UK Book Club discussion
Random Chit-Chat
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Bucket List
Jim wrote: "This ongoing conversation about toilet stalls (or public loo, if you prefer) got me to thinking about something that some may consider totally unrelated; but I'm going to throw it out there anyway...."Jim wrote: "This ongoing conversation about toilet stalls (or public loo, if you prefer) got me to thinking about something that some may consider totally unrelated; but I'm going to throw it out there anyway...."
Thank you for sharing this with us Jim.
Why don't you be adventurous and have the lot?
Jim wrote: "Joy wrote: "Jim wrote: "This ongoing conversation about toilet stalls (or public loo, if you prefer) got me to thinking about something that some may consider totally unrelated; but I'm going to th..."I like the way you think Jim!!!
(Though obviously any health worries should be checked out,I don't want to live any longer than I need to)
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As for pub crawling, it was never my cup of tea. Much preferred sitting in one good pub getting slowly ratted with friends quaffing a nice real ale whilst as ever talking bollocks. Walking to the bar and the gents was all the exercise I wanted on a night out. Nowadays, my legs think they are pissed whenever I stand up, so I can do without any further stimulus to my regular efforts to join the British falling flat on your arse team. Thus I tend to drink very little.
Ian wrote: "I'm once again a soul mate of Bernard's on ignoring all phones Tori and I'm definitely with you Jim on the medical investigations lark. If I get summit nasty, please just dose me up with morphine a..."I actually don't drink too much. Usually, two 12-year Glenlivets on the rocks. I just take my time and sip slowly, as I observe the attractive ladies. I have discovered one thing about alcohol though. The more those attractive ladies drink, the better looking I get. So, if Angelina Jolie happens to be a lush, I still have a shot!
I like a port and lemon myself. Speaking of alcohol, husband said he saw a bottle of absinthe in Marks and Sparks.I thought it was illegal. Presumably not then. However, don't think I'll be drinking it!
Carol wrote: "I like a port and lemon myself. Speaking of alcohol, husband said he saw a bottle of absinthe in Marks and Sparks.I thought it was illegal. Presumably not then. However, don't think I'll be drinkin..."At the risk of sounding like a thicket, what the heck is absinthe?
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http://science.howstuffworks.com/inno...
Absinthe is famous for having an extremely high alcohol content and was very popular with the French poets, such as Baudelaire and Verlaine. And also, I think, Hemingway and Picasso. (That's what we creative people obviously need as a help to inspiration!).I think it comes partly from the wormwood plant, whose other connection is, I think, Chernobyl, the nuclear reactor as was, whose name, I believe, means wormwood. (Probably completely wrong on this. Will check it later.)
Ian wrote: "It tastes of aniseed and is green. So a bit like pernod but much nicer and a hell of a lot stronger than most spirits. Had it once several years ago. Banned in France till this year I think. It has..."Lol! Stocking filler, my foot! The only stocking filler he'll be getting that tastes of aniseed will be made by Uncle Joe - so famous for his mint privates! Green?! Sounds horrific. Poisonous horrible stuff. Bernard's vice is Southern Comfort. *Shudders* He has it now and again a centimetre at a time. It is - like everything else in his life - well under control. He occasionally sticks the glass under my nose as if by doing so intermittently, he might convert me one day. Fat chance.
Your first post reminded me of a night earlier this year. I have a Scottish friend. She did a Burn's supper that B and I were invited to. We had the traditional Haggis, mashed swede, and I can't remember what else. Have mixed feelings about haggis. Not 100% sure about it, but I scoffed what was given to me like a nice polite guest. Then - the worst bit - I had to wear a flipping red wig which had a tartan cap attached, and use my best Scottish accent to read out a poem. I didn't know she was recording me. She threatened to put it on Facebook, and I threatened to kill her. Lol! She was winding me up. She knows that I'm very unchuffed when people take the liberty of putting anything about me on FB without my permission. And if they seek my permission, they don't get it. Even Bernard doesn't have a license to post pics of me. FB - argh!!
Carol wrote: "Absinthe is famous for having an extremely high alcohol content and was very popular with the French poets, such as Baudelaire and Verlaine. And also, I think, Hemingway and Picasso. (That's what w..."Well, thank you for enlightening me Carol, but I remain as ever, untempted.
AB(stain!)SIN(ful as it is)THE('orrible stuff)
You can see the workings of my weird mind. Back to writing.
