def __calcsince(self, dtime):
    """ Function to calculate the time difference from the last request to
    the current time. Express a datetime.timedelta using a
    phrase such as "1 hour, 20 minutes". """

    # Create a timedelta from the datetime.datetime and the current time
    self.td = datetime.datetime.now() - dtime

    self.pieces = []
    if self.td.days:
            self.pieces.append(self.__plural(self.td.days, 'day'))

    self.minutes, self.seconds = divmod(self.td.seconds, 60)
    self.hours, self.minutes = divmod(self.minutes, 60)
    if self.hours:
            self.pieces.append(self.__plural(self.hours, 'hour'))
    if self.minutes or len(self.pieces) == 0:
            self.pieces.append(self.__plural(self.minutes, 'minute'))

    # GUI call
    self.labelTime.set_text("Time: " + ", ".join(self.pieces) + " ago")

def __plural(self, count, singular):
    """ This is a helper function for __calcsince that handles
    english plural translations """

    # This is the simplest version; a more general version
    # should handle -y -> -ies, child -> children, etc.
    return '%d %s%s' % (count, singular, ("", 's')[count != 1])