I'm From The Tin Isles - And I Have Piles

Yes, I Say, Vanessa May
I refer you back to my earlier post today, about "Ultima Thule".  This cunning self-referential post will obviously - obviously! - send you back to look at what Conrad wrote earlier, but I can also encapsulate here.
     Ultima Thule was more a concept than a concrete* location, being somewhere a very very long way from the centre of things.  If you were a citizen of Rome, that cosmopolitan city of the seven hills, then modern day Britain was about as far from the beating heart of Latin civilisation as it was possible to get - hence Ultima Thule.
     However, that is not all.  In addition to being disgustingly cold and wet, Britain also had a mineral resource of considerable value - tin.  Chemical symbol Sn.  Mostly mined in the south-west by those hardy folks the Cornish, and incidentally a component of pewter, an alloy of tin and lead.
     Oh - the piles?  Bite your tongue!  BOOJUM! is SFW -

 

PILES OF BOOKS!

"SPRONG!"
I am inspired by Facebook and Twitter, who have both posted suggested sites that are so bizarrely beyond anything that Conrad might be interested in that he suspects a conspiracy.
     However, I intend to get my retaliation in first.
     Hence, SPRONG!

     SPRONG: Why you should choose SPRONG

     No moving parts; hence no possible breakdown issues.

     No batteries or electrical power are required to operate SPRONG

     Minimal technical ability; even a two-year old child can operate it

     Comes in a variety of colours: Chocolate; Vomit; Taupe; Vermillion; Lamentable

     Proof against atmospheric pressures beyond 120N

     Compatible with all NATO weapon systems

     Available in diesel, petrol or hydrogen-cell versions

     
Caution: not available in the US or Canada.  May cause voles to explode.  Only supplied in Imperial metrics.

SPRONG!
Or maybe not.  I'm fickle that way

The Haul
I like to post about what Conrad has bought in the Saturday after payday, except this has been delayed by a week - I had to replace my inter-thoracic plutonium-powered pumping-unit** - so here we are now.  I shall try to keep the text to a minimum as we don't want to delay the process, do we?

The Books
Today I ventured into Empire Records, as recommended by Sophie at work, and good lord, what stuff they have in there!  Nowhere else in Manchester city centre can you buy a jerrican or a copy of "The War Illustrated" whilst tripping over vinyl records, a vast selection of "Private Eye" and - is that jewellery?
     After that I visited Ian Allan, a bookshop on Picadilly Approach that I have only ever encountered rarely, usually late at night when it has long been closed.  They have been there for 20 years and today is - is <breaks down a little> the first time I've been in***.
     And then it was off to Church Street Market and the "Kill a Kindle" book stall.  The owner knows me by sight, although - being British and all that - we would never ever descend to the informality of using first names.

     Whilst I was there I witnessed two rather illuminating scenes.  A young chap with a giant bag of books went to see Mr. Kaykay^; I didn't hear the conversation but the giant bag of books went on it's merry way unemptied.  Then someone rang, and Mr. Kaykay explained that he didn't want hardback fiction, and that he'd have to come out and view the books, to see what they were and what condition they were in.

The CD's
I did go to Fopp with a list, which is how pedants like myself operate.  Mew, Carpark North, Bonobo and Smoke Fairies.

From the top: Lord Huron, Steely Dan, Bonobo, Mew and Smoke Fairies

     No sign of CPN <bah!> and I missed Bonobo first time round - it took a check with the till staff to locate it - and the Lord Huron purchase came around because it was being played over the shop PA.  This is yet another purchase I've made because the Fopp staff play good music.

The Metro
I realise that you must be wondering why I am posting about the Tea Spill Soaker-Upper on a Saturday, when - it's not published on a Saturday!
    You got me.  This is from yesterday's edition:

The little ships at Dunkirk

     Dunkirk is a very, and peculiarly, British celebration of what is, essentially, a defeat.  Wars, as one general observed, are not won by evacuations.  
     What you might care to ponder about is the weather.  If the notoriously fickle weather in the Channel had been anything less than perfect, then nobody sitting on the French beaches would have gotten home.  The weather was perfect, perfect enough to allow 330,000 soldiers to be evacuated.
     All complete coincidence, right?

Northern Soul
One of the highlights of Conrad's visits to the Sinful Big City is getting lunch at Northern Soul, where they do monster grilled cheese sandwiches, viz:

A vendor's-eye view of the customers

     They really are filling sandwiches.  And the service is excellent!  I say this as I didn't tip them, and so this particular post has to stand in, instead.
     
Goodness gracious!  Up to nearly 900 words already - sorry but as opposed to scoop and scoff I have to be off -


* I'm pretty sure the Romans invented concrete.  Just so we're clear.
** I think the Hom. Sap. equivalent is a "heart"
*** Probably not the last.
^ "Kaykay" - from "K K" - from "Kindle Killer".  Aren't I hilarious.