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Ian wrote: "Yes back to writing. Presume as a famous author - tartan hat, ginger wig and all - you were given the honour of reading the Address to a Haggis? That line "Great chieftain o' the pudding race" is a..."Honour? Is that what it was? Yes, I suppose it could have been that. I remember some very violent words about ripping and tearing or summat. All a bit hazy now. With 12 people around the table, I felt a real plonker. It was especially embarrassing because Bernard was genuinely impressed by my Scottish accent (it's my musical ear you see - I'm great at accents) and the passion with which I delivered the thing (even though I was curling up inside) and led a round of applause and kept saying, 'great that, love!'
Never again. Not unless I'm offered deep fried white pudding, which I've never sampled. Sounds intriguing.
Ian wrote: "Totally legal Carol......and Jim, how could you???....desecrating the amber nectar with ice. A single malt should be drunk neat laddie or not at all - as my mate from Fraserburgh would say to me on..."Ian,
Sorry. I forgot that this is basically a UK group. I remember having a gin & tonic with ice in a hotel bar in Kowloon, Hong Kong, when it was still a British protectorate. A Royal Marine, sitting two stools away, apparently heard my order, He looked at me as if I had just passed gas.
Absinthe spoons are designed to perch a sugar cube atop the glass, over which ice-cold water is dripped to dilute the absinthe. The lip near the centre of the handle lets the spoon rest securely on the rim of the glass.
These look rather wicked spoons to go with a rather wicked drink!Would those be flames on the second one up? Would that be a suggestion of Hell?
I have a feeling that's what was in the mind of the designer!!!
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Ian wrote: "Ice in a G & T is fine. That Royal Marine had clearly been on the Absinthe Jim......and Hong Kong no longer part of the Empire?? Has anyone told the King? Hic."Ian,
I did not intend to shock you with the news that Hong Kong is no longer part of the Empire. I hate to bring you even sadder news, but I feel it my duty to inform you that America is no longer subject to Royal colonial rule either. The good news is that, although the intimate relationship is at an end, we can still be friends. (Actually a sentiment often expressed by former girlfriends during my misspent youth).
Right folks, it's only fair that I cough up about the truth of my lack of exercise since my gym pass expired. Haven't done a ruddy thing. My bucket challenge - to remind you all (because I know you've thought of nothing else since the day I mentioned it - important news as it was!)is to get a toned bod in time for my cruise next July. Bernard (seeing as he has a pretentious false French surname, may we refer to him as BerNARD?) and I will have been putting up with each other for a quarter of a century. So we're celebrating with a Med cruise and I want a good tankini bod. Bikinis are for the young imo. I'm not young. I'm silly, but not few in years, and so the bikini years are behind me now.
My challenge has stalled! Truth is, there are always better things to do than get Youtube up on the internet, and search for decent exercise programmes which aren't going to lead to my premature death.
I'll remind you all that I'm allergic to lycra, men in vests, exercise, pain, discomfort, banging music and music videos, and all manner of conformation and discipline. Other than that, I'm the perfect gym bunny.
I MUST do better in the NY. Resigning myself to a lazy (as far as fitness goes) couple of weeks before then. Too busy with Christmas to be bothered, but wanted to come clean.
Luke-warm encouragement welcome. Enthusiastic encouragement and rebellion might set in. No one can get me excited about exercise. It's just pants.
In a nutshell, I'm rubbish. I'm fine with it! If only I gave myself a hard time for being rubbish. I don't. I'm more likely to treat myself to a choc or three ;-)
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False Allegations
Ian wrote: "Tankini?? Might I suggest a browse at figleaves.com. They do a nice range as well as having a fine selection of figure hugging man type pants.......so you see "it's just pants" is a false assumpti..."Never heard of a tankini, Ian? Helpful cross between a costume and a bikini. It's virtually a cossie divided in half. Comes in handy to lie down, then roll the top part up for stomach-browning purposes. Ideal. I don't think figleaves.com would have just the tankini for me. Sounds a bit skimpy for an old fart. One requires more than a leaf's-breadth of covering, ideally.
So, I'm going to try to get back to the exercise regime in Jan. My daughter dragged me upstairs this evening for a ballet workout!! wth? By the way, that's Tori language. Enjoying nice-sounding language as I do, it means what the heck? Anyway, my daughter insisted upon some company while she went on Youtube and dragged up a leg workout done by an American ballet company. It was dead hard. Won't be trying that one again in a hurry.
