The Beach.
Welcome to The Beach, a very special place on the PM Blog. The sun shines, the drinks are free, there are more than enough sun loungers and hammocks to go round, and the camels are friendly. So, take a break from your day to day stresses and strains and relax.
There are only two rules; 1) be nice to everyone, and 2) don't eat the petunias
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© MMIX~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~27~RS~)
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Morning everyone. Lovely new beach and wonderful photo of it.
Coffee is on, tropical fruit laid out on the bar and I'm just off for a swim.
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A walk in THE Park - well I think it was. Hampstead Heath aint bad either. But as I walk on this Beach and chilling I recall yesterday on BBC One TV evening news.
I smiled at the memory of one financial correspondents placement in said piece - that view - wonderful aint it? - in the parts to camera but was quietly chuckling at the way we were. If you want a good natured laugh at how silly we allegedly have all become - about EVERYTHING - seek out a video tape of two men on a Broadway stage singing a Song Of Patriotic Prejudice (The English Are Best) - other best nationalities ditties are available. The singer was seemingly "rude" about just about everybody - but that audience and I - Welsh and A N Other - I think - was laughing with him. I hope we haven't all forgotten how to laugh.
Now today I intend to keep moving and definitely NO SWIMMING. That sea but an Ice lolly - I recalled the various sorts I use to consume as a nipper and could find not one in one freezer recently perused. Now that aint funny in my view.
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What a beautiful beach!
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I see the Lord Mair is subtitled [an error occurred while processing this directive] this morning.
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Darn! Missed the boat to new-beach . Had to swim here unaided.
Lady Sue- bottLE with your name on it on the edge of the beach - just about to be washed away .
Whooooooosh!......
mxx
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5 Molly
Is that a gin bottle with Lady Sue's name on it?
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Morning All!
It's friday! I've brought some pastries to add to the coffee and tropical fruit from Lady Sue. Have a good day, everyone, maybe see you laterx
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Morning Froods,
Thanks for brekkie, can I add distinctly un-tropical porridge to the breakfast bar? I tend to make it quite thick, so if you don't want to eat it we can always lay some bricks with it!
Ah, and to top it all it's the Beach intro I penned many moons ago!
Huzzah! ;o) []
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Freshly squeezed orange juice, chilled and ready for all - except, perhaps, steelpulse. It might go to his/her head. ;o)
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8 Wonko
Since when have the camels been friendly?
Has anyone noticed the missing box of rockets and the short strips of touchpaper dangling beneath the camels' tails?
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Now that's my kind of beach....beautiful!
I don't mind porridge, Wonko, but I'll wander through the palm trees and find some coconuts and dates to add to it...and I happen to know which tree to tap for golden syrup ;o)
Happy Friday!
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Now that really is beautiful! I wonder where it is? Dominican Republic, Sri Lanka perhaps?
Lovely Orange juice Sis, went down well with gossips lovely pastries, not that they were dry of course :-)
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Don't blame me - it was in my inbox this morning.
A man is waiting for his wife to give birth. The doctor comes in and informs the dad that his son was born without torso, arms or legs. The son is just a head! But the dad loves his son and raises him as well as he can, with love and compassion.
After 18 years, the son is now old enough for his first drink. Dad takes him to the bar, tearfully tells the son he is proud of him and orders up the biggest, strongest drink for his boy. With all the bar patrons looking on curiously and the bartender shaking his head in disbelief, the boy takes his first sip of alcohol.
Swoooosh! Plop!! A torso pops out! The bar is dead silent; then bursts into whoops of joy. The father, shocked, begs his son to drink again. The patrons chant 'Take another drink!' The bartender continues to shake his head in dismay. Swoooosh! Plip! Plop!! Two arms pop out.
The bar goes wild. The father, crying and wailing, begs his son to drink again. The patrons chant, 'Take another drink! Take another drink!!' The bartender ignores the whole affair and goes back to polishing glasses, shaking his head, clearly unimpressed by the amazing scenes.
By now the boy is getting tipsy, but with his new hands he reaches down, grabs his drink and guzzles the last of it. Plop! Plip!! Two legs pop out. The bar is in chaos. The father falls to his knees and tearfully thanks God. The boy stands up on his new legs and stumbles to the left then staggers to the right through the front door, into the street, where a truck runs over him and kills him instantly The bar falls silent.
The father moans in grief. The bartender sighs and says, 'He should've quit while he was a head!'
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Morning all, and Happy Friday.
Well done to everyone for breaching the #500 ,mark yesterday, sorry I missed the fireworks though.
Off to St. Georges Market in Belfast this morning, I'll see if I can bring back something nice for Lunch, any/all orders accepted :-)
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I have been on beaches like this in Scotland.
Who needs the rest of the world, build a wall round the UK and damn the lot of them.
We can all sit on the beach and drink whiskey (too cold to grow cannabis)
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How about a nice fruit basket to put on the NCMB, Wrath?
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There's a stall there that sells really good merguez sausages. Bring us back some, Wrath.
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That's one of my beaches (I do have quite a few). Very beautiful - all the better for having powerboated for over an hour to get there. And it was a sunny day which helps :o) Though I did get a tad sunburned.
Today the weather is wet, so I've made a pan of lentil soup. Spare is in a pan on the bar, along with fresh baguette.
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Gosh, I'm impressed, Little Red. I don't have any beaches. Well, I suppose I can lay some claim to the PM Beach. Though it would be a joint ownership.
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Hi Peeps, just a flying visit so that I can add a bunch of grapes to the fruit basket!
RL way too hectic for me today but am looking forwards to the hopeful return of broadband at Sprouty Towers tomorrow!
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There's more to beaches than just sand
;-)
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Joint ownership? Hmm ...
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Share and enjoy, Sid
;-)
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Pass the word around.
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Share and enjoy,
Share and enjoy,
Journey through life,
With a plastic boy,
Or girl by your side,
Let your pal be your guide,
But when it breaks down,
Or starts to annoy...
I'd better stop there.
Any Ol' Janx Spirit behind the bar? I'm having a bit of a day...
;o) []
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I was - hic - wandrin along this here bea-hic-ach and came across thish bottle. He he he! A hic label on it shed shady loo hic but ennyway was good shtuff. Hic. Hum. Lurch. All gone now. Oh dear!
Now, wasn't I shopsed to be hic doing something?
Think I'll have a kip.
zzzzzz
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Welcome to idontcareanymore,
The sparkly pink hammock is free if you want a lie down!
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Lovely beach, Little Red.
Yours ain't bad, either, Lord N.
Wrathy, Preston, I remember that market. Ah, happy memories of a great city.
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Seein' as they are celebrating a 40th birthday I think we should raise a glass or two to Big Bird, Bert and Ernie, Grover, Cookie Monster and the rest of the Seseme Street peeps!
:-)
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Yaaaaayyyyy!
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Little Red, I thought it might be one of yours. I'm pea-green with envy. Thank you for sharing it.
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Never mind pea-green with envy, I've just has some watercress and potato soup - lovely. There's plenty more on the bar.
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I had pea and ham soup!
I've brought doughnuts - jam, custard, chocolate or apple....take your pick.
As I was threatened with eviction for telling you about my recent creativite experience with hirsute ursines, I wonder if I could mention that this morning we were creating flocculent felines?!
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Hmm. Absolutely spliffing, eh?
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Sid (34) That reefer jacket really suits you!
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The reference to 'flocculent felines' reminds me of what happened to an engineering student from Hong Kong who worked with us for a while.
Rikki went to the bank down the main street to change some money a couple of times. On one occasion when receiving his money he asks "How come I came in here with same amount of money as last week but today I get less pounds in return?"
The bank clerk said "Fluctuations".
Rikki replied .. "Fluct you Irish too".
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. . . and counting . . .
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37, 38, 39 ...
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Looking ahead, Sid?
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Well I was counting to see how long my (36) would last. At 45 minutes it is about 40 more than I thought it would manage.
