Bad Machinery by John Allison for November 08, 2019

Used to wear a monocle all the time. Quicker than reaching for your reading glasses. Not specially fitted to my eye socket, so reasonably inexpensive.

This is the great news that will save the newspaper and the neighborhood!

On the upside…another story for Lottie to pursue for the paper.

“…same shiftless yonners…”

gen·tri·fy/ˈjentrəˌfī/Learn to pronounceverbpast tense: gentrified; past participle: gentrifiedrenovate and improve (a house or district) so that it conforms to middle-class taste.make (someone or their way of life) more refined or polite.“a gentrified Irish American”

In other words, what local flavor or interest that was there has been driven away to conform to a bland, featureless society.

Gentrification is a process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more affluent residents and businesses. … Gentrification often increases the economic value of a neighborhood, but can force out low-income residents due to the increased cost of rent and higher cost of goods. Wikipedia

I never saw a gentrified Irish American,

I never hope to see one;

But I can tell you, anyhow,

I’d rather see than be one.

Noun. Yonner (plural Yonners) (Britain, slang, derogatory)

An unsophisticated resident of the towns of Oldham, Rochdale or surrounding areas. Now more widely applied to residents of any the satellite towns of Greater Manchester who speak with a broad Lancashire accent. A Lancashire hillbilly or bumpkin.