Yes, Friends, "life" is a unstoppable force, isn't it! And you find it in the most unexpected places, as Onion News was reporting just this very morning!
Quite a story, isn't it! And it brings a bit of a lop-sided chuckle to the "chops" of me and my wife Lois, here in rural semi-grassy Liphook, Hampshire, as we stop to grab a quick breakfast this morning.
my wife Lois and me grabbing breakfast - a recent picture
It was different in Victorian times, when, like, billions of unknown species - more, probably! - were just waiting to be discovered. And on the agenda for us this morning is the latest monthly meeting of our local U3A group, "Intermediate Local History for Old Codgers", due to take place in Liphook's iconic Millennial Hall, starting 10:30 sharp!
(left) us in the "Canada Room" of Liphook's iconic Millennial Hall this morning,
waiting with all other "old codgers" for the talk to begin, and (right) Lois having a word with this month's speaker after the talk.
This month's talk is all about adventurous Victorian lady, Mrs Robb, a Liphook resident, who went about the world collecting rare or unknown species of plants and trees and bringing them back to Britain, hidden in her luggage, so she could get past HM customs without any argy-bargy, would you believe!
Although billed as "uncelebrated horticulturalist", because she's never received any official "kudos" for her work, Mrs Robb has still become famous in Britain, because of the name given to one of her most prized discoveries, "euphorbia amygdeloides", which is popularly known as Mrs Robb's Bonnet. The name comes from the method by which she concealed the plant from the Customs man - by hiding it under her bonnet when she arrived back in Britain from a trip to Turkey.
The plant has sometimes been described, perhaps unfairly, as "a bit suggestive looking", I can't think why, and also as "a tough old boot of a plant". However, it's got its own charm, as you can see from one of the slides we were shown today.
Liphook resident Mrs Robb's great discovery - a rare plant she discovered in Turkey
and smuggled into Britain under her bonnet to foil HM Customs
And actually Mrs Robb is celebrated throughout much of the world - and in the discussion after the talk Lois and I are able to exclusively reveal to the group, that, even in the US, the plant has got Mrs Robb's name attached to it: Steve, our American brother-in-law had previously explained to us that, over there, it's called "Mrs Robb's Hatbox", which in a way is a more accurate description of Mrs Robb's plant-smuggling methods (!).
Mrs Robb was married to a Royal Navy sea-captain, John Robb, who saw action in the Crimean War at the siege of Sevastopol in 1854. She married him in 1856, and got two sons out of him before he sadly died two years later.
(left) Chiltley Place, Liphook, the massive Victorian mansion where the Robbs
started their married life, and (right) Goldenfields, the slightly reduced size mansion
into which the widowed Mrs Robb later moved into - photo taken by us after the talk today:
it's now been turned into several separate houses. What madness !!!!
It's interesting to Lois and me that Mrs Robb was brought up in the tiny village of Great Tew, Oxfordshire, and is also buried there.
Great Tew, a place most people have never heard of, was one of mine and Lois's favourite haunts when we were "courting" - we explored some suitably secluded spots in the Oxfordshire countryside to have our "courting picnics" in, and Great Tew was our first time, so of especially nostalgic interest!
flashback to 1970: Lois and me on one of our courting afternoons at Great Tew
or some other secluded spot, deep in the Oxfordshire countryside - awwwwww!!!!
Besides the talk about Mrs Robb today, this morning's meeting is also the group's AGM (annual general meeting) at which the group leader Barry gives us a taste of what he's got planned for the group in 2026, as shown in this slide:
group leader Barry's slide of events planned for 2026
In other words, plenty of excitement in store - so watch this space!!!!
[I'm not holding my breath! - Ed]
14:00 And one species that definitely hasn't gone extinct yet, Lois and I can exclusively reveal, is the talented teenage vocalist! Witness our grandson Isaac who, with his boy-girl band New Horizons, was performing yesterday at a special Rockschool showcase performance, up at the legendary Dingwalls Live Music Centre in Camden Town, North London, would you believe!
Go Isaac !!!!
flashback to yesterday: our grandson Isaac (15), vocalist with his own
boy-girl rock group New Horizons, performing in North London at
Campden's legendary Dingwalls live music venue - go Isaac!!!
Dingwalls became popular as a live music venue in the 1970's, hosting big US acts such as Blondie, Etta James, the Drifters and REM, as well as lot of more recent British bands that Lois and I have never heard of.
Well, we are both 79, you know, although unquestionably still "marvellous for our age" (!).
[Stop telling us that - somebody might believe you one of these days haha! - Ed]
21:00 So, both 79, but still thirsty for knowledge, we decide to go to bed on this week's edition of QI XL, the comedy science quiz, presented by the UK's favourite Dane, Sandi Toksvig. The current series is "sponsored by the letter W" (pace Sesame Street!!!!!), and tonight the teams are focussing on the popular question words "Who, What, Why".
However, 'what' is used the most, because that's how a child learns the most fundamental things about life. 'Why' questions gradually increase, but they never wholly surpass the number of 'whats', which is interesting. If you're under two, 'why' question typically make up only 3% of the total.
Of course! And that's why parents remember the why's more than the what's !!!
Is this reduced enthusiasm for questions the fault of today's schoolteachers today? The study quoted a particular example that Engel came across, at one school.
And arguably, is it our teachers today that should be going back to school, maybe?
I wonder.....!
Will this do?
[Oh just go to bed! - Ed]
22:00 We go to bed - zzzzzzz!!!!!
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