Amazon exiles discussion
Don't Kill Snails with Salt ... Creme Eggs & Toasted Teacakes ... Biscuits & Bench Stories, Life, the Universe, & Everything!
suzysunshine7 wrote: "Is there an actual reason as to why I keep on coming across people who are ironically taking far longer to type out questions about things than it ever takes me to just quickly Google for the answe..."No offence taken, Suzy!
Thing is I googled 'Donkey Straw' and got that explanation Brass posted up, but it just didn't sit right with the way it was used in the song.
So I'm still on a quest for another meaning for 'Donkey Straw'.....who knows maybe they meant it literally, an actual piece of Straw belonging to an Eeyore. :0
"maybe they meant it literally, an actual piece of Straw belonging to an Eeyore." - you know that's not true! You'd be devastated if it that innocent!
"I'm absolutely not trying to be rude to anyone in any way, just in case someone thinks that I might be being?" - do you think it's possible to be TOO sensitive on t'interweb? (Clearly not pertaining to moi).
I just re-read my Post before sending and thought that anyone who doesn't know me well might take it the wrong way and possibly think I was trying to be sarky instead of genuinely interested as to why no-one seems to look anything up on Search Engines anymore - even when they have got the very latest in expensive state-of-the-art Technology at their Fingertips.I will always prefer to use a nice large screened Laptop to fully get to enjoy roaming all around the Internet - but today's Technology seems to always be aimed at developing and improving on having even smarter, faster, smaller, and lighter Smart Phones now - and I know that I'll have to get one eventually to keep up with having to do everything online because of being disabled and housebound.
Everything is Apps, Apps, Apps these days ... and a lot of these Apps have ensured that local as well as national Companies and Services are only accessible and payable through certain Devices. For instance, my Dad was sent an NHS Text telling him how to book his second Covid jab? - but we had to ring up the Surgery and book him in in that way because our Laptops couldn't access and use the App Appointment Booking Service they were offering.
Serial wrote: "Talking of Donkeys, does anyone know what 'Donkey Straw' is?Mentioned in one of my favourite Sleaford Mods, songs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhMXu..."
Presumably the straw that broke the donkey's back? Is usually camels but i have heard it used for donkeys as well.
It's human nature Suzy. Plenty times i've said or heard someone say, where did you get x bottle of wine, how did you find y tshirt, what's that singer called, how did you book that 2 week holiday at such a good price etc. There's a degree of social interaction in such conversations that goes beyond actually wanting to know the answer.
Yeah, I had wondered if it maybe be about just making some kind of a connection with others these days, Sera? - asking questions that anyone could easily find out the answers to just to start up or to keep some sort of brief conversation going? It could also be down to a certain kind of laziness too ... in that a lot of younger folk just seem to expect instant responses and immediate results rather than apparently wanting to go looking, finding things out, and making things happen for themselves? They only want the answer, the image, the Link, or Contact Details to be given to them.
I also wondered too, if there is possibly now a whole new generation of advanced Technology users who have never actually learnt how to, or have used, the Internet in any other way except to always exclusively just use it for Social Media and App Stores - and so it probably wouldn't ever occur to them to use a Search Engine to look something up? That there are folk who only know how to use what they use while the rest of the Internet is something they don't use, or have very little experience of, and maybe it holds no great interest to them either?
I'd still like to keep on with using large screened Laptops for as long as they continue to make them ... but I can see that I will, at some point, have to get myself a Smart Phone as well - to be able to use it from time to time whenever it proves to be necessary ;o>
innocence, sarcasm, flippancy, facetiousness? i can't tell anymore! just don't donkey straw the donkey and we'll all be alright!anyhoo, i'm a dumbass with a smart phone - calls, texts, photies, email, the odd google, i probably only use about 10% of its facilities!
it's how people can walk their dog/push the pram/eat lunch without taking their eyes off the phone that worries me. it's the end! the aliens landed - nobody noticed!............until it was put up on instagram!