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Right, sorry I didn't make it back for lunch, got a bit side-tracked (cough*pub*cough). I did manage to bring back that nice fruit basket on the bar and these merguez sausages for Preston. Enjoy.
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But shurely they don't do a proper Liffey Water in Norn Iron!
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43, 44, 45 ...
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Preston I do hope they leave it. It's very funny.
It's Friday. What about a sing-along around the campfire? Here are some suggestions:
Get Your Biscuits In The Oven And Your Buns In The Bed.
Her Teeth Were Stained, But Her Heart Was Pure.
She Got The Gold Mine And I Got The Shaft.
Timber, I'm Falling in Love.
I'm So Miserable Without You It's Like Having You Here.
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Lady Sue - I'm very disappointed that you didn't suggest that other favourite:
How Can I Miss You When You Won't Go Away?
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A sol... a sol ... a soldier I will be
Two pist ... two pist ... two pistols at my knee
For cu ... for cu ... for curiosity
To fight for the Queen's ****, fight for the Queen's ****, fight for the Queen's country.
We used to sing that at school.
Sid: Will you start the count please?
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1
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Hahahaaaa Lucien!
I have some RAF songs we used to sing but the Mods would self-combust...
:O/
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2
Preston, I'd mentioned it previously. It is my Number One favourite and makes me chortle every time.
Your tale above (still there as I type) reminded me of when my son was at school and he was asked, as were lots of others, to introduce one of his chums as a 'mutual friend' to a particularly pretty girl. For whatever reason everyone refused. In despair, the chum sent the pretty girl a note which started, "You don't know me, but I know someone who does..."
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What's happened to the blog? It's gone MOST peculiar!
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I rather mucked up the 'mutual friend' bit of that tale, it should have read:
"...he was asked, as were lots of others, to act as a 'mutual friend' and introduce one of his chums to a particularly pretty girl..." Sorry. Friday.
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No need to apologise to Friday. As for the rest of us......
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Speaking of which, Gladys has been a bit absent recently...
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Peeps!
Staying with Seseme Street, we watched this and the out-takes at work this afternoon to cheer ourselves up after a day of idiotic IT Helldesk calls!
Enjoy!
Fingers, toes and other body bits crossed as broadband my come back to Sprouty Towers tomorrow!
:-)
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Thanks for that, Sprouty!
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SproutGhost: Your 475 on the previous Beach: "Sending for three and four pence (and if you understand that you are older that you may think!)"
I once asked my husband what he was doing on the day I was born in 1946. His reply was that he had just been conscripted into the National Service, about to be posted to Germany, desperately in love and saying good-bye to his sweetheart under a hedge (in Ealing!).
He frequently entertained me and our sons with jokes and ditties from days of yore (vetted, of course). Your reference appeared on his description of the faulty communications in the Army, when the message from the front Command "Send reinforcements: we are going to advance" ended up in the HQ as "Send three and fourpence: we are going to a dance".
Am I correct? This is the first time I have seen this reference away from my late husband's company. I was glad of the reminder and slightly pompously thought that it still stands as a metaphor for the not infrequent loss of communication between the men on the ground and those who sent them there.
Sorry, this is a bit too real for the Beach, but I am much distressed at the current events.
*Wipes her eyes and opens another bottle of vodka - d**m, this one is frozen solid, can't be Russian!*
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Hi Cossack Girl!
Distressing times, as usual.
Just a note to suggest that you don't need to tell the truth when signing up for the book of faeces, and to suggest opening a free gmail account to keep exlusively for that purpose. (you don't need to be truthful tyhere either)
xx
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Doing all right tonight...
;o)
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Evening all...
Frace(i)s, me too, coincidence?
Cossackgirl, I think you hit the nail on the head there :-)
Sprouty, I haven't laughed so much all day. Well done that man!
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So, my (13) has been referred for most of the day and then makes a sudden reappearance - without any any explanation.
It makes one wonder whether it is worth the effort.
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At least the drink made a man of him.
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He was better off legless.
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Cossackgirl 56 (post not age!)
Yer spot on!
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But, Ghostie, are you on spot or still working with a it of string?
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:-) two empty paper cups and string! Even the dial up is dying!
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Feed it some porn, the internet's staple food
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Try this:
http://xkcd.com/627/
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Thanks Frances.
Love this one
(and loads more)
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Oooh! Exciting! First attempt at 'refresh' has everything pretty much unformatted on the left. Now it's all gone shrunken on the left.
Fun with Blogs!
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69
I'm shrunken left and right.
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lucien_desgai, WTF!,me two and me Speedos are now up round me ears!
Not con-due-sieve to happy Frogging!
BTW, the ADSL at Sprouty Towers will be back up two speed in abaht 3 hours!
Way Hay
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Now here is a chap this really froopy and knows where his towel is at!
*Apologies D Adams, but Heinz does it for me!*
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Tsk! I hope he plants a tree to offset that.
;o)
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France[i]s, Wot? Mince pies grow on trees?
Crikey!
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France[i]s, Wot?
Have my parents being telling fibs?
Mince pies do grow on trees after all?
Boo hoo!
:-(
No broadband yet BTW, problems with the local loop!
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56Kbps is no good for Frogging!
:-(
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76.SG Tell me about it!
AND my Beach screen has gone long and peculiar - This is the first and I hope the last time.
63. SG - while thinking about that one, I had many happy memories of the hours spent in the car on long journeys keeping two young boys amused before the dawn of computer games.
On a motorway, sometimes my husband will start a chant and the rest of us would chorus back at the top of our voices, like so:
- They have built a new house!
- BOO!
- It's a brand new public house!
- HURRAY!
- It's only got one bar!
- BOO!!
- But it's seventy yards long!
- HURRAY!!
- They are not selling beer!
- BOO!!!
- THEY ARE GIVING IT AWAY!
- HURRAY!!!
Also known as making your own entertainment in those days...:o)
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Okay, I'm going to try to smuggle a naughty joke through to cheer Sprouty up. Now, in order for it to (hopefully) escape censure, I will need to be careful and you will need to be quickwitted.
A man went to see his GP.
"DoctorI woke up this morning to discover I had five willies".
"How do your pants fit you?"
"Like a glove".
I hope this won't be modded. The intention isn't to offend, just to cheer us up.
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Sprouty (75) it is possible.
What did they say about Father Christmas? The Tooth Fairy? It's a minefield, I tell you.
I remember the days of 56k dial-up modems...
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Cossackgirl, Big Sis, I feel cheered.
Long car journeys... I Spy; first one to spot a red (yellow etc) car; making up words from numberplates... my parents were quite inventive.
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But how, you may ask, are dashing airman Diggles and his brave companions doing?
Then again, you may wish to not ask.
*******************************************************
It was a fine sight. Diggles, Algy and Minger, strapped into their cockpits and ready to go to the rescue of Tsar Blogonovitch, the Beach and everything special and decent in life. Three men against the might of Kommandant Schicklgruber, his Number Two, Schott, and the Jerries in the sheds cunningly concealed in the green and pleasant English countryside.
Three men alone -
Oh, and a young woman. “You ready, Fred, old thing?” asked Diggles as she adjusted the all-too flimsy webbing that was all that stood - or wrapped, to be strictly accurate, and Fred was, of course, strictly accurate with gun, 34B slingshot and steering wheel - between her and the wide blue yonder.
Followed by a swift death after plummeting to earth, but it didn’t do to dwell on that too much.
“Webbing - check. Kitbag - check. Usual weapons, garrot, carrot, neutral landlocked European country army knife, etc, etc, check. Kitten - check. Are you all right, Dollie?”
The tiny ball of surprisingly vicious fluff mewed plaintively yet bravely.
“Right-oh,” said Fred. “You’ve got the plans, Diggs, old chap?”
Diggles glanced again at the scrap of parchment Mystic Margaret had given them. “Co-ordinates, extremely clever plan and password all here. Olgy, Minger, all clear about what we have to do?”
“Rather!”
“I should jolly well say so!”
