quote:

---

Originally posted by Spike:
What is cornstarch? Is that what we would call cornflour? Am I correct in thinking that green onions are spring onions?

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quote:

---

Originally posted by Sarasa:
Seeing as the last thread has now been tidied away with the demise of 2015 I thought I'd start a new one as I have a query.
I'm thinking of going vegan for Lent. I'm OK with food recipes (I think) as I'm already vegetarian and can adapt any with cheese, but I do like a nice cup of tea. Does anyone know of any milk substitute that doesn't taste vile in tea?

---

Haven't tried it in tea, but I prefer cashew milk to almond. Creamier texture.
 

---

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
I think you're looking for "whitener" or "creamer". "Coffee Mate" might be the sort of thing, it's non-dairy. Comes in powdered and liquid forms.

Would you consider omitting the milk substitute altogether and having a spoonful of honey in your tea? It's surprisingly nice - mellower than ordinary sugar.
 

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Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
Many vegans eschew honey since it is an animal product. (Poor exploited bees! )
 

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Posted by Golden Key (# 1468) on :
 
What about stevia as a sweetener? It's plant-based. I'm not sure if I've tried it, but lots of people use it.

Not necessarily for tea, but blackstrap/unsulphured molasses is a good sweetener, and tends to have a little bit of a bite to it. Plus lots of minerals. Start with a *tiny* amount, though--some people have a little trouble with digesting the iron, I think. (IANAD.) Lighter forms of molasses might be suitable for some teas.
 

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Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :
 
I've trained myself not to have sugar in tea, but that's with cow's milk, which adds sweetness itself. I halved the amount over a few weeks. Down to one spoon, then half a spoon, then the amount of a salt spoon, then everyone laughed and I stopped completely.
I find with sweeteners that they are too sweet, and half an hour later I feel I want something sweet again.
I have used almond milk in milky drinks like cocoa, made from powder*, but the makers added agave to the originally unsweetened stuff, which has changed my taste for it. I have now bought some almond flour from Sainsburys to try instead. I never tried it in tea, though.
*Because I didn't want to use liquid milk all at once.

[ 15. January 2016, 08:34: Message edited by: Penny S ]
 

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Posted by lilBuddha (# 14333) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Golden Key:
What about stevia as a sweetener? It's plant-based. I'm not sure if I've tried it, but lots of people use it.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Adam.:
How tight are eye-glasses meant to be? I just got new glasses (slight change in prescription) and I keep having to push them up my nose (hmm... not like that... you know what I mean). I never had to do that with my old pair, but they always left marks either side of the bridge of my nose. Were the old pair too tight and these right, or should I get these tightened?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Doublethink.:
Why is it Cambridge and Oxford get multiple teams on University Challenge when other institutions do not - even if they also have a college system ?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Doublethink.:
Why is it Cambridge and Oxford get multiple teams on University Challenge when other institutions do not - even if they also have a college system ?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Ariel:

My own query is: if it was possible to find a wonder drug that got rid of the plaques in brains that cause dementia, would everything return to normal, or would the bits that the plaques had tangled around be physically damaged, and the person incapable of making a complete recovery?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by St. Gwladys:
One of my social work colleagues bought himself one and polished it, just to prove that you can polish t***s after all.

---

I have a regular meeting that that would make a wonderful prop for.
 

---

Posted by lilBuddha (# 14333) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by St. Gwladys:
Tangent to the discussion on coprolites:
One of my social work colleagues bought himself one and polished it, just to prove that you can polish t***s after all.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by lilBuddha:
The Mythbusters successfully polished fresh poop. Well the process took several days, so fresh is relative, but it didn't need to have been converted to stone.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by North East Quine:
This is a computer problem, but I can't find a current computer thread.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Spike:

Has anyone ever come across this game and can explain how it works?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Spike:
Has anyone ever come across this game and can explain how it works?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by North East Quine:
... the leaves were to be used for a secret purpose ...

---

Soup?
 

---

Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :
 
Stinging nettles were collected for people to make soup.

Tougher nettles were collected and fermented down because the resulting liquid speeds up compost-making and so was a valuable for use on farms.

Children in the British countryside were paid to collect a whole variety of medicinal and useful plants, and were paid a small amount for their efforts. In fact plant and weed collection was a common in rural areas as scrap metal collection in towns and cities.
 

---

Posted by Albertus (# 13356) on :
 
Nettle soup's good.
I vaguely recall hearing something about nettle fibre being used for bandages or dressings- does that sound right?
 

---

Posted by North East Quine (# 13049) on :
 
It must have been more than soup, the collection was being organised by someone with a D.Sc in botany, working in a pharmacy lab. Perhaps it was an experiment which didn't come to anything.
 

---

Posted by mdijon (# 8520) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by LeRoc:
They tried to extract the component that makes your skin itch to use in chemical warfare?

---

Apparently compounds that cause skin irritation are even called "nettle agents". Whether any of them bear any direct relationship to compounds found in nettles I don't know.
 

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Posted by Galloping Granny (# 13814) on :
 
The New Zealand nettle is a small graceful tree, urtica ferox, and is indeed ferocious – it has been known to kill.

As kids in wartime we collected ergot, common then on marram grass (funny, you don't see any now) – was it for blood clotting medication or something?

I remember the whole school going to a river valley to pick rose hips to make syrup for vitamin c for babies because we couldn't get enough oranges.

GG
 

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Posted by Curiosity killed ... (# 11770) on :
 
We were still picking rosehips in the late 1960s for rosehip syrup. We took them into our primary school for collection. I just remember a big collection vessel we tipped them into. I guess we were collecting for Delrosa and school funds, because I just remember Delrosa rosehip syrup being given to my little sister at the baby clinic.

Apparently rosehip syrup is now being remarketed as a relief for arthritis.
 

---

Posted by Jonah the Whale (# 1244) on :
 
There is a whole company in the Netherlands founded on rosehip syrup. It started in 1956. roosvicee - rose v.c. (vitamin c)
 

---

Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Can anyone tell me how to upload photos to the ship? Yes, there are still technological stone-agers around who don't know..... I have them on file, but don't know how to proceed.
 

---

Posted by Curiosity killed ... (# 11770) on :
 
You can't upload photos to the Ship (unless you're RooK abusing his administration rights). That function is disabled.

If you want to share a photo on the Ship you have to upload the photo to a photo sharing site, lots of them around: Flickr, Photobucket, whatever, and then post the link on the Ship.
 

---

Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :
 

quote:

---

Jonah the Whale: There is a whole company in the Netherlands founded on rosehip syrup. It started in 1956. roosvicee - rose v.c. (vitamin c)

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Curiosity killed ...:
You can't upload photos to the Ship (unless you're RooK abusing his administration rights). That function is disabled.

If you want to share a photo on the Ship you have to upload the photo to a photo sharing site, lots of them around: Flickr, Photobucket, whatever, and then post the link on the Ship.

---

Thanks, Curiosity. I'll take it from there.
 

---

Posted by John Holding (# 158) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Galloping Granny:


As kids in wartime we collected ergot, common then on marram grass (funny, you don't see any now) – was it for blood clotting medication or something?


GG

---

quote:

---

Galloping Granny: As kids in wartime we collected ergot, common then on marram grass (funny, you don't see any now) – was it for blood clotting medication or something?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by georgiaboy:
Bread made with ergot-infected grain (flour) gave a skin condition that was very similar to that of the Plague (black death).

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Adam.:
Art history fans: does anyone know of a depiction in art (painting, sculpture... anything visual really) of the meeting of Dido and Aeneas in Hades? There's plenty of their earthly love story, Dido's death, and Aeneas' entry into the underworld, but I can't find anything of their meeting there. This would just be a 'backdrop' to something I'll be presenting, so not super important, but curious if anyone has any leads.

---

Try this: http://hoocher.com/Publius_Vergilius_Maro/Aeneas_and_Dido_in_the_Underworld.jpg
 

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Posted by Lamb Chopped (# 5528) on :
 
And another. Wish it had an attribution for you! http://aneidbook6.weebly.com/uploads/1/6/5/5/16551666/523801868.jpg?270
 

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Posted by Adam. (# 4991) on :
 
Thanks, LC!
 

---

Posted by Huia (# 3473) on :
 
I have a brother in the US who gave me his cellphone number, the trouble is I don't know the prefix to ring for International calls there. Is it different if you're calling a cellphone? His number is 10 digits long and starts 323.

I realise this is probably fairly simple, but it's been a difficult day and I amfairly simple too

Huia
 

---

Posted by Leorning Cniht (# 17564) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Huia:
I have a brother in the US who gave me his cellphone number, the trouble is I don't know the prefix to ring for International calls there. Is it different if you're calling a cellphone? His number is 10 digits long and starts 323.

I realise this is probably fairly simple, but it's been a difficult day and I amfairly simple too

Huia

---

The country code for the US is '1'. So you dial whatever you dial to get an international number, which I think is 00 from your part of the world, then 1, then 323 and the rest of it.

so 00-1-323-xxx-xxxx
 

---

Posted by Huia (# 3473) on :
 
Wow 13 digits! Thanks Leorning. Now I see it written I remember I used to ring him on a landline - it was just it being a cellphone that put me off. I have had so much trouble with my landline and internet breaking down at the same time that I was learning how to use a new cell phone that I thought I might have to start training pigeons.

Huia
 

---

Posted by Sparrow (# 2458) on :
 
Is it possible to re-use chocolate that has been melted and set more than once? I have a relative who likes to make "home made" Easter eggs for the youngsters in the family. However they always come out as big, solid, hard lumps of chocolate that you can't break or get your teeth into. I thought of trying to re-melt them in to smaller pieces, would this work? Would they still be edible?
 

---

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
It is possible to re-use melted chocolate and there are ways on the internet on how to do this if you want to go down that route. I did it with some small themed moulds - they weren't eggs though, which do come out quite solid. You won't get the "polished" look from re-heated chocolate.