Could 'Donkey Straw' in this Song possibly refer to a higher degree of attainment, a luxury, or a kind of comfort that is only really of any great importance to you if you are a certain type of person? ..."I'm no good with elocution, To get myself into the institution
So I can win some donkey straw, Get a frame and put it on my f*****' wall"
Talking in a particularly 'posh' kind of way to get into higher levels of Social Circles ... it's a Certificate put up on a Wall just to say to the rest of the World ... "Look, I've made it" ... or ... "I'm one of you" ... or maybe even ... "I'm better than you" ...
It's a qualification or a thing that really matters and is highly prized by some as a symbol of higher status ... like a nice Stable that is well-lined with fresh Straw is to a Donkey ... or maybe a Jaguar or a Rolls Royce is to a Businessman ... but maybe isn't at all as important or as necessary and as aspirational a possession to everyone else who is busy just with getting on with living their lives?
And calling it 'Donkey Straw' is his derogatory term for it - because the Singer is saying that he doesn't believe in the value placed on them or share in the wanting and needing of such things as these - in order to prove anything about himself to anyone else or to live an equally valued, worthwhile, and meaningful life?
Tech XXIII wrote: "... anyhoo, i'm a dumbass with a smart phone - calls, texts, photies, email, the odd google, i probably only use about 10% of its facilities! ..."Right, so you can access Google and the rest of the Internet as well, on a Smart Phone, just as easily and as in-expensively as you can do so on a Laptop in your own Home then?
Well, that helps to clear that confusion up for me, so thanks tech ... x
I'm obviously going to have to bite the Bullet on this one - and buy something very expensive that I don't really want and will very likely mostly sit in a Drawer - only to be switched on and used whenever a Laptop can't do something that I want/need to get done!
Tech XXIII wrote: "... it's how people can walk their dog/push the pram/eat lunch without taking their eyes off the phone that worries me. it's the end! the aliens landed - nobody noticed!............until it was put up on instagram!..."Ohhh, tell me about it!!!
When I do ever get to go out I have to continually sit still in my Wheelchair waiting to move forward while they just meander in all sorts of completely unexpected directions in front of me ... and I often have to brace myself for and endure them suddenly walking right into me ... actually falling over or onto me and hitting my Legs which causes me the kind of excruciating agony that is way beyond most able-bodied people's awareness and imagination ;o<
... AND THEN just to add insult to injury! - I invariably get furiously sworn at for me being in THEIR way?!! ;o<
suzysunshine7 wrote: "Yeah, I had wondered if it maybe be about just making some kind of a connection with others these days, Sera? - asking questions that anyone could easily find out the answers to just to start up or..."Don't get one!
I only have a laptop, and an old Nokia without even a camera as a mobile phone.
I never want a smart phone.
Sera69 wrote: "Serial wrote: "Talking of Donkeys, does anyone know what 'Donkey Straw' is?Mentioned in one of my favourite Sleaford Mods, songs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhMXu......"
The straw that broke the Donkeys back, I think you might have it.
!
suzysunshine7 wrote: "Tech XXIII wrote: "... it's how people can walk their dog/push the pram/eat lunch without taking their eyes off the phone that worries me. it's the end! the aliens landed - nobody noticed!............"You need to get that wheelchair weaponised.
Doesn't really fit with the lyrics but it's all i could think of.
I have a 20 year old basic Doro Phone and it suits me just fine ;o>My absolute indulgence and pride and joy is my (now 9 year old!) 17" screen Laptop and I have already got an identical one set aside for the terribly sad day that my beloved Sony dies on me.
I will need to replace my Phone soon as it isn't going to keep on working forever. It's been dropped so many times that the casing is broken in several places now and so it could suddenly decide to just stop working anymore at any time now.
I had thought that all Apps would work on upgraded Laptops using the latest Windows - but it turns out that they often need a Google Account on Android Phones or Smart Phone Technology to access and use them? - and I can't risk getting left behind on these advances in Technology.
