Hell&related Stuff

Seen at the steam rally.

...about being a single bloke is:

Not feeling any guilt whatsoever about having this for brekkie instead of Meusli and skimmed milk.

Dennypoos............................for a guilt free existence.

Yesterday I went to the annual 'Steam Rally and country fair' at netley Marsh near Southampton. As is the norm I took shitloads of photographs and so-as not to bore you too much by posting a different pic each day, I've linked them to this page. To give you a taster, here's a wooden mushroom.

The rest of the days valliant efforts can be found:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dennypoos/72157621701105793/

Best viewed as a slideshow, full screen

Dennypoos..........................is certainly putting it about a bit this year.

Dennypoos....................has also seen that he should have cropped out the tree on the bottom righthand side as it adds nothing to the picture.

Dennypoos .........would also like to say he's lost the page where a kind person took pity and explained how to do the 'look HERE' thingy when doing a link.

Probably going to the 'Netley Marsh Steam Rally' this weekend for a few photo opportunities and I looked at the info for 'The new Forest Show' which is during next week, but £15.00 is a bit rich for me at the mo, plus I don't really do big crowds and the last time I went it was heaving.

Prepare to be inundated with photographs.

Cake making s'afto or should I go for a purple picture, hmm?

Dennypoos.........................a masterbaker amongst men.

...that I came across in the current reading matter. Written by a catholic priest of Irish extraction, our heroine, a fey songstress is given these words to say:

" Sure aren't there only two absolutes in the world. One is a Swedish vodka and the other's the love of god".

Now I wouldn't go with 'the love of god' bit and would change it depending on circumstance. In fact, you can use this for every possible situation. Great in an argument.

" There are only two Absolutes in the world, one is a Swedish vodka and the other is the fact that you're wrong".

Loads of possibilities.

This post brought to you by Dr-Denny's-great-one-liners.co.uk.

Ok you've had a day so I'll reveal all. (no smut please)

Winchester Geese: Was a term given to prostitutes in the middle ages. it is derived from the fact that the bishop of Winchester owned large amounts of land and property in Southwark, south of the Thames. Not being in London proper, ie North of the Thames, the law governing such activities were much more relaxed. The Bishop owned and indeed ran many brothels, his reasoning being that he was performing a public service by keeping the whores from accosting passers bye in the streets.See;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winchester_Geese

Greek Fire: This was a term used to describe an early form of Napalm. known by different names depending upon who one was at war with it was used effectively against the crusaders in the 11th century. See:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_fire

... whether any of you out there in bloggoland can tell me what the following expressions refer to:

Greek Fire.

Winchester geese.

Without recourse to books or t'internet.

I ask as both expressions came up in a novel that I've just finished reading.

Dennypoos...........a poser of questions as well as a poseur.

No mes amis, not a moany blog about the British fixation with the weather. Well not really. More a howling to the four winds for the ever diminishing standards at the Beeb.

Rain, it would appear, no longer comes down like stair rods, nor even cats and dogs. According to the weatherman at the end of 'South Today', it comes down in SLABS.

"Theres a large slab of rain moving in from the west country" etc.

Slabs used to be what pavements were made of. Or perchance a slab of meat, that being a thick slice. Not rain.

dennypoos.....................notices the decline of proper English is faster than his own.

The band's conductor looking a little disheveled at the recent home-coming parade in Southampton.

Funny, but back in the old days even the vandalism was well executed. Just look at the lettering on these initials that I spotted at Netley Abbey in Hampshire.

Many happy returns and all that old malarky. I hope the Sage boy is looking after you and treating you like the goddess you undoubtedly are. Where's that bucket?

Dj'ya get a pressy from Smudge?

Denny xxx

I've come across a photography competition that may be of interest to some of you folk:

www.igpoty.com/

It's the International Garden Photographer Of The Year, in conjunction with the Royal Photographic Society.

Finally managed to get my sorry arse to Mottisfont Abbey, via the 'Sunday Times' freebie and only had to duck one shower by dipping into Romsey for fifteen minutes.
Interesting place, Mottisfont, and I'm pleased I went. I'm also pleased thet the changable weather made a few interesting sky possibilities as can be seen by this, one of the first, photographs I took. I haven't given this 'the treatment' to get rid of other visitors, (can you believe it, the National Trust actually allowed other visitors to roam around whist I was there), so it's warts and all.

I'll sort the rest over the next week and post some as and when.

Dennypoos.....................and the sofa are as one.

Vaulted roof of the sacristy at Netley Abbey, Hampshire.

Is there a single living being, outside of the four walls of the room I'm sitting in, who can tell me why are we sending our young men to Afghanistan to die.

Anyone, anyone at all? Surely someone must have an idea, because yours truely hasn't a fucking clue.

It looks like my freebie visit to Mottisfont Abbey will be postponed until tomorrow when the weather improves loads. I don't mind a bit of rain or even a sky filled with storm clouds, but photographically speaking, a dull, grey, leaden sky, blanketing everything is not conducive to fruitful happy snapping.

Not my pic, by the way, just one I borrowed infringing copyright etc..

...is how Southampton's festival of cricket was described on 'South Today' on the TV.

I was there and as you can see from the photo below the crowds were creating absolute havoc by their numbers.

Though sometimes dealing with the multitude took its toll.

Dennypoos.........can say," I was there".

Am I the only one who finds this 'kids' TV history programme unputdownable.

If this had've been around when I was at school, I may have done better than just scrape history 'O' level.

Dennypoos.............rue's his schooling...well some anyway, but still learns stuff off the box.

