Thread: δy/δx Board: Oblivion / Ship of Fools.


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Posted by Ariston (# 10894) on :
 
Mean old other board hosts told you to take your tangents elsewhere? Think fall and book link are fun, but would really like to write more? Well, Your Good Friend Ariston has just the thing for you!

The rules for this are simple: each post has to pursue a tangent from the one above it. I don't want to see anyone remaining on topic—if it would drive a Purg host round the bend or cause Marvin to pull his hair out, it goes here. Actually continue a discussion, though, and I'll have to ask you to take it somewhere else.

And before anyone asks, the thread title—"delta why over delta ex"—is a representation of the first derivative of a line—that is, a continuous, never-ending tangent. Think about that.

[ 17. February 2013, 19:52: Message edited by: Ariston ]
 

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Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :
 
I hope Marvin does not start pulling his hair out, because it is such lovely hair. Matching the beard and all. Tousley and boyish. But Trichotillomania is nothing to sniff at, and my prayers are at the ready.
 

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Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
That Kelly gets over her sniffles.
 

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Posted by Lamb Chopped (# 5528) on :
 
Speaking of sniffing, there are a huge number of sinus infections going on right now around me, why is that? It's like there's a plot or something.
 

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Posted by lily pad (# 11456) on :
 
I've been reading this new book. It's really large. Tons of pages but I tell you, there is no plot at all. It just keeps going on and on and the whole book is set in one apartment building and some sort of a ghost is in each place. I really don't know why I am bothering with this book.
 

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Posted by Ariston (# 10894) on :
 
Actually, haunted apartment buildings can be really interesting places. I was once in an apartment building that may have been haunted—okay, it was really more of a rowhouse, and I'm not so much sure if it was haunted or if the radiator made funny noises, but that's all beside the point—but, at any rate, we had a few interesting schindigs there. I think at least one of them involved giving former English public schoolboys tequila.
 

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Posted by mousethief (# 953) on :
 
Speaking of apartments, I think it's fascinating the names we have for apartments: apartments, flats, condos,... There are probably many others. In New York City, you can buy an apartment, but in many other places, if you buy it, it's called a condominium. Too interesting.
 

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Posted by Imaginary Friend (# 186) on :
 
I don't know about too interesting, but did anyone see Quite Interesting with Stephen Fry last night? Unmissable television.
 

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Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :
 
It is becoming apparent to me that I can no longer eat fried things. Which makes me terribly sad. One of my favorites has always been fried shrimp. Such a yummy, decadent meal, and now I have to avoid them. Bacon is on the no-no list, too. Oh, dear. I just remembered that fried chicken will not be on my plate anymore.


 

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Posted by Autenrieth Road (# 10509) on :
 
Speaking of plates, David Freese of the Cardinals is at the plate right now, but I expect the Giants' Vogelsong to strike him out.

Regardless of my interest in this particular National League game (and the always entertaining spectacle of pitchers at bat), my true interests are here: Go Yankees! Even though I fear it's going to be Go Home Yankees, and Tigers in four.
 

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Posted by Golden Key (# 1468) on :
 
A pitcher of homemade pink lemonade sounds awfully good right now! With peanut butter cookies! Yum!


 

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Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
Sitting through a baseball match was the least interesting thing I did when I spent a week in New York. In fact, it was probably the least interesting thing I've done in my entire life.

I'd rather watch paint dry, especially the paint on the new siding that's being put on my house.
 

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Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
Sorry - cross-post.

PS How do you make your own pink lemonade?

[ 16. October 2012, 02:24: Message edited by: piglet ]
 

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Posted by Ariston (# 10894) on :
 
I see what you're trying to do there. You're trying to start a discussion by asking what you'd get if you added maraschino cherry juice to a pitcher of otherwise ordinary homemade lemonade. I'm not going to fall for it! A lesser shipmate might; even I might, were I not so strong.

You all can thank me later.
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Isn't it odd how some people are natural thankers and others rarely consider it - to an extent I think it is a cultural phenomenon.
 

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Posted by Mamacita (# 3659) on :
 
"Phenomenon" -- I remember going to see that and thinking, "Good Lord, has Travolta ever lost muscle tone!"
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Here some forms of music use not just semitones but quarter tones! It gets to be very confusing!
 

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Posted by Loquacious beachcomber (# 8783) on :
 
While in Buffalo a few days ago, I noticed a vending machine bearing a huge sign that read "OOT OF ORDER!"
It seems there were too many Canadian quarters in it; and Americans always notice that Canadians say "aboot" instead of "about" and "oot" instead of "out."
Funny how even their machines note that, if Canadian quarters are used in them!

[ 16. October 2012, 04:08: Message edited by: Loquacious beachcomber ]
 

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Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :
 
You know what I look for in a boot? A side zip. Laces alone don't cut it. Especially ones that undo all the time-- don't you hate that? Anyway, I like to tie mine and double knot them, and fussing around with unlacing them every night is a pain in the ass. so-- side zips. Gotta love 'em.
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I think Shakespeare's use of the aside must have been particularly useful in the days when there were wasn't really much in the way of scenery.
 

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Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :
 
Heaven for scenery, Hell for company, as they say. John Martin painted both, but I think his heart was more with the disasters than the eternal bliss, don't you?
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Neighbour Boy™ took me to see some Housemartins nests a few weeks ago - a marvel of design and construction.
 

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Posted by Barnabas62 (# 9110) on :
 
Ah, the Housemartins.

Pause to "think for a minute" before responding ..
 

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Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Whenever I hear the Minute Waltz (Chopin), I'm drawn to memories of the radio show Just a Minute, where contestants had to talk for a minute without hesitiation, repetion or deviation. This thread completely reverses the idea, at least where deviation is concerned.
 

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Posted by Ariston (# 10894) on :
 
Ooooh, waltzing! Watching as Ariston the Two Left Footed becomes Sir Graceful himself! Ladies (especially young and beautiful ones with commitment issues), be warned!
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I don't think I want a commitment after my death, I'd rather leave my body to science.
 

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Posted by Chapelhead (# 21) on :
 
Apparently the French equivalent of the English term "French leave" (to be absent without permission) translates as "English leave".

[ 16. October 2012, 07:16: Message edited by: Chapelhead ]
 

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Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :
 
Absence makes the hair grow longer, as they say in barbering circles. Reminds me I must make an appointment with the hairdresser before the Old English Sheepdog look takes hold.
 

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Posted by Morlader (# 16040) on :
 
Anyone see that three-legged sheepdog on Countryfile?
Although she seemed to be enjoying working, shouldn't the RSPCA (Royal Society for the Protection of Animals) be taking an "interest"?

[ 16. October 2012, 07:45: Message edited by: Morlader ]
 

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Posted by Boogie (# 13538) on :
 
It's interesting how easy it is to 'take an interest'. Have you tried baking a different cake every week and getting your friends to critique it? Great fun!
 

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Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
Speaking of fun with cake, it's good going out for coffee on a sunny morning at a weekend, and watching the world go by, from your seat at a table just outside the cafe. Of course, it's less fun when it's raining, but on a cold day the steam from the coffee does curl up very photogenically into the air.
 

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Posted by Loveheart (# 12249) on :
 
Like the steam from a steam train. As of 2011, the UK had over 100 steam railways situated throughout the British Isles and the Isle of Man. That included more than 1,300 working steam locomotives, around 500 miles of track and more than 350 stations. During 2008 these carried over 6 million passengers.
 

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Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
It's all very well there being an Isle of Man, and even an Isle of Dogs and an Isle of Grain, but where's the Isle of Women?
 

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Posted by Loveheart (# 12249) on :
 
Isla St Clair, whatever happened to her? Remember her in the Generation Game?
 

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Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
One of my best friends went to Clare College. I wonder if he has ever been back.
 

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Posted by balaam (# 4543) on :
 
Going back to college seems a good idea. I just can't work out which subject to study.
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
This study is a complete tip and has been for years - one day I'll get around to tidying it.
 

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Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
I have a cleaner! The guilt of not cleaning was destroying me from the inside, but now I am as light as air.
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
One of the local electrical shops has a wonderful LED floodlight that I am sorely tempted to get for lighting the front yard at night.
 

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Posted by Chapelhead (# 21) on :
 
When measuring things, I sometimes find it useful to know that a yard is roughly the distance from my fingertips to my nose, if I have my arm outstretched.
 

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Posted by balaam (# 4543) on :
 
Can someone recommend a good cleaner to remove moss from the flagstones in our back yard?
 

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Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
It's funny, I was just trying to remember when was the last time I'd seen a flag flying up high on a castle. And then I noticed the logo for The Circus: it's got 3 flags sitting up there!
 

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Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Standing is becoming a problem, these days. I find myself sitting down quite suddenly. Arthritis does that, when it's in the hips.
 

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Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
Shall we have a shipmeet to repaint Castell Coch? This pretty little building just north of Cardiff is looking a bit drab nowadays.

edit: for repint, read repaint.

[ 16. October 2012, 11:56: Message edited by: Sioni Sais ]
 

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Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :
 
A bunch of us flew down to Cardiff for a meeting once. Did you know its airport is in the next county - possibly even the next country? And sod all in the way of taxis: a couple of senior people grabbed the one available and the rest of us huddled at the bus stop. In the rain.
 

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Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
I flew off the handle last week. Very distressing - good thing I don't do it too often.
 

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Posted by balaam (# 4543) on :
 
Distressing furniture is a technique used by dodgy antique sellers to pass things off as older.
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
As I get older I take most things far less seriously than I did in my impetuous youth.
 

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Posted by Ariston (# 10894) on :
 
Now, some would say that taking things seriously is a sign of overserious youth. I'm not so sure of this, mind you, but I'm not unsure of it, either—and there is the part of me that's looking forward to being old so that everyone else thinks I'm old and senile. The trick would be to walk the line between getting away with about anything because "oh, that's just old man A, let him be" and getting locked up, key thrown away. Annoying the neighbors is fine, making the non-existant kids groan is better (especially because the same antics would amuse the grandkids), but getting thrown in the pokey isn't.
 

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Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
Grandkids are wonderful, I have a little 10 month old granddaughter and she is the most beautiful baby in the world.
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
We have a ten month old DVD player that went wrong and it took ages for them to fix it, but it is working fine now.
 

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Posted by Loquacious beachcomber (# 8783) on :
 
Has anyone tried out the Bible study DVDs sold by A & E or Time Warner? I ordered a library of them for several hundred dollars in my previous church, but then decided to retire and never used them; perhaps if I telephone them and ask nicely, they would lend them to me to use on my half-time retired minister position now.
 

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Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
I was looking at phones this morning. Do I really want a new one? The keypads look so very tiny on a Blackberry but I would quite like to be able to access the internet on a screen a little bigger than a medium-sized postage stamp.
 

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Posted by pjl (# 16929) on :
 
Phoned the power company this morning, the nice voice told me I was in a queue of between 16 and 26 minutes. Will try again tomorrow.
 

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Posted by Dafyd (# 5549) on :
 
I know it's a national stereotype that the British queue uncomplainingly, more so than other countries, but is it really so? Do the British really queue with fewer complaints than the Scandinavians? And the Russians used to be famous for their queues.
 

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Posted by Boogie (# 13538) on :
 
The closest I could find to a Q in the Cyrillic alphabet is Ю, which sounds like oo - so no Q really at all. Fascinating how different it is from our alphabet.


 

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Posted by Loquacious beachcomber (# 8783) on :
 
Many scholars suggest that Q was the author of a lost Gospel, on which Matthew, Luke, and Mark based their Gospel accounts; others suggest that Mark was the original source, which Luke and Matthew simply added to. But what if there was only one Gospel, and various communities added to or deleted from it based on their beliefs, and then named it after the community's patriarch?
 

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Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Just occasionally I think of Cyril Connolly on the radio.Comedy at its best.
 

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Posted by Barnabas62 (# 9110) on :
 
Dante's "The Divine Comedy" doesn't have all that many laughs in it.
 

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Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 
Where have all the flowers gone?
 

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Posted by The5thMary (# 12953) on :
 
Everyone, everywhere always says that THEIR babies, THEIR grandchildren are the cutest. Why does no one ever brag about the ugly babies? "My little grandson, Horace is so horrid looking! Why, I think he's quite possibly the ugliest baby I've ever seen. But I love him with all my heart, poor, hideous child."
 

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Posted by The5thMary (# 12953) on :
 
Dammit to hell! Sorry about my previous post! Stupid computer!


Anyway, why leave flowers at a gravesite? Will the dead really enjoy them all that much without noses in which to catch the fragrance?
 

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Posted by QLib (# 43) on :
 
Has anyone noticed that flowers bought in shops don't smell so much these days, unless you pay a premium for scented ones - did they find a way to take the smell out? And is that why tomatoes don't taste much eitehr?
 

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Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
i liked the yellow and green striped tomatoes I saw in a catalogue. Very fetching, but I'm not sure how yellow and green taste. I think I'd prefer yellow bananas, but they have to be brown spotted if they are really ripe.
 

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Posted by Mamacita (# 3659) on :
 
My living room is yellow. I'm considering a different color paint. Maybe green. I don't think yellow and green stripes would work, though.
 

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Posted by Hedgehog (# 14125) on :
 
I tried to teach fetching to a dog once. He wasn't too bad with sticks and balls, but I never could get him to jump after a Frisbee(tm). Of course, he was a dachshund, which might well explain the problem.

[ETA Aaargh! cross post!]

[ 16. October 2012, 20:28: Message edited by: Hedgehog ]
 

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Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
I always found the idea of a dacha very romantic.
 

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Posted by Meg the Red (# 11838) on :
 
I tried making apple pie according to my grandmother's recipe and it drove me crazy - a dash of salt, a dash of cinnamon - why couldn't she use teaspoons like everyone else?
 

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Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 
I had to dash to the toilet after a particularly hot curry
 

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Posted by Loquacious beachcomber (# 8783) on :
 
If the fury of the curry is equal to the distance from the gut to the butt, the pain, in the main, remains constant.
I always hated having to memorize shit like that in school, but the strap was used if we messed up on any one of the formulas, unfortunately.
 

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Posted by Pre-cambrian (# 2055) on :
 
There were three Furies in Greek mythology, called Alecto, Tisiphone and Megaera. They were interested in Anger, Murder and Jealousy respectively, but I really don't think any of them was interested in curry. In fact while I'm on the subject I wish people wouldn't import ideas from Indian cookery into the Hellenic worldview; it's most disrepectful.
 

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Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 
Greek megaphones make me furious.
 

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Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
Thank God that vuvuzelas have gone out of fashion.
 

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Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
Fashion is something I'm not really very good at; I was built more for comfort than style.
 

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Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :
 
We had a very good handbell rehearsal tonight! We're well on the way to having a couple of pieces ready for next month, and the Christmas and Advent pieces are coming along, too!
 

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Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
I wonder what happened to the popularity of handball? Tons of people played it when I was at college.
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I don't think I have ever consciously courted popularity but sometimes it just arises.
 

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Posted by Loquacious beachcomber (# 8783) on :
 
The popularity of certain highways, particularly during rush hour, can seriously detract from the fun of taking a vacation; I dislike rush hour traffic in Toronto and Vancouver, and am concerned that driving Highway 15 through LA to San Diego will be courting a high level of frustration during my planned holiday next July.
 

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Posted by Barnabas62 (# 9110) on :
 
15 is such an interesting number - did you know that the "the Ides of March", the day which Caesar was warned to beware (according to the bard) is generally reckoned to have been the 15th day of that month? The day on which he was assassinated.

Then of course, it's important for scoring in cribbage, and its a fascinating number in scripture (Luke 15 - prodigal son, Acts 15 - Council of Nicea). Lots more fascinating 15s.

[ 17. October 2012, 05:26: Message edited by: Barnabas62 ]
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I think the whole concept of number is fascinating - I remember when I was about 9 years old and suddenly the whole idea of number made sense and from then on I was the school maths wizard - such a pity that it was the only thing I was ever any good at!
 

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Posted by Chapelhead (# 21) on :
 
Interesting that way the British say "maths" while Americans say "math".
 

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Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :
 
I hate to perpetuate a stereotype, but if you insist on walking that way people are going to make all kinds of assumptions about you. Yes, that's a shame, but it's an ugly world we live in.
 

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Posted by MSHB (# 9228) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Chapelhead:
Interesting that way the British say "maths" while Americans say "math".

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Not just "British". It is standard English outside of North America: Australia, New Zealand, India, Ireland, South Africa, ... as well as the UK.
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I once met an ugly duckling with feathers all tattered and grey.
 

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Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :
 
All the other countries have exciting national anthems, and ours is a love song to a tattered flag. I want Les Marseilles.
 

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Posted by Morlader (# 16040) on :
 
I used to go (narrow boat) sailing a lot. But I never went with my Mother.
 

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Posted by Chapelhead (# 21) on :
 
Ah, 'Watch with mother". Whatever happened to Hammy the hamster?
 

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Posted by Barnabas62 (# 9110) on :
 
I hear that comedians have been known to eat hamsters in the UK. I wonder if they go down better with tomato ketchup? There are some comedians who I'd quite like to knock to the floor with a large bottle of tomato ketchup. Then pour it all over them. Then hand them over to a giant hamster ...
 

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Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
I wonder why giants are always the baddies? Only in the Narnia books have I ever met a good giant. And he was thick.
 

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Posted by Chapelhead (# 21) on :
 
Are two long planks as thick as two short planks?
 

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Posted by Pre-cambrian (# 2055) on :
 
Did I ever tell you my Great Uncle Hezekiah was Blackbeard's ship's carpenter. He was instructed to cut very long planks because otherwise there was a chance that the plank walker would be able to scramble back in through a porthole before the sharks got him.
 

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Posted by balaam (# 4543) on :
 
Loan sharks are having stiff competition from companies which are legal but charge ridiculous amounts of interest.
 

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Posted by Lucia (# 15201) on :
 
I always feel that sharks get rather a bad press. Out of more than 360 species, only four have been involved in a significant number of fatal, unprovoked attacks on humans. Most sharks are simply trying to get on with life minding their own business.
 

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Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
How I envy the business minded. I've just posted off my tax docs to my accountant, unfullyreconciled as usual. Must do better - I've been saying that for over a quarter of a century....
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I think it must be a family thing but I hate going to the Docs and will always put it off until I really have no choice.
 

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Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
My BIL said that DOCS (Department of Community Services) is really the Department of Crushed Spirits.
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
My father really liked Malt Whisky whereas, in my drinking days, my preferred spirit was always GIN.
 

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Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
I had a gimlet on Saturday to remind me of Raymond Chandler's The Long Goodbye
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
When we were over in the port bit of the city the other week I was surprised by how many ship's chandlers there are still about.
 

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Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
Chandeliers always look so graceful, with all those beautifully cut, shiny pieces of glass. But the one in 'Phantom of the Opera' is scary.
 

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Posted by Morlader (# 16040) on :
 
I once attended a performance of Joseph and the technicolour dreamcoat given unaccompanied in the open air by a Rudolf Steiner school. Very moving.
 

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Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :
 
One of my plans for the Christmas service is to have the choir sing "Break Forth, O Beauteous Heavenly Light" unaccompanied! They can do it, I'm sure!
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Light Ale, preferably cooled, can be very refreshing on a warm day
 

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Posted by Loquacious beachcomber (# 8783) on :
 
The days, and particularly the nights, have cooled here; it is time to begin to enjoy the gas fireplaces in the living room and bedroom.
I hate having to walk across the room to use the wall switch when I turn them off and on, though; I wish my TV remotes could be adapted to also control the fireplaces.

[ 17. October 2012, 15:15: Message edited by: Loquacious beachcomber ]
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
The longer I am away from my former profession of social work the more convinced I am that it is really social control.
 

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Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
I have at times dallied with the notion of joining a religious order, but maybe I couldn't be a professed anything except singing teacher. The medieval habits are elegant, though. Not so keen on the modern equivalents.
 

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Posted by Morlader (# 16040) on :
 
Anybody know how to enter an 'equivalent to' sign on an iPad? [it's a three-line = sign]
 

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Posted by Loquacious beachcomber (# 8783) on :
 
If one takes an iPad on a vacation to Europe, will it be possible to re-charge it on their power grid, or would an AC/DC adapter be needed?
Not that a vacation over there is without complications; most of the restaurants, particularly in Italy, have no restrictions on smoking, so you may be seated next to a table of 5 or 6 smokers; then how do you see your steak or read your laptop or iPad through the smoky haze anyhow?
 

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Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
At our friends 21yo son's funeral they ended the 'celebration' with AC/DC's Highway to Hell on the son's request.
 

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Posted by no prophet (# 15560) on :
 
I know that vampires can be killed with a steak through the heart. Do you have to use a stake to kill zombies?
 

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Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
Ah, the Zombie is one of the better named cocktails: "Keep serving them to me until I turn into one".

Don't forget the 151 proof flaming top.
 

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Posted by Below the Lansker (# 17297) on :
 
I once suffered a horrendous accident when someone set light to my viscose thermal boob tube - a flaming top indeed.
 

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Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :
 
You don't see children with them any more - spinning tops. Time was, a bit of vigorous pumping and then the thrill of watching it go round and then eccentrically decay and stop was sufficient excitement.
 

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Posted by Ariston (# 10894) on :
 
You know what I really like? Obvious double entendres.
 

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Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :
 
The first time I ever saw Joe Jackson in concert it was in 1991 at the Greek Theater in Berkeley for his "Laughter and Lust" tour, and he opened with "The Obvious Song."
 

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Posted by Pre-cambrian (# 2055) on :
 
Berkeley Castle was where King Edward II payed for what the 14th century saw as his unnatural lusts in a particularly unfortunate manner.
 

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Posted by Bean Sidhe (# 11823) on :
 
Please read 'A Modern Girl's Guide to Etiquette'. Unfortunate manners can be so... unfortunate.
 

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Posted by Ariston (# 10894) on :
 
Have you read my sig line?
 

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Posted by Loquacious beachcomber (# 8783) on :
 
"A Modern Girl's Guide to Networking" writes about topics from the boardroom to the bedroom, which are pursuits for women not girls.
Now, if they had a book with a title like "The Trailer Trash Guide to Messin' Around" I bet that would sell!

[cross-pissed}

[ 18. October 2012, 00:42: Message edited by: Loquacious beachcomber ]
 

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Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
My trailer got trashed when we loaded a huge tree stump on it.
 

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Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :
 
Gosh. I missed supper today. Something just made me think of a loaded baked potato! Yummy sour cream, freshly chopped chives, a sprinkle of nutmeg. Rats. Now I'll go to bed hungry.
 

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Posted by Loquacious beachcomber (# 8783) on :
 
There was a dead muskrat along the edge of the beach today; I was looking at the sunset, accidentlly stepped on it, and it made a really squishy sound!
 

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Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
The disadvantage of living on the east coast is that the sunset is on the wrong side; I was always used to it being over the sea, but here it's over the trees, which just isn't quite right.
 

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Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
The whales going up and down our east coast have given us great displays this year with their spouts, breaching, and tail slaps. I am going out on a boat to see them next year.
 

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Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 
I visited Wales once and it rained non stop.
 

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Posted by Loveheart (# 12249) on :
 
Did you know that the "One Stop" chain of shops is owned by Tesco?
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
The silver chain I wear around my neck is the third I have bought in the last couple of years, the other two broke.
 

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Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
I'm not much for chains, but I have bought a lovely pair of enamelled earrings. Almost the only form of jewellery which doesn't annoy me to wear.
 

---

Posted by pjl (# 16929) on :
 
I went to a club last night and I noticed a woman with a fine pair
 

---

Posted by Morlader (# 16040) on :
 
Pears can be very hard, IME. I can only eat soft ones.
 

---

Posted by Meg the Red (# 11838) on :
 
My cats looked at me so pleadingly this morning, I shared my breakfast with them - I am such an old softy.
 

---

Posted by Barnabas62 (# 9110) on :
 
Ah! Mr Softee! This jingle brings it all back.
 

---

Posted by MSHB (# 9228) on :
 
That's right - it will be Christmas soon. Must practise the carols and buy some presents.
 

