Earleybird,

my apologies. I must say, however, that I thought my comment relevant to the thread. Even if only in the form of jokes, questions of American - British differences of language and measurement were raised by several participants.

I grant you that my post was written in a tangental manner, but such is the nature of forum threads, especially those that show up in the "general discussion" category. No one, not even the original poster, owns a thread.

I don't quite see why the discussion of the weight of a stone, or one's own weight in stones, should prohibit others from reflecting on broader cross-cultural issues of language, measurement, or whatever. I thought my experiences might be of more general interest.

Perhaps you didn't appreciate my irony, and abundant self-irony, at the expense of things Anglo-American. I thought the irony appropriate to the joking tone of the thread.

Perhaps my faux pas was in raising the more serious question about Tony Blair. The New York Times just ran an article that asked the poodle question--using the very word. Since, the thread had the attention of several Brittish subjects, I saw an opportunity to pose a question that interested me. Despite the word poodle, my question was entirely sincere. Again, since the thread seemed to be going in the direction of Anglo-American issues, I thought my question appropriate.

I take "forum etiquette" seriously. Had the discussion been about something more weighty, I would have surely been less tangental.

Cheers,
Jamie