I did wonder whether adding a little bit of cream into the melt might make the chocolate softer, but I haven't tried this out myself as the small ones seemed to be all right. I will say, though, in my case the chocolate picked up something of the flavour of the silicone moulds, which wasn't great, but better quality ones should avoid that problem.

I also found that pouring the chocolate into the moulds needed to be done very carefully to avoid air bubbles getting trapped and spoiling the look of the thing when it was turned out.

[ 29. March 2016, 11:33: Message edited by: Ariel ]
 

---

Posted by Moo (# 107) on :
 
This question arises from pure idle curiosity.

I was thinking about the fact that Easter falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox. Then I remembered that in the eighteenth century in the Western countries, the calendar was changed so that the dates were advanced ten or eleven days.

This means that before the calendar change the equinox fell around March 11. This, in turn, would mean that Easter could have been as early as March 13. Did it happen that way?

Moo
 

---

Posted by lily pad (# 11456) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Sparrow:
Is it possible to re-use chocolate that has been melted and set more than once? I have a relative who likes to make "home made" Easter eggs for the youngsters in the family. However they always come out as big, solid, hard lumps of chocolate that you can't break or get your teeth into. I thought of trying to re-melt them in to smaller pieces, would this work? Would they still be edible?

---

You can also melt it to have chocolate fondue which is delicious and popular with all ages.
 

---

Posted by Brenda Clough (# 18061) on :
 
The other idea is to run it through a Cuisinart and get chocolate chips. Why not experiment with a small bit of it, melting it and seeing what it is like? It sounds like you have enough there to play with. I would melt it very gently, possibly in a double boiler. The other idea is to transform it into fudge, or fudge sauce, or something like that. Chocolate shavings or chips, baked into a cake, would look and taste great and I bet you would notice no change in chocolate quality.
 

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Posted by North East Quine (# 13049) on :
 
This is a question arising from total bewilderment. We have used the same car insurance company since 1997; this is our first claim. We had a minor accident last week; clipped wing mirrors with an oncoming vehicle. Perfectly amicable exchange with the other driver, who said that he was driving a company car. No damage apart from the wing mirrors. We have (or had!) an indicator on the tip of ours, so our damage involved wiring. We took the car into our garage (main local dealership, part of a small chain), got a quote, booked it in for last Thurs and then informed our insurance company.

Insurance company said we couldn't get the wing mirror repaired until our car had been checked by their assessor. And their assessor is 50 miles away from us, and couldn't fit in a visit to us for a week. And so they supplied us with a loan car while our car is off the road with a damaged wing mirror. Dropping the loan car off with us involved two people on a 36 mile round trip.

WTF? It's a relatively small repair and this is our first claim in nineteen years so presumably they don't think we are trying to cheat the system. The garage we got the quote from is one of the main garages in this part of the world, and is where our car is always serviced etc, so not an eccentric choice of garage to get a quote from.

Why the fuss? The total cost of an assessor doing a 100 mile round trip to look at a broken wing mirror, plus supplying us with a loan car which is worth almost double the value of our own car for however long this takes must be far in excess of the cost of the repair.

Am I missing something? Or is this this standard practice?
 

---

Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Moo:
This question arises from pure idle curiosity.

I was thinking about the fact that Easter falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox. Then I remembered that in the eighteenth century in the Western countries, the calendar was changed so that the dates were advanced ten or eleven days.

This means that before the calendar change the equinox fell around March 11. This, in turn, would mean that Easter could have been as early as March 13. Did it happen that way?

Moo

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Sparrow:
Is it possible to re-use chocolate that has been melted and set more than once? I have a relative who likes to make "home made" Easter eggs for the youngsters in the family. However they always come out as big, solid, hard lumps of chocolate that you can't break or get your teeth into. I thought of trying to re-melt them in to smaller pieces, would this work? Would they still be edible?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Pomona:
Well politically of course, liberal does not mean the same thing as progressive

---

quote:

---

Paul.: You say "of course" but it's not obvious to me otherwise I wouldn't have asked the question! Care to elaborate on the differences?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Paul.:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Pomona:
Well politically of course, liberal does not mean the same thing as progressive

---

You say "of course" but it's not obvious to me otherwise I wouldn't have asked the question! Care to elaborate on the differences?

---

Liberalism as a political movement is rooted in freedom, and especially in the 20th Century, the free market. Think of libertarianism as more extreme liberalism and you're getting nearer. Economic liberalism in particular has been a hallmark of Reaganite/Thatcherite politics - hardly what one would call progressive! Liberalism in the true sense of the word would generally disapprove of things like hate speech laws, progressivism would not.

Looking up classical liberalism and people like Adam Smith might help.
 

---

Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :
 
This is getting rather Purgatorial, but I find it helpful to look at this from the power triangle government — private companies — citizens.

When you take up the label 'liberal', the question is "what do you want to free yourself from"? I feel that this question has been answered differently in different countries.

In most of Western Europe, the answer to this question has been: "government influence". This resulted in a power shift towards private companies (which may very well have been their intent).

[ 30. March 2016, 13:46: Message edited by: LeRoc ]
 

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Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :
 
I would agree that the various nuances of 'liberal', 'libertarian', 'progressive' etc are too various for a Notes and Queries thread and could furnish an entire one of their own.

If you wish to debate them further, Purg is thataway -->

Firenze
Heaven Host
 

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Posted by Paul. (# 37) on :
 
Thanks, this is a bigger topic than I realised. Considering whether to open a Purg topic or not.
 

---

Posted by Wet Kipper (# 1654) on :
 
NEQ - regarding your insurance

If you are wanting the repair carried out under the insurance, (ie you don't end up paying for it - presumably your company will claim the money from the insurers of the other driver) then it pretty much has to be done under their terms, regardles of the extent of the damage

Cynical I know, but the more that your company has to do in terms of the adjuster, the car hire and the cost of the repairer of their choice ( tho' you can try asking for the one you want) the more money they can claim from the other company, which then relates to putting everyone's premiums up.
 

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Posted by North East Quine (# 13049) on :
 
The other driver was driving a company car, and said he would have to do it through the insurance, so we thought we had to, as well. Both drivers thought they'd been unlucky, and equally responsible (unless the other driver has since said something different to his insurers). We don't want to claim from the other driver, as we don't think he was at fault per se. (Rural road whose edge crumbled in the January floods, awaiting repair, so all drivers are cutting it a bit fine when they pass; in this case we clipped wing mirrors, but it's just the tip of the wing mirror, where the indicator is (or was!) The actual mirror is badly cracked, though not so badly cracked that it doesn't still function as a mirror; obviously we're getting the mirror replaced as well. We are far from being the first car to come to grief since the road was damaged.

If we'd had it fixed last Thursday, the total cost to the insurers would have been £300; now it will be £300, plus the cost of giving us a shiny loan car for a fortnight, plus the cost of their expert.

On the plus side I'm enjoying driving a shiny new car. It only had 1000 miles on the clock when they dropped it off. We've only ever had second hand cars, I don't think I've ever driven anything so new and expensive before.
 

---

Posted by Albertus (# 13356) on :
 
Is there a word in English for a lavtory that isn't in some sense a euphemism? 'Urinal', I suppose, isn't, but that's a rather specific and limited kind.
 

---

Posted by Baptist Trainfan (# 15128) on :
 
I can't think of one, although I see that a pit toilet in New Zealand can be called a "long drop", which sounds rather graphic!

An English pseud might call a urinal a "pissoir", but one might well consider that not to have been sufficiently assimilated into our language.
 

---

Posted by Albertus (# 13356) on :
 
Yes, that would be pseudy, wouldn't it? Perhaps you could call it a 'pisser' if you were an Anglo-saxonist.
Fowler (1926) says that the eupemistic use of lavatory was to be deprecated, as being likely to drive the original sense of the word out of the language (which indeed it did): but he doesn't suggest an alternative. 'Jakes', perhaps? But that is surely too archaic (and I don't know its origin).

[ 15. April 2016, 16:31: Message edited by: Albertus ]
 

---

Posted by Brenda Clough (# 18061) on :
 
If you accept the Thomas Crapper theory then crapper is quite nice.
 

---

Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :
 
Privy. Close stool. Water closet. Bog. Cludgie. Shithouse. Latrine.

Any of those appeal?
 

---

Posted by Baptist Trainfan (# 15128) on :
 
I'm pretty sure that "crap" predates Crapper by centuries. I wonder about "jakes" too but couldn't find the derivation. "Shithouse" is by far the best so far.

I rather like the British Colonial "thunderbox", though!

P.S. According to "a well-known only encyclopedia", the word "crap" comes from the Dutch and was long used to refer to chaff, weeds or other rubbish: "Its first application to bodily waste, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, appeared in 1846 under a reference to a crapping ken, or a privy, where ken means a house". I like "crapping ken"!

[ 15. April 2016, 17:11: Message edited by: Baptist Trainfan ]
 

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Posted by Albertus (# 13356) on :
 
Yes, that's a good one.
 

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Posted by no prophet's flag is set so... (# 15560) on :
 
"Dry pit privy" is old fashioned in western Canada for outhouse, though 'dry pit toilet' is said more often, which means it isn't attached to the residence. They are generally illegal now. We calld them "kybo" in boy scouts. "Shitter" is said, but in polite company. W.C. is common in schools 'water closet'.

"Hanging a rat" is a euphemism for the act of defecation; some of the German settlers called the potty the "rat house', which is a play on "Rathaus' which means city hall.
 

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Posted by Amanda B. Reckondwythe (# 5521) on :
 
My Italian grandmother called it the baccaus with accent on the second syllable -- pseudo-Italian for "backhouse".
 

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Posted by Lothlorien (# 4927) on :
 
One outside may well be called the "dunny". Down here.

