Sheep - a poem in one sentence

There a few biogs of Emily.

The Winifred Gerin one is probably the best.

And Elizabeth Gaskell also did a fair job on Charlotte.

Woman, even more than the working class,
is the great unknown quantity of the race.
------------------------------------------
Kier Hardie 1856-1915

What's this? A reunion of sorts. Thanks for the info on biographies Spendius. I've often thought it, but I don't think I've said it directly to you before - you're an incredibly well-read fellow.

So, Mathos, back from your journey, huh? Hope you are well and glad you apparently had safe travels.

Good-night.

Good night, I always have good nights Aidan, pleasant days too, its all a question of conditioning the mind and being extremely careful as to who I let share the nights (especially the nights) with me.

Playing footsie under the table was never my attribute, life is far too short for dilly-dallying or shilly-shallying.

No,no Mathos.

The secret is never to arrive. Once you have arrived it's all downhill. All you can do after that is look for novel places to arrive at next and it just goes on and on and on at great expense and travail and the temptations get more and more silly until you end up backpacking in the Sahara desert instead of lazing on the settee watching the fantastic show on high definition screens with maids bringing in refreshments at a signal on the bell-pull gadget and dozing off to noddy land from time to time.

Footsie and shilly-shallying are suffused with unsatisfied expectations which are always more exciting than actually having a whamer which is,as you probably don't need me to tell you,all over and done with in a few short moments and often leaves one in a negative frame of mind if not with a feeling of shame and self-disgust.

Lovers of the world unite
You might want it every night
You can't have it if you pray
You can only have it, if your ready to pay.

You can't have it if your broke
You can only have it if you have the poke!
You cant have it even with rank
You can only have it with dosh in the bank.


Spendius 'Old Boy,'

You obviously keep yourself in the realms of darkness and abstract from modern day living. Reminding me somewhat of Bram Stokers 'Dracula'
living in a box.

The secret is never to arrive, until the fulfillment of all requirements, needs and satisfaction are observed to be exquisitely appropriated.

You, may be well accustomed to living life on the sofa and having a quickie or whamer as you refer to it! Somewhat akin to a little sparrow, you know, two flutters and its all over and done with.

Mathos wrote-



Well that is precisely what the absence of "dilly-dallying" and "shilly-shallying" (your words) results in and as you had objected earlier to dilly-dallying and shilly-shallying it is difficult to follow your train of thought. I don't suppose there is any law saying that you can't do 180 degree U-turns from one post to the next but there is also no law saying that those who meet such originality are required to think they are in the presence of a refined and highly developed intelligence.

Spendius 'Old Chap'

You really need to get out and about a little, being confined to a couch and jingling bells for your nurse is obviously not doing you a great deal of good.

I am reading between the lines of course, but does the home not have a decent programme for leisure and pleasure?

There is an excellent old folks home in Oswaldtwistle, just across the border from you dear chap and they have a decent programme for mental and physical stimulation.

If the cost is a factor I happen to know the Matron and could arrange a week or two in the coming summer months free of charge on your behalf. Most of the inmates are reluctantly taken away to Brighton or Southport by their immediate families for the odd week or so. The poor souls are placed in those silly striped deck chairs on the beach, donkeys and kids torment them all day, they have a 99'er placed in their feeble hands and usually wet their underclothes, due to the fact that not only is it difficult to get out of the chairs, it is dangerous hobbling across to the toilets, then there is the penny slot to encounter. It makes the sons and daughters feel better and they even claim a little tax refund on the expenses incurred. Terrible isn't it! The beds are paid for but vacant.

I don't like to see you getting in a psychological mess as you are presently doing, it is no good at all for your well being. Do you wear those incontinent pants and if so, is there a process for emptying the dreaded things, I am only asking as the smell which comes from most of the homes is quite obnoxious to me, and I would not like to promise you a visit knowing that my stomach would be retching for days on end at the thoughts of such a drastic course of action.

Mathos- When did you change your avatar? Are you supposed to be Moses or God?

You guys are always so abstract. Whether it's better to arrive or not to arrive is dependent on two very concrete factors:
1) What are the circumstances of the journey?
2) Are the circumstances upon your arrival more or less pleasant, productive, or enhancing than those that are present throughout the journey.
So you could both be right, or (perish the thought) you could both be wrong.

Spendius - are you a child or a senior citizen? I'm so confused...

Hello Aidan

I was merely saying hello in my usual jocular manner, Spendius became irrational and started ranting at me, you can read it all for yourself.

I have no idea what his problem is, but when he started rabbiting on about lying on his sofa, ringing bells for attention and service, I naturally assumed he was confined to the lounge of an 'old folks home'

Then he got really angry with me!!

I have not really taken him on though, I don't wish the old scoundrel of a tyke any harm at all. Live and let live is my motto.

Well you two have been having a right old discussion in here, I was rather embarrassed reading some of the comments, nice though isn't it.

