Here's One I Made Earlier

 As They Used To Say On "Blue Peter"

Today's Intro begins with a - what's that?  To what do I refer when I mention "Blue Peter"? <heavy sigh>

     Okay, anyone who asks this question is clearly not living within the hallowed boundaries of This Sceptred Isle.  It's a children's television program that first aired who-knows-when - O go on then <Googles> 1958.  1958?  Wow.  Older than I am.  Art!

The marque

     No idea why it was called Blue Peter or why they have a ship as the program's emblem and frankly that's more info than you deserve.  One of their trademark activities was making an item from common household items, with the priviso that they couldn't use the word "Sellotape" as it was a branded name and mentinoing it would have been ADVERTISING which as any fule kno is not allowed on the BBC.  At some point in the proceedings one of the presenters would proudly produce An Artefact with the words "Here's One I Made Earlier".  Art!

Val, Val, The Delicious Gal

     Where the heck were we?

     O yes.  There was an interesting question posed on Quora (a place to be avoided AT ALL COSTS if you don't want your day to be eaten up) about underestimating the Ruffians.  

Must we not be careful about underestimating Russia? Charles XII of Sweden, great military genius, Napoleon, and Hitler each considered the Russians to be easy prey; each met with disaster for this misconception.

     How could Your Humble Scribe resist?  That's right, I couldn't.  Allow me:

You are labouring under a misapprehension. In all three cases you give Russia was being invaded.

Today, Russia is invading Ukraine. This means the traditional Russian rallying-point around ‘Holy Mother Russia’ does not exist.

Nor were the Swedes, French or Germans especially close to Russia (and Ukraine).

You have left out the Poles, who managed to conquer Moscow in 1610, and who would be quite prepared to repeat this feat as of 16:1 today.

     Every word true.  You may not be aware of the Poles conquest of Moscow, yet it happened.  Art!

Note winged hussars in background

     The crucial battle was at Kluszn, where a smaller yet elite Polish cavalry formation routed the Ruffians, and to quote Wiki: "This giant and surprising defeat of the Russians shocked everyone and opened a new phase in the conflict."  Hmmmm history seems to be repeating itself ...

     Once again, you are probably not familiar with the Great Northern War (1700 - 1721), which occurred when Sweden was a major military power in Europe, with territory on the south coast of the Baltic and a formidable commander-in-chief in King Charles XII.  Fortunes swung this way and that, as they were wont to do in eighteenth century warfare, but the main Swedish army was destroyed at the battle of Poltava.  As you may be aware, this is in modern-day Ukraine, which gives you some idea of how far the invading Swedes got.  Art!

No Peter The Average here!

      Then we come to Nappy.  His "Grande Armee" invaded Russia in 1812 and discovered that the Ruffians weren't interested in a stand-up fight against the best general general in Europe.  Instead they continually fell back, mounting harassing raids and destroying supplies.  Then came the enormous blood-bath that was Borodino, mounted outside Moscow; Nappy won, at very heavy cost, and was able to occupy Moscow - which was then burned down.  The by-now "Petite Armee" then had a hellish retreat across Russia in winter.  Art!

     Nappy, concerned for his own skin as only a dictator can be, got into his own private sleigh and abandoned his army, escorted by Polish cavalry who knew something about winter warfare and who used rough-shod hooves.  Art!

     

Schematic of the Armee invading and then retreating reflecting numbers

     The last of these names, Herr Schickelgruber, didn't even manage to reach Moscow, after stabbing his bestie in the back in June of 1941.  You see, whilst Ruffians may not be willing to work for their nation, if you invade they are quite happy to die for it.

     Well that was all pretty grim.  Bring on the light and frothy!

More On The Theme Of "Empty Spaces"

Without further ado - Art!

Courtesy An-Son Vu Wurdemann

     The photographer describes this as "Exploring an abandoned bunker in Kent", which we'll have to take on trust as they didn't think to use flash here.  It's also NOT a practice Your Humble Scribe would recommend as this structure could be over eighty years old, will doubtless be full of rubbish and probably stinks to high heaven.  Whatever floats your boat.

Conrad: Still Righteously Rancourous

You'll have to take me seriously now.  I have proof PROOF I TELL YOU of how Codeword Compilers are most definitely testing my patience.  Art!

     Now, I could have just typed out the offending words and you'd just have to take my word for it, or I could provide evidence.  To what do I refer?