If I outlive my Parents, I will be all on my own here, and if I'm not already in a Care Facility then I will need to be able to manage everything from within my Home ... making Appointments, paying Bills, using Services ... so I think a Smart Phone is going to be something that I will just have to buy and get to learn how to use within the next couple of years even though I don't really want one.
Sera69 wrote: "Doesn't really fit with the lyrics but it's all i could think of."Song is about compromising yourself to fit in and cash in, so maybe it does kinda fit.
I know a few people use loud Horn and Alarms on their Wheelchairs to clear the way ahead and make people more aware of them? - but I don't really fancy getting something that makes a really loud noise and draws everyone's attention to me!My Mum absolutely abhors bad language and swearing but has come to surprise me by becoming a fluent expert in it when anyone walks into my Chair and then dares to have a go at me over it!!! - LOL!!! ;o>
suzysunshine7 wrote: "I know a few people use loud Horn and Alarms on their Wheelchairs to clear the way ahead and make people more aware of them? - but I don't really fancy getting something that makes a really loud no..."Well if ever there was a justification for a bit of argy bargy, then it's those moments.
Good on your mum!
For what it's worth, I too only have an old phone and am only online when I switch on the laptop.... which probably gets irritating for anyone who's swapping messages with me on Facebook and they get announcements on their phone so message me accordingly while it takes me a few days to get back to em each time.Err let me make it clear that I despise FB in terms of "Hey, I'm at the pub with my pint - in fact here you go, here's a picture of it" and all the mutual ego-stroking that goes on on there, but it is handy to keep in touch with the odd old friend. Hardly ever go on it mind.
Funny innit, every time I mention FB, I always feel a need to add a disclaimer of some sort.
Suze - the thing ya mentioned about folk asking about stuff but you wanna shout JFGI!! I suppose I'm guilty of asking about things from time to time but, in my case at least, it's just in aid of making conversation or connecting for a few mins is all. Or is it simply cos I'm a lazy sod and want someone else to Google it for me? : )
Blastronaut wrote: "...Funny innit, every time I mention FB, I always feel a need to add a disclaimer of some sort..."Me too! - and it's really weird, isn't it? ... ;o>
I don't have any Friends on Facebook simply because I don't want to have any Friends on Facebook. I also don't Post anything up on my own Page I just use Facebook to more freely get to access all of the Pages of local and national Shops, Services, and Groups - to find out the very latest in what's going on with them, what they have for sale, to ask questions, and to order and book things.
I invariably find myself almost apologising for it though whenever I explain this to other people - who often say in return that they don't use and never want to use Facebook - but then usually follow up within a matter of hours or days by asking me in person, or by posting up on the Forums to ask if anyone knows, if such and such a place is open at the moment, what their current Opening Hours might be, if they are doing Click & Collect or offering a Home Delivery Service, and wondering if they are still selling their usual full range of Stock? ... !
And the blinding obvious answer to all of these questions is - that they wouldn't ever be in the dark on all of these things and be needing to be asking anyone else these questions if only they could just get over their dislike or disinterest in Facebook ;o>
Blastronaut wrote: "Shit, I only come this way once or twice a week at the moment. "Hello" would be nice on occasion? Y'know you lot go through phases. Sometimes friendly and talkative, other times... not hostile but...."Of course true male friendship, is being as sarcastic and awful to each other as possible :0
My best friend never fails to cheer me up with a 'how are you, you soft southern shite'... and 'I bet you wish you had my looks, you ugly fucker'......etc etc........
We had a Vet out at the farm where I work last night. My farmer friend says to the Vet "Oh christ if I'd known it was you on call, I'd have waited until _______ was on"......
Then tells me in private "------ is sound, and a great Vet, but we'll never tell him that'
LOL!