Splendid coves, thought Diggles, if a little eccentric in the undergarment department, as their recent debriefing and briefing sessions had demonstrated.
“Then chocks awaaaaaayyyyy!!!!”
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Cossackgirl: it sounds like you had a lot of fun. Everyone's been having problems with the blog - even Eddie. Hopefully the techie-wizards will soon sort out the gremlins.
Oh Frances! The number plate game. Having to put a letter before the number plate letter, in between the letters and one at the end? Eg. a good word for numberplate UUU would be 'cumulus' - same game?
What about car cricket? Taking it in turns to 'bat' and scoring a run for every white car that came towards yours, four runs for a van, six for a truck and the first red car you were out giving the next person a chance.
Telling a story in turns but only being allowed one word at a time - isn't that on an R4 programme somewhere?
All that remembering has worn me out. Time to laze into a hammock.
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That's the game, Lady Sue! 'cumulus' is brilliant.
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As the soppy camels on the Beach chewed innocently at the food left out on Nick’s Bar for the unwitting revellers who were frolicking in the sea and the hammocks, the Soppy Camels flown by Diggles and his men roared gallantly over the verdant English countryside above the Jerries’ cunningly disguised huts.
“Quick, Fred!” yelled Diggles above the engine noise, giving her the signal. With a wisely swift movement, she scooped the kitten out of her kitbag and dropped it over the huts. “Good luck, little Dollie,” whispered Fred as the now rapidly descending feline got over the shock, extended and retracted her razor-sharp claws and prepared to do that cat trick of stopping in the air a foot or two above ground, twisting herself round and landing as elegantly as possible on all four paws.
“MMREEEEEOOOWW!” the kitten objected as contact was made. But with a quick shake and a wash behind her ears - just to prove that she was in charge of the situation - she ran swiftly towards the hideous, dingy hole where Tsar Blogonovitch was being held by Schicklgruber and his fiendish Jerry henchmen. Squirming under the door, she quickly leaped up onto his lap -
“Ouch!”
And began to shred the ropes that bound him.
Meanwhile Diggles and…
ERROR! 404! Try again!
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Frances, you've been busy Diggling. I gather you are also getting the 'an error occurred while processing this directive' - beeb speak message. Who comes up with these phrases?
We used to score the number plate game depending on how precisely a word fitted - cumulus is a perfect 10. I was pretty rubbish at the game but hubby and son were brilliant.
How lovely to relax on the beach in the balmy tropical night air. Look at those stars! Nightcap anyone?
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Nightcap sounds just right. Mmmm, what a beautiful night.
I'm Diggled out. It must be Sprouty's turn, poor deprived thing.
I said deprIved.
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I remember 1200 baud and 500 bytes of RAM
;-(
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two fat ladies
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AND I remember Burma Shave!
The signs cheered us during the Depression and the dark days of World War II. But things began to change in the late Fifties. Cars got faster and superhighways got built to accommodate them. The fun little signs were being replaced by huge, unsightly billboards."
;-)
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Morning all, fresh breakfast on the bar.
Another one for the car journey was pub cricket. You scored according to the number of legs on the pub sign - four for the Bull, none for the King's Head, and the Fox and Geese/Hounds was capped at six. You were out as soon as you encountered a legless sign and another child took a turn. Sadly motorway journeys and the loss of so many pubs means it is probably no longer playable.
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Morning everyone. Thanks for breakfast Anne - just fancy a cross aunt this morning. Here's a pot of home-made marmalade - one of the last in the larder but still yum.
Lord N: I found the 'Burma Shave' info extremely interesting, apart from historically, it made sense of some of the sillyness your good self and others put on a previous thread.
Anne, I can't imagine being able to score very much at all in pub cricket anymore. Sounds like you had delightful car journeys through leafy lanes in a jolly olde England only just post-dating Robin Hood. That's supposed to sound romanticised, not insulting!
Does anyone know where I can find informtion about pub names that were corruptions of biblical (and other) quotes? My late hubby could rattle off lots of them and I simply can't remember a single one, even for an example, and so want to use them in something I'm working on.
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Found two as examples:
‘Goat and Compasses’: believed by some to be a corrupted version of the phrase "God encompasseth us",
‘Elephant and Castle’: possibly a corruption of "la Infanta de Castile" after a 17th century Spanish princess.
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Lady Sue - leafy lanes it was. My daughters used to go sailing with friends who had a small yacht on the Orewell so the journey was from leafy north Hertfordshire through Essex to 'We Didn't Mean to go to Sea' territory. I seem to remember Braintree was a good scoring ground.
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What an odd format this blog is in today. It's all too much! Think I'll have to go to work. 3rd day this week. I honestly don't know what the world's coming to. Last night our flute & harp duo were playing just outside a room where a disco was going on. With the door open. You never heard such a racket! It was so loud my flute player switched to piccolo just so there was a chance of me hearing her over the din. I put ear plugs in towards the end...Bizarre doesn't begin to describe it!
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Anne, sounds truly idyllic, though I'm afraid the phrase 'We didn't mean to go to sea' is lost on me. I'm foreign, don't forget!
Annasee, sounds truly ghastly. Not your playing I'm sure but the din.
Glorious autumn morning here in RL! Hope you are all experiencing same. If not, aren't we lucky to have this lovely beach?
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Lady Sue - wikipedia has these:
Bull and Mouth: Believed to celebrate the victory of Henry VIII at "Boulogne Mouth" or Harbour. Also applies to Bull and Bush (Boulogne Bouche).
Case is Altered: Probably a corruption of the Latin phrase Casa Alta ('high house') or Casa Altera ('second house').
Cat and Fiddle: a corruption of Caton le Fidèle (a governor of Calais loyal to King Edward III).[12] Alternatively from Katherine la Fidèle, Henry VIII's first wife.
Ostrich, Ipswich: originally Oyster Reach (the old name has since been restored on the advice of historians).
Pig and Whistle: a corruption of the Anglo-Saxon saying "piggin wassail" "meaning good health".
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And now for something completely different....
;-)
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Lady Sue, reference was to the 1930s children's sailing novels by Arthur Ransome of the which best known is Swallows and Amazons, but in my opinion the best is 'We Didn't Mean to go to Sea' in which the family of sailing children who have promised not to go out to sea find themselves missing their adult captain (knocked down by a bus in Harwich on his way to get paraffin) and dragging their anchor in a fog. The only way to get out of it safely was to head out to sea at night with nothing but a torch and plastic plates to improvise riding lights since the real ones needed the paraffin. The family with which my daughters sailed were friends with the family who were the model for the Walker children.
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Who is messing about? I have an intersting blog format.
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Oh! Back to Normal now!
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Anne P (98)
''Better drowned than duffers. if not duffers won't drown.''
One of my favourite sayings. I think it was from ''We .......sea''.
Am I right, do you know?
I loved those books s a child. Wonder if I still would....
mxx
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Oh my goodness! A butt of Malmsey has been cast up on the shore! What shall we do?
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A beach butt?
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Sid: brilliant! Thank you.
Anne: thank you too. I didn't read those books as a child. Interesting that you have a family connection to them. Like Molly, I wonder if I would enjoy them and will test theory when next I have the chance to read to a child. Suspect we have different childrens' books/authors in Oz.
Stewart the blog has been playing up since the new sign in. Speaking of which, anyone seen Fifi? RxKaren? gossipmistress?
Where's Sprouty? Do you think you should line everyone up for an "all present and correct" roll call along the beach?
Speaking of rolls... time for breakfast! Big pot of tea on the bar and coffee is on.
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Re: roll call...
Present!
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Morning Peeps, Im lurking in the background!
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Morning all, just flying by, hope to catch up properly later. D'you like my paraglider?
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I may be here, I'm not quite sure....
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Lady Sue, Fifi is away on filial duties and thereby denied good communications ;o)
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(she's gone to see her mum)
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And, funnily enough, I'm just off to do the same.
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Big Sis - I don't believe you. I don't think you even know where her mum lives!
