Hors De Combat

Which Is A Pretentious Way Of Saying "A Bit Ill"
And of course there is nothing more pathetic than a man with a minor illness.Hack off a limb or flay away his skin or scorch with napalm and your average British gentleman will sniffily dismiss the injury as "superficial, only a flesh wound" and carry out that universally recognised medical treatment, Running It Under A Cold Tap.
     However, a bit of a sniffle, the merest hint of indigestion, or a paper cut will all bring on an attacking of fainting in coils.  Never so bad as to require actual medical attention, the Man With A Minor Illness will attempt to combat the symptoms by fishing for attention, sympathy and cups of tea.
     Thus it is with your humble scribe tonight, so - the sacrifices I make! - I shall not risk further alienating my insides with either food or beer, or beer and food, in whatever combination.  An early night also beckons, so - no Pub Quiz, which has rendered one of my articles as relevant as a VHS recorder.  I shall see what can be salvaged from the wreckage.

     Right!  Trawling for sympathy over, let the motley begin!
     Oh, no, wait a minute, we crashed the motley, didn't we?  It was a metaphorical accident so I wonder if the allegorical insurance money has arrived yet?  I shall get back to you on that.

GoT Vs. POTA
Ha!  Battle of the acronyms, eh?  Of course "POTA" means "Planet Of The Apes", and indeed Planet Earth is quite over-run with the upright hairless variety.

     If you retain any recollection of recent BOOJUM! then you ought to recall your humble scribe pondering on a POTA nding for "Game of Thrones".  Because their planet is plainly NOT Earth.  Dragons?  Wildfire?  White Walkers?  Gold that melts over a fire made of twigs?

CAUTION!  Not Creme de Menthe

     As one question begets another, so Conrad's mind hops around like a flea on a griddle*.  How would the POTA ending play if the film had been made in China, rather than South Canada?  Okay, what iconic Chinese landmark can we show, despoiled, decayed and destroyed?
     Hmmm.  The Great Wall of China is the only thing that comes to mind.  

Thus -

Which would be awkward as the Charlton Heston character would be looking at a pile of bricks, collapsed in on itself.  Hardly cinematic!
     Imagine his final speech:  "You blew it up - or knocked it down - or is this the result of a prolonged period of neglected maintenance?"
     Or perhaps it was DRAGONS**!

DRAGONS who were driving BULLDOZERS!

CAKE!
Forsooth, does not the world look better when viewed from behind a slice of cake and a cuppa?
     Conrad, for these several months past, has felt disaffected and demotivated and despondent about baking.
     Until now.
     This - Art?

     is the third cake I've baked in a week, and there is - of course! - a tale associated with it.  
     Normally I'd bake it on Thursday for delivery to the Hunger Hobbits at work on Friday.  However, it's a fruit cake - these need to bake on a low heat for a long time and, being on a late shift Thursday, your humble scribe won't even reach home until 7:20.  If Pub Quiz is on <sad face> then I've got 1 hour 40 minutes before it starts, and 1 hour of that will be consumed by creating and posting BOOJUM!  Nor would I like to leave Wonder Wifey in charge of turning, tenting and testing the cake, as this is a crushing responsibility to have.
     So, I baked it last night, having been on an early shift, after creating the blog and having a morsel of food, making next day's lunch AND watch the Great British Bake Off.
     Conrad - not quite multi-tasking but getting there.

I Like The Look Of This
As you know, Conrad has sought to display the better side of his nature, which is tricky as he doesn't have one, by not posting his ferociously derisive articles about the Twits and the Foobs, concentrating on projecting an air of sweetness and light.
     Thus, this -

     Proving that I have a long way to go in terms of sugar and visible wavelengths, I'm not going to tell you what film this scene comes from - AND NO READING THE SCREENSHOT TEXT TO FIND OUT!
     Although the colour is a great big hint.


*  DO try to keep up!
** Everything goes better with DRAGONS!