Men At Arms annotations [WARNING: Spoilers!]
Paul Gillingwater
You have been warned!
P. 14 Twurp's P-eerage = Burke's Peerage, the classic reference book
on noble families in England.
P. 21 Gruntled = Opposite of disgruntled.
P. 40 Gravy boat: Vimes means Gravy Train (meaning a pampered
existence, c.f. Pink Floyd). A Gravy Boat is a small jug used for
holding Gravy.
P. 48 "Sorry, excuse me -- mind like a sieve these days..." This is
clearly a stylistic reference to Lt. Columbo of the TV show.
P. 54 "NEITHER RAIN NOR SNOW NOR GLOM OF NIT CAN STAY THESE MESSENGERS
ABOT THEIR DUTY." This refers to the motto of the US postal service.
It's not clear what the black dog with orange eyebrows is.
P. 55 Gargoylese for "Don't mention it." As a gargoyle, it's very
difficult to speak clearly with a tube stuck in your mouth.
P. 56 Leonardo of Quirm has invented the exercise bicycle.
P. 57 Oblong Office: a reference to the Oval Office in Washington.
P. 58 Bloody Stupid Johnson. Capability Brown seems to be the original
for this. The other names are fictitious. Lancelot Brown (1715-1783)
was a well known landscape gardener and architect. His name derived
from his frequent statement to prospective employers that their estates
held great "capabilities."
P. 58 "Haha": A boundary to a garden or park, usually a low wall or
shallow ditch designed not to be seen until closely approached.
P. 62 "...on a crutch": usually a reference to Jesus Christ.
P. 63 Sgt Colon speaks in the time-honoured fashion of many drill
Sergeants in movies.
P. 70 Captain Quirke: surely not a dig at Captain Kirk? The
Mayonnaise is because he's thick, rich, oily and smells of eggs.
P. 70 Vetinari is trying to say "Like a loose cannon." On sailing
ships, cannons tended to slide around causing a lot of damage if they're
not carefully tied down.
P. 71 There is really a drink called a "Slow Comfortable Screw."
Screw of course refers to another drink from which it is derived, called
a "Screwdriver."
P. 74 It's called a GONNE because that's what it does to its victims.
P. 80 Usually "dans une certaine condition" refers to pregnancy, but
not in this case.
P. 94 "Every dwarf is buried with a weapon." This happens at the end
of the book, (P. 279) but it's not an axe, because that gets mangled on
P. 258.
P. 96 Carrot is skilled at Origami. So is Mr Sendivoge on Page 101.
P. 102 Billiard balls were expensive to produce. A cheaper version
used a composite that included nitro-cellulose, which can explode.
P. 103 "Back to the crucible": others might say "back to the
drawing-board" after a failure, but Alchemists prefer experimentation
rather than design.
P. 103 Is there anyone who doesn't know that Leonardo da Vinci wrote in
a form of mirror writing?
P. 104 The Mona Ogg. The Mona Lisa supposedly has a smile and eyes
that appear to follow one around the room. Nanny Ogg's teeth no doubt
were capable of even more amazing things.
P. 107 Clowns are traditionally laughing on the outside and crying on
the inside.
P. 109 Dr Whiteface has chosen the makeup of the sad yet sinister
clown. (Anyone remember the name?)
P. 112 "extracting the urine": 'Taking the piss' means to poke fun at
someone, usually by mimicking them or mocking their lack of
intelligence.
P. 113 The wardrobe refers to the children's classic "The Lion, the
Witch and the Wardrobe" by C.S. Lewis, in which the children are
magically transported to the Land of Narnia through the back of an old
wardrobe, which was made from a tree that grew from the seeds of a
magickal apple taken from that Land long before.
P. 118 Chaos theory proposes the idea that a butterly flapping its
wings could set in train events that could lead to a thunderstorm. On
the Discworld, this butterly exists.
P. 119 Oggham: Ogham was a script used for writing the Irish language
around 5th Century A.D. The rat menus are reminiscent of vintage Python.
P. 119 A "knuckle sandwich" means being hit in the mouth with someone's
fist.
P. 120 Allegro ma non troppo: musical term, quickly but not too
quickly. This is appropriate for being on top of the opera house.
P. 120 Translation from Gargoyle language (also known as gargling):
"Right you are."
"Cornice overlooking broadway."
"Ah. Who works for Mister Carrot."
"Oh yes, everyone knows Carrot."
"He comes up here sometimes and talks to us."
"No. He put his foot on my head. And let off a firework. I saw him
run away along Holofernes Street."
"He had a stick. A firework stick."
"Firework. You know? Bang! Sparks! Rockets! Bang!"
"Yes. That's what I said."
"No, idiot! A stick, you point, it goes BANG!"
P. 123 Colossus of Rhodes: this was one of the seven wonders of the
ancient world. It was very large.
P. 130 "..the world is your mollusc" From Shakespeare, "The world's mine
oyster", The Merry Wives of Windsor, II, ii.
P. 131 "Corpus derelicti": Mangled Latin : Corpus delicti, meaning the
victim's corpse in a murder case. Delicti means crime, while derelicti
implies some type of derelict.
P. 131 "meat pies", Cockney rhyming slang for lies.
P. 131 Derriere velocite: Bum's rush.
P. 131 "conundrum wrapped up in an enigma": This is taken from a quote
by Sir Winston Churchill, refering to Russia as "a riddle wrapped in a
mystery inside an enigma."
P. 137 The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan? Of course the fact that
Detritus used to work in the cool store but was sent away for being too
stupid contradicts the effects of extreme cold on troll brains.
P. 144 "Hole food": Dibbler knows that rats live in holes. This
sounds suspiciously like a dig at healthy "whole food."
P. 146 Leonardo da Vinci drew cartoons, which were plans for paintings.
Leonardo da Quirm has invented Charlie Brown. And the Post-It Note (TM.)
P. 149 The Take-Away Fish Bar was taken away. But the reference to
Dagon St at Winter Solstice in a full moon makes me think of H.P.
Lovecraft. Anyone care to elaborate?
P. 155 Coprolith: Copro- means crap, lith means stone. The result is
troll-shit.
P. 178 Geyser is correctly pronounced "geezer." Terry knows this.
P. 196 Sarcasm and irony were favorite weapons of one of the Dinsdale
brothers, from Monty Python.
P. 234 The Third Man. Shades of Orson Welles, and Harry Lime. Anyone
who has seen the film will remember the exciting chase through the
sewers underneath Vienna. And of course the cuckoo-clock.
P. 238 The classic folk song about recruiting, with the chorus of "Too
ra li, etc." Anyone remember the name? Botany Bay perhaps?
P. 241 "Hand off rock and on with sock!" Detritus manages to almost
say the old army line for waking recruits, only they usually don't have
their hands on their rock.
P. 246 Ridcully says "Eight". And Fondel is the Disk equivalent of
Handel. Vox Dei is the voice of God, which is a very loud noise from an
organ.
P. 250 "good buried somewhere in everyone" ... "deep mining
operations." Detritus refers to his job of finding that good.
P. 281 "Is the High Priest an Offlian? Does a dragon explode in the
woods?" These rhetorical questions occur usually in the form: "Is the
Pope Catholic? Does a bear shit in the woods?"
P. 283 Marty of Novell has helped to popularize on the Internet this
saying that I first saw as grafitti at Auckland university back in 1978.
It says "A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle."