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Molly (101) Actually, that comes from the first book - Swallows and Amazons. When the Walker family sans pater, on holiday in the Lake District, find a boat that they could use to explore an island on the lake, the children write to their father for permission to go sailing. That is the reply which he sent back, although they have difficulty interpreting it.
"Swallows and Amazons forever!"
H.
p.s. should I have put a "spoiler alert" before writing that, in case Lady Sue reads it? Oooops.
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Hi froggers, RL has kept me off the beach for a few days. Must go back and catch up with Diggles & Co. Lunch time, fresh sarniesand/or soup on the bar. I'll have a lie down now, is the puple hammock free?
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You can have this pink one. I feel much better now. But gotta be off, unfortunately.
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Mr. Wrath, delighted. Fearless, so glad you made it through the firewall, esp. after your grief earlier this year. I spotted RxK on a different thread, so she's made it too. Note Mansaylo is also with us and hogging the pink hammock.
Humph, thanks for yours. I'm going to claim total Ozzie ignorance here and ask what is meant by 'Swallows and Amazons'? Summer birds and female warriors? Is it some "in" British phrase? I'm sure it has come to mean something from the book but, as I haven't read it, I haven't a clue what. Don't worry about the spoiler!
Fiddle de dee - lashing in RL and cold, just as well it's tropical on the beach - so hot I think early cocktails in order. Anyone?
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Hi Lady Sue
Swallows and Amazons is the first book in the Swallows and Amazons series by Arthur Ransome and was first published in 1930. It is set in the Lake District.
Get a copy, settle down in one of the hammocks with a G & T and enjoy.
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Lady Sue - the Swallows and Amazons were named after their dinghies with the four Walker children sailing Swallow and the two Blackett girls sailing Amazon - Nancy Blackett's name was Ruth but she was known as Nancy because pirates are ruthless. They had an uncle with a houseboat on the lake who had a parrot and in due course was made to walk the plank.
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Incidentally Arthur Ransome himself had a rather adventurous life and a Russian wife.
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Thrilling to see Stephen, Leader of STROP on the 'first name' thread. It's a bit chilly for the Plutonian red spotty shoes today, but if you drop in here, O Great One, allow me to get you a drink and a snack of your choice.
ValP, are you around?
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We tried to read Swallows & Amazons a while back. Couldn't manage it, mainly I think due to one of the characters' names. Which I couldn't write on this blog without being modded, I suspect. You should get the book, Lady Sue. I think you'd have a few laughs!
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tee blank blank blank why?
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Thanks all, will get book and give feedback.
Meanwhile... I've just spotted someone who has been missing for a while and think I need a 'real' G&T now. Cheers!
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annasee (121) what a shame. I quite understand the problem which passed over my innocent head fifty years ago. I think the child she was modelled on was called Kitty, the original for 'John' was actually a girl and Roger in real life became a doctor and worked on Intal for the treatment of asthma. I think the original children felt that Ransome liked his fictional children better than the real ones!
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Good Evening Peeps!
Look what I have got!
Date 09/11/09 18:55:09
Speed Down 4225.75 Kbps ( 4.1 Mbps )
Speed Up 372.18 Kbps ( 0.4 Mbps )
Needless to say I have now got shedloads of catching up to do. In the meantime there is polypin of chilled Scrumpy at NC's!
Rememeber, drink it , don't spill it!
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Welcome back, Sprouty!
I'll see your polypin and raise you a firkin.
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I just popped in to say that there may not be any posts from me for a while. Out of the blue, I have been commissioned to work on computer-aided design for a new internet business and as soon as I said yes they started talking deadlines.
So I am off into the RL for now. Good luck, everybody...
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Cossackgirl (127)
Well done...what a pity...congratulations...botherations...!
Oh well....any excuse to open the bubbly...Good luck to you too. Please try and pop in from time to time to let us know how it's going.
*chink!*
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Gillianian I gave you a wave earlier as I crawled past on the motorway. Absolute chaos all the way home, am relieved to come down to the beach and put my feet up. Anything exciting afoot? Congratulations Cossack Girl!
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I'm curious about the names in the 'S and A' book now so will have to get a copy quite soon.
Cossackgirl, congratulations and good luck! As Gillianian says, do pop back from time to time and let us know how it's going.
Sprouty, good luck in your shedloads.
Scored 16 on Uni Challenge - as Jeremy said, "shameful".
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Humph-Swallows and Amazons is is...thanks .I do remember the look of the books . Lovely maps inside the covers. I was at school in Cumberland, as it was then, and alweys felt quite proud of knowing the areas described in the stories.
Lady Sue- I can't bear it any longer and if I get modded , tough...
Goodness knows what Ransome was playing at when he called one of his characters Titty....
mxx
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"In particular, sightings of water voles, whose population has plummeted by more than 90 per cent in the UK in recent years, were double that of last year’s survey. The most sightings of these furry creatures, immortalised as ‘Ratty’ in ‘The Wind in the Willows’, were made on the Kennet & Avon Canal and on the waterways of the East Midlands."
Well, well ...
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Congratulations Cossackgirl, and do let us know how it goes.
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Oh Molly, you shouldn't have told her! I was happily imagining Lady Sue comfortably ensconced in front of the Aga , feet up, large (make that VERY large - we're talking East-German size, I suspect) G&T to hand. She opens the pristine pages of the last remaining copy of S & A purchased from the local shop, takes a large sip of the G&T, and instantly sprays it all over said pristine pages.
(I don't know why he called her that either, but it did make reading the book aloud to a 7 year-old rather hard going. In fact we gave it up.)
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Sid - yes, they are returning... the future is bright and it's furry, cute and utterly determined (with sharp teeth)...
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Molly, thank you! As you see, I couldn't sleep wondering. What was the man thinking? It does make one wonder.
annasee: I laughed out loud at your description! From all we've seen of late, you have missed your calling.
Lots of snoring on the beach and the gentle swaying of a variety of coloured hammocks. If you could choose a colour for your hammock and we could only have one colour each, which colour would you want?
I bag green*! (Where does that saying come from?)
*No sparkles
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Morning Peeps.
Toast , a selection of maramalades, crossaunts*, tea and coffe now available at NC's.
*doesn't contain water voles, but may contain slight traces of nuts*
:-)
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coffee
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Lady Sue, perhaps the explanation was simply innocence! I think it was meant to be what she had called herself as a toddler - I'll see if I can check. I know one adaptation changed it back to Kitty, but the very good film version with Virginia McKenna and a very young Tara Fitzgerald (if I remember correctly) kept the original.
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Lady_Sue re If you could choose a colour for your hammock and we could only have one colour each, which colour would you want?
Can I have a black velvet one with thousands of silver sequins sown on? Then I could imagine I am resting in the night sky!
BTW, hopefully will be able to pick up on Diggles today as long the RL Helldesk is quiet.
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Previously on Diggles….
…. Squirming under the door, she quickly leaped up onto his lap -
“Ouch!”
And began to shred the ropes that bound him.
Meanwhile Diggles and…
……..Freddie flew at top speed, scarves trailing over the side of the cockpit and flapping in the 85knot slipstream, as their Soppy Camel raced in the early morning light back over the enemy lines of Hertfordshire towards 53(F) Squadrons forward landing ground. Freddie was using her radio skills to send a message back to Bonking Binkers Binky from Unintelligence to activate their sleeping Russian double agent and to instruct him to get to Tsar Blogonovitch and help him back to safety.
Dah Dah Dit Dit Dah she tapped out on the Morse key strapped to her bronzed thigh as Diggles cut the throttle and they coasted in over the hedge and came to a halt outside 53(F) Sqdn HQ. Freddie released her straps and hopped out of the cockpit closely followed by a stiff Diggles.