If it isn't a long drop, it could well be emptied by the dunny man. The thought of being caught in the act by the dunny man used to terrify my sister and me when we were young.

Not much chance of that. He used to call in odd early hours of the morning.
 

---

Posted by georgiaboy (# 11294) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Baptist Trainfan:
I wonder about "jakes" too but couldn't find the derivation.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Baptist Trainfan:
I'm pretty sure that "crap" predates Crapper by centuries. I wonder about "jakes" too but couldn't find the derivation. "Shithouse" is by far the best so far.

I rather like the British Colonial "thunderbox", though!

P.S. According to "a well-known only encyclopedia", the word "crap" comes from the Dutch and was long used to refer to chaff, weeds or other rubbish: "Its first application to bodily waste, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, appeared in 1846 under a reference to a crapping ken, or a privy, where ken means a house". I like "crapping ken"!

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by L'organist:
Why do people from the US refer to a bathroom when clearly the last thing they want is a bath?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Lothlorien:
Or the rest room?

---

I was once at an international summer school run by the British arm of an American organisation. It had a designated "rest room" which contained comfy chair, magazines etc. but not a toilet.

Which caused a lot of confusion!
 

---

Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :
 
Toilet? That is what one does in the morning: ablutions and dressing.
 

---

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
True, but I shouldn't think there are many people left in England who use the word in that sense now. I know what it means but it has died out in contemporary usage.

As can probably be witnessed in the National Gallery on a daily basis by people viewing the famous painting by Velazquez.
 

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Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :
 
Err, still in use in my immediate circle.
 

---

Posted by leo (# 1458) on :
 
My parents used to tell me off for saying 'toilet' - it was 'common'.
 

---

Posted by Nick Tamen (# 15164) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Albertus:
Is there a word in English for a lavtory that isn't in some sense a euphemism? 'Urinal', I suppose, isn't, but that's a rather specific and limited kind.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Moo:
In the US people also talk about half-baths, which are rooms with a toilet and sink, but no bath. Then there are the three-quarter baths which have toilet, sink, and shower stall.

---

FWIW, in the usage drilled into my head as a youth, lavertory is not synonymous with bathroom/toilet/WC/etc. It meant the basin for washing hands or face—what most people call a sink. Where I grew up, a sink was for washing things, such as pots, pans or dishes.
 

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Posted by Nick Tamen (# 15164) on :
 
I do hate it when it's only after the edit window has closed that I realize I've misspelled a word not once, but twice.

My apologies to all lavatories.
 

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Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :
 
Of course when I was growing up it was all chamber pots.

Historically, if you were posh, you didn't go to a specific room to shit - it came to you, in the form of a close stool or a pot, which some lucky menial then took away and possibly fired out of a window.

There were garderobes, situated on the external wall of the castle usually (I have used one in Bohemia; you don't want to look down) or over the river if you were a waterfront property - - otherwise it tended to end up in the cellar, from which the gong men would shovel it away.

[ 17. April 2016, 20:24: Message edited by: Firenze ]
 

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Posted by Amanda B. Reckondwythe (# 5521) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Moo:
It is very rare in the US to have the toilet in a separate room.

---

I have seen bathrooms where the toilet was separated off via a floor-to-ceiling partition. For some reason it reminded me of a confessional.
 

---

Posted by Brenda Clough (# 18061) on :
 
I was going to mention this -- it is common in very large luxurious bathrooms, especially the kind with two sinks and jacuzzi tubs. This allows one person to Commune With Nature while the other brushes their teeth or lools in the tub. There is also usually a separate shower stall with a glass door.
 

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Posted by Pigwidgeon (# 10192) on :
 
I wouldn't want to be the one in the shower when the toilet was flushed -- I'd be scalded with hot water when all of the cold water was being diverted to the toilet.

 

---

Posted by Brenda Clough (# 18061) on :
 
Tch. Modern plumbing valve systems (if you have a bathroom of that elaborateness it is surely all of the best) ensures that you never get temperature variations.
 

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Posted by no prophet's flag is set so... (# 15560) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Pigwidgeon:
I wouldn't want to be the one in the shower when the toilet was flushed -- I'd be scalded with hot water when all of the cold water was being diverted to the toilet.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Firenze:
There were garderobes, situated on the external wall of the castle usually (I have used one in Bohemia; you don't want to look down).

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Nick Tamen:
FWIW, in the usage drilled into my head as a youth, lavertory is not synonymous with bathroom/toilet/WC/etc. It meant the basin for washing hands or face.

---

Still does in Portuguese: a "lavatorio" is place where you wash: "lavar". English has lost that linguistic connection. (Equally an "oratorio" is a chapel, a place where you go to "orar" or pray).
 

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Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :
 
I have recently come across the idea that garderobes were called so, not out of finding yet another way not to describe the function, but because clothes were hung there in the belief that the fumes would do for the corrupting moths. I can't believe that if true I would have reached the age I am without having come across this - especially considering the number of times I have taken children round Dover Castle, where the multi-storey versions discharged into the basement.

I am beginning to suspect modern guides of Making Things Up.

What was the word used for the tiny projecting rooms on the farmhouses as shown in the Singleton Open Air Museum in Sussex? No room for wardrobe use. Precious little for hoicking up medieval skirts, either.

[ 19. April 2016, 13:52: Message edited by: Penny S ]
 

---

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
We have now had no less than 35 posts on what to call household sewage disposal units. I hope Albertus is sufficiently answered, and we can now move on to talking about something else for a change, or answering a new (unrelated) query, if anyone has one.
 

---

Posted by no prophet's flag is set so... (# 15560) on :
 
I think this one may be unanswerable in any definitive way. It started with a child's question about what happens if a vampire bites a zombie and whether a zombie biting a vampire is different. The additional question that arose is what happens if a vampire takes communion wine. We didn't get around to discussing zombies in this regard.
 

---

Posted by Hedgehog (# 14125) on :
 
On the communion wine front, there is an episode from Buffy the Vampire Slayer (which is, of course, hard-core scientific proof of how vampires act and respond), in which she tricks a vampire into swallowing some holy water. He burned from the inside out, ending up dusted. I imagine communion wine would have a similar reaction.

I don't know enough about zombies to comment on the rest of your post.
 

---

Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :
 
The answer is whatever your imagination comes up with. Vampires and zombies are both fictitious creatures, whose characteristics and rules of engagement have been varied and elaborated by many hands.

Who do you want to take as your ur-bloodsucker? Nosferatu? Dracula? Varney? Ruthven?

And when did zombies turn from drugged slaves into brain-eating undead?

You could turn it into an object lesson in the creation of mythic material and its underlying significance as an index of subliminal fears.
 

---

Posted by Golden Key (# 1468) on :
 
Hmmmm...undead biting undead? Not sure anything would happen, other than mutual pain and anger. A vampire bites to drink blood. Zombies, I presume, don't have any. A vampire, being undead, probably wouldn't taste good to a zombie. Maybe they should just go for ice cream?

Re Buffy: There was a wonderful story line where Spike, vampire, literally goes to Hell to get his soul back, so he can "love [Buffy] proper".

When he gets back to Sunnydale, he's insane from the shock of being re-ensouled. There's a scene where he and Buffy meet in an abandoned church. He tells her about all this, as best as he can manage. Then he wraps his arms around a big cross, causing him to singe around the edges, and says, "Can we rest now, Buffy? Can we rest?"

 

---

Posted by Amanda B. Reckondwythe (# 5521) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Golden Key:
A vampire bites to drink blood. Zombies, I presume, don't have any.

---

Or if they do, it's dead blood, hence lacking in nutritional value. Junk food for vampires? There's an industry waiting to be spawned.
 

---

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
Periodically I buy cooked chicken portions which have some kind of flavour coating. Usually on the skin, which seems like rather a waste as I always remove and discard it.

It's since dawned on me that possibly you're intended to eat the chicken skin. I always assumed this was just left in place for cooking purposes and should be removed. Do people actually eat it?
 

---

Posted by Gwai (# 11076) on :
 
I definitely eat the skin. I consider it a bit of a treat as it is less healthly, but I think it tastes the best, particularly with flavorings.
 

---

Posted by Huia (# 3473) on :
 
I don't because a lot of the fat is found under the skin. I am less sure about chicken than other meat as my mother never cooked it (saying that it looked like roasted baby ). In my childhood chicken was an expensive meat, compared with beef and lamb, now it is the cheapest that can be bought here.

Huia
 

---

Posted by Brenda Clough (# 18061) on :
 
I do. If I remove the skin for a specific dish I will save it, and put it (with bones, wing tips, spines, etc.) into the stock pot.
 

---

Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Hedgehog:
On the communion wine front, there is an episode from Buffy the Vampire Slayer (which is, of course, hard-core scientific proof of how vampires act and respond), in which she tricks a vampire into swallowing some holy water. He burned from the inside out, ending up dusted. I imagine communion wine would have a similar reaction.

I don't know enough about zombies to comment on the rest of your post.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Ariel:
It's since dawned on me that possibly you're intended to eat the chicken skin. I always assumed this was just left in place for cooking purposes and should be removed. Do people actually eat it?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Firenze:
Chicken skin is the Whole Point as far as I'm concerned. It's like pork crackling, or the rim of fat on a chop.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Firenze:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Ariel:
It's since dawned on me that possibly you're intended to eat the chicken skin. I always assumed this was just left in place for cooking purposes and should be removed. Do people actually eat it?

---

Chicken skin is the Whole Point as far as I'm concerned. It's like pork crackling, or the rim of fat on a chop. The objective is to get it as crisp and flavoursome as possible to complement the relative blandness of the meat.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by lilBuddha:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Firenze:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Ariel:
It's since dawned on me that possibly you're intended to eat the chicken skin. I always assumed this was just left in place for cooking purposes and should be removed. Do people actually eat it?

