AS: Cool Britannia (sort of): the British thread 2019

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  • la vie en rougela vie en rouge Circus Host, 8th Day Host
    I want a puppy :hushed: Preferably one that magically never grows up.
  • BoogieBoogie Shipmate
    I want a puppy :hushed: Preferably one that magically never grows up.

    Oh no - growing up is essential, too many widdles at this age. You can’t just wrap them in a nappy and pop them in a cot! :lol:

    (Of course I love the baby pups, but I love them even more once they are house trained!)

  • NenyaNenya Shipmate
    PS @Piglet I can't tell you how lovely it is to see you on these boards.

    Couldn't agree more, Mrs S. {{{Piglet}}}

    Boogie - Echo is gorgeous!
  • Boogie wrote: »
    Lots of rain here plus a puppy to toilet train - plenty of standing outside with a very large umbrella!

    I’m not complaining - Echo is a super little chap and great fun.

    Here he is playing with his teddies.

    What a brave little pup -- taking on two bears! He certainly is a cutie. But do you think he has enough toys? :wink: (I've seen zoos with fewer animals - LOL!)
  • Bishops FingerBishops Finger Shipmate
    edited October 2019
    The Episcopal Ark's mooring-place is subject this week to Very High Tides (Monday's was the highest on record, I think). The Ark is OK, but the Episcopal Chariot was flooded, despite being parked safely (as I thought), and is probably a write-off... :grimace:

    It was fine yesterday, despite being damp inside, but would not start at all this morning. Jump-starting produced no result whatever.

    Still, within a couple of hours, the insurers had arranged calls from their Repair People (to evaluate the damage to engine, and electrics), and from their Courtesy Car People, so sometime tomorrow I should be back on the road in a borrowed matchboxhatchback.

    I know (because it's one of the Laws of the Universe) that I'll get very little £££ from the insurers, but hey, there yer go.

    Ah well - at least I won't have to have it MoT'd later this month...

    Anyone else in Ukland affected by rain/floods this week?

  • The Episcopal Ark's mooring-place is subject this week to Very High Tides (Monday's was the highest on record, I think). The Ark is OK, but the Episcopal Chariot was flooded, despite being parked safely (as I thought), and is probably a write-off... :grimace:

    It was fine yesterday, despite being damp inside, but would not start at all this morning. Jump-starting produced no result whatever.

    Still, within a couple of hours, the insurers had arranged calls from their Repair People (to evaluate the damage to engine, and electrics), and from their Courtesy Car People, so sometime tomorrow I should be back on the road in a borrowed matchboxhatchback.

    I know (because it's one of the Laws of the Universe) that I'll get very little £££ from the insurers, but hey, there yer go.

    Ah well - at least I won't have to have it MoT'd later this month...

    Anyone else in Ukland affected by rain/floods this week?

    We spent the weekend in the MudMidlands. It ws very wet underfoot. We spent Sunday at the National Memorial Arboretum, a beatiful place with memorials to pretty much everyone and everything, not just the military by any means. It was noted that the Royal Marines memorial was well hidden!
  • sionisais wrote: »

    We spent the weekend in the MudMidlands. It ws very wet underfoot. We spent Sunday at the National Memorial Arboretum, a beatiful place with memorials to pretty much everyone and everything, not just the military by any means. It was noted that the Royal Marines memorial was well hidden!

    But why is it well hidden? Enquiring minds need to know...

  • BroJamesBroJames Purgatory Host, 8th Day Host
    Camouflaged, maybe, like those it commemorates?
  • *sigh* I knew I shouldn't have asked!
    :wink:

    Seriously, though, perhaps to deter vandals?
  • Goodness me, but it’s soggy out. Caught in a horrible downpour driving home from work. Much gritting of teeth. Thank God for the radio.
  • JapesJapes Shipmate
    My little point-and-shoot camera does have a variety of settings and I do try them all until I get the colour I want!

