An Horrendous Cauldron Full Of Bowing Goats

It Will All Make Sense In A Bit
And if it doesn't - well, you're not paying to read this, are you?  
     Okay, as you ought to know by now, BOOJUM! proudly maintains that it teaches you, gentle reader, about language and words and their derivations, because we rarely stop to ponder about our everyday speech (or typing).  Conrad, on the other hand, can regularly be counted upon to wonder about words that either pop up spontaneously in his head*, or that he muses on at the bus stop.
     In many, many cases, words commonly used in English turn out to have a Latin or Greek origin <hack spit Latin the Zombie Language!> so it is with some relief that today's first didactic excursion is from Spanish.  Art?

Behold the volcano

     This is a "CALDERA", which was the answer for one of my crossword clues today, and is, I think, proof that this book of them is not as easy as I'd anticipated.  A Caldera is the crater left when the cone of a volcano experiences collapse, and it comes from the Spanish for "Cauldron".  Extremely apt.  You could do a few trainloads of baked potatoes in there.
     Then next we have - goats.  Yes it's true, Arnold Vosloo.  Art?

Goat looking quizzical

     The second crossword solution of less-than-obviousness was "CHIMERA", from the clue about a monster.  The historical Chimera was a kind of animal mash-up, having the head of a lion, the body of a goat and the tail of a serpent; heaven only knows what it fed on, and it's reproductive cycle has to remain a mystery because think of the children.  Art?

 - and fiery breath?  Frankly, that's egging the pudding rather too much

     As mentioned above, this word has a Greek root: "Khimaira", which means - er - "She-goat".  Because obviously <thinks> only a female goat could be associated with monsters; male goats are such splendid pillars of the community after all, utterly beyond reproach!
     And thirdly, we have that stance of having one's hands on one's hips, elbows out, which is "AKIMBO" and practically the default stance for a superhero.  Art?

Thus.
(And if you disagree, take it up with him)

     This one comes from Old English, when it sounded nothing like Modern English, to wit:  "at kenebowe", meaning "To be curved like a bow".  Art?

Composite and recurved!

     You can kind of see what they meant if you look at Supe's profile above.
     And here endeth today's lesson, dear audience.  You can't say we don't try to tell a different story and the title did make sense in the end.
     Motley!  Go and stir that beef ragout, will you?  And yes, you can have some.  When it's ready.

Smoking!
This all ties together, or, rather, Your Humble Scribe makes sure it all ties together.  Of course, BOOJUM!s idea of "ties together" frequently means a package bursting from the seams in 18 different places.
     You will remember that earlier this week Conrad went on about how everyone in "The Sweeney" smoked like chimneys, and industrial factory chimneys at that; the program being made in 1977.  Art?

Proof!

     Interestingly enough, the question came up at Pub Quiz last night: "When was cigarette advertising banned on television in the UK?"
     I shall spare you the effort of Googling: the date was 1966.  Now, judging by the above, it had no effect on how our heroes disported themselves on television itself.  Nowadays, hardly anyone smokes on television - because think of the children.  
     Mind you, I can tell that advertising the Magic Smoke Flute isn't forbidden yet, as every second bus that travels past The Mansion carries an emblazoned banner about "Vape Fuel" or whatever the evil chemical is.

I keep saying it: Philip K. DIck is laughing at you.

Don't Mock Jock
Because he's a rock.  NO!  Because we are back to wittering about Jock Columns in North Africa during the Second Unpleasantness, and as they apply to the 2nd Battalion The Rifle Brigade.     Yesterday I gave you a breakdown of the "July" column, which consisted of lorried infantry, some anti-tank guns, some anti-aircraft guns, some 25-pounder artillery pieces and a handful of Royal Engineers.  Their instructions were to waylay and harass any Axis forces they came across, and also feed back information to the Eighth Army.  They were operating well behind enemy lines and were, in fact, the British forces furthest to the West and would hold this record for 6 months.  Art?

     That red dot marks El Agheila (as it was spelled at the time), which the Axis had advanced from earlier that year.  You can see from the salt marshes to the south that it's a choke point, which the Axis supply columns had to use, restricting the number of routes they were able to take.
     Enter "July" and "August" Jock Columns, who ranged over this area with buccaneering skill and practice.  Their tally included six enemy tanks, destroyed on tank transporters, six artillery pieces, two Stuka dive bombers caught on the ground - and three shot down as they passed low overhead, mistaking the British formations for Germans, because this far behind the lines - and also forty lorries.  Losing that number of tanks wasn't decisive, although it would make Rommel and Bastico both frown with annoyance, but losing that many trucks with their supplies was serious, especially if any were carrying fuel or water.     The engineers would also lay mines across obviously-travelled routes, though they tended not to hang around and see what havoc they caused.

A frequent sight - Afrika Korps soldiers in a "borrowed" British truck

     And there we will leave our desert pirates for the moment, as Edna is whimpering and expecting some tea shortly.

Finally -
I just have to add in a photograph of today's Long Walk, as this is proof of Edna getting lots of exercise.  Your Humble Scribe also.

*  Like "Thrasybulus", for example