Author Topic: More or Les (was Bloody Plurals)  (Read 814291 times)

Hobbit

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Re: More or Les (was Bloody Plurals)
« Reply #2760 on: August 22, 2019, 12:41:12 AM »
Oh dear my diet is definitely on the decline since my resident head chef moved out :laugh:  I'd better buck my ideas up or she'll be having stern words!  Or I could just keep schtum  >:D

Glad I got Perth right.  The picture of the Pinnacles is amazing. 
Was your sign off Goodbye Versailles??

Enjoy your golf tomorrow.  Is Moss Vale far for you to drive?  Wonder if you'll see much change in 10 years.  Golf clubs here have a habit of staying the same for donkeys years!

Toodle Pip Penx



If life gives you lemons, add a large gin & some tonic...

Ozzyjack

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Re: More or Les (was Bloody Plurals)
« Reply #2761 on: August 22, 2019, 09:14:04 PM »
Hi Pen

Goodbye, Versailles it was,

Moss Vale GC is 20-30 minutes from home, depending on traffic.  Less than 12 miles but slow roads.

It was another cold windy day but we enjoyed the day and I'm a bit tired tonight.


       

A teacher was giving a lesson on the circulation of the blood.
Trying to make the matter clearer, she said, "Now, class, if I stood on my head, the blood, as you know, would run into it, and I would turn red in the face."
"Yes," the class said.
"Then why is it that while I am standing upright in the ordinary position the blood doesn't run into my feet?"
A little fellow shouted, "Cause your feet ain't empty."


One afternoon a man was wandering around a fairground and he happened to see a fortune teller's tent.
Thinking it would be good for a laugh, the man went inside and sat down.
"Ah..." said the woman as she gazed into her  crystal ball. "I see you are the father of two children."
"That's what you think," said the man scornfully. "I'm the father of three children."
The mysterious psychic grinned and said, "That's what you think!"


     
« Last Edit: August 22, 2019, 09:35:58 PM by Ozzyjack »
Regards, Jack

Valerie

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Re: More or Les (was Bloody Plurals)
« Reply #2762 on: August 22, 2019, 10:48:44 PM »
Hey Jack and Pen
Loved your photo of the Pinnacles, Jack.  Brings back lovely memories of my time over there.  Have you been to WA?  During the early 80s, I lived in Perth for four years, two months, three weeks, six days and four and a half hours.  Been back many times since.  Still the same.  The rest of the state is a truly spectacular wilderness.  Been up and down and through there many many times.  Still the last frontier.  I'm not one for cities and people.  Actually, we've just had a quick trip out to Lake Mungo.  Do need my "desert fix" to keep me in tune.  By the way, are you in Bowral?  A beautiful part of the world.  Pen would love it.  I have a very dear friend who lives there.  Used to own a property known as Ben Hill at Berrima.  You might know it.
Nighty nighty.  Pyjama pyjama.
I'll sleep in my next life

Hobbit

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Re: More or Les (was Bloody Plurals)
« Reply #2763 on: August 23, 2019, 02:13:25 AM »
Hi Val
I would give my right arm (& possibly a few other body parts :laugh:) to visit you all down there. I have no doubt I would love it.  I have put in a previous post many moons ago that if I win the lottery I will cruise to Australia see some of the wonderful places & watch a little cricket.  Sadly I don't fly so I just keep hoping my numbers come up!!  Unfortunately I will be coming alone as my family & friends all say they can't think of anything worse than being stuck on a boat for weeks on end!
G'day G'day Botany Bay
(yes I know it's lame but it was the best I could think of!)
If life gives you lemons, add a large gin & some tonic...

Hobbit

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Re: More or Les (was Bloody Plurals)
« Reply #2764 on: August 23, 2019, 02:57:38 AM »
Hi Jack

I seem to have acquired a wretched cold from somewhere >:(  Not a happy bunny!  Feel a bit rubbish.  Hopefully it'll be gone in a day or 2.