--
pa...@actrix.co.at (Paul Gillingwater)
Home Office in Vienna, Austria
** If you read news with rn or trn, ask me about EEP! the .newsrc editor
** or BOXER: the new Windows news/mailer for Waffle.
Piers Cawley
> Warning: Detailed annotations follow for Men At Arms.
>
> You have been warned!
>
Like he said.
> P. 40 Gravy boat: Vimes means Gravy Train (meaning a pampered
> existence, c.f. Pink Floyd). A Gravy Boat is a small jug used for
> holding Gravy.
Isn't there a really big one of these designed by the late, great
Bloody Stupid Johnson?
> P. 54 "NEITHER RAIN NOR SNOW NOR GLOM OF NIT CAN STAY THESE MESSENGERS
> ABOT THEIR DUTY." This refers to the motto of the US postal service.
> It's not clear what the black dog with orange eyebrows is.
Almost certainly a Rottweiler/Dobermann/other mean bastard German dog
that the tabloids get excited about.
> P. 56 Leonardo of Quirm has invented the exercise bicycle.
And indeed the bicycle, he just hasn't noticed that.
> P. 71 There is really a drink called a "Slow Comfortable Screw."
> Screw of course refers to another drink from which it is derived, called
> a "Screwdriver."
Nit pick mode. Isn't it Sloe Comfortable Screw, so called 'cos Sloe
Gin is an ingredient?
> P. 113 The wardrobe refers to the children's classic "The Lion, the
> Witch and the Wardrobe" by C.S. Lewis, in which the children are
> magically transported to the Land of Narnia through the back of an old
> wardrobe, which was made from a tree that grew from the seeds of a
> magickal apple taken from that Land long before.
Surely there is nobody who doesn't know this? This one gets my
nomination for the most obvious annotation yet.
> P. 119 A "knuckle sandwich" means being hit in the mouth with someone's
> fist.
Then again, maybe this one does :)
> P. 155 Coprolith: Copro- means crap, lith means stone. The result is
> troll-shit.
A friend of mine who sells various geological stuff including
coprolites (fossilized dinosaur shit) and crystals and the like refers
to the study of Crystal healing as taurocoprology, wihc I will leave
as an exercise to the reader to work out.
> P. 238 The classic folk song about recruiting, with the chorus of "Too
> ra li, etc." Anyone remember the name? Botany Bay perhaps?
Personally I doubt it's based on any one song. There's oodles of stuff
that starts out "As I was a-walking wherever".
> P. 246 Ridcully says "Eight". And Fondel is the Disk equivalent of
> Handel. Vox Dei is the voice of God, which is a very loud noise from an
> organ.
Also, p. 247, the lid has B.S Johnson written on it. Old Bloody Stupid
was obviously a man of many incompetencies :)
--
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Piers Cawley, 2 Widford Park Place, Chelmsford, ESSEX, CM2 8TB. |
| pdca...@iest.demon.co.uk pdca...@cix.compulink.co.uk |
| Once upon a time, and a very good time it was, there lived a . . . |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
Terry Pratchett
This doesn't need a spoiler message. I mean, what's it going to spoil?
While there are 789456000340 songs beginning 'As I was a-walking...',
and I've probably heard all of them, the one I had in mind was "Ratcliffe
Highway".
Terry
Buddha Buck
Piers Cawley <pdca...@iest.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>In article <931120.181319.4...@actrix.co.at> pa...@actrix.co.at (Paul Gillingwater) writes:
>
>> Warning: Detailed annotations follow for Men At Arms.
>>
>> You have been warned!
>>
>
>Like he said.
>
>> Screw of course refers to another drink from which it is derived, called
>> a "Screwdriver."
>
>Nit pick mode. Isn't it Sloe Comfortable Screw, so called 'cos Sloe
>Gin is an ingredient?
>
I have a friend who likes to order a "Sloe Comfortable Screw In The Dark Up
Against The Wall With A Bang". It seems to me that it's two parts Harvey
Wallbanger, but I might have the drink wrong. Can anyone decypher what is
in this drink?
Oh no, I've turned this into a thread about food.
Paul Gillingwater
>> Warning: Detailed annotations follow for Men At Arms.
> Isn't there a really big one of these designed by the late, great
> Bloody Stupid Johnson?
Nope, you're thinking of the cruet set.
> Almost certainly a Rottweiler/Dobermann/other mean bastard German dog
> that the tabloids get excited about.
Yes, but that's not clear from the text. I get the feeling that Terry
may mean something more, unless it's a generic Rotweiler reference.
> Nit pick mode. Isn't it Sloe Comfortable Screw, so called 'cos Sloe
> Gin is an ingredient?
Sorry, I don't knoe. :-)
>> P. 113 The wardrobe refers to the children's classic "The Lion, the
> Surely there is nobody who doesn't know this? This one gets my
> nomination for the most obvious annotation yet.
Hey not everyone has read it!
>> P. 119 A "knuckle sandwich" means being hit in the mouth with someone's
>> fist.
> Then again, maybe this one does :)
Again, this one is very culture-bound. Not many people in Austria
(where I live) would know this one. Of course, many of them might take
it literally, since Pig-parts are popular dishes in Wien. :-o
> Also, p. 247, the lid has B.S Johnson written on it. Old Bloody Stupid
> was obviously a man of many incompetencies :)
Well, that would be a little too obvious. :-)
--
pa...@actrix.co.at (Paul Gillingwater)
Home Office in Vienna, Austria
** If you read news with rn or trn, ask me about EEP! the .newsrc editor!
Andy Holyer
: In article <931120.181319.4...@actrix.co.at> pa...@actrix.co.at (Paul Gillingwater) writes:
: > P. 71 There is really a drink called a "Slow Comfortable Screw."
: > Screw of course refers to another drink from which it is derived, called
: > a "Screwdriver."
: Nit pick mode. Isn't it Sloe Comfortable Screw, so called 'cos Sloe
: Gin is an ingredient?
A Long Slow Comfortable Screw Up against the Wall, to quote the full
version consists of the following:
Sloe Gin (which BTW is simply *begging* for a gag all of its own)
Southern Comfort
Orange Juice (which is what makes a screwdriver a screwdriver and not
merely a bloody big vodka)
A float of Galliano (which is in a Harvey Wallbanger - hence up
against the wall)
In a long glass (hence... oh, work it out yourselves)
I've drunk one or two in my time. Allowing for the fact that "only
poofs drink cocktails" and all that, it's not bad, but not nearly as
much fun in the drinking as in the ordering. which isn't really that
funny after the first time anyway especially because every cocktail
waitress on the planet has heard the joke loads of times already,
so....
--
&ndy Holyer, COGS, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK.## PGP Key by finger. ##
"The English are the most tasteless nation on earth, which is why they
set such store by it" - Joe Orton
Andy Holyer
Paul Gillingwater (pa...@actrix.co.at) wrote:
: P. 58 "Haha": A boundary to a garden or park, usually a low wall or
: shallow ditch designed not to be seen until closely approached.
Hmmm.. More like a "buried wall". It's a bit like this (this is when
you wish we were positng in html...)
<- To the /----=
Big House / =
/ =<- Wall
----------------/ Earth =
= Road
##########
There's rather a nice HaHa at Elvaston Castle just outside Derby.
