A funny thing happened on the way to the Forum

[Richard Tarleton]

I was at the ATM in West Norwood just now, and remarked to the lady next in the queue on how slow this particular machine seemed to be. And she answered with a straight face, "I was thinking that! I understand some of these banks are taking on people with learning disabilities!"

My local branch has a machine into which you can pay cheques, to avoid queueing for a cashier. The staff in the branch call it Paul, in memory the colleague it replaced. Actually it hasn't really saved very much, because most people seem unable to use it and a member of staff has to help them.

[cloughie]

My local branch has a machine into which you can pay cheques, to avoid queueing for a cashier. The staff in the branch call it Paul, in memory the colleague it replaced. Actually it hasn't really saved very much, because most people seem unable to use it and a member of staff has to help them.

Like the self-service tills at supermarkets, which I generally avoid, unless I have very few items and the there are big queues at the staffed tills!

[eighthobstruction]

....Salisbury does have a marvellous cathedral, with a high spire, and an old clock....if I had just two days to visit UK it would be the obvious choice for me to attend this town....

[Richard Tarleton]

...123 metres...he neglected to say it was second only to Salzburg (142 metres)....

It's a shame they, and President Putin, couldn't be faced with an audience of British people, laughing helplessly. Perhaps laughter the best response from our politicians.....

[Bryn]

...123 metres...he neglected to say it was second only to Salzburg (142 metres)....

It's a shame they, and President Putin, couldn't be faced with an audience of British people, laughing helplessly. Perhaps laughter the best response from our politicians.....

And coming all the way from Russia to visit Salisbury, yet not taking the opportunity to hop on the bus to Stonehenge.

[Stanfordian]

....Salisbury does have a marvellous cathedral, with a high spire, and an old clock....if I had just two days to visit UK it would be the obvious choice for me to attend this town....

Me too!

[Richard Tarleton]

A helpful titbit from Michael Binyon in today's Times: 'The Russians have a special word, "vranyo", meaning to tell a lie you do not expect anyone to believe but that is told purely to save face.' The word for a lie intended to deceive is "lozh". 'Vranyo deceives no one: the person telling the lie knows that the person listening is absolutely sure that this is not true but will not challenge this untruth.... Face was saved at every point by the Russians, but Britain didn't play ball....'

[Serial_Apologist]

Sometimes it's fun to take my afternoon walk just as the nursery schools are emptying their denizens onto the streets. Not too often in my case, because one doesn't want people muttering to one-another, "Who's that weird unaccompanied bloke who's always lurking around these parts at this time of the afternoon?" - but just often enough for one who (as far as is known) has never had offspring to derive enjoyment from overheard conversatins between parents and their little 'uns.

Take this very afternoon in the little park off Kirkdale dedicated to a Victorian inventor of some form of printing, where I overheard a man say to his little daughter, "Do you want a go on the swings? No? Then let's sit down here and wait for... " - and I'm certain I heard the man then announce the name "Syphilis"! I mean... there was an item on the radio yesterday talking about the most popular names being handed out today; but Syphilis wasn't I don't think among them!

On the way home, passing through the beautiful Sydenham Woods, I passed two women, one of whom was counting from one to ten, while her little girl of about five rushed past me and into the trees, in search for a suitable one to hide behind. And with the welcome persistence of ancient children's games in mind, it occurred to me to devise a grown-ups one with a solidarity-cum-equal shares association to help cope with austerity; and it would have to be called "Side and Eke".

[vinteuil]

Take this very afternoon in the little park off Kirkdale dedicated to a Victorian inventor of some form of printing, where I overheard a man say to his little daughter, "Do you want a go on the swings? No? Then let's sit down here and wait for... " - and I'm certain I heard the man then announce the name "Syphilis"! I mean... there was an item on the radio yesterday talking about the most popular names being handed out today; but Syphilis wasn't I don't think among them!
".

