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Can you please check my British English (is that redundant?) Thanks!


Marianne

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I had some images of moving vans as we call them here in the US that I just uploaded and I believe you call them "removal vans" or "removals" - plural? I did my best to add the Queen's English to my keywords but I'd appreciate if you could take a look at one of the two images (keywords are basically the same) and let me know:

 

  1. Am I missing any keywords?
  2. Have I got anything wrong?

 

Real estate has gone nuts in the US with many folks selling and moving, so I figured this trend is probably similar across the pond, with folks leaving cities for the suburbs or even more rural areas.  Thanks so much for your help.

 

Rows of U-Haul trucks removal vans lined up in a Brooklyn New York depot parking lot moving house do-it-yourself DIY concept Stock Photo

 

Image ID: 2E5EG9R and  2E5EG9J  link here

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Looking at the type of van rather than the removal side of it it could be called a Box Van I suppose. In the UK vans where the load area extends over the cab are called Luton vans because apparently (I've never looked into it before) our Bedford vans of this type were made in Luton. Try explaining that to someone in New York, they were probably copying US vans anyway. Those vans (trucks?) look great, I'd hire one.

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1 hour ago, Marianne said:

Thank you all - I missed way more than I thought - but at least I got "lorry" LOL.

 

Now "Luton Box" is one I would not have found in a million years.

 

You are all awesome. Appreciate the help!

 

 

 

I would maybe, if you haven't already since posting, slip "Ford" in there as well. If I had to guess I'd say they might be Econoline or E-series vans, but best check to be sure and include the type if you can. If they are then that is potentially relevant going forward as I believe the E-series vans are now discontinued and replaced by the Transit (which we have had in the UK for years). Personally I will greatly miss big "yank tanks", there was already surprisingly few when I visited NYC in 2019, and I was sad that none of the taxis I rode in were Crown Vics. I always liked watching US movies and TV shows and seeing how comically huge everything - including cars - seemed to be compared to European counterparts, though that gap is narrowing as people feel the squeeze more now.

Edited by Cal
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53 minutes ago, Cal said:

 

I would maybe, if you haven't already since posting, slip "Ford" in there as well. If I had to guess I'd say they might be Econoline or E-series vans, but best check to be sure and include the type if you can. If they are then that is potentially relevant going forward as I believe the E-series vans are now discontinued and replaced by the Transit (which we have had in the UK for years). Personally I will greatly miss big "yank tanks", there was already surprisingly few when I visited NYC in 2019, and I was sad that none of the taxis I rode in were Crown Vics. I always liked watching US movies and TV shows and seeing how comically huge everything - including cars - seemed to be compared to European counterparts, though that gap is narrowing as people feel the squeeze more now.

 

LOL we Americans still have a penchant for big vehicles - especially SUVs - It's shocking the number of people I see driving Hummers!  

 

I've been told it's nearly impossible to get a rental van these days with so many people moving, which is what reminded me that I had these photos. Took the picture when we moved my daughter into her first apartment. At the time we had to rent a much larger truck than we needed. My husband had quite the time driving it through the city. But actually the ride from our house in the burbs was trickier since we live near a parkway built in the 1930's and the bridges that pass over them for cross streets are all too low for trucks, so he had to carefully plan out his route. I've occasionally seen the roads shut down because someone doesn't believe the low clearance & gets stuck under the bridge! (Now that would be a fun picture!)

 

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I once lived in a town that had a low clearance railroad bridge. The height was clearly marked, but I doubt a month went by without a semi getting stuck under it. Surely, they have to know how tall their trailer is, you’d think.

But then, knowing human nature, it’s understandable. Like me. I know what’s safe and what isn’t. So why did I roll my desk chair into the living room to stand on while changing a lightbulb in the ceiling? Because I had the “Not Me” syndrome. It’s dangerous for everyone else, but “not me.” And because I didn’t want to go to the garage and fetch a ladder, or grab a stable dining room chair. How about just grabbing this handy desk chair on wheels? Laziness.

I thought I was invincible until I found myself on my back on the Italian tile over concrete floor, afraid to feel the huge lump on the back of my head because surely it had to be split open. (It wasn’t)

At certain times, all of us probably have had that invincible feeling. That could have contributed to the back issues I have now because I hit on my rear first, then whiplashed back to hit my head. Dumb, dumb, dumb. I’m sure those truckers felt the same.

Edited by Betty LaRue
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On 03/02/2021 at 19:52, Marianne said:

 

My husband had quite the time driving it through the city. But actually the ride from our house in the burbs was trickier since we live near a parkway built in the 1930's and the bridges that pass over them for cross streets are all too low for trucks, so he had to carefully plan out his route. I've occasionally seen the roads shut down because someone doesn't believe the low clearance & gets stuck under the bridge! (Now that would be a fun picture!)

 

 

8 hours ago, Betty LaRue said:

I once lived in a town that had a low clearance railroad bridge. The height was clearly marked, but I doubt a month went by without a semi getting stuck under it. Surely, they have to know how tall their trailer is, you’d think.

 

 

 

I can wholeheartedly recommend 11foot8: http://11foot8.com 

 

Known affectionately as "the can opener".

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Taking another look at Marianne's OP, I don't see it as a real problem. (Google can be helpful). 

 

As many of you know, I'm an American who has lived in England for more than a decade (8-plus years in the '80s and now for almost 2-years more in Liverpool). I said I was an America, but the truth is I'm a New Yorker, and to refined that further, I'm Brooklyn born and raised . . . the City Across the River. I can speak either British or American English. For the most part, I don't have to. I do say 'flat' more often than I say 'apartment' because I value George Orwell's writing tips: "Never use a big word when a small one will do." I value Elmore Leonard's tips even more. 

 

People on both sides of the Atlantic have been watching TV shows from across the pond for a very long time now. Mostly, we understand one another's expressions. Here in Merseyside, locals say, "How are you feeling?" That is not, as I first thought, an inquiry about my health. It's just a simple greeting. 

 

Photographers are curious people. Stock and Live News togs more so. We pick up on stuff. Scouse? That's my exception that proves the rule. I understand almost none of it.  Can you?  

 

 

 

 

Edited by Ed Rooney
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I see I-we less often. That woman, the interviewer, does have a good voice and very good British pronunciation. 

 

Sometimes, when I shopped in Oxford, I would us a fake Oxbridge accent. It worked. With Scouse, I'm very much out of my depth. 

 

Italian is a totally different bag of tricks from French or even English in that they pronounce ALL the syllables. 

 

Edited by Ed Rooney
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My parents were British, so I grew up with words like "torch" (flashlight), "trousers," "specs," etc. My mother, who was from Devon, spoke with a standard British accent to her dying day. My father immigrated with his family to NYC when he was about 12 years old (I think they lived in Brooklyn if memory serves). His accent was what used to be called "mid-Atlantic." He eventually moved back to the UK as a young man. I had a British accent (standard, I guess) as a child, but it gradually disappeared after we came to Canada. Mind you, the remnants are still there (so I'm told) with some words. Scouse is beyond comprehension to me as well. Scousers like the young woman in the video sound as if they are having a lot of fun when they speak their private language, though.

Edited by John Mitchell
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