Spiders!

[doversoul1]

Both. I had it read to me in class when I was a child and I re-read it again as an adult. I found the pages where Charlotte dies on her own to be very moving. Probably more than I did as a nine year old.

That seems to be the usual case. It seems that it takes adult readers to see the meaning of the spider’s death. May be this is why people come back to the book when they are adults.

[Padraig]

Do you have ivy growing thickly in your garden? Have a look in there and you will probably see evidence of spiders in the form of sticky webs spread along the ivy leaves. The spider that lays such a web is black with a brownish mottled back, and formidable jaws for biting.
I've told this story before in another era: a butterfly was caught in that spider's web, and it mananged to escape by frantic fluttering, dragging part of the web with it to the ground. It was there that I caught sight of it, saw the problem and lifted the butterfly, web and all, to release the wings. The spider was still in the web and it bit me. I never experienced a pain like it before or since - it was like a little bolt of electricity, not a cut, not a prick, but literally a shock followed instantly by the soreness of the venom which caused my forefinger to swell before my eyes to more than twice its size. Of course I dropped the lot and don't know what became of either prey or predator.
I'm not afraid of spiders, and I forgive my attacker - he was defending his hard earned prey. But boy can they bite! Or nip.

[Mary Chambers]

Lots of ivy in my garden - far too much! I haven't seen those spiders, but will look out for them. I have never been bitten by a spider. I rather like them. So far this autumn there have been four big brown spiders in the house, more than usual, but I accidently trod on one.

[P. G. Tipps]

I have never been bitten by a spider..

Good Heavens ... maybe you want to stay indoors a bit more, Mary ...

I rather like them. So far this autumn there have been four big brown spiders in the house, more than usual, but I accidently trod on one.

[P. G. Tipps]

Do you have ivy growing thickly in your garden? Have a look in there and you will probably see evidence of spiders in the form of sticky webs spread along the ivy leaves. The spider that lays such a web is black with a brownish mottled back, and formidable jaws for biting.
I've told this story before in another era: a butterfly was caught in that spider's web, and it mananged to escape by frantic fluttering, dragging part of the web with it to the ground. It was there that I caught sight of it, saw the problem and lifted the butterfly, web and all, to release the wings. The spider was still in the web and it bit me. I never experienced a pain like it before or since - it was like a little bolt of electricity, not a cut, not a prick, but literally a shock followed instantly by the soreness of the venom which caused my forefinger to swell before my eyes to more than twice its size. Of course I dropped the lot and don't know what became of either prey or predator.
I'm not afraid of spiders, and I forgive my attacker - he was defending his hard earned prey. But boy can they bite! Or nip.

Yes, I think you're right, Padraig ... it may only have been a 'nip' for me but I also distinctly recollect a little shooting sensation travelling up my arm.

Robert the Bruce was right ... these little defiant, 'never-say-die' creatures are worthy of the greatest human respect and even inspiration!

[ahinton]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B13PX1_qSpU

Tango can surely have more than enough of its own dangers without being exacerbated by these delightful creatures?...

[jayne lee wilson]

Oh, I like to think I'm good with them... when niece and grand-niece were here the youngster suddenly said -"ohmygod a spider a spider ohmygod a spider..."
A medium-sized beast was on my sleeve. "He's cute, isn't he" I said, surprised at my own serenity, and we rehomed him in a plant pot.
"My friend the Spider" I said, wondering if I'd created an eco-terrorist.

Then the bigger ones appear in the autumn and I think... hmm.. yeah... They have a habit of oblong-navigating the listening room at the junction of wall and ceiling, often taking several days. Then they disappear. Suddenly there's one near the bed, sprinting under the duvet! To the excited cat's dismay, I usually manage to catch it and put it on the attic stairs, gateway to Spider City...

What do you do if you see one running towards you fast, in your listening chair in the middle of a symphony?

[Mary Chambers]

My spiders tend to be downstairs, or sometimes in the bath. I wouldn't be happy if they were in the bedroom.

Little Miss Muffet was a bit feeble, wasn't she?

[Petrushka]

What do you do if you see one running towards you fast, in your listening chair in the middle of a symphony?

In my case, stamp on it! Have you noticed though how they curl up into a ball and just when you think they're dead they suddenly open out and flee much faster than you can catch them?

Sorry spider-lovers but I really don't like them and have a fear of one getting into my ear in the night, however irrational that fear may be.

[jayne lee wilson]

Oh dear. Wish I'd never asked now...

How about: "rising from my seat with a smile, I stand aside to see if the creature has any sense of direction or destination; if speed rather than orientation seems to be its prime mover, then after a brief and hilarious (if necessarily undignified) chase I capture it undamaged; then politely and gently accompany it to another room, or to the stairs, adjacent to any inviting crack between woodwork and plaster...

Finally I consider whether to recommence the movement from the beginning, or from where I was forced to abandon it."

[P. G. Tipps]

What do you do if you see one running towards you fast, in your listening chair in the middle of a symphony?

That's easy ... quickly switch to anything by Cliff Richard and the intelligent little thing will immediately do an about-turn and flee in terror in the opposite direction.The chances are it will then move itself and its family to a much more desirable residence in the neighbourhood.

The wife's record collection is not a totally useless waste of space, I've discovered.

[mangerton]

That's easy ... quickly switch to anything by Cliff Richard and the intelligent little thing will immediately do an about-turn and flee in terror in the opposite direction.

Have you tried that, PGT? I'm not convinced, bearing in mind that CR was born Harry..... erm..... Webb.

[P. G. Tipps]

Have you tried that, PGT? I'm not convinced, bearing in mind that CR was born Harry..... erm..... Webb.

[P. G. Tipps]

Returning to the main topic of the thread (the vital question of size) I'm wondering what many people mean by a 'house spider'. I have always assumed these to be the thick-bodied little hairy creatures which invariably startle one from time to time by darting across the room.

However, for the past few years, these seem to have been replaced by a quite different breed that looks more like a smooth, 'daddy-long-legs' type of insect so maybe that's what some people refer to as 'giant house spiders'? We happen to live only a few miles from Macclesfield where an invasion of these 'giant house spiders' has been reported in the press.

I suspect people who erroneously claim to have spotted 'giant house spiders' are simply 'ordinary people' much-beloved by politicians and the media. One thing for sure, there is no such thing as an 'ordinary spider'. They are all quite extraordinary whatever the breed.

Apologies in advance for unilaterally mixing thread topics.

[umslopogaas]

All very interesting, I didnt know any of the UK spiders could actually bite me. I shall be (even) more careful of them.

I wonder if the absence of the traditional big fat house spiders is due to an absence of food indoors? Old fashioned houses had open windows and plenty of flies. Modern houses have aerosol cans of insecticide and double glazing. Very few flies get into my house, and they are rapidly sprayed. There is nothing for spiders to eat. The only ones I find are the small bodied, long legged type (are these harvestmen?) which I assume have strayed indoors from the garden.

It ignores my every lunge
with the bath brush and the sponge
I have bombed it with "A present from Penarth"
It just rolls into a ball
Doesnt seem to mind at all
And goes on squatting in the bath.

Now its time for me to shave
But my nerves will not behave
And there's bound to be a fearful aftermath
So before I cut my throat
I will leave this final note
Driven to it by the spider in the bath.

With thanks to Michael Flanders. There's more, but I cant remember it.