Reading further in the book that I was loaned, the conspiracy/vatican one, I find that Mandrake, the plant with the root that looks like a human body and which featured in an 'Arry Potter film, has the latin name of Mandragora Officianalis.

Mandragora being a reference to the Man/Dragon aspect of the root's properties.

Eee-by-gum, isn't this trashy novel stuff enlightening.

Dennypoos.........has pencilled in thursday as an educational day.

Southampton city council now require all public works of art to perform a useful function. Here, 'Child of the family' is seen trimming the Leylandi in the city centre.

Dennypoos.........It's the way I spot 'em.

I was loaned a book the other day by a friend, who knowing my penchant for historical who-dunnit's and mysteries, gave me 'Sign of the Cross'. A Dan Brown type thing, which at first glance seemed seriously derivative, but which had the humour to actually mention Dan Brown in the first couple of chapters.
The murder of a Vatican priest on Helsingor and his subsequent crucifixion are the books opening gambit and much emphasis is placed on the type of cross used. In this case it is a tau cross, (shaped like the letter T, from the greek alphabet).

I'd known that there was some debate as to the shape of the cross used to crucify Christ, but thought this had just two contenders. Those being the traditional + shape or the alternative X.
I wiki'd and google'd and bugger me there are loads of ancient references to loads of different shaped bits of wood. I also found out that Jehovahs Witness' dont use a cross symbol at all, believing that a simple stake was used.

The moral of this missive is:

Even pulp fiction can be educational.

Dennypoos..............wonders why, as a kid, he was given facts which turn out not to be facts at all?

...I've just noticed that when I post a photograph by copying and pasting the HTML from Flickr, rather than 'uploading' it, it doesn't appear in my media files. This means I can use this method and not worry about limits,(as I'm a non pro). It's a damned sight quicker as well.

The downside is that if people just wanted to check out my pictures, en masse, they'd be buggered.

I've just seen the latest advertisement. It's the best yet.

So I've been wanting to visit Mottisfont Abbey for ages. Now that I have wheels and it's only about fifteen miles away one day during the week was going to be penciled in.
Imagine my surprise when 'The Sunday Times' announced a freebie offer of one free visit to a National trust property, for next weekend. I duly invested heavily, £2.00, in a copy and by doing so have saved £6.00 on the entrance fee and got enough newspaper to read for the rest of the week . Whoo-Hoo.....result.

If you're a stately home type person or even just a stately person, get to the newsagents pronto.

As I was about to do the last batch of scones my electronic kitchen scales told me that my battery was low. Yesterday, when I went to weigh out the flour for a pizza base, it just flashed nonsense at me. I've made the base loads of times so could estimate it Ok.

This morning I visited the thriving metropolis that is Southampton in order to buy replacement batteries, (2 required). The general price was £2.95 each, £5.90 for the pair. No way, the scales only cost £8.99.

Returning to 'Dennypoos Acres' I fired up the computer, went on Ebay, entered batteries, noted that there were 29,742 listed and prepared for an amount of sifting. Non required at all. Before I even entered the battery type, I noticed the page had loaded and right at the very top was the one I required. Listed as CR2032 blister pack X5, manufacture Sony, Buy now price...£1.31, postage free.

Whoo-Hoo

Dennypoos says..............Ebay, you know it makes sense.

It gets worse. Ive just read this:

But Mr Straw said: "Biggs chose not to obey the law and respect the punishments given to him, the legal system in this country deserves more respect than this.

So we imprison people for a lack of respect.

Straw continues:

"Mr Biggs chose to serve only one year of a 30 year sentence before he took the personal decision to commit another offence and escape from prison, avoiding capture by travelling abroad for 35 years whilst outrageously courting the media," said Mr Straw.

So it's because of the media paying him loads of dosh for his story eh? Perhaps they should be in gaol as well?

Shamefull.

...from TheDinnerLady:

...this bit of information delighted me. Well the headline did. I start spitting feathers when yet another bit of our English heritage and tradition gets whipped out from under us like the proverbial rug. So to learn that our language will remain English made me happy.
Here's what I read....

During ze fifz year, ze unesesary "o" kan be dropd from vords kontaining "ou", and similar changes vud of kors be aplid to ozer kombinations of leters. Und efter ze fifz yer, ve vil al be speking German like zey vunted in ze forst place....

...to be British.

I have to say that at the moment, I am ashamed to be British. The reason for this state of play is the current treatment of Mr Ronald Biggs.

It seems farcical that in a country, famed for it's sense of fair play, revered throughout the world for it's justice system, admired for it's stand on human rights, that we now insist on incarcerating a sick seventy nine year old man for the duration of his life.

Let us not forget that in 'The Great Train Robbery' driver Mills got a severe beating. But, let us not forget that at no time was Biggs accused of this. He was just a member of the team, a career villain, but strictly second division.

The 'crime' for which he is now being held is not one of armed robbery but one of having the audacity to escape and the much more heinous crime of putting two fingers up to authority, of living high on the hog, courtesy of the British media.

This is not the justice of which we Brits are so rightly proud. This is vengeance. This is politicking of the lowest kind.

Dennypoos................ will now retire to the garden, to pootle, in the hope that this may remove the stench of political shenanigans from himself.

I thought there was going to be a problem as I was down to my last two homegrown strawberries:

...but then I found:

...three punnets for a quid. (not pretty, all one size, all the same ripeness, supermarket types).

And I thought:

...Sod it! I'll go the whole hog, berries, whipped double cream, home made scones and just to make sure my cholesterol intake is mega, clotted cream ice cream.

Dennypoos.....................mmm lovely brittle arteries.