The world of men
Blastronaut wrote: "Shit, I only come this way once or twice a week at the moment. "Hello" would be nice on occasion? Y'know you lot go through phases. Sometimes friendly and talkative, other times... not hostile but...."Hey?!! ... I saw your Post and thought ... "YAYYY!!! - it's Blastro!" ... and I logged on to Goodreads to chat with you even though I was still in the middle of trying to put together an Iceland Home Delivery Order ;o>
Sorry I'll delete the rant. Am being a proper tw@ today. Again, apologies. Will return when I've chilled a liitle... and pumped me ball back up.
Blastronaut wrote: "Sorry I'll delete the rant. Am being a proper tw@ today. Again, apologies. Will return when I've chilled a liitle... and pumped me ball back up."Get pumping
Apology accepted ... x x x You can't have your Ball back though, Blastro, because I'm keeping it to make sure that you do come back! ;o>
Yep, if any further evidence was required - just been up the road to the chemist. Everyone in there - who are usually quite pleasant and talkative - were in that 'indifferent mood' it seemed. No attempts at conversation in fact barely a glance. So either...Today is SUPPOSED to be one of those days no matter what
or
Folk are not acting in the way in which I perceive them to be... thus it's all a figment of my imagination.
or
Turns out I'm some kinda screwed up narcissist who expects the world to do tricks for me whenever I'm present.
Shall we go for all three?
I mean I knew I had problems but bloody hell I'm turning into Trump minus the dogy tan and billion dollar debt!
Shall return in due course. Again, sorry for ranting, it really is a weird day. My children will no doubt claim not to know me... and J will get back home later with some new fella and ask me what the hell I'm doing here!
You might be suffering from a bad dose of Lock-down-itis, Poppet?It's been such a bloody awful year - and it gets to us all from time to time ... x x x
Excuse us, folks, while Suzy and I swap poetry stanzas. Similar to an earworm, today I could not help remembering :Go down to Kew in lilac-time, in lilac-time, in lilac-time;
Go down to Kew in lilac-time (it isn’t far from London!)
And you shall wander hand in hand with love in summer’s wonderland;
Go down to Kew in lilac-time (it isn’t far from London!)
From the pen of Alfred Noyes (best known for "The Highwayman").
I would have learned this at primary school in 1960. Poetry was a big thing and we even had an annual inter-classroom choral verse competition. I well remember our Standard 4 class declaiming:
Ho, for the Pirate Don Durk of Dowdee!
He was as wicked as wicked could be,
But oh, he was perfectly gorgeous to see!
The Pirate Don Durk of Dowdee.
and
The splendour falls on castle walls
And snowy summits old in story:
The long light shakes across the lakes,
And the wild cataract leaps in glory.
Blow, bugle, blow, set the wild echoes flying,
Blow, bugle; answer, echoes, dying, dying, dying.
But I can only remember these snippets, never the whole poem. I used to envy Rumpole with his instant recollection of poems. There's even an internet page where someone has collected every quote from seven seasons!!
https://ratnumber6.wordpress.com/2009...
Isn't the internet wonderful?
Oooh I've got SO many Lines, Poems, Song Lyrics, and Quotes that will suddenly spring into my Mind at just the mere drop of a Hat, Val ;o>A lot, I'm afraid, are far too personal and intensely private to share with anyone - because they would also require some explanations about how and why they have come to connect up to some horrendously awful things and also to some of the huge sadnesses in my Life that I would much rather not talk about.
There is one rather obvious one though that surely won't need any explanation at all as to why it tends to bob up at some point on pretty much all of my bad days - and it is another Line from the Poem by T.S. Eliot that I have already mentioned on the 'Gone But Not Forgotten' Thread ...
"... For I have known them all already, known them all:
Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons,
I have measured out my life with coffee spoons ..."
I do have a lot of really nice ones though as well. For instance any thoughts of Autumn will always bring to my Mind the first Line from 'To Autumn' by John Keats ... "Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness" ... ;o>
And the sight of Snow tends to bring up all-sorts of Lines ... including Winnie The Pooh ;o> ...
"The more it snows (Tiddely pom), The more it goes (Tiddely pom)
The more it goes (Tiddely pom), On snowing.