I'm pleased you enjoyed your golf today (yesterday)

   

Two campers are walking through the woods when a huge brown bear suddenly appears in the clearing about 50 feet in front of them. The bear sees the campers and begins to head toward them. The first guy drops his backpack, digs out a pair of sneakers, and frantically begins to put them on. The second guy says, ‘What are you doing? Sneakers won’t help you outrun that bear.’ ‘I don’t need to outrun the bear,’ the first guy says. ‘I just need to outrun you.’

Another Cat Joke or Three! What do cats like to eat for breakfast? Mice Krispies. What do you call a cat that has swallowed a duck? A duck filled fatty puss. What does a cat like to eat on a hot day? A mice cream cone.

If life gives you lemons, add a large gin & some tonic...

Ozzyjack

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Re: More or Les (was Bloody Plurals)
« Reply #2765 on: August 23, 2019, 12:52:53 PM »
Hi Val,

We are closer to Mittagong than Bowral although we do >90% of our shopping in Bowral.  Our favourite restaurant is in Berrima but apart from it, I don’t know all that much about the town or its countryside.  We are not considered locals as we have only been here since 2004.  You may have encountered the country town syndrome that you either have to have gone to school in the town or lived their for 30+ years to qualify as a local.

I have been to WA many times particularly when I was working. Although by WA, I mean Perth and 20 minute stops at Kununurra, Broome and Port Headland on the rare flights from Darwin to Perth.  I remember being impressed by the mining engineers (I assumed) who got on at Kununurra.  They were all Chips Rafferty look-alikes: Tall, muscly, but lean with not an ounce of spare fat on them.  I don’t know whether it was the types that were attracted to that environment or whether it was the environment that sculptured them.

Not that I mostly saw much when I went to Perth.  Generally, the routine was arrive at the airport, catch a cab to the office, do your work and catch a cab back to the airport   If you had to stay over for a day or two the locals would give you a brief tour of the city and take you home or out for a meal at night.  It was difficult to arrange to stay over a weekend, although I managed it a few times.  Then I hired a car and did some short trips around the countryside.  The reason these were rare was that the Commonwealth actively discouraged mixing pleasure with work.  I guess you non Public Servants would whole-heartedly agree with this principle.

One exception was in 1989 when I was going to a Personnel Management Conference which spilled over to the Saturday.  One of my conditions of my service at that time was to be able to take my spouse at Commonwealth expense every several years {I can’t remember how many} so long as it didn’t interfere with the purpose of the trip.  This covered return Business class air travel from Canberra to Perth and a modest meal allowance for June.

On the Sunday we hired a car and headed for Cervantes to the see The Pinnacles.  {you will have guessed that the photo was from the internet and not one of mine.}  We then drove down New Norcia to visit the museum and other attractions. See here for details. We then went to Toodyay for a definite reason which I honestly can’t remember {any clues, Val} It couldn’t have been because it was named Newcastle between 1860 and 1910.  We caught the “Red-eye special” just after midnight reaching Sydney just after 6 am.   I was back in my office in Canberra by mid-morning on Monday.

The Spouse travel provision resulted in the end of the marriage of one of my more senior colleagues.  His wife was wondering if it was long enough after their last overseas trip to be able to plan another one.  Rather than ask her husband she rang the Personnel Section to find out.  The response was “But is only three months since you last used the provision, Mrs X.  Divorce proceedings quickly followed.

We were able to enjoy more leisurely investigation of the areas and golf courses around Perth in 2008-9.  Our Daughter after completing her posting to Belgrade was transferred to the regional Office in Perth for two years before returning to Canberra.  So we flew over, with Daisy, to visit her a couple of times.  The only problem was that our daughter had acquired a pup called Zephyr and at first they didn’t get along.  But after Daisy taught him some respect they soon got along.  In the fullness of time, Zephyr grew to be twice the size of Daisy and came to live with us but until she got sick she was still the boss.

