Sliding....

It seems strange to be saying this, but I feel a little sorry for Wonga, who have had to call the administrators in,  They were pioneers in the field of short-term "pay day" loans, and like many other pioneers, they fell foul of various things they hadn't foreseen and others will now profit from their experiences while they go to the wall.

The Lazy Cook

And the answer to yesterday's question? Of course not - much too much like hard work! But I have put one on my shopping list!

Words

Flicking about the other day, I came across a recipe for Key Lime Pie and wondered "why Key Lime?".  So I looked it up and apparently key lime is simply a particularly flavoursome variety of lime which is indigenous to the Florida Keys.  And that started me on "Keys".  I must confess that I had always thought that "key" was probably an Americanisation of "quay", but apparently not so - the similarity in pronunciation is just coincidental.  The word derives from the Spanish cuyo meaning a small island.  So, shall I make a key lime pie?.... 

Not just me then.

Like many - if not most - of my generation, I was traumatised by the death of Bambi's mother in the Disney film, so I was fascinated to learn that in 2007 Time magazine produced an article on the Top 25 Horror Movies of all time.  And guess what's in at number 20 - Bambi!

The perfect storm?

Well - I've been waiting for it.  The cold Spring and hot dry Summer have combined to produce a bad harvest and we can look forward to higher food prices in the shops.  'Twas ever thus. At this time of year, farmers always come up with sob stories about the weather being too hot, too cold, too wet, too windy or too something else, but the punch line always is that there will be shortages of something or other and prices will rise.  Couldn't go wrong this year, could they?

Ha ha

Two factory workers were chatting.  One said "Watch me get the day off" and he climbs up and hangs upside down from the ceiling.  The boss walks in and asks him what he's doing.  "I'm a light bulb" replies the man.  "Oh, you poor soul" says the boss "you've obviously been working too hard.  Take the day off". He gets down and starts to leave and his co-worker follows him.  "And where do you think you're going?" asks the boss.  "I'm going home too" says the second man "I can't work in the dark".

Once upon a time...

Remember the theory about the film Grease? (see 5th June).  Well someone has come up with a similar take on the Snow White story.  It's generally accepted that the brothers Grimm did not invent the stories which bear their name, but rather wrote down stories which were already in circulation - stories which usually had some basis in fact.  The Snow White story is said to be based on the life of Margaretha von Waldeck, who was the daughter of a wealthy copper-miner who - as was common at the time - used child labour in his mines - hence the dwarves.  She was well liked, and when she died aged 21 just before she was due to be married stories about her began to circulate,  Prince Charming in this version of the story became the Angel of Death (notice he's always riding a white horse?  If you know your Bible you will know that Death rides a pale horse), and his kiss was the kiss of Death.  Think I prefer the Disney version.

If it ain't broke...

If I understand it - and I probably don't - the new GCSE grades (9 high down to 1) are equivalent to the old A* down to F, was it?  In which case, you have to ask - what's the point?  Why change things if nothing's really changed?

Beyond the pale...

...bu what is the pale?  Well a pale is a pointed stick, or stake (from the Latin palus) and from time immemorial societies have delineated their boundaries with fences, which are just pointed sticks stuck in the ground and linked together.  So long as you were inside the fence you came under the protection of the tribe, but once you ventured "beyond the pale" you were on your own.  Over time, the expression has come to mean going beyond the bounds of acceptable behaviour.

Well, stone me!

Say it isn't so - my darling wife was a putative criminal!  Whenever we went on holiday to the seaside - home or abroad - she would pick a stone from the beach and bring it home as a memento.  Never thought anything about it, but now it appears that - in this country at least - it's against the law to do so.  The relevant legislation is the Coastal Protection Act of 1949 and, as the name suggests, the purpose is to protect the coast from erosion.  Well, I won't tell if you don't!