---

Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :
 
Are y'all doing anything special for Advent? There's an Advent calendar in the closet that D-U used to enjoy when she was little. Maybe I'll get it out for me this year.
 

---

Posted by lilBuddha (# 14333) on :
 
Did you know one of the Adent, the electronic version not the Christian hip hop version, started out as an engineer? Not a "build bridges" engineer, but the music kind. Their music is like House on speed. House did Vicodin I think. Speed was an awful movie can't believe Dennis Hopper agreed to do it. Probably a result of all the drugs he did in the 60's. Which sound like a fantastic time, free love and all, but one had to deal with stinky hippies, right? What kind of freedom were they looking for, freedom from soap?
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
My dad and I used to love Soap when it was on TV in the 80s - my mum never really saw the point.
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
In the 1980s, soap on a rope was all the rage. Or was it the 1970s?
 

---

Posted by EtymologicalEvangelical (# 15091) on :
 
No one was working in the 1970s. They were all on strike. Remember it well.
 

---

Posted by Bean Sidhe (# 11823) on :
 
I got three strikes in a row bowling once. Someone told me that's a 'turkey'. No-one sent me to jail.
 

---

Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 
I remember a Christmas special of The Bill on TV that had the hilarious scene where PC Reg Hollis had been put in charge of the food for the Christmas party, so ordered 75 portions of Turkey Madras from the local Indian takeaway.
 

---

Posted by Mamacita (# 3659) on :
 
I had madras plaid clothes when I was in high school, It was all the rage. It seems to have come back into fashion the last couple of summers, with men wearing madras shorts everywhere.
 

---

Posted by lilBuddha (# 14333) on :
 
Madras, also known as Chennai is called India's Detroit, though it might well be more safe than the original Detroit these days as it is one of the safer large cites in India. Safety is important in a city, because with out it, one is not safe.

ETA: Ha! Your cross posts cannot foil me, Mamacita!

[ 18. October 2012, 18:31: Message edited by: lilBuddha ]
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
I was watching an episode of "Bait Car" the other day, set in Chicago. It was the one episode that had me worrying for the safety of the cops. Crowds of kids were running around and someone sent a brick into a car window (not the bait car). It wasn't a real riot, just another night in the 'hood.

Car thieves seem much more laid back in Los Angeles and New Orleans.
 

---

Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 
Placing a brick in the cistern of your lavatory is a great way to save water.
 

---

Posted by EtymologicalEvangelical (# 15091) on :
 
You won't be short of a choice of curry houses if you visit Brick Lane, E1, Londinium.
 

---

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
Curiously enough a lot of Roman cooking was like curry, as they went in for using quite a lot of spices. Rice, however, was ruinously expensive as it had to be imported specially from India, so you wouldn't have had much of a chance to pop out for a baltius in Londinium.
 

---

Posted by Below the Lansker (# 17297) on :
 
Rice pudding was the favourite dessert of Lloyd George - left overnight to cook in a warm oven (after the bread had been baked). It was normally so thick that it would be eaten cold and cut into slabs like cake. Did I mention that Lloyd George knew my father?
 

---

Posted by Morlader (# 16040) on :
 
George Lloyd was a Cornish composer, born in St Ives.
 

---

Posted by Meg the Red (# 11838) on :
 
I've never met a man with seven wives, but then I've also never been to Utah.
 

---

Posted by Loquacious beachcomber (# 8783) on :
 
I tot Utah a puddy tat.

[eta translation: The Tweety Bird; I thought you saw a pussy cat.]

[ 18. October 2012, 21:35: Message edited by: Loquacious beachcomber ]
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
I need a book on the methodologies and levels of translation.
 

---

Posted by Loquacious beachcomber (# 8783) on :
 
When a presbytery accepts a call to one of its clergy, that clergy is said to have been translated to the new pastoral charge.
 

---

Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 
A member of the clergy called me the other day. How the hell did he get my phone number?
 

---

Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :
 
Day lilies are so pretty. It's a shame that the smell makes me sick. Even worse are the Stargazer lilies, which are just beautiful.
 

---

Posted by Bean Sidhe (# 11823) on :
 
Don't you just love stargazy pie?
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
Probably not, but I love my great-niece, who is the cutest baby on the planet.
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
Radion National has a great international music programme, hosted by Lucky Oceans, called the Daily Planet.
 

---

Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :
 
Didn't Superman work for The Daily Planet?
 

---

Posted by Loveheart (# 12249) on :
 
Talking of supermen and superwomen, have you seen the short list for BBC Sports Personality of the Year? Who on earth do you pick?
 

---

Posted by Morlader (# 16040) on :
 
This chap was known as Superdad. Mind you, there are funny people living on Bodmin Moor.

[ 19. October 2012, 07:39: Message edited by: Morlader ]
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I never fancied wearing chaps, though if I were a cowboy in the Old West I'd probably get used to them as they guard against thorn bushes.
 

---

Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 
There are some dreadfully nice chaps who drink down at my local.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Local history can be an enthralling topic.
 

---

Posted by EtymologicalEvangelical (# 15091) on :
 
Apparently you're not supposed to drink Earl Grey with milk. I rather like it, so the pedants can stuff off...
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I have to clear out the bedroom this weekend and it is just full of stuff.
 

---

Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :
 
A terrible bully in town is in jail, now. I'd say he got his just desserts.
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
Yay! I found online the recipe for one of my family's favorite desserts, Cherry Supreme. It will be a real treat when my brother comes home for the holidays.
 

---

Posted by Mamacita (# 3659) on :
 
Cherry Coke is vile-tasting stuff. I can't imagine why anyone would drink it.
 

---

Posted by Loquacious beachcomber (# 8783) on :
 
I think this woman was drinking something a little stronger than Coke, or maybe mixing something stronger than cherries with it; she called a talk show to complain that deer-crossing signs should be relocated, as they encourage deer to croos the highway in heavy traffic!
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Homemade elderberry cordial, with a little hot water and a large slug of brandy, is womderful for a cold.
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
I dislike using slug bait, but when we lived in Sydney it was the only way to keep them off the veges.
 

---

Posted by Cara (# 16966) on :
 
Elderflower cordials and drinks are one of the English things I missed most when I lived abroad. Of course in my childhood you couldn't get elderflower pressé and such all over the place, as you can now. My mother went out and picked elderflowers and put the umbrella-like heads in a big bucket with (I think) lemon and sugar...left it for days, it began to ferment, bottled it, it fermented some more, and finally you had a wonderful non-alcoholic elderflower "champagne," naturally fizzy. Bliss. And recently there's been available an elderflower liqueur, St Germain, it's available in Waitrose. Super bliss.

At first I thought this thread was something to do with algebra and I steered clear. Now I know what it is...hooray!
 

---

Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 
I've lost my umbrella which is really annoying as it's pissing down with rain at the moment.
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
Spike, your next post will be your 10,000th
 

---

Posted by balaam (# 4543) on :
 
Talking of 10.000, what's the Duke of York doing these days?
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
My Yorkshire friend's father complained when she got engaged to a Lancastrian, "Why couldn't you find a Yorkshire lad?"
 

---

Posted by Barnabas62 (# 9110) on :
 
There was a time when only Yorkshire lads could play cricket for Yorkshire. Len Hutton came from Pudsey, you know... Aye. That he did.
 

---

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
A friend of mine once took his little girl to see Pudsey Bear when he came to the local shopping centre. She screamed hysterically as soon as Pudsey approached, and had to be taken home, in floods of tears.

Admittedly cartoon characters that size can be a bit intimidating when they loom over you, even if you're an adult.
 

---

Posted by EtymologicalEvangelical (# 15091) on :
 
I wouldn't mind having a go at weaving on a traditional loom. But then again, I suppose I am a bit of a luddite.
 

---

Posted by Bean Sidhe (# 11823) on :
 
I remember a radio show called 'Have a Go' when I was a child, compered by Wilfred Pickles. I think his name fascinated me. I'd imagine a jar of pickled onions.
 

---

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
The only time I ever had a pickled onion was when I happened to be in a fish-and-chip shop, in the back streets of some English city or other, on my way home after an evening in the pub. I ordered a portion of chips to take away, and then wavered between getting a saveloy or a pickled onion. Wrong decision.

On the other hand, the saveloy might have been the wrong decision too. You can only do what you think is right at the time.
 

---

Posted by Hedgehog (# 14125) on :
 
I got a portion of chips when I went to a casino. I used up most of them in a slot machine. While I did not hit any big wins, I got enough small wins to keep the chips coming, which then allowed me to keep playing. It was a relatively harmless way to waste a few hours and it was fun watching the various symbols spin around on the machine.
 

---

Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 
I had a go at playing the cymbals once. It was great fun as you can make a lot of noise, but with great potential to screw up if you happen to leave one of them behind.
 

---

Posted by Mamacita (# 3659) on :
 
True story: When I was in band in 7th grade, we were all startled right out of our seats when a cymbal, held by a young percussionist, broke its strap somehow and came crashing right down onto the floor. The amazing thing is that it happened at exactly the right moment in the piece.
 

---

Posted by Loquacious beachcomber (# 8783) on :
 
In Ontario, the Premier, and probably soon the Provincial government has come crashing to the ground in the middle of scandal, while in Quebec, a corruption probe of municipal and provincial politics is underway.
Is there ever a right moment for this?
 

---

Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :
 
I've been digging in the ground preparing a place to lovingly plant some veggies. Oooh! Better get to Heaven to make a report!
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
Freshly ground pepper (especially those "mixed pepper berries" made popular by The Blessèd Delia in the 1990s) is wonderful on strawberries and cream. Really.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
When my mum was working one of the schools of which she acted as secretary to the governors was named after Blessèd Thomas Holford, whoever he was.
 

---

Posted by MSHB (# 9228) on :
 
Is that a grave or an acute over the second 'e' of 'blessed'? I can never tell.
 

---

Posted by Mamacita (# 3659) on :
 
Governors of my state occasionally end up in prison.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I understand that the prisons of New Hampshire are not much fun.
 

---

Posted by lilBuddha (# 14333) on :
 
Did you know Hampshire is the third largest shire county in the United Kingdom? If this is Hampshire, and the colony is New Hampshire, where is Old Hampshire? One wonders about such things.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
I read in the Anne of Greengables series that new bread, i.e. freshly baked, could exacerbate dyspepsia, whereas old bread was easier on the digestion.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Did you realise that Gables in an anagram of Bagels? I could just do with a nice bagel now.

[ 20. October 2012, 07:02: Message edited by: Welease Woderwick ]
 

---

Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 
A rag man is an anagram of anagram.
 

---

Posted by Smudgie (# 2716) on :
 
It really is quite annoying, actually, that the rag man doesn't come around any more. My son's bedroom would be a lot tidier if I could just get rid of all the clothes deposited on his floor by giving them to the rag man.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Sons, even self-appointed ones like mine, can be both a pleasure and a pain, can't they?
 

---

Posted by Loveheart (# 12249) on :
 
Bread is both a pleasure and a pain, because I enjoy eating it, but can't have it due to gluten sensitivity.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I control the sensitivity of my teeth with a special toothpaste.
 

---

Posted by Smudgie (# 2716) on :
 
Ah, glad you reminded me - anyone got any good recommendations for how to get toothpaste stains out of my best silk pyjamas?
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
I take it you would like them to vanish?

[ 20. October 2012, 11:33: Message edited by: jacobsen ]
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
With silk wouldn't dry cleaning be better?
 

---

Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :
 
I had planned to clean my car today. It may or may not happen. *sigh*
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
I'd better hoe out the summer weeds in my little apartment plot this weekend; the pruners of the back hedges are coming Monday.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Monday I think I may have to go to the airport to see the Foreign Residents Registration guy.
 

---

Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
I saw the year's first 'Penny for the Guy' outside a supermarket yesterday.
 

---

Posted by Boogie (# 13538) on :
 
Registration at school has changed recently - all is electronic. I miss putting those ticks in the register!
 

---

Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 
If one child has ticks, you can guarantee they'll spread to the rest of the class before you know it.
 

---

Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
The key to understanding the English class system is remembering that while someone may be upper class, does not mean the have any class.
 

---

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
You'd think after all these years I'd have trained myself to leave my keys in the same place when I come in, so that I know where they are when I'm in a hurry to leave in the morning. But no.
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
It's been a year of funerals and mourning for me.
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
There are so many places in time to begin a year: the school year, the fiscal year, the Church year, the Jewish year, and the traditional Western calendar year to name a few.
 

---

Posted by Bean Sidhe (# 11823) on :
 
Why do cowboys in Westerns walk so mincy? Is it the boot heels?
 

---

Posted by Mamacita (# 3659) on :
 
Many shipmates post about making mince pie, but I've never made one (or tasted one, for that matter).
 

---

Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :
 
I'm hoping my mom makes a mince meat pie for Thanksgiving this year! It's my very favorite!
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
We had D's wonderful shepherd's pie for lunch today. Pedants would say it should be "cottage pie" as it's made with minced beef, but who cares when it tastes that yummy?
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
One of my managers said that he liked that I was so pendatic (sic). I corrected him, of course.
 

---

Posted by MSHB (# 9228) on :
 
I'd hate having more than one manager! That'd be like high school when all your teachers give you assignments due on the same day.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
The same day as my official retirement I arrived here in India to begin my new life.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Today it's church,followed by a little bread baking and sewing.
 

---

Posted by QLib (# 43) on :
 
I hardly ever do sewing these days, but had a great success this summer repairing a pair of silk trousers (swank, swank) which has given me new confidence.
 

---

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
The first Wallace and Gromit I ever watched was called "The Wrong Trousers". I suppose they must have been made of plasticine.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I was very pleased when I found some pukka pyjama [proper usage] cord in the market in town but have found if to be not very useful sometimes as it is so smooth that it offers no support at all to the trousers when not tied.
 

---

Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 
I was glad when they said unto me "we will go into the house of The Lord"
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I think it is probably true that only an Anglican or ex-Anglican is unable to read that without hearing the chant in his/her head.
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
my tongue shall never tire
Of chanting with the choir...
 

---

Posted by Bean Sidhe (# 11823) on :
 
I don't think I've eaten tongue since I was a child. I seem to remember it was a bit slppery in the mouth.
 

---

Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 
This thread is going down the slippery slope very fast
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
I've never fasted, not even the 40 hour famine.
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
I've never understood the trauma of the fortieth birthday. It was just another pleasant birthday to me.
 

---

Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by jacobsen:
Whenever I hear the Minute Waltz (Chopin), I'm drawn to memories of the radio show Just a Minute, where contestants had to talk for a minute without hesitiation, repetion or deviation. This thread completely reverses the idea, at least where deviation is concerned.

---

I try to hear it most Monday mornings. I picked my own topic once, but found I could speak about it for a minute without a violation of the rules. I have found older episodes on 4extra.
 

---

Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :
 
Did I violate some Church Rule™ when I giggled out loud at something the preacher said today?
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
The Rule of St. Benedict is a fine code by which to live your life, even if it needs tweaking slightly to fit modern lifestyles.
 

---

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
Eggs Benedict are a wonderful way to start a Sunday morning.
 

---

Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 
For some reason, we didn't sing the Benedictus at Mass this morning
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
We did, from the Missa Collegium Regale by Herbert Howells. Also, through the sacrament of Baptism, we welcomed a new, very small, but quite vocal, member to the church.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
One wonders if Very Small is any relation to Small, who was, in turn, one of Rabbits Friends and Relations.
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
I remember Walter Gabriel in The Archers asking Mrs P why she called her underwear her 'smalls', when they were so large.
 

---

Posted by Mamacita (# 3659) on :
 
Biggie Smalls was a famous rapper.
 

---

Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :
 
It was all a dream
I used to read Word Up magazine
Salt'n'Pepa and Heavy D up in the limousine ...
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
When I arrived at Toronto airport at near midnight in May 1989 I was asked if I wanted a taxi or a limo to get to the city.
 

---

Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 
I had a really nice holiday in Cornwall in May 1989. The surfing was really good, but I wish I'd hired a decent car.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
My next car will be smaller front to back, so it fits more easily into my garage, but slightly higher to facilitate exit and entry. Or vice versa*


*the other way round
 

---

Posted by Smudgie (# 2716) on :
 
When you say:

quote:

---

Originally posted by jacobsen:
Or vice versa*


*the other way round

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Smudgie:
When you say:

quote:

---

Originally posted by jacobsen:
Or vice versa*


*the other way round

---

do you actually mean versa vice? And is this something to do with the sin of really bad poetry?

---

No, jacobsen means verse vica.
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
When Australia introduced roundabouts I saw quite a few cars go the other way round.
 

---

Posted by Cara (# 16966) on :
 
Is every choice or decision in life really just a question of, what you lose on the swings, you gain on the roundabouts? Or do I just see it this way because I was born under the sign of Libra?
 

---

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
Libra is a great sign to be born under, but it can make you very indecisive. To be, or not to be? Where are the snows of yesteryear? What is the answer to life, the universe and everything?
 

---

Posted by Boogie (# 13538) on :
 
42 is a great age to be - old enough to be wise, young enough to have all your bits intact.


 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I am lucky because my wisdom teeth have never really given me any trouble.
 

---

Posted by Dafyd (# 5549) on :
 
I haven't had any trouble with my teeth as far as I can remember. But my daughter is having a bit of trouble with her second tooth, so it may just be I can't remember that far back.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
My back has been troublesome today, it often is when I am feeling stressed.
 

---

Posted by Banner Lady (# 10505) on :
 
Stress! Try being with a 'puter for 42 days just when all your theology assessments are due! Gaaah. Then the MacDoctor tells you the only way he can describe what caused the litany of internal failures in the IMac as "possession".

I'm still thinking about that one....


 

---

Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 
42 is the answer to life, the universe and everything
 

---

Posted by Loquacious beachcomber (# 8783) on :
 
If you begin college at age 42, there will be people in your class who weren't even born the last time you were in a classroom. They will understand how to research an essay, but won't have the mechanics of basic grammar.
 

---

Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :
 
My mother went to Grammar School, but I went to Elementary School. Were we not taught as much grammar as my mom? Wonder why the difference in the names?
 

---

Posted by Meg the Red (# 11838) on :
 
Is it true that Sherlock Holmes never said "Elementary, my dear Watson"?
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Shane Watson has been playing well in the last few months.
 

---

Posted by Loquacious beachcomber (# 8783) on :
 
No one in the National Hockey League is playing at all right now; they are locked out and the entire season may once again be cancelled.
On the other hand, people in San Francisco are wearing toques, parkas, and wool scarves to watch their team take a 7 - 0 lead in the 3rd inning of the 7th playoff game.
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
In the early 1970s, parkas were the height of teenage sartorial elegance. Mind you, so were flared jeans with purple inserts to make them even more flared ...
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
In 1971 I lived for a while in Greensboro, NC, saw Easy Rider and hitched across the States to SF.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Do people still hitch their horses outside saloons as shown in all the old westerns?
 

---

Posted by Banner Lady (# 10505) on :
 
Isn't it interesting that Quentin Tarantino is revisiting the Spaghetti Western genre with a new take on Django? The shorts for it looked very OTT in the best possible way.

[ 23. October 2012, 07:26: Message edited by: Banner Lady ]
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
People visiting here as tourists often think wearing shorts are appropriate but really they often only lead to sunburnt legs.
 

---

Posted by Cara (# 16966) on :
 
Sunburn....normal in our childhood, seen as par for the course at the seaside. Now so much rarer, since we know the dangers. Which reminds me, must make an appointment with the dermatologist about that mole.....
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
Moles digging up my garden, now that's an annoying thing. The lawn looks like it's had WW3 fought out on it.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Some people think we have moles at work who report to the management.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Management with my former employer was gross misuse of the English language!
 

---

Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :
 
I think I should have ordered a gross of cat treats instead of only six packets. She really likes them. And they have veggies in them, so lots of good vitamins.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I am glad the rather annoying habit of trick or treating hasn't made it over here yet.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
You remind me that I must get some sweets to hand out to the rather cute munchkins who arrive in fancy dress with watchful parents in the background. Last year I was reduced to handing out slices of cake, with apologies...
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
It is ages since I baked a cake, perhaps I'll give it a go over the next few weeks.
 

---

Posted by Hedgehog (# 14125) on :
 
My age is 52. I am beginning to think that it is time for me to find a nice woman, get married and settle down.
 

---

Posted by Below the Lansker (# 17297) on :
 
I love Nice biscuits - those lovely buttery undertones with a glistening crust of sugar on the top - yum.
 

---

Posted by balaam (# 4543) on :
 
Teenage Kicks by the Undertones is one of the best sons to come out of the punk rock era.
 

---

Posted by daronmedway (# 3012) on :
 
Favouritism in families, especially when one child is more talented than another, is a source of great grief and generational dysfunction. It should be avoided at all costs.
 

---

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
It should be avoided for free. There are far too many costs about already and everything is more expensive than it was at the start of the year. (Except petrol which appears to have gone down a bit since then.)
 

---

Posted by Hedgehog (# 14125) on :
 
Did you know that the petrel got its name from Saint Peter--because of the way the bird flies just over the water with its feet dangling down as if touching the water?
 

---

Posted by Cara (# 16966) on :
 
And is the stormy petrel the same as the ordinary petrel? And are they in the albatross family, or something completely different, I wonder?
 

---

Posted by RuthW (# 13) on :
 
Did you know that you can sing Coleridge's "Ancient Mariner" and many of Emily Dickinson's poems to the tune of "The Yellow Rose of Texas"?
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
I first heard of Emily Dickinson from Simon & Garfunkel's Dangling Conversation.
 

---

Posted by Loquacious beachcomber (# 8783) on :
 
Did you know that it is extremely difficult to sing 1 Corinthians 13 to the tune of "Big Yellow Taxi"?
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
I've just listened to a John Grisham audiobook where the town's Black & White taxi company was started by two (half) brothers, one of whom was black, and the other, white.
 

---

Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :
 
It's been a long time since I last ordered a black and white milk shake at one of the local fast food joints. They were so yummy!
 

---

Posted by Mamacita (# 3659) on :
 
We attended a black-and-white themed wedding in the early 90s, which was quite chic, with the bridesmaids dressed all in black.
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
Quite a few bridesmaids in the last couple of years have been dressed in black; mine were in a bright electric-blue. Well, it was 1988; that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

[ 24. October 2012, 01:52: Message edited by: piglet ]
 

---

Posted by Loquacious beachcomber (# 8783) on :
 
Some of the top news stories of 1988 were Ronald Reagan's visit to the Soviet Union, Sony Bono's election as a California mayor, and, in Canada, Brian Mulroney's winning a majority government after campaigning on free trade.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I didn't go to Canada until 1989 when I had a trip over to visit family in Ajax, Windsor and at Lake St Peter, near Maynooth.
 

---

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
Ajax! Whatever happened to that? You never see it on sale in the supermarkets these days.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
It has been superceded by something else which is probably less effective.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
An effective deterrent to ants invading my keyboard seems to be to keep a naptha ball [mothball] under the keyboard.
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
The ants go marching one by one- harrah! harrah! ...
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
When I was a child my dad had a big book called The March of Time - but what about the April of Time? Or the June?


[edited because I have trouble spelling three letter words! ]

[ 24. October 2012, 07:33: Message edited by: Welease Woderwick ]
 

---

Posted by Cara (# 16966) on :
 
When I was a child we had a series of big encyclopedia-type books where the subject matter was organized by theme. World of Wonder? I especially loved reading through all the sections on Myths and Legends.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
We have just been discussing modern day type in the haiku thread.
 

---

Posted by Cara (# 16966) on :
 
Indeed! It is most peculiar how small the print is on so many things now--ingredients on packages, instructions on medicines, all this important information that should not be printed in a practically invisible typeface!

And then there's also the way people are starting to mumble......but perhaps I am repeating myself?
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
There is a fish and chips and ice cream [served separately] place near The Mumbles that is truly spectacular!
 