I think you should drive up to Yorkshire and meet him on Ilkley Moor don't wear a hat though up there, it can be rather breezy to say the least and you don't want to spend half the day chasing hats through the gorse bushes; Do you?

I am thrilled that you had such a nice visit with family and enjoyed the everglades so much, I have been trying to get Spendius to travel, but he won't wear it from me at all. Still he could have a phobia about flying or some other problem which confines him to the lounge and sofa, I don't know really. He appears to get out to the pub quite regular though and walking around those moors must mean he is pretty fit.

Well must move on , I have been rabbiting on enough.

Good night to you both.. Have fun.

PS

I'm neither Moses or God

Just me with a beard. Nice isn't it.

You know, after I asked about your avatar, I thought maybe you were Thor - I think that's a thunderbolt you're holding, isn't it? Since that's you, what's the significance of the thunderbolt? Does it signify anything? (PS- your beard needs a trim-facial hair is so much more attractive when it is well-groomed).

What comments were you embarrassed by in my and Spendius' conversation? The only part of that whole thing that was embarrassing to me was thinking of the cows being watched so intently as they did their private business and having it described in such detail, and Gus' admission of his own particular predilections. The rest of it was just two people talking- mostly about world economics. I actually learned quite a lot.

Apparently Spendius doesn't live in Yorkshire - so there will be no meetings on the moor. Just as well - a lady can't be too careful these days you know...you do know that don't you?

No.

I don't know that.

One can be too careful.

One can become catatonic with fear.

In fact if one can't be too careful catatonia is a certainty whereas taking a few chances only has low level risk, real though it is. And catatonia looked to me when I saw it once to be out the other side of being raped as a pisser and even less desireable than being murdered.

Spendius - calm down. I wasn't worried about being raped or murdered up on the moors. Funny, but now that you mention it, that's the one place (as a woman in a pretty violent world) that I've never once worried about my personal safety. Hmm...maybe that's why I like it so much here. (People at home keep asking me what the difference is, and I can't really explain why I feel so much more comfortable here- maybe it's because I can walk around, at night even and by myself and not have to be afraid- that's a pretty big bonus- when you've been taught (as a woman) that you need to be looking over your shoulder and on guard at all times).

You're preaching to the choir about being willing to take appropriate risks. I do have some inborn fears (of heights and big animals for instance), but essentially, I have a pretty adventurous spirit. For me, it's important to try new things on a pretty regular basis. I certainly wouldn't want to live catatonic with fear, by any means.

I just want to be careful about putting myself or anyone else in situations that might not be fun, or are potentially embarrassing. What would be the use in that? Life's too short as it is.
So, I think meeting anyone on this forum should probably be reserved for one of those big A2K gatherings - lots of people in a public place. Then, you've covered all your bases on safety, and if you don't have anything to talk about because it's all been said on the threads, you could just say, "See ya everyone, gotta go," and it wouldn't feel so personal to any one person- or to me.
Do you understand what I'm saying?

Talking about trying new things, I have another question for you. Just heard that it's Johnny Walker's 40th anniversary on radio. How do you feel about your dj's here in England? I know Radio2 kind of takes a wussy middle of the road rap in terms of music and playlist, but I think Johnny Walker and Bob Harris are redeeming characters- and both have great voices. And I think Bob Harris, especially, plays some innovative stuff.

My musical repertoire (popular music especially) has expanded tremendously, since I've been listening here. Bob, especially, plays stuff I'd never, ever hear if I didn't listen to his show on Saturday nights. Do you like them, dislike them, or just kind of take them for granted because they've been around so long? Because I think they're really, really especially good dj's (but don't let that influence your answer at all ).

The only people I think can compare to them in the US are Dennis Elsis and Scott Muny who used to be on WNEW. And they've been gone a long time now since they've changed that station's format. But in their hayday (is that how you spell that - I've never written it before) they were unbeatable at what they did.

Rebecca wrote-



I only took your "can't be too careful" literally in order to make a point. I know you didn't mean it quite like that.

My reticence at meeting other A2Kers is associated with the sheer botheration of it and the probability of them turning out,in the flesh, to be pretty ordinary. As a cyber friend they have some mystery and can present themselves in "the best possible light" as Kenny Everett used to say. I'm not fussed about situations that might not be fun or possibly embarrassing. I think meeting people would likely inhibit honesty and intellectual daring in subsequent posts. I have no desire to try new things as a policy. Quite enough new things happen as it is without my being the cause of them. "May you live in interesting times" is a Chinese curse.

Large gatherings of strangers are inevitably superficial anyway.

I don't listen to the radio much. BBC Radio 2 is a fixture in my vehicle but I drive very little. I quite like Steve Wright in the afternoons. I often play Classic FM on my TV if there's no live sport to watch and I'm into a good book which I almost always am.

Is the Bob Harris you mention the same Whispering Bob Harris who used to front The Old Grey Whistle Test?

