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sympathies for your cold--hope it's not Covid. Back in 2010 I visited Nuremburg with plans to imprint firmly in memory the Nazi Sites. Instead I got a cold for the whole time I had the hotel reservation. That was, however, the last cold I've had. No idea why my immune system has kicked in; maybe it developed fear of the Nazis without even seeing their haunts. Hope you get your next one at least that far in the future.

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it was, I fear, covid. knocked me out for a fortnight in the end

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Random Brentwood-related question! (Possible future newsletter topic?)

When I was there in the 80s, **the** most common (mild) insult was to call someone a "gam", which basically had the same meaning as "geek" did/does everywhere else.

It is a word I've never heard used anywhere else, either before (state primary school down the road in Colchester) or since (uni in Colchester (Essex), then 30 years living elsewhere in south-east England - mainly in Reading).

Was it still being used at Brentwood in the 90s? Is it still being used there? Has anyone ever heard it used anywhere else? Where did it come from? (Where did it go?!?!) Why was it **so** localised?

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I have never heard it I'm afraid! short for gammon maybe?

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