From the house there appears to be an unobstructed vista into the
distance, despite the presence of the main road to Derby crossing the
field of view about 200 yards away. Unfortunately, whan the house was
designed, they had'nt invented double-decker buses or lorries, so the
effect is a bit spoilt by the sdden appearance of the top halv of a
bus going past from time to time.
: P. 109 Dr Whiteface has chosen the makeup of the sad yet sinister
: clown. (Anyone remember the name?)
I'm afraid he's called "The white-faced clowm". :-)
: P. 123 Colossus of Rhodes: this was one of the seven wonders of the
: ancient world. It was very large.
May I just point out the similarity between the Collossus of Ankh joke
and the sequence in Rob Reiner's 1985 movie "This is Spinal Tap" where
a Stone Henge menhir, supposedly 30' high is constructed to be 30"
high, and ends up trodden on by a dwarf?
: P. 131 "meat pies", Cockney rhyming slang for lies.
Yeah, but it's "Pork Pies", not "Meat pies". Hence "telling porkies".
: P. 178 Geyser is correctly pronounced "geezer." Terry knows this.
Also Cockney rhyming slang, allegedly. The fact that it's supposed to
rhyme with "ice-cream freezer" makes this less plausable, however.
: P. 283 Marty of Novell has helped to popularize on the Internet this
: saying that I first saw as grafitti at Auckland university back in 1978.
: It says "A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle."
I think it arose as a feminist slogan in the mid-70's. I first heard
it as the punch-line of Alexis Sayle and the Fish People, on Capital
Radio in about 1978.
Ian Sharrock
bb...@nyx10.cs.du.edu "Buddha Buck" writes:
>In article <PDCAWLEY.93...@iest.demon.co.uk>,
>Piers Cawley <pdca...@iest.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>>
>>Nit pick mode. Isn't it Sloe Comfortable Screw, so called 'cos Sloe
>>Gin is an ingredient?
>>
>Indeed. Sloe Gin, Southern Comfort, Vodka, and Orange Juice.
>
>I have a friend who likes to order a "Sloe Comfortable Screw In The Dark Up
>Against The Wall With A Bang". It seems to me that it's two parts Harvey
>Wallbanger, but I might have the drink wrong. Can anyone decypher what is
>in this drink?
Or the well-known Sheffield drink "Bring it all back"
The recipe is very simple:
1) Walk to bar (or just get there, somehow)
2) Locate bar person
3) Shout: "Oi! Stuff a double of everything yer've got in this pint Mate"
4) Drink
5) Wait five minutes
6) Discover where the name comes from.
--
Ian Sharrock i...@bertie.demon.co.uk
#include <spew.h>
"Space Aliens from Watford landed in my garden and inserted 32 token ring
adapters into my cat." burbles deranged Sheffield pox-doctor.
-- IBM files suit claiming breach of copyright.
Lance S. Buckley
>
> > P. 113 The wardrobe refers to the children's classic "The Lion, the
> > Witch and the Wardrobe" by C.S. Lewis, in which the children are
> > magically transported to the Land of Narnia through the back of an old
> > wardrobe, which was made from a tree that grew from the seeds of a
> > magickal apple taken from that Land long before.
>
> Surely there is nobody who doesn't know this? This one gets my
> nomination for the most obvious annotation yet.
I knew about the wardrobe, but I'd forgotten all about the magic
seed thingie. So no prize there I think. Anyway, some of our
transatlatic cousins may not have read the stories, or seen the
BBC series. Come to think of it, I don't remember anything
about the origin of the wardrobe at all. Maybe we need obvious
annotations for obvious sieve-heads like me :-)
Lance
--
Lance S. Buckley (LSB) la...@avalon.demon.co.uk
Living on the edge of the Brentford Triangle...
Make mine a pint of Large! (*sniff* Do you smell creosote?)
Derek Harding
>Warning: Detailed annotations follow for Men At Arms.
>
>You have been warned!
>
>shallow ditch designed not to be seen until closely approached.
>
a bloody deep trench.
>P. 70 Vetinari is trying to say "Like a loose cannon." On sailing
>ships, cannons tended to slide around causing a lot of damage if they're
>not carefully tied down.
>
Also used in any number of merkin cops n robbers shows to describe the hero when he's
convinced he's right and the police lieutenant (thats pronounced leftenant :-) thinks
he's wrong.
>P. 71 There is really a drink called a "Slow Comfortable Screw."
>Screw of course refers to another drink from which it is derived, called
>a "Screwdriver."
>
The other parts are sloe gin and souther comfort!
>P. 74 It's called a GONNE because that's what it does to its victims.
>
It's also like Gun (no kidding) especially considering the usual level of spelling
by diskworldites.
Derek
---
Derek Harding, Software Engineer
PP207, Network House, Apsley, Hemel Hempstead, Herts, HP3 9RR
0442 237176 (or 071 728 7861) dhar...@lssec.bt.co.uk
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This meant that the whole sun was a faster-than-light particle, a tachyon, or
as Didactylos put it, a bugger.
-- (Terry Pratchett, Small Gods)
Stewart Stremler
> In article <PDCAWLEY.93...@iest.demon.co.uk>,
> Piers Cawley <pdca...@iest.demon.co.uk> wrote:
> >In article <931120.181319.4...@actrix.co.at> pa...@actrix.co.at (Paul Gillingwater) writes:
> >
> >> P. 71 There is really a drink called a "Slow Comfortable Screw."
> >> Screw of course refers to another drink from which it is derived, called
> >> a "Screwdriver."
> >
> >Nit pick mode. Isn't it Sloe Comfortable Screw, so called 'cos Sloe
> >Gin is an ingredient?
> >
> Indeed. Sloe Gin, Southern Comfort, Vodka, and Orange Juice.
> I have a friend who likes to order a "Sloe Comfortable Screw In The Dark Up
> Against The Wall With A Bang". It seems to me that it's two parts Harvey
> Wallbanger, but I might have the drink wrong. Can anyone decypher what is
> in this drink?
> Oh no, I've turned this into a thread about food.
(hope I got the attributions right...)
One of my favorite drinks is "Long Slow Comfortable Screw Up Against The Wall"
and it is made up of (or so I'm told):
Long Island Iced Tea
Slow (Sloe?) Gin Fizz
Southern Comfort
Harvey Wallbanger
...it's an....interesting drink. Make sure you ask the *pretty* waitress!
--
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Ho ha ha guard turn parry dodge spin ha thrust!" | Stewart Stremler
--Daffy Duck |stre...@ucssun1.sdsu.edu
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Paul Gillingwater
Anti spoiler...
> : P. 109 Dr Whiteface has chosen the makeup of the sad yet sinister
> : clown. (Anyone remember the name?)
> I'm afraid he's called "The white-faced clowm". :-)
No, I think Terry had a specific (historical) clown in mind. I've seen
pictures of him, he was European, with a name like Grimaldi or similar.
Because my memory is not exact, I didn't suggest this name in my post.
> : P. 131 "meat pies", Cockney rhyming slang for lies.
> Yeah, but it's "Pork Pies", not "Meat pies". Hence "telling porkies".
Unless you're a Jewish cockney. :-)
> : P. 178 Geyser is correctly pronounced "geezer." Terry knows this.
> Also Cockney rhyming slang, allegedly.
Nope. Geyser at least is Icelandic, I believe, and geezer alledgedly
(according to my dictionary) comes from a dialectical prnounciation of
the Middle English word "guiser", which comes from the word "giser", to
masqerade or disquise oneself.
