IN A MANNER OF SPEAKING..

I like Ronald Koeman.  I like the cut of his jib.  And one of his more endearing qualities is the way he conducts himself in media interviews, all done with an engaging Dutch accent and a choice of English that speaks volumes for his grasp of the language.  But here`s a curious thing.  Each day I get the on-line version of the Southampton local newspaper, the Southern Daily Echo, and most days there is a report on what Ron has had to say.  I read them, of course, but I find myself doing so with a Dutch accent.   Is it just me?

A hundred years ago in a former life I found myself part of an official delegation to complete the twinning of a town here in Kent with one in Germany.   After being around Frankfurt for about three days, I was out for a walk with the Mayor from the Kent town and we got chatting.   After a while, we both stopped, looked at each other and realised that we had been chatting away in English of course, but with German accents.

Thank goodness I have no plans to visit South Africa, Birmingham, Liverpool or Newcastle - to name but a few - where the accents are quite beyond parody.