Strange Road Signs

[Profpointy]

That normally only goes down to 100m - which is usually plenty, admittedly.

It goes down as far as you want surely. 8 figures is 10m isn't it?

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

Number are things that people often get twisted

which is the point in W3W - words for things fix in the mind better - especially in a crisis

there are problems with it
I remember a report of a rescue helicopter searching a place for ages for a person who used W3W to report the location

turned out that the actual location was a plural of one of the words - and was only a few miles away

but it is pretty good if you can use it

Another point - there have been times when a phone call has not got through due to weak signal

but a text message did get through as it requires less signal power for less time and retries

 

[Mike_P]

Could have done with W3W decades ago when in need of the AA
Described location as being on A road west of a B road junction was translated as beibg on the B road.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

I have reported fly tipping a few times and got an answer back asking for W3W location so they can find it

I think it depends on who looks at it - but at least some people use it

 

[mjr]

It goes down as far as you want surely. 8 figures is 10m isn't it?

No, if you want all of GB, an OS National Grid all-numeric needs 15 digits to cover the whole country. And it only works for GB. If you want the whole world down to 14m (usually close enough to 10m for me!), I think that's best done in 10 characters of plus.codes. Anyone seen those on a strange road sign in this country yet? I've seen a few abroad.

 

[Gwylan]

View attachment 808047
Anyone?

Anybody think it was a foreign language!

 

[Gwylan]

Google Translate made some sense (but didn't get it all right, I don't think):

fflamiau ffitio sylwebydd = commenter fitting flames
mewn argyfwng dyfynwch y tri gair hyn = in an emergency quote these three words

What 3 words deliberately does not make sense to avoid confusion.
Didn't work here then

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

Anybody think it was a foreign language!

I grew up near Wales and lived there for many years so I recognised it

Never spoken it - but heard it a lot and seen it a lot

 

[Alex321]

Anybody think it was a foreign language!

Of course not. English is the "foreign language" here.

Though I'm afraid that even though I have lived in Wales since 1977, and have been married to a fluent Welsh speaker (who taught in Welsh language schools for many years) for 45 years, I still don't speak the language. I can understand a lot more than I can speak, enough that I can usually pick up the general gist of a conversation around me. And I can understand most signs I see.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

Of course not. English is the "foreign language" here.

Though I'm afraid that even though I have lived in Wales since 1977, and have been married to a fluent Welsh speaker (who taught in Welsh language schools for many years) for 45 years, I still don't speak the language. I can understand a lot more than I can speak, enough that I can usually pick up the general gist of a conversation around me. And I can understand most signs I see.

Probably said it here before

But when I lived in Wales I was in a cafe in Bethesda - which is very Welsh - one day having lunch with my daughter
The table next to us had a few locals around it - just chatting as normal

anyway - the table on the other side was empty until a group of English people came in
They had a cuppa and a sandwich or something and started complaining about "people speaking foreign languages" - in English - in Wales

anyway - they didn;t stay long and left in a huff


My daughter said "Dad - why were they moaning about the table next to us"
I started on the old "well some people etc etc" when she stopped me with
"But Dad - they are speaking English"

I listened - I hadn;t been as what they were saying was none of by business
and - sure enough - they were only talking in English

but they were locals so speaking with a local accent

which the ENglish people that had come in had not realised and just assumed it was Welsh - because it sounded kinda Welsh
and - to be fair - Welsh people - at least from that area - do use a few Welsh words for a few common things - but not much


my daughter went to a local school so could speak Welsh pretty well - although refused to admit to it
so she automatically realised it was English


Some people and all that

 

[Profpointy]

Probably said it here before

But when I lived in Wales I was in a cafe in Bethesda - which is very Welsh - one day having lunch with my daughter
The table next to us had a few locals around it - just chatting as normal

anyway - the table on the other side was empty until a group of English people came in
They had a cuppa and a sandwich or something and started complaining about "people speaking foreign languages" - in English - in Wales

anyway - they didn;t stay long and left in a huff


My daughter said "Dad - why were they moaning about the table next to us"
I started on the old "well some people etc etc" when she stopped me with
"But Dad - they are speaking English"

I listened - I hadn;t been as what they were saying was none of by business
and - sure enough - they were only talking in English

but they were locals so speaking with a local accent

which the ENglish people that had come in had not realised and just assumed it was Welsh - because it sounded kinda Welsh
and - to be fair - Welsh people - at least from that area - do use a few Welsh words for a few common things - but not much


my daughter went to a local school so could speak Welsh pretty well - although refused to admit to it
so she automatically realised it was English


Some people and all that

There was a story reported where an Asian lady was talking to her daughter on a bus in Newport, and someone complained they should be speaking English. Other passengers on the bus explained that they were in fact speaking Welsh and Newport is in Wales and if the complainer didn't like it they were welcome to f-off back to England. I do rather hope it was a true story, but I can quite believe it.

 

[Bristolian]

Way back in the late 1970's I was serving on a trials team and temporarily stationed at Aberport in west Wales. During the time I was there it was my wedding anniversary and my wife arrived so that we could go out for a meal to celebrate. We decided to eat at a local pub (good food and good beer) and when we arrived the conversation in the room just stopped until we had sat down and started viewing the menu. From that point on everyone in the pub spoke Welsh exclusively and during the meal I sensed that my wife was a little distracted by a couple on a nearby table. At the end of our meal we paid and made to leave, at which point my wife turned to the woman on the table and spoke to her in perfect Welsh saying (something to the effect of) if you're going to slag off the English make sure the bu99erz can't understand you first

SWMBO had lived with an aunt for a few years and went to school in Caernarfon where they spoke Welsh exclusively. She used to curse me in Welsh too so I wouldn't know what she'd said/called me

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Google Translate made some sense (but didn't get it all right, I don't think):

fflamiau ffitio sylwebydd = commenter fitting flames
mewn argyfwng dyfynwch y tri gair hyn = in an emergency quote these three words

That is fine except the english version of What three words will use a different set of words entirely.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

That normally only goes down to 100m - which is usually plenty, admittedly.

Goes down to 1 square metre resolution.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Another point - there have been times when a phone call has not got through due to weak signal

but a text message did get through as it requires less signal power for less time and retries

In which case just text a grid reference. No problems with spelling and pretty obvious if wrong straight away.