     THE OBSCURE ANIMAL NAMES!

     "GNU" - a three-letter word that ends in "U" and a silent "G"?  Bah!  Art?

"IBIS":  WHAT ARE WE ALL ORNITHOLOGISTS NOW?  Art!

A.k.a. 'The blackhead bird'

"LYNX": A four-letter word with no vowels?  BAH!  However, they've over-used this word so Conrad is aware that the letter after "L" might be a "Y" instead of a vowel.

A vowel movement?

"RAY":  Neither Liotta nor Winstone.  No, instead a variety of fish.  Art!

     If it was cooked in a mixed fish dish you might end up with a Ray Bream.

"The Sea Of Sand"

Whether the alien Sorbusa likes it or not, he's getting a lecture on morals and ethics from the Doctor.

"I mean, Sorbusa, that your culture, or the culture of eight thousand years ago, looked for the quick-fix solution.  They never asked "How do we maintain this world?" Instead they intended to export their problem.  They never asked "What are the answers in the long term?" Instead they tried to fudge things for today, not tomorrow.  They never asked "What right have we to take what does not and will not belong to us?"  Instead they tried to take regardless.  They never asked "Why should we surrender our consciousness and liberty?"  Instead they -"

     " - acquiesced," finished the Doctor, startled at being whisked away from his cell so suddenly.  He found himself under the guns of a guard quartet, who escorted him away from the spartan trans-mat corridor and into the altogether more luxurious quarters of Lord Excellency Sur.

     For this appearance of the prisoner, the aristocrat had adopted a full cloak, and had two similarly-clad companions sitting on either side of him on stone benches, looking slightly flustered.

     This time the organic matter in the trench, under the Doctor's feet, seemed fresher and crispier than on the previous occasion.  His attention was on the three bio-vores, but the unpleasant crunching underfoot sounded ominously as if other prisoners had been Eviscerated.  One particular footfall hurt his sole, and he struggled to avoid expressing any pain as he walked towards Sur.  Whatever could that have been?

     Pay attention, it's pivotal to the plot.

Finally -

I had better get cracking on that Beef Bulgogi this afternoon, my remaindered beef joint thawed out a couple of days ago and will probably need a wash down to ensure there's no slimy glop left on it.  Sorry if that's an image you can't unsee.  Art!

Bork Bork BOrkney!

Today We Begin With A Geography Lesson

I shall endeavour to keep it interesting.  I could have used the alternative title "Hoy Hoy Hoy!" because that's the name of an island in the Orkney archipelago, which you may have heard of in connection with The Old Man Of Hoy - which is certainly old but which contains no human element at all.  Art!

     Ah yes - there is an encounter between a load of nosy humans and a test-target Cyberman, which the Doctor analyses as being wholly robotic - no human element at all.  That above is the best I can do.

     ANYWAY back to the Orkney Islands.  The name has shifted over time, originally being known as the 'Orcades' to various Roman explorers and geographers.  Then came the Vikings - which is where today's title is tenuously derived from, as the Vikings came from Norway rather than Sweden.  When they arrived they translated the Pictish 'Orc' (meaning 'piglet') as being the equivalent of "Orkn", meaning "Seal" in Norse.  This is fair enough as 15% of the world's seal population loiters around the Orkneys.  The Norks also added "Eyjar", meaning "Islands" which has been passed down to us as - Orkney.  Art!

     There are seventy islands overall, of which twenty are occupied.  By humans, that is - like I said, these are seal islands.  You may also have heard of Scapa Flo, one of the main anchorages for the Royal Navy - Art!

     The dive sites will be for the German Navy ships that were scuttled there after they lost the First Unpleasantness, as well as three RN ships sunk by a U-boat at the very start of that conflict.  It was the RN's primary harbour up until 1956.  Art!

     With an area of over 300 square miles it could accommodate several fleets the size of the RN at it's peak.

     Also plainly visible is the island of Hoy.  Art!

     That's the Old Man Of Hoy.  Now do you understand my crack about no human content?  Of course - obviously! - because it's there some mountaineer just had to climb it, although they were decent enough to wait until 1966 to do so.  It was formed after 1750 and before 1819, when the section connecting it to the mainland collapsed.  Currently there is a large crack on the south face, which is likely to undercut the upper section, since erosion is an ongoing process.  Art!