---

Chicken skin is the Whole Point as far as I'm concerned. It's like pork crackling, or the rim of fat on a chop. The objective is to get it as crisp and flavoursome as possible to complement the relative blandness of the meat.

---

If you're needing to eat the fat for the flavour, you are not seasoning it properly and might well be buying the wrong meat.

---

'relative'. It's the contrast in texture and mouth feel as well as flavour. I would expect the meat on my Chinese style chicken thighs to be soft and taste of chicken, and the skin to be crisp and taste of honey, soy, five-spice, chili etc - and for the sauce to be a meld of the meat juices, rendered fat and introduced flavours.

I never buy the 'wrong' meat because I am well aware of the various farming methods behind what I see on the counter or in the chill cabinet, and what that is likely to mean in terms of taste as well as ethics.

But the more free range/organic/fed on honeydew the meat is, the more important to use every element - lean, fat, bone, skin - to the best effect.
 

---

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
Answers on this point have now been transferred to a crispy new thread.
 

---

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
Does anyone know of a holiday website for the terminally indecisive? I mean one where you know which airport you'd want to fly out from, but have no fixed idea about where you want to arrive or when you want to be travelling.

There must be one somewhere that offers a sort of "this is what we've got coming up"/lucky dip kind of thing that lets you pick something you hadn't thought of. Surely?
 

---

Posted by Brenda Clough (# 18061) on :
 
Google on 'last minute vacations' and add the name of your city or airport. There are entire businesses devoted to flogging last-minute cruise cabins -- the ship has to sail even if half the rooms are empty, so the price is real low on the last day.
 

---

Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :
 
Depends a bit on the airport. Edinburgh, for example, is not a prime holiday departure point (that would be Glasgow), so Googling 'flying from Edinburgh' will get me a relatively small selection of carriers/tour operators. Thompson, for instance, seem to do half a dozen destinations and leave on Saturdays.

Otoh, if it's Gatwick, you could still be boggled for choice.
 

---

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
I'm not actually looking for last-minute stuff, just pot-luck. I have seen such a site but can't remember where it was.

My local airport's website has recently been redesigned for increased unhelpfulness and browser incompatibility. They've done quite a good job on it as it now finds you a flight (if you tell it your travel dates) and cuts out all the inconvenient stuff like asking you what time you want to go at. You can, of course, click on the link to accept the flights and price they present you with, and then spend an indefinite amount of time staring at a completely blank page.
 

---

Posted by M. (# 3291) on :
 
I can' t link but is it Thomas Cook inspire me?

M.
 

---

Posted by The Intrepid Mrs S (# 17002) on :
 
I feel as if this might be 'a question expecting the answer 'no' ' but anyway - are there any keen runners on the Ship?

Mr. S has recently taken up running again, via the Couch to 5k programme, but he keeps tweaking a muscle in one or other of his calves. As he puts it, 'they keep mooing at me'.

At a recent half-marathon event I saw a guy wearing long socks, which clearly had some function other than decoration - does anyone know if these would be helpful? I understand they cost around £27 and Mr. S can be very stingy over such things *sigh*

TIA - Mrs. S, guardian of animal welfare
 

---

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by M.:
I can' t link but is it Thomas Cook inspire me?

---

It wasn't but that's certainly the principle. Thank you!
 

---

Posted by Golden Key (# 1468) on :
 
Mrs. S--

I'm no runner; but is he stretching first?
 

---

Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :
 
Try looking at places that the budget airlines fly to - the real places, not the city X miles away they're meant to serve - and go there. The other thing you can do is look at places which don't really advertise but have transport links to get out/off if you don't like it.

A godchild went to the Faroe Islands (by ferry from Denmark) and then on by another ferry to Iceland. They reported that the Faroes were wonderful and stayed for 9 days rather than the 3 they had planned.

You can fly to the Faroes (Atlantic Airways) from London and Edinburgh and the prices look pretty reasonable.

And there are easyJet flights to the Azores...
 

---

Posted by Sipech (# 16870) on :
 
Does it count as excommunication if your church Twitter account blocks you?

All I sent them was a picture of some bluebells near a retreat centre where we'd all gone, which they even retweeted.
 

---

Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :
 

quote:

---

Sipech: All I sent them was a picture of some bluebells near a retreat centre where we'd all gone, which they even retweeted.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Sipech:
Does it count as excommunication if your church Twitter account blocks you?

All I sent them was a picture of some bluebells near a retreat centre where we'd all gone, which they even retweeted.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Golden Key:
Mrs. S--

I'm no runner; but is he stretching first?

---

Golden Key - he says he is!

Thanks also for the tip re SportsDirect, Moonlit Door, as he has a £5 voucher (or he will have when he collects his new raincoat!)

Much obliged to both

[ 07. May 2016, 16:16: Message edited by: The Intrepid Mrs S ]
 

---

Posted by Hedgehog (# 14125) on :
 
Thank you Firenze and Ariel. I left them in the tin and your comments share my reservations. Out they go!
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
I am getting ready to make some changes in the house I inherited from my father, where I plan to live for the rest of my life (God willing). Many years ago my parents installed carpeting which they had changed out in several versions over the years. I know there is nice oak floor underneath that I am considering refinishing and revealing. I know hard wood floors are again fashionable, but I have questions about their practicality. How difficult are they to keep clean? Are they compatible with pets? Which is safer for an elderly person to live with- carpeting or wooden flooring? I'm just sixty-one but will get older and perhaps wobbly.

Thanks for your input.
 

---

Posted by Doublethink. (# 1984) on :
 
I have wood floors and a cat without a problem. Rugs are a trip hazard, but I'd think that fitted carpet vs wood/laminate flooring wouldn't make much difference either way. So it may partly depend whether you are going to leave the finished floor as is, or put rugs/carpets on top of them.

You don't steam clean wooden floors, but you can hoover, sweep and mop. Personally, I think they are easier to manage than carpets.

[ 09. May 2016, 07:10: Message edited by: Doublethink. ]
 

---

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
It depends on the finishing. It's sometimes easier to slip on a varnished wood floor (especially if you spill water on it) than it is on a carpet. Rugs can slide more easily on a bare floor.

But if you like the look of a wooden floor, go for it while you have the option.
 

---

Posted by mark_in_manchester (# 15978) on :
 
I have wood floors - man, is it hard work with a hired sander. They look nice though, the oiled ones haven't needed re-oiling in 12+ years, I have some large rugs which don't slip, and a sizal mat thing in the hallway which takes the worst of the incoming sh*te. I tend to sweep much more than hoover, which is quick and effective, and mop rather less often than someone more fussy might.

Painted boards can look OK if they turn out to be a bit of a state in places - you can fill gaps between them with sizal string or newspaper and then fill over that with filler or decorators caulk. White filler will stain off-white with something like a Danish Oil finish and look OK, though not as OK as really going for it and gluing wooden slivers run down from similar boards into the gaps before sanding. This looks great but would cost if you were paying someone.

You might notice cold air blowing through all those gaps with no carpet, unless you do a fairly thorough job.

Phew.
 

---

Posted by Baptist Trainfan (# 15128) on :
 
You can get plastic mesh things to put under rugs, to stop them slipping ... try in Lakeland, perhaps, or even Wilkinson?

[ 09. May 2016, 08:31: Message edited by: Baptist Trainfan ]
 

---

Posted by Moo (# 107) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Lyda Rose
Which is safer for an elderly person to live with- carpeting or wooden flooring?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Lamb Chopped:

Oh, and there are always cats and dogs who think it's hilarious to go running and sliding at top speed on a hard wood floor.

---

Or children (of any age) who think it is hilarious to encourage pets to go running down the wood floor after it has been waxed, knowing that they won't be able to make the corner at the far end...

The sound of the can opener was often sufficient.
 

---

Posted by Lamb Chopped (# 5528) on :
 
You can always install a carpet square on the oncoming wall at the end of the slide...

Or a mini trampoline if you are a bit of a sadist.
 

---

Posted by Golden Key (# 1468) on :
 
Lyda--

If you go with the wood floor, I wonder if there might be some kind of less slippery finish that could be put on it, rather than wax? Or even non-skid? Just a thought.

Unless, of course, you're of the pretend ice skating on the floor sect...in which case, you might leave one dedicated space, with pillows around the edge!
 

---

Posted by Sandemaniac (# 12829) on :
 
This morning's knee physio was punctuated by a nasty tearing sound as the seat of my trousers split. Has anyone any recommendations for lightweight summer trousers, ideally not cream, that will be cool and not lose all shape after three washes like their (Hawkshead, I think) predecessors?

Ta!

AG (sweltering in jeans)
 

---

Posted by Brenda Clough (# 18061) on :
 
In my experience pants must be tried on, to be sure they fit. The butt has a complicated geometry.

If I have to sit for a long time (car journeys, airplanes) there is nothing like overalls, which get you completely past the binding of the waistband.
 

---

Posted by Sandemaniac (# 12829) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Brenda Clough:
The butt has a complicated geometry.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Golden Key:
If you go with the wood floor, I wonder if there might be some kind of less slippery finish that could be put on it, rather than wax? Or even non-skid? Just a thought.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Lamb Chopped:
Oh, and there are always cats and dogs who think it's hilarious to go running and sliding at top speed on a hard wood floor. But that's more or less on purpose.

---

I did that once and got a 2 inch wooden splinter lodged in my foot. I highly don't recommend it.
 

---

Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :
 
Yuck. That gave me chills, mousethief!
 

---

Posted by Curiosity killed ... (# 11770) on :
 
Sandemaniac, as someone else who used Hawkshead in the past for work trousers, now they've stopped selling anything but technical outdoors clothing which doesn't put up with as much abuse, I'm now mostly using Cottontraders or if I want to be ethical People Tree. Both their stuff puts up with the sort of things I do to them and lasts.