They were greeted by Minger and Olgy, the latter having a bright yellow stain on his hairry upper lip indicating that eggs were back on the Mess menu. “How did it go Skipper?” asked Olgy as he rubbed away relieving his heroes stiffness. “Perfik” shuddered Diggles “as long as Freddie’s message got through to Bonking Binkers Binky then Ivan Knockabollockov will be heading off across no man land right now. All we can do now is sit back and wait. Freddie, do you think you could through to the BBC chap and see if he can send a message to Mata Hari-Kari. We need to say thanks for all her help, perhaps she might like to come and dine in the Mess on Thursday evening. I am sure the chaps would enjoy meeting her!”
With that, they headed towards the Mess for a late breakfast of Sausage, bacon, black pudding, tomatoes, mushrooms, fried slice and eggs. Tea, Coffee, toast with a selection preserves and crossaunts. Things were tough as they were back on short rations. Even more so as deep fried battered Water Vole was off the menu. Something about them being endangered. “Utter tosh” muttered Minger “the Kennet and Avon Canal is positively crawling with them!”
…..to be continued
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LOL, Diggles modded at first attempt today!
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Previously on Diggles…
…. Squirming under the door, she quickly leaped up onto his lap -
“Ouch!”
And began to shred the ropes that bound him.
Meanwhile Diggles and…
……..Freddie flew at top speed, scarves trailing over the side of the cockpit and flapping in the 85knot slipstream, as their Soppy Camel raced in the early morning light back over the enemy lines of Hertfordshire towards 53(F) Squadrons forward landing ground. Freddie was using her radio skills to send a message back to Bonking Binkers Binky from Unintelligence to activate their sleeping Russian double agent and to instruct him to get to Tsar Blogonovitch and help him back to safety.
As she tapped out the message on the Morse key strapped to her bronzed thigh as Diggles cut the throttle and they coasted in over the hedge and came to a halt outside 53(F) Sqdn HQ. Freddie released her straps and hopped out of the cockpit closely followed by a stiff Diggles.
They were greeted by Minger and Olgy, the latter having a bright yellow stain on his hairry upper lip indicating that eggs were back on the Mess menu. “How did it go Skipper?” asked Olgy as he rubbed away relieving his heroes stiffness. “Perfik” shuddered Diggles “as long as Freddie’s message got through to Bonking Binkers Binky then Ivan Knockabollockov will be heading off across no man land right now. All we can do now is sit back and wait. Freddie, do you think you could through to the BBC chap and see if he can send a message to Mata Hari-Kari. We need to say thanks for all her help, perhaps she might like to come and dine in the Mess on Thursday evening. I am sure the chaps would enjoy meeting her!”
With that, they headed towards the Mess for a late breakfast of Sausage, bacon, black pudding, tomatoes, mushrooms, fried slice and eggs. Tea, Coffee, toast with a selection preserves and crossaunts. Things were tough as they were back on short rations. Even more so as deep fried battered Water Vole was off the menu. Something about them being endangered. “Utter tosh” muttered Minger “the Kennet and Avon Canal is positively crawling with them!”
…..to be continued
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Looks like you were modded for the second attempt too!
One 'Diggles' chunk I tried to post last week kept being banned because of the 'Profanity Filter'. I simply could not work out which word it was that kept preventing me from posting (I am Australian... ).
It was the following (I say, cryptic comments, whatever next?): If I 'toss' a ball to you, then you are the 'tossee' and I am the 'toss*r'. I thought that was pretty innocent but nope - banned.
Mind you, I'd rather not have bad language on the blog and do approve of a 'Profanity Filter' - pity they can't give us a list of words we are not allowed to use!
Sprouty - your colour hammock and delightful reason behind it duty noted. I should have asked for reasons behind colours: mine is because of Ireland, of course, but also because Australia's colours are 'green and gold' as are the colours of County Leitrim.
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Lady Sue (144)
And so beneath the Southern cross
They sang their songs of Ireland,
They sent her sons and daughters there in the hungry days of old,
They played their jigs and reels
Beneath the skies of their new homeland,
For Irish hands have woven strands of green among the gold.
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Milady,
It would fail the profanity filter....
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Some words and phrases from the profanity filter:
1 -----
2 ----
3 -----
4 ----
5 -------
6 ---
7 ---- -- ---------- --- -------
8 -----
9 -------- --------
10 -----
11 -----------
12 ----
13 ------- ------ -----
No.9 is allowed if you don't employ a double-l.
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WOWDiggles now un-modded...thanks guys, you are helping to create a classic piece of fiction!
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??
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"Dah Dah Dit Dit Dah"
Gawd Almighty!
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147. At 11:49am on 10 Nov 2009, Preston Firmlie wrote:
Some words and phrases from the profanity filter:
You have forgotten 69
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Sprouty (150),
Allah-hu Akhba?
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mittfh, in another place, tells me that "I get just over 6Mbps download and 1Mbps upload."
Well bully for you with shiny bright knobs on, it still hasn't prevented you from brewing a rubbish cup of tea me ol' Frogging Fiend.
:-P
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Lod Nathan (152)
dont't you mean Allah, Hu Akbar?
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Hello, frogfriends!
Sprouty, good to see Diggles back in action.
(Deep-fried water voles, indeed. Pah!)
Nothing moddable there, as far as I could see. Someone playing silly ggubers?
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Crikey 47 decibels!!!
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Running a spped test caused a (wireless) line-drop! Before that I got over 5 down and .37p,
but it varies considerably according to time of day...BT
back up (wired):5.47/0.37
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France[i]s O, you not a fan of deep fried battered Arvicola terrestris then?
;-)
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If Stephen Fry cn say dogs bowl ox-tail soup on Radio 4 at 9 in the morning, then it should be ok for us too.
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Lord Nathan (157)
well just fine and dandy, but can you beat 47 decibels?
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Plus or minus
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Transliteration from Arabic is a bit fraught...;-)
It does have the exclamatory quality of your code.
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Water vole, water rat
Arvicola terrestris
Water voles are the largest British vole and are often mistaken for a rat. In fact, Ratty from Kenneth Grahame's 'The Wind in the Willows' was actually a water vole.
Life span
Up to 2 years, unless deep fried in a lightly seasioned beer batter.
Statistics
Body length: 12-20cm, Weight: 70-320g can be more if battered.
Physical description
Water voles have dark fur, a round body and a short, fat face. They have a long, fur-covered tail. Occasionally they will appear a crispy Golden colour.
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Sprouty - seems to me it might call for a team effort.
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Would you boys like to borrow a tape measure while you're at it?!
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Distribution
They range across Europe, east to East Siberia and Mongolia. They were once widespread across mainland Britain, but have suffered a significant decline. However, in the Cairngorm area in Scotland the species still occurs in considerable numbers. Here they have been found on hillsides at altitudes as high as 900 metres still clinging on to their little water ratty hang gliders and para gliders. On the Kennet and Avon Canal they are increasingly becoming a menace to water traffic as they get sucked into the cooling water intakes of boat and barge engines.
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;-))
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Parcel post used to use a measure of length-plus-girth
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Gillianianian, naw yer OK, a foot is known measurement but as a rule I dont use it, being metric 'n all!
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Lord Nathan (168) Parcel post???!!!
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Y'know, for packages 'n all...gotta be handle-able by the receiving equipment.
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I'd have thought Lord Nathan was more Royal Male than parcel post.
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Pony express?
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Pony up?
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Preston@145: that's made me cry! I've not heard it before - where is it from?
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Sprouty, the water vole is in fact now known as Arvicola Amphibius.
Known (as 'The Wind in the Willows' shows) for their courage and wisdom, they suffered from many years of decline because of pollution, release/escape of the non-indigenous mink and other idiocies carried out by the species Homo Sapiens (Homo Bardus, among other names, to the voles).
A slight increase in human responsibility has helped to reverse this decline, aided by the activities of the VLA, which I am not at liberty to disclose.
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Frances O (176) re VLA - are you trying to tell us that *whisper* a huge quantity of Dutch custard was " accidentally leaked" into the Kennet and Avon canal?
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Seems I am now on the VLA's most wanted list.
Best I crack on with the bat boxes so I have some where to hide!