One of our best adventures was two dog-friendly farm stays at Margaret River.  The dogs enjoyed the beach and we enjoyed the food and wine and we would love to go back.

Well, that is no doubt more detail than you wanted, Val, but I enjoyed the reminiscences.
« Last Edit: August 23, 2019, 01:25:15 PM by Ozzyjack »
Regards, Jack

Valerie

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Re: More or Les (was Bloody Plurals)
« Reply #2766 on: August 23, 2019, 01:46:37 PM »
Loved hearing about your reminiscences, Jack.  Sounded like an interesting job.  The divorce story was a cracker!  My partner is/was a geologist, finishing his degree at UWA in the late 60s and spent his career working in the bush all over the country and also NZ and Eastern Europe.  He once spent three months straight in the Kimberley with only one other geologist who started to worry when Ross began noticing how pretty the jennies (donkeys) were!  Now, of course, the donkeys have all been eradicated.  Since we retired to the mountains in 2000, we've driven back and forth across and around the country many times.  Not exactly in grey nomad style because we have an off-road camper-trailer rather than a caravan and eschew the bitumen, towns and people as much as possible.  The outback is amazing and even better when you're accompanied by a geologist to tell you how all the landscapes originated.  You may be aware that there is still some debate in the geological community about how the Pinnacles were formed.
Know what you mean about qualifying as a local in country towns although it's not so bad up here because we are only 100kms from Sydney and "foreigners" are tolerated.  My friend lives under the "gib" in Soma Avenue which is about half way between Bowral and Mittagong.  You may even be neighbours!
« Last Edit: August 23, 2019, 03:13:21 PM by Valerie »
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Ozzyjack

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Re: More or Les (was Bloody Plurals)
« Reply #2767 on: August 23, 2019, 04:25:58 PM »
Hi ,

I assume your sign off was Bye, Bye, No time to die.  Am I correct?  You didn’t tell me if I got “gotta shoot, Puss in Boots”, so I am assuming I did.

I had a whimsical thought.  If it was 200 years ago you wouldn’t need to win a lottery to get a trip out here on a boat.  You would just have to nick something. >:D

Pen, here are some things to try for your cold..  There is no scientific evidence that any will work, but they will take your mind off feeling miserable.  And who knows?  If Granny knew how to suck eggs, perhaps she did know how to cure a cold. :D


           


Pen, Here is a quiz to take your mind off your cold.  The answers are under the sign-off.  Don’t peek.  How many did you get right?

    1) How long did the Hundred Years War last?
    2) Which country makes Panama hats?
    3) From which animal do we get cat gut?
    4) In which month do Russians celebrate the October Revolution?
    5) What is a camel's hairbrush made of?
    6) The Canary Islands in the Pacific are named after what animal?
    7) What was King George VI's first name?
    8 ) What colour is a purple finch?
    9) Where are Chinese gooseberries from?
    10) What is the colour of the black box in a commercial airplane?





    1)116 years
    2) Ecuador
    3) Sheep and Horses
    4) November
    5) Squirrel fur
    6) Dogs
    7) Albert
    8 ) Crimson
    9) New Zealand
    10) Orange
Regards, Jack

anona

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Re: More or Les (was Bloody Plurals)
« Reply #2768 on: August 23, 2019, 06:40:23 PM »
"Country town syndrome"

I wonder what you think of my examples, Jack?

I've said before that I lived on Islay in the Hebrides for a few years when I was young. The islanders would be talking in English as we went into a shop, and would switch seamlessly into Gaelic once they were aware of us. I think this is common in many places, so it's not one of my examples. (Does make you feel awkward, though.)

Some things stick in my mind that I think might outrank a country town.

1. My brother came home from school one day,  rather perplexed. He had had an art class, in which they were told they had a choice of drawing either Something-I-can't-remember or a foreigner. My brother said alĺ the class looked at him and drew him. He didn't understand why.