Cycling to work I also found taking a change of clothing to work and changing when I got there meant I didn't live in wet clothes all day, just had to put them back on to cycle home.
 

---

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
I'm thinking about getting a bread slicer, as pre-sliced bread seems increasingly thick-sliced these days and even medium slices are fatter than they used to be. Any recommendations?

I might also get a bread machine at some point but am not sure whether it does work out cheaper to make your own.
 

---

Posted by lily pad (# 11456) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Ariel:
I'm thinking about getting a bread slicer, as pre-sliced bread seems increasingly thick-sliced these days and even medium slices are fatter than they used to be. Any recommendations?

I might also get a bread machine at some point but am not sure whether it does work out cheaper to make your own.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Ariel:
I'm thinking about getting a bread slicer

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Firenze:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Ariel:
I'm thinking about getting a bread slicer

---

Is that not a bread knife?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Ariel:
I must see if I can find my mother's grater/mincer. It had a clamp so you could fix it to the edge of the table and was as sturdy a piece of metal equipment as you could hope for. She used it for about 30 years with no problems.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Ariel:
... I might also get a bread machine at some point but am not sure whether it does work out cheaper to make your own.

---

In my experience, it does - very much so. As I've said elsewhere on the Ship, our bread-machine is used at least once a week, usually to make French sticks.

In the supermarket they'd cost about $2 - $3 each; a 10kg bag of flour, which costs less than $10, will make about 45 (working out at less than 22¢ per loaf). That's quite a saving - and IMHO they're much nicer than shop-bought ones, and freeze beautifully. And making them is fun - the machine does the hard work and you get the therapeutic rolling-and-shaping bit.

Win-win.
 

---

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
I'm still surprised that baguettes cost so much where you are. You can get quite long ones for about 75p here.

I'm quite happy to forego the kneading, rolling and shaping and leave that to them wot likes it

What's the best way of avoiding mould with homemade bread, by the way? Freezer, I suppose (though I don't have one as such).
 

---

Posted by Drifting Star (# 12799) on :
 
I find that homemade bread is vastly less likely to go mouldy than shop-bought bread. The exception to this is when I use a bread mix, which I find very interesting. It will go stale more quickly than shop bread though. If I was more organised I would slice it all and then freeze it in convenient batches. I'm not though, so I eat it fresh for two days and then toast it after that.

I haven't costed it, but I think my homemade bread costs roughly the same as shop-bought for a similar type of loaf. The big difference, though, is in the taste. After getting used to homemade bread I find anything else tasteless and boring - and that's for white bread, never mind the more adventurous loaves.

I have a Panasonic breadmaker and can't praise it highly enough. If I'm going to be around I tend to use the dough cycle and do the final rising and baking in my own tin, but that really is personal preference and nothing to do with the performance of the breadmaker.
 

---

Posted by lily pad (# 11456) on :
 
I also use the dough cycle the most. For me, the main cost of making my own bread is the electricity for the oven. It doesn't take long to bake but every time I heat up the oven just for bread I wonder if I could have planned better. Baguettes in the stores here are at least $3 and a regular loaf of bread is often more.

I buy the yeast in a large package and keep it in the freezer. The yeast itself was one of the biggest expenses before I started doing this.

As far as keeping it fresh goes, all of my bread is sliced and put right into the freezer as soon as it is cool. If I didn't do this, I would eat a loaf before I knew what I was doing!
 

---

Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :
 
With a homemade loaf I tend to put some effort into using all of it, so once past the sandwiches/toast stages, there's soaking it in ketchup and Worcester and adding it to meat loaf: mixing with mince and seasoning for burgers: dicing into croutons and frying up with bacon to go over a salad: crumbing it and mixing with parmesan as a savoury topping for fish or macaroni cheese: mixing it with lentils and cheese and chili for spicy veggie bake thing. The other w/end I even made proper schnitzel with oven dried breadcrumbs. Oh, and bread pudding.
 

---

Posted by Cathscats (# 17827) on :
 
I want a Firenze in my kitchen!
 

---

Posted by no prophet's flag is set so... (# 15560) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Firenze:
Bread flour is typically £1.50 for 1.5k. Yeast is £1 for 6 x 7g sachets, and I would expect to get 2 to 3 loaves from each sachet.

So I think my home-made loaf costs roughly 50p.

Other advantages are of course taste and variety - olive, cheese, seeded, brown, wholemeal, brioche etc - and the smell wafting through the house.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Moo:
You can get what they call a fiddle-bow bread knife. They work quite well.

Moo

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by mark_in_manchester:
I don't know where to put this . These posters are all around the place in central Manc / Salford - someone seems to have deep pockets. Does anyone know anything about it? Google does not seem to be my friend.

---

 

---

Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :
 
They appear to have a website - which was the first hit Google brought me. Followed by a report of billboards in Swindon.
 

---

Posted by no prophet's flag is set so... (# 15560) on :
 
Mark, it appears to be another fantasy from the "Freemen on the Land" people. Not sure about the link to the Freemen people, but it has similar argumentation to their things, and I found some linkage when I took a look. Link.
 

---

Posted by Rev per Minute (# 69) on :
 
There is also one in Risca, South Wales. Perhaps 10 miles from the UK Intellectual Property Office (patents, copyright, trade marks, etc.), which seems apposite...
 

---

Posted by Nicolemr (# 28) on :
 
Well it's good to know loonytune conspiracy fanatics exist on both sides of the Atlantic.
 

---

Posted by Curiosity killed ... (# 11770) on :
 
There's a legal name fraud poster up in Romford, Essex too.
 

---

Posted by TonyK (# 35) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Ariel:
I'm thinking about doing a cream tea. Can I use extra thick double cream instead of clotted?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Rev per Minute:
There is also one in Risca, South Wales. Perhaps 10 miles from the UK Intellectual Property Office (patents, copyright, trade marks, etc.), which seems apposite...

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by TonyK:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Ariel:
I'm thinking about doing a cream tea. Can I use extra thick double cream instead of clotted?

---

I suspect that even extra-thick double cream will be too runny unless it's slightly whipped.

Anyway, it wouldn't be the same!! There's nothing to compare with clotted cream!

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by no prophet's flag is set so...:
Mark, it appears to be another fantasy from the "Freemen on the Land" people. Not sure about the link to the Freemen people, but it has similar argumentation to their things, and I found some linkage when I took a look. Link.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Huia:
GG, I have 3 old pennies sitting on my mantelpiece. They were Mum's "jam making pennies" and woe betide anyone in the family who decided to spend them -(when they were valid currency of course). I remember her telling me that they saved the jam from 'catching' and also stopped it boiling over.

My youngest brother pointed out that they went in dull and came out shiny and said he wondered about being poisoned, but never failed to pile it high on his toast.

Huia

---

Thank you; that's interesting. My jiggler is specially designed and it seems it's supposed to fulfil both functions. But I won't stop stirring, or watching the marmalade as it rises in the pot!

GG
 

---

Posted by Lothlorien (# 4927) on :
 
Our favourite holiday house in Blue Mountains had two cast iron kettles on the wood stove. They had glass marbles in them. When marbles rattled, kettle was empty. It did not happen often, but was noisy..
 

---

Posted by Piglet (# 11803) on :
 
I remember my mum having a little glass disc which rattled in the milk-pan to stop it boiling over.

Fine and dandy as long as you're still within earshot I suppose.
 

---

Posted by Honest Ron Bacardi (# 38) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Nicolemr:
Well it's good to know loonytune conspiracy fanatics exist on both sides of the Atlantic.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Ariel:
I'm thinking about doing a cream tea. Can I use extra thick double cream instead of clotted?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Karl: Liberal Backslider:

quote:

---

Originally posted by no prophet's flag is set so...:
Mark, it appears to be another fantasy from the "Freemen on the Land" people. Not sure about the link to the Freemen people, but it has similar argumentation to their things, and I found some linkage when I took a look. Link.

---

What a surprise. Utterly deluded twonks, the lot of them.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Ariel:

quote:

---

Originally posted by mark_in_manchester:
I don't know where to put this . These posters are all around the place in central Manc / Salford - someone seems to have deep pockets. Does anyone know anything about it? Google does not seem to be my friend.

---

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Smudgie:
Does anybody know anything about how the records of next of kin work in the NHS?

Naturally I have always been the next of kin for my son, but when he went to A and E a couple of days ago they told him that they had a different name down as his next of kin - the name of someone whom neither he nor I would ever have nominated for that role (never in a million years!!!). It came as a bit of a shock to him, and to me too, and it makes us wonder how on earth it happened and whether there is any likelihood of it happening again. Does anyone know? (Or know to which organisation we should complain?)

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Curiosity:
The thing that might be lingering is a right to see records - BMA (pdf) (owly link because the original html address is full of all the things I tell students not to use!)

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Ariel:
Recently there was a query about "legal name fraud" appearing on billboards all over the country. The BBC have now picked it up and done some investigation, but what it's about and who's behind it is still a bit of a mystery.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Ariel:
I have a radio question. Is it possible to get LW stations on a DAB radio? I'm a bit confused about what DAB actually is and does, and the internet isn't very clear.

From what I can make out, DAB radios seem to have mostly just FM stations and the ones that are local to your area; I'm looking for something that can receive international stations as there are two I sometimes listen to. Reception on a normal radio is tricky at times so it would be good to know whether there is a better alternative.

---

Have you considered getting an internet radio? Friends of mine have one (she is Swedish and wanted to get Swedish radio) and love it http://www.robertsradio.co.uk/Choosing_your_radio/About_internet_radio.htm
 

---

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
Thanks for that, Yangtze. I had actually thought about it, but don't have wireless internet. ISTM that if an internet radio needs to be plugged in to the pc otherwise, then I might just as well click on the relevant station's radio player and listen while I surf, though it does mean it can't be moved easily into another room.

