easier to steal. My son’s wallet with his driving licence in it was lifted on the Paris Metro which resulted in the whole 10 day holiday here being tied to the taxi of Dad, instead of the pre-booked hire car.
As was mine and that was from a front trouser pocket. The most inconvenient part was getting a new titre de séjour, all the bank stuff was pretty straightforward and I was amazed to have a new UK driving licence in 3 days.
His arrived from Swansea in 3 days too, but to his Mum’s home in England, against my advice to have it sent here. If it had arrived late here it wouldn’t have mattered as I would have sent it on as he doesn’t need it in England, was only passing through on his way back to Thailand. Where apparently nobody seems to need one , he appeared to go out each morning on his motorbike and decide at that point which side of the road to ride on.
He is relocating to Bangkok again this summer from Macau, which is too dull and too far away from where his beloved lives, so I can start to worry again about his antics. Still only 45, or is it 46(?), so adulthood beckons, surely.
I believe “handy” is quite a common term, especially for speakers of “International English”.
A real enthusiast who has turned his passion into a business supporting the like minded.
In Germany it’s pronounced ‘hendy’ which weird because Hand meaning hand isn’t pronounced hend, but pretty much ‘hunt’.
I thought that was a dog?
Hund = dog. As opposed to Hand.
That’s Hund, the u has the same sound as the oo in room and the d sounds like a t
When I lived in Germany a mobile phone was always referred to as a handy. Another common word I liked was roller for a powered scooter. When I moved to France I was speaking to an Englishman who kept talking about his roller. I imagined he had something like a Lambretta or a Vespa but he actually had a Rolls Royce.
I want to buy an electrical heating pad for my lower back and after research found one which is reasonably well recommended. If I purchase from Amazon.fr the cost is 126 euros, but from Amazon.com the cost is 53 euros including shipping and VAT - for the same article.
Has the price difference anything to do with Trump’s tariffs?
Doubt it - assuming the item is made in China then the one from the US website ought to be much more expensive. Unless they are selling pre-tariff stock of course.
More likely different importers with a different idea of what they can get away with pricewise.
Amazon pricing can be weird - sometimes I think sellers put things up there at mad prices on the offchance that someone will be crazy enough to buy,
I’ve been looking at telescopes recently and you get listings like this:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/BYERZ-Professional-Astronomical-Observation-Beautifully/dp/B0CQXDX37P
They are asking £8,500 for a cheap piece of crap refractor scope that would normally sell for about £200, and even then not be worth buying.
As for the heating pad, I bought this last October for £25 when I pulled a muscle in my back lifting camera gear, and found it quite helpful:
I think you’re right. The more expensive version, via Amazon.fr, is from a company called Seaside Store, whereas the cheaper version via Amazon.com is from the official supplier.
I had a full chair version, from neck to bum, of the shiatsu type massager. It’s stopped working now and I found it anyway a bit too harsh. I’m looking for the heat + vibrating type massager for the small of my back – long standing issue.
With anti-inflammatory drugs I could get by, but my new doctor, younger than my previous doctors, won’t prescribe them because they are now considered kidney toxic!