Alphabet associations - I

[Nick Armstrong]

I'm still grappling with the rubber

Remember "The Curse of the Claw", one of Michael Palin's 'Ripping Yarns'?

Uncle Jack returns from Burma by booking passage on

"The Greasy Bastard - a tramp steamer selling rubber goods and things for the weekend"

Ever been to Burma, Rubbers?

Welcome back in any case, wherever you've been

[rubbernecker]

Remember "The Curse of the Claw", one of Michael Palin's 'Ripping Yarns'?

Uncle Jack returns from Burma by booking passage on

"The Greasy Bastard - a tramp steamer selling rubber goods and things for the weekend"

Ever been to Burma, Rubbers?

Welcome back in any case, wherever you've been

Why thank you , Caliban. I remember the line well, yet it never fails to provoke risible pleasure.

BURMA I'm sure is one of those acronyms in the NORWICH mould which at the moment escapes me...

I've not been anywhere, sad to relate. Not even to the fleshpots of Brighton. I have had my hands rather full of late and therefore a break from the boards was inevitable. However it is gratifying to see the pennant of the AA thread still fluttering above the hedgerows.

I am turning my attentions to H but please forgive me if I do not come up with the goods, rubber or otherwise, tonight

[Anna]

BURMA I'm sure is one of those acronyms in the NORWICH mould which at the moment escapes me...

BURMA - Be Upstairs Ready My Angel
My great uncle was a Paratrooper in WW2, hence I know these things.

[rubbernecker]

Be Upstairs Ready My Angel

My dear Anna, HIMY!

[amateur51]

Why thank you , Caliban. I remember the line well, yet it never fails to provoke risible pleasure.
BURMA I'm sure is one of those acronyms in the NORWICH mould which at the moment escapes me...

It's from an Alan Bennett Beyond the Fringe sketch I think - AB is trying to send a telegram to his beloved via a censorious (or just plain curious) telephone operator. We only hear AB's side of the convo & it goes something like ....

"Burma stands for Be Upstairs Ready My Angel"

"And Norwich stands for Knickers Off Ready When I Come Home .... yes I am quite aware that Knickers is spelt with a letter K but Korwich doesn't have quite the charm...."

Happy days!

EDIT: oooops sorry for crossed message. Anna's uncle

[rubbernecker]

but Korwich doesn't have quite the charm...."

Isn't it "Korwich doesn't quite have the same idiomatic force.."?

[amateur51]

Isn't it "Korwich doesn't quite have the same idiomatic force.."?

You got it, rubbers

Welcome back rubbers - you have been missed!

[rubbernecker]

You got it, rubbers

Welcome back rubbers - you have been missed!

Too kind, Ammy. What with everyone here being so horrible about that lovely Rupert Murdoch and Rebekah Brooks I seriously thought I would never return

[Dave2002]

my dear anna, himy!

himy?

[rubbernecker]

HIMY? Why, it's simply a variation on this:

you have been missed!

OK, here's an H for the night owls:

What H likes to come and go, full of beans, and blowing a reed or two?

[Dave2002]

Terry? I'm off!

[mercia]

What H likes to come and go, full of beans, and blowing a reed or two?

that sounds like Heinz (Meanz Beanz) Holliger, double reed player and composer of the opera Come and Go based on Beckett


how I've missed the rubbery questions

[rubbernecker]

that sounds like Heinz (Meanz Beanz) Holliger, double reed player and composer of the opera Come and Go based on Beckett


how I've missed the rubbery questions

Heinz Holliger, indeed

How I've missed the display of speed and laser-like precision that is the Mercia trademark. Three championship points, again!

What on earth were you doing up at a quarter to four, Merce?

[mercia]

What on earth were you doing up at a quarter to four, Merce?

having nightmares about Alexander and his rubber tube

how on earth did you get that?

[rubbernecker]

having nightmares about Alexander and his rubber tube

how on earth did you get that?

Buried in his Wikipedia entry:
In 1897, he led the disastrous premiere of Rachmaninoff's Symphony No 1. The composer's wife later claimed that Glazunov seemed to be drunk at the time. While this assertion cannot be confirmed, it is not implausible for a man who, according to Shostakovich, kept a bottle of alcohol hidden behind his desk and sipped it through a tube during lessons...

One can only assume the tube was of the rubbery variety...