---

Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 
There used to be an ice cream van that came down my street when I was a child and the chimes played "English country garden"
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Believe it or not, the rag'n bone man still comes! It used to be by horse and cart, but is now a van, though he still rings a bell to announce himself.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Horses are very rare down here, in other southern states carts are more often pulled by oxen or buffalo.
 

---

Posted by Mamacita (# 3659) on :
 
The creature that Americans call a buffalo is really a bison.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Bisodol is supposed to be really good for acid indigestion.
 

---

Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :
 
If hydrangeas are grown in acidic soil, they will have bluish flowers. Isn't that the opposite of what acids do to litmus paper?
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I can never remember - which are the litmus states in the US elections?
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
I very rarely vote, which is naughty, considering the lengths the suffragettes went to to get women the vote.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I really must work on my swimming if I go to Sri Lanka - I'd like to be able to manage a couple of lengths in one go by the time I come home.
 

---

Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 
My physics teacher at school came from Sri Lanka. We used to get great pleasure pointing out to him that "Sri Lanka" was rhyming slang for a popular English insult.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
A French priest once referred to me un vrai anglais which may well have been not a huge compliment.
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
broderie anglaise may not be in fashion, but it is very pretty.
 

---

Posted by Cara (# 16966) on :
 
La langue anglaise is very much in fashion now in France. Clothes shops advertise their latest fashions as "must have." Everyone says"cool." And much more....
 

---

Posted by Loveheart (# 12249) on :
 
Its going to get a lot cooler towards the end of the week.
 

---

Posted by EtymologicalEvangelical (# 15091) on :
 
I feel a bit sorry for Lot's wife.
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
I try to keep my salt intake down. I even enjoy boiled eggs without salt.
 

---

Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 
They sell pickled eggs at my local. They're really nice with Worcestershire sauce, but even better with Tabasco
 

---

Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :
 
I found an empty bird egg on the grass this week. Isn't it a bit late for the little things to be hatching?
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
Scrambled eggs and smoked salmon is a dish fit for a king, especially if served with a glass or two of Buck's Fizz.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Now that I've moved to the Cotswolds, Buckinghamshire is one of the several closely neighbouring counties, though I've never visited Buckinham itself.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I remember, when I was 11 or 12, we visited some relations in Stow-on-the-Wold and my great aunt [?] had made Lardy Cakes.
 

---

Posted by Smudgie (# 2716) on :
 
I am a great aunt and also a great great-aunt and by this time tomorrow I will have seen two of my great nephews and my great great-nephew. My whole extended family's great
 

---

Posted by balaam (# 4543) on :
 
When I were nobbut* a wee lad we used to play in some trees at the top of a cliff that looked down on a house where they kept great danes.

*Yorkshire and other northern dialect for "nothing but."
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Danegeld was basically protection money extorted from the Britons by their medieval overlords.
 

---

Posted by Mamacita (# 3659) on :
 
A hilarious animation of the lyric "We Are Your Overlords" appears in the infamous Viking Kittens video spoof of a Led Zeppelin song. Legend has it that Messrs Page and Plant were Not Amused™.
 

---

Posted by Loquacious beachcomber (# 8783) on :
 
Just because one chooses to wear camouflage clothing does not provide an excuse to forego washing one's face; in fact, such a habit could well be considered to be slovenly.
 

---

Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :
 
I am SO glad I have a washing machine. It even has a hand wash cycle that cleans and doesn't destroy delicate items! Otherwise, there would be a pile of lacy items stacked in the closet waiting forever to be cleaned the old fashioned way.
 

---

Posted by Loquacious beachcomber (# 8783) on :
 
That sounds like an interesting discovery.
Did you know that if you take an uppercase letter Y and place a circle between the outstretched arms of the Y, you will have a symbol for discovery? (disc over y)
I am surprised that no one uses that as an avatar!
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
I wish the Discovery Channel would show something a bit more interesting than endless programmes about pawnbrokers and other assorted tat-merchants.
 

---

Posted by Mamacita (# 3659) on :
 
St Nicholas is the patron saint of pawnbrokers. The three gold balls that are seen over many pawnbrokers' shops are representative of the bags of gold given by St Nicholas to the three poor young women to save them from being sold into slavery.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Since one of my cameras died I seem to have more camera bags than I have cameras - perhaps I should buy another camera to take up the slack.
 

---

Posted by Cara (# 16966) on :
 
When did people stop saying "slacks" for trousers? And were "slacks" only ever women's trousers, or could men have slacks too?

Of course over in the US they say "pants" which causes much transatlantic confusion and amusement...even more so these days I should think, now that in Britspeak in some quarters to say something is "pants" means it's bad, rubbish, crap (I think, if I've correctly understood the vernacular!)
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Services in the vernacular seem to be the rule these days although I know there are exceptions - some places still say Mass in Latin and in the Syro-Malankara Rite I gather there are some Syriac words used that no longer have any real meaning outside the Rite.
 

---

Posted by Loveheart (# 12249) on :
 
Whatever happened to the proper use of spelling? Now our youngsters type nite when they mean night, rite, when they mean right, and the list goes on. Its about time the schools went back to basics and taught and corrected spelling in all subjects, not just English.
 

---

Posted by Ariston (# 10894) on :
 
According to Sartre, the idea of the subject is one free from a transcendental ego; the ego is not something that exists beyond the epoche, but rather a projection, indeed, and illusion, one necessary to have an idea of unity to the transcendental synthesis of our perceptions, the "I" that is part of the "I think" that must accompany all judgments, ideas, and intuitions, but one that, nevertheless, has no entity of its own.
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
"Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so," spake Douglas Adams
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I quite liked the book Watership Down but found Adams' later works less to my taste.
 

---

Posted by Lucia (# 15201) on :
 
My daughter has wanted a pet rabbit since she was 3 years old but I'm afraid our current living arrangements don't allow for it.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Have you noticed how some people seem to rabbit on and on never seeming to pause for breath and at the same time saying absolutely nothing?
 

---

Posted by Dafyd (# 5549) on :
 
Is there such a thing as absolutely nothing? Even in a vacuum there's quantum flux. And, I suppose, God.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Suppositories are an effective way of getting certain prescribed drugs into the system - in some cultures suppositories are preferred to oral medication.
 

---

Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :
 
My dear son-in-law is having the oral part of his testing today. He's a bit nervous, but I think he'll do very well! Go M!!!
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
After I had oral surgery as a teenager to remove eight(!) teeth in preparation for braces, I looked like a beat-up chipmunk.
 

---

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
I wonder if Friar Tuck had lived in more modern times whether he might have been known as the Fish and Chip Monk?
 

---

Posted by Hedgehog (# 14125) on :
 
That reminds me of the simple joys of archery. I find it quite a soothing form of exercise. Drawing back the bow and then hearing the sublime "thwp!" sound as a I release the arrow toward the target. Very zen!

I only do target shooting, though. I fear my conscience would not allow me to take aim at a living animal since this is just for sport and not self-preservation.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I think the Zen is beginning to look a little dated these days.

[ 27. October 2012, 02:27: Message edited by: Welease Woderwick ]
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
Am I the only person on Earth who hasn't read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance?

PS Wodders, you're dead right - it looks like a Mini Metro.

[ 27. October 2012, 03:19: Message edited by: piglet ]
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I don't know much about art but I know what I like.
 

---

Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :
 
There's an art to grilling and smoking food. Sometimes it comes out OK, but misses the sublime 'this is a piece of Heaven' factor. It's well worth practicing to get it right!
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
Art Garfunkel was the taller half of a really rather good singing duo in the 60s and 70s.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Garfunkel's is hardly the place to go if you want to eat fine food.
 

---

Posted by claret10 (# 16341) on :
 
Too much fine food makes me feel ill
 

---

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
OTOH, Illy coffee is served in some good teashops and patisseries.
 

---

Posted by claret10 (# 16341) on :
 
The teashops in York are very expensive
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I've never been to New York but I'm told the condition of the roads is appalling.
 

---

Posted by claret10 (# 16341) on :
 
The road outside is very wet
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Wet dogs smell awful, don't they?
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
I like dogs but prefer cats. The lovely Jane has just come in from the cold after a summer in which she was very affectionate outside the house, but would not stay indoors longer than it took to eat. Thank you, approaching winter.
 

---

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
The RSC are doing "The Winter's Tale" in January. Not one of my favourite plays, though "Exit, pursued by a bear", is a pretty good stage direction.
 

---

Posted by Mamacita (# 3659) on :
 
My son and his buddies were briefly pursued by a bear during a camping trip to Yellowstone National Park.
 

---

Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :
 
My son had a horrific picture on the Book of Face. He was dressed up for Guavaween. (That was a new one on me.)
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
I hope I can get my sister-in-law to bring me a bag of dried mango ball snacks from the Philippines when she comes for the holidays. I love those little things!
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
The dry weather for the last couple of months has meant that our neighbour's mango tree has set a load of fruit. Lots of overhanging fruit for us later, I think.
 

---

Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 
My neighbour has been away on holiday for two weeks. I don't know where he's been, but he picked up a fantastic tan.
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
Two weeks ago I thought the building work on our house might be finished quite soon, then our builder had an accident* and Heaven only knows when it'll be done.

* Not while working on our house ...
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
I've been away for a few days, having a great time. But it's always good to get home. Maybe the cats will remember me.
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
Sings

quote:

---

Hey it’s good to be back home again - you know it is
Sometimes this old farm feels like a long-lost friend
Hey, it’s good to be back home again
I said hey it’s good to be back home again

---

 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
It surprises me that the Denver Broncos don't beat everyone at their home games. There's no air in the air at Mile High Stadium (Nobody calls it Sports Authority by Mile High. It's like running a marathon against people who have trained at altitude.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I haven't renewed my membership of the Mile high Club in years and I'm not sure I want the discomfort at my current age.
 

---

Posted by claret10 (# 16341) on :
 
I've just got membership of the hotel choclat tasting club, yummy
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
I was given some melting chocolate for my birthday - just right for the Hot Chocolate Drinking Chocolate season....
 

---

Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 
I went to school with someone whose older brother played keyboards in the 70s band Hot Chocolate
 

---

Posted by Loquacious beachcomber (# 8783) on :
 
n my graduating year at high school, our class did a variety night play about me blowing up experiments and setting the chemistry lab on fire, something I someehow managed to do several times in one term.

[ 29. October 2012, 19:04: Message edited by: Loquacious beachcomber ]
 

---

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
One of my favourite memories from childhood dates from the days when houses had real fires in fireplaces. I used to love just being in front of the fire, with a cup of tea and a good book, enjoying the peace and quiet and warmth, and the way the flames danced, glowed and sparked. Night storage heaters are not the same.
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
I was a good little girl, but I dearly loved to mess around with candles.
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
Kenneth Williams was famous for his

"Stop messin' about."

[ 29. October 2012, 23:01: Message edited by: Latchkey Kid ]
 

---

Posted by Doublethink (# 1984) on :
 
Or even "Infamy, infamy, they've all got it in for me !"

I did enjoy the carry on films as a child, children's sense of humour is so basic isn't it - so very toilet cum Mr Bean.
 

---

Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :
 
We are actually having cool weather! That means it's about time to make my famous Black Bean soup! It's yummy and spicy and comforting. Just the thing!
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
I made a pot of veggie soup this afternoon; with some of D's home-made bread that'll be tomorrow's lunch.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I haven't touched pot for probably over half my life!
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
Probability and Statistics was one of my favourite subjects. Nearly everybody else hated it.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
There are lies, damned lies, and Statistics - Mark Twain
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Once upon a time my dad had some Reichmarks left over from a trip he made to Germany in 1936, when he walked through the Black Forest and saw a bit of opera - including the complete Ring Cycle over two days - afternoon and evening performances each day. He said it took him ages to recover from the experience!
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
I have a rather lovely garnet ring which had to be cut off my finger when I broke my wrist. One day I'll have it mended. The wrist, thank you for asking, is fine.
 

---

Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :
 
Daughter-Unit had some sewing and mending to do about six months ago, so she borrowed my sewing machine. Imagine my surprise when dear S-i-L got his hands on it and started making weapons and costumes for his 'game' he plays with a group of locals.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
When I was still carnivorous I never really fancied game, I think it was the sight of the brace of pheasants my parish priest had hanging in his garage that put me off.
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
The parish priest found hanging in his garage was part of a shocking scandal involving the organist, a flower arranger and the head choirboy!
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I found a photo of my ex-parish's ex-head chorister the other day - strange to think that that angelic little lad is now a Detective Chief Inspector with only 3 years left until retirement!
 

---

Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :
 
Do you think we might see some specters tomorrow night? I won't, unless they decide to come to choir rehearsal.
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
Oh. The spectre of Truganini is always around for Australians with eyes to see/
 

---

Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 
It's a well known fact that Australians know bugger all about cricket.
 

---

Posted by balaam (# 4543) on :
 
The sounds of crickets is one of the delights of a holiday in Spain.
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
I've got some eggs in the fridge that could do with being used; has anyone got a good Spanish omelette recipe?
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
I wonder if I could get a handle on the art of Ukrainian Pysanki by next Easter? The eggs are beautiful, but take a steady hand.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Being the youngest of three boys I was quite used, as a child, to hand-me-down clothes.
 

---

Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 
I am pleased to say that I was never used as a child
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
As the middle child of three I was renowned for my stoic good sense. Those were the days.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I always thought the stoics were a boring lot, I am much more of an epicurean or a hedonist.
 

---

Posted by claret10 (# 16341) on :
 
epicurean.com has lots of recipes
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Marie Curie was an amazing woman!
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
My first watch as a boy had a radioluminescent dial. I hope I don't get cancer from it. But then I didn't get anything like the exposure experienced by the Radium Girls.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I used to enjoy Northern Exposure - hard to think it was about 20 years ago now!
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
I'll enjoy reading comet's tales of her Halloween in Talkeetna. It's a wild and crazy town, I understand.
 

---

Posted by Cthulhu (# 16186) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Lyda*Rose:
I'll enjoy reading comet's tales of her Halloween in Talkeetna. It's a wild and crazy town, I understand.

---

UNDERSTAND THAT THE SOUND ON MY VOICE DRAINS EACH DROP OF YOUR SANITY AT A RATE OF 15 NEURONS PER SECOND. AND DESPAIR.

[WHOOPSIE, TOP OF THREAD. HAPPENS TO THE MOST ELDER OF US.]

[ 31. October 2012, 17:16: Message edited by: Cthulhu ]
 

---

Posted by Boogie (# 13538) on :
 
I prefer whispering to shouting - far more menacing on this Halloween night. Mind you, the moon was full a couple of nights ago - and now it's pouring down outside, not such a spooky feel as fog.


 

---

Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 
I have a full glass of beer that I'm pouring down my neck.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
I had a full basket of sweets to hand out to the trick-or-treaters. Great costumes and make-up, and watchful parents in the offing.
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
My granddaughter looked very sweet in her witch outfit.
 

---

Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 
Which outfit?
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
You don't get shops describing themselves as "Men's Outfitters" anymore,
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
Describing oneself as a "waste management operative" is just a posh way of saying you're a dustman.

[tangent[]
PS Chorister, did you realise your last post was number 32,000?

Congratulations!

[/tangent]

[ 01. November 2012, 02:17: Message edited by: piglet ]
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
I wonder if Real Men are now allowed to eat quiche.
 

---

Posted by MSHB (# 9228) on :
 
And I wonder who pronounced it "keesh" - it looks more like "qwitchee".
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
“The French have a phrase for it. The bastards have a phrase for everything and they are always right. To say goodbye is to die a little.” ― Raymond Chandler
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
I generally avoid reading Augustine like the plague, but I admit to some curiosity on whether he kept written contact with Adeodatus or provided for his son's mother after Monica pushed him into an arranged betrothal with an eleven-year-old. If he didn't, he was an even bigger jerk than I had believed.
 

---

Posted by Ariston (# 10894) on :
 
So I have these really tasty peppers—Datils—from St. Augustine, Florida. They make a really killer pork stew with lemon verbena and black beans; something about the sharp, citrus flavor of the peppers works so well.
 

---

Posted by Boogie (# 13538) on :
 
I love citrus fruits of all kinds, but have to avoid them because of their high acid content - for the sake of my Arthur-itis.
 

---

Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :
 
The town of Nicasio, CA, in West Marin County, has a high acid content.
 

---

Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 
My first car was a 1971 Hillman Avenger and I had to top up the battery acid on a regular basis. It had a really crap radio, but I was still able to listen to The Archers on Long Wave.
 

---

Posted by claret10 (# 16341) on :
 
my husband really needs to be more carefull with our cars, he has destroyed two now, by not actually checking the oil is topped up and just believing the malfunctioning oil light. You would have thought he would have learnt after the first one!!
 

---

Posted by MSHB (# 9228) on :
 
The temple in Jerusalem was lit up by oil lights.
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
Always keep your oil lamps trimmed, or you might become a foolish virgin.
 

---

Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :
 
Virgin Media always make me wonder if there is a Virgin Dexter and a Virgin Sinister.
 

---

Posted by Cara (# 16966) on :
 
Virgin Atlantic is--or was? haven't flown them for a long time--one of the better airlines, and when we travelled with kids years ago they gave each kid a nifty backback with colouring books and things--even in economy!
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
The economy is in shreds in many countries worldwide but nobody seems to know what to do about it.
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
A shredded beef and pinto bean burrito with verde sauce and a healthy (so to speak) helping of shredded cheddar melted inside is one of my favorite fast foods.
 

---

Posted by claret10 (# 16341) on :
 
I am just making a large pot of beef and vegetable soup, the dog is very interested and hopes it is for her.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
We had three dogs fighting on our forecourt this evening so I chased them away by waving a big stick and shouting.
 

---

Posted by Banner Lady (# 10505) on :
 
I spent several hours re-paving around our courtyard yesterday afternoon; and now am suffering hay fever from having been outside so long. The poplar trees in our area seem to be having a mass ejaculation of stuff that floats in the air for a very long time.
There is so much tree sperm about that I am now wondering how come the whole world isn't covered in poplar trees????
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
i thought sperm required an egg? Where are the poplar eggs?
 

---

Posted by Cara (# 16966) on :
 
Eggs are a popular breakfast food. Did you know that the slogan "Go to work on an egg" was made up by the writer Antonia White
( Frost in May , etc) ?

Which reminds me that Dorothy Sayers--who had also worked in advertising--imagined, in a crime novel set in an advertising company, one of her characters thinking up an ad for margarine which brilliantly paraphrased Sydney Carlton's last words in A Tale of Two Cities : "It is a far, far butter thing...."
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
It was hilarious when Alice in the Vicar of Dibley said
"Well, I can't believe the stuff that is not I Can't Believe It's Not Butter is not I Can't Believe It's Not Butter. And I can't believe that both I Can't Believe It's Not Butter and the stuff that I can't believe is not I Can't Believe It's Not Butter are both, in fact, not butter. And I believe... they both might be butter... in a cunning disguise. And, in fact, there's a lot more butter around than we all thought there was."
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
After which Alice fell down a rabbit hole, whereupon she spied a bottle with a label saying 'DRINK ME!'
 

---

Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 
Those bloody Catholics breed like rabbits.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
May you be forgiven. Those bloody catholics breed far more than any bloody rabbit.
 

---

Posted by Loquacious beachcomber (# 8783) on :
 
As a teenager, I thought the expression "a lack of breeding" referred to those among us who aren't getting any, not even on Valentine's Day.
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
If we were to celebrate the feast of the patron saint of lovers in a Greek restaurant, we could have a St. Valentine's Day Moussaka.

I'll get my coat ...
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
I can't understand how I've collected so many coats for fall and winter wear- even a down one. I live in SoCal for goodness sake!
 

---

Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :
 
There are a few spots on my house that could use a coat or two of paint. ... ...Where is our new little friend, Cthulhu? I'll bet it could help me paint.

Now, how did Tom Sawyer word that same scenario???
 

---

Posted by lilBuddha (# 14333) on :
 
Tom Sawyer is just about the only Rush song I can listen to all the way through. Most I am bored by the end. And if I listen to the lyrics...
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
I find that there are a lyrics I seriously disagree with in songs I love, e.g Throw Your Arms Around Me.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
It's most important not to throw one's rattle out of the pram. That way as I know to my cost, lies some seriously embarassing backtracking.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
We don't have rattlers here but there was a Rat Snake in a neighbour's garden the other day - it was about 2 metres long.
 

---

Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 
We've got 2 electric meters in our flat. One for day and one for night use.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
When I was a little boy I was very scared of going to the bathroom because of the monsters in the cistern so I had a little potty under my bed for night use.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
We just had to brave the monsters of the dark. It was a hard world for children in the 50s.
 

---

Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :
 
I've noticed that life in my 50s seems to be much more fun. Well, except for the bad stuff. So, shouldn't the 60s be a real party?

[ETA one little 's']

[ 02. November 2012, 17:57: Message edited by: jedijudy ]
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
Today I am giving LatchkeySpouse a party for her 62nd birthday. It must be fun, please .
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
I've managed to reach middle age (nearly) without affiliation to any political party whatsoever.

PS Happy birthday, Mrs. Latchkey!
 

---

Posted by Ariston (# 10894) on :
 
Do you know who else has no affiliation with any political party? Santa Claus.
I believe. Do you?*

*Sometimes, the greatest campaign slogans go unused.

[ 03. November 2012, 00:49: Message edited by: Ariston ]
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
There is a new affiliation of superheroes on the screen: Santa, the Sandman, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy in Rise of the Guardians. How cool would it be if the Easter Bunny wielded an axe! Booya!
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Off the top of my head I could probably name 100 television programmes that could do with facing the axe.
 

---

Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 
I went to a brilliant firework display last night. It was cold though, so I had to wear a hat to keep the top of my head warm.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
What a relief that it was on your head. I often forget to take a hat, and lose body heat at an alarming rate. Whereas at night an electric blanket does the job quite effectively. But they don't make electric hats, or do they?
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
My car alarm used to go off in the car park at work quite regularly, we think it was because of the swirling winds in the quadrangle.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
I've always liked concert dresses with a Ginger Rogers swirl to them. They do take a lot of fabric yardage, though.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Missed the edit period, but this was what I had in mind.
 

---

Posted by Loquacious beachcomber (# 8783) on :
 
Surely now that you are in your early 60s, you no longer panic over a missed period?
 

---

Posted by Jengie Jon (# 273) on :
 
I thought the Beatles did not arrive until the late sixties.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
1963, as I recall, being 12 at the time. And as usual, everyone except me in my class had heard of them. Other people always seem to be at the forefront of news...

I didn't even know the Pope was dead until they'd elected his successor.
 

---

Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 
Is the Pope Catholic?
 

---

Posted by Loquacious beachcomber (# 8783) on :
 
Q What does the Pope take with him into the shower?
A Pope-on-a-rope soap.

Q What is the Pope's favorite snack food?
A Popecorn.
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
I mourn the moving of the Popcorn Palace from our community. Their butter macadamia popcorn was to die for. Now I can only very occasionally find a version at Trader Joe's.
 

---

Posted by Bean Sidhe (# 11823) on :
 
The only time I saw Crystal Palace play, I couldn't see a damn thing. We were on the terraces (they had them then) and my then other half supported Chelsea, who they were playing. I hadn't even taken the precaution of injecting an orange with vodka to get me through it.
 

---

Posted by Mamacita (# 3659) on :
 
Joni Mitchell's song, "Chelsea Morning," includes a line that refers to a bowl of oranges. It was Hilary Clinton's favorite song as a college student and is why her daughter's name is Chelsea.
 

---

Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 
My 1971 Hillman Avenger was orange
 

---

Posted by Loquacious beachcomber (# 8783) on :
 
If you have trouble finding your car at a shopping mall from time to time, you probably don't need to worry too much; no doubt that happens to everyone.
If you have trouble finding your car at a shopping mall from time to time, because you are looking for the pale blue 1957 Chevy which you traded for a 1961 Impala Coupe, when you should be looking for your 2011 Equinox crossover, maybe consider getting a medical checkup.
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
When you have the only bright-turquoise 1971 Volvo 145 estate in the county (as I did 25 years ago), you have no trouble at all finding it in car-parks.
 