Here's one I made earlier

     If you have rocks for brains I'd recommend you go climb it NOW, before it falls to bits completely.

     The climate can be surprisingly mild for an archipelago that is closer to the Arctic Circle than it is to London; it is very windy, though, and there are no trees.  

     Which brings us to the meat of the matter: Orkney Tea.

     I couldn't believe it either, but a lady called Lynne Collinson has established her own micro-plantation of tea plants on the Orkney island Shapinsay.  They are in netted enclosures yet still outdoors.  Art!

     To judge how much goes into a cuppa, her plants yielded 15 pounds of picked leaves, which was reduced to 3 pounds of finished and processed leaves.  This harvest has been commercially packaged and retailed as "Norse Noir"; if you want some get online quick smart as she only had enough for 64 bags.  Art!

     Conrad is guessing this will be VERY expensive stuff.  Too obscure and rare to have any entries when Googling.

     If you do happen to purchase any, do NOT add any milk or sugar.  Conrad knows where you live and there will be awful consequences should you do so.  Art!

CAUTION! Do not despoil

     <sips his own unsweetened black loose-leaf Darjeeling>

Conrad Is ANGRY!

O so angry!  Ever so angry! ANGRY ANGRY ANGRY!

     Yes, we are back to Codeword compilers attempting to extend the boundaries of etiquette in compiling clues and solutions.

"PLAZA":  O come on - a five-letter word that ends in "A" and uses the least-used letter in the alphabet?  How is that fair?  Not only that, it's the South Canadians and British Americans who use it, not Perfidious Albion and it's derived from Spanish.  Art?

A plaza

"BAZAAR":  YOU WHAT!  This is the only extant word I know with a double-"A" and you stick it in a Codeword, where a double-vowel can only be either "E" or "O" and it's from the Persian for "market" <hits Remote Nuclear Detonator several times>.  Art!

Double-bah

"MAHOGANY": A tree.  WHAT, ARE WE ALL ARBORCULTURISTS NOW?

     Nor does anyone know where the name comes from.  Art!

I Haven't A Clue - Have You?

Technically I do have a clue, and an answer, neither of which make any sense to me, at all.  Yes, we are back on Lord Peter Wimsey's blasted crossword, and whilst I can figure out a meaning for most of these, this one is a mystery.  The clue itself goes: "One that works for Irish men; Both by word and deed and pen".

     Got that?

     The solution is "AE".

     It doesn't have an entry in my Collins Concise, nor does Google help.  Art!

"The Sea Of Sand"

The Doctor is worrying that he might have been a bit too garrulous in speaking to the bio-vore aristo Sur.

"Powered geo-thermally?" asked the Doctor again.  "And how long have you possessed this technology?"

     For millenia.  Long ages before the Infiltration Complexes were despatched.  

     "The great stone chambers in the desert are where my people lie," intoned Sorbusa, sounding almost religious.

     "The great stone chambers" sounded like the vast granite sarcophagi seen from the prison sled, those huge structures in the desert depths.

     "Have you any idea why Sur would prevent me from accessing data about Waste - sorry, Homeworld?"

     Sorbusa clenched one mighty fist, smacking it against the unyielding surface beneath him.

     "May the devil's wind take you, Thedoctor!  You never stop asking questions!"

     "That's where your civilisation fell into error," remonstrated the Doctor, gently.  "You stopped asking questions."

     Little else could have perplexed the bio-vore more completely.

     "We stopped asking questions?  By the cold and the dark, what do you mean!"

     It must have been easy, ignoring the rights of other races, other species, other worlds, to exist; to send out the Infiltration Complexes to try to strip life fromother planets.

     Get ready for a lecture on morality, ethics and problem-solving.

More Of Those Themed Photographs

The BBC's exhibited photographic winners on "Empty Spaces".  There were a couple of boring ones that I've skipped.  Art!

Courtesy Susan Cook

     No, this is not a person about to be attacked and devoured by looming monsters.  That says more about you than you'd like*.  No, it's a young lady who was approached by two friendly horses and took advantage of the opportunity.  They must have been both friendly and nosy because if they were neither they'd be at the other end of the field.

Finally -

We only need a short article here.  How about this?  I had a look on Quora and found an intelligent question:

When you serve on an aircraft carrier, during your off hours are you allowed to explore the ship or do you have to stay in one area?