Now where did I put that sack of batter mix?
;-)
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Gillianianian, a question!
Why is that when you drive along the M6 toll is there a canal aquaduct trough but nothing either side of it?
I would have thought youse lot in the Black Country would have got the hang of canal building by now!
very very :-p !
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Previously on Diggles…
Even more so as deep fried battered Water Vole was off the menu. Something about them being endangered. “Utter tosh” muttered Minger “the Kennet and Avon Canal is positively crawling with them!”...
....after a day of R and R the dinner in the Mess that evening was a sombre affair. With no deep fried beer battered Water Voles to be had, the kitchen staff had finially resorted to Roasted leg of Welsh lamb in a mint sauce and rosemary jelly served on a bed of roasted potatoes and parsnips with braised carrots, lightly boiled (28 months) sprouts, mashed swede, freshly picked purple sprouting and freshly grated chilled Beetroot!
Times were hard but sacrifices had to be made for the better good. Supping on the very best port, the intreped three toasted the health of Freddie as she set off into the evening gloom for her journey back to her base at Unintelligence in her Reliant Cock Robin. And as her tail lights winkled and disappeared into the distance their thoughts turned to manly pursuits. "Right chaps!" uttered Diggles "who's turn is it on top tonight?"
...to be continued..
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Sprout RE 47 Decibels. In Both my recent visits to Stratford I have been awoken by "noises" from near by bedrooms. I am also convinced the most recent one was a Solo event!
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Sprouty (179) I have often wondered that myself. I assumed the canal was due an extension or something, but it's quite a high bridge so would they need a huge lock or a boat lift either side to get over it?
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With a screech of tyres, Fred parked expertly outside Unintelligence HQ in [censored]. Recognising the sound of the country’s top driver, Binky walked smartly to meet her. Smart indeed, in his freshly-washed jacket and freshly-waxed moustache. Or was it the other way round? Difficult to tell in the blackout.
“Ah, Fred,” he cried. “Tiffin?”
“Spiffin!” she answered; and they talked long into the night over Earl Grey and snoek sandwiches. After about half an hour Earl Grey, who, despite his Harrow and Cambridge education, was not one of the brightest sparks in the tinderbox of Unintelligence, got up in a bit of a huff and left.
“So we need to get through to the BBC chaps and get a coded message sent out about Ivan and the Tsar,” concluded Fred. “Old Diggsy wants that Mata Hari-Kari informed, too, but I’m not convinced she’s really One Of Us.”
“Bit of a dark horse, what?” agreed Binky, ringing a small handbell which sat on the edge of his desk.
A tall, handsome chap knocked cryptically on the heavy oak door. “En-tah!” barked Binky.
“Yessir?”
“Ah, Blue. Fred, this is Bruce Blue, seconded to Unintelligence and a thoroughly good sport. Blue, Fred Littletool, our best driver. Sh - ahem, he needs to get a message to the BBC pronto.”
“No worries, mate,” said Blue, saluting before he left as quickly as he had arrived.
“What red hair,” murmured Fred.
“Jolly good chap, if a bit informal, but that’s our Aussie friends for you,” observed Binky. He observed a lot, of course, being in Unintelligence and all that.
Another, even more cryptic knock on the door heralded the entrance of -
“Mystic Margaret!” gasped Fred.
“Hello, my dear. I’ve been expecting this meeting. Now, you want to contact the BBC with a secret message?” murmured the medium, fortune-teller and general know-all.
“Yes, but how - oh, never mind,” sighed Fred as Binky winked and grinned broadly.
“You will please leave me in silence as I transmit,” Margaret continued.
Sweeping aside her robe to reveal one perfect orb (“Again,” thought Fred) she gazed deeply into its crystal depths and began to mutter and intone in her secret, ancient tongue.
Was it some kind of morse code? There were a lot of dots in it. A dashed lot of dots. What sort of double agent was this ‘double-you’ she asked for three times? Who were ‘co uk’? Who did she want them to slash? Ah, ‘post meridien’; at last something in plain English anyone could understand.
“It is done,” Margaret intoned, “and the message will go out at what you call 1730 hours tomorrow, disguised as an unintelligible ‘financial report’.
“The kitten is safe, and Blogonovitch ready,” she added.
“How do you -” gasped Fred.
“ Best not to ask,” said Binky, winking again and touching the side of his nose. He really was quite a winker, reflected Fred.
“And now, Fred, a word about the 'Flaming Pearl" symbol of spiritual perfection and powerful amulet of luck, of which you are Guardian,” murmured the mystic one in her hypnotic, exotic tone. “You hold the power of the dragon and the serpent, which may prove ve-e-e-e-e-ery useful in the troubled times ahead. Come, sit with me.”
She gestured towards a corner, snapping “this is girls’ talk,” as Binky made to follow them.
“Now, Fiona, my dear -”
“But how - oh, why bother,” sighed Fred as she settled down to listen.
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Morning Peeps!
A really misty RL this morning, what ever happened to summer?
Thank goodness for The Beach.
A selection of bacon and / or sausage breakfast geralds and coffee are available at NC's.
If anyone wants me i'll be watering the petunias.
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Thanks Sprouty. (I mist you too.)
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Morning All!
Sprouty I do hope you'er doing that watering with a can and not by any other means.....
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GM - Don't encourage him! ;o)
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It's OK - I'll give him a hand ...
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I saw Mr Mcn trying to do it yesterday, and Sprouty's making a far better job of it.
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I blame Bob Flowerdew
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Right, that's the petunias done in double quick time thanks to the assistance from Sid and his 'hose pipe'.
Anyone else for a sprinkling?
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GM and Sprouty - The Lichfield Canal is being restored and the M6 Toll cut across its route. David Suchet is Honorary Vice President of the Lichfield Canal Trust and more info can be found here
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Thanks Gillianianian, but it will only end up in tears when it is clogged up with Water Voles. Just look at the activities of the VLA on the Kennet and Avon!
:-)
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If other Froggers are wondering what on earth we are on abaht! Then pictures are here!
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Sid, Preston, Gillianian, France[i]s O and Stewart_M.....is this of help to any of you. I only went there as I am Val fan!
:-p
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Are you on your simplicITy now Sprouty?
Thanks Gillianian & Sprouty for the canal info. I had wondered about that every time I drove underneath it (quite often!)
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How come the old beach (544 comments, last comment 5th Nov) is 3rd on the list of Topical posts???
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gm (197) that would appear to be Lord Nathan's fault!
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gm it's because:-
544. At 12:36pm on 11 Nov 2009, Lord Nathan wrote:
Bumpity bump!
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Let them get on with it, Sprouty.
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Ah! Weird. When I looked the last message displayed was 5th Nov. Maybe the Topical posts column is one step ahead!
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O Frances : A dashed lot of dots, fabulous, thankyou, cheered me up :)
A
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GM (201). The 500th post of that beach was posted on 5th November. Do you know what comes next (hint, hint)? ;oP
H.
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I am shortly off to vitinary for my seasonal flu jab as I am one of those at 'risk!. Tomorrow I have the one for swine flu, sahme there isn't one for 'man flu'!
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sahme.....! Shame Shame, there is a speling jab I can get!
;-)
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NOT, you couldn't make it up could you!
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Dear Mr. Sprout (195) I followed your link, and waited patiently, but I didn't see any sign of the Police Constable who was mentioned in the title. Am I doing something wrong?
Yours, even more befuddled than before, Old Mother Gill.
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Ah! Humph now I see. I've never pressed that button before!
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Dear the Sun,
Not only does Mr Ghost mis-spell 'shame', he is completely wrong about the activities of the VLA.
The VLA does not stoop to cheap publicity stunts such as custard-bombing. As a true Liberation Army, the VLA uses other, more potentially final methods to bring its message home.
Ghost should apologise for his 'sahmeful' slurs.
We wonder if he can sleep at night.
It would be better for him if he did not.
But I'd better stop now since I've used far too many polysyllabic words.
