Band On The Rum

I Know What You're Thinking -
"Goodness me, his kayboard skills are in stark decline of late - he'd never mis-spell like that six months ago."
     Well, apart from pointing out that, unless your name is Kay and you are the bespoke possessor of an alpha-numerical digital interface, there is no such thing as a 'kayboard', I shall elucidate.
     ART!


     If you want to steal another album title, when looking at this, every picture does indeed tell a story.  Here we have Michael Parkinson, Paul McCartney, Ivor Cutler, Ludwig Van Camper Van, Sir Sigmund Freud, Dracula and Frank Stone.*
     "Yes, but what does this have to do with - frankly - anything?" I hear you quibble.  Also "What happens if you raise the temperature above zero on 'Dancing on Ice"?
     Pshaw!  Are you not familiar with BOOJUM!s prediliction for word-games and -
     - hang on, you're not?  You thought this blog was about Lewis Carroll and 'Alice Through The Looking Glass' and white rabbits?  O dear no! -

At the Wonderland Zoo -

     Enough of obscure musical references.  Allow me to show you what I meant with today's title.  Art?

     There you go.  Literally, an elastic loop on a bottle of spirits.
     Next!

Whither The Weather
A title I have used before, because the weather in the UK merits it.  However!  Today we are not talking about a country with two seasons ('Summer' and 'Slutch'), but about the North African desert.  A tip of the hat to Alexander Clifford, whose "Three Against Rommel" is my staple reading at present.  Yes, still: it's quite a long book.

No!  Not Bognor Regis - the Sahara Desert

     Ol' Alex frequently comments on how appallingly wet and cold the weather is, which sounds a bit counter-intuitive when talking about a desert.  I am currently up to December 1941 and 'Operation Crusader', where tropical storms frequently interrupt play.  In fact the Axis air force was grounded for two days at the beginning of this offensive when their airfields were turned into swathes of mud.
     Of course, the counter to people writing about how dreadful the weather, is that in wartime you're in the outdoors a whole lot more than usual, so you experience rain and wind and snow up close and personal.  The armies of Perfidious Albion used to get round this by issuing a rum ration.

Yes, yes, Art - don't try to be clever.

Just An Observation
It is a lot easier to set your alarm clock for seven o'clock than it is to get up at that time.  I realise this truism probably goes back to the Egyptians setting their clepsydra for such an unpleasantly early hour, so it may not be novel, but it is heartfelt.

A clepsydra.  State-of-the-art in 4000 BC

   And that was typed in the darkest recesses of my Sekrit Layr, whereas this is being typed up on the 18th floor of the Dark Tower.

Plan For Weekend
1)  bake  2)  read  3) write  4) take over world (weather and 1,2, & 3 permitting).
     Actually, apropos of 1), I plan to bake a Yorkshire Brack this weekend, which is a variety of fruitcake.  You soak the dried fruit in tea overnight, imparting both moisture and flavour, and it doesn't require any dairy products.  If made with gluten-free flour then even Wonder Wifey can partake!
     Still on matters gustatory, let us review the Spiraliser!
     No, this is nothing to do with that BBC item about a black hole burping - although props for managing to link eating with spiral galaxies - but rather about a vegetable known as a "Mooli".  Art?

A mooli, truly

     I bought one on spec, purely because it was long and thin and looked ideal for Spiralising, only for Wonder Wifey to poo-poo it.  It has lain, unloved and unused, lo! these several weeks, in the fridge.
     Except what's this?  Why, nought but a Spiraliser recipe, wherein the humble Mooli is revealed to be none other than the Japanese DAIKON RADISH!

Daikon and on

     I realise this is not exactly going to rock your world, BUT! don't forget the Radish Monster in "Spirited Away", who is a silent, subtle presence for good just when our heroine needs help.  There you go - BOOJUM! educating you one fact at a time.

Proof!  Proof I am not raving.
(This time)

     Oh, and don't forget, "Spirited Away" is the best animated film ever made, bar none, no arguing at the back there.  I was going to put this as a footnote and then changed my mind as it VERY IMPORTANT AND NOT OPEN TO QUESTION -

     - oh my.  My work colleagues are now talking about radishes.  Time to sign off before causality breaks down completely ...




*  I may have got this slightly incorrect.  Don't bother informing or suing if I have.