   The answer came in four parts: 1) Don't go in classified spaces if you have no reason to be there.

2)  Don't go in berthing compartments other than your own.

3)  Don't go where you'd cause a safety issue.

4)  Stay out of engineering.

     Art!

     And on a nuclear-powered vessel such as an aircraft-carrier, you very definitely don't get near the reactor unless you are a cleared engineer who needs to be there.

*  And not in a good way

A Pong Of Fire And Ice

No!  That Is Not A Typo

I would have thought that enough mocking lexicographers had been turned into radioactive vapour to remove any doubt of my skills with the English language.  Perhaps I err.  Perhaps another thirty-minute bashing session is needed on the Remote Nuclear Detonator.

     One can see the o-so-obvious mistake here.  You confuse today's blog with "A Song Of Fire And Ice" which is pretty daft, because my name is not George R. R. Martin and I haven't written seven volumes of fantasy.  Art!

     I believe it only got written because South Canadians are jealous that they never got to experience the Middle Ages.  You know, filth, squalour, the opportunity to die from the Black Death, rampaging armies, jolly activities like that.

     ANYWAY that, of course - obviously! - is nothing to do with today's Intro, even if it did give us an excuse to bring in ASoFaI.  No, you see, as I was driving back from the weekly shop, a stray ponder popped into my head.

     "Why is fire such a serious hazard in Antartica?"

     My retentive memory (Steve) had filed this fact away so today I was going to find out.  Art!

US Outpost 31 goes up in flames

     Please note that in John Carpenter's terrifying documentary "The Thing", set in Antarctica, whilst R.J. is always ready to cut loose with his flamethrower, there's always a couple of chaps nearby with fire extinguishers.  Art?

     One of the problems with an outbreak of fire at any Antarctic base is the sheer remoteness of the location; it's a huge continent with very few humans in residence, who are widely separated from each other.  Nor is there any supply of water as a source of extinguishing fire.

     "Just shovel snow onto it!" I hear you comment.  O really?  How much snow would you have to shovel for it to be as effective as water?  Plus you'd have to get dangerously close to the flames to chuck snow on them.  Not a winning idea.

     In fact, thanks to the climate and weather, dry or foam extinguishers are preferred.  Art!

     Passive protection: note that the buildings are separated, so a fire in one will not burn down all of them.  In addition supply dumps are held remotely from the central base, so, again, if the whole base burns down there will still be sufficient stores to sustain life until a rescue expedition can arrive.  Art!

     Active protection: say hello to the Antarctic Fire Department, the South Canadian's permanent firefighting force.  They have a full strength of over forty people when the base's population is at the highest, of whom twenty are actual firemen.  They are multi-role as they also deal with Odour Investigation (no idea what this involves but Hey! - we have today's title), hazmat spills, and medical emergencies.  They have two fire engines, an ambulance, a water tender and a "Self-Contained Attack Truck", whatever that is.  Art!

Possibly the water tender

     The SCAT appears to be a smaller fire engine for use in confined spaces where a full-size vehicle cannot venture.  Art?

Imagine the snow

     Before you ghouls get the chance to ask, yes, there have been several fires at Antarctic bases over the years.  One of the strangest was the destructive fire that destroyed the Argentine Amirale Brown Station completely in 1984, because the camp's doctor had been told the garrison must stay over the winter.  The Argies were rescued by a South Canadian ship and since then it's only been used in the summer.  Art!

The South Canadians practicing

     Allow me to end with a quote from the "Antarctic Logistics & Expeditions" website:  "The word ‘Antarctica’ usually brings to mind images of extreme cold and snowstorms, but the single greatest hazard at any Antarctic station is fire. Antarctic holds roughly 70% of the earth’s fresh water, but that ‘water’ is locked away in vast ice sheets that cover the continent. Combine this lack of readily available water, with Antarctica’s extremely dry, windy climate, and you have ideal conditions for a fire to ignite and spread."

     Quite the burning issue.

"The War Illustrated"

Edition 165has been dealing with the Allied landings at Salerno, in Italy, skating over how difficult the landings were in reality, because British understatement don't you know.  Art!