Yours furrily, but mercilessly,
A Spokesman.
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Sprouty (195), I've just had a very angry phone call from the VLA. No, I didn't record it. Suffice it to say that you should stay away from water, fields, grass and in fact most countrysidey places for a while.
They point out that you can't spell 'vole', either. It's vOlE, not Val.
You really do need to see someone about this obsession.
I will pass on your very interesting article to my great-grandmother, who is a bit of a whiz with Linux.
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France[i]s O. re We wonder if he can sleep at night.
I usually find several pints of Scrumpy on top of a beer battered deep fried meal, Vole or otherwise will do the trick. Mind you, as you are probably aware I occasionally swap the beer battered deep fried option for the Curry option. In either case, a restful night’s sleep is generally assured.
:-)
BTW you should have see the size of the needle I was jabbed with. I think they are used as javelins in the Olympic field event!
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Ah. The vole javelins. Oh, dear. Look, I can put in a good word for you if you like. I can't promise anything, but I'll do my best.
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Oddly enough, my flu jab was hardly noticeable. Felt decidedly groggy the next day, though
:o(
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Hello - I made it! Back from Scotland was bad enough ... it was the re-register-for-no-reason-and-by-the-way-who-are-you? that took so long!
Did I miss much?
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However, it appears I don't need to do pre-mod. How cool is THAT! G&Ts all round I reckon.
;o)
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Welcome back Feefs :-)
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BTW, Lucien Desgai with diamonds, how could I have missed that one (_8(I)
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Feefs: Yes. But be very glad, it was a right royal pain.
So - welcome back. [grabs glass, holds it out]
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I've got as far as about 160 in my back-reading... and this beach is starting to read like the best of the Best of Myles!
Preston will know what I mean.
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(glug gluggity gluggle)
There you go, Frances. And now, one for me too.
(gluggle gluggity glug)
Any more for any more?
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By the way I have moored a floating bar at http://jonnie.camstreams.com if anyone is interested.
*holds breath waiting to see if the brave try at html worked*
;o)
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Feefs re Did I miss much? Nope. Same old!
BTW, is yer SO still giving Ferret Worrying Classes for Starters?
As I am thinking of getting a Jill to help me with catching 'Peter Rabbity'
;-)
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Not entirely ... but you get my drift!
*shuffles off, red of cheek*
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na Gopaleen? [sp???]
PS: Lucien Beeblebrox, he's just desgai.
Ok, yes, enough already.
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na Gopaleen, presactement!
Gosh you lot are erudites...
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France[i]s O (213) re Felt decidedly groggy the next day
That is because of an imbalance in the Scrumpy to Blood ratio.
Too much of one and knot enuff of the uther. I will leave it two you to work witch one is which!
;-)
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Fifi - welcome back! We missed you. Champagne? Oh, don't mind if I do...
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Am I the only one thinking Donny and Marie need to be a LOT less flirty with each other?
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Champagne? oh yes purrleeeeeaze!
* holds out glass *
(it's a BIG glass)
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erudites
In the name of what is most holy is that when it is at home?
I must admit I have done most things in the past:-
Jumped out of aeroplnes and helicopters while they have been moving above terra firma.
Rescued tins of cat food from beneath the hull of the MV Scillonian in St. Marys harbour when the crane rope broke.
Shot and killed a cow with 7.62mm rifle (by mistake).
Scuba dived on HMS Association with Slim McD.
Been a guinea pig at Porton Down three times.
Sailed across the English Channel in a very small RAF Yachting Assoc boat in the dead of night with no navigation lights.
Had a fight (and lost) with a very small octopussy off of the coast of Cyprus when inspecting the sub sea aviation fuel pipe line into RAF Ak.
And, over the years, being a general PITA* to a lot of peeps.
But I doesn't think oi have been an erudite yet.
Is there a course oi cud sine up four?
;-)
*Pain In The Ar...
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*holds out and ever bigger glass than what Fifi has*
And there are now bowls of 'Crisps' and 'nibbles' at NC's to go with the above !
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(230) *swoons*
You lead such a glamorous life you do!
As I understand it, erudites are like crudites but without the bad language, that's all.
Will that do?
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Feefs, no used too! Know a more down to earth sort of Frogger oi be now. Having an SO and sprogs and spogs sprogs to cater for!
Mind you, Happy days and not a moment regretted!
:-)
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Mind you I did think for a moment that crudites were those little pieces of toasted bread what one found on top of one's bowl of steaming Tomato soup!
Seems not, those are cretins!!
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Don't go getting crudites and scrotums mixed up for pete's sake!
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217 Wrath
Sorry, but i have to keep pointing this out ....
it's Lucien Desgai with Di Monds (my short fallen friend of long standing)
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230 sprout
An octopus fighting a guinea pig who killed a cow? Varied life indeed.
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So many empties... *sigh* will clear it all up in the morning.
Peace and quiet on the beach at last. If you can call all that snoring "quiet".
Time for one last stroll along the sand before turning in.
Night Sprouty, night Frances, night Mr. Wrath, night Lucien... oh, how did I miss that one?... night everyone.
*blows out last remaining candle*
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Fifi (228) maybe you were the only one actually watching Donny & Marie?
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Happy Birthday Eric!
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Guinea pig! [stifles giggle] And you take the mick out of voles????????? Ah, Sprouty
Feefs, I can forgive you Donny & Marie for the erudites joke.
Night, all. Soothing hot toddies on the bar if you want 'em.
Envigorating hot toddies seem to be off the menu tonight.
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Happy birthday, Eric!
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
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Oh yes! Thanks for the reminder GM.
Happy Birthday Eddie!
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Oh yes!
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday dear Eric
Happy Birthday to you!
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Morning Peeps!
Bappy Hirthday Eric.
The crossaunts with tea and coffee are ready.
:-)
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Happy Birthday Eric!
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Happy Birthday, Eric!
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12th November ..... erm ..... scratches head ..... something special today now, just what was it? Hang on [fetches diary] scroll scroll scroll [fetches glasses] Good heavens, did I write that or was it Gordon Brown? Let's see if a magnifying glass will help [fetches glass] pore pore pore Looks like the first word could be Ernie, or is it Ellie? no, I think those are bs not ls - Ebbie (strange name, doesn't ring any bells) and the second word is ..... Moir? Ebbie Moir? Who the heck? Shall I ring the Sun? Will they help me to decipher - no, on reflection not the Sun. Perhaps the froggers can help. Let's see whose around on the Beach scroll scroll scroll Hm, looks like it's some chap called Eric's birthday today. No connection, surely?
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My one in-patient today is called Eddie! Hopefully his namesake is in better health than my patient :-(
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AH! Eddie! That's the name! Thanks, GM ;)
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Morning all.
Happy birthday Mr. Muir, 21 again? In celebration I have brought cake, fake cake, so it can be any type you like. Enjoy.
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Fake cake? Virtual cake, surely? otherwise it would be completely inedible ;)
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Ah, Mr Wrath, you've beaten me to it. I have just placed one of my large chocolate birthday cake specials on the bar.
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I have it on good authority that erudite is a poxy adhesive!
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Ooooh, can I have some fake icing please.
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Poxy Music are an English art rock group founded in the early 1970s by Britanny Ferry.
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SG - I often use erudite when I'm stuck for a word ...
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Courtesy of Texas A&M's Thought for the day:
This makes it pretty easy for women to find potential mates among their peers. However, software types have a well-earned reputation for being well, a little strange.
While discussing the prospect of working in the software industry, one woman commented to another, "The odds are good, but the goods are odd.""
;-)
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Happy Birthday ,Eddie.
Mollyxx
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What's this enormous erec.... er.... [profanity filter alert] ... structure hidden under an enormous dust-sheet? It looks vaguely castle-shaped but it's kinda plodgy when you prod it.
* removes dust sheet with a flourish *
Why, it's a giant bouncy castle in the shape of a birthday cake! Can anyone tell me how many candles are up there? Is it forty-f...... oh surely not!
