Human life, eh! It's beset with potential disasters, isn't it, both natural and man-made. And the only solution is to stick together with somebody or something, my medium-to-long suffering wife Lois and I always say.
And yet...and yet...sticking together doesn't always go right, does it, particularly if you get too close together, like this "odd couple" (!). Did you see the recent story on Onion News International?
And after three rainy seasons together, it's high time for Amanda to find another back to get on top of, remember it's always that "frightful fourth" rainy season when symbiotic relationships traditionally "hit the rocks" (!).
It's the edition of the show we've been waiting for, because one of the teams comes from our own dear Malvern U3A old codgers: the Third Agers.
Well, it's a bit obvious now, isn't it, You can put "hob" in front of all of them: 'hobby-horse', 'hobnail', 'hobgoblin' and, last but not least, 'hobnob', which is what Lois and I spend our time doing.
And Lois and I are thinking of poor Amanda the Tickfly this morning when, taking advantage of a sudden break in the rain, we dash out of our house in Malvern, Worcestershire, with our pocket umbrellas at the ready (!). And the lovely 700-million-year-old Malvern Hills, which usually act as a delightful backdrop to our photos, can barely be seen - the hilltops are totally obscured by cloud - see picture below:
taking advantage of a sudden break in the rain, Lois and I
make a dash for the nearest Royal Mail post-box to
post some important (!) letters, with our pocket
umbrellas at the ready [not shown] (!)
[That's enough ("ironic") exclamation marks in brackets (!) - Ed]
You see, our own, our very own "third rainy season" together is just starting. That is, our third since we downsized to Malvern, Worcestershire, around 18 months ago, not really "clocking" the fact that the town is a mere 4 miles or so from the mighty River Severn, one of the UK's mightiest rivers.
Yesterday was pretty bad. And our local Worcester News website choses to lead mainly on weather stories this morning.
And don't you just hate those "small levels of mud" (headline above) ? They're the worst kind, aren't they. Be honest now!
And today doesn't look like it's going to be much better, to put it mildly:
Remember the great floods of January 2024, when one of our favourite supermarkets, Warner's at Upton-on-Severn, became effectively an island. Yes, they reduced the price of their fresh foods by a half, but what's the good of that if you need to find a rowing-boat to get there. Be reasonable haha!
No wonder that Lois and I refer to the nearby town of Upton-on-Severn, as "Upton-under-Severn", when we're feeling a bit playful (!) - only in informal situations, obviously (!).
14:00 The rain is falling again outside, so at 2pm Lois and I seek refuge under the bedclothes - our usual "hiding-place" from bad weather - with Lois's Huawei within easy reach, in case of flooding newsflashes, needless to say.
we hide from the beginnings of our 3rd rainy season together,
with Lois's Huawei within easy reach in the event of flooding newsflashes
Our nap-time talking point, for the second day running, is the so-called "presentation" I'm supposed to be giving next month to the local U3A "History of English" group, which I, "for my sins (!)" am leader of.
I'm due to be talking about Scots English - which means the form of English spoken by many in Scotland.
[Thanks, Colin, but I think I'd already worked that one out for myself (!) - Ed]
flashback to a couple of days ago: I showcase
the major source I'm using for my talk: Millar's
seminal "History of the Scots Language"
This afternoon I discuss with Lois the work I've been doing on my so-called presentation, which is yielding a bit more fruit today with the discovery of some exciting new (to me) Scottish words for "idiot", many of them sadly 'moribund' and no longer in use, which is a pity:
(a) "bawbart" - origin unknown
(b) "oanshach" - from Irish Gaelic
(c) "bumph" - from English English "bump" in the sense of a useless protuberance
"Bawbart" is our favourite - what's yours? Answers on a postcard, please (!).
"Oanshach" is a bit difficult to say without the 2 peope showering each other with spit if they're a pair of "Sassenach" struggling with the final gutteral Scottish "ch"-sound. And "bumph" means something else in England - verbal diarrhoea in print form is my usual definition (!).
So 'bawbart' it is, provisionally, subject to votes from my blog-readers (!).
You won't, however, hear Lois and me calling each other 'bawbarts', whether it's in bed or anywhere else.
Luckily we don't name-call each other at all. It would be counterproductive for us, seeing as how we're mostly "hobnobbing" with each other 24/7 (some "hobbing" but mostly "nobbing"), so it pays to keep on good terms, doesn't it. Think about it!
21:00 And the concept of "words and their meanings" comes back to haunt us on the couch this evening, as we settle down to watch this week's edition of Only Connect, one of favourite TV quizzes, which tests lateral thinking.
And it's gratifying to hear Third Agers' team captain Aidan presenter Victoria Coren-Mitchell what the U3A (University of the Third Age) is all about.
Good summary, Aidan, although a pity that you didn't reference our "History of English" group, when you were summarising some of the Malvern U3A's group activities, but I'm going to have to let that one slide (for now at least (!))
For Lois and me, however, our favourite question is this one, which goes to the Third Agers team's opponents, "The Introverts".
Can YOU see the connection between these 4 apparently random things?
So simples!
[Oh just go to bed! - Ed]
22:00 We go to bed - zzzzzzz!!!!
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