An evening with Barrie Wills - book launch & M100 Talk.

[Simon_P]

PS shame about the plural of Lotus

The Plural of Lotus is Lotuses (for the avoidance of doubt)

I think that is correct as it is the possesive of Lotus, a bit like sheep's eyes..

Very good Phil - Typical engineer but sheep is a common noun so even if the plural of sheep was sheeps the possessive form would be sheeps's. I believe the correct possessive form of a proper noun ending s is the addition of an apostrophe so Lotus would be Lotus' ... and Lotuses'

I wonder where the book is now.

Like much of British Engineering Kirkstall Forge is now the name of a housing estate. I hope the book fared better.

[lotusflasherman]

PS shame about the plural of Lotus

The Plural of Lotus is Lotuses (for the avoidance of doubt)

er .. No, it's not .. plural of Lotus has always been Lotus, never Lotuses nor Loti . The Boss said so ... He said they are horrible words..

Lotus terminology.jpg

an apostrophe only indicates a missing letter or letters and the use of the apostrophe in the possessive is because old English used to add "es" to indicate possessive .. as in "young manes mother" became "young man's mother".

It became messy when trying to add "es" to "ladies", for example, for possession of their dresses... "ladieses" was such a messy word, so the apostrophe was placed after as "the ladies' dresses"to indicate the omission of 'es' ..
problem was when spoken it was not possible to distinguish "the lady's dresses" from "the ladies' dresses" ... so I was taught at Grammar School it's always better to swap the words and use "of the", or similar, to identify if the dresses are of "a lady" or "the ladies" and avoid ambiguity.

The old English possessive of Lotus would have been "Lotuses" so the possessive could be Lotus's or Lotus', depending on whether the apostrophe replaced the "e" or "es" but both are pronounced the same .. . but the Boss says " Lotus' " so that's it, definitive answer.

I think it's better to apply that rule and say "arguably the best car made by Lotus" and avoid using possessive Lotus', pronounced Lotuses, which the Boss said is a "horrible word".

[Rambo]

"arguably the best car made by Lotus" is the best way to go Phil. I agree. It sounds better and there can be no argument about plurals or possessives.

PS I went to a grammar school too but yours sounds more poshe than mine

[Simon_P]

er .. No, it's not .. plural of Lotus has always been Lotus, never Lotuses nor Loti . The Boss said so ... He said they are horrible words..

er Yes it is! from the horse's mouth... as the Boss says "people are still enjoying their Lotuses" 3 minutes 42 seconds https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xL64dMbabQ

[lotusflasherman]

er .. No, it's not .. plural of Lotus has always been Lotus, never Lotuses nor Loti . The Boss said so ... He said they are horrible words..

er Yes it is! from the horse's mouth... as the Boss says "people are still enjoying their Lotuses" 3 minutes 42 seconds https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xL64dMbabQ

So you choose to argue with a published Lotus Bulletin on the subject, amazing. You've obviously never heard "Do as I say, not as I do". The Bulletin is about the written word - it says Literature.
It's well known that the spoken word is frequently different to the written word ... just ask Jonathan 'Woss'... Dr Samuel Johnson worked for years to get the vernacular and written word closer together with his Dictionary of the English Language. I think he wasted his time from what I see on the web and social media.

[GeoffSmith]

I always thought that languages evolved init.

[lotusflasherman]

I always thought that languages evolved init.

Yeah, that's why we see expressions like "breaking into a corner", "there" not "their", confusion between "hear" and "here" and frequent use of "of" in place of " have"... and the use of "which" or "that" seems to be misunderstood.

[lotusflasherman]

"arguably the best car made by Lotus" is the best way to go Phil. I agree. It sounds better and there can be no argument about plurals or possessives.

PS I went to a grammar school too but yours sounds more poshe than mine

Ha ha.. Barnet, north outskirts of London, good academic and sporting history but far from "posh" - no E, "posh" comes from what the the upper class travelling to India had chalked on their luggage to identify their cabins - " Port Out, Starboard Home" - the cool side in the shade.

[dapinky]

Ah, but who is to say which is correct? To whom it applies, and which of these are incorrect?

[lotusflasherman]

Ah, but who is to say which is correct? To whom it applies, and which of these are incorrect?

I'll go with whatever ACBC dictated in the past or MJK says today.

[Dave Eds]

's all bollox init bruv

[GeoffSmith]

From the dark side:

Pre-orders for 45+ Years Without John DeLorean - and a little more with, the prequel/sequel to the best selling John Z, the DeLorean & Me - tales from an insider (only a few copies left), are now being accepted on http://www.woodbinepublications.com. Dispatch of books is expected around mid January 2020. Those enthusiasts who ignored the earlier instruction not to pre-order - or did not read it! - should not concern themselves as a way is to be found through which your order will be accepted. First orders will be signed by the author, DeLorean Motor Cars Limited's longest serving employee, Barrie Wills.

[KenCarson]

Is the evening with Barrie Wills happening and if so when, where and are there still places? Or have I missed something?

[GeoffSmith]

Ken, the precursor to everything was The Book which has apparently just arrived from the Far East. Barrie has just had a knee replacement and seems a little bit preoccupied with planning for the book distribution in mid January. Hopefully Clemo can confirm what is proposed when things have firmed up early next year. At least the weather should be better and my long overdue cam belt / water hose change is complete.