Everywhere is worlds away from North Lincolnshire 
EVERYWHERE is far away from where they call you Hen.
When I was in the UK on commissioning leave (I had just become a 2d lieutenant) the lady at the military-air counter called me to the desk… and she called me leff-tenant. Best part of my whole trip. It’s the little things.
Enjoy hanging out with your British co-worker, duckie-luv.
This thread made me feel a lot better about the fact that I recently called a member of the Bristish nobility “hun.”
I work in a museum which also houses an incredibly extensive research library. A woman came in and asked me in a soft, cultured British voice if we had any information on a certain family. The name rang a bell, but I couldn’t think of why. I took her over to the library.
Later, as we were closing, she came out and started looking in the gift shop. I was counting the money already, and noticing this, she said that they’d better go. “Ah, no, hun,” I said breezily, “Go ahead and look around. no big deal.”
After she left, the librarian came over with a grin. “Do you know who that was? That was Princess Diana’s aunt!” (Diana’s mother’s sister. She was doing geneaology research and some of her ancestors came from this area.)
Immediately, it hit me: *I called a member of the nobilty “hun.” She’s probably saying at this moment, “Those cheeky Americans!”
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But, now I feel better, knowing that the Brits often use casual terms of endearment.
Jurph don’t ever confuse your cockney "duckies’ with your northern “ducks” !
“Ow you doin’ luv?” and similar use of “luv” is I’m affraid not a sign of imminent sexual activity. It usually means the person saying it thinks of you as a younger relative, like a Nephew or Niece. “chuck” or “darlin” or “petal” would be a better sign of possibly amourous affection.
Lissa writes:
> . . . a member of the Bristish nobility . . . Princess Diana’s aunt . . .
Maybe you were just joking, but Diana’s aunt isn’t remotely a member of the British nobility. Diana was no longer a member of the nobility after her divorce. Her aunt wouldn’t be anything close to nobility.
Huh ? 
What are you talking about Wendell Wagner ? IMHO Lissa your anecdote remains valid.
Pre marriage Princess Diana was Lady Diana Spencer, she was not a member of the royal family (aka royalty) true but she was a member of the ‘nobility’, her father was **Earl **Spencer, a title now held by her brother. Divorce from the Prince of Wales did not alter that. (True there was a lot of discussion about her post divorce title - she went, IIRC, from being “Princess Diana” to being “Diana, Princess of Wales”. I never understood the ins and outs but it was to do with maintaining certain privileges & protection whilst no longer being a member of the royal family.)
I don’t know which side the aunt in question was from, but if a blood relation on the paternal side she would have been born Lady firstname surname (this would have changed on marriage); on the maternal side she would have been The Honourable firstname surname (again changing on marriage) - in either case she would still be a member of the nobility. If an aunt-in-law she would have married into the nobility. and become Lady firstnametc.
Oh, and incidentally what happens to your own offspring or neices / nephews’ status it does not change yours.
Of course I have. I’m from Texas dude.
I don’t know, just call me easily amused. I’ve seen it umpteen time on televison and movies but to actually have it happen in real life; it just gave me a good chuckle is all.
IT kind of paralells when I went to Chicago to visit some of my ex-wifes realitives. The got the biggest kick out of hearing me say “Y’all”.
I once was in a school play at our sister school (I went to a boys-only high school), and there was this rather pretty French girl who was in the cast. After the play was over we were all signing each other’s programmes, and she wrote:
I knew no french and so borrowed a French-English dictionary and began to look the words up. My heart skipped a beat when I read “cher: beloved, darling” and then plummeted when I read further “(in letter) “~ Paul”, “Dear Paul”;”
It was not meant to be…
Grim
Cat Jones writes:
> Pre marriage Princess Diana was Lady Diana Spencer . . .
That makes her a member of the aristocracy, not the nobility. They’re quite different things. Look up the two terms in a dictionary.
Depends which dictionary, and which definition, you choose. She was daughter of a Viscount, which I’d certainly class as nobility.
Okay, done that:
While I’m sure that it’s possible to quibble on a technicality, in ordinary conversational terms, the two words would seem to be more or less interchangeable.
Thanks guys - I have a terrible habit of posting based on what I think I know rather than checking the definitions of all relevant terms first, that’s why I steer clear of GD
Now about this aunt of hers …
It was Diana’s mother’s sister who visited us. I’m repeating this second-hand, so I might be off a bit: She told our librarian that she held no title herself-- it had belonged to her brother, but he had comitted suicide, so now the title went to a nephew or cousin.