    Trying to persuade a student today that more than a teddy bear was necessary for a "perfect room" was somewhat tricky... Still, there was some engagement with the task, which is more than there was three weeks ago, when I was in deep despair about ever being able to communicate at the level I'm currently having to work at, which is not my natural level at all.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    I have to say I didn't like the snake, but it's not his fault - I don't like any snakes. Neither did D. - he had to go and make a cup of tea during that song in The Jungle Book.

    We had an absolutely spectacular sunrise the other day; sunrises sre not normally phenomena observed by the nocturnal piglet, but I had woken up, suddenly thought of a Facebook message I had to send, and got up to do it. As I messed about (the way you do), the sky turned the most amazing colours, but as I was still in my nightdress, photographing it wasn't really an option.
    PS @Piglet I can't tell you how lovely it is to see you on these boards.
    Aaahh - thank you! :heart:
  • My poor little Ford Fiesta has gone away.
    :cry:

    He probably can't be mended economically, so a replacement is being sought (well, I'll wait and see what They say, but I doubt if They will think repairs are viable - electrics, and possibly engine, are all embu*gered).

    Meanwhile, I have a courtesy car, 'mine' for the duration, a little Toyota Aygo.

    He is Very Bright Blue.

    I shall have to treat him very carefully... :worried:

    (Well done, my insurers, for sorting things out so quickly!
    :grin:)
  • Wesley JWesley J Shipmate
    edited October 2019
    Can we imagine you drive the Ford Fiesta like Doyle and Bodie their Ford cars in 'The Professionals'? I should very much like to! :D
  • Er...no...not unless I'm really, really, late for dinner...

    The Ford Fiesta, though an estimable, reliable, and useful, vehicle, is not exactly the most masculine car ever made...
    :wink:

    But I have my eye on one which is really cool. It is Black.
  • Baptist TrainfanBaptist Trainfan Shipmate
    edited October 2019
    But I have my eye on one which is really cool. It is Black.
    I'm not sure if the Batmobile is actually for sale. Anyway, it's left-hand drive (like a road sweeper)..

  • It has been a remarkably and unexpectedly good Drying Day today. We had my son and family over the weekend, so I've washed all their sheets and towels and also done a load of Ordinary Washing. Happiness is an empty washing basket.
  • Bishops FingerBishops Finger Shipmate
    edited October 2019
    And unhappiness is a full Iron Ing basket...
    But I have my eye on one which is really cool. It is Black.
    I'm not sure if the Batmobile is actually for sale. Anyway, it's left-hand drive (like a road sweeper)..

    O. That's not what A Nice Man said. He told me the Batmobile was available...
    :disappointed:
  • And unhappiness is a full Iron Ing basket...
    Indeed. Which is why - from a laundry point of view - I dislike summer, with cotton shirts and trousers. By now we're back to (mostly) non-iron stuff.

    Having said that, said basket is indeed full, as neither of us is minded to tackle it.

  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    Wesley J wrote: »
    ... like Doyle and Bodie their Ford cars in 'The Professionals' ...
    What's the point of an article about The Professionals if it hasn't got a picture of Martin Shaw in it? <lust> :naughty:

    @Bishops Finger - sorry to hear your tale of woe - poor little car. :cry:

    I'm going to have to sell the Pigletmobile - I don't drive over here, so there's no point in keeping it. It's a shame, as it's a cute little car, and we were about to get Dad's old registration plate put on it, as front plates are no longer required in New Brunswick, and you can have vanity plates instead.

    It is, as the late, great Sir Terry Pratchett would have put it, an embuggerance.
    I had a very helpful meeting today to get the music sorted for the funeral - I hope we'll be able to give D. a good send-off.
  • So much to do at a time like this. Prayers.
  • DooneDoone Shipmate
    I’m sure D’s send off will be splendid! Mixed with tears and thanksgiving, of course.
  • Might I timidly suggest one of Lefebure-Wely's "Sorties" as a closing voluntary? Great organ showpieces (but perhaps a little too much fun for a funeral).
  • Would love to hear what D’s send off music will be, if you are prepared to share with us. I’m sure it will be amazing. Thinking of you so much Piglet.