Actually Syphilis was a name. Girolamo Fracastoro [1476-1553] wrote an epic poem in three books, "Syphilis, sive Morbus Gallicus" ["Syphilis, or the French Pox"] describing the fate of the shepherd boy Syphilis who insulted Apollo and was punished by that god with a horrible disease.

https://nyamcenterforhistory.org/2013/04/19/syphilis-or-the-french-disease/

I remember researching this poem when writing an essay on Henryson's Testament of Cresseid as an undergraduate...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Testament_of_Cresseid

.

[Serial_Apologist]

Actually Syphilis was a name. Girolamo Fracastoro [1476-1553] wrote an epic poem in three books, "Syphilis, sive Morbus Gallicus" ["Syphilis, or the French Pox"] describing the fate of the shepherd boy Syphilis who insulted Apollo and was punished by that god with a horrible disease.

https://nyamcenterforhistory.org/2013/04/19/syphilis-or-the-french-disease/

I remember researching this poem when writing an essay on Henryson's Testament of Cresseid as an undergraduate...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Testament_of_Cresseid

.

Fascinating, vints!

[Pulcinella]

In today's post was a mailshot from Boots Advantage Card, offering me a free hearing test.
This made me chuckle:

One of our experts will check the health of your ears, test your hearing and, if needed, give advice about how you can keep an eye on your hearing. (My emphasis.)

[french frank]

And coming all the way from Russia to visit Salisbury, yet not taking the opportunity to hop on the bus to Stonehenge.

It came on to snow again at lunchtime, so they left early, apparently. That was a pity because Stonehenge was open until 5pm in spite of the weather (last tickets at 3pm). A real disappointment for them, I imagine. They did see Old Sarum, though, which was actually closed, but were content to see a few bumps on the skyine from the road.

[Lat-Literal]

I'm not sure that a funny thing happened on the way to the forum but I have had a really, really lovely day today. I walk around the local streets sometimes and while there are always civil greetings, the place which I grew up in and have been in for most of my life can seem so alien. The biggest division often appears to me to be that I am a single man but it is more about not having a shared background. Ray - who turned up here last year after a hiatus of some seven years. He came back today and with Bob who I haven't seen in some 25 years.

Both are married with grown up children. It was so easy and relaxed, it was like being with people who could be family or if not last seen about a week ago. We do, of course, have a shared reference point in that we worked in the same office in the 1980s. I can't believe how young they both seem and yet how old they now look, given that they are 8 and 9 years older than me respectively. They each came from different directions a long way today to visit me and I am so grateful. More to the point, they enjoyed it and the weather was kind.

The Lat-Lit local experience involves a romp up and across the downs with its cows, a bit of talk about the local history including on Chaplin, Caine and Bowie, a brief coffee at his home before a further inelegant march to the "local" up a rural path. Later, there is the sheer joy of bringing people back on that path in total darkness to make it more than memorable. "Watch your feet and remember when people ask you what Greater London is like to take this on board". On the rare occasions it happens, they never doubt it. I might be blowing my own trumpet here but there is no point in it unless they have their minds blown by the novelty. That needs to be accentuated while somehow endorsing the "he hasn't changed" nature of it all. They loved it. I loved it. They speak about coming back soonest. Ray and I will go night fishing in Essex next year so he can do his bit to enhance my love of atmospherics.

One photo follows - not of me but of them : I feel privileged to know them - but I really cannot get my head around the 30 plus years that have passed.

It seems like yesterday when Ray, full head of hair, was tenting it with me at Glasto : it was actually 1999 : he was in spirit such a very young 44 then.

https://imgur.com/BIjmwXd

[Lat-Literal]

Incidentally. we did talk music, We talked the Doors, which Bob loves, Neil Young, oddly Howard Jones and Dean Friedman, and early Fleetwood Mac and CSN.

But I think I won the day with this one : a latter day fading Blunstone doing Browne - one of the few joys of this decade:

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

[Serial_Apologist]

"Roast Butternut
Squash, Twineham
Grange, Focaccia
5.50"

- Inscription on a Royal Festival Hall restaurant bread roll wrapper.

No, I don't know what most of that means either; but whatever it was, it was worth the price and did taste fantastic!