I've settled for an app on my phone instead which has eaten 32MB of my remaining phone memory (I really wish more apps would give the option to live on the SD card), but is something I can use while moving around, or travelling if free wifi kindly permits.
 

---

Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Information please:

Any botanists about?

Do trees shed pollen by the clock?

It is Teak tree blossom time and I always suffer with my allergies this time of year but somehow it is always at its worst from 04:30 to 09:00. I cope with it and I take antihistamines and so on but I am beginning to think some of this might be the tree'so fault.

Any ideas?
 

---

Posted by Lamb Chopped (# 5528) on :
 
No botanist here, but flowers certainly do open and close by the clock (different species, different times). Winds also come up and carry pollen at particular times, depending on your local climate and topography. So yes, you could be getting pollinated by a clock!
 

---

Posted by Galloping Granny (# 13814) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by ArachnidinElmet:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Ariel:
Recently there was a query about "legal name fraud" appearing on billboards all over the country. The BBC have now picked it up and done some investigation, but what it's about and who's behind it is still a bit of a mystery.

---

Nice to know my initial assessment of the poster as complete cobblers is accurate.

Someone has money to burn renting all that advertising space.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Lamb Chopped:
No botanist here, but flowers certainly do open and close by the clock (different species, different times). Winds also come up and carry pollen at particular times, depending on your local climate and topography. So yes, you could be getting pollinated by a clock!

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by jedijudy:
It's fascinating to consider the many differing methods various plants use to assure their species' survival! I guess they don't care at all about our sinuses or watery eyes!

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Golden Key:
Are you familiar with the book or documentary "The Botany Of Desire"? Author Michael Pollan works with the idea that maybe plants work to get *us* to do things for *them*. I've seen the documentary on PBS, and it's really good. (Clips available.) Haven't yet read the book.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Huia:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Golden Key:
Are you familiar with the book or documentary "The Botany Of Desire"? Author Michael Pollan works with the idea that maybe plants work to get *us* to do things for *them*. I've seen the documentary on PBS, and it's really good. (Clips available.) Haven't yet read the book.

---

And I thought it was bad enough being manipulated by a cat. I hope the cat and plants don't gang up against me or I'm finished.

Huia

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by North East Quine:
Iceland has a population of 330,000. What are the economics of translating a lengthy book such as e.g. Jessie Burton's "The Miniaturist" or a children's book such as David Walliams "Gangsta Granny" into a minority language? I've read the former and though I enjoyed it, it's not a "must-read." Plus, with children's books, presumably the market is at maximum one per household as siblings would share (and some children would borrow from a friend or a library.)

How big does a market need to be to justify translating and publishing in a minority language? Are there subsidies? How does it work?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by North East Quine:
In addition to the writers, there must be a flourishing translation industry. What is the economics of getting a 400 page book such as "The Miniaturist" translated into Icelandic and then published?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Jengie jon:
You are not going to find this easy to grasp but they are darn good story tellers. Basically people consume more books because the quality of the stories is higher, which produces better story writers and so an ongoing upward spiral.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Penny S:
Looking at the author's name, it is hard not to think of nominative determinism - almost.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Firenze:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Jengie jon:
You are not going to find this easy to grasp but they are darn good story tellers. Basically people consume more books because the quality of the stories is higher, which produces better story writers and so an ongoing upward spiral.

---

Anyone in Scotland (that'll be me and NEQ for starters) and of a literary bent, will be familiar with participating in a linguistic subset such as Lallans or Doric. It will not come as a surprise that nevertheless such traditions can have both richness and vitality.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by North East Quine:
By way of a tangent; in the last month I've been to the theatre for a performance in Doric (with another play in Doric coming up); I've read newspaper columns in Doric, and I've used it in everyday speech, but I have at most ten books in Doric, out of a collection numbering many hundreds and I can't remember the last time I read a whole book in Doric. Pretty much everything published in Doric was written in it; the New Testament is the only adult book I can think of which has been translated into Doric, and I'm sure that was a labour of love rather than a paid commission.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Brenda Clough:
I wrote a story once, about parasites manipulating us. It was, as you might imagine, a horror story.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by L'organist:
Try this:

Cum ambulaveris a tempestate
Tene te ad high,

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Sparrow:
Shouldn't it be Vadis? As in "Quo Vadis?"

---

Actually I should have written "vades" (future tense). "Vadis" is present tense 2nd person singular; "Vadas" is present subjunctive. Miss Amanda could never keep her vowels straight.

Now for a really pedantic tangent:

My Spanish professor, knowing that I am a retired Latin teacher, asked me if I knew why the Spanish verb "ir" (to go), which comes from the Latin "ire", is conjugated in the present tense as "voy, vas, va, vamos, van" in Spanish, but as "eo, is, it, imus, itis, eunt" in Latin. She said she didn't know.

It's because "voy, vas, va" is actually from "vadere", not "ire". Apparently in colloquial Latin, "ire" and "vadere" (which actually means "to step forward") were pretty much interchangeable.

[/END OF PEDANTIC TANGENT]

[ 30. June 2016, 13:38: Message edited by: Amanda B. Reckondwythe ]
 

---

Posted by Amanda B. Reckondwythe (# 5521) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Pigwidgeon:
I would definitely tip them . . . . Refreshments and/or lunch (depending on the circumstances) are usually provided as well.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Amanda B. Reckondwythe:
My Spanish professor, knowing that I am a retired Latin teacher, asked me if I knew why the Spanish verb "ir" (to go), which comes from the Latin "ire", is conjugated in the present tense as "voy, vas, va, vamos, van" in Spanish, but as "eo, is, it, imus, itis, eunt" in Latin. She said she didn't know.

It's because "voy, vas, va" is actually from "vadere", not "ire". Apparently in colloquial Latin, "ire" and "vadere" (which actually means "to step forward") were pretty much interchangeable.

[/END OF PEDANTIC TANGENT]

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by mousethief:
"went" is clearly the past tense of "wend" not "go."

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Amanda B. Reckondwythe:

quote:

---

Originally posted by mousethief:
"went" is clearly the past tense of "wend" not "go."

---

Interesting. I never realized that before.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Sparrow:
In the back of my store cupboard I have found an unnopened box of icing sugar that has consolidated into a solid brick like lump. What can I do with it? I don't have a food processor or any other way I can think of of breaking it up.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Brenda Clough:
Put it either into a cloth or a heavy plastic bag (zip loc for preference), and lay it on the counter. Hit it with a heavy frying pan. Smaller bits can be crushed with a rolling pin.

---

Well that sort of worked ... a rolling pin had no effect and I ended up taking it into the garden and bashing it with a brick. Then when I brought it back inside the bag split. I now have a bag full of little lumps and a fine layer of icing sugar snow in the kitchen!


 

---

Posted by Brenda Clough (# 18061) on :
 
This is not good, I agree! But at least brick dust is not involved.....
 

---

Posted by SvitlanaV2 (# 16967) on :
 
I have a question about the Methodist Recorder.

Does anyone know where in the West Midlands (UK) I would find a library or a newsagent's where individual copies of this paper are available? Birmingham Central Library and WHSmith used to have the MR but this is no longer the case.

(I realise that some Methodist churches subscribe to the MR, but I'm after copies I can peruse at my own convenience, not for 10 minutes after a Sunday service.)

Many thanks.
 

---

Posted by Jengie jon (# 273) on :
 
Can you get a reading pass to Queens? They should have copies.


Jengie
 

---

Posted by SvitlanaV2 (# 16967) on :
 
That might be possible. Thanks for that idea.
 

---

Posted by Sipech (# 16870) on :
 
I want to ask about buying a modern tv in the UK.

My current tv is about 12 years old (a Sony Trinitron Wide) and there's a time lag between turning the tv on and when the picture appears. It started off at a few seconds, but now is getting up to 5 minutes.

So I'm looking at getting a new tv, and am drowning in techno-babble.

For example, if I'm asked "Do you want UHDTV or 4K" my answer is: I want something that shows moving pictures that I can see.

Now I have Freeview box and a DVD player, both connected via a scart cable and the current tv is connected to the aerial via another kind of cable (not sure what the technical name is). So the new tv would need to be compatible with those.

Also, some models mention wi-fi, which is something I don't have, and have no intention of getting. My data roaming on my mobile is the only home internet connection I need. Would a new tv fail to work without a wi-fi connection?
 

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Posted by Lamb Chopped (# 5528) on :
 
I suggest you write down the name, maker and parts no (if you have one) of everything you want to keep using, and then take the list into the shop with you. There should be several people who can look at that and tell you what would work.

It would be a shorter conversation if you can tell them up front that you have no intention of using your future TV to hook up to the Internet--either for Youtube, or Netflix, or any of the other services that come in that way. All you want to use is [insert your current TV service here].

They'll probably point you to exactly what you need in 30 seconds.
 

---

Posted by Sparrow (# 2458) on :
 
I have another TV question. When I moved into my current flat a few years ago, there was (still is) a satellite dish attached to the outside wall with one cable coming through the wall into the living room, but with no plug of any kind on the end of it. It seems to be the same kind of cable as the standard rooftop aerial (coaxial?)

I was wondering whether to get a Freesat box and make use of the dish (I don't want to take on a subscription to Sky or anything like that). So what do I have to do - if I get the box and get the right kind of plug on the cable, will that work? And what kind of plug would I need? Is it the same as the one on the TV aerial, or would it be different?
 

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Posted by Landlubber (# 11055) on :
 
Sipech - don't expect your new television to last as long as the old one

Check the SCART connection; they don't all have them. However most (all?) seem to have Freeview built in.

To add to what Lamb Chopped said: think about screen size. Nowadays they seem to come in extra-large or enormous. If you want something smaller, it will reduce the options and make it clear you want a basic model.

