With A Nice Pot Of Assam
Not quite tea per se,
but still with that theme. Apparently,
South Canadians with pretensions of either grandeur or sophistication make a
point of drinking tea rather than coffee, which is surely a sign that
civilisation triumphs eventually. All we
need then is for them to acknowledge their mistake and re-join the
Commonwealth. Oh, and switch to driving
on the proper side of the road.
IT WILL HAPPEN! |
Gosh, BOOJUM! got political, so sue
me. It’s not as if you pay to read this
scrivel, is it? No. So don’t complain.
Okay, this is a very short Intro. I can do that if I want to – once again,
whose blog is it?
“The
Somme” By Richard Van Emden
Yes! Another in my collection of military history
tomes, and probably about the sixth or seventh to do with the Somme
campaign. This one is a bit different
from the usual flood of centenary cash-ins, as it details personal recollections
in letters written by the officers and other ranks at the time.
“What’s this?” I pondered, reading about
Lieutenant of the 16th Manchester Regiment, who mentions another
officer by surname – Elstob. It’s not a
common name, and it most probably applies to Wilfrith Elstob, who ended up in
temporary command of the Manchesters when the Teuton’s “Kaiserschlacht” broke
upon the Manchester Redoubt. He won a
posthumous VC for his actions on 21st March, where he was in fact a
pillar of the defence; when he was killed the defence crumbled and the redoubt
was over-run.
What is different about this work is the
use of photographs taken (illegally!) by the contributors, which tend to be
unposed and of transient situations.
Novel, certainly by comparison with the usual IWM stuff that gets
trotted out.
The Manchesters spreading the gospel of peace and friendship (it says here ...) |
“Litotes”
This was actually a Cryptic
Crossword answer, from a clue that included “understatement”. Personally I think I was pretty clever in
getting that one, it’s not a term used much in everday life. Although, come to think about it, BOOJUM! is
pretty much litotes made concrete. After
all, I apologise for being almost Continentally excessive if using more than
one exclamation mark.
“Schadenfreude”
Which is a compact Teutonic way
to say “Point and laugh” or, more formally, “malicious enjoyment of other
people’s misfortune”.
I know, I know, I’m a terrible
person. You see, this morning I tried to
catch the slightly earlier 181, only to find that it had departed Royton
early.
“Oh, I say, bad luck old chap,” I hear you respond. Pausing only to look at you with
narrowed eyes in case that was sarcasm, I shall continue.
About ten minutes into the 24’s journey,
why, what do we encounter but the 181.
Broken down.
So!
All it’s passengers debouched onto the 24, rendering it packed. Then we picked up all the passengers that
would have caught it, and more besides – a previous service hadn’t bothered
turning up. Even more packed. Sardines, we feel your pain.
By the time we get to Dean Lane, the
driver wasn’t stopping to let anyone on, so Conrad amused himself – I did admit
being a terrible person – by looking at the abandoned passengers standing with
looks of disbelief and annoyance as their ride goes ride on by.
Schadenfreude.
Really. Terrible. |
Shakespoke
Ha, take that,
Shakespeare! Or Billy Barf, as I like to
call him (I’ve already admitted being a terrible person). That genuine man of letters Thomas Pynchon
once wrote of a band called Billy Barf and the Vomitones, which would put
Windbag Willy in pretty apt company.
As you may have gathered, I dislike
Shakespeare. A LOT. Here is the metaphorical fruit of my
dog-walking last night. If you were out
on Tandle Hill Road last night, and you encountered a large man with a small
dog, please don’t be alarmed by his ferocious visage and evil-sounding mutters
– my face is naturally like that.
“Out, damned Spot!”
That dog has got
Where it should not.
(The casserole pot).
In case you were wondering, the dog has
stuck it’s inquisitive nose into the casserole pot, because that’s what dogs do
– at no point was the chef ever trying to cook it. I may be a terrible person, but even I have
limits.
“Lay on, MacDuff”
And expect rebuff.
You won’t scuff
My armour gruff.
Yes indeed. That armour’s tough old stuff.
I do have a couple of quatrains on
“Something wicked this way comes”, but one of them is both startlingly
political and current affairs-y, and besides we’re at count.
Armour propre |
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