---

Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :
 
Turquoise is one of my favorite stones! I got some for gifts when I was visiting MoBo and JB in NM!
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
The other day I got a stone caught under my foot in my sandals and it really hurt!
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
Does drinking a lot of water prevent kidney stones?
I hear that they are painful to pass.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Why do some drivers make it so difficult to pass? They drive slowly then wander to the middle of the road just when I am setting up to overtake quite safely and legally.
 

---

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
Who knows? It took me more than one attempt to pass my driving test. They ought to give you a refund if you fail, but all they do is drive you home and book you in for more lessons next week as usual.
 

---

Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 
I passed my driving test first time. Soon afterwards, I bought a 1971 Hillman Avenger.
 

---

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
I remember the Avengers. Steed had this bowler hat that he used to throw at people.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I nearly bought an old Hillman Hunter sometime in the 1980s but a mechanic friend advised against the deal.
 

---

Posted by MSHB (# 9228) on :
 
Ah, the 1980s, when I bought my first car - to go dating in.
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
Before I got my license, the first time I went driving with an instructor on a busy street, I went bug-eyed panicked. I was personally guiding a large, deadly weapon, and I could kill us all! And I probably would!
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Being an instructor around areas of sexuality and sexual health was sometimes an hilarious way of life.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
At our last church choir rehearsal, the director asked the tenors and basses if their parts were in order...
 

---

Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 
If we have a retiring collection at church, we usually stick a couple of tenners in the plate to encourage others to do likewise.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
This month is the 15th anniversary of my official retiring, though I hadn't been to work for some months by then.
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
I was asked to do a reading in the Cathedral, but I said 'No' as I was too retiring.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I used to drive through Reading every month or two and found it very confusing.
 

---

Posted by Banner Lady (# 10505) on :
 
I married a bloke from Reading. One of his favourite things to do is to Read in bed. Who'da thunk?
 

---

Posted by balaam (# 4543) on :
 
Snoozing with the radio on low is a great way to spen time in bed if you have time for a lie in.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I have been reading about Oblomov and I am attracted by the idea of spending the rest of my life in bed.
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
Now the party is over I am going to tot up all the spending on it.

[ 04. November 2012, 18:28: Message edited by: Latchkey Kid ]
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
In this cold, damp weather I tend to totter on getting up from a chair.
 

---

Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :
 
One of our handbell ringers has a cold right now, poor thing. I hope she gets over it before we ring for church next Sunday!
 

---

Posted by Mamacita (# 3659) on :
 
"Give me a ring" is what people used to say meaning "call me on the phone." Now with the proliferation of ring-tones, the expression must be obsolete.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Nuclear technology proliferation is a cause of massive concern - but then who decides which is a rogue state and which isn't?
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
I remember in my teens the youth group going with the assistant minister to speakers' corner in Hyde Park and soapboxing about a New Clear message for a Nuclear Age.

[ 05. November 2012, 01:22: Message edited by: Latchkey Kid ]
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
We haven't got enough people of the right age at the Cathedral for a youth group at the moment; we're waiting for the Sunday School to grow up a bit ...
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Has anyone tried the Cathedral brand of mature cheeses? Very tasty.
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
My chaplaincy certificate is to be presented in St John's (anglican) Cathedral. A nice move by an RC based academy.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
A move to St John's wouldn't suit me, I fear - from what piglet says it can be a bit cool there at times.
 

---

Posted by pjl (# 16929) on :
 
My computer was so cool last night it froze and is only now thawing out.
 

---

Posted by balaam (# 4543) on :
 
The roads are thawing out here. Time for a ride on the (t)rusty old bike.
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
It's been so long since I've ridden a bike, that I'm wondering if that old saw that you never really forget how to do it is really true.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I don't really think that my forgetfulness has increased with age, I rather fear I have always been like this.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
But in fact you don't remember whether you have or not. My situation exactly, if memory serves, which it doesn't always.
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
What is "in fact" is an intriguing epistemological question for a subjectivist relativist.
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
One thing I like about the Ship is that I get to hang with people who know big words.

ETA: and they get to hang with people who post like this.

[ 05. November 2012, 19:13: Message edited by: Lyda*Rose ]
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
Hang Gliding is undoubtedly on the list of 101 things to do before you die. But knowing me, I'd probably die in the process.
 

---

Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 
Knowing me, knowing you, AHAAAH!
 

---

Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :
 
One of our choral warm-ups uses the diaphragm muscles to expel air forcefully on 'Hah Hah Hah'.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I had muscles, discernible ones, back in the 1980s when I was a bit of a gym rat - I never got as far as being a Muscle Mary.
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
Muscle Mary sounds to me as if it ought to be either (a) a very potent vodka-based drink; or (b) a very potent lavatory cleaner.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Many Hindus here have told me about visiting Sabarimala, a shrine in the mountains near here, they say Lord Ayyappa is a very potent deity.
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
When Deuteronomy states coyly in Ch 34 that Moses' vigour was unimpaired when he died at 120 it means that his lingam was still potent.
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
A man among men would generally like to die with his boots on. Having it known by posterity would be a plus.
 

---

Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 
I bought cheap radio in Boots once. I listen to The Archers on it.
 

---

Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :
 
I'm a Sagittarius. Sign of the Archer.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
I'm a crab. Mind my pincers.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Although good tools are readily available over here I am yet to find a pair of pincers.
 

---

Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :
 
There were a lot of clouds overhead this morning. Some sprinkles fell on the car as I went to w*rk.
 

---

Posted by Mamacita (# 3659) on :
 
The church where I w*rk serves as a polling place so there's lots of traffic in and out of the building today.
 

---

Posted by Loquacious beachcomber (# 8783) on :
 
Building today based entirely on the experiences of yesterday is of no kindness to tomorrow.
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
Is every aphorism matched by a counter-aphorism?
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
I'm always amazed by a true countertenor who has a baritone speaking voice. It just seems wrong. When he sings, I keep looking around for the diva with the mike.
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
My hairdresser is married to a man named Mike. It's one of those names you can't help thinking about the alternative meaning - like John, Willy and Nicholas.
 

---

Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :
 
I am so glad I took advantage of the alternative to voting today. Daughter-Unit and her hubby have been in line for over five hours today. I voted last Tuesday and left the building thirty-five minutes after walking in.
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
I haven't been entitled to vote since we left Northern Ireland; and voting there was a waste of time because (a) the parties were too small to make any difference to the national government and (b) most of the politicians were either terrorists or nutters.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Politicians as nutters seems to be theme in recent decades - when is Medication Time in the House of Commons?
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
I think Donald Trump has finally passed the last frontier of sanity. His tweets on the subject of Obama's win are rather scarily hysterical. Did he scream about the injustice of the Electoral College when Bush won?
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I haven't been properly hysterical for years, perhaps I should give a go again, just for fun.
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
On the wireless Wilfred Pickles got the people singing "Have a go, Joe"
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I still haven't made the pickled onions I was going to have a go at the other week.
 

---

Posted by lily pad (# 11456) on :
 
I don't really like onions. We never had them growing up - just the dried flakes. Other houses always smelled differently and I never knew way. It was the onions. I should eat more onions. They are good for the lungs and my lungs are not good. Maybe I should go buy some onions. See ya.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Some people are very smelly, aren't they? I don't mean that stinky, I mean they smell everything - Himself is like that - there is a word for it but I don't recall what it is.
 

---

Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :
 
I recall so many wonderful things in my life. It's a good practice to remember such things when current circumstances start to get me down.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I haven't played Pooh-Sticks for years - perhaps I need to teach the kids here how to play - I love when the current takes the sticks and whirls it round.
 

---

Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 
I had a lovely currant bun with my tea this afternoon.
 

---

Posted by lily pad (# 11456) on :
 
I wish I could drink regular tea instead of the decaf. kind. It just doesn't taste right.
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
I got a free pot of tea in Exeter, as I had enough points on my Costa Card.
 

---

Posted by St. Stephen the Stoned (# 9841) on :
 
Sam Costa. Remember him?
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
We remembered to use our beautiful Kosta Boda bowl for Jude's party last weekend.
 

---

Posted by Mamacita (# 3659) on :
 
"Hey Jude" is a song I will always associate with my senior year in college ( university). It was constantly playing on the jukebox in the student union bar or blaring out someone's dorm room window.
 

---

Posted by Loquacious beachcomber (# 8783) on :
 
We theologs were often (somewhat) politely asked to leave the graduate student lounge pub, for sitting around for hours with a single pitcher of beer shared by 6 or 8 of us while the engineering students at surrounding tables drank about a pitcher each every hour.
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
The Graduate was a rather entertaining film with Dustin Hoffmann and a wonderful soundtrack.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I don't understand baseball - why do they call the person with the ball the pitcher when he is clearly really the bowler, even if his action is not quite per the laws of cricket?
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
I tried to find a bowler hat for Halloween, but was too late. I obviously was out-gunned by the Clockwork Orange brigade.
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
I was flooded in in Rockhampton for a few days at the end of 1973. At least the drive-in was still open to let me see A Clockwork Orange.
 

---

Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 
1973 was the year my second car was built. It was a Ford Escort I bought from my next door neighbour.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
My memories of President Ford are that he was a very forgettable president.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
I remember the jubilation in my nuns' convent - who ran the prep school I attended - when J.F. Kennedy was elected as the first ever RC President of the United States.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I haven't heard much about Nigel Kennedy in recent years, I presume he is still plying his trade around the world.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Nigel's dress sense has always left something to be desired. Now that he's getting on a bit, what was a certain attractive disorder becomes offputtingly louche*


* disreputable
 

---

Posted by TomOfTarsus (# 3053) on :
 
I remember when Lyndon LaLouche was a constantly unsuccessful candidate for President of the USA. Oh, wait, that's LaRouche. I suppose I am now considered louche.
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
Flyffye LaLouche sounds as if she might have a rather different profession than that of the President of the United States.
 

---

Posted by Mamacita (# 3659) on :
 
Surely you are not thinking of the exotic dancer involved in the infamous Congressman Wilbur Mills' Tidal Basin midnight swim scandal back in the 70s? I believe her name was Fanne Foxe.

[ 08. November 2012, 21:06: Message edited by: Mamacita ]
 

---

Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 
I've had four cars that were built in the 70s. A 1971 Hillman Avenger, a 1973 Ford Escort, a 1976 Austin Maxi and a 1978 Renault 14
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
When you are a woman who is five feet tall, many standard length dresses turn out to be maxis. So I just put on my boots and deal.
 

---

Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 
Boots is a really good pharmacy. It's amazing the meds you can get there.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I once thought of staying at a Club Med but decided against it in the end.
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
Club Wafer biscuits were a favourite in our house when I was growing up - lots of lovely thick chocolate ...
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
In Australia, the closest equivalent to Penguins are Tim-Tams.
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
IMO, Opus of Bloom County was more of a puffin than a penguin. Just look at his schnoz.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Orlando Bloom was born in Canterbury, but I don't think that we should hold that against him, it was hardly his fault.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
The Keys of Canterbury is a rather sweet folk song, rather on the lines of No, John.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Do people still send Dear John letters or are they all Dear John e-mails these days?
 

---

Posted by Smudgie (# 2716) on :
 
Goodness, thank goodness you reminded me: if I don't get my Christmas letters written soon, they'll never be there in time for Christmas 2012.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I think my natural and obvious goodness is what attracts people to me.


 

---

Posted by Loquacious beachcomber (# 8783) on :
 
When I was a very young teenager, I longed to find a way to attract Ursala Andress to me, but did not find one. Now, her picture in that white bathing suit and belt, complete with "camel toe," is flooding the Internet and newspaers as the James Bond franchise hits its 50th year.
 

---

Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 
I was still a teenager when I passed my driving test. That's when I bought my first car, a 1971 Hillman Avenger. It was 11 years old at the time.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Joanna Lumley has come a long way from her days in The Avengers - and she is still a huge star!
 

---

Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :
 
The whole time I was growing up, I had no idea there were stills hidden in the surrounding hills. As far as I know, none of my fellow young-uns were privy to that information, either.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
In Bolton Castle in Wensleydale there is Queen Mary's private privy, or garderobe, from when she was imprisoned there. Her rooms have great views.
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
I'm partial once in a while to a piece of Wensleydale cheese with cranberries in it.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Carrying a piece seems to be de rigeur amongst certain groups in the USA.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
I'm still waiting to experience the full rigors of a Cotswolds winter.

[ 10. November 2012, 06:08: Message edited by: jacobsen ]
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
Did Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale have that much to do with winter? It seemed more to do with huffy male royals and aristocrats who got happy endings despite themselves.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I haven't heard of Huffy, the British comedienne, for years, has she dropped off the radar?
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
No need to get Huffy, I said I'd give you a hand.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
I tried high fiving one of my students, and her hand was larger than mine!
 

---

Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 
I once met a very famous person who had large hands. He drove a 1968 Alfa Romeo.

[ 10. November 2012, 18:36: Message edited by: Spike ]
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
I have quite small hands, which is my excuse for not being able to play Chopin's Military Polonaise on the piano.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
What other instrument would you chose,as a matter of interest? I'm not convinced it would work on the concertina.
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
I was hoping that the Reserve Bank would reduce interest rates this months, but they didn't.
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
When I was a kid I didn't want to break my piggy bank, but I wanted some of the change in it. So I learned to slip the coins out of the coin slot with a bread knife.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
I broke the tip off my big butcher's knife chipping ice out of the freezer section of the fridge. I also stabbed the fridge lining, necessitating a new fridge. Moral - allow fridges to defrost naturally.
 

---

Posted by Smudgie (# 2716) on :
 
Don't talk to me about the need for new kitchen appliances... it's bad enough saving up for a new laptop so I stand a better chance of getting a good score on the Crew's Quiz.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Once I tried cutting a seagull's feather into a quill pen. it was OK to write with, but my teacher said the result was too untidy. Just occasionally it would be nice to go back to the old ways. less frenetic altogether.
 

---

Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :
 
You do know the results of not practicing for your piano lessons, don't you? No, you won't learn by osmosis.
 

---

Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 
I once spent a weekend moving pianos. It was an interesting experience. The week beforehand I'd been surfing with some friends of mine who I met through the Hillman Avenger owners club.
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
I thought about applying for membership of that club, but as I've never owned a Hillman Avenger* I abandoned the idea.

* Not likely to now either, as they haven't been made for about 30 years.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
In his book KIM Kipling wrote quite a bit about hillmen.
 

---

Posted by Mamacita (# 3659) on :
 
When my kids were little, I used to read Kipling's "The Elephant's Child" to them, using a different voice for each animal.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
One of the neighbours goats had kids recently - and they are bounding about all over the place!
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
I've never had goat curry. is it good?
 

---

Posted by Angel Wrestler (# 13673) on :
 
I imagine if you curried a goat, it would enjoy it.

But don't try to curry your long-haired dog (speaking from experience)

*sorry accidentally hit "post" before finishing.

[ 12. November 2012, 15:48: Message edited by: Angel Wrestler ]
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Currying a cat, on the other hand, is likely to elicit moans of pleasure and a few scratches.
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
I've heard that when you open a bottle of champagne, it should not produce a large pop and fizz all over the place, but it should 'sigh like a woman'.
 

---

Posted by Loquacious beachcomber (# 8783) on :
 
Speaking of someone who would like a woman, I think it was W. C. Fields, or maybe Henny Youngman, who said, "This morning I woke up at 7 am and felt like a 20-year-old, but where was I going to find a 20-year-old at 7 am?"
 

---

Posted by Hedgehog (# 14125) on :
 
As it so happens, I am currently using a W.C. Fields line as my sig line. The film it came from also starred Mae West. The story is that West and Fields hated each other--possibly because they both were veteran scene-stealers always trying to grab the limelight from the other. The film has lots of funny lines, many of which were written by either Fields or West as they tried to outdo each other. Apparently, the rivalry got so bad that the director filmed as few scenes as possible of the two of them together because it was a nightmare on set of they were both present.
 

---

Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :
 
When I was a wee child, I used to put sunflower seeds on my hand and hold it up so chickadees would land on it. Mom hold a seed with her lips, and the little birds would land on her chin and take the seed.
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
They used to call life jackets "Mae Wests" because they added inches in the same areas Mae had extra inches. Like this.

ETA: Poo. Cross-post.

[ 13. November 2012, 00:48: Message edited by: Lyda*Rose ]
 

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Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
The life-jacket on an aeroplane's going to be a fat lot of good if you're heading vertically towards Manchester at 500 miles an hour. As Billy Connolly put it, I fancy a parachute myself.
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
"What Colour is Your Parachute" was a book put out to encourage people to get prepared for organisational change and redundancy.
 

---

Posted by Mamacita (# 3659) on :
 
I once worked for a bank whose CEO coined the term "right-sizing" as a euphemism for redundancy. It was one of the more laughable examples of corporate-speak.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Corporate speak is just another term for lies.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Hilary is a rather obscure term for a Term.
 

---

Posted by Lucia (# 15201) on :
 
Our bishop's wife is called Hilary.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
We have so many Bishops around here with all the different and overlapping Catholic, Orthodox and CSI, etc. congregations.
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
I would play you at a game of chess, but one of the bishops has got lost.
 

---

Posted by Banner Lady (# 10505) on :
 
I lost my hanky yesterday. As it is hay fever season where I am, this proved rather unfortunate.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Sometimes I just feel lost.
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
Pigs in Space was a good muppet take on .... you know what.
 

---

Posted by kankucho (# 14318) on :
 
You know what I fancy right now? A nice hot mug of cocoa with a dash of bourbon in it.
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
Hot pants (shorts with a bib and braces) were very fashionable about 40 years ago, a fact which makes me feel very old.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Lederhosen have always been fashionable.
 

---

Posted by Mamacita (# 3659) on :
 
I used to wear pantyhose six days a week. I don't miss them.
 

---

Posted by churchgeek (# 5557) on :
 
Oh, I saw the coolest recycling use for pantyhose. If only I could remember what it was! Oh dear...
 

---

Posted by Loquacious beachcomber (# 8783) on :
 
Several local banks were robbed by someone dubbed "the pantyhose bandit" who would cover his face with pantyhose, approach a teller and, insisting he had a gun, would demand cash, then sprint off, presumably to a waiting car and on to the nearest crack house.
Finally, at the last branch he robbed, a teller noticed him opening the glass door with his bare hands and explained that to the police who obtained a good set of prints, and quickly picked him up at his home.
No idea where he obtained the pantyhose, but...
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
It's very annoying when there's a hosepipe ban and I can't wash my Volkswagen Polo, turning it silver again, rather than the default colour of muddy brown.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
One of our neighbours likes Polo mints and often offers me on but I find them a bit sweet.
 

---

Posted by Mamacita (# 3659) on :
 
Thin Mints are the best-selling flavor of Girl Scout Cookies, accounting for 25% of their sales. I can attest to this after being local Cookie Mom for three years. I can also attest to the fact that Thin Mint Cookies freeze very well.
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
The Royal Mint is based in Llantrisant in Wales, which used to be referred to (in unkind graffiti) as "the hole with the Mint in it".
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Graffiti is a cheap and cheerful clothing brand over here.
 

---

Posted by Ariston (# 10894) on :
 
There's a gallery around here called The Fridge that does graffiti art shows on a pretty regular basis, with their own walls serving as exhibition space. It's kinda cool having ever-changing art on both the inside and outside of the building, although it can be a bit confusing when the gallery looks entirely different than the last time you saw it. It also causes problems when the people teaching their weekend art classes who also exhibit there get arrested due to their taking part in a group exhibition at the previously unknown Railroad Overpass Gallery.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Being allergic to shopping malls of all kinds, I've never been to the Galleria at Hatfied (just outside NW London), but they say it's fantastic.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I think I'll be heading for NW England sometime early in the week after next.
 

---

Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 
I've never been to NW England but I once met Nigel Mansell, the famous racing driver.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
I like Nigella Lawson and her lush cookery ideas.
 

---

Posted by Loquacious beachcomber (# 8783) on :
 
For some reason that came across to me as "lush nookie ideas," making me giggle while reminding me that drunks have feelings too.
 

---

Posted by churchgeek (# 5557) on :
 
I was feeling a little drunk last night, but it was only the Benadryl.
 

---

Posted by Lucia (# 15201) on :
 
The walls of our house are covered in some sort of hard rendering which makes it very difficult to drill holes.
 

---

Posted by Mamacita (# 3659) on :
 
I haven't.been to the dentist for a long time. I should make an appointment but I don't want to.
 

---

Posted by Loquacious beachcomber (# 8783) on :
 
Yesterday, I got some dental floss stuck in a molar; after trying to get it out with more dental floss, I had no luck. So I used vicegrip pliers, tugged on it, and out it came.
I am so glad that I kept most of my handtools when we moved into our condo!
 

---

Posted by balaam (# 4543) on :
 
Our cellar is so damp that most of my hand tools rusted. Most have been saved by soaking them in oil,
 

---

Posted by Loquacious beachcomber (# 8783) on :
 
People often wonder how the Roman army was able to burn down the Third Temple in Jeuusalem, built by King Herod, since the building was made of massive stone building blocks. The answer is through the use of olive oil; they placed huge jars of olive oil inside, set them alight, and it was then a matter of time until the heat caused the water inside the stones to expand, shattering the stones and bringing down the walls.
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
Chelmsford 123 was an excellent sitcom set in Roman Britain, and broadcast in the late 80s-early 90s.
 

---

Posted by churchgeek (# 5557) on :
 
I worked at a TV station in the mid-90s.
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
I don't know if it's still there, but there used to be the most wonderful cheese shop on the concourse at Liverpool Street Station.
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
The Mornington Crescent game recently went to Liverpool (Lime Street) Station.
 

---

Posted by Mamacita (# 3659) on :
 
I enjoy croissants and limeade, but not at the same time.
 

---

Posted by lilBuddha (# 14333) on :
 
Croissants were invented in Austria, supposedly to celebrate the defeat of the Ottomans, but that is likely apocryphal.
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
I went through a stage where I was so fed up of reading the Bible, that I read the Apocrypha instead (some damned fine - and weird - stories in there, I can tell you).
 

---

Posted by Cara (# 16966) on :
 
Remember a book called The Weirdstone of Brisingamen? A favourite of mine when I was a teenager. There was a sequel later. And now the author, Alan Garner, has written a third book in the series. I heard him speak at the Cheltenham festival; he held the audience spell-bound.
 

---

Posted by Loquacious beachcomber (# 8783) on :
 
I never get to sleep in when I am dogsitting my daughter's Golden Retriever, Garner; he comes to the bedroom door at 5:30 am and demands that I get up and serve him breakfast.

[ 19. November 2012, 17:31: Message edited by: Loquacious beachcomber ]
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
Smoked salmon, scrambled eggs and a glass of Buck's Fizz is one of the nicest breakfasts known to man.*

* well, known to Piglet anyway.
 

---

Posted by Ariston (# 10894) on :
 
I remember having a shot of Tactical Nuclear Penguin with a side of Scotch egg and smoked salmon once; tasted about like an overoaked Trappist ale that the good friars had forgotten to lager. More alcohol than taste, if you ask me!
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
The less said about Trappist ale the better, IMHO.
 

---

Posted by Loquacious beachcomber (# 8783) on :
 
No doubt there is far less ale, beer, pizza, chicken wings, and overly-salted snacks being sold in sports bars surrounding NHL arenas this fall, due to the lockout of players by the National Hockey League. Not just the players, but wait staff dependent on tips are hurting, I should think.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
After months of waiting and keeping the water topped up on my eight avocado pips, one has germinated, and the tip of the shoot is nearly an inch long.
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
After cleverly timing emptying my rain water tank and doing the plumbing work just before a storm that refilled it, a few days later I accidentally left the tap on and all the water drained out again.
 