     This page displays a bit of the military background essential to organise and deploy the various Allied invasion forces; dull stuff indeed, with nary a whiff of blood or thunder, but the essential underpinning of an invasion.  At top port you see an officer informing Ferry Control that his men are ready to cross.  In pictures 2 & 5 you can see the admin being carried out, before the waiting soldiers board a landing craft in 3.  Photograph 4 shows a keen watch being kept for enemy aircraft, and in 6 we see a couple of matelots communicating with an Aldis lamp - a method that might seem peculiarly old-fashioned but which cannot be eavesdropped upon nor jammed.

More Of Lord Peter Wimsey's Crossword

I hope you don't mind me putting up these clues and solutions, it's just that I'm a bit traumatised by not being able to solve more than a handful of them.  The thing is - no pun intended - that one gets into the mindset of crossword compilers over time, and this seems to be the only crossword that Ol' Dot ever compiled.

"Helical circumvolution, Adumbrates correct solution (6)"

     And the solution?  "TWISTS"

     I don't know about you but I'd never have got that one.

"The Sea Of Sand"

The Doctor has been returned to his prison cell, which he shares with the bio-vore heretic, Sorbusa.

Without a watch, the Doctor found it difficult to mark the passage of time in the featureless glass box he and the Detachment Leader were imprisoned in.  Subdued lighting generated by the walls allowe him to see, yet was dim emough for him to take a long sleep.  The walls possessed an opacity that prevented him from seeing beyond them.

     Baulked at any external stimulation, he turned instead to Sorbusa.  The big alien remained silent most of the time, occasionally looking at the Doctor, obviously debating internally.

     "I take it that your planet is poor in metals and minerals, Sorbusa," asked the Time Lord of his fellow prisoner.  "Big emphasis on recycling."

     "Yes," agreed Sorbusa.  "Always.  More of a demand now than when I was last here, I venture."

     "And part of your population hibernates?"

     "Correct again.  The fraction that used to be that twenty per cent of the population remained dormant in hibernation chambers.  With the emergency plantations extinct, the proportion now in hibernation may have increased."

     That was a significant datum point.  Advanced hibernation technology.  The ability to sustain millions of bio-vores indefinitely.  With a prickling of his scalp, the Doctor began to feel he might have given away too much information to Sur.

     Ooops.  Not sure what the Doctor's worried about.  I've not re-read this for years so I'm as puzzled as you are.

Korean Translation Conventions

Probably not a title you expected to see today, hmmm?

     This item, inevitably, has to do with "Hotel Del Luna", a Sork supernatural drama that pot-boils all the things they like to pitch in: romance, slapstick, ballads in the background - and in this one, a couple of very creepy scenes.  Art!

     Here we have Gu.  At least, that's the name that Wiki gives him.  I have also seen it spelled "Goo", which is highly unflattering.  The dialogue on Netflix has him being called "Koo", which is almost as unwelcome.  It's probably down to a matter of how the name is pronounced against how it's spelled.

     Another Korean wrinkle for you.

Finally -

I got rice flour and beansprouts on the big shop this afternoon, so potentially Pajeon are a go!

     Don't reply "What's that?"

     Bah!

Once Again We Invert The Normal Order Of Things!

Because -

Your Humble Scribe has been off to Ur-On-Roch ("Rochdale" if we're being formal) and has only just got back in, after getting his Covid booster.  Usual Modus Operandi, looking in the opposite direction whilst blabbering about nonsense whilst the sinisterly-glinting hypodermic approaches my cringing skin ever closer, serum dribbling from it's tip like a rabid hound -

     At least it's over.

     This, however, has put me behind my usual compositional schedule, meaning I'm not going to sit here until 15:00 cranking out scrivel.  

     So!  Back to a collection of links.  First, an appropriately enticing picture.  Art!

     You can tell she's a bit of a floozy thanks to the overdone eye-shadow and glossy red lipstick, whilst we can only speculate about what she is - or is not - wearing.

     ANYWAY actually they do say poison is a woman's weapon, which is shockingly sexist as Conrad has a reasonable knowledge of what eff

     ANYWAY AGAIN

2021

BOOJUM!: Burgoo Burgoo Burgoo - (comsatangel2002.blogspot.com)

2020

BOOJUM!: From Manchester To The Moon (comsatangel2002.blogspot.com)

2019

BOOJUM!: The Words That Make One Cross (comsatangel2002.blogspot.com)

2018

BOOJUM!: What The Hill? (comsatangel2002.blogspot.com)

2017

BOOJUM!: The A-Tea (comsatangel2002.blogspot.com)

2016

BOOJUM!: Like The Wall, Pink Floyd Support All (comsatangel2002.blogspot.com)

2015

BOOJUM!: How Now Brown Cowl (comsatangel2002.blogspot.com)

2014

BOOJUM!: Toxic To Voles! (comsatangel2002.blogspot.com)

2013

BOOJUM!: One Weekend At the Palace of BOOJUM! (comsatangel2002.blogspot.com)

A Reversal Of A Bit Today

There's Only So Many Ways One Can Juggle That Line

And still have it make sense.  At least to you, gentle reader, because I would always know what I meant*.