Avoid like the plague any shop where the sales assistants cannot or will not explain in plain English why you might want a feature. Google tv buying guide and add the name of your preferred shop and you'll find explanations you can use to check the answers you get.

Check about the wifi. You don't want to find they have sneaked in a registration or updating process which requires it.

[Disclaimer: my only credential is being the owner of a very small, basic tv which is the replacement for a broken two year old model which replaced a ten year old one.]
 

---

Posted by Sipech (# 16870) on :
 
I wouldn't dream of going into a shop to buy a tv. I would only be looking to order online.
 

---

Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Sipech:
I wouldn't dream of going into a shop to buy a tv. I would only be looking to order online.

---

• Alive
• Can find information about that is longer than just short biogs on websites
• research findings relatively accessible to a twelve-year-old.
• British (I am trying to get my niece to relate as a middle-class English child in a local school in a deprived area of Britain).

quote:

---

Originally posted by BroJames:
The ones that immediately come to my mind are Helen Sharman, Jocelyn Bell Burnell, or Susan Greenfield. I also came across this page which might help.

---

quote:

---

What is it called when someone is the opposite of distractible--when they can't/won't pull themselves out of a movie/book/lawn-mowing/what-have-you without force majeure being applied,

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Lamb Chopped:
Black cherries will also stain plastic dishes, cloth, countertops, and any number of things you don't want them to. If they are in a bag, check to be sure the bottom of the bag is not damp.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by mark_in_manchester:
I know someone like that. With them, it also means that they won't (for example) trim a bit off their hedge so as to be able to get out of the gate - because in their mind that would mean also staying-in-the-zone and re-landscaping front and back into the bargain.

I'm starting to resign myself to having lost them to their career, having tried (ineffectually) to help them to change for a long time - it's a shame.

I'm running out of the kind of patience which applies the word 'focused' and am moving towards 'selfish'.

---

You see, that's almost the reverse of what I'm doing here--I've chalked this up to "being a PITA" for so long, especially since "That's just the way I am" was so often said with -- well, a dash of arrogance? -- but now I'm starting to hear a distinct note of desperation, as if they want to change, but don't know how, and doubt it can be done. And my saying "just do it" isn't any use.

It's been a lifelong problem and there is autism in the family, though this person shows no other signs of anything on the spectrum. There is also mild OCD (again, no signs in this person) and anxiety.

I suppose I could just call it a quirk. And yet, it's such a distinct thingy, and I'm hoping if I can name it, I can understand it better and maybe find some way to be helpful (and prevent myself from bopping the person over the head when they get this way).
 

---

Posted by Golden Key (# 1468) on :
 
LC--

One practical thought, FWIW: If X is using a power mower, is there any chance of getting them to use a simple push mower? Would get around the anti-social o'clock problem. YMMV.
 

---

Posted by Lamb Chopped (# 5528) on :
 
I think I managed to impress the consequences of anti-social o-clock upon X sufficiently the last time it happened. The pattern continues, but not with a lawnmower anymore.

I did have the chance to see that X was making an effort this week to break one particular all-or-nothing pattern. Thank God.
 

---

Posted by Mrs Shrew (# 8635) on :
 
The Infant Shrew is due in a week. I'm intending to breastfeed but have backup bottles etc just in case.
Should I sterilise these now, on the basis that it will be One Job Less To Do With Newborn, or next t, on the basis that actually they would need doing again next week anyway?
 

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Posted by North East Quine (# 13049) on :
 
This might be 20 years out of date, but my midwife told me to make no back up preparations for bottle feeding. She said the time to make preparations for bottle feeding was 30 minutes after I had decided that solo breast feeding wasn't working.
 

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Posted by Brenda Clough (# 18061) on :
 
FWIW my daughter gave birth last month. She acquired (mainly from friends) the hugest lot of baby bottles you ever saw -- all types, all styles, all totally incompatible with each other. She boiled them all, before birth, and they are stored in boxes in her pantry. (Her parents had the pleasure of matching up all the assorted bottles, rings, nipples, caps, etc. -- it was a huge puzzle.)
She is nursing now, but plans to start law school in August (!!) and will probably need to switch to bottles by then.
 

---

Posted by Mrs Shrew (# 8635) on :
 
Thank you both
 

---

Posted by North East Quine (# 13049) on :
 
All the best, Mrs Shrew!
 

---

Posted by Ferijen (# 4719) on :
 
Hello Mrs Shrew

Things don't stay sterile for very long, so make sure they're clean now and sterilise later. And if you're hoping to bf ask everyone you see for help if you think it's not working as well as you'd expected.

//currently dealing with mastitis//

Good luck!
 

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Posted by Jengie jon (# 273) on :
 
For those interested in the final selection they are:

• Jane Goodall
• Stephanie Shirley
• Mary Somerville
• Amy Johnson
• Carole Chaski

My niece can choose three of the five. Carole Chaski is probably the hardest, but I wanted someone with her sort of expertise because of my niece's own skill set. My niece is maths mad and a pretty good linguist (first in the family).

Jengie
 

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Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
This week I'm in charge of the projects table for our church's vacation bible school. The theme, besides the theological, is science. I am planning on using the old salt garden creation for one evening's project on transformation. The only problem is that the usual ingredients include ammonia. I don't want ammonia around the kids. The ammonia is evidently used to speed up evaporation of the water in the salt and bluing solution. Would anyone know if a little added alcohol would work similarly? Thanks.
 

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Posted by Golden Key (# 1468) on :
 
Lyda Rose--

I did a search on "how to grow crystals non-toxic". This looks like it might work for you:

"Growing Salt And Vinegar Crystals" (chemistry.about.com).
 

---

Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
Thanks, that looks good. Vinegar is a much better option.
 

---

Posted by Jengie jon (# 273) on :
 
Alright

Walking shoes have changed since I last seriously considered a pair. I bought a pair that is by my standards comfortable from a specialist shop. Today by accident I went for a walk without the footbeds in. Walking shoes did not use to have footbeds. I noticed before I realised I had forgotten these, that despite walking about nine miles I was in no hurry to get the shoes off. This is not a long walk but it is a reasonable length.

So the question is, should I try them out on a longer walk without footbeds or should I continue to use only with footbeds?

Jengie
 

---

Posted by Huia (# 3473) on :
 
Personally I wouldn't, Jengie. Mainly because I used some shoes with the insufficient cushioning (which weren't painful to use) and developed plantar fasciitis, which took over a year and a pair of very expensive custom fitted orthotics to come right.

Having said that - the next pair I tried were deemed by the podiatrist to have too much cushioning so the effect was like permanently walking on sand, and there wasn't enough support.

The whole sequence sounds a bit like Goldilocks and the 3 Bears so I'm hoping the current pair will turn out to be "Just Right".

If you do decide they are better without the foot beds it might be wise to discuss it first with the people who sold them to you. The specialist shop I now use sometimes has a podiatrist in attendance, which was how I solved my foot problems. (Fingers Crossed)

Huia
 

---

Posted by Jengie jon (# 273) on :
 
Actually, a bit of reading around and I think I might need to change my foot beds. My feet take largely after my mum's which are unusual (straight, narrow and with a relatively high arch). This is something of a discovery for me. Mum never allowed that my feet took after hers, so I was told I had broad, flat feet. I suspect the default one is for the average person which basically is slightly flat footed.

Jengie

p.s. I still got my Dad's arthritis though but at present foot exercises keep the bunions at bay.
 

---

Posted by Evangeline (# 7002) on :
 
Can anyone recommend a newish Christian book from a con-evo perspective? I am needing to write a book review for a particular audience.
 

---

Posted by Lothlorien (# 4927) on :
 
Evangeline, I don't know if this really counts as "newish" but it certainly fits the bill in other areas for Sydney. I can tell you from years of experience in SU bookshop that this is the go to resource. Quite small.

Just for Starters From Matthias press and all! Perfect for Sydney, covers everything Sydney deems as necessary. we used to sell out of these almost as soon as I ordered more.

The other one which requires some knowledge and experience of reading books which are definitely more than little pamphlets is Jim Packer's Knowing God. Much more depth to it than the first one I mentioned.

Do not try Tom Wright who has a very poor reputation here as you probably have found out.

[ 27. July 2016, 01:21: Message edited by: Lothlorien ]
 

---

Posted by Lothlorien (# 4927) on :
 
OK, on re-reading this I see you probably want a newish book, not a book for newish Christians. My brain has been a bit frazzled. Sorry.
 

---

Posted by Evangeline (# 7002) on :
 
Thanks anyway Loth, yeah I am looking for a recently published book
 

---

Posted by Jengie jon (# 273) on :
 
Evangeline


How about My Story So Far by Canon Andrew White? I have not read it but it is the sort of book which I could see myself getting something from with very good Evangelical credentials.

Jengie
 

---

Posted by Evangeline (# 7002) on :
 
Thanks Jengi, I'll check it out. xx
 

---

Posted by Golden Key (# 1468) on :
 
Evangeline--

I followed Jengie's link. (Book looks interesting.) I'm not up on recent evangelical books. But at that link to the Good Reads site, I plugged "evangelical" into the search at the top, and got tons of hits. Looks like some are for evangelicals, and some are about them.

If you're at all in the mood for something controversial, you might try Rob Bell's "Love Wins". He's a pastor (don't remember what denomination, but I think it was Evangelical) who came to believe in universalism, as part of Christianity. (I.e., God will save everyone.) He brought relief to many people, and angered many others. IIRC, he got into some trouble over it. Not sure where he is now.

If you're interested in books from the '60s-'90s, I can make more suggestions. I think Anne Lamott's "Traveling Mercies" is from the 2000s. Not Evangelical, per se. But it's a gritty, down in the gutter, finding God account. Basically, a born-again story. She eventually wound up in an unusual Presbyterian church (IIRC, even Jews and atheists went), with a great woman minister. Anne makes some pithy, witty comments. Like saying she'd done something so bad "it would make Jesus want to drink gin out of the cat dish". Much beloved of many Shipmates. Great if you're down on yourself, feeling like you'll never be a good Christian, etc.
 