---

Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :
 
I had a tank top on today, since I'm doing all the prep work for tomorrow's feast. It's only 65 degrees out, so layered a fleece over top. Washing the car should warm me up!
 

---

Posted by Loquacious beachcomber (# 8783) on :
 
Maybe an idea for a Circus poll could be questions such as:
1. What person would you most like to see washing a car while wearing a tanktop? (list of choices)
2. What person would you least like to see washing a car while wearing a tanktop? (list of choices)
3. Would thinking about that sort of activity make you more or less likely to eat a big Thanksgiving dinner?
Of course, we would have to make certain that names of Shipmates were not mentioned as choices in that poll!

[ 21. November 2012, 18:51: Message edited by: Loquacious beachcomber ]
 

---

Posted by Mamacita (# 3659) on :
 
Speaking of bad ideas, I went to the supermarket this afternoon.
 

---

Posted by Lucia (# 15201) on :
 
The three wise monkeys' maxim "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" is thought to originate with Confucius.
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
The Three Monkeys was a great cafe/restaurant in West End, Brisbane for years. It's a shame that the area has now been redeveloped and it and its neighbour, The Fat Cat, have now gone.
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
We went to a new restaurant for lunch today. Not exactly cheap, but rather good.
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
I have a fledging magpie that has fallen out of its nest. Whenever I go near it it starts cheeping for food.
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
( )
.........

I'm more lazy than cheap, so I won't be hitting the Black Friday sales.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
I still have occasional lusts for the wonderful keema curries at the Karachi Restaurant in Bradford. Shades of my student days.
 

---

Posted by Cara (# 16966) on :
 
Indian food is one of the things I miss when I'm not in the Uk....though I recently had a very good Indian meal in Paris, and another excellent one in Philadelphia, USA! Is Indian the new Italian?
 

---

Posted by Loquacious beachcomber (# 8783) on :
 
I have always dreamed of owning an Italian sports car, but now that Fiat is combined with Chrysler, what if they produce a sleek mini van instead?

[ 23. November 2012, 16:01: Message edited by: Loquacious beachcomber ]
 

---

Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 
Italian ice cream is delicious.
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
My town is hosting a music festival this weekend. I think I will go to Lulu's and have an affogato.
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
I can't decide whether "affogato" is a Renaissance dance, a type of coffee or a description of the prevailing weather conditions in St. John's. Maybe we should have a game of Call My Bluff to decide.
 

---

Posted by pjl (# 16929) on :
 
I recall sailing from St John's Newfoundland to Saint John New Brunswick. It was much colder at the latter.
 

---

Posted by Cara (# 16966) on :
 
There's a New Brunswick in New Jersey, USA, but I doubt this is the one in question.
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
People who doubt are often aptly named Thomas.
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
But probably not John Thomas.
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
A Tom Collins is a cocktail which I believe involves GIN.
 

---

Posted by Mamacita (# 3659) on :
 
"Cocktail" was a 1980s film starring Tom Cruise. I assume GIN was involved in there somewhere.
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
The Stiff Gins are in Australia a well known indigenous band.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
When I was a student with a Saturday waitressing job, a stiff was someone who didn't leave a tip. Dead to all decent feeling, perhaps?
 

---

Posted by pjl (# 16929) on :
 
A few years ago a girl used to pay me £45 for 2 hours of my services. She paid me with the tips she used to make as a pub waitress and the money was always in a snap bag which was rather heavy.I never counted it till I got home.
 

---

Posted by Mamacita (# 3659) on :
 
(I don't know what you do for a living, pjl, but that would make for a terrific opening line to a novel.)
 

---

Posted by Cara (# 16966) on :
 
An opening line for a novel is hard for the writer to find. Ditto an ending line. Not that everything in between is a walk in the park, either....
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
For great opening lines to horrible novels, I give you the Bulwer-Lytton Contest. I believe our dear, departed Kenwritez (may he refrain from braising the seraphim in a slow oven) had gotten an (dis)honorable mention from them in at least one year's contest.
 

---

Posted by Hedgehog (# 14125) on :
 
My memory is working sluggishly today. What is the distinction between cherubim and seraphim again?
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
I have tried a bit of nudity, but at my age it is best to cover my (ahem) feet.
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
At my age nudity is best only practised in the bath.
 

---

Posted by Cara (# 16966) on :
 
Bath, now there's a thing. Have you noticed how some renovated bathrooms, especially where space is tight, have a shower stall instead of a bath? Many of us brought up in the UK with no shower at all--I guess that marks me as a certain generation--have the bath habit, so this is a dire development!
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
In America bathrooms are unlikely to have a bath, but just a WC.
 

---

Posted by Mamacita (# 3659) on :
 
"The Wife of Bath's Tale" is a bit ribald and very entertaining.
 

---

Posted by Hedgehog (# 14125) on :
 
A couple of months ago, I visited Bath, Maine, which is a little town to the north and east of Portland, Maine. Portland, Maine, of course, is on the east coast of the USA and should not be confused with Portland, Oregon, which is on the west coast. It would be funny if there was a Bath, Oregon--perhaps to the south and west of Portland!
 

---

Posted by Ariston (# 10894) on :
 
Oh dear. It looks like we're actually staying on topic. I . . . I don't know what to do. I may need some wine from the Douro Valley (you know, Port land) to steady my frazzled nerves.
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
I have known about WINE (Wine Is Not an Emulator) for Linux to run Windows programs, but i just found out today that there is one to run Mac programs.
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
We're having some windows replaced chez Piglet, but due to Unfortunate Circumstances it's taking rather a long time.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
This morning at 5.30 a.m. it was discovered that the fuse had gone on all the downstairs lights. Have now mislaid the relevant fuse holder, and the fuse box is ancient, so the whole thing may need replacing...
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
After three days of putzing around trying to get my "dead" car battery replaced, come to find out the battery is just fine. So is the seating of the battery (unlike the report I got at the first place I went where they claimed whatever-the-hell-holds-the battery-in was deteriorated and they couldn't install the battery that I had just bought from them). All it needed was new terminal connections. Huzzah!
 

---

Posted by Mamacita (# 3659) on :
 
"Huzzah!" is one of those great expressive words one just doesn't hear enough these days. Likewise, "Harrumph!"
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
On changing the duff fuse and the lights still not working, I indulged in more basic Anglo Saxon.
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
Anyone remember a heavy-metal band from the early 1980s called Saxon?
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Maybe the fuse wire I used was too thin. I'll try a heavier gauge before spending money on a electrician.
 

---

Posted by balaam (# 4543) on :
 
If I hadn't started working before the 1980s, Saxon is what I'd have spent my spending money on. (Does that resolve the cross post? I hate it when that happens.)
 

---

Posted by Cara (# 16966) on :
 
Well resolved, Balaam!

There's a wonderful church in the Cotswolds, at Daglingworth, which not only has rare Saxon sculptures inside, but also a window made out of an old Roman votive stone on which was recorded that one Junia made a vow to the genius of the place.
 

---

Posted by balaam (# 4543) on :
 
The Roman altar from the temple in the fort of Cambodvnvm is now in the Tolson Museum, Huddersfield.
 

---

Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :
 
Distressing furniture is something you acquire with no effort if you have sons.

Also intimate knowledge of how difficult it can be to get a replacement hinge for a freezer/fridge door...
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
'Tis the morning to tread the wilds of my fridge and vanquish the monsters of meals past.
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
At the moment my fridge is full of silly wee sticky things to take to a cookie-exchange party tomorrow.


 

---

Posted by Cara (# 16966) on :
 
I went to a dinner party last night and ate too much which I am now regretting.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Investigating the reduced section of a local supermarket, I found mini pork pies with onion chutney on top. Very moreish. They gave me the strength to replace that weak fuse wire with the heavier stuff, and now my lights work!
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
One of the (many) reasons they should never have re-made The Italian Job is that the modern BMW Minis haven't got a fraction of the character of the originals.
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
He may be fiscally conservative, but Gran Torino shows Clint Eastwood's socially liberal side.
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
During the cool season I become quite liberal with my use of Bailey's in my coffee of an evening. Yum!
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
To show the cultural difference the equivalent of "Yum" here is "Nom".
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by piglet:
One of the (many) reasons they should never have re-made The Italian Job is that the modern BMW Minis haven't got a fraction of the character of the originals.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Chorister:
I refuse to watch the remake ...

---

Me too - the trailers were more than enough.

Back to the game:

There's a pub in Bristol called the Plume of Feathers which, IIRC, has a very small bar.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
As I recall Pooh was a bear with a very small brain.
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
Yesterday I head a talk about common houseflies. That even though they have a very small brain they learn from their encounters with danger, and even from bad sexual relationship experiences. It never occurred to me that flies could change their behaviour as a result of bad relationships.
 

---

Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 
I went for a nice bracing walk across Wimbledon Common the other day. It's so peaceful there, you forget you're in London.
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
Did you see any Wombles, Spike? My favourite is Orinoco.
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
I reckon Orinoco was everyone's favourite. His views on sleep coincide neatly with my own.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Did you know the Orinoco is one of the longest rivers in South America at 2,140 km (1,330 mi)?
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
I heard on Radio 4 that it would take a lego tower over 300 metres high to crush the piece of lego at the very bottom. And that piece would melt under the pressure.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Don't you hate it when toffees melt in your pocket?
 

---

Posted by EtymologicalEvangelical (# 15091) on :
 
I love the way rugby players make a pocket: Jonny Wilkinson teeing the ball up in the 2003 RWC final. Great stuff! Watched that again the other day.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Talking of teeing I see in this morning's paper that Rory McIlroy has been named the PGA Player of the Year.
 

---

Posted by Loveheart (# 12249) on :
 
Does anyone remember Animal Kwackers, a TV programme from the 1970s, with the story time beginning "Rory Rory tell us a story"?
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I watched the first episode of a TV programme called Last Tango in Halifax when I was in UK, with Derek Jacobi - it was VERY well done.
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
I read an article about all the people named Derek and what features of personality they had in common. It was very funny.
 

---

Posted by Mamacita (# 3659) on :
 
There is a Derrick Rose on the Chicago Bulls team at present, but I admit I haven't followed the Bulls since the heyday of Michael Jordan.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I once had to change flights at Chicago O'Hare and was worried because we were late landing on my incoming flight - but then my next flight was from the very next gate so no worries at all in the end.
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
The Australian saying "No Worries" seems to be getting replaced by "Too Easy".
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
"Easy peasy" has been going for years. Makes me queasy.
 

---

Posted by pjl (# 16929) on :
 
Its not easy peasy when passing a gallstone



 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Gaul was a province of the Roman Empire roughly corresponding to modern France.
 

---

Posted by balaam (# 4543) on :
 
Modern France? Isn't that an oxymoron?
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
One of my fond memories of France, back in the days when I drank alcohol, was that they sold local wine in the equivalent of motorway service areas.
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
One of my (less) fond memories of a holiday in France is of feeling very unwell (something I ate, I think), and being given pink pills, blue pills and medicine that tasted like GIN.

I felt fine in the morning.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
The capsules I take for my knees, or joints generally, are a rather nice shade of green - I think I'll take my morning dose now.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
We should endeavour be green in every aspect of our lives. I cherish a certain envy of a work colleague...
 

---

Posted by Cara (# 16966) on :
 
It's not easy being green. Ah, dear Kermit. Beloved Jim Henson, no longer with us.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I had a friend called Jim when I was at school but I haven't heard from him for 30 years and more.
 

---

Posted by balaam (# 4543) on :
 
When I was at school I had to be taken to the doctors for stitches after an accident playing cricket. I watched the ball, but the batsman let go of the bat. OUCH!
 

---

Posted by Angloid (# 159) on :
 
Norah Batty was from Yorkshire too.
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
Roast beef and Yorkshire pudding is a dish fit for a king (assuming he isn't a vegetarian).
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Eating pudding is, I fear, my downfall.
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
Bill Cosby made a mint advertising Jello pudding.
 

---

Posted by Angloid (# 159) on :
 
Bill Cosby must never be confused with Bing Crosby.
 

---

Posted by balaam (# 4543) on :
 
Old Joke: Q. What's the difference between Bing Crosby and Walt Disney?
A. Bing sings and Walt disney.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Bob Newhart once made a recording of a monologue he did about Sir Walter Raleigh and tobacco.
 

---

Posted by Loveheart (# 12249) on :
 
One of my favourite Blackadder episodes includes a woman, disguised as a man called Bob.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Ah, that well-known Shakespearean plot device. anything to get the boys back into their breeches.
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more;
Or close the wall up with our English dead.
In peace there's nothing so becomes a man
As modest stillness and humility;
But when the blast of war blows in our ears,
Then imitate the action of the tiger. . . .
 

---

Posted by Angloid (# 159) on :
 
Tiggers bounce.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Kanga was maternal.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Is my memory failing or was Kanga a brand of beret way back when? I think I recall my mum having a Kanga beret in the 1950s.
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
I don't possess a beret, or indeed any other sort of hat; I find them the most uncomfortable pieces of clothing imaginable. This does, however, sometimes lead me to quote my namesake:

quote:

---

"It's not so much the toes" said Piglet, "as the ears".

---

 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
On a sunny day, if I'm walking for any distance, I really like a sun hat. I became spoiled by them when I worked a Renaissance faire for a number of years. I've been an inveterate squinter all my life. I think I never took to hats before because I have a big noggin that is hard to fit.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
For the older Brits amongst us Noggin the Nog is often fondly remembered.
 

---

Posted by Angloid (# 159) on :
 
Whereas for some of us even older Brits, 'noggin' conjures up the image of a comforting alcoholic drink by a roaring log fire.
 

---

Posted by balaam (# 4543) on :
 
A roaring log fire is compulsory if you are having a hog roast.
 

---

Posted by Cara (# 16966) on :
 
Sigh. A roaring fire of any description is a rarity in these days of central heating. I miss staring into the glowing coals of the fires of my childhood....on the other hand, I do not miss being utterly freezing everywhere in the house except six inches in front of the fire!!
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
I like my fires to chuckle and spit, with some nice sparky bits flying upwards.
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
The air quality control people in Southern CA placed a ban on fireplace fires in LA for a some days a few weeks ago because weird weather was concentrating air gunk in LA and the Valley. We, in the Inland Empire had lovely air at the time.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
There are no domestic fireplaces as such here though many people cook on wood-burning ranges.
 

---

Posted by pjl (# 16929) on :
 
My best day on the firing range was blowing a tank turret off with my anti tank missile.
Great fun.
 

---

Posted by Cara (# 16966) on :
 
Home, home on the range.........
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I was a very sad little boy back in 1956, I think it was, when our first ever TV arrived too late for me to watch The Lone Ranger.
 

---

Posted by Angloid (# 159) on :
 
Are the park police in London's Hyde Park known as the hydrangeas?
 

---

Posted by Smudgie (# 2716) on :
 
I wonder if the Winter Wonderland is on this year and whether the boy and I will make it there before Christmas - it was amazing last year!
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
I've a Winter Wonderland in my back garden. Very heavy frost which shows no sign of melting in the weak winter sun. Sparkling spiders' webs; foolish insects - why don't they go indoors where it's warm?
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
You really don't want to encourage those wee beasties to come indoors; we had a plague of horrid little flies a few weeks back, and I'm glad just to have got rid of them. They can freeze for all I care.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
I'm flying to Copenhagen for Christmas. It's snowing there, they tell me.
 

---

Posted by Angloid (# 159) on :
 
Scandinavian angst. It's bad enough watching The Killing.
 

---

Posted by Cara (# 16966) on :
 
Mention of snow at Christmastime gives me angst, when various scattered members of my family are try to fly hither and yon....
 

---

Posted by Angloid (# 159) on :
 
Peter Pan and Tinkerbell used to fly at Christmastime. Santa's reindeer too probably.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Captain Hook shredded his tambourine skin accidentally.
 

---

Posted by pjl (# 16929) on :
 
Sailed with a captain who took his non existent dog for walks around the ship. He even fed it scraps from the table in the officers lounge.

We thought he had spent too long at sea.
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
So long at sea without catching a fish. But then eventually, after more than 80 days, he finally catches an enormous one. But on the way back the sharks eat most of it, until only the skeleton is left. But what a huge skeleton it is!
 

---

Posted by Angloid (# 159) on :
 
It would need a huge cupboard to keep it in. Have you got a skeleton in your cupboard?
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
No. It would take up space that could more usefully be deployed in the storage of shoes.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I know this is hardly something to boast about, in fact it is probably to my everlasting shame, but I have never owned a pair of shoe-trees.


 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
Is a shoe-tree related to a money tree?
 

---

Posted by claret10 (# 16341) on :
 
I wish I didn't manage to kill every plant I try to grow, then I too could plant a money tree.
 

---

Posted by Angloid (# 159) on :
 
Well I understand even less about money-tree policy than the Chancellor. And that's saying something.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I wonder how many Chancellors there have been in my lifetime - quite a few, I think.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
[tangent]

The internet answered for me - 22 from Sir Stafford Cripps to the current nonentity.

[/tangent]
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
I spend a lot of time in the Chancel at church, unfortunately that is the part with the draughty roof.
 

---

Posted by Angloid (# 159) on :
 
What do you do during the sermons: play draughts?
 

---

Posted by pjl (# 16929) on :
 
I played draughts for a league team once, I had a chequered career
 

---

Posted by Mamacita (# 3659) on :
 
I always found checkers boring and didn't have the long-term concentration for chess. Perhaps games involving strategy are not my long suit.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Happily this is rarely long johns country.
 

---

Posted by Angloid (# 159) on :
 
I understand that Robin Hood's comrade Little John was in fact rather long.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
My friend Robin moved to Hampshire a couple of years ago.
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
I always think 'Ringwood' sounds like a nasty personal disease.
 

---

Posted by Cara (# 16966) on :
 
Isn't it good that nasty personal diseases--some of them, anyway--are much less common nowadays? Scabies, for example...On the other hand, head-lice among schoolchildren are much more common now than in my childhood. All rather strange.
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
Why is it that allergies are so much more common now than when we were children? At school I knew about three people who had asthma; now nearly everyone seems to have it.
 

---

Posted by Angloid (# 159) on :
 
Piggy in Lord of the Flies was afflicted with asthma. No relation I hope, Piglet.
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
Different branch of the clan entirely.

There are few things more embarrassing than being told that one's flies are undone.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Especially if you're a girl.
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
I've often wondered why some people don't see the obvious sexism in the comments "You're such a girl" or "Don't be a girl". Even girls say it!
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
The epithet which puzzles me is big girl's blouse.
 

---

Posted by Lucia (# 15201) on :
 
My rather well-endowed sister used to have a T-shirt that said "I've got nice eyes too!" on it!
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Odd you should mention that as I was thinking of my eye surgeon just yesterday.
 

---

Posted by Angloid (# 159) on :
 
As the lovelorn ram sang, 'I've only got eyes for ewe.'
 

---

Posted by Mamacita (# 3659) on :
 
I don't agree that the pun is the "lowest form of humor." Some of them are quite clever.
 

---

Posted by pjl (# 16929) on :
 
Is a bloke who keeps making puns a pungent?
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I was on a bus going past a coffee factory theother day - that was highly pungent!
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
When I walked across the moor with a newly-purchased pack of freshly ground coffee in my bag, all the sheep started following me, baa-ing and nudging me - they reacted rather like a cat would do to catnip. Heeeeeeelp!
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Very up market sheep you have there, Chorister. Shouldn't they be following the scent of cider?
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
I read "Cider with Rosie" back in the late 1970s.
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
My favourite cider is called 'Katy'.
 

---

Posted by balaam (# 4543) on :
 
Thatched cottages are commoner in Norfolk than in West Yorkshire.

(The Cider Katy is brewed by Thatchers.)
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I am pleased to see that Thatchers do some good in the world!
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
I'm delighted to report that we've nearly got to the end of 21st December and the world hasn't ended yet.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
For a few years in my childhood I loved Turkish Delight but for the last 40+ years have found it far too sweet.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Chocolate covered Turkish Delight is rather good, and small portions don't cling to your teeth as much.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I've been getting a little sensitivity under a full crown on one of my pre-molars for a couple of years now but very intermittently, possibly a trip to the dentist in the offing.
 

---

Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 
I spent a great evening in a pub called The Crown a few years ago. They sold a very wide selection of real ales and the atmosphere was great. Highly recommended.
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
Pictures of the earth taken from outer space show the atmosphere as a very thin layer around the earth and give the impression that it is fragile.
 

---

Posted by Stejjie (# 13941) on :
 
I once heard a (possibly apocryphal) story of an academic-type who refused to tidy his desk, but simply put a sheet of The Times newspaper over it when it got too messy. When they tried to clear it up after he died, they found the contents in layers, like an archaeological site.

He may be my hero...
 

---

Posted by Angloid (# 159) on :
 
He wasn't the same person who used to read the Times obituaries every day just to check that he was still alive, was he?
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
There was an obituary in the Telegraph yesterday of this bloke, who made friends with Voytek the Syrian bear who was a Polish regimental mascot.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
It is strange but furniture polish in any form [wax, liquid or spray] seems to be unknown over here.
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
The school caretaker was Polish.
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
My maternal grandmother was a French* polisher.

* a Scottish one, but you get the idea ...
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
The political alliance between France and Scotland goes back many centuries.
 

---

Posted by Angloid (# 159) on :
 
How many Scottish people will be having haggis for Christmas dinner?
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Isn't dinner an odd word? Depending on context and culture it can mean both lunch and supper.
 

---

Posted by Smudgie (# 2716) on :
 
Yes, I think I must be related to a hobbit as like both lunch and dinner, and second breakfast, and elevenses, and, and, and. Oh, and I have rather hairy feet too.
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
My darling niece has just given me a small, leather-bound copy of The Hobbit which I was allowed to unwrap at midnight.
 

---

Posted by Angloid (# 159) on :
 
Another famous book I have never got around to reading is Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Grace Darling is a British heroine and founder, in a sense, of the Royal National Lifeboat Institute.
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
I bought my favourite blouse from the RNLI - it hardly ever needs ironing so I regularly pack it in the suitcase to take on holiday. I also find it really comfortable when playing table tennis.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
WW, as a founder composer of a music and magic lantern show about the history of the RNLI, you will forgive me as a Christian (though there are some things one can never forget) if I point out that Grace Darling predated the RNLI by some years, and had in fact bnothing to do with it. But her splendid effort which brought her to fame did help to publicise the plight of the Seamen in trouble so that when Sir William Hillary founded what did become the RNLI the public was already aware and sympathetic. Just saying. And Happy Christmas.
 

---

Posted by Qoheleth. (# 9265) on :
 
The Seamen’s Friendly Society of Saint Paul was founded by Revd Charles Plomer Hopkins, and in time gave birth to the Benedictine Community of Our Lady & S John at Alton Abbey.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I've never really understood the penchant for pronouncing St John as Singe-on under certain circumstances.
 

---

Posted by Mamacita (# 3659) on :
 
That pronunciation of St John is used to comedic effect in "Four Weddings and a Funeral" by Mr Bean appearing as a priest.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
We had attinga for lunch today - it is a sort of string bean and is delicious!
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
I had home made soup - not by me - and pork pie with local farm market damson chutney. Yum.
 

---

Posted by Angloid (# 159) on :
 
Chutney rhymes with Putney and always makes me think of that upmarket slice of the inner suburbs.
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
Chutney is a sort of pickle, and this year we've been the recipients of two jars of home-pickled beetroot. This may prove less than satisfactory, as D. actively dislikes it, and I'm not entirely sure ...
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
There's nothing like kosher dill pickle on a pastrami, swiss, and rye sandwich. And don't forget the brown mustard!
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
There's a type of German white sausage which has its own bright yellow sweetish mustard. Anyone know the name, as I've forgotten it?
 

---

Posted by Smudgie (# 2716) on :
 
I too am suffering from a tendency to forget things rather more than I used to...er.. What was it you wanted to know again?
 

---

Posted by pjl (# 16929) on :
 
Talking about suffering,over the last 3 days I estimate I've consumed 30 to 40 sprouts.