    Our Heating Is On.
  • So is mine - the Dragon has been woken up, and I must now go out to the coal-stack, to fetch his evening feed.
  • Our boiler Went Cold yesterday. Fortunately I have a contract with a local engineer. He came round today and - much to my embarrassment - simply had to push a reset button to get it going again. (I knew about the button but it didn't work, in fact it jammed, last year when I tried it; at that time the problem was more serious).
  • No heating on yet, but it was a close call this evening.
    I have a bad back at the moment, and the frequent application of a hot wheat bag to my back has helped keep the chill away for the time being.

    Today and yesterday were dry (and yesterday was sunny) so I took the opportunity to empty, sort and tidy the garden shed - hence the bad back.
    It looks lovely, I can actually see the back wall from the doorway. I'm slightly anxious about the safety of the shed floor, as I know the fox from the house behind is tunnelling underneath.
  • Turned our heating on yesterday.
    Managed to pull my hamstring at yoga this morning so I was hobbling this afternoon but it is now easing off. Got some study done while sitting on the sofa with my feet up.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    Might I timidly suggest one of Lefebure-Wely's "Sorties" as a closing voluntary? ...
    It's funny you should mention that: the Sortie in E flat has been played (by request) at three family funerals (my b-i-l, my mum and my dad).

    It won't be played on Tuesday; I don't even know if the chap who's playing plays it, but even if he does, I doubt he would do it with quite the panache that D. did.

    I've left the organ music up to his discretion, with the proviso that he can work in a bit of Gilbert and Sullivan if he wishes (but not Jack Point's song from Yeomen of the Guard because my eyes are quite likely enough to leak without that).

  • JapesJapes Shipmate
    I do admit, I can play the Sortie in E flat, and have great fun doing so for my own amusement, but it's firmly on the list of those things I can play (more or less) but wouldn't play publicly (yet). It definitely needs someone with the right degree of panache.
  • Did Carlo Curley ever play it? He (over-)excelled in the panache department.

    He used to play the organ at a little church in West London, now closed I believe. One evening we held a United Service there. All went well until we got to the "Gloria" - a simple arrangement, but he started off in totally the wrong key, got muddled, and came to a halt. A big smile from the console and a cry of, "Sorry, my fault!" - and off we went again, this time successfully.
  • Love it, BT!

    At our last church the vicar was a Cambridge music graduate, and he wrote a lovely version of the 'Gloria', which we all sang with gusto (if not panache). It was at this time that Mr S found God (not directly because of the Gloria, I hasten to add).

    Some years later we were at my Mum's church for Communion, we got to the Gloria, and it dawned on me that the one tune they would not sing it to was the only one Mr S had ever known. He was opening his mouth to sing when a) I dug him in the ribs, and b) the vicar announced that we would sing it to the tune of 'In an English Country Garden'.

    I will cherish the look on his face for ever - and yes, singing it to That Tune was exactly as dire as you thought it would be: the words had to be mangled to make them fit...

    Mrs S, still thinking 'why, dear Lord, why?'
  • Piglet, I just got weepy thinking of you and Jack Point. I'd quite fancy Mad Margaret's bit of the patter song from Ruddigore, but then I am "a little mad and generally silly".

    In other news, had a fire last night. Cats flopped.
  • Some years later we were at my Mum's church for Communion, we got to the Gloria, and it dawned on me that the one tune they would not sing it to was the only one Mr S had ever known. He was opening his mouth to sing when a) I dug him in the ribs, and b) the vicar announced that we would sing it to the tune of 'In an English Country Garden'.
    There is also a version which goes to the theme of "Eastenders", though I can't give you chapter and verse.

  • We sing a version of the Gloria to I Bob Un Sydd Fyddlon (Who is on the Lord's Side), I believe the tune is Rachie. I've never come across this version before, but in a Welsh Valleys church, it's sung with great gusto.
  • Baptist TrainfanBaptist Trainfan Shipmate
    edited October 2019
    The version on p.4, presumably: https://tinyurl.com/y687ftkg - as used at Llandaff Cathedral, no less (yes - the far side of the Taff!)
  • Father NewPriest has introduced us to a version of the Gloria, sung to Cwm Rhondda (Guide me, O thou great Redeemer).