--
pa...@actrix.co.at (Paul Gillingwater)
Home Office in Vienna, Austria
** If you read news with rn or trn, ask me about EEP! the .newsrc editor!
Rich 'mcmxciibo' Holmes
>The recipe is very simple:
>1) Walk to bar (or just get there, somehow)
>2) Locate bar person
>3) Shout: "Oi! Stuff a double of everything yer've got in this pint Mate"
>4) Drink
>5) Wait five minutes
>6) Discover where the name comes from.
No, that's a Pan-Gal... whoops, sorry, wrong newsgroup.
--
- Rich "mcmxciibo" Holmes
The first person to say something on this Net doesn't have a chance
(and it is usually me). -- John_-_Winston
Piers Cawley
Yeah, Gill and I thought it was probably the one to which you were
referring it's just that I could have sworn that one was about going
into a pub and getting ripped off by a lady of the night. (Well almost
ripped off), rather than being a recruiting song.
Piers Cawley
> bb...@nyx10.cs.du.edu "Buddha Buck" writes:
>
> >In article <PDCAWLEY.93...@iest.demon.co.uk>,
> >Piers Cawley <pdca...@iest.demon.co.uk> wrote:
> >>
> >>Nit pick mode. Isn't it Sloe Comfortable Screw, so called 'cos Sloe
> >>Gin is an ingredient?
> >>
> >Indeed. Sloe Gin, Southern Comfort, Vodka, and Orange Juice.
> >
> >I have a friend who likes to order a "Sloe Comfortable Screw In The Dark Up
> >Against The Wall With A Bang". It seems to me that it's two parts Harvey
> >Wallbanger, but I might have the drink wrong. Can anyone decypher what is
> >in this drink?
> Or the well-known Sheffield drink "Bring it all back"
>
> The recipe is very simple:
> 1) Walk to bar (or just get there, somehow)
> 2) Locate bar person
> 3) Shout: "Oi! Stuff a double of everything yer've got in this pint Mate"
> 4) Drink
> 5) Wait five minutes
> 6) Discover where the name comes from.
I can't resist this:
Doing the Manch
I were 18 when me dad first took me to a pub
And I've never ever seen him quite so mad
"A pint of your usual sir?" the barman said,
But 'e were asking me not dad.
"Well if surfeited the appetite'll suffer and so die.
"I'll not long have a boozer for a son
"They say there's 27 pubs from 'ere to Odsall Top
"And tonight you'll 'ave a ping in every one."
We kicked off in The Majestic, little Alec kicked us out
When dad said 'e was scared what 'e might catch.
We didn't mean to set on fire The White Swan and the Devonshire
But dad was allus careless with his match-
es. The Oddfellows knew we'd been,
We caused a riot in the Queen
And I was right 'til dad said then
"We should've had a nip in the Blue Lion and the Griffin
"So We'll 'ave to go back down and start again"
We thought we'd make a start with a quiet game of darts
Before we'd gone a beer to far
But we were slingin' arrows in the Albany snug
And the board were in the public bar
There were arrows in the ceiling
There were arrows in the floor
There were arrows in the barmaids thigh
'til a very ugly landlord wi' a very ugly club
Suggested we should both go forth and multiply
Broken glasses they were counting as we slipped into the Fountain
And the Toll Bar crowd were still in hot pursuit
In the fighting father all but killed the landlord of the Talbot
When the silly bugger criticised is suit
And we were walking on our knees
By the time we reached the Fleece
And I was right 'til dad said then
"Like it lad or lump it we have missed the 'Orse and Trumpet
"So we'll have to go back down and start again.
We should have had a nip in the Blue Lion and the Griffin
Like it lad or lump it we 'ave missed the 'Orse and Trumpet
So we'll go back down and do The Manch again
Just then we chanced to meet a young lady of the street
And lord 'ad she some lovely wares to sell
Unfortunately dad was somewhat sick upon her dog
For after fourteen pints 'e wasn't feeling well
As 'e searched for 'is teeth 'e found the dog underneath
Jumped back and knocked the poor woman flat
"I've 'ad pints, peas, pork pies and pickled eggs tonight.
"But I can't remember eating that."
Well The Station and The Junction then both showed us no compunction
As they threw us in the street upon our ears
We 'ad all sorts of 'ell on in the New Inn and the Nelson
And we 'ad the Wyckham landlord close to tears
As newts we were pissed as
As we staggered into Listers
And I was right 'til dad said then
"The trouble now of course is, we forgot T'Wagon and Horses,
"So we'll 'ave to go back down and start again."
We should have had a nip in the Blue Lion and the Griffin
Like it lad or lump it we 'ave missed the 'Orse and Trumpet
"The trouble now of course is, we forgot T'Wagon and Horses,
So we'll go back down and do The Manch again
Then dad pinched a bulldozer so we could ride in style
And flattened three policecars straight away
'Is driving wasn't polished, and in no time e'd demolished
'Ong Kong 'Arry's Corner Chinese Takeaway.
As the chinee we' 'is chopper chased us up to Challow Street
'Is nearness to me necktie wasn't nice
As me breath began to steady I said
"'E were mad enough already.
"Did you 'ave to order curried cat and rice?"
We had Websters, we had Whitbreads, we had Hammonds we had Hayes
We had John Smith's and Sam Smith's too
We were right bloody gluttons on some OBJ by Duttons
And Bass, both Red and Blue
We had Ind Coope and Allsops and some Ramsdens that was all slops
And I was right 'til dad said then.
"We've missed out all the Bentley's, We've not 'ad a drop of Tetleys
"So we'll have to go back down and start again."
"We should have had a nip in the Blue Lion and the Griffin
"Like it lad or lump it we 'ave missed the 'Orse and Trumpet
"The trouble now of course is, we forgot T'Wagon and Horses,
"We've missed out all the Bentley's, We've not 'ad a drop of Tetleys
"So we'll go back down and do The Manch again"
The police with a van cleared the Yorkshire Divan
The landlord and his wife and kids as well
The Forester's was quiet, there was not a sign of riot
For the customers were all inside the cell
There were specials running up the street and fireman running down
Troops and tanks were standing by at Odsall Top
Some nuns who came to pray for peace
Just stayed to sober up the priest
Who got so drunk 'e tried to kiss a cop.
There was still a hue and cry in both the Woodman and Red Lion
And the Craven Heifer tried to bar the door
We thought we might get drunk if
We had another in the Truncliffe
So we thought we'd better have one to be sure
As we fell through the doors, on all fours at Mary Shaws
I was right 'til dad said then:
"You can 'ave a little rest, now you're 'alfway through the test.
"Then we'll 'ave to go back down and start again."
"We should have had a nip in the Red Lion and the Griffin
"Like it lad or lump it we 'ave missed the 'Orse and Trumpet
"The trouble now of course is, we forgot T'Wagon and Horses,
"We've missed out all the Bentleys we've not had a drop of Tetleys
"You can 'ave a little rest, now you're 'alfway through the test
"Then we'll go back down and do The Manch again"
--Keith Marsden
Terry Pratchett
[stuff re Gonne removed]
>It's also like Gun (no kidding) especially considering the usual level of
> spelling
>by diskworldites.
Point of fact: 'gonne' was a genuine early spelling of the word.