Hopefully I can exhaust some energy this morn at the gym.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Is the gym the work of the devil?
 

---

Posted by Karl: Liberal Backslider (# 76) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by pjl:
Talking about suffering,over the last 3 days I estimate I've consumed 30 to 40 sprouts.

Hopefully I can exhaust some energy this morn at the gym.

---

It's not the energy you need to exhaust if you've eaten that many sprouts.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Running cars on self-generated methane would be an environmentally friendly thing to do.
 

---

Posted by Angloid (# 159) on :
 
A loo with an outboard motor would kill two birds with one stone.
 

---

Posted by balaam (# 4543) on :
 
I need to lose one stone.
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
Not far from where I grew up, there's a Stone Age village.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I still haven't decided what I want to be when I grow up.
 

---

Posted by Orcadian (# 1564) on :
 
I will haven't decided what to get my wife for Christmas - 2011.
 

---

Posted by Ariston (# 10894) on :
 
Perhaps you might be in the market for a good divorce lawyer? She probably is.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
I'm marketing for the second round of Christmas presents,as I prepare to go north.
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
To an exiled Orcadian, the most comforting sign on a British road is the one just outside Perth that says "A9 North".
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
The sun passes to the north of us for 4 months of the year.
 

---

Posted by lilBuddha (# 14333) on :
 
Will we relabel north during the next geomagnetic shift? Or, more probably, will the cockroaches and Keith Richards relabel it?
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Cockroaches are amazing creatures, they can survive in most climates.
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
I can tell you personally that a mini cucaracha can survive a minute and a half of full power microwave.

Don't ask.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
The drunken Irish builder tenant of the flat below me in London eventually died of drink related causes. The workmen who cleared his flat had to wear protective clothing, and the cockroaches, who had had an undisturbed 15 year tenure, were so disgusted by the upheaval that they moved upstairs to me!
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
We were very sad when our Irish/Malay/Chinese friend died a few years ago now.
 

---

Posted by Mamacita (# 3659) on :
 
A lovely Irish couple has joined our church and she is going to bring scones to coffee hour next week.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Scones! A wonderful way of using old but not quite sour milk, and a quick and easy bread substitute. Warm, with butter....
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Warming a little butter with a little olive oil is a great start for making 'toasted' cheese sandwiches.
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
If you get bored with toasted cheese, you can always make Welsh Rarebit. And you don't even need a Rabbit for this recipe.
 

---

Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 
The bloody Welsh breed like rabbits.
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
My favourite breed of dog is the West Highland terrier, or Wee White Dog as we call them.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
In my teen years I had several pleasant holidays in the Highlands with my parents.
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
Highland Park is (probably*) the best single malt whisky in the world.

* No, really - their 18yo was voted the Best Spirit In The World.
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
Sad as Kurt Cobain's story ended up, the song title Smells Like Teen Spirit always makes me smile just to read it.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
I thought teens just tended to smell.
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
The smell of the roses in Regent's Park is a delight to the nose.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
When we visited Chandigarh we could smell the rose garden from quite a distance away.
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
When my dad decided that the garden was getting too much for him, he got someone to take out all the flowers that needed to be tended, but the roses seem to bloom all by themselves.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
We have a group of local women working in our 'garden' today, clearing the land to try to discourage too many snakes.
 

---

Posted by pjl (# 16929) on :
 
I saw a dead snake in my swimming pool one morning and gave it to my kids to identify it. They never got back to me with the answer.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
I drowned my car in flood water on New Year's Day. No longer a Subaru but a submarine.
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
We all live in a yellow submarine,
A tub of margarine,
A jar of clotted cream.

(Creamtealand version of a famous song)
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Clotted cream by post from my grandmother was a much awaited treat when I was a lad - I wonder if they still do it.
 

---

Posted by Mamacita (# 3659) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Welease Woderwick:
We have a group of local women working in our 'garden' today, clearing the land to try to discourage too many snakes.

---

You guys send the wimmin out to deal with the snakes?

Sorry, carry on.
 

---

Posted by Gwai (# 11076) on :
 
I hear that one airline charges for carry-ons even. Can you believe it?
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Carrying on is often used as a euphemism in parts of UK.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
We have just had a Christmas season of Carry On films in the UK.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Kenneth Williams autobiography is really quite moving - not a happy man.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Nor a kind one.
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
Kinder chocolate is especially yummy, and if you buy the eggs you even get a free toy.
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
IMHO Kind Hearts and Coronets is one of the best films of all time.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Tony Bennett's I left my heart in San Francisco is vastly over-rated.
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
"Gordon Bennett!" was an exclamation frequently used by a friend of mine when we were school age.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I can just about remember back to when I was school age in the middle of last century.
 

---

Posted by Cara (# 16966) on :
 
Gosh WW that makes you sound so ancient--but then I realised that as I was born in "the middle of the last century" I am ancient too!!!!

But I read recently of the death of a man who was born in 1897, therefore in the century before last. There can't be many of these 112-plus-year-olds left...if only they would write their memoirs.
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
Near the end of Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years, Bessie Delany, daughter of a former slave, declared that the US would not have a "colored" president in a thousand years. Obama was elected about twelve years after her death.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Some things get better.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Sadly my knees don't get better on days like yesterday when I forget to take my tablets!
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Apparently statins can cause muscular pain. My arthritis still gives me gyp, but overall the apin is less since I dropped the statins.
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
That reminds me, I need to call in at the DIY store to buy some gyproc.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
My last DIY effort was to build all my bookcases when I moved house.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Although I have moved from one house to another I have never actually tried to move a house.
 

---

Posted by Gwai (# 11076) on :
 
The bible talks about moving mountains. Maybe that is related.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I have what I think of as a healthy scorn for relatives - I prefer to choose my own family.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Yes, our friends are the family we chose, but the ones we're born with aren't necessarily a dead loss. Some less than others, perhaps.
 

---

Posted by Gwai (# 11076) on :
 
Some are definitely shorter than others. I realized yesterday night in Tae Kwon Do that everyone else was kicking at their chest level, but that meant I was it was my head level.
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
I usually try to stay level-headed.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
i try to head off trouble, but often fail.
 

---

Posted by Cara (# 16966) on :
 
Most of my resolutions, whether at the New Year or not, tend to fall under the heading of those good intentions that pave the road to you-know-where.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
People often tell me that I must know where I put something, but I don't!
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
Lost property is always in the last place you look.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Sometimes you only find it after looking in the same place several times.

[ 10. January 2013, 19:15: Message edited by: jacobsen ]
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
I'm still looking for my happy place.
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
If it carries on snowing like this all night, people might have trouble looking for my house. And it's got three storeys ...
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I slept quite well last night, all things considered.
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
We get a couple of hours of "All Things Considered" on our Special Broadcasting Service on weekdays. I watch it from time to time.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
From time to time I get an annoying not quite toothache - but then it fades and I decide not to visit the dentist.
 

---

Posted by Gwai (# 11076) on :
 
I should send Bullfrog the information for our new doctor so that he can make an appointment.
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
The Creamtealand Doctors' secretaries seem remarkably good at muddling up appointments.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
If I had a scheduled meeting with the current British Monarch would I be by appointment to Her Majesty the Queen?
 

---

Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :
 
Why the hell did we move to this city? It's freezing now and way to hot to be even remotely pleasant in the summer! Will we have to sell up and move to the American ex-pat community in Costa Rica when we retire and run out of money?
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Running out of money seems to occur about a week before payday and most months of the year!
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
Most months of the year it rains in Creamtealand.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Weather forecasts threaten the rain turning to snow this weekend.
 

---

Posted by Kyzyl (# 374) on :
 
I'm heading into snow today, but then I do live in Minnesota. The school semester starts Monday, so we must have bad weather.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I am currently re-reading Lake Wobegone Days which is based in Minnesota.
 

---

Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :
 
Garrison K. is a funny man, but the only part of his programme worth listening to is The News from Lake Wobegon...
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Garrison K was brought up in the Plymouth Brethren. What a splendid preparation for a life of humorous sedition.

[ 13. January 2013, 17:56: Message edited by: jacobsen ]
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
I was brought up in the Plymouth Brethren. Some denominations would think my leading of The Lord's Supper seditious.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Some denomination of paper money are now made of plastic.
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
Sea water does not affect the twenty dollar notes in my board shorts.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Flood water didn't get the chance to affect the notes in my purse as I took it with me on exiting the car. Wading through three feet of water on New Year's Day was very chilly, however.
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
Walking through three feet of snow yesterday wasn't exactly a picnic either.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
We don't go for picnics here as it is generally a bit sunny for that sort of thing unless you can find deep shade with no ants.
 

---

Posted by Gwai (# 11076) on :
 
I guess deep shade would somewhat deter my daughter's aunt also, as it is chilly, and she would probably prefer the sun. I bet my daughter would not want to deter aunts though (perhaps or ants, until they got into her food.)
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
I remember enjoying the play, Charley's Aunt, when I was at school. But I'm now at such a great age, I can't remember much of the plot.

[ 14. January 2013, 15:45: Message edited by: Chorister ]
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
BUNAC (the British Universities North America Club), through whom I booked my first ever flight, gave us a viewing of Travels with Charley when we arrived in New York.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a great film - the version with Johnny Depp. The book has a sequel - Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator. sometimes I prefer Roal Dahl's Children's books to his short stories for adults.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I enjoy children's books, I have a fair collection of them here - and I read them regularly.
 

---

Posted by HenryT (# 3722) on :
 
Regularity is an absolute obsession for North America. One TV ad has a woman in a t-shirt lettered "I'm regular "
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
TV ads over here seem to be mostly for soaps and shampoos and jewellery with a few for aluminium roofing thrown in for good measure.
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
Ah! The Baker's Dozen.
Lucky for some in bingo.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
After drowning my car at New Year, and the hire car being sent out with a fault, I'm just waiting for the third piece of automobile related bad luck.

[ 15. January 2013, 06:42: Message edited by: jacobsen ]
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Himself employed somebody he used to tutor to clear the rust on our jeep but then found him behind the vehicle drinking spirits from the bottle so sacked him - when we took the jeep to another, professional place, they had to take off all the stuff the guy had done thus costing us even more money!
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
Children cost you lots of money, but the rewards they give you are out of this world.
 

---

Posted by Kyzyl (# 374) on :
 
The reward offered by the state of Missouri for Jesse James was $25,000...his brother, Frank, was worth only $15,000.
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
Sandra Bullock might have paid a good twenty-five grand for Jesse James at one time. Now she wouldn't shell out two bits for the slimeball.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I broke two bits in one day trying to drill into some reinforced concrete.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Having bought a cheap revolving clothes line, I had to dig a hole in the lawn to take the pole,and fill it with instant DIY concrete. The line is still there, the pole still standing, and I'm quite proud!
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Pride cometh before a fall or, in my case, quite often just before I trip over my own feet!
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
Hoping that this year we will finally do the New Zealand trip.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Had planned to go to Greece, but the necessity of buying another car has scotched that.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Was it Captain Cook who sort of tripped over New Zealand a long time ago?
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
The Captain Cook Monument is in my home area of Cleveland UK. He was brought up in the village of Marton, which is now a suburb of Middlesbrough.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
The film The Ritz features a family visiting The Big City from Cleveland, Ohio.
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
Cleveland, England, is the site of a very strange geological feature known as 'Roseberry Topping'.
 

---

Posted by Smudgie (# 2716) on :
 
Raspberry topping is actually my favourite flavour for icecream.. equal first with caramel.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Didn't Simon and Garfunkel sing something about Boysenberry jam?
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
I don't know, but they sang about parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme.
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
Sage is supposed to go well on pork, but when I tried it on pork chops- yuk! From now on it's sage with poultry for me.
 

---

Posted by Smudgie (# 2716) on :
 
A sage decision - and, talking of wisdom, did I mention that Canada Geese always remind me of having my wisdom teeth extracted?
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
Canada Bill played a small part in Le Carre's Smiley's People.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
My smile has been enhanced by a long (like several years) overdue visit to the dentist.
 

---

Posted by Master Tubby Bear (# 9739) on :
 
Yet your simile remains unenhanced. Less like a chocolate sundae, more like a vanilla Sunday.
 

---

Posted by Kyzyl (# 374) on :
 
Billy Sunday, early 20th century US evangelist, was born south of me near Ames, Iowa.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Wasn't Field of Dreams based in Iowa?
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
One of my favourite oratorios is Elgar's Dream of Gerontius.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
His Cello Concerto frequently moves me to tears.
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
Jello is the snack that taught the world to jiggle.
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
But Coca Cola taught the world to sing in Perfect Harmony™.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
No, they only wanted to teach the world to sing.

I'd like to teach the world to sing...
 

---

Posted by Master Tubby Bear (# 9739) on :
 
Class sizes really should come down in London secondary schools.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
As a singing teacher I find a class of one more than enough.
 

---

Posted by Smudgie (# 2716) on :
 
At the moment it seems to be snow that's coming down in London..... and I'm far too cold already to go out and make a snowman.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
School closed at lunchtime, and I'm holed up for the weekend.
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
I'm going to see The Hobbit this afternoon. And a hole as nice as Bilbo's looks delightful.
 

---

Posted by Cara (# 16966) on :
 
It's many, many years since I last read the Hobbit....and i haven't seen the movie. But what you say about Bilbo's cosy home gives me nostalgia for the atmosphere Tolkien evoked....he was brilliant.
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
I used to send letters written in runes - it wasn't hard to learn.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Someone on the Oxford Canal has named his narrow boat The Hobbit Hole.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I once ran a Team Building Day on a narrow boat, it was not the best experience of my life.
 

---

Posted by Smudgie (# 2716) on :
 
I've done those team building days - we had to build a tower out of straws to hold a marshmallow up off the table and the tallest tower won. My team won - until we disqualified for cheating!
 

---

Posted by Gwai (# 11076) on :
 
I so want to go canoeing again. Or kayaking would be even better.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I used to sail but I have never canoed.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
I found canoeing a damp and splashy experience.

[ 20. January 2013, 17:50: Message edited by: jacobsen ]
 

---

Posted by lily pad (# 11456) on :
 
I'm going to Orlando in a couple of weeks for a conference and, now that I think of it, I'm sort of looking forward to some splashiness.
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
A friend's sister has named her child 'Orlando', after Orlando Gibbons. He is one of my favourite composers. And also the favourite of one of my old choir masters.
 

---

Posted by Kyzyl (# 374) on :
 
Orlando Bloom has a brief bit part as a male prostitute in the film. Wilde
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
I've just bought a 28mm hammer bit to punch a hole through my garage concrete brick wall so I can use tank water in my house.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I read a story recently that posited that in a major oil crisis armoured vehicles such as tanks will be completely useless and armies may have to revert to the use of old fashioned cavalry.
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
It wasn't until I had my own babies that I realised they could posit.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
If you give a baby a posset [n] will it posset [v]?
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
One of my managers said that he liked that I was so pendatic (sic).
 

---

Posted by Gwai (# 11076) on :
 
I know people who are sick of pedantry.
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
I am now sick with a cough. Gack!
 

---

Posted by Kyzyl (# 374) on :
 
Gack can be made by mixing white glue, water, food coloring and borax. Recipes available on the interwebs.
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
We have a plague of ants at the moment and we are trying counter it with a solution of borax and sugar.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I often call close friends or kids "sweetie" but I don't think I've ever called anyone "sugar".
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
New friends are silver,
Old friends are gold.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I think I might use the colour Old Gold for the detailing when I have my bedroom redecorated.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
I'm hoping to avoide decorating for a long, long time, but moving in to a house can seriously besmirch the hall and stairs, and I've been here two years...

[ 22. January 2013, 07:36: Message edited by: jacobsen ]
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
I've been here nearly 12 years. That's a long time in new money.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Long service award!
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
We had an Ordination and the installation of a new Archdeacon at the Cathedral last night - that was quite a long service.
 

---

Posted by Mamacita (# 3659) on :
 
I was talking today with a candidate for the diaconate, and accidentally referred to Deacon school as "demon school."
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Many a truth is spoken in jest.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I am deliberately quite careful as to what I ingest.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
The last of the chicken casserole was off, so I dumped it. Sad.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
When I lived in UK I often suffered SAD in the winter; here I am more likely to get it in the summer months during monsoon when we sometimes don't see the sun for a week or more at a time.
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
My niece is being helicoptered out of the cyclone in Bundaberg. I think she will be sad about her house.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
I have one aunt left in Denmark. I'll miss her when she goes.
 

---

Posted by Smudgie (# 2716) on :
 
I've never been to Denmark though I believe it must be well worth a visit.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I am glad we had our well dug quite deep.
 

---

Posted by Lucia (# 15201) on :
 
Isn't it interesting how the word 'quite' can mean two almost opposite things? To say something is "quite right" is to affirm it to be completely and totally correct. But if something is "quite nice" well, it's only on the way to being nice, not totally and completely nice. Strange that...
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
In the East End of London, "not bad" translates as "bloody wonderful."
 

---

Posted by Kyzyl (# 374) on :
 
I almost missed seeing "It's a Wonderful Life" this Christmas season.
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
Life is Beautiful by Roberto Begnini always pops out of my memory when someone talks of It's a wonderful Life
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
I used to teach a boy named Robert, but all his friends called him Roberto (with a magnificently rolled R at the front).
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
In John D.McDonald's "Colours" series, Roberto Hoffman was one of the aliases of the serial womaniser and killer.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I used to enjoy George MacDonald Fraser's Flashman books a long time ago.
 

---

Posted by Smudgie (# 2716) on :
 
My wonderful brother was a bit of a "Flash man" yesterday, when he and a bottle of cleaning fluid attacked my kitchen and made it shine
 

---

Posted by pimple (# 10635) on :
 
I wonder if that was the sort of cleaning fluid I drank when I was seven. The smell of municipal swimming pools still makes me retch.
 

---

Posted by Kyzyl (# 374) on :
 
The last dean we had was a wretch. No, make that sociopath.
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
Whenever I hear the phrase 'cycle path' I think the person talking is saying 'psychopath'.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
My inner self has psychopathic moments, but prison has no attractions.
 

---

Posted by Stick Monitor (# 17253) on :
 
I hear that one UK prison has opened a restaurant to attract visitors. Try that one.
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
There are two or three new restaurants here that are on our "must try" list.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
My mother always insisted that I must dry my hair thoroughly before going outside.
 

---

Posted by Smudgie (# 2716) on :
 
I think of my mother every time I clean the grill pan as I always used to leave that job to her!
 

---

Posted by Lucia (# 15201) on :
 
The grill in our cooker is useless. If you leave bread under it for 10 minutes it simply dries out the surface. Not what I call toasted.
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
If we didn't have an ozone layer to protect the surface of the planet, then we'd all be toasted.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Toasted crumpets with St Agur cheese melted into them are a taste of Heaven.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Add a few drops of chili oil for taste bud ecstacy.
 

---

Posted by Smudgie (# 2716) on :
 
I have over-sensitive tastebuds which means that I end up not being able to eat strong-tasting foods.
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
You would think that penguins would love anchovies, but maybe their taste buds prefer cod.
 

---

Posted by Kyzyl (# 374) on :
 
There is no Cod.
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
There is halibut in my freezer.
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
There's moose in my freezer, which I'll eventually get round to turning into a casserole.
 

---

Posted by Mamacita (# 3659) on :
 
There's a moose on my roof.


It's a weather vane.
 

---

Posted by lily pad (# 11456) on :
 
The weather forecast keeps changing and I am supposed to fly tomorrow and I don't know who to believe but we are certainly going to get lots of snow. It is just a matter of when!
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
There's lots of talk about FlyLady on the decluttering thread in AS.
 

---

Posted by Smudgie (# 2716) on :
 
My sink is shiny but I'm not wearing any shoes because I'm actually typing this whilst lying on the sofa eating my breakfast.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Are you going to tell us what happened last week? The story so far?
 

---

Posted by Smudgie (# 2716) on :
 
Actually, would you be interested in buying a copy of my autobiography?
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Have you written it yet?
 

---

Posted by lily pad (# 11456) on :
 
I'm wondering if you realise that what you have written is turning this thread into a different game?
 

---

Posted by Smudgie (# 2716) on :
 
Have you ever seen the play "Rosencranz and Guildenstern are Dead" by Tom Stoppard?

(Beware the Circus hosts, by the way, as you know what they're like and it'd never do for this to tangent off into a different type of game. So far they've not noticed )
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I was at school with Tom Stoppard's brother but this was a VERY LONG TIME AGO.
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
I played in the orchestra for the official opening of the school I went to; now they're replacing it with a new building, which makes me feel very old.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
My school acquired a state of the art music block four years ago. To die for.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
As I've got older there are fewer causes that I'd die for.
 

---

Posted by Smudgie (# 2716) on :
 
It's a whole eight months until my birthday - eight months to the day!
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Humans gestate in nine months. Elephants take longer, like a couple of years. Don't know about penguins.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I doubt that anyone really understands the thought process of a penguin, if indeed they have one.
 

---

Posted by iamchristianhearmeroar (# 15483) on :
 
What was your favourite flavour of penguin chocolate bar? Mine was probably mint.
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
Look for Tim-Tams in Australia for the closest chocolate biscuit to Penguins.
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
Mint Methodist Church, in Exeter, near St. Nicholas Priory: a former Bendictine Priory which is 900 years old.
 

---

Posted by Stick Monitor (# 17253) on :
 
I didn't know there was a St Nichola. What is she patron of?
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
I used to sing in a choir with a girl called Nicola.
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
Our choir is called Stairwell to Heaven as it started out in a school stairwell.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Students lurk under the stairwell in our music department when it's raining.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
It seems an age since it was last raining here.
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
In Creamtealand it is either raining, just about to rain, or just stopped raining. There is no other weather.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Do come to the Cotswolds. We're in the middle of the Midlands, so can take our pick of the various weather forecasts on offer, and bet on which will apply to us.

[ 05. February 2013, 09:31: Message edited by: jacobsen ]
 

---

Posted by Stick Monitor (# 17253) on :
 
So, how do you apply to the Met Office?
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
[tangent]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Chorister:
In Creamtealand it is either raining, just about to rain, or just stopped raining. There is no other weather.

---

I beg to differ. I was in Cream Tealand a few years ago and the weather was shirt-sleeve gorgeous. And it was February.
[/tangent]

Back to the game:

My office is getting rather crowded, as some of the students have been re-located.
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
Don't we have to relocate our understanding of tangent in a game of tangents to be [non-tangent] ... [/non-tangent]?
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
As I understand it, a tangential connection is desirable, provided the thread branches off in another direction. I frequently find myself taking the wrong direction when going for country walks. And this in spite of what seem to be full written directions.
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
Mr. C has just bought a satnav so in theory we should never get lost again.
 

---

Posted by Smudgie (# 2716) on :
 
It's an interesting phenomenon, this business of shortening people's surnames to their title and the initial letter. I wonder whether they do it in other languages too.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
An interesting phenomenon was provided by my cat, who forgot himself on the carpet of my student flat (this is many years ago.) The carpet was made up of several uunrelated sections, and the cat very neatly pulled a piece of carpet over to hide the evidence. It took me quite a while to work out where the smell was coming from!

[ 07. February 2013, 06:40: Message edited by: jacobsen ]
 

---

Posted by pimple (# 10635) on :
 
I shaved my beard off once, for a part in a play. This, too, was many years ago. My wife was furious.
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
I remember being in a school play, where I had the part of Pitti Sing in the Mikado. I had several songs to sing, including the Trio, 'Three Little Maids from School are We'.
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
My most notable performance in a school production was as Mrs. Bumble in Oliver! nearly 40 years ago.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
One of the more heartwarming stories of London's theatre world is that years after Lionel Bart, "Oliver!"'s composer, had sold the rights to the show and was living in poverty, Cameron Macintosh, who later bought them, gave Bart a proportion. He could afford it, of course, but those who can afford to don't always do the generous thing.
 