Permission to be a slight piggy for the next few days. Chocolate in the house. Intensely rude not to. Then it's back to thinking about the dream bod. I never get further than thinking about it, now I think about it!! Still, good to have a goal in mind. It's maybe wise of me not to aim too high! Not as far to fall then! I can't be doing with NY's resolutions, so I'll just try to get back to squats etc in Jan. I'm boring you all now so I'll shut up and get to bed. Father Christmas is coming tomorrow night. Woo-hoo. No sarcasm at all. Not even a little bit.
Sweet Liar
Son has insisted we put out the brandy for Father Xmas. I gather carrots are also necessary for the reindeer. What Father Christmas Left
Carol wrote: "Son has insisted we put out the brandy for Father Xmas. I gather carrots are also necessary for the reindeer. What Father Christmas Left"Carol - I think you need to sit down with him for a little chat. It's time!!!
Beyond the Birds and the Bees - it's just an extension of that chat you had so long ago!!
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So,I ticked another thing off the list , and stayed in a hotel made of ice on Christmas night.Not as cold I was expecting.... interesting.
Louise wrote: "So,I ticked another thing off the list , and stayed in a hotel made of ice on Christmas night.Not as cold I was expecting.... interesting."
What?! A hotel made of ice? Explain!
They cut ice blocks and build hotels, mine was more an igloo than anything spectacular (Google it, some amazing ones)It's currently my profile pic, as goodreads didn't let me just add a pic!!!
Louise wrote: "They cut ice blocks and build hotels, mine was more an igloo than anything spectacular (Google it, some amazing ones)It's currently my profile pic, as goodreads didn't let me just add a pic!!!"
I did Google it last night. Was too curious not to. Amazing, but I'm not sure I fancy it. Brrrrrr!! ;-)
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It's currently my profile pic, as goodreads didn't let me just add a pic!!!"
That's something I'd love to do. Although having spent the last few years in Singapore, I've probably become a total wimp, when it comes to the cold... (I wore thermal socks on my last visit to the UK - it was June!)
Ha ha..No hope for you if you ever move here then Liz!!I'm a bit rubbish with the cold too, but layered up and wasn't as bad as I thought. Which now means I can do Russia in the snow and Iceland one winter! :)
I can't sleep and have just read the last 200 comments. Awake from laughing now! Saw Frozen - pretty but rubbish. Like the idea of ice hotel, reminds me of that Bond film. I'm planning on getting fit this year too, if only to sort out my damaged calf, hand and achy back!
I also saw Frozen again last night, having already watched it a few times, courtesy of grandchildren. Rather baffled about why children seem so taken with it, particularly the song, Let it Go.
I generally like modern animated films but felt this wasn't on the same level.
I've been made to watch Frozen twice while visiting family, although not seen all of it either time. Don't see what all the fuss is about.
Need to plan our 35th anniversary trip. Any suggestions? Our anniversary is in May.
Are you looking to go abroad or local? Always feel that the Maldives should be visited before they sink.
Helen wrote: "Are you looking to go abroad or local? Always feel that the Maldives should be visited before they sink."My thoughts exactly. My sequel starts in the Maldives! Loved the research. It only whet my appetite even more. Bernard doesn't fancy it (even if we could afford it). What's that about? He likes long walks and loads of bars and restaurants. The thought of being stuck on an idyllic island and having no immediate route of escape, doesn't appeal to him at all. Gonna have to go on my own methinks. I'll be about 100 by the time I've saved up.
Joy - we all think you should go to the Maldives and give us the benefit of your opinion. 35 years of living with a bloke deserves a special treat. You can't be nipping off to Cleethorpes. That won't do! Google that if you're confused - Cleethorpes, UK.
I asked Hubby about the Maldives but he wasn't too interested. I'd like to go to Paris and London again. When we went in 2010, we only spent 4 days in London and 3 in Paris. Deciding on the place is always the hard part. He wants to go on a cruise but I'm not too thrilled with that idea.
London and Paris are so easy to do together, the eurostar is a dream...both in length and ease of travel...and cost of you book it early.Wherever you go,a big thanks from me, for changing the subject from frozen. :)
Joy wrote: "I asked Hubby about the Maldives but he wasn't too interested. I'd like to go to Paris and London again. When we went in 2010, we only spent 4 days in London and 3 in Paris. Deciding on the place i..."That's a shame. Why don't men do romantic? I mean, I wouldn't want an over-the-top romantic bloke or anything, for fear of chucking up, but a bit of a romantic break never hurt anyone. Personally, I don't find cities romantic. I've been to Venice with Bernard and didn't find it romantic. It was just busy and cold and wet at the time we went. Maybe it would be a different experience in the summer. Romance (to me) = seclusion. Cities are a world away from that.