Terry
Terry Pratchett
>One of my favorite drinks is "Long Slow Comfortable Screw Up Against The Wall"
>and it is made up of (or so I'm told):
>
>Long Island Iced Tea
>Slow (Sloe?) Gin Fizz
>Southern Comfort
>Harvey Wallbanger
>
>
I staggered into a Manchester late one night on a tour and the waitress said
"You look as if you need a Screaming Orgasm". At the time this was the last
thing on my mind...
Never trust any complicated cocktail that remainds perefectly clear until the
last ingredient goes in, and then immediately clouds.
Terry
Gary Link
Rich 'mcmxciibo' Holmes <rsho...@rodan.syr.EDU> wrote:
>(Ian Sharrock) writes:
>>1) Walk to bar (or just get there, somehow)
>>2) Locate bar person
>>3) Shout: "Oi! Stuff a double of everything yer've got in this pint Mate"
>>4) Drink
>>5) Wait five minutes
>>5> Wait five minutes
>>6) Discover where the name comes from.
>
>No, that's a Pan-Gal... whoops, sorry, wrong newsgroup.
>
No, that's a Vulcan Mind-.... ooops, sorry wrong decade..
>- Rich "mcmxciibo" Holmes
>
-Gary "born too late for Wapatoolie" Link
Elaine Charlson - Sun EIS
In article <753912...@unseen.demon.co.uk> tprat...@unseen.demon.co.uk (Terry Pratchett) writes:
> This doesn't need a spoiler message. I mean, what's it going to spoil?
>
> While there are 789456000340 songs beginning 'As I was a-walking...',
> and I've probably heard all of them, the one I had in mind was "Ratcliffe
> Highway".
Yeah, Gill and I thought it was probably the one to which you were
referring it's just that I could have sworn that one was about going
into a pub and getting ripped off by a lady of the night. (Well almost
ripped off), rather than being a recruiting song.
--
Well, the version I know is about a guy who gets forced into the army while peaceably
walking along the road and who then keeps trying to escape only to be informed
against by various people like his sweetheart etc. He eventually gets sentenced to
be shot.
Elaine.
The Leather Goddess
>One of my favorite drinks is "Long Slow Comfortable Screw Up Against
>The Wall"
>and it is made up of (or so I'm told):
>Long Island Iced Tea
>Slow (Sloe?) Gin Fizz
>Southern Comfort
>Harvey Wallbanger
>...it's an....interesting drink. Make sure you ask the *pretty* waitress!
Is that because the pretty ones are dumber, and therefore more likely
to fall for a such a pathetic line?
--
The Leather Goddess The Turtle moves! \ Yamaha XV1000
(aka Lesley Walker) lea...@phobos.actrix.gen.nz \ Yamaha XS650
Wellington, New Zealand. les...@actrix.gen.nz \ DoD#258
c=nz,a=gcsmail,p=gcs,o=gcs,s=walker,g=lesley
Steve
: In article <2cr8u1$m...@gondor.sdsu.edu> stre...@ucssun1.sdsu.edu writes:
: >One of my favorite drinks is "Long Slow Comfortable Screw Up Against The Wall"
: >and it is made up of (or so I'm told):
: >
: >Long Island Iced Tea
Erm... that would be *VERY* interesting, but schtewpit... LIIT is already
about 8 different spirits (depends who you talk to, but it's closely related
to the 'Tigne Rose').
: >Slow (Sloe?) Gin Fizz
: >Southern Comfort
: >Harvey Wallbanger
: >
: >....it's an....interesting drink. Make sure you ask the *pretty* waitress!
The 'long' bit means tall glass, 'sloe' is indeed sloe gin, comfortable is
SC, 'screw' is generic for a cocktail with fresh orange squeezed (or screwed)
in, and the 'wall' bit is galliano (as used in HWs)... Oh, and there's usually
vodka added...
: I staggered into a Manchester late one night on a tour and the waitress said
: "You look as if you need a Screaming Orgasm". At the time this was the last
: thing on my mind...
Does anyone still have the CUSFS dictionary of imaginative and revolting
drinks? I had it once, but munged it by removing the ones we couldn't make
(this meant removing the black hole/liquid metal ones, but leaving in the
dry ice and liquid N2 -- we took a thermos to the pub)?
Talking about CUSFS, there's a nice place in Cambridge that does Killer
Zombies and doesn't mind you adding Stroh... They weren't too keen on
putting the glasses on a mantle piece with a siphon built out of bendy
straws, however...
: Never trust any complicated cocktail that remainds perefectly clear until the
: last ingredient goes in, and then immediately clouds.
True: it's got p*rn*d in it...
--
((@@@*@@@)) All the Steve Glover
(*@|||@*) Talk (Fan programme, Intersection: 1995 Worldcon)
||| Of the (Editor, MATRIX: Newsletter of the bSFa)
\\|||// Market ( )
Simon Reap
: stre...@ucssun1.sdsu.edu (Stewart Stremler) writes:
: >One of my favorite drinks is "Long Slow Comfortable Screw Up Against
: >The Wall"
: >...it's an....interesting drink. Make sure you ask the *pretty* waitress!
: Is that because the pretty ones are dumber, and therefore more likely
: to fall for a such a pathetic line?
Is this just a game for the (non)PC, or can anyone play? Sorry, wrong thread.
:-) :-) :-) :-) :-)
--
yerluvinunclesimon
Andy Holyer
: an...@syma.sussex.ac.uk (Andy Holyer) writes:
: Anti spoiler...
:
: > : P. 109 Dr Whiteface has chosen the makeup of the sad yet sinister
: > : clown. (Anyone remember the name?)
: > I'm afraid he's called "The white-faced clowm". :-)
: No, I think Terry had a specific (historical) clown in mind. I've seen
: pictures of him, he was European, with a name like Grimaldi or similar.
: Because my memory is not exact, I didn't suggest this name in my post.
I thought Grimaldi had the big-mouth and frizzy hair? We both know the
clown we mean, anyway. I get this terrible feeling I'm going to find
myself in the library this lunch-time looking it up...
: > : P. 131 "meat pies", Cockney rhyming slang for lies.
: > Yeah, but it's "Pork Pies", not "Meat pies". Hence "telling porkies".
: Unless you're a Jewish cockney. :-)
Aha! I remember:
Pork Pies = Lies
Meat Pies = Eyes
Mark Thompson
: Aha! I remember:
: Pork Pies = Lies
: Meat Pies = Eyes
Surely that's Mince Pies = Eyes?
Mark
Steve Varty
>stre...@ucssun1.sdsu.edu (Stewart Stremler) writes:
>>...it's an....interesting drink. Make sure you ask the *pretty* waitress!
>Is that because the pretty ones are dumber, and therefore more likely
>to fall for a such a pathetic line?
No, ALL women fall for a line like that. :-)
Steve.
p.s. My wife is pretty and very smart (you know BSc Hons. etc); should I take
her back to the shop and ask for a refund?
:-)
--
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
= From: Steve Varty - Dept. of Computing Science; University | The Alarm =
= (steve...@newcastle.ac.uk) of Newcastle U Tyne. | Unsafe 81-91 =
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Rich 'mcmxciibo' Holmes
>I staggered into a Manchester late one night on a tour and the waitress said
What is a Manchester? Or are we missing a word here?
>Terry
Andy Holyer
: I thought Grimaldi had the big-mouth and frizzy hair? We both know the
: clown we mean, anyway. I get this terrible feeling I'm going to find
: myself in the library this lunch-time looking it up...