---

Posted by Gill H (# 68) on :
 
Lionel Bart lived up the road from me (though before I moved here).

It was also the birthplace of Waitrose supermarkets, though it certainly doesn't have one these days!
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
There are supposed to be ten major UK supermarkets, but I can only think of five.
 

---

Posted by Smudgie (# 2716) on :
 
Great, now I'm going to be singing "Five little monkeys bouncing on the bed" all evening - thanks a bundle!
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
Looking at the sticky handprints on my coffee table reminded me that we've recently had a visit from my granddaughterly bundle of joy.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Here a coffee table is referred to as a teepoy.
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
Shouldn't that be a "coffeepoy"? Sorry - back to the game ...

When we went shopping for a coffee-table, we discovered that over here they don't come without two little end-tables, which is fine and dandy, but our sitting-room isn't all that big, and fitting them somewhere is a bit of a challenge.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
My parents wouldn't let us buy the Beano or the Dandy when we were kids, we were allowed the Robin, the Swift and the Eagle.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Interesting the way children's comics names are gender specific. The Eagle would be for boys, and Bunty for girls. Beano and Dandy were for both.
 

---

Posted by Smudgie (# 2716) on :
 
I've known some children with some quite comic names - like the one called Jammie !
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
If he were American I presume a boy called Jammie would be a Dodgers fan.
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
When I used to go to the Fair, I always wanted to go on the Dodgems. I liked them, but was terrified at the same time.
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
It's sad when after eating a banger-on-a-bun with mustard and caramelized onions a Renaissance Faire thrill ride upsets the stomach.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
The Renaissance Hotel near where we used to live has since changed its name.
 

---

Posted by Smudgie (# 2716) on :
 
I begin to understand why the hosts get so snippy about frequent links in posts, and humbly beg their forgiveness for my cavalier approach to including them in the past.
 

---

Posted by pjl (# 16929) on :
 
The Cavalier club, a late night drinking club which both hindered and helped me through a difficult period.
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
Great Torrington is known as 'The Cavalier Town' - cavalier in their attitude towards women priests, maybe?
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I have been told that in the 19th Century one of the main reasons for the resurgence in sympathy with the Cavalier cause was Captain Marryat's Children of the New Forest.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Captain Marryat also wrote The Dog Crusoe, set in 19thC US, in which book I first encountered the word brackish.
 

---

Posted by Imaginary Friend (# 186) on :
 
For the record, the new title made my skin crawl.
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
My granddaughter can now walk, but she often prefers to crawl.
 

---

Posted by Ariston (# 10894) on :
 
Gah. Discussing people's grandchildren. GROSS. CLICHE. Perfect for DH!

By the way, can gay woman prelates abort their divinely created babies?

Dark Lord of Chaos Ariston of the Velodrome
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
A sudden failure of my fuel pump aborted a lovely day visiting art galleries yesterday. Today my friend and I made up lost time. I think one of the artists whose work we viewed today was gay.

(Someone needs to move this puppy.)
 

---

Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
Juice spill in aisle 3! Juice spill in aisle 3!

Where's the staff in this place?
 

---

Posted by TonyK (# 35) on :
 
Thanks Orfeo - this one seems to have been overlooked in the second reshuffle!

Back you go - and never darken our doors again!
 

---

Posted by Boogie (# 13538) on :
 
Our doors are white in colour - boring PVC and the locks are playing up. One of these days I'll be locked in (or out)
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
These days remarkably few people request a lock of my hair - which may be a blessing as I have so little.
 

---

Posted by Smudgie (# 2716) on :
 
The proper name for a little hare is a leveret.
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
I know someone called Leverett, he plays the piano in the village pantomime. Oh no he doesn't, oh yes he does, etc.
 

---

Posted by Kyzyl (# 374) on :
 
I lived down the road from Lyle Lovett when I was an undergraduate at Texas A&M.
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
I love me a country singer with a Large Band.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Big Band music is still popular in some quarters.
 

---

Posted by Smudgie (# 2716) on :
 
Some so-called music really ought to be banned, in my opinion, especially that emanating from the pub next door.
 

---

Posted by Boogie (# 13538) on :
 
The pub down our road is pleasant, busy and still going strong, which is unusual round here - so many are closing.
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
At closing time, a little bell rings and someone shouts 'Time!' Or at least it did when I was last in the pub at closing time. Which is rather a long time ago, now.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Time magazine has quite a long history - 90 years old next month.
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
I really mustn't spend any more time faffing about on here, as I've got minutes to type up from tonight's meeting of the Anglican Cemetery Committee (don't laugh).
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I haven't been a practicing Anglican for nearly thirty years!
 

---

Posted by Smudgie (# 2716) on :
 
If you don't practise then you won't get to be any good at it, though my son seems to make fairly good process with his tuba playing by osmosis.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
I tried the tuba once and managed a wobbly scale, but went for the guitar as being lighter and more manageable.
 

---

Posted by Smudgie (# 2716) on :
 
Our scales are a bit wobbly too - or at least that's what I tell myself as it's the only possibly explanation for the weight it says I am.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Trying to explain scalene triangles to someone not mathematically inclined I just say that it is one that fits no other category.
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
We don't get scale in our kettle as we live in a soft water area. With one of the most expensive water rates in the country, unfortunately.
 

---

Posted by Gwai (# 11076) on :
 
I've always thought that ideally the words "country" and "county" wouldn't look so similar.
 

---

Posted by Hedgehog (# 14125) on :
 
It is important to have ideals. While one might not live up to them, it is the striving for one's ideals that is important. As somebody said somewhere, one's reach should exceed one's grasp, or else what's a heaven for?
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
I couldn't reach a hitch-hiker's house a few days ago as the creek flowing over the road would have washed my 4WD away.
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
I thought that Marvin the Paranoid Android in the film of The Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy was really rather cute.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
The Android OS seems pretty much ubiquitous these days.
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
I've lived OS from my birth country almost two/thirds of my life.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
In my case all of my life, but I still love aebleskiver.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I freely admit, at this late stage of my life, that I often skived off my homework when I was a schoolboy.
 

---

Posted by Leorning Cniht (# 17564) on :
 
Modern technology makes it easy for many people to work from home.
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
Most people have a modem at home - what would we do without them?
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
I'm probably one of the last people who uses a cell phone that isn't a smart phone.
 

---

Posted by Leorning Cniht (# 17564) on :
 
I'm not smart enough to understand the structure of a cell membrane.
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
[tangent ON]
LR, you're not quite the last - I got my very first mobile phone last August and it's an ordinary, fold-up one. For making and receiving telephone calls. Oh, and storing photographs of my great-niece.
[/tangent OFF]

Sorry - back to the game ...

I'm not smart enough (or young enough) to understand the structure of cell-phones.
 

---

Posted by Smudgie (# 2716) on :
 
Isn't it interesting the way the English language varies across the pond, like saying cell phone for mobile phone and pants for trousers and sidewalk for pavement...
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
I once managed 13 skips when skimming a stone across a pond.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Having the block and head of a petrol engine skimmed will marginally increase the compression ratio.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
WW that was a foreign language written in alleged English. I prefer my foreign languages with interesting letters, involving, for example, umlauts.
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
I like my exotic languages with eths (ð), thorns (þ) and "ø"s, as they tend to come from Northerly Places With Civilised Flags™.
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
We have a descendant of the Holy Thorn of Glastonbury in our churchyard; sadly it was recently vandalised.
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
When the Bamiyan Buddhas were blown up I wanted the term vandalised replaced with Talibanised.
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
I don't understand why anyone would want to blow up a Buddha - it seems to me to be a symbol of gentleness and decency.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Why not blow up an inflatable Buddha? Filled with gas they could float above us, reminding us that matter is an illusion.
 

---

Posted by Smudgie (# 2716) on :
 
My son was filled up with gas yesterday.. at least until he started throwing up all over the place, but I guess you didn't want to know that!
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
Over on this side of the big pond, "filling up with gas" means availing oneself of a petrol station.
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
Down under you run cattle on a station.
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
SUVs are the new station wagons. (If anyone remembers what those were.)
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
What you call a "station wagon" I would call an "estate car" (I used to have one just like that).
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Is a Volvo an honourable estate?
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
Absolutely.

I find it odd that politicians refer to each other as "honourable", when some of them clearly aren't.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Seeing things clearly, as I did when young, becomes more difficult as I age and see other aspects in most situations.
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
When my purse was stolen -along with my glasses- in December, I started wearing an old set of glasses. The distance part of the lenses are a little weaker, but the reading focals are actually better for me. Hmm.
 

---

Posted by Gwai (# 11076) on :
 
That reminds me that I really need to see an eye doctor!
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
The beauty of having grown up children and being retired is that I no longer have to take my holidays at the same time as the pupils.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Pupil Barristers seem to have to eat an extraordinary number of dinners before they are called to the Bar.
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
I'd have thought that they'd be called to the bar before dinner for a GIN and tonic.
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
Raymond Chandler's The Long Goodbye introduced me to Gimlets - gin and Roses lime juice, but I prefer gin and bitter lemon.
 

---

Posted by Smudgie (# 2716) on :
 
You know, I hate long goodbyes. If you're going to flounce, just do it.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
In the '70s, flounces were fashionable. I vividly remember gathering yards and yards of fabric and trying to keep the gathers evenly distributed.
 

---

Posted by pjl (# 16929) on :
 
In the late 70's my flairs flared out yards and yards.




[ 06. March 2013, 13:38: Message edited by: pjl ]
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
My swimming certificates are all made out to distances in yards - none of this strange 'metres' business....
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
The only sporting achievement in our family came from my brother, who held the school high-jump record from 1971 (or maybe 1970, I'm not sure) until they started measuring it in metres.
 

---

Posted by Smudgie (# 2716) on :
 
I used to hate doing the high jump as that metal bar didn't half hurt when you hit it.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
What terrified me at school was hockey. We didn't have leg protectors, and those sticks - or do I mean the persons wielding them - could be vicious.
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
I'm afraid I'm old enough to remember Sid Vicious and the Sex Pistols.
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
That's Johnny Rotten of you
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
On the whole, I prefer Johnny Appleseed, who used to fling his apple cores far and wide, in the hope of populating the USA with apple orchards.
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
The nicest apples I've ever tasted were from South Africa: they were almost as green and crunchy as a Granny Smith and almost as sweet as a Golden Delicious - the perfect combination.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
In just over 20 years South Africa have risen from sporting pariah to one of the Great Sporting Nations.
 

---

Posted by Smudgie (# 2716) on :
 
I read that as "sporting parish" which sounds like a variation on "An Island Parish" which was a fascinating tv documentary series of which I only ever got around to seeing one episode.
 

---

Posted by Gwai (# 11076) on :
 
I remember a bit from some video I saw at school where a mailperson was delivering mail in a canoe and another was hiking up a mountainy bit.
 

---

Posted by Kyzyl (# 374) on :
 
My mail carrier braved slushy snow, flooded streets, and my wet, slobbery Golden Retriever to deliver my mail just now. But come August, no more Saturday mail.
 

---

Posted by roybart (# 17357) on :
 
One of our neighbors has a Golden Retriever who is a sweet and joyful, though utterly indisciplined dog. She has been stuck with the name Goldy, but does not seem to be depressed by being called something so banal.
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
Probably the best day-trip I've ever been on was to the Golden Circle in Iceland.
 

---

Posted by Smudgie (# 2716) on :
 
I managed to buy some lovely cheap icecream from our local Iceland, but haven't remembered to go there again since as I usually buy my icecream at another big supermarket chain.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
We bought an ice cream maker about 4 years ago and have probably used it about 6 times over the years, mainly to make frozen yogurt.
 

---

Posted by roybart (# 17357) on :
 
Just this morning I happened to read the back label of a miniscule single serving of rather costly French organic yogurt, in the healthy food section of our local supermarket. 280 calories. Mon dieu!
 

---

Posted by Leorning Cniht (# 17564) on :
 
I have never understood why anyone thought that having a Calorie equal a thousand calories was a good idea.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
The older I get the less I understand about anything!
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
Getting older has been a shock to me in many ways.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
We were driving on a very uneven road in Madhya Pradesh a dozen years ago when one of our shock absorbers broke its mounting.
 

---

Posted by Smudgie (# 2716) on :
 
I think the uneven road to the campsite where the Smudgelet "slept" after his nighthike with the Scouts was the reason my car is now spattered with mud and muck.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
As they say Oop North - where there's muck, there's brass!
 

---

Posted by Smudgie (# 2716) on :
 
It's interesting you should say that, as my son's tuba isn't actually in the car at the moment, it's in his tip of a bedroom.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Talking of interesting, I had to borrow a little money from Pete when we were in town earlier and he wanted to charge me interest on it!
 

---

Posted by roybart (# 17357) on :
 
When I was a child, we had a parakeet named Pete. A very cheerful and affectionate bird. Once, when my mother got fed up at one of my bouts of moodiness, she commented that there was a lot I could learn from Pete.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
There is a rooftop bar in Gandhi Square in Mysore where it is possible to sit enjoying a drink of something as dusk falls and watch the parakeets commuting home to their roosts up by the hospital - they do it in tight little groupings of 20 or so birds to baffle and avoid the hawks and the kites.
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
Last night at dusk we had to close the doors and windows to shut out the noise of the scaly breasted lorikeets settling down to roost for the night. Otherwise we couldn't hear ourselves pray .
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Large Grey Babblers make a noise like a creaking hinge - in a previous place we lived a gang of them lived in a tree outside my study window and were quite distracting.
 

---

Posted by roybart (# 17357) on :
 
Some folks seem to become completely UN-hinged when exposed for an extended time to the loud shrieking of birds. I confess to reaching for the earplugs when we are visited by flocks of crows.
 

---

Posted by Leorning Cniht (# 17564) on :
 
Yes, the United Nations often resembles a flock of shrieking birds.
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
The Michael Crichton book Prey has people pseudo-flocking to confuse swarms of nanobots.
 

---

Posted by Gwai (# 11076) on :
 
Downtown is regularly filled with flocks of suits. They fill the area, and then when they pass, they leave comparative peace in their wake until other sorts of birds come in.
 

---

Posted by Kyzyl (# 374) on :
 
It is so cold and snowy here that the birds are pigging out on my suet. I have fill the suet feeders every other day lately.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Snowy Egrets are such beautiful birds.
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
Many Italian migrants came with their tunneling skills to the Snowy Mountains hydroelectric scheme.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
We had a snow flurry for about an hour on Sunday. It looked beautiful seen through the glass doors of the church, but was gone by the evening.
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
Our church is spending a lot of money on glass doors - now I know why, it's so we can see the snow! This sign about snow made me smile.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Glass doors, left uncurtained, allow little in the way of privacy.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
It's on the serious side of the Circus, but the present scandal about abuse in UK music schools, with a concommittent suggestion that one to one teaching may have to stop, leads one to wonder how many of these institutions actually have teaching rooms with windowed doors.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I am ashamed to say that I have never seen the play The School for Scandal but then it is not often performed.
 

---

Posted by Leorning Cniht (# 17564) on :
 
I saw "School of Rock" on the plane once.
 

---

Posted by Smudgie (# 2716) on :
 
I love rock, but it plays havoc with my teeth so I very rarely eat it.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I have a broken tooth, apparently, but as it is not causing any discomfort the dentist said to leave it as it is for as long as possible. Wise young man.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
That's what the doc said about my hip. Replacements apparently only last for about fifteen years, so postpone the first for as long as possible.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I don't think that I have ever been regarded as being in any way hip - not that I mind in the least.
 

---

Posted by balaam (# 4543) on :
 
I don't think either, far too often. I'm too impulsive.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I have been called impulsive but am more likely to be called repulsive.
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
You can call me what you like as long as you don't call me too early in the morning.

eta: Surely not, Wodders?

[ 24. March 2013, 03:14: Message edited by: piglet ]
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
I have to wake up early to get up late.
 

---

Posted by Smudgie (# 2716) on :
 
I sometimes wake up grumpy... but sometimes I let him have a lie in.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
My favourite cartoon character is Baby Grumpling from The Perishers
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
After all the fuss in my youth about the Leonardo Cartoon I didn't find it funny at all.
 

---

Posted by balaam (# 4543) on :
 
I think Leonardo DiCaprio is a rally good actor, but he was disappointing in Titanic. I wanted to cheer when his character went under the water.

[typo]

[ 24. March 2013, 16:15: Message edited by: balaam ]
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
He went under in Blood Diamond as well,but that was in a transformation from cynical bad guy to relatively good martyr.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I tend to ignore many of my relatives as much as possible.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
At my age, the aged rels are falling of the twig and my bed keeps moving closer to the door. Send chocolate. Or brandy. Or both.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
My brother had a dog called Nutmeg and, shortly I left home way back in the early 1970s, she had puppies and one of them was promised to my mum as a sort of WW-substitute and mum named the poor thing Brandy. She was a lovely dog but as a puppy she was sometimes a bit taken to chewing people's slippers.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
I have been given something called slipper socks. Not exactly conforming to the human i.e. my shape footwise, but a nice idea.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Conforming has always seemed to me to be rather boring.
 

---

Posted by Kyzyl (# 374) on :
 
If I am to get anything planted this week I'm going to need an auger to bore into the still frozen ground.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Consulting the auguries seems to have gone out of fashion, I wonder why.
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
When I was in my early teens, rolled-up trousers with tartan edges and striped socks were the height of fashion (it's not my fault that I grew up in the 1970s).
 

---

Posted by Gwai (# 11076) on :
 
If the height of fashion goes much beyond five feet, I will be left behind, I fear.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Visiting Agra early in 2001 I got a nasty bout of something gastric and lost a lot of weight of my behind which I have never quite recovered.
 

---

Posted by Smudgie (# 2716) on :
 
I read that as "viagra" which brought far different pictures to my mind and has left me feeling quite traumatised before my first cup of coffee of the day.
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
Depending on who makes it, I'm sometimes traumatized by my first cup of coffee of the day.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
I try to start with tea - altogether gentler on the too early awoken digestive system.
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
I've just remembered there's a packet of digestive biscuits in the larder.
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
Before my parents had a fridge we used the larder for cold storage. It had an air brick to let the cool air in. Conveniently, we had a daily milk delivery.
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
I've never kept lard in my larder. I prefer coconut oil.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
We grow coconuts here - and freshly grated coconut is great in so many things!
 

---

Posted by Smudgie (# 2716) on :
 
I've learned to be wary of treacle tart ever since I ate one at Amerton Farm cafe and discovered they'd made it with coconut instead of breadcrumbs.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Treacle seems to be unknown here so I just melt some raw sugar with a little water and then filter the resultant gloop.
 

---

Posted by Smudgie (# 2716) on :
 
Thanks to a rather random train of though taking me from filters, through fish tanks, to hamster cages, I now need to add "clean the hamsters out" to my to-do list.
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
I also plan to make a to-do list, when I get a round tuit.
 

---

Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
A woman I used to work with got a round tuit in the gift-shop on the pier at John O'Groats.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Should we start a campaign for the return of Groats and Farthings?
 

---

Posted by EtymologicalEvangelical (# 15091) on :
 
I like looking at "far things", so you can imagine my delight at discovering the Hubble Ultra Deep Field.
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
I Imagine you're a dreamer, but you're not the only one.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I was often accused of day dreaming when I was a schoolboy, but then it was often a perfectly justified accusation.
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
I so wanted to be a schoolboy as they got to do cool things like woodwork, metalwork, technical drawing and cricket. But instead I had to be a schoolgirl and do cookery, needlework, netball and rounders. Bah humbug!
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Many years ago, when I was still gainfully employed, I used to have a notice on my door saying "Bah, Humbug" from about the middle of November onwards.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Frankly, I prefer arctic mints to humbugs, and chocolate to either.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Pete has just had his last piece of Bitter Chocolate that he bought when we went up to the hills last month.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Bad news! Chocolate is disastrous for both reflux and arthritis. My chief comforter disallowed - Oh, where shall I find another?
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
In this climate a comforter is not often much comfort.
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
Southern Comfort is supposed to be good, although I've never tried it - being a Cider drinker myself.
 

---

Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
I haven't lived in the UK for years, but "Coates comes up from Somerset,..." is a long time earworm.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Somerset Maugham was a great writer though somewhat out of fashion these days.
 

---

Posted by Catrine (# 9811) on :
 
I really think the double denim look is awful. I mean we aren't in the 80's anymore
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
One of my problems is that when God was handing out body parts before I was born I misheard Him and thought He said "GINs" not "chins" so I immediately piped up that I'd have a double.
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
On the local roads of Oxfordshire frequent road kill is to be found, though it's usually complete, if squished. Isn't there someone who lives economically by collecting and cooking roadkill istead of visiting a supermarket like everyone else?
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Everyone else always seems to do things rather differently - like writing right-handed always looks so awkward!
 

---

Posted by Catrine (# 9811) on :
 
The left, the right, the middle, what is my political position. Am I right with left leanings or left with right leanings...
 

---

Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
We twine to the right and they twine to the left.... said the Honeysuckle to the Bindweed.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Was it Kipling who said "East is east and west is west and never the twine shall meet"?
 

---

Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Chorister:
I also plan to make a to-do list, when I get a round tuit.

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We had one of those, but it was machined out of metal. My wife got it from a business customer at the bank where she worked years ago before she became a school teacher.
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I had a period in my 20s when I was very into Heavy Metal music.
 

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Posted by roybart (# 17357) on :
 
I seem to recall my uncle saying that lead is an exceptionally heavy metal, but that can't be true, or else how could a Lead Zeppelin be possible?
 

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Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
Lead can float in mercury, but gold sinks.
 

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Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :
 
Really?!
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I notice the price of gold has dropped dramatically over the last few days.
 

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Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
For the moment, the price of petrol here has dropped.
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Years ago I recall eating Fruit Drops on my way home from school.
 

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Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
Our orange trees are dropping their fruit far too early. Is it the rain or a warming climate?
 

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Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Following last year's heavy rainfall, which kept the bees at home when they should have been pollinating my apple tree, I hope the apple crop will be much better this year. If the winds don't blow the blossom off the tree.
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Years ago I used to frequent the downstairs bar of the Blossoms Hotel in Chester.
 

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Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
I have walked the walls of Chester twice. Once in the pouring rain and once on a fine, sunny day. The latter was infinitely more preferable.
 

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Posted by balaam (# 4543) on :
 
Fine sunny days are not as common as they were 40 years ago, when the summer holidays always had good weather.
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Forty years ago I was already on my second career.
 

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Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Forty years ago I was finishing my teacher training. After five years in a classroom I was very happy to join a Belgian opera chorus.
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Michael Palin said some unkind things about Belgium in his song about Finland.
 

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Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :
 
Forty years ago, I was in my first year of university, studying architecture and though I knew how to surf I hadn't been to Hawaii yet.
 

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Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
I haven't been to Hawaii, or Finland. But I have been to Russia.
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I spent a couple of weeks learning Russian after my "O" levels, many years ago, but I didn't get very far.
 

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Posted by Catrine (# 9811) on :
 
"O happy day", is one of those annoying songs that makes me unhappy. YMMV
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
A happy day for me would involve CSK beating KKR in the IPL this afternoon.
 

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Posted by Catrine (# 9811) on :
 
Just heard Kinks Sunny Afternoon on the radio, great song.
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Some of my best friends are [more than] a little bit kinky.
 

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Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
Kinky Boots and Hot Pants were very high on my 'must have' list when I was about 10. Sadly, no-one bought them for me.
 

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Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
When I was about 10, my mum made me a pair of hot pants (green, with a bib and braces), but I never quite managed to persuade her on the kinky boots; my best friend had red knee-high ones with lace-ups, which I coveted ...
 

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Posted by mousethief (# 953) on :
 
"Braces" of course in North America means teeth-straightening appliances, and I had mine when I was about ten.
 

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Posted by Herrick (# 15226) on :
 
Ten green bottles hanging on the wall.
 