And nobody knows (Tiddely pom), How cold my toes (Tiddely pom)
How cold my toes (Tiddely pom), Are growing"
;o>
Val wrote: "Isn't the internet wonderful? ..."It certainly is! - I love being able to put into a Google Search just a few Words from a Poem that I can't fully recall or just a Line from a partially remembered Song that has been driving me crazy for hours ... and CLICK! ... within a second there's the very answer that I'm after! ;o>
just a very quick note to say Thankyou for your very kind card Suzy,I meant to get back to you before but in the middle of organising at the moment.I'll email you when I m able.x
Ohhh, I'm just glad you got it, Anita ;o>One of the Neighbours bobs by every now and then and she often offers to take any Post to the Post Office for us as she passes by it on her way to Work.
She can be rather forgetful at times though and she told Mum only the other day that she had taken a week to post on several Cards that we gave her recently because she had put them into the wrong Handbag, then completely forgotten all about them, and it was only because her Daughter was playing Dress Up that she found them! ;o>
I'm afraid I've unexpectedly found myself in the middle of having an extremely stressful and challenging time of it here with M&D at moment - and am just hoping that I can still somehow manage pull together and salvage some kind of an Easter family celebration - despite seemingly just about everything going so pear-shaped due to both Parents currently being so out of sorts with themselves, as well as with each other, and now also with me too.So, if I don't manage or feel like I am upto bobbing back online at anytime in the next few days then, I just want to take a minute now to wish everyone all of my best wishes for a wonderful Easter-time/Spring Holiday weekend ;o> ... x x x Suzy x x x ...
To be honest, I hadn't even realised it was Easter. Why the heck can't they just have Easter on the same dates every year like Christmas.
I would have thought that France, having a strong Catholic tradition, would have celebrated the religious aspects of Easter in a way that was very noticeable. Even here in pagan Oz, all retailers are closed on Good Friday.
Suzy, so sorry that you are once again cast in the role of U.N. peacemaker when it comes to your Mum and Dad. I hope you are able to soothe the waters and have some enjoyment from Easter.
worse than the weans! parent(s)? whae'd hae thum?
Yeah, it was more than heart-breaking enough for me just in having the one Parent with ongoing Dementia issues ... ;o<
Still, we managed to sit down together to celebrate Easter with a nice Roast Dinner - and I think that a good enough time was had by all in the end ;o>
Well, as some of you already know, I've been dillying and dallying for quite a while now - until I finally made the decision, committed myself, and went for it - and I've bought a vintage Ercol Solid Elm Corner Cabinet! ... YAYYY!!! ;o>The one that I previously SO badly wanted off eBay, yet simply couldn't get the Seller to return any Messages on, is still up for Sale. And I can't pretend I haven't kept on with going back to take further looks at it over the last few months - but the Seller simply wouldn't respond with the need-to-know Courier Costs - and I also wasn't prepared to buy it unless he told me something about what the actual condition of it was as the Listing gave next to nothing away on this most essential detail.
In the meantime, I have been continuing in my Search all around the Internet and, a few weeks ago, I suddenly came across one on 'Vinterior' that really caught my Eye due to it's seemingly immaculate condition and absolutely gorgeous Wood Grain and Colour Tone.
The only real stumbling block to me was that it cost over £150 more than the average price for a decent enough one whenever they occasionally pop up on eBay ... which makes it to be quite high up there with some of the most expensive ones that I've seen ... and I do SO love a bargain that I couldn't bring myself to see past that until now.
The thing is though ... it is apparently in absolutely perfect 'Like New' Condition, and unlike a lot of the more modern-made Pine ones on eBay it is the real deal in it being made of Elm and made sometime in the 1970s, the Seller has told me that he won't be asking for any Courier Costs, he is based in Knutsford which is just less than 20 miles away from here, and he has said that if I am not happy for any reason whatsoever then he will take it away for Free and give me an immediate full Refund on it.