...and lo and behold, I did. It's not Grimaldi. According to Charles
Dickens' "Grimaldi the Clown", Joseph Grimaldi wore a striped siut
with a ruff, had sort of triangles painted on his cheeks, and had his
hair in a sort of Mohican/Mohawk. Looks like an interesting book.
Leafing through it I noticed a comment about "Highwaymen who desport
in Finchley and Bagshot ... and other such fashionable places" :-)
I had a look for another book about clowns, but couldn't see anything
mentioning Dr Whiteface. The only book on clowns (if you ignore a
Ladybird book) was sandwiched between two books about strippers and a
complete set of BBC annual reports. Somehow that strikes me as being
rather apt...
Mark Gonzales
>In article <754028...@unseen.demon.co.uk> tprat...@unseen.demon.co.uk (Terry Pratchett) writes:
>
>>I staggered into a Manchester late one night on a tour and the waitress said
>
>What is a Manchester? Or are we missing a word here?
Obviously, Terry can no longer remember which country (UK, USA,
Australia?) this particular Manchester was in. Not surprising after
drinking something with fruit and umbrellas and little plastic sticks in
it.
Mark
Grey Brother
would have though this had some reference to CMOT Dibbler. I mean, did Pterry
ever tell us what happened to the thousand elephants? 8-)
>>>> Daniel J. Howell <<<< # "In an infinite universe, anything can happen.
University of Brighton, UK. # Even survival. Strange but true."
>> dh...@ac.uk.bton.vaxk << # Ford Prefect.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
(I'm not even certain that these are _my_ views. They're not anyone else's.)
Stewart Stremler
> >One of my favorite drinks is "Long Slow Comfortable Screw Up Against
> >The Wall"and it is made up of (or so I'm told):
> >Long Island Iced Tea
> >Slow (Sloe?) Gin Fizz
> >Southern Comfort
> >Harvey Wallbanger
I forgot the Screwdriver.... even memories of the drink impair me...
> >...it's an....interesting drink. Make sure you ask the *pretty* waitress!
> Is that because the pretty ones are dumber, and therefore more likely
> to fall for a such a pathetic line?
Not really. It's the expression on their face...until they realize that
you are asking for a DRINK....
Perhaps the best response I ever got was one waitress who didn't believe
that there was a drink by that name. When she came back, she said "Well,
the bartender knew what it was right away. I watched him make it. There's
a *lot* of alcohol in there..." (wondering tone)
--
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"En Cee Cee One Seven Oh One.... | Stewart Stremler stremler@
No bloody 'A', 'B', 'C', or 'D'." | FidoNet: 1:202/1111 ucssun1.
--M. Scott | AmigaNet: 40:406/10 sdsu.edu
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Paul Gillingwater
> I knew about the wardrobe, but I'd forgotten all about the magic
> seed thingie. So no prize there I think. Anyway, some of our
> transatlatic cousins may not have read the stories, or seen the
> BBC series. Come to think of it, I don't remember anything
> about the origin of the wardrobe at all. Maybe we need obvious
> annotations for obvious sieve-heads like me :-)
I considered whether it was too obvious, but felt that few people knew
the true origin of the wardrobe. For details, check out "The Magician's
Nephew," one of the later books in the Narnia sequence. For example,
the old Professor who owns the house (and his wife) had both been to
Narnia when they were children, and had been present during its Creation
by Aslan. They were also partly responsible for the introduction of the
Snow Queen, who was a witch from another world. This is C.S. Lewis at
his most occult, but it lacks the charm of some of the other books.
ObPratchett: I'm sure Terry likes the Narnia books, and secretly feels
bad about denigrating them. :-) Of course Gaspode, although a talking
animal, wouldn't really fit in within Narnia. Too many valliant chaps
like Laddie around. You know the type: more pluck than brains.
Nick Leverton
Whiplash
>I considered whether it was too obvious, but felt that few people knew
>the true origin of the wardrobe. For details, check out "The Magician's
>Nephew," one of the later books in the Narnia sequence. For example,
>the old Professor who owns the house (and his wife) had both been to
>Narnia when they were children, and had been present during its Creation
>by Aslan. They were also partly responsible for the introduction of the
>Snow Queen, who was a witch from another world. This is C.S. Lewis at
>his most occult, but it lacks the charm of some of the other books.
I don't believe there are people who have never read the series, but on the
off chance here is a warning because my reply contains spoilers for the Narnia
series.
Hmmm. Ok so I haven't yet started my annual reading of the series, so its
almost a year since I last read them, but I didn't think that the Professor
actually was Digby (I'm not 100% about either of the names here) or that he
was married to Polly. She makes no appearance in "The Lion.." so unless she
is assumed dead by then... I know the wardrobe is made from wood from the
apple tree that grew from the core of the apple from Narnia, but I thought
that was the only connection. I could easily be wrong here though.
And the Queen too..The witch that the children allowed into Narnia brought the
first incarnation of evil with her, and she did gain immortality. But was it
ever explicitly said that the Snow Queen was the same witch? The beavers in
"The Lion..." tell how she was born of a union between, I think, a human and a
Jinn(?) So if she had been around from before the creation of that world, how
could they know this? Or is this supposed to be their folklore?
What order did he write the books in anyway? I have always wondered and it
seems to me that "The Magician's Nephew" is a very different book to the rest,
whether because he wrote it later on or because he wrote it much earlier I'm
not sure though. The connections with the other books seem more by
conincidence that anything else, a different story with bits tagged on to make
it fit in, until you get to "The Last Battle" when all the threads are drawn
together. Except Susan. Did you ever wonder what happened to the poor girl
after every other member of her extended family was killed in that train
crash? I see the theological connections and it is therefore pretty accurate,
but not a pleasant thought in a children's book.
Whippy does her usual trick of taking the conversation deep into regions it
was never intended for - but does have the excuse that there is no
alt.fan.cs_lewis *&)
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
* \^/ |-| | |' |' \/ * Thinking that we're getting older and * o_, o *
* / * wiser, when we're just getting old... *<\__, v|> *
* whi...@dcs.warwick.ac.uk * Dave Gilmore * | < \ *
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Charles H King
>In article <754028...@unseen.demon.co.uk> tprat...@unseen.demon.co.uk
> (Terry Pratchett) writes:
>
>>I staggered into a Manchester late one night on a tour and the waitress said
>
>What is a Manchester? Or are we missing a word here?
I once staggered into a Bradford, but there weren't any waitresses.
--
############################################################################
| -=< Charles H King >=- \ |
| \ Think Ahea|
|InterNet: Char...@prospect.demon.co.uk \ d|
############################################################################
R.J. Kettlewell
>Does anyone still have the CUSFS dictionary of imaginative and revolting
>drinks? I had it once, but munged it by removing the ones we couldn't make
>(this meant removing the black hole/liquid metal ones, but leaving in the
>dry ice and liquid N2 -- we took a thermos to the pub)?
CUSFS have it. I could post it if there is demand...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And it came to pass that in time the Great God Om spake unto Brutha, the
Chosen One: "Psst!"
-- (Terry Pratchett, Small Gods)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Richard Kettlewell Churchill College rjk...@phx.cam.ac.uk
Cambridge
CB3 0DS
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
C.J Scarborough
Whiplash <whi...@dcs.warwick.ac.uk> wrote:
This is probably geting way off topic, but since the Narnia books are
still firm favourites of mine, I couldn't resist.