2.  The first year I was there, I came top of my class. I chose my book. Then later my mother sat me down and said the other parents had been so angry at the school's giving an outsider 1st prize that a number had gone to the school and complained. So my little certificate in the book has "equal" squashed in after "1st" in different handwriting - a compromise. I didn't care two hoots, but my mother was upset for me.

3. About 20 years ago, during a visit to Islay, I wanted my daughter's hair cut (may have mentioned this under a midge thread). The hairdresser, well into her 30s, said her parents had been born on the island and had always lived there, but she was unintentionally born on the mainland during a family visit and didn't get back to the island for a few days. She said sadly that the islanders still treated her as an outsider. They had a word - which I cant remember - to describe people born as she was.

Hobbit

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Re: More or Les (was Bloody Plurals)
« Reply #2769 on: August 24, 2019, 02:24:21 AM »
JACK
Firstly I very much enjoyed reading your post about Perth & also what Val & Anona posted too :)  Val was right - the divorce story was a cracker :laugh:

You were spot on about "gotta shoot Puss in Boots" & of course "bye bye no time to die".

I got 4 & a half of the questions right.  I guessed the length of the 100 years war ;D  I knew 4, 7, 9 & 10.

This is possibly the worst cold I've ever had :'(  It's not helping that it's about 30c outside.  The cricket is truly dreadful.  I think Bletchley Town Cricket Club 1st XI could possibly bat better than that wretched lot.  All out for 67 :-[  It's good news for you &, as I've said before, I think the Ashes are definitely heading your way!

     



This one's a
If life gives you lemons, add a large gin & some tonic...

Ozzyjack

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Re: More or Les (was Bloody Plurals)
« Reply #2770 on: August 24, 2019, 12:37:53 PM »
Hi Anona,

I was commenting on us a being not a “local” in a lighthearted way.  It is not something that we have personally experienced or would be worried about, particularly at our age, but I can see that such attitudes would be quite hurtful to a child. 

In the time we have been here we have noticed a distinct change in the population.  In the shopping centres in 2004, there were a lot of people wearing Akubra hats and looking like they were coming in from the country to shop in town.  Now the populace is indistinguishable from most Sydney suburbs.

I think the “local” “outsider” divide is not limited to country towns.  It happens in any environment which has been stable and has a cohesive population and is confronted by a change particularly when that change has been forced on them.  It is unfortunate many people distrust, even fear and loathe, others that they see as different to them in any way – religion, ethnicity, sexuality, or upbringing.  This happens in rural or remote areas because they have been stable and isolated and over time have developed fixed ideas on “how we do things around here”.  I imagine it equally applies to enclaves in cities, particularly when people believe they are not accepted by the wider community.  These attitudes are often exaggerated if the outsiders are considered more affluent, privileged or intelligent than the locals.


Was “Teuchter” the word you couldn’t remember? While I was googling some stuff, I came across This article which you might find amusing.
Regards, Jack

Ozzyjack

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Re: More or Les (was Bloody Plurals)
« Reply #2771 on: August 24, 2019, 01:54:06 PM »
My friend lives under the "gib" in Soma Avenue which is about half way between Bowral and Mittagong.  You may even be neighbours!

I wish we were, Val.  I was unaware of Soma Avenue even though I go within a couple of hundred metres every time I go to Bowral by the main road.  I looked it up and it has some nice and exxy property.  We live about 6 kilometres away.

I think both you and Pen might have thought I was slipping one of my little jokes in with the divorce story and I have to admit I have form.  But it was absolutely true.

Of these next stories, I am not so sure.  Although I accepted them in good faith, I may have been having my leg pulled.  Your husband might be able to tell us if it was likely.

One of my colleagues in the 80's had a husband who worked for the Bureau of Mineral Resources as it was called then.   He used to go on regular field trips of 2-3 month out in the bush.  Apparently they would set up camp and boil the billy and, because the tea was not strained, when they got near the bottom of the cup, they would just throw the dregs over their shoulder into the surrounding bush.  Apparently one time when he got home it was such a reflex action, he threw the last of his first cup of tea over his shoulder and had to clean up the kitchen wall.