So, is all of that worth an extra £150 more to me? ... yep?! - I think so - and so I've bought it! ... and it will be delivered sometime over next week and I can hardly bear to wait to see it, to see the look on M&D's Faces as well when it turns up, and to get it set up in the Dining Room now! ;o>
I never knew I even wanted one of these Cabinets until I started coming across them and realised just how neat and tidy, useful and fab one would look in an empty corner of the Dining Room - while I was/am still searching to try to find the most perfect Ercol Drinks Serving Cabinet - which I intend to use instead as a Home Office Desk Cabinet.
Anyway here it is - and I just hope now that it looks as beautiful in real life! ...
Its a nice shape Suzy,it looks like you can just pop it in the corner.
Yeah, it's a very neat and attractive Cabinet with a deceptively large Cupboard space underneath that will give us some much needed extra storage space for all of our special Glassware ;o>I kept on with wanting to pay a bargain price for one of these at first but, at the end of the day - I really wanted it and I really want to get on with sorting the House out - plus I know that it is still worth a bit more than what I am paying for it and I really do love the look of all of the Wood Grain as well as the Colour Tone. And none of the other far more modern-made Pine ones (1980's to 1990's) on eBay have got the same extremely high quality of finish and Eye appeal as this one has for me.
All of our other Ercol Furniture was bought by M&D in the late 60's to early 70's so I was looking for an original older one if possible and this one even has the 1970's Paperwork to prove it's vintage ;o>
I only set out last year to try to find a more stylish and elegant looking Home Office Desk Cabinet - because we all really hate the look of the crappy modern Argos Trolley Style PC Desk that we have now - but then I saw a few of these Corner Cabinets and realised what a great buy one of these would also be for the Dining Room.
Not least because it comes with matching handles to the Cabinet that I am still after and has a very similar stylised look to it - so my thinking is that they will compliment each other as well blending in very nicely with the Ercol Furniture that we already have ;o>
This is what I've been looking out for - and I SO wish that this was ours because it's the best one that I've seen so far ...https://www.mustardvintage.com/produc...
I want to use the top part to store Dad's Laptop, plus any Paper and Inks, Pens and bits and bobs. And the middle Cupboard should be able to take the Epson Printer and the Paper Shredder so that they can also be tucked away out of sight unless needed ;o>
That drinks cabinet is beautiful Suzy! When you get your corner cabinet delivered, why don't you mention it to the seller. If he's in the furniture business, he might be able to keep an eye out for you knowing he's got a ready sale if he should find one.
Amazon exiles
Books mentioned in this topic
Ten Poems about Snow (other topics)And So This is Christmas: 51 Seasonally Adjusted Poems (other topics)
The Tiger Who Came to Tea (other topics)
The Quangle Wangle's Hat (other topics)
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Christina Rossetti (other topics)John Keats (other topics)
Joan Aiken (other topics)
I'm not talking about you, Serial - it's just that you have reminded me of something that has kept having me surprised and confused for quite a while now.
Only almost everyone I come across on Facebook always seems to be asking ... "what, where, why, who?" ... and yet they are the ones who tend to have the very latest in snazzy and extremely expensive so-called 'Smart' Phones?
It has had me wondering as to just of what use these amazing-looking and sounding Phones actually are? Why can't folk who use them just go and look anything up for themselves these days just like I can and do? Does it take up a lot of Data to search on Google and cost a small fortune whenever you are out and about to use them for anything else on the rest of the Internet except Social Media?
EDIT: I'm absolutely not trying to be rude to anyone in any way, just in case someone thinks that I might be being? I genuinely am interested because, the way Technology is moving on, what with almost everything being accessed via Apps and App Stores these days, I am thinking that I'll probably have to get myself a Smart Phone at some point - but at the moment, I'm struggling to understand why they seem to promise SO much and yet still seem to be SO limited in their actual practical use ... unless you like to live on Facebook and Twitter, want to make lots of Calls wherever you are, and constantly want/need to send and receive Texts?