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Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
"...ninety-nine bottles of beer- you take one down and pass it around; ninety-eight bottles of beer on the wall..."
 

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Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
You do the hokey pokey
and you turn yourself around
That what it's all about.
 

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Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
I'm rather hoping to turn my weight around. You know, swim more often, chose salad at lunch, that sort of thing.
 

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Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
I know. The salad days are over.
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Sorting things can be a real drag, particularly if it then involves filing!
 

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Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Hey, play lose a letter and filing becomes fling! Instant decluttering....
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Everyone seems to want instant everything these days but often the best things are those that take a bit more time.
 

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Posted by Catrine (# 9811) on :
 
Just drinking an instant coffee right now. It's very nice.
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Nice is rarely used in the old sense of precision these days.
 

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Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
In German, these days is heut zu Tag. One of the phrases which stays with me from my five year stint in Germany.
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Have you ever noticed that "memorable phrases" that people quote are, more often than not, really clauses?
 

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Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :
 
Kan du talar Svenska? Jag kan talar liten Svenska.
 

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Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :
 
Only a little, Kevin, and certainly not enough to be able to get through to IKEA that I don't have enough shelf supporting lugs in my Billy flat-pack.
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
When I were nowt but a lad and used to go camping the pans we used for cooking were called Billy Cans - I have no idea why.
 

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Posted by Imaginary Friend (# 186) on :
 
Sir Kevin, may I remind you that it is not acceptable to post in a foreign language without a translation. Thank you.

Imaginary Friend.
Circus Host
 

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Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Sir Kevin:
Kan du talar Svenska? Jag kan talar liten Svenska.

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So sorry: I forgot!

Apparently, I am not the only one who can speak a little Swedish. Speaking the language in modern-day Sweden is actually unnecessary as all school pupils learn English by the end of their second year: reading the written language may be helpful to travellers.

I took the language in my first year at the University of California because I hoped to be an exchange student at the University of Lund in my third year. The closest I came to that was having fallen in love with a Swedish-American girl when I was a teenager...
 

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Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :
 
... so pratar bara Engelska. (speak only English)

My friend with the Viking ancestry was so popular with her husband's cricketing companions that when they became engaged the club bought an ice-making machine for her gins...!
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
At my school I fell in lust more often than in love.
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I have a friend who used to work at Viking Boys Club in Birkenhead.
 

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Posted by Pearl B4 Swine (# 11451) on :
 
I have avoided this thread like the plague. I thought it was something like "Having Fun With Algebra".
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I loved algebra at school and I also enjoyed teaching some to neighbour boy when he was having trouble with maths.
 

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Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :
 
I am actually getting a B in my algebra class! How miraculous is that!

[ 27. April 2013, 18:08: Message edited by: Kelly Alves ]
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Is class still an issue in society these days or is the stratification of society all based on wealth these days?
 

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Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
There are strata of competence among pianists. I'm at or near the bottom.
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Competence, or lack thereof, can be quite difficult to use as a means of dismissal of an employee.
 

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Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :
 
The dismissal bell at school rings at 3.05.
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I used to like wearing rings on my fingers but I have never worn a toe ring - yet.
 

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Posted by Catrine (# 9811) on :
 
I put a pitchfork prong through my toe once. Had to pull it back out and then get a tetanus shot. Ouch.
 

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Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :
 
I'd be careful talking about forks - there are some who still consider them unmanly and the use of them optional...
 

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Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
Good thing that I'm not a man and am not expected to do "manly" things like set fence posts and chase spiders. (Ducks and dodges! )
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
We keep a duck on the dining table on the verandah, it is made of wood and doubles as a pen holder for the pens I use for doing my Sudoku over breakfast.
 

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Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
Dining tables should never be placed outside in Creamtealand as it is always raining, just about to rain, or just finished raining.
 

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Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
I was in Cream Tealand a few years ago - in February - and it didn't rain at all.
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
February here is usually dry and bright and sunny, and cool at night.
 

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Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
We are starting to get condensation on our windows at night.
 

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Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
My cat licks and chews my hand in bed at night. Licks-okay. Chewing-not so much.
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Children in Liverpool used to refer to Cats Licks and Proddie Dogs - I wonder if they still do.
 

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Posted by Pearl B4 Swine (# 11451) on :
 
Grilled chicken livers, with water chestnut, and all of it wrapped in bacon----- how I love it! I paint them with a glaze of soy sauce, ketchup and apricot jam, if I have it.
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Ketchup here is available as plain tomato or as Tomato and Chilli, which has a lovely zing to it.
 

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Posted by ChaliceGirl (# 13656) on :
 
Did you hear about the race between the lettuce and the tomato?
The lettuce was ahead and the tomato was trying to ketchup!
 

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Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
My mother-in-law complained about a restaurant calling itself The French Lettuce. We claimed that we did not know what she was talking about.
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
My afternoon siesta is sometimes interrupted by our neighbours calling to their 7 year old grandson rather too loudly.
 

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Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
If I try for a siesta I risk falling off the piano stool.
 

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Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
My nephew claimed that getting his foot caught between the piano pedals stopped him from doing his music coursework. Well it beats the 'dog ate my homework' excuse for originality....
 

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Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
My semi-feral cat just climbed over my keyboard for a petting. Small victories!
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Our semi-feral kitten turns out to be male after all, so we are having to rename her to a him.
 

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Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
My allegedly domestic cats have never learned to retract their claws when trying to turn my lap into a nicely trodden bed. I bear the scars, and with the NHS in its present state of turmoil I can whistle for corrective surgery.
 

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Posted by roybart (# 17357) on :
 
I've never been able to whistle except in the most minimal way; do you think corrective surgery is the way to go?
 

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Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
Minimalism is all very well as a design concept, but for it to work you have to be a damn sight tidier than me and my Beloved.
 

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Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :
 
A minimum amount of cat gut was used for tennis racket strings back in the day....
 

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Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
... when my parents played. The rackets were kept flat in wooden frames you screwed tight with wing nuts.

[ 03. May 2013, 03:00: Message edited by: Latchkey Kid ]
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I lived in a flat for a while but there was a problem with damp.
 

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Posted by roybart (# 17357) on :
 
She ironed her hair each morning until it was flat. On damp days, however, the frizziness returned quickly.
 

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Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
As we approach the bank holiday weekend, my psyche is going frizzy round the edges. Have I remembered to pack everything? Only time and the closure of shops will tell.
 

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Posted by Catrine (# 9811) on :
 
No milk for tea this morning. Off to the shop for me
 

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Posted by Mama Thomas (# 10170) on :
 
Speaking of tea, I recently read that Apple corporation earns more money for China that its tea industry does. I really love my iPhone!
 

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Posted by Pearl B4 Swine (# 11451) on :
 
I - I - I ! It's all about you isn't it.
 

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Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
The best thing about being taught by conjoined twins (BBC3 programme last night) is that 'There are two pairs of eyes watching you'!
 

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Posted by roybart (# 17357) on :
 
My birth sign is Gemini but, being an only child, I know very little of twins.
 

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Posted by roybart (# 17357) on :
 
My birth sign is Gemini but, being an only child, I know very little of twins.
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Twinning of towns and cities seems a very strange sort of behaviour.
 

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Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
Identical twins are a hot commodity for a good number of scientific researchers.
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Was it Professor Sir Cyril Burt who was alleged to have made up much of his evidence to do with twins?
 

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Posted by Smudgie (# 2716) on :
 
I nearly posted something about a caterpillar called Cyril in response to your post, but then I remembered the caterpillar's name was actually Cecil, so I'd have been two fifths wrong.
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
North Americans often talks about fifths and it took me a while to cotton that they meant a quantity of spiritous liquor.
 

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Posted by Smudgie (# 2716) on :
 
If I eat an icecream on Pentecost, will that make me a spirit-filled licker?
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
The Pentecostal Church has an Aged Care Home not far from here.
 

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Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :
 
The best ports are allowed to age for longer in casks.
 

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Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
My vicar is going to a clergy retreat at a Hilton near the Port of Los Angeles. A retreat? in a Hilton? Times have changed.
 

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Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :
 
We used to go to a bar in a Hilton that had bands at the Port of Long Beach near the Queen Mary.
 

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Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
I felt like Queen Mary when I lived in a Hilton for 18 months (keeping Mr. C. company on a work project).
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Projecting my future life has always seemed to be a rather futile exercise.
 

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Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
I had a great and unexpected major life change in my late fifties. Nice surprise for me, but it mnakes planning seem superfluous.
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Norma Major wrote an excellent biography of Joan Sutherland.
 

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Posted by Pearl B4 Swine (# 11451) on :
 
Norman Mailer biografied Marilyn Monroe
 

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Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
There is an apartment complex in our town named the "Norma Jean Apartments". The original owners had known her as a girl and wanted to honor her memory.
 

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Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :
 
Norma is a rather obscure opera...
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Norming is often seen as one of the four stages of group formation in the theory of group dynamics.
 

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Posted by Smudgie (# 2716) on :
 
Followed closely by storming, which interestingly reflects the UK's sudden change from hot and sunny weather to the cold, wet, depressing stuff we thought was behind us.
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
A cold, wet nose judiciously applied seemed to be my dog's favourite way of waking me up to take him out.
 

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Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
It's much easier to wake up with the sun. My metabolism springs to life at dawn - convenient in summer, but increasingly painful in winter, when it has to be kick started much, much earlier.
 

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Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :
 
My brother's dirt bikes had to be kick-started...

I'll get me coat.
 

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Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
My hallway could use a coat of paint, but will probably have to wait for it.
 

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Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :
 
Wait for it - here it comes!
 

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Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
Here comes the sun - we had to wait until the afternoon for it, but the whole of Pendennis Head was bathed in glorious sunshine.
 

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Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :
 
Much activity in Carrick Roads? Should have been just enough wind for a decent sail...
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I avoid the sales whenever possible, too many people for my liking.
 

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Posted by Smudgie (# 2716) on :
 
Liking people is all very well, but I prefer chocolate.
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
People don't seem to talk about preferment these days.
 

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Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
I'll settle for preferential. Treatment.
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
The politicos are talking of a new waste treatment plant for The Big City down the road, but all they ever do is talk.
 

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Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
We're supposed to separate our waste into garden, household and recycling, but sometimes I just can't cope. BAD householder.
 

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Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :
 
I once had to mend a cope clasp in the back of a taxi with only 2 paperclips, a rubber band and a stapler... on tenterhooks during service to see if the botch held.
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
My first boss in the Civil Service, a very long time ago, hated paper clips with a vengeance.
 

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Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
I used to hate that annoying little talking paperclip who used to pop up on any word document to tell you how to write!
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I learnt how to write 6 decades ago, but I think my writing has recently reverted to being just as illegible as it was then.
 

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Posted by Smudgie (# 2716) on :
 
I have always found those early cave paintings fascinating
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Do children in schools that teach latin still shout cave when they see a teacher coming to warn others?
 

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Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
Billy Bunter used to shout that. I so got into trouble for reading Billy Bunter books when I should have been reading more improving books, according to my parents. Which is a scream, because my mother reads 'People's Friend'.

[ 12. May 2013, 14:23: Message edited by: Chorister ]
 

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Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
I used to think the Billy Bunter stories were a scream, but the Bessie Bunters less so.
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Bessie Braddock was a hero [heroine?] of mine for much of my youth.
 

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Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Youth seems both a long time past, and only yesterday. How's that for a paradox?
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I don't know why the youth of today are always seen as so troublesome - I was an angel as an adolescent.
 

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Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Fallen?
 

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Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :
 
It seems odd that only that one bit of Binyon has remained in the literary consciousness...
 

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Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Possibly because it gives the order to bin yon (your choice of dispensable article). You need to be from Yorkshire to fully comprehend.
 

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Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
I had a very enjoyable holiday in Yorkshire many moons ago when I still thought staying in a caravan was civilised.
 

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Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
True civilisation requires four grounded walls, a roof, and GIN.
 

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Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
Ginny is one of the happiest people I know, yet she has had a difficult life in many ways. I wish I could bottle her smile, and take a dose of it when I'm feeling gloomy.
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Abraham Lincoln said that most people are as happy as they want to be.
 

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Posted by Jengie Jon (# 273) on :
 
Lincoln Cathedral is one of the most impressive in England but miles from anywhere else apart from Lincoln.

Jengie
 

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Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
I drive a round trip of 46 miles to and from work every day. One becomes accustomed.
 

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Posted by ChaliceGirl (# 13656) on :
 
Atlantic City, NJ is about 46-50 miles from my house.
 

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Posted by Cara (# 16966) on :
 
46-50 is the age I would be happy for people to think I am, as I am really in my mid-fifties ("mid-fifties" will go on till at least 59, I reckon).

Which is why I forget things. I KNEW, once, that this thread was fun, but proceeded to forget that, get flustered by the algebraic title, and avoid it like, as someone said above, the plague.
 

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Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :
 
'59 was one of the best years for Claret ever.

Going off slightly now but wonderful up to about 4 years ago.
 

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Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
That's what I think when looking in the mirror.
 

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Posted by pjl (# 16929) on :
 
Me too, the daily mirror is no better
 

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Posted by Pearl B4 Swine (# 11451) on :
 
The Baltimore Sun used to be a top-notch newspaper.
 

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Posted by Kyzyl (# 374) on :
 
The Ravens had a good season last year.
 

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Posted by ArachnidinElmet (# 17346) on :
 
FYI, you should always season a bird well before serving it at table.
 

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Posted by roybart (# 17357) on :
 
Now is the season of our discontent made glorious summer ...
 

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Posted by Gwai (# 11076) on :
 
If the seasonings on your dinner table remind you of a battle, perhaps you (or your spouse or someone?) is using a bit too much.
 

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Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
A bit is used in a horse's mouth, as my English teacher always used to say.
 

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Posted by roybart (# 17357) on :
 
I loved Alec Guiness' performance in The Horse's Mouth

[ 21. May 2013, 05:44: Message edited by: roybart ]
 

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Posted by Cara (# 16966) on :
 
I think I need to read this acclaimed Joyce Cary novel again, as I didn't appreciate it properly the first time.
 

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Posted by roybart (# 17357) on :
 
Someone mentioned Joyce Grenfell on the Wagner Anniversary thread yestetday, but it turned out that he was thinking of Anna Russell.

[ 21. May 2013, 15:36: Message edited by: roybart ]
 

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Posted by Gwai (# 11076) on :
 
I never know how to pronounce Wagner when it is someone's dog's name--however I do it, it usually turns out they intended the other!
 

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Posted by roybart (# 17357) on :
 
You can tell quite a lot about people based on what they call their dogs, and how they pronounce it.
 

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Posted by Kyzyl (# 374) on :
 
I've wondered, not often, when Cholmondely came to be pronounced as Chum'lee.
 

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Posted by Smudgie (# 2716) on :
 
I've often wondered how to pronounce your name - it's certainly a cool one!
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I think a sense of wonder is a possible prerequisite for a spiritual life.
 

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Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :
 
I can't make any sense out of that.
 

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Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Sense and Sensibility is one of my favourite books. The film was good, too.
 

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Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
Cling film is extremely good and extremely useful at covering and sealing dishes of left-over food for future use.
 

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Posted by Gwai (# 11076) on :
 
The future-perfect tense, on the other hand is one of the least used tenses.
 

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Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Even the future can't be perfect: the past certainly isn't. And as for the present...
 

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Posted by Jengie Jon (# 273) on :
 
My favourite present last Christmas was this scarf that a couple of retired paediatricians got me.
 

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Posted by Leorning Cniht (# 17564) on :
 
I have several scarves in varying sizes, but I think I'm going to need bigger pockets.
 

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Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :
 
On the odd occasions when I am really hungry, I scarf my food down.
 

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Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
Raw oysters seem like really odd food, to put it mildly.
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
In my pub-drinking days I quite enjoyed a few pints of Mild-&-Bitter.
 

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Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
If you drink pubs you have a serious problem, most people prefer something liquid as it's easier on the throat.
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
In the days before washing up liquid I remember my father using ordinary washing powder - Tide™ was the choice, if I remember correctly.
 

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Posted by pjl (# 16929) on :
 
Aways fascinated watching the tide coming in and flattening sand castles.
 

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Posted by Smudgie (# 2716) on :
 
I have a lovely series of photos of a little French toddler flattening the sandcastle my boys had built on the beach in France.

(My boys had gone to get an icecream, asking me to "watch their sandcastle" while they were gone... so I did......)
 

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Posted by Jengie Jon (# 273) on :
 
If you are lactose intolerant then Swedish Glace is a very good substitute for ice cream.

Jengie
 

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Posted by roybart (# 17357) on :
 
I have always enjoyed the sound of spoken Swedish, in Bergman films especially.
 

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Posted by Hedgehog (# 14125) on :
 
I particularly love the films of Myrna Loy. Her career started being typecast as a faux Asian temptress (see, for example, The Mask of Fu Manchu), and then she managed to change her screen image to become the "perfect wife" of the Thin Man films and others.
 

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Posted by roybart (# 17357) on :
 
I wonder whether St. Loy's Cove in Cornwall was named after the patron saint of goldsmiths, St, Loye.

[ 28. May 2013, 00:07: Message edited by: roybart ]
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Would I be right in assuming his first name was Al?
 

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Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
No, that's Al Luminium.
 

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Posted by Hedgehog (# 14125) on :
 
With the new LED technology for lightbulbs, I have noticed that there seems to be little or no correlation between wattage and lumens.
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I have sometimes felt led to do various things.
 

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Posted by roybart (# 17357) on :
 
Variety, some say, is the spice of life.
 

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Posted by Hedgehog (# 14125) on :
 
Which raises the obvious question: How can they get away with calling it "allspice" when it clearly is not all of the spices? Are there no such things as truth-in-advertising laws? Or are they just not being enforced? Personally, I blame the President.
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I have a close friend whose surname is Lawes - but he isn't a lawyer but an architect, now retired.
 

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Posted by roybart (# 17357) on :
 
Our tortoiseshell cat is extremely gregarious when it is just the three of us at home, but retires to her private hiding place whenever we have guests.
 

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Posted by Pearl B4 Swine (# 11451) on :
 
I have some faux (plastic) tortoiseshell combs for my hair, which is longer than it's been in quite a long time.
 

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Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :
 
I never use combs for hair, only a brush.
 

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Posted by roybart (# 17357) on :
 
After a terrifying brush with death on the autostrada, Signora Piatti resolved never to travel without her rosary and helmet.
 

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Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :
 
On the autostrada is where you get to see passenger hand-signals at their finest:

• hands over the eyes
• hands over the mouth
• hands over the steering wheel
• sign of the cross

 

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Posted by roybart (# 17357) on :
 
Where I live, the use of the turn signal seems to be a dying art; possibly the demands of phoning, texting, drinking coffee, and eating lunch make it just too difficult to accomplish.
 

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Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
I've never gotten the hang of texting, but I should, if only to be better prepared for the Big One in California. When voice contact goes down, text will often get through I hear.
 

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Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
When Mr. C. texted to say he'd attended the church fete, predictive text thought he wanted to say 'church feud'. I suspect, in many cases, that's far more appropriate!
 

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Posted by Jengie Jon (# 273) on :
 
At the last church fete I attended the Girl Guides had a balloon race but it was so wet that the furthest they got was the nearby Anglican Church.

Jengie
 

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Posted by roybart (# 17357) on :
 
I wonder why "fete" is almost never used in the USA. When it comes to churches, "fair" seems to be the norm.
 

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Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
I was a Renn Faire nerd for twelve years. I sort of miss traipsing around in a tight bodice. Faire is the place to be plus size.
 

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Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
As a one time costumier for an amateur opera I know what makes a bodice tight and close-fitting- other than the contents.
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
The Contents section at the beginning of a book is seldom as revealing as the Index at the end.
 

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Posted by roybart (# 17357) on :
 
... which reminds me of some indexing I did when I was in grad school; I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the job.
 

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Posted by Pearl B4 Swine (# 11451) on :
 
Sometimes my right index finger sort of locks up, which makes playing scale passages hazardous.
 

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Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
I only lock my deadbolt, never my doorknob lock, so I avoid locking myself out. As for security, if a thief gets through the deadbolt, the knob lock is a cinch to follow.
 

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Posted by roybart (# 17357) on :
 
Those aspiring to Franciscan chic are advised to cinch their cassocks with a length of rope.

[ 06. June 2013, 05:06: Message edited by: roybart ]
 

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Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Waist cinching is uncomfortable. Much better to choose clothes which glide tactfully over the lumpy bits.
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I have always thought that gliding tactilely is more fun.
 

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Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
The buses a friend drives are called gliders.
 

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Posted by roybart (# 17357) on :
 
It is most awkward when a friend who is a bad driver, one who risks lives every time he takes the wheel, offers to give you a ride.
 

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Posted by Kyzyl (# 374) on :
 
I used be be a bad driver, but then I talked to my golf pro and got it sorted out.
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Sorting out my stuff after unpacking from a trip can take me months!
 

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Posted by Emily Windsor-Cragg (# 17687) on :
 
The official NASA version is that a trip to Mars takes 8.5 months; but I doubt that too.

Listen to my new podcast episode Religion is Para"Normal" AND THIS EPISODE IS A TRIP TO MARS

at the top of page at

http://www.abidemiracles.com/LINKS.htm
 

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Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
I think this Mars pendant is adorable. Only you and your astrologer would know what it was.
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I see that in Canada Mars, along with some other companies, are in trouble about possible price fixing.
 

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Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
Considering the price you pay for a Mars bar in Canada, they deserve to be in trouble.
 

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Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
I happen to be in Jasper at the moment, having walked on a glacier today.
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I wonder if Fox's Glacier Mints™ are named after Fox Glacier in New Zealand.
 

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Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
New Zealand conveniently rhymes with Cream Tealand, should you ever wish to use it in a Limerick.
 

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Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Limerick is one of the places in Ireland I've never visited.
 

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Posted by roybart (# 17357) on :
 
Mme. Asperge complains that her son never visits her without asking for money.
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Unannounced visits are the bane of my life! I hate people "just turning up" though it seems par for the course here.
 

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Posted by Pearl B4 Swine (# 11451) on :
 
I have never cared all that much for turnips, although I think they are rather pretty, purple and white.
 

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Posted by roybart (# 17357) on :
 
Coincidentally, purple and white are the school colors of my former college.
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Weeks ago we went to the opening of a metal fabrication plant and our friend who works there was explaining the use of a "former" - I understood perhaps one word in three.
 

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Posted by roybart (# 17357) on :
 
"An absurd fabrication," was all the vicar could say when she first heard Deacon Deekin's theory that the reference to Leviathan in scripture proved that humans and dinosaurs had coexisted on our planet not all that long ago.
 

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Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
And why not? Moby Dick and Captain Whatsit coexisted until the Leviathan put paid to the Captain.
 

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Posted by roybart (# 17357) on :
 
I love the phrase "put paid," which seems not to exist here in the US.
 

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Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
I like the phrase "beholden to", which crossed the pond with the Mayflower, and is no longer used in the UK.
 

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Posted by roybart (# 17357) on :
 
What are "may flowers," anyway? A particular species? A category that varies depending on ecological area? Or what?
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Flowers was a particularly obnoxious brew of British beer.
 

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Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :
 
Bud Light is a particularly obnoxious brew of beer-flavoured water.
 

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Posted by roybart (# 17357) on :
 
I wonder how "light" came to be pronounced "lite" without the "g" sound.
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
The other day I was trying to explain to my new spoken English student the vagaries of British English pronunciation using -ough - I was just as confused as he was.
 

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Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
You can have a tough, rough ride in the classroom as the wind soughs, the bough breaks, and the dough refuses to rise. And that's without mentioning a lough.
 

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Posted by Pearl B4 Swine (# 11451) on :
 
O thanks. That reminds mie, I must bye a lough of bred twoday beefore I comb hoam.
 

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Posted by Pearl B4 Swine (# 11451) on :
 
[ Sorry for the typo: I meant "gough" hoam.]
 

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Posted by roybart (# 17357) on :
 
It seems to me that one of the later Roman emperors lasted only two days before he was assassinated, but 8I may be misremembering.
 

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Posted by roybart (# 17357) on :