     Here we are on another torrid Tuesday, as I blatantly work Blogger with an attempt to boost traffic figures by posting a whole lot of links.  This means we need an enticing picture to render passers-by curious, without becoming NSFW.  BOOJUM!: your children can read it, but as a responsible parent you'd better not let them.

     ANYWAY - Art!  And no mooning over young Angela Lansbury.

I couldn't resist this one

     The young lady in lingerie and the world's biggest Welsh hat is Madelaine Sellwood, for your information, of whom I know nothing.  SS was first published in 1916 and ran until 1925, publishing 129 issues.  No doubt it was incredibly tame stuff by today's standards.

     And now for the links.  

2021

BOOJUM!: Moscow's Mosquito Mail (comsatangel2002.blogspot.com)

2020

BOOJUM!: The Shadow Of The Past (comsatangel2002.blogspot.com)

2019

BOOJUM!: Where Eagles Fare (comsatangel2002.blogspot.com)

2018

BOOJUM!: Arsine About (comsatangel2002.blogspot.com)

2017

BOOJUM!: A Bit Pot-tea (comsatangel2002.blogspot.com)

2016

BOOJUM!: To Boldly Go - But Mostly To GO! (comsatangel2002.blogspot.com)

2015

BOOJUM!: "Y" - And Why Not? (Another Theme) (comsatangel2002.blogspot.com)

2014

BOOJUM!: Normal Service (comsatangel2002.blogspot.com)

2013

BOOJUM!: Spock's Beard! Porcupine Tree! Bosnian Rainbows! (comsatangel2002.blogspot.com)

*  Probably

More Of Manglement

This Is A Theme We Could Run With For Weeks

Because there is a never-ending stream of managers out there who think that bullying, harassment and creating an awful work environment are what management is all about - especially South Canadian ones.

     Because a picture of a red-faced man in a suit isn't very appealing, and because we've already had a picture of an atomic tank, I think I will prod Art to come up with a click-baity picture.

     This one is quite bonkers.  A gigantic woman with a prong coming out of her head, who spins cobwebs capable of suspending spacecraft weighing hundreds of tons, and from her fingers, nevertheless.  Yet who seems to be having trouble catching and curtailing a giant soap-bubble, containing the Obligatory Man With Gun And Girl Not Wearing A Lot.  Mind you, Gigantoress is fond of showing skin, nicht wahr?

     ANYWAY back to the Intro.  Original Poster worked in an admin office environment, and had a team leader over him that we'll call Petty Betty.  She was the kind of manager who thinks they have to overtly display their control over others, because otherwise they will dry up and blow away.  Or something.  Art!

Betty the witch

     She challenged OP when he rang to inform he'd be late.  She then changed the process and said she had to be notified in person - which then resulted in her getting calls at 06:00 on her day off to be told OP wasn't coming in.

     Betty also had a little chat with OP about his performance stats, which had a target of 50 out of 100.  He got 99.  Of course Betty had a little chat with him about the missing 1.

     To cover her bottom, she also adopted the position of "If it's not in writing then it didn't happen".  This backfired on her when she alleged certain instructions had been given verbally, meaning OP ignored them.  Art!

Art's latest crush

     Then came her attempts to have another little chat, where OP turned up at her office only to find no-one there.  This happened three times, with OP diligently taking notes of time and duration.  Finally, she called him two minutes after he'd clocked off, wanting to have her little chat.  He refused as he wasn't getting paid.  Betty then threatens him with A Formal Meeting, meaning a sit-down with HR involved for disciplinary measures.  He said fine, calling her bluff.

     Next day he attends a meeting with HR, Petty Betty and his own union rep.  Art!

What Betty wanted it to feel like

     She's claiming that he refused to attend three catch-up meetings.

