Spelling bee.

Funny how things pop up every now and again - the "i before e except after c" rule has suddenly made the news, though I don't quite know why. The problem is of course that it's not a very good rule - there are a whole host of exceptions. Actually, when I was at school (in Dickensian times that is!) we were taught -
"As a general rule
When the sound is ee
It's i before e
Except after c"
which I think is a much better way of putting it, and makes the point that it is just an aid, not an invariable rule.