The other story was that he was not too keen on washing clothes.  When on a field trip He would wear his underpants for three days and then turn them inside out and get another three day's wear out of them.

I am playing Gibraltar Country Club with the Vets next Thursday.  I now know it is just across the main Mittagong-Bowral road from Soma Avenue.
« Last Edit: August 24, 2019, 02:47:46 PM by Ozzyjack »
Regards, Jack

Ozzyjack

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Re: More or Les (was Bloody Plurals)
« Reply #2772 on: August 24, 2019, 05:48:47 PM »
Hi Pen,

Your sign off was hardly a piece of cake but you might enjoy this related clip

       

Pen, I’ve got a hypothetical ethical question for you to advise me on:


Quote

I’m in Washington DC, while the city is in chaos, as a group of terrorists attacks the White House. I’ve just got a new job as a CNN photographer.  Suddenly, I see Donald Trump running, trying to escape from the chase of a terrorist. He's going to be caught by the armed man, but I can use my mobile phone and warn the FBI to save him, or I could take the picture and get the Pulitzer prize for photographing the murder of the President.

So based on your moral and ethical principles, on the fraternity and human solidarity, tell me what should I do : take the picture in colour or in black and white?


Pen, the American Medical Association researchers have found that patients needing blood transfusions may benefit from receiving chicken blood rather than human blood. It tends to make the men cocky and the women lay better.  Just thought you'd like to know...

Well, I better take a Poppy nap now.   I want to be fresh to see Joe Root get his ton. :angel:


« Last Edit: August 24, 2019, 05:52:21 PM by Ozzyjack »
Regards, Jack

Valerie

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Re: More or Les (was Bloody Plurals)
« Reply #2773 on: August 24, 2019, 08:35:41 PM »
Your outsider tale made my heart ache, Anona.  How very sad.  Sending big hugs.

Do hope your snottiness is on the wane, Pen.  But I won't send hugs in case I catch it.

No, Jack, didn't think for one minute that your divorce story was one of your infamous jokes.  Have actually witnessed similar events.  Your BMR friend's teacup story is quite plausible although he (or his wife) may have embellished it somewhat.  And why not?  In the outback with no excess water to splash around in, I am in no doubt about the recyclable knickers story.  Who's out there to witness it anyway?  Been guilty of it myself on occasion!  All together now...eeeeeuuuuugggghhh!

« Last Edit: August 24, 2019, 08:39:05 PM by Valerie »
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Hobbit

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Re: More or Les (was Bloody Plurals)
« Reply #2774 on: August 25, 2019, 01:54:24 AM »
G'day Jack

I loved & hated the Goldeneye Bungee jumping!  All I could think of was what if the cord's too long?  Is she brave or stupid?  Did that man really jump out of the plane & jump back in? :o

My answer to your ethical question, based on fraternity & human solidarity,  is that you should take the picture in black & white >:D

I accepted the divorce story at face value & never doubted it's accuracy.  If I thought you'd snuck in a little joke I would have said :laugh:

On a lighter note here is a little dog quiz for you.

The following dogs all appear well known films, books or TV shows. 
Name the show, film or book they appear in.

1.  Snowy
2.  Santas Little Helper
3.  Bullseye
4.  Snoopy
5.  K9
6.  Toto
7.  Eddie
8.  Spotty Dog
9.  Roly/Wellhard/Willy
10. Timmy
The only one you'll probably struggle with is no 9 as it's from an awful soap here :(

     

Here are the answers (if you need them!)
1.  Tin Tin
2.  The Simpsons
3.  Oliver Twist
4.  Peanuts
5. Dr Who
6.  The Wizard of Oz
7.  Frasier
8.  The Wooden Tops
9.  Eastenders
10. The Famous Five

I didn't get your sign off ???  Feel I should know the clip but can't get it,



That's made me hungry :-H  Best see what's to be found in the fridge!
If life gives you lemons, add a large gin & some tonic...