THE BRITISH THREAD

Opal mining is one of my hobbies, I have a small collection of opals collected from Coober Pedy (South Australia) where I usually go. I also fossick at the Mintabie opal fields in the far north of SA, these are open cut mines.

Isn't your native town Opalhuizen aan de Edelstenen? :wink:

How bloody interesting!

Do you have any photos?

I'm fascinated by gems and crystals, althougth I wear/own very little jeweller myself. I'm a bit 'less is more' when it comes to adornment, but always wear earrings. Do you have any fire opals? Are they from the same mines (I mean are they found together or is one very much separate from the other?). I must say, I know little about Opals, not being a material I've ever worked with. I studied jeweller making and have made some nice pieces for my daughter, worked as a jobbing jeweller for a while, but it's harsh on your hands and very poorly paid. I used to make custom body piercings (including Prince Alberts) and once had to cast (using lost wax) 100 tiny penis ear-studs for a gay man's 40th Birthday bash, not my cup of tea... but different strokes, eh? My hands were buggered at the end of the project, I went home saying "If I never see a tiny penis again...).

Apologies if that was boring...

x

Walter how did you guess

Hi, Walter chuck.

Did you have a good New Year?

Coming to McT's anytime soon?

x

Until now, it has been quite fine - besides the weather. Thanks for asking :wink:

And 'no', it's the other way around in the next time.

Smorgs requested a photo, happy to oblige.
Dutchy Opal mining at Coober Pedy, South Australia. (100 feet underground)

Is that you Dutch?

Please tell me more about (fire) opals...

That's a very useful helmut you're wearing.

x

Yes smorgs that's me! Sorry if you expected a younger fellow Helmet serves two purposes, protect your head from injuries from falling debris, and has a battery operated light fitted so ones hands are free. You can see yellow battery in my back pocket. Don't know much about fire opals, extremely rare here I believe, mostly found in Mexico.

...and here's me thinking it was for looking in nooks and crannies (mainly crannies, I assumed).

You look a fine fellow, Dutch. No worries on the score.

(would hate to do your washing though, those jeans would never come up on a 40 degree wash. I'd have to trample them in the bath after soaking with a good scoop of Acdo)

Christ Almighty! Have you heard me? I sound like a domestic Goddess!

x

Thank you for the compliment smorgs, you made my day! Don't worry about washing the jeans, that's a man's job after having been underground, I wouldn't want your delicate hands to suffer. By the way, I love Goddesses, domesticated or not.

...and I love a man that washes his own jeans!

I wonder if spends washes HIS own jeans... if he wears them, he proably meanders down to a stream somewhere on his vast estate and bashes them with a rock (and Acdo - the finest soap powder known to mankind).

For all we know, he's could be spread over a chais lounge, wearing a fine embroided kaftan, rolling a joint.

x

I have never worn a pair of jeans in my life.

They are so, so--you know.

Is naff the word? I'm not up on modern cool.

Actually I'm an expert in jewels and precious stones myself. They are a serious danger to men. Take my word for it lads.

Don't ask me to explain but if you smash a beer bottle and pick out a nice sized shard and tell her you found it whilst on safari with the Govenor-General in a river bed up the Kyber Pass,or your great grandfather had and left it in his will for his favourite grandson, and you do it with aplomb, which is easy with a captive audience, it works just as good, if not better, than anything Cartier's can put in their window.

It's the aplomb.

D'ya know, spends...

I have never worn a pair of jeans either!

I've nothing against them at all, and think they look quite fetching on both man and women - I just don't like to wear them myself.

Having said that - I do 'do' casual and look bloody gorgeous in a pair of pink tracky bottoms and an old pink T-shirt with PARADISE on the front (my daughter takes the piss out of that T-shirt everytime I wear it).

Morning Everyone!

x

That sounds really nice smorgy I'd love to see a pic of your pink bottoms sometime.

Morning
I was just wondering if you call yourselfs brits, what do you call people in the USA?

Yanks

Thank you.

You are most welcome.

Your avatar is most stunning.