Dirt offends you, mummy offends me!

A good friend of mine is living in London and has a wonderful rant about the difference in language from the Brits and the Americans. I had to share. It's a great topic of conversation!

So, the other day, I took one of my students to her first day of work experience at a garden nursery. Her first job was to repot some chili plants. The manager instructed her to put a layer of dirt in the bottom of the pot, then the plant, and then some more dirt.

The first pot she did her self, she forgot to put a layer of dirt in the bottom of the pot. So I said " Michelle, did you remember to put the dirt in the pot first?"

And before Michelle could say anything , the manager turned around and snapped at me " I've always been offended by American's use of the word dirt. We refer to it as compost. (pronounced compahst) Please do not use the term dirt while you are here. It is compost. We lived in Canada for awhile, and the Canadians use the term dirt as well. It's very inappropriate."

" Sure" I said, "but I'm not quite used to pronouncing it "compahst," so I'll probably end up calling it compost. I hope that will be acceptable."

On that note, the first time someone refers to me as a "mummy" instead of a "mommy" or "mom" or "mother" they are probably going to get a swift kick to the teeth! Or in an English person's case, a swift kick to the tooth!

A mummy is a dead body of a human or animal that has been embalmed and prepared for burial, as according to the practices of the ancient Egyptians.

Not the woman who gave birth to you!