Happy New Year

Surely for each of us that's the year before our first birthday?

Aussie buildings can't decide whether floor numbers start at 0 (UK) or 1 (USA) - the Myer department store has a ground floor, my tower's 'ground' floor is 1.

The message from Tony Bryer contains these words:

Hmm. That reminds me of the old Prince County Hospital in Summerside, PEI.

Built on a sloping site. Main entrance used to be from the front and approached via a ramp. Entrance floor was level with the ground at the back of hte building and was described as Ground Floor. Below that was the Basement and above it were floors 1, 2 and 3.

Then the hospital was remodelled. The entrance ramp was removed and a new entrance made into what had been the basement.

The floors were then renumbered American-style with the (new) entrance floor being numbered 1, the former Ground floor being renumbered 2, the former First floor being renumbered 3, the former Second floor being renumbered 4 and the former Third floor being renumbered 5.

Sadly, the renumbering did not extend to the lift buttons and indicators :-)