We did London and Paris in the summer of 2013. We left the car in England and jumped on the train and landed up in Paris shortly afterwards. It was OK. We had a nice couple of days I suppose. Cities aren't my thing. I'm not a great lover of art galleries and museums and tramping around all day. A holiday to me is about relaxing and reading and spending quality time with my OH. We don't do enough of any of those things when we're at home - so I like my holiday experience to be as far removed from my home-life as possible. Then I feel like I'm on holiday. As you know, we're going on a cruise in July. I still have mixed feelings about it. Time will tell.
Sorry, did you just repeatedly say that you liked holidays?? I'm going to have to lie in a dark room.
Tori wrote: "Joy wrote: "I asked Hubby about the Maldives but he wasn't too interested. I'd like to go to Paris and London again. When we went in 2010, we only spent 4 days in London and 3 in Paris. Deciding on..."I like art galleries and museums but I also like to laze around on a beach and read. Not really my husbands thing though.
Helen wrote: "Sorry, did you just repeatedly say that you liked holidays?? I'm going to have to lie in a dark room."Lol!! Me too. Not sure what's going on.
Finally completed a book on my Bucket List - War and Peace is ticked. What a waste of time! 1200 pages of meandering rubbish added to a three hundred page manners description of early 19th century Russian aristocracy mixed in with a glorious dead view of war. Completely unlikeable characters. Remind me never to bother with such books again!
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Ian wrote: "Consider yourself reminded."Thanks Ian :-) Of course I am sure that some people love it, but now some of the other classics of fiction will not get read - by me anyway
Not sure if I should put books on the bucket list at all - I have a to read list. Think I'll stick to the more exotic items.
Philip wrote: "Ian wrote: "Consider yourself reminded."Thanks Ian :-) Of course I am sure that some people love it, but now some of the other classics of fiction will not get read - by me anyway
Not sure if I ..."
I don't particularly have books on my bucket list, Philip. I hate to admit it, but I'm not a great reader of the classics either. My mum absolutely adores Dickens. She considers him to be the greatest writer. Similarly, my sister has read all his novels two or three times. I've read one, once. Hard Times. It was too! Boy was it dull. I know very well it isn't considered to be his finest work, but still......it put me off. I can't bothered to wade through literature. I want to enjoy to the end, not endure to the end!!
Besides this - and I've made this point many times - I don't have a great imagination for things either past or future. I can't imagine Victorian Britain very well. Even when I see it enacted on the screen, it seems to me to be an era I can't imagine living in day to day. I saw Marie Antoinette recently. Beautiful visual film, but the content was so far removed from my every day experience - people round the bed wondering if the royal couple will!!! etc etc - that I just find films like that almost fantasy-like. Watching the film was just like admiring a wonderful painting with fat naked ladies adorned with angel wings. Totally surreal. I can't imagine that anyone has actually lived a life like (that back to Marie Antoinette) with all the ridiculous pomp and circumstance.
For me, if a book doesn't have electricity in it at least, then I'm going to struggle to connect with the setting and the characters. I prefer real life stuff. Every day stuff. Themes I can relate to. I hate fantasy.
UK Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
Beyond the Birds and the Bees (other topics)What Father Christmas Left (other topics)
What Father Christmas Left (other topics)
Sweet Liar (other topics)
False Allegations (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (other topics)Charles Dickens (other topics)
Thank you for the Evil Eye and the accompanying instructions (warnings). I will comply. I would hate to become intoxicated and have some attractive, sexy strange woman take advantage..."
My thoughts exactly. Should that terrible eventuality come to fruition, Flo and I would feel as though we'd failed you completely. And that must not happen. It may be an entirely false rumour, but I've heard that Angelina Jolie flocks like a moth to a flame around guys who are seared with the evil eye, and are in danger of having a pint too many. She is the guardian of the The Eye. So don't, whatever you do, give her reason to show up in that bar. She's a busy woman, Jim. One thousand children. She struggles to respond to everyone that gives her The Eye!
And listen to Joy. She has all the courage of a woman who isn't an ex veteran but sounds like she should be. Get to the docs and get checked!