Watch out, Pinocchio… What is a mamba? A ewe. What is a rumba? A drunken ewe. What is a samba? A ewe that identifies as a ram. What is a metronome? A person of diminished stature traveling on the Paris underground railway network. What is a mantra? An unfinished pit with straw laid over the…
Yet another grammar pedant rant, this one from 2015. So; annoying. You have no idea how much of a struggle it’s been not to start this post with the word ‘So’. For that is our subject today, dear reader. More particularly, the increasingly pervasive practice of beginning sentences with this poor, innocent syllable. To borrow another common…
This week we are being called upon to feature a song performed and/or written by someone born during the month of February. Naturally I had to have resort to the internet to discover who might qualify on those grounds, and that is where I discovered that no less an eminence than Johnny Cash was not…
Pants on fire…. What are florins, tanners and bobs? Key workers in a Victorian cotton mill, ranked by weekly wage. What is Dead Man’s Fingers? A tavern in the second Pirates of the Caribbean movie. What killed the triffids? Not me, guv. I’ve got an alibi. What is the difference between a buck and a…
On my lack of creativity… Creative recounting “Invent a definition for the word ‘flangiprop’, then use the word in a post.” So, the latest of the ‘365 Days of Writing Prompts’ comes straight from the bonkers end of the spectrum. But while I have no intention of coming up with a meaning for this concatenation…
When I saw that the prompt for this week’s Song Lyric Sunday was ‘cold’, my immediate thought – and one I just haven’t been able get past – was this: a regular on the Grateful Dead’s set-list from the very early days. And it seems particularly appropriate if you have the misfortune to be in…
From 2013, musings on more exotic foodstuffs Seriously? It would be grossly unfair to single out France as a world champion of nasty nutrition. Far from it: sheeps’ eyeballs in Arabia, deep-fried crickets in south-east Asia, even guinea pigs in South America, could all knock France into a cocked hat when it comes to sources…
You ‘avin’ a larf? Verklempt A native German speaker’s attempt to indicate that they’re hungry to somebody from Lancashire. Vittle Mis-spelled French mineral water. Vuvuzela A particularly cruel form of torture. Vexillology Another word for hypochondria. Velociraptor Not a pterodactyl. Vamoosinator A cyborg sent from the future to chase everyone away. Vicissitude Emulation of the…
Unless you’re a quantum physicist with an argumentative streak, you can cope perfectly well just getting by taking as read Isaac Newton’s concept of ‘Time’s Arrow’ (It’s linear and it only goes forward). I must say, though, that I do find a lot of the stuff about the science and philosophy of time quite absorbingly…..well,…
Who were Lennon & McCartney? They used to run a cheese stall on Birkenhead Market. Who were Torville and Dean? I don’t know, but weren’t they always just a short skate from this cinema? Who were Tom and Jerry? Founder-members of the Grateful Dead. Who were Dumb and Dumber? The nickname given by the players…
From 2014, on the art of self-deprecation… Managing expectations Toot your horn. Most of us are excellent at being self-deprecating, and are not so good at the opposite. Tell us your favourite thing about yourself.” With this latest of ‘365 Days of Writing Prompts’ WordPress may have gone too far. There is nothing wrong with…
Well now, ‘transport’ is the broad theme for Song Lyric Sunday this week, so there’s no shortage of possibilities to choose from. I do wonder, though, whether anyone else will come up with this particular piece of 1980s anarchic weirdness from the left-wing Liverpudlian (although here deploying an Estuary English accent) comedian, Alexei Sayle. He…
Balderdash… What’s the difference between a bow and a curtsey? You can’t tie your hair back with a curtsey. What’s the difference between a bison and a basin? Try washing your face in a bison and you’ll find out soon enough. What’s the difference between a pocket and a pouch? There are no pouches on…
My greatest fear back in 2014 – and even now.. Room 101 “1984. You’re locked in a room with your greatest fear. Describe what’s in the room.” So, dear WordPress, in this latest of ‘365 Days of Writing Prompts’, presumably you actually meant to ask ‘what’s in your Room 101?’ The original impact – and…
Well now, ‘rodents’ as a topic for Song Lyric Sunday certainly takes us off the beaten track, musically speaking, although it may or may not tell us more than we need to know about Clive’s – who set the challenge – psyche. As it turns out, there are quite a few songs featuring rats or…
the only deadhead in the hameau 