What Lies Beneath -

Yes Indeedy Ally Sheedy
No, she has nothing to do with the rest of this post, her name is merely a convenient rhyme.  Nor does this post have much to do with the film of the same name, "What Lies Beneath", starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Harrison Ford, except - SPOILER! - you might consider that what lies beneath the lake to be a metaphor for the human soul.
     Which is all very dry and philosophical, so let's break it up with a picture of - 

A Finnish Aerosan

     - actually that's a 'Hakaristi', the Finnish national symbol until the end of the Second Unpleasantness, when it got changed for understandable reasons.  The pot and brush are for painting the symbol onto the aerosan as it appears to have been captured from the Sinisters.  The Finns got a lot of their expensive kit that way.
     This ties up with the absence of any new post on BOOJUM! yesterday, because I was out in Gomorrah-on-the-Irwell to celebrate Hannah's finishing work at the Co-Op.  Yes I did get home for 10:20 but it takes an hour to compose these lines that greet your sight and I didn't fancy spending that time against the clock.

Er - close enough.

     "Yes, yes, but that stuff about being beneath?  Is it to do with the Wombles?" I hear you ask.
     NO!  It is not.  Although "A Wombling Merry Christmas" is truly a ballad for the ages -
     - where was I?  Oh yes, the celebrations.  They began at The Angel, a pub that is revered by the CAMRA crowd.  Art?

The salubrious exterior

     By CAMRA but not camera, as the shabby interior exhibits a lot of ceiling and wall water damage, perhaps as a means of driving away any urban suit-forms.  The more aesthetically discriminatory of our party (Katie) wanted away, so we hied off to Sadler's Yard.  Art?

Not a horse in sight

     That above is the Pilcrow, which has all the ambience of a garden shed with pretensions.  "Or a cricket pavilion" opined Pete.
     "This is all very well and good, Conrad," I hear you prattle on.  "But the 'Beneath' bit?"
     I was getting to that!  Okay, obligatory group photo.  Art?

Some of the suppers-up

     Not good enough.  What I want is a photo that displays the sweetly feminine charms of Anna - whom I am not alone in praising, Russell did as well, and he's gay so she has quite a lot of something going for her - 

Me on the left.  Just so we're clear

     She looks as delightful as a field of daisies, doesn't she?  Innocent, even?
     We beg to differ!  Allow me to sidestep wildly and introduce these - 

To be handled with tongs

     Which Anna bought and offered to the table: without warning.  Russell incautiously ate a whole one, ending up with a flushed face, tears and a numb tongue.  For twenty minutes!  Pete nibbled timidly on the end of one and refused to go further than that 1/2 inch portion.  Hannah disappeared to the ladies, doubtless to spit her Karkli down the khazi.  Conrad, no stranger to hot things, managed to gradually chew his way through three of them and won't be hurrying to try them in future, as it took half an hour for his mouth to completely recover.
     So, What Lies Beneath?

     
     A very wicked sense of mischief, obviously.  If this lady ever offers you a bag of crisps, check the Chilli Rating first.
     On other matters, it was jolly nice to meet up with some of the old gang from my Enormous Anonymous Employer, who had flattering things to say about your humble hack.  I'm not sure if this was respect or fear but I'll take a compliment out of it anyway.

Furthermore -
Allow me to produce Exhibit F, because in answer to the question What Lies Beneath? one of the answers would be - 

Edna!

     She is lying despondently on the floor, whimpering pitifully every so often, outraged - OUTRAGED! - that Conrad has not yet yielded up the chickenskins from the chicken drumsticks he has that she can smell and which so obviously belong to her - yeah, yeah, Edna, later if you're lucky.
     Hang on, here's a stray bit of Karkli, Edders - nice and crunchy!  Would you like*?

Finally - 
I see from Auntie Beeb's website that the Allotment, plus the Herbaceous Border of Eden**, have narrowly trounced the Polite Australians*** at the game of rugby.
     Why are they still using the term "Lions" for our rugby team!  Why!  

The weasel: Nature's natural Fly-Half

     Surely someday soon the Vice-regent of the Beasts will inherit it's rightful title?


*  Sadly not possible - Wonder Wifey would come after Conrad with a Challenger tank were he rash enough to offer the Wunderhund any such same.
**  Britain and Ireland, FYI
***  New Zealand