Lost In Translation

Thanks to everyone who has e-mailed about the new book - it’s always nice to know a chuckle’s been raised. Thanks also for the examples that are still flooding in. I particularly liked the Rome hotel sign spotted by Angelo Calvino - it’s one of those that start off well enough, then throw you completely at the end …

All the rooms are equipped with: bath in rooms, hair dryer, iron from I iron, conditioned air, tv, balcony, and of one wide it knows it common breakfast with refrigerator.

Spent a very enjoyable day last week sitting in a BBC studio in London, talking about ‘Still Lost In Translation’ to radio stations around the UK. ‘What’s your favourite example ?’ was a common question, but I still can’t decide. Michael Palin’s Japanese fan letter is definitely up there: it referred to Monty Python’s ‘Upper Class Twit of the Year’ sketch as ‘The Aristocratic Deciding Foolish No. 1 Guy’.

Several examples came the other way down the line. One presenter had encountered ‘Windy cake’ and ‘Happy toilet’.