---

Posted by Sarah G (# 11669) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Evangeline:
Can anyone recommend a newish Christian book from a con-evo perspective? I am needing to write a book review for a particular audience.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Lothlorien:
Do not try Tom Wright who has a very poor reputation here as you probably have found out.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Lothlorien:
Sarah G, i think you have misinterpreted my comment about a poor reputaion. Evangeline and I are both in Sydney where his reputation is the pits. Absolutely rock bottom. She and I would have understood my allusion, nothing to do with the Ship in the slightest.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Penny S:
Mary Rose (how did I know about Barrie's lost bride?) is a 20 inch doll, and all modern doll clothes patterns which are not for Barbie are for 18 inch dolls.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Brenda Clough:
I assume this is in summer, or at least in the warmer weather. If this is so, then I would wear a sleeveless or short-sleeved short dress in some festive and dressy fabric or color, but not black. Not denim or tee shirt material, in other words. Something that you would wear to a cocktail party of the fancier sort. Sexy and revealing, if your tastes/figure run that way. Dangly earrings? Striking necklace? High heels, if you can manage them.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by AngloCatholicGirl:
What in Sam Hill is 'cocktail festive' for a dress code for a wedding in Boston? Can anyone illuminate me?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by AngloCatholicGirl:
What in Sam Hill is 'cocktail festive' for a dress code for a wedding in Boston? Can anyone illuminate me?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Leorning Cniht:

quote:

---

Originally posted by AngloCatholicGirl:
What in Sam Hill is 'cocktail festive' for a dress code for a wedding in Boston? Can anyone illuminate me?

---

"Cocktail festive" doesn't exist, so clearly it's a naturist wedding.

If you don't fancy that, then I'd suggest a sparkly cocktail dress rather than LBD. Sparkles, sequins, bright colors. Glitzy shoes, showy jewellery.

If there's a Mr. ACGirl, perhaps a jewel-tone pocket square? It should complement, not match, his tie.

---

ACToddler would be down with a naturist wedding, he certainly loves running round sans clothes. Maybe I should let him attend au natural

Sadly Mr. ACGirl is unable to attend, so there goes the opportunity for jewel tone pocket square. I'll have to keep it in mind for future events though!
 

---

Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :
 
I think the only dress code I could manage is Weird Frumpy.

Google 'cocktail festive' and you get lots of pix of red drinks in rim-frosted glasses in which various red (or green) things have been drowned. So I think your best bet is a red satin dress, white feather boa and some holly in your hair.
 

---

Posted by Lamb Chopped (# 5528) on :
 
I suspect it means "dress up but we aren't going to follow the black tie/white tie rules or anything out of an etiquette manual." Basically, look pretty and do what you want. (Well no, NOT those rainbow tennis shoes)
 

---

Posted by Fredegund (# 17952) on :
 
Sounds to me like something from the 20s. Definitely the feather boa - if you can avoid shedding. I once left a trail of shocking pink feathers over the lawn of a retreat house after an Open Day. The Warden's kids had a field day tracking me.
 

---

Posted by Lamb Chopped (# 5528) on :
 
Ooh, awesome!

Rhinestones. Lots of rhinestones.
 

---

Posted by Golden Key (# 1468) on :
 
Re dress code:

Sounds like a fun wedding. Haven't been to that kind. But, if I may suggest, be mindful not to upstage the bride. IMHO, some of the outfits discussed might.
 

---

Posted by Brenda Clough (# 18061) on :
 
The other no-fail solution is to ask other wedding guests what they are wearing. If everyone else is wearing rhinestones, yours will fit right in.
 

---

Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Brenda Clough:
If everyone else is wearing rhinestones

---

In that case come in floral taffeta with pearls, pumps and a straw hat.
 

---

Posted by Pigwidgeon (# 10192) on :
 
One of the joys of living in Arizona is that dress codes are extremely flexible. People asked to wear 'cocktail festive' might show up in anything from nice jeans to evening gowns and hardly raise an eyebrow. (But I personally would still go with Brenda's suggestions above.)
 

---

Posted by AngloCatholicGirl (# 16435) on :
 
As much as I'd love to roll up in a feather boa and sparkly rhinestones with nekkid ACToddler in tow, it's going to have to be a floral knee length dress so as not to upstage the bridal party. *sigh*
 

---

Posted by Lamb Chopped (# 5528) on :
 
Ah drat.

You could put the boa on the toddler!
 

---

Posted by Sipech (# 16870) on :
 
My murine guests are back.

Any hints on how to lure them onto the mousetraps? I've currently got them armed with chocolate, though this current bunch seem to be keen on old carrots.

I noticed a rustling in the kitchen and saw a tail quickly disappear down the side of the washing machine. It had nibbled a hole in the bottom of a bin liner. I placed a trap by the hole, but the next morning the trap was gone. No sign of it anywhere!

Last night, when chopping some carrots for dinner, a small bit fell on the floor. As an experiment I placed it next to one of the traps; this morning, that little bit of carrot was gone but the trap hadn't been sprung.

In the past, I've tried arming the traps with carrot but they then never touch the traps.

So what might you try if you were in my position?
 

---

Posted by Amanda B. Reckondwythe (# 5521) on :
 
I hear they're partial to corn flakes. Never had the opportunity to try it myself.
 

---

Posted by cattyish (# 7829) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Sipech:
My murine guests are back.

<snip>

So what might you try if you were in my position?

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quote:

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Originally posted by Sipech:
My murine guests are back.

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I never knew this definition of 'murine' (thanks, Sipech). So now I'm wondering how ' Murine' got its name.


(Sorry for the tangent...)
 

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Posted by Amanda B. Reckondwythe (# 5521) on :
 
What would the Ship be without tangents?

I wonder if Murine was named on the notion that those little red veins in irritated eyes look like mouse tails?

The Latin for mouse is mus. "Muscle" is musculus in Latin, or "little mouse" -- because that's what it looks like running up and down your biceps when you flex them.
 

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Posted by Sipech (# 16870) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Amanda B. Reckondwythe:
What would the Ship be without tangents?

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quote:

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Originally posted by Pigwidgeon:

quote:

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Originally posted by Sipech:
My murine guests are back.

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I never knew this definition of 'murine' (thanks, Sipech). So now I'm wondering how ' Murine' got its name.


(Sorry for the tangent...)

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quote:

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Originally posted by Sipech:
My murine guests are back.

Any hints on how to lure them onto the mousetraps?

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quote:

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Originally posted by North East Quine:
If someone was in their 60s and discovered that they had a genetic condition, would it ever be necessary to establish whether the condition had been inherited from their mother or father?

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quote:

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Originally posted by kingsfold:
If I have a length of rope and want to tie one end around something like a carabiner and make a fixed loop in the other end, what knots would you suggest I use?

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quote:

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Originally posted by St. Gwladys:
What was Mediteranean cookery like before the discovery of the Americas?

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quote:

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Originally posted by Brenda Clough:
The Romans had neither sugar cane nor sugar beets; honey was the only way to go if you wanted sweetening. That meant that sweetness was expensive, for rich people. Roman chefs would, for instance, sugar the meat for banquets -- ew!

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quote:

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Originally posted by Sipech:
I daren't bring peanut butter into my home. I've found that the guest is in fact rather larger than a mouse. About 6-8 inches long (excluding tail) when it ran past me at 5am yesterday morning, having woken me up by gnawing at an empty milk bottle.

I've found that it's quite partial to carrot dipped in caramel. Stage 1 was to leave a bit on the kitchen floor - this was taken. Stage 2 was to put some on an unset trap - this too was taken. Stage 3 was to put some some on a set trap - I will find out the result when I get home tonight.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Galloping Granny:
There's a big drive on here to get rid of rats & other predators for the sake of threatened native species (New Zealand had no native mammals so birds felt safe nesting on the ground – and of course some of the nasties climb anyway).
GG

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quote:

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Originally posted by ArachnidinElmet:
Does anybody have any bright ideas for a good online source of:
1) region 1 DVDs
2) audio books

available in the UK, but not via Amazon?

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quote:

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Originally posted by Brenda Clough:

quote:

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Originally posted by ArachnidinElmet:
Does anybody have any bright ideas for a good online source of:
1) region 1 DVDs
2) audio books

available in the UK, but not via Amazon?

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Are you ISO of specific audiobooks, or just in general? Nearly every audio book purveyor is on Amazon, because they are the big dog and widely available.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Moo:
Years ago I was taught that if you write on the back of a photo with a pencil, it's okay.

Moo

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quote:

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Originally posted by Lamb Chopped:
Small sticky notes. I presume they're going to find a more permanent way of housing them, and that will give them the right information.

Alternately, use light pencil on the back.

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Thanks, everyone, for your suggestions. I think I'll go with the sticky notes, since I can print them from my computer and no one will have to decipher my hand-writing.

I did discover yesterday that some of them were identified by myself over 50 years ago (helpful stuff, such as "my house"!) -- and I did indeed use light pencil.

Now to deal with all the ghosts that are coming back to life as I sort through this stuff.
 

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Posted by Lamb Chopped (# 5528) on :
 
You can use sticky notes to ID those as well.
 

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Posted by Pigwidgeon (# 10192) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Lamb Chopped:
You can use sticky notes to ID those as well.

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I don't want to ID them, I want to send them packing!


 

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Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :
 
I've just been watching Michael Moore in Trumpland, and I can't identify the theme played at the end. I think it's from some war film, but can't place it. Has anyone any idea what it was?
 

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Posted by jrw (# 18045) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Penny S:
I've just been watching Michael Moore in Trumpland, and I can't identify the theme played at the end. I think it's from some war film, but can't place it. Has anyone any idea what it was?

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