     OP then presents his PHYSICAL evidence: her e-mails and orders for everything to be in writing, his chat logs and timestamps.  Ooo-er Matron!

     The union rep then asks Betty if she holds the position that employees should attend meetings without being paid, and that misconduct investigations based on that were an appropriate use of resources?  Art!

Wetty the bitch

     HR look upon Betty with displeasure and announce OP can go back to work, his records unsullied.

     Betty was fired the next day*.

     

"Hotel Del Luna"

Despite the title, this is a Sork drama, about an hotel run for ghosts, with a human staff, at the behest of a mysterious woman who is at least several centuries old.  Art!

     The beginning is rather mysterious, set in the Jeonson era.  Doubtless all will become clear later.  The plot concerns Gu, who had been promised by his father to work for the mysterious Jang Man-wol twenty years after she had spared his life.  Gu is then taken abroad by his dad and only returns to Korea 21 years later after his father's death.  Jang is going to have him as her hotel manager, because the current one is getting old, and she needs a human to interact with the real world.

     It was made 4 years ago, so it doesn't look as if there were any sequels, which is a bit surprising as it was one of the most successful Sork television shows in history.  I will, of course - obviously! - keep you informed.  Art!

On The Theme Of "Empty Spaces"

Next in the chosen entries to do with the theme as put forward by the BBC.  Conrad hasn't looked ahead so is just as surprised as you will be.  Art!

Courtesy Jason Shrubb

     This is very obviously a structure, either in the early stages or after being abandoned.  There is a building like this visible on the tram to Trafford that's been partly-finished for years.  Conrad always wondered why it never got completed and presumes it was down to money troubles.  Evocative and faintly sad.

"The Sea Of Sand"

The Doctor is treading a fine line between informative and retentive about scientific methodology; if he gives out too much he becomes redundant, and if he gives out too little then he's not worth keeping alive.

"Excellency Lord Sur," he began, bowing low.  "Might I make another request?"

     Sur's torso leaned backwards - a gesture of surprise, recognised the Time Lord - and he made a non-commital gesture with his hands.

     "I don't know anything about your world.  That means I don't have any knowledge of what baseline I'm working from.  Would it be possible for me to access a library - a data-repository?"

     "No!" boomed Sur, twirling his cape dramatically.  "You may not, Thedoctor.  Guards!  Return the alien to his cell!"

     Reflectively, pretending to be downcast, the Doctor worked Sur's refusal into the background algorithm he was mentally constructing of Wasteworld and the bio-vore society.

     When Thedoctor suddenly reappeared in the cramped underground cell, Sorbusa couldn't physically express his surprise - his size and the low ceiling of the room prevented that.

     "You are alive!" he exclaimed, strangely glad that the small, perceptive alien hadn't suffered Evisceration.

     "I certainly am," grumbled the Doctor.  "But I shan't recommend the catering or travelling arrangements to my friends," he shouted."Eavesdroppers," he explained to Sorbusa.

     The heretic nodded.  He gestured towards a pair of bottles stood upright in a corner, sustenance sent into the cell via trans-mat.

     "I saved supplies for later.  Would you care for some?"

     See, with the Doctor as a role model, nobody is irredeemable.

A Random Choice From "Brewer's"

The danger, as should be obvious, of picking any entry in Brewer's is that it will inevitably lead to reading another entry, and before you know it an hour has gone by.  I was looking at "Leviathan" which then led to "Lilith" and from there we came to "First lines in fiction" which somehow managed to omit "A screaming comes across the sky" which as any fule kno is the opening line from "Gravity's Rainbow".

     ANYWAY - 'Leviathan' is mentioned several times in the Bible, seemingly either a crocodile, a whale or a sea serpent (such as the oarfish), but generically being a marine beast of considerable size.  Thomas Hobbes took the name for his work on "The matter, forme and power of a Commonwealth Ecclesiastical and Civil'.  Art!

It's oarfully large.

Finally -

I have written out another Korean recipe, this time for Beef Bulgogi, for which I have all the ingredients.  I've also written out the details for Ssamjann, a kind of side-dip, and have been looking at Pajeon - beansprout pancakes.  My beansprouts are probably no longer edible so I'd need another bag, not to mention rice flour.  I wonder if Lidl do rice flour?

*  Sweet sweet justice!  Plus I bet this wasn't her first or only transgression.