    It goes well - not sure who adapted the words, though.
  • SarasaSarasa Shipmate
    That does sound dire Mrs S, can’t even begin to see how that would fit. Mind you I prefer to say it, not being able to sing.
    We’re spending a week in Bologna. Lovely weather, even if a bit chilly yesterday, and even more lovely food. I’ve been lighting candles in the churches I’ve visited for all our intentions. I said a special prayer for D at the Oratory of Saint Cecilia, @Piglet .
  • @Sarasa , how appropriate :heart:
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    edited October 2019
    Aaahh thank you, Sarasa!

    BT, how am I supposed to unhear that??? Does anyone remember the Pirate Eucharist, with movements set to tunes from The Pirates of Penzance?

    Carlo Curley came over to Belfast when we were there, and he and D. did a concert together - D. playing thr Cathedral organ and Carlo playing his mobile electronic beast. The evening before, Carlo treated us and another local organist to dinner in an Italian restaurant and we downed seven bottles of Chardonnay* between four of us ... :flushed:

    * It was the 1990s - everyone drank Chardonnay. These days I'm an "ABC" girl - anything but Chardonnay.
    Had a nice spot of retail therapy this afternoon: a friend came round with the mattress and sleeping bag I'm borrowing for my niece to sleep on, and as I only have one set of sheets (they get washed, dried and put back on the bed), I thought, sod it, why don't I get a new set and put it on the futon?

    A trip to W*lm*rt** and just over $100 later I had a set of sheets, a quilt, a pillow, bath towel and inner curtain for the shower over the bath (that shower's never been used in our time as D. preferred baths).

    ** Sorry about that - I really don't approve of them, but needs must, and their stuff is cheap but of fairly decent quality. If only they'd pay their (very nice, helpful) staff a decent salary ...
  • Mr S, who used to work for an American company, spent quite a bit of time in the States. He had a mock advert for the abovementioned store -

    'W*lm*rt, where fat people go to shout at their kids'.

    I'll get his coat...

  • Piglet wrote: »
    Does anyone remember the Pirate Eucharist, with movements set to tunes from The Pirates of Penzance?
    Now that's one I've not heard of!

  • Piglet wrote: »
    Does anyone remember the Pirate Eucharist, with movements set to tunes from The Pirates of Penzance?


    Would that be this one* from The Soprano Wore Falsettos by Mark Schweizer ?

    *PDF
  • The version on p.4, presumably: https://tinyurl.com/y687ftkg - as used at Llandaff Cathedral, no less (yes - the far side of the Taff!)

    The words for that are by the Revd Christopher Idle (who I think is a cousin of Monty Python's Eric...!) and can be found in the NEH at number 363: the tune for that is Cuddesdon by William Ferguson - like all Ferguson tunes, it sounds complicated but is, in fact, very easy for congregations to pick up.
  • @Sarasa if you’re churchy-inclined, there is a diocese of Europe Anglican Church in Bologna which meets most Sunday afternoons. It’s about 10 minutes walk from the city centre and they’re very friendly.

    It is a beautiful city. And All The Food. Oh, the food. My sister lives in the region so I’ve been lucky enough to go many times.

    Here in the south I’ve hung out three loads of washing but it’s that cloudy murkiness which might mean it just feels slightly less wet at the end of the day rather than dry. But on the plus side, the littlest ferijenette turns 1 next week so it’s soon time for CAKE.
  • Baptist Trainfan and TheOrganist, that's the one! I'd never heard it before.
  • I've always sung "Who Is On The Lord's Side" to that tune
  • I don't see how that would fit: WIOTLS is an 8 line verse plus 4 line chorus and the Ferguson tune is just 8 lines.
  • It’s official: Mr & Mrs Sais are old! Yesterday we joined the National Trust and visited two of their properties that day, so that is £57 back of our £120 annual membership.
This discussion has been closed.