Example text from British National Corpus. Do not copy or distribute outside BNC project. Staff members of Longman, 1991 91-05 Recorded at Longman. 91-06 Transcribed using provisional Longman markup at Longman 91-07 Recaptured from printout using OCR at OUCS. (This has probably introduced some errors.) 91-08 Hand-translated to BNC CDIF (early version) by OUCS. (LB/DD)

Oh how very boring, SIRA don't appear under Scientific Instrument Research Association or under SIRA and they probably come under Sira as a word. Yes they possibly do. Singleton, well well. How is Singleton? Having his car back today I believe Oh yeah, Sira Ltd, Sira Ltd Mm Would you believe it Yes I suppose I would.Is he? Ye> Yes yes, that that, as you, as you said the other day, that will be a big blow. I had a letter from him, er on Tuesday I think written at on Bank Holiday Monday afternoon, such a weird fellow and written to enquire he was in the car and described breakfast on the way down and uum, into a sun sailing exhibition, whatever that is? Oh it sounds like a windsurfer sort of job don it or sort of windsurfer thing. I attended a reception and had a super lunch in an Italian restaurant followed by coffee, afternoon coffee and biscuits and Sue was asleep beside him in the car, he was watching me off, and I thought, I could just imagine I mean Graham wouldn't do that in a million years. Would you? No Oh, oh No, I don't suppose I would No, I'd be, I'd be the one asleep Yes it's really [quite strange] [Yes, yes] isn't it? Very uum I suppose they're all different. He's not your average guy really and Derek quite often does wor- cos you'd, you write don't you? I mean Graham, yo- you'd write one to the office just sign his name [wouldn't you?] [Well that's] about all I would do. Yes, you're not, yes It would be better if I sign my name rather than trying to put something, clever, cos I always [miss] [What] always miss. It's difficult to read what you put anyway. People have spent hours wondering what your saying. There was a classic occasion when, yonks ago I was in France and sent a card back to Christine who happened to be holidaying in Chillington, in Devon with her family Mmm and uum, said card was delivered by the village postman who handed card over and said oh here's a card from your son, it's in French is it? In other words, he'd tried to read it but couldn't. Oh lovely Swahili Yeah Wonderful [stuffl [I rest] my case. Yes Yes, it- you know Derek is, different. Derek is different, and and Derek's difference is not going to help him under the current [circumstances] No It's not imagination or flair, its difference. Weird Yes it's weirdness, its weirdness. He has sent me a Valentine's card every year for twenty years to my certain knowledge, and that takes, you know, you've got to go out and look, and I'm not the only one, I mean, I'm sure Helen had, had one for the last twenty years as well and, so, it's just part of his nature. Strange [isn't it?] [ ] Mmm Yes, yes. I mean I feel obliged to send my wife a Valentine's card. It's a bit different though isn't it? I've been wondering if Graham, if he sent one to me as if- terrible row because of it laugh > What you, what you ought to do is save them and send them back to each other the following [year] [He] probably does. I did that with Owen's fiftieth birthday you know. He he, sent me that tee shirt with a So happy I've turned 50, and I washed it and I- we couldn't think of anything to send him, we just couldn't think, so we washed it and sent it back to him. [We never] [] Yes, we never did get an acknowledgment so I don't think, [ I don't think it was appreciated] [Veryuseful a thankyouletter] ugh They probably didn't agonise for eighteen months what to send you, Yes came up with that and felt it was actually a bit of a cop out when you sent it back. Haven't I seen this before somewhere. uum . Didn't appreciate it at the ball Lynda, but er that jazz band lo- have got some very weird characters in it, some very odd looking guys. No-oh And and and thed they're, they're all looking on the wrong side of forty. Oh I should say forty is being generous. The one who plays, is it the clarinet, looks as blind as a bat. I don't know if he acts> I don't know if he actactactually is, wearing them thick pebble glasses Oh no, he was, there there one or two different guys there. Apparently Oh they, some of them had taken their families away for the bank holiday we- for the school half term week or something of that sort. Oh So, he- he- this clarinetist was a long, skinny forlorn [looking] [black haired fellow] [old] fellow. Yes, black hair I think, with Yes, yes Like Charlie Watts out of the Rolling Stones but taller. Yes, uum I think i I think in sp=2> I think it is [ ] [No specs] no specs Did he look as though he could see? Uum, no he got a, he got a rocket from Geoff for going for a pee just as they were about to start the the second half I think its the same as- they look like, again like a child's cartoon. They do rather. Cos they, [they] [Yes] put very od od odry odd shapes, rather exaggerated shapes. There's a little squat one, and the clarinetist is very tall and thin, Yes looks as though he's looking in one of those old mirrors at the fairground. Mm Yes. I must admit, they're a creepy looking bunch. They're certainly are weird, and and Geoff himself is, is the weirdest. I- you [know] [He] really is. Yes. I think he' s on something certainly on something on the night of the ball. Oh dear its, he's he's he's got a slightly strange woman, as well. Could a Gipsy have been at a [Gipsy] [That's] right, that's right. Mm He did say he's up the road with a Gipsy in < unclear> Did he? . . . It's all a bit, I mean although its uum, well not really, cos I've never even seen this place, and clearly Simon hadn't either until they happened upon it by chance Mm and he, Simon said you would not believe it, yo the walls long since gone, and, you know the remains of it are in the garden. Every window is boarded up, and the door I mean it looks like a bomb site. God Quite dreadful, quite dreadful ; u know, he, I mean he'd seen pictures in the newspapers but he said it doesn't prepare you for, for the actuality. Its just unbelievable, and they showed a picture in the and they showed a picture in the a picture in the semi you'd rent anywhere, and the people have actually been forced out and they've given it up for voluntarily repossession we heard, and they showed a after picture and virtually nothing left of it. The garden's rubble,alls long since gone,ear> of uum, a nice little semi- detached house, privately owned, previously, and with a pretty front door, had a burglar alarm, had, plants growing up the front of the house and all the front garden, very attractive, looked like a nice little virtually a house [prisoner] [housebound] prisioner yes indeed. and te- a [terrified] [and] one ter- yes quite. But it, th-th-th-and it got to the stage th- they interviewed the previous owners and the wife said that she had, she'd been forced to give up her job, because she didn't dare leave the house empty, because it was broken into so many times. So she wasshe was there must be something the police can do about that. Must be. I I I I, I can't imagine what you could legally do to say to people you can't live in this disgusting way. But the violence thing tg tg they should do something about. You know people are Well they can only warn unless they've actually dawarn unless they've actually da are < unclear > Well they can only warn unless they've actually damaged somebody and can bring criminal charges. Well they, th- they damaged the property of unless you actually catch them at. Well that's the other trouble, prove it you see. Yes from what they consider the interolters interlopers Pa- It's very sordid and horrible and burn out cars and that sort of thing. Not nice, not nice Now, I shall ring Sara.