It's "heyday"-the time of one's greatest vigour.

See what a mine of useful information I am if you know how to get the best out of me?

I see you have a lovely day forecast. Have you been to Taunton cricket ground yet? Coombe Floret is where Evelyn and Auberon Waugh lived.

T.S.Eliot--The Waste Land.

Spendius - You know, it's so interesting. We take the opposite view on almost everything we talk about, but I almost always can agree with your take on it- even though it's so different than mine. Does that mean I'm wishy-washy or just open-minded and flexible - able to see both sides?

I agree that there is the possibility of posts being more guarded, etc. after you've actually met someone- unless when you met them, you found them to be one of those special people who are most interested in interacting with people as they really are- and don't expect them to obey convention, or present themselves as whatever they think they're supposed to be. I have a few friends like that. They just encourage their friends to be silly, or outrageous, or weird or whatever it is they feel like being - because that's why they're friends with those people in the first place. And with those people, it's always more fun in real life. Because there's just a lot of laughter going on - and you don't have to use any corny little emoticons to get it across.

But, I also really, really, really agree with the thing about big gatherings being superficial and not much fun. You're right about that- unless there's a good band.

But yeah, this medium does allow for intellectual and emotional daring. That's why it's seductive in its own way. There aren't many outlets for that in the world.

Yes, you really are a mine of information. I thought "Heyday" might refer to the old saying "make hay while the sun shines"- that's why I spelled it with an a.
I don't know what Bob Harris has done before. But he's on Radio2 on Thursday nights with a country show (which I'm less interested in) and again on Saturdays with new music of different genres. I think it might start at 9:00. He's got kind of a gravely voice (probably too many cigarettes), but I like it. You can just hear in his voice that he's a nice guy and he's a musical goldmine.

But, you're right. I have got a beautiful day here, and I have the day off. I need to go buy some carrots, among other things. So I'll talk to you later. Always a pleasure - Rebecca

PS-I'm not up enough on the Tarot to puzzle out why the Eliot reference fit this conversation. Care to enlighten me?
Also- thanks for the travel tips. I am collecting them and will check them out . I've been to Taunton several times - town hall, etc. since it's Somerset's country seat - but not to the cricket grounds. Are they particularly beautiful or something?

I just remembered the last line-



We were discussing taking care.

Anyway I like that whole piece. Try declaiming it like an actor might. On the "Look!" be a little kid.

And on your "silly" there's a bit in Just Like Tom Thumb Blues-- "If you're looking to get silly you better go back to from where you came."

And-in Desolation Row there's Ezra Pound and TS Eliot fighting in the captain's tower while calypso singers laugh at them and fishermen hold flowers.

If I could only have one station on a desert island I would have BBC Radio 2.

All cricket grounds have a timeless charm on days like today. What could be better for a lady than sitting in a deck chair watching men trying to impress and being made to look ridiculous.

What in God's name are you talking about now? Which men are trying to impress what lady? And what lady is making which men look ridiculous?
Or maybe I should just take it literally and assume that that's what really happens at cricket games (how the heck would I know - I've never been to one).

Would you really only have radio2 on a desert island, or is that some kind of secret code? I'd be surprised if you meant that literally, because you don't seem the radio2 type - but again, how the heck would I know?

You know what our problem is? I'm speaking literally - and you can't believe that I would talk about such trivialities, so you try to turn it into some kind of code that means something totally different than what I meant. But my life is only made up of all sorts of little trivial moments. I really do like Bob Harris. I really did go to the store to buy carrots (I made chicken noodle soup this afternoon - as god is my witness- I also put celery in it). I just write like I talk - I would have told anyone in the house with me "I'm going to the store to buy some carrots - back in a bit." I thought about it while I was talking to you - so I wrote it to you. That's it!

My life is just so much simpler than you want to believe it is. I'm not looking for men who are trying to impress me and I certainly don't have the desire to make anyone look ridiculous, here or anywhere else. I'm sorry that you think that about me.

And you can't assume that I'm as well-read as you- seriously. I did major in English, but I just don't seem to have the ability to retain the detail that you seem to have. I'm not being sarcastic, I'm being dead serious. Half the literary allusions you make, although I find them interesting, and they inspire me to reread the stuff, I don't remember in the detail it would take for me to make the connection without rereading. I'm not making allusions when I refer to a literary or musical work. If I say I like it - that just means I've read it or heard it and it meant something positive to me, so I wanted to share it.

And for your information - I love nothing more than getting silly and having a laugh- or as a friend of mine says "having a chin-wag and a few giggles." Sorry if you can't understand that, or if that activity is beneath you-but do I really have to go back where I came from because I enjoy it?

I wish you would tell me what I said that teed you off. I thought we had such a nice conversation. I really did find it to be a pleasure. Oh well...
I know you'll do whatever you feel like doing. And that's as it should be-Rebecca