Tell me something I didn't already know

That last post about the hell of Chinese airports reminds me of one of my favourite pieces of inept English delivered over a tannoy announcement.

In Hangzhou Xiaoshan Airport the other day, the announcements were mostly saying, "Flight XY456 is delayed because of.... plane delay."

It reminded me of an occasion in London several years ago when I was trying to go north from Clapham Common on the Northern Line (notoriously the most antiquated and unreliable branch of the Underground network), and there were severe interruptions to the service.

The platform announcer - clearly starting to speak before he'd fully decided what he was going to say - delivered the message:

"We apologise to passengers for delays in the Northern Line service this morning. This is caused by..... um.... er...... trains running late."

You don't say?!