Last one in there with socks off is a hairy kipper.
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Oooh, does that mean if I'm the last one in there with socks on, then I'm not a hairy kipper?
Happy Birthday Eddie, don't set light to those big candles on yonder castle though.
A
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I'll have a go on the Birthday Bouncy Castle later, I'm off for flu jab #2, this one for piggies!
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You'll need some oinkment on that, Sprouty.
Good jokes, puns today! It must be catching.
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Sprouty, which was the swiney? pound to a penny it'll hurt more - I'm led to believe it's all down to cost-cutting....
Phew, it's taken an age to run down this beach with my scroller - and I haven't even raked over the final couple of days of last week's beach. Did I miss much Diggles on last week's? No time to check now. I do hope it's all being collated safely?
Supposed to be making a curtain in RL but the sewing machine's sulking because it's been about 10 years since I last used it! Any of you techy's want to sort the tension thingy out for me?
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VAlP "Any of you techy's want to sort the tension thingy out for me?
You'll be wanting that Italian masseur who used to ply his trade on the beach - Fabio, wasn't it? I think he's moved to Strictly Come Dancing.
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ValP - have you by any chance still got your instruction book? If not I'd check the threading first, then the upper tension and if it's really old and has a boat shuttle it may have a tension screw on the shuttle-boat itself.
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ValP, you may want to just hit the End key, then Page Up 'til you see a post you remember. That's what I've been doing :-)
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FFred,
Snap!
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Now had an enormouse shot of Pandemrix! So come on you Swine, sneeze and I will laugh in your face!
:-)
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I'm off to be Councillor Fifi tonight. My ball-and-chain of office (non existent thank goodness) all polished and gleaming. My gavel of ultimate power (also non existent) sharpened to a fine chisel-edge. My eye (all too real) beady and ready to catch the unwary.
Be very afraaaaaaaid.
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No reprise of Annasee and Gossipmistress on Upshares tonight then?
Boo!
In a fit of pique I shall carry on with that application for Deputy Registrar ... just think, they might let ME marry people, mwah-ha-hah!
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Ooo-er... I've just heard that story about the straight couple who think they should be able to have a civil partnership!
Spooky.
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Fifi - I've worked out a good way of stopping ramblers* - I look puzzled and say 'I can't find where we are in the agenda, can you help me?' Guaranteed to work (most of the time).
*you know which ones I'm talking about ...
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Oh Sid that's brilliant! *writes down sneaky tip* I'll let you know if I need to deploy that this evening.
For now though, an image to ponder as you remember tonight's PM, courtesy of Rory Cellin-Jones at the tweety place:
http://img263.yfrog.com/i/hdo.jpg/
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Whoops! Didn't notice you'd posted Rory's photo here, Feefs. I've just posted it onto todays' glass box ;-)
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Nice one Feefs, now we know ...Gartmore is a respected independent fund manager, whose sole focus is asset management. We offer a wide range of investment
products and services, tailored to meet the varying needs of both retail and institutional clients.
Gartmore has offices strategically located in London, Tokyo, Boston, Madrid and Frankfurt.....where Eric has stashed the cash!
:-)
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And thanks also to FF as well for exposing this 'investor'!, great detective work you guys, keep it up!
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Sid (273) re stopping ramblers best way is to hire David D's wife's bullocks. They are a sure way to stop the great unwashed from strolling across your estate.
:-p
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wheeeeee!!!!
I'm on the bouncy castle!!!!
(@ see 2pm, up there somewhere)
boing!!
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nn, stop it! You will only end up being sick everywhere!
boing 2
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it's
very
hard
to
drink
a
pint
of
Eric's Birthday Special Scrumpy
on
a
bouncy castle
without
spilling
it!
*he boinged*
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nn
pass
the
bowl
of
crisps.
I
fancy
a
nibble!
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Mind
the
Birthday
Bunting
*********************
#####################
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
@
@
@
@
#
#
#
#
*
*
*
Doh!
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Move over boys! I want a bounce too....
e e e*
e *
**
h
*
w
*- -Ouch! Not my day........
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There I've been, slaving over a hot agenda, adopting and welcoming a new councillor, meeting a gorgeous newish Police sergeant, deciding what to do about wobbly headstones, and other exciting villagey things... and you're all making free with Eddie's bouncy birthday cake.
Where did I put that bodkin???
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Fifi-
That sounds a lovely way to spend an evening. Better than faux bouncing on a faux cake getting faux bruises.
mxx
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Is there any cake left or am I too late?
OO that bouncey thing appears to be empty... I might go for a late night bounce....
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Another reason to celebrate today: The South Downs National Park has today been confirmed. Excellent news for the South East.
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Fifi that all sounds rather 'Vicar of Dibley'-esque and then Big Sister tells us a park has been confirmed. Spooky.
Both faux cake were yum thanks Mr. Wrath and Anne.
gossipmistress, there is nothing quite like a 'late night bounce', is there? Though, not usually quite so much fun on your own.
*picks up hammock and wanders towards naughty step*
Ohhhhhh.... and now it's Friday 13th!
*stubs toe and trips over a tension screw on the shuttle-boat*
[sighs] It's been a long day.
Night, night.
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It's far too late to think of anything funny or rational now - but would be nice if Eddie could instigate another variation to Windows of your world scenario for 2009 - any ideas?
Perhaps we could jointly help out with editing in some way?
Just a thought...
*picks up hammock and wanders towards naughty step*
Ohhhhhh.... and now it's Friday 13th!
*stubs toe and trips over a tension screw on the shuttle-boat*
[sighs] It's been a long day.
Night, night.
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..... sic .....
Loud snore
x
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sssshhhhhhh
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* heave! strain! grunt! pull! urgh! *
There, that's the pontoon to this week's Beach in place...
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And here's a wormhole to get you back to the present.....
;-)
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
Oh dear, them house rules eh?
Me post woz the same as Molly's (294), ie nowt at all (a couple of spaces actually) - and its "spam" apparently.
And I clicked on the link from the email I got, telling me about the above abberation, and got this :
The following error occurred: An unknown error has occurred
I like that ;)
Anyhoo - pontoon or wormhole? - hmmm, decisions, decisions
I'm talking to myself again, I know!
A
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andycroak (293)
I can't remember what I wrote. Can you?
Just a hint would do.....
mxx
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Lord N: thanks for the wormhole. Don't quite know how I wound up here... if only they'd bring back 'Recent Comments'.
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300!
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Some people are easily amused...and can actually count to 300.
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No Molly, sorry - its just blank and always has been (well, since 12:30 anyway) - and that's all I wanted to do, just a blank message like yours.
Ho hum, it was interpreted as spam.
How did you do that then Molly?
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See Andy, I think you actually swore under your breath as you posted (296). These mods have supernatural senses, you know.
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andycroak (304)
I think I must have 'posted' by mistake without completing the box. But when I did that now, I was told'you have just posted that comment in 304' !
Goodness knows what's going on....
mxx
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Well, now I'm confused. Where's that wormnhole again?
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It's here
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dav@301: stop stalking me. Isn't that considered 'Troll' behaviour?
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Preston (301) : ah, yes, I did, and they do. Spooooooky. I was thinking sweetness and light at 304, and its still there.
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Is it really only 11am? I'm ready for my lunch!
Would a gerald for elevenses be considered over-the-top?
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Fifi, I'm having crumpets loaded with butter and honey as an antidote to RL - you're welcome to share.
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Fifi & Anne P - This is the old Beach. Confusing isn't it? I think you should be here.
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Where is everyone? I just fancied crumpets loaded with butter and honey and suddenly they've vanished into thin air?
LOST!
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Oh, no, we're not on an island, are we?
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See you all at the new be...................
* puff of purple smoke *
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Mmmmm ... purple smoke
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Road home
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Where am I?
I can't tell which Beach is which and it is getting very confusing. I'll just follow that purple smoke and thanks Lord N for a secret passage to lead us back to where we are supposed to be.
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