Come and take a trip around Cornwall my old home

Like so many other things in my life, the meaning of words have also changed. The word “quaint” to me means charming in a kind of old fashioned way. If you ask someone younger, like a yuppie, they may say it means old and dreary, rundown, or some other demeaning notion. Maybe even something that they don’t want to be associated with.

I certainly did not mean any disrespect, but for others, it may give them an opportunity to kind of belittle or disparage someone’s property. Some people just like to be mean. By demeaning others, it kind of gives them a quick high or an instantaneous feel good feeling. Some people just enjoy knocking down the other guy.

How’s that for hijacking the thread? Sorry!
 

retiredtraveler said:
I'm hijacking the thread.

Ok, for you Uk'ers. I had a discussion years back, on TripAdvisor, about the use of the word 'quaint'. I used it in an early posting stating how I wanted to visit 'quaint' towns in the Cotswolds. Several people told me that 'quaint' is a pejorative in the UK. It basically means 'redneck' (as we use it in the US), and is insulting. Others (UK posters) stated that it wasn't a negative to them, and a few stated it was a negative, but they knew what we Americans meant by it. It really turned into a lively discussion with over a dozen postings on the subject.
I stopped using that word on TripAdvisor and substitute 'picturesque'.

What's your take on it?
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Absolutely not... I have no idea who told you that but that's complete Rot. Quaint is used here in precisely the way you used it, meaning attractively unusual , or old fashioned.. definitely never the same meaning as Redneck..nor does it mean rundown... !!
 
oldman said:
Holly, You are very fortunate to have lived in such a beautiful quaint area. Here where I live, we have a lot of English influence in our architecture because many of the towns were established by English after they arrived here in the US. In fact, the little town that I grew up in was named after an English village, Hallam, England. Our county seat is also named after an English town, York, England. Beautiful!
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Yes I am fortunate to have lived in some beautiful,l places, as I do now also... ..and York is one of the most beautiful and very much visited quaint historical towns in the North of England, so if you county seat is as pretty as York with it's lovely Cathedral, then your fortunate , Oldman.. :D
 

Alas, Holly, York, Pennsylvania is not so charming here. It's like a lot of the inner cities today. There has been a blight to the city. The city is made up of mostly lower income residents, a very poor school district that is owing to the state for money to keep it going and drugs all over with gang bangers. It's not a safe city at night and many people in the County try to avoid going into the city, unless they have to go to the court house or have other business that needs attended to.

The first six minutes of this video is of West York, which is a separate borough from the city. They have their own school district and the village is considered very middle income, with some higher income earners in the outer areas of the borough. From appearances, the city doesn't look too bad in this video, but believe me, you wouldn't want to live in it.

 
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I take your word for it not being so nice Oldman. It's funny how sometimes in Videos' and even on Google maps places that are less than salubrious look perfectly nice, but in reality as you say..''you woudn't want to live there''..
 
hollydolly said:
Absolutely not... I have no idea who told you that but that's complete Rot. Quaint is used here in precisely the way you used it, meaning attractively unusual , or old fashioned.. definitely never the same meaning as Redneck..nor does it mean rundown... !!
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Just shows your regional(?) differences in language, same as we have here. I got the 'quaint thing' from TripAdvisor. Locals (as in Brits) were commenting on my question as to quaint villages in the Cotswolds and a Brit answered who was quite offended. A number of people (again, Brits) weighed in on this, and the thread became quite lively. Some Brits said it was offensive, some were like your comment ('complete rot'), some said it was mildly offensive, but they knew what it meant when an American used it.
Anyway, it was interesting. I'm a heavy user of TripAdvisor and have had a lot of good info from (mostly Brit) posters on my annual travel plans to the UK. I always appreciate the help from locals, or others who are familiar with an area I'm researching. BTW, if you're familiar with Kennet and Avon canal, please post.
 
Never made it to Cornwall, but my favorite spot was the Mermaid Inn in Rye. 20 years ago. Now I have to find my (pre-digital) pictures from that trip...
 
Retiredtraveler, Aviemore is very much a modern holiday village, not really representative of the Highlands. Grantown on Spey is more typical, as are the villages between the two. I hope that you get to see the coast some time. Most visitors crowd to the west coast and it has become a victim of its own success. It is certainly beautiful and rugged, but it is crowded, rather wet and plauged by midgies. The east is rather more subtle. Less hilly , much drier, few midgies and largely ignored by the hoards of tourists. It does have great beaches, golf courses and loads of distilleries. As one man I met put it, you live on the east, you only survive on the west.
 
Capt Lightning said:
Retiredtraveler, Aviemore is very much a modern holiday village, not really representative of the Highlands. Grantown on Spey is more typical, as are the villages between the two. I hope that you get to see the coast some time. Most visitors crowd to the west coast and it has become a victim of its own success. It is certainly beautiful and rugged, but it is crowded, rather wet and plauged by midgies.....
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Thanks. Yes, I'm aware. I only use public trans, and Aviemore has good bus/train service to various towns where I both toured and/or hiked near. I always stay in towns where I can get good trans. meaning they're usually 'touristy' or not too interesting. On that same trip, I stayed in Fort William to hike around Ben Nevis and Glencoe. Also visited highland towns in that area that had bus/train service. Yes, Fort W didn't have much in the way of architectural interest, but was an excellent transportation hub.
I've read about how 'overrun' the west coast is. Have not gone there, yet. I've read some articles about possibly limiting number of tourists in a day on some of the islands. I've been lucky so far with the midgies in Scotland. I've made 3 trips to Scotland with no buggers. But, when I hike, I'm usually up high.
I want to go east and see if there is some way to find my little namesake town. I have found a bus that goes through there.
 
Hoot N Annie said:
Never made it to Cornwall, but my favorite spot was the Mermaid Inn in Rye. 20 years ago. Now I have to find my (pre-digital) pictures from that trip...
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I'd like to see those too. Have not been in that area. I 'google'd' Mermaid Inn. Looks really nice. I did a bit of a walkabout on the town (Google Earth). Very nice.
 
Hi. My wife spend 20 years in Penzance. I have been there twice & we are leaving for Cornwall this spring. We plan to spend 23 days there. Yes, we will visit Port Isaac, Padstow & many other places. We intend to keep away from Lands End which has become a "zoo" for tourists. Hope to see the beautiful bluebells this spring. Apparently Cornwall is swamped with tourists during July & August so we never go there then. Maybe we will spend Christmas there this year; depending on our health. Thanks for the lovely video.
 
Packerjohn said:
Hi. My wife spend 20 years in Penzance. I have been there twice & we are leaving for Cornwall this spring. We plan to spend 23 days there. Yes, we will visit Port Isaac, Padstow & many other places. We intend to keep away from Lands End which has become a "zoo" for tourists. Hope to see the beautiful bluebells this spring. Apparently Cornwall is swamped with tourists during July & August so we never go there then. Maybe we will spend Christmas there this year; depending on our health. Thanks for the lovely video.
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I hope you have a lovely time packerjohn, and yes you're perfectly correct best to stay well clear in July and August ... I'm pleased you enjoyed the video..
 

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