Another SSStory

[cdybedahl]

Rupert smiled. "Yes, it's very old you know. I believe it was built over one hundred years ago. Mr. Rogers from the Council owns it; it's been in his family for years."

Right... I'm betting dollars to doughnuts that the story I got was written by an American.

Comments

[spacetart.livejournal.com]

My god, it's over twenty years old! It's ancient history! There may be cave-paintings there!

[kannaophelia.livejournal.com]

Could be Australian, you know. European settlement here wasn't much more than two hundred years ago, and while I think I remeber that literally millenia ago there were aboriginal buildings here, building permanent structures wasn't really a climate-suitable lifestyle, so...

A hundred years for a building really does seem very old to me. Seeing buildings that were centuries old in Uraguay was a surreal experience.

[cdybedahl.livejournal.com]

My prejudices say that Australians generally have a greater awareness that other countries are different from their own, but of course you may be right.

For me, "very old" when it comes to buildings pretty much starts at 500 years or so. "Old" starts at 200 or so. My experiences of the English (coming mostly form my former girlfriend and her family and friends) says that "old" would be 500+ and "very old" probably Roman. And I feel a rant trying to get out, so I'll save the rest for a post of its own.

[kannaophelia.livejournal.com]

Buildings 500 years or more old... makes my head hurt. ::g::

And I'd like to think you're right about Australians being more aware of the differences, but experience would suggest that perhaps not. ::g:: What was the fandom?

[cdybedahl.livejournal.com]

The oldest reasonably intact building I've been in (as far as I can remember offhand) is the old senate building in Rome, at about 2000 years or so.

For the fic referred to in my post here, Buffy. Giles most certainly wouldn't refer to something as a new as a mere hundred years as very old.

Most of my contact with Australians haven't been in fandom, but on bofhnet.

[katemonkey.livejournal.com]

*snort*

As a sign of my Terrible American Status, I would like to point out that it isn't just brainlessness that causes Americans to have no sense of history -- it's ingrained into the culture. My father's house can be considered a landmark property, and it's only from the 1920s.

[alicamel.livejournal.com]

LOL. Our last house was over a hundred years old, easily. In fact, most of the buildings round here are well over a hundred years old. (This is England btw) And yes, I've been researching the era. For performing arts. So i can confidently say, that nothing new gets built round here ;)

[mpoetess.livejournal.com]

Just had to poke my nose in and giggle, because it was written by a Brit. ;-)

[rune-vampyr.livejournal.com]

Right... I'm betting dollars to doughnuts that the story I got was written by an American.

Mmmmm... I'm Northern Irish. I'm sorry if you were disappointed with the story, but I did my best.

Have a happy New Year :)

[cdybedahl.livejournal.com]

The story as a whole wasn't at all bad, it was just that one comment that jarred. Giles comes from the country where a Roman fort from 300AD rates a small plaque (it's near the Science and Technology Museum in Manchester, should you want to look at it) and there are lots and lots of buildings from the 18th century still in active use. That he'd consider something a hundred years old to be "very old" seems... wildly improbable. And it's the sort of thing I've become used to seeing from USAnians.

You'll have to go read the story I wrote and say nasty thing about that one in return :-)

[rune-vampyr.livejournal.com]

You'll have to go read the story I wrote and say nasty thing about that one in return

Ack, not at all - not my style. Although I will go read your story tonight when I get the chance ;)

he'd consider something a hundred years old to be "very old" seems... wildly improbable

Well there you go, my bad. In my defence, I didn't have the opportunity to spend a lot of time on the story as my husband was ill in hospital and I had my two girls to cope with, but I wanted to produce *something*, rather than be a no-show. It would have been nice to have had time to look further into Gile's character - I've never written him before, or indeed Willow and Drusilla. But writing the story was an interesting (if rushed) experience nonetheless.

I must scold my beta's also - two of them are English and they never spotted this! LOL