I agree to a point about dumbing down and how occasionally we can be treated like 5 year olds, a little while back our weatherman described wet weather as spits and spots of rain followed by some icky stuff, maybe that is their way of breaking the news of bad weather to us gently but honestly I am a big girl now and I can take it.

As regional accents go it is hard to beat a Welshman who has a good command of the spoken word and verse. Richard Burton and Anthony Hopkins both had/have strong distinctive voices that could read from a telephone directory and command attention. I was given a copy of Dylan Thomas's 'Under Milk Wood' which I play regularly just to listen to Richard Burton's voice. Perhaps there should be more encouragement to cultivate more distinction in a voice rather than alter it completely, a slight brogue can be very attractive.