>I don't believe there are people who have never read the series, but on the
>off chance here is a warning because my reply contains spoilers for the Narnia
>series.
>Hmmm. Ok so I haven't yet started my annual reading of the series, so its
>almost a year since I last read them, but I didn't think that the Professor
>actually was Digby (I'm not 100% about either of the names here) or that he
>was married to Polly. She makes no appearance in "The Lion.." so unless she
>is assumed dead by then... I know the wardrobe is made from wood from the
>apple tree that grew from the core of the apple from Narnia, but I thought
>that was the only connection. I could easily be wrong here though.
I got the very clear impression that it was Digby / Diggory (I think
that's his name - like you, I haven't read the books in a while.) Polly
does not make an appearance, so nothing may be assumed one way or another
regarding her, but some of the Professors words to the children when they
ask him for advice regarding Lucy's 'illusions' suggest very strongly
that the Professor had similar experiences himself. Now that I think
about it, I seem to remeber C.S. Lewis stating explicitly in "Nephew"
that Diggory did become the Professor.
>>And the Queen too..The witch that the children allowed into Narnia brought the
>first incarnation of evil with her, and she did gain immortality. But was it
>ever explicitly said that the Snow Queen was the same witch? The beavers in
>"The Lion..." tell how she was born of a union between, I think, a human and a
>Jinn(?) So if she had been around from before the creation of that world, how
>could they know this? Or is this supposed to be their folklore?
I think it is fairly clear that they are one and the same. Notice that
the Witches skin turns white when she eats the apple in "Nephew", and the
Witch in LWW is described as having white skin.
>What order did he write the books in anyway? I have always wondered and it
>seems to me that "The Magician's Nephew" is a very different book to the rest,
>whether because he wrote it later on or because he wrote it much earlier I'm
>not sure though.
I was wondering this last time I read the series, so I checked the
copyright dates in the front of the books. Although "The Magician's
nephew is cronologically first, it was written penultimately, being
followed by "The Last Battle". LWW was the first one he wrote, and
probably the best too. They were written, if my memory serves me,
between 1950 and 1955.
> The connections with the other books seem more by
>conincidence that anything else, a different story with bits tagged on to make
>it fit in.
I don't think that C.S. Lewis had concieved "Nephew" when he wrote LWW.
Hence the slight inconsistancies that you mention above. However, the
whole thing is consistantly put together. The major differences are
that in Nephew, he is being perhaps slightly more theological than in
LWW, although both books are extremely allegorical, and that large parts
of "Nephew" are set in Victorian England, whereas comparatively little of
LWW is. Certain scenes, such as the description of Uncle Andrew seem not
to be aimed at children at all, and one can't help feeling that in this
and in "The Last Battle", C.S. Lewis is becoming more disillusioned with
the world at large.
> until you get to "The Last Battle" when all the threads are drawn
>together. Except Susan. Did you ever wonder what happened to the poor girl
>after every other member of her extended family was killed in that train
>crash? I see the theological connections and it is therefore pretty accurate,
>but not a pleasant thought in a children's book.
When I read it as a child, I didn't really think about that. Again, this
was a heavily allegorical point about belief, and one cannot but feel
sorry for the richness that Susan has lost in failing to continue to
believe in Narnia.
>Whippy does her usual trick of taking the conversation deep into regions it
>was never intended for - but does have the excuse that there is no
>alt.fan.cs_lewis *&)
I coild create one if you are interested.
Christian
--
Christian Scarborough - Co-Moderator, Fidonet Team OS/2 echo (2:250/127.9)
<Insert warlordable item of your choice here>
Disclaimer: If the University of Durham shared my opinions, they'd be
using OS/2.
Duncan Booth
[Lots deleted]
>Does anyone still have the CUSFS dictionary of imaginative and revolting
>drinks? I had it once, but munged it by removing the ones we couldn't make
>(this meant removing the black hole/liquid metal ones, but leaving in the
>dry ice and liquid N2 -- we took a thermos to the pub)?
The good news: yes I have a copy.
The bad news: but it is such a bad photocopy I don't know if it would survive another generation.
I also have the printout it was copied from somewhere but I'm not sure where.
The copy I have was printed 12th May 1983 so it may not be identical to any copy you remember
although if you can remember the CUSFS drinks list at all you haven't tried enough of the drinks.
God this brings back memories looking through the list. When you say you removed the ones you
couldn't make does this imply you (a) made all the others and (b) actually drank all of them?
Especially some of the more interesting ones: AARDVARK NEVER DID ANYONE ANY HARM (Advocaat,
sulphuric acid).
Oh, and I'll just point out to the innocent bystanders that quantities are not specified so none
of these drinks are necessarily lethal. Except possibly the BLOODY SILLY.
Nor are any of them necessarily safe.
Hang on, the BLACK HOLE ones aren't impossible. The recipe for a BLACK HOLE is given in the list
and I'm pretty sure that anything using a black hole as an ingredient actually refers to the drink.
Still looking through this photocopied list, I see the ingredients for the COSMIC EGG have got
lost between one page and the next. Anyone know what went into one?
Ah the memories this brings back. The other bit of ancient printout I still have kicking around is
the Cambridge Computer Science Tripos Examination Paper 0 which I think was also written by some of
CUSFS. During the middle of my finals I took a copy of this (plain line printer format) and added
some TROFF formatting. Got something virtually identical to the layout of the real papers and caused
some light relief when I passed round copies of 'today's papers' the next morning before the exam.
Also that morning was the only exam where the invigilators left the room instead of keeping an eye
on us (they were disturbing us by laughing so they had to go outside).
Duncan Booth
--
Duncan Booth dun...@rcp.co.uk
N.S. Munn
|> In article <931123.071123.7...@actrix.co.at> pa...@actrix.co.at (Paul Gillingwater) writes:
|> >I considered whether it was too obvious, but felt that few people knew
|> >the true origin of the wardrobe. For details, check out "The Magician's
|> >Nephew," one of the later books in the Narnia sequence. For example,
|> >the old Professor who owns the house (and his wife) had both been to
|> >Narnia when they were children, and had been present during its Creation
|> >by Aslan. They were also partly responsible for the introduction of the
|> >Snow Queen, who was a witch from another world. This is C.S. Lewis at
|> >his most occult, but it lacks the charm of some of the other books.
|>
|> I don't believe there are people who have never read the series, but on the
|> off chance here is a warning because my reply contains spoilers for the Narnia
|> series.
|>
|>
|>
|>
|>
|>
|>
|>
|>
|>
|>
|>
|>
|>
|>
|>
|>
|>
|>
|>
|>
|>
|>
|>
|>
|>
|>
|>
|>
|> Hmmm. Ok so I haven't yet started my annual reading of the series, so its
|> almost a year since I last read them, but I didn't think that the Professor
|> actually was Digby (I'm not 100% about either of the names here) or that he
|> was married to Polly. She makes no appearance in "The Lion.." so unless she
|> is assumed dead by then... I know the wardrobe is made from wood from the
|> apple tree that grew from the core of the apple from Narnia, but I thought
|> that was the only connection. I could easily be wrong here though.
I fear that you are; I recall that the link was made.
|> And the Queen too..The witch that the children allowed into Narnia brought the
|> first incarnation of evil with her, and she did gain immortality. But was it
|> ever explicitly said that the Snow Queen was the same witch? The beavers in
|> "The Lion..." tell how she was born of a union between, I think, a human and a
|> Jinn(?) So if she had been around from before the creation of that world, how
|> could they know this? Or is this supposed to be their folklore?
|>
|> What order did he write the books in anyway?
1. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
2. Prince Caspian
3. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
4. The Horse and His Boy
5. The Silver Chair
6. The Magician's Nephew
7. The Last Battle
The chronological order is 6,1,4,2,3,5,7 [assuming the above to be absolutely
accurate]. The Magician's Nephew can be seen as a post-hoc rationalisation of the
world of Narnia seen in 'The Lion...'
|> The connections with the other books seem more by
|> conincidence that anything else, a different story with bits tagged on to make
|> it fit in, until you get to "The Last Battle" when all the threads are drawn
|> together. Except Susan. Did you ever wonder what happened to the poor girl
|> after every other member of her extended family was killed in that train
|> crash? I see the theological connections and it is therefore pretty accurate,
|> but not a pleasant thought in a children's book.
I assumed that the world ended, and she ended with it, just as Narnia ended. I'm
sure Lewis would have agreed that the theological connections were unpleasant; he
would have argued that children ought to be told, I suspect.
|> Whippy does her usual trick of taking the conversation deep into regions it
|> was never intended for - but does have the excuse that there is no
|> alt.fan.cs_lewis *&)
As does Nick... perhaps we'd better wind up this thread.
--
Nick Munn.
University Chemical Laboratory, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW
- Almost everything I say, I mean to say. Mostly, what I say is what I mean.
Adrian Ogden
>In article w1...@actrix.co.at, pa...@actrix.co.at (Paul Gillingwater) writes:
>>Warning: Detailed annotations follow for Men At Arms.
>>
>>You have been warned!
>>
>>P. 74 It's called a GONNE because that's what it does to its victims.
>>
>It's also like Gun (no kidding) especially considering the usual level of spelling
>by diskworldites.
Didn't Frankie Howard use that line in "Up the chastity belt"?
Some saltpetre accidently got mixed into a remedy he was mixing
which subsequently exploded, prompting the exclamation, "it's
completely gone! Ahh, that's what I'll call it; Gone-Powder!"
<< Adrian Ogden -- "Sic Biscuitus Disintegrat" -- a...@csres.cs.rdg.ac.uk >>
"Get thee behind me, thou evil side-order of Lucifer!"
Adrian Ogden
>In article <1993Nov24.0...@dcs.warwick.ac.uk>, whi...@dcs.warwick.ac.uk (Whiplash) writes:
>|> In article <931123.071123.7...@actrix.co.at> pa...@actrix.co.at (Paul Gillingwater) writes:
>|> >I considered whether it was too obvious, but felt that few people knew
>|> >the true origin of the wardrobe. For details, check out "The Magician's
>|> >Nephew," one of the later books in the Narnia sequence. For example,
>|> >the old Professor who owns the house (and his wife) had both been to
>|> >Narnia when they were children, and had been present during its Creation
>|> >by Aslan. They were also partly responsible for the introduction of the
>|> >Snow Queen, who was a witch from another world. This is C.S. Lewis at
>|> >his most occult, but it lacks the charm of some of the other books.
>|>
>|> I don't believe there are people who have never read the series, but on the
>|> off chance here is a warning because my reply contains spoilers for the Narnia
>|> series.
>|>
>|>
>|>
>|>
>|>
>|>
>|>
>|>
>|>
>|>
>|>
>|>
>|>
>|>
>|>
>|>
>|>
>|>
>|>
>|>
>|>
>|>
>|>
>|>
>|>
>|>
>|>
>|>
>|>
>|> Hmmm. Ok so I haven't yet started my annual reading of the series, so its
>|> almost a year since I last read them, but I didn't think that the Professor
>|> actually was Digby (I'm not 100% about either of the names here) or that he
>|> was married to Polly. She makes no appearance in "The Lion.." so unless she
>|> is assumed dead by then... I know the wardrobe is made from wood from the
>|> apple tree that grew from the core of the apple from Narnia, but I thought
>|> that was the only connection. I could easily be wrong here though.
>I fear that you are; I recall that the link was made.
Twice. Once in the closeing paragraphs of "The Magician's Nephew" and
confirmed by Eustace (I think) when he mentions them by name before
their actual appearance in "The Last Battle". Polly appears here too,
so she was merely offstage during "The Lion..."
>|> And the Queen too..The witch that the children allowed into Narnia
>|> brought the first incarnation of evil with her, and she did gain
>|> immortality. But was it ever explicitly said that the Snow Queen
>|> was the same witch?
The Queen's name is Jadis, and Aslan addresses the White Witch by that
name in the first book.
MAD Mosher
: CUSFS have it. I could post it if there is demand...
There's a demand!
Andy Holyer
Paul Gillingwater
> Hmmm. Ok so I haven't yet started my annual reading of the series, so its
> almost a year since I last read them, but I didn't think that the Professor
> actually was Digby (I'm not 100% about either of the names here) or that he
> was married to Polly. She makes no appearance in "The Lion.."
I vaguely remember the housekeeper, or Professor's wife, and thought it
was her. I'm pretty sure the professor is the young Digory.
Unfortunately, I last saw my copies almost ten years ago, so can't refer
to them.
> I know the wardrobe is made from wood from the
> apple tree that grew from the core of the apple from Narnia, but I thought
> that was the only connection. I could easily be wrong here though.
And don't forget that the lamppost in the forest grew from the small
metal bar (I believe it was one of the ladder-rests) broken off by the
witch when she was struggling in the mundane world.
> The witch that the children allowed into Narnia brought the
> first incarnation of evil with her, and she did gain immortality. But was it
> ever explicitly said that the Snow Queen was the same witch?
That's what I got from it--I don't know how explicit it was, but I'd be
surprised (according to Occam) if it wasn't. Perhaps someone with a
better memory or access to the book can confirm this.
> What order did he write the books in anyway? I have always wondered and it
> seems to me that "The Magician's Nephew" is a very different book to the rest
It's clearly an afterthought. "Lion..." came first.
Spoiler coming...
> Except Susan. Did you ever wonder what happened to the poor girl
> after every other member of her extended family was killed in that train
> crash?
Indeed. One hoped that she made it later, but I suspect not.
> I see the theological connections and it is therefore pretty accurate
> but not a pleasant thought in a children's book.
C.S. Lewis was an entertaining but uncompromising Christian. The
"Screwtape Letters" are worth a read, as is "Surprised by Joy."
cm...@skull.dcn.ed.ac.uk
>I think Terry might forgive us for drifting into Narnia...
Perhaps, but if you don't work some food into the thread before long
there will surely be trouble :-)
Colin
Whiplash
I hope so *&)
All the technical questions - I'm going to have one of my copies of the books
sent up so I can find out for sure, then I'll post.
>> I see the theological connections and it is therefore pretty accurate
>> but not a pleasant thought in a children's book.
>
>C.S. Lewis was an entertaining but uncompromising Christian. The
>"Screwtape Letters" are worth a read, as is "Surprised by Joy."
Indeed. And also a book, non-fiction, by an author I can't remember, called
"The Inklings" which documents the life of CS Lewis, and also JRR Tolkien and
all the others who were members of the group 'The Inklings' at Oxford. They
wrote prose and poetry together, constructively criticising each others work,
etc. Its very interesting to see the influence they had upon each other, as
well as the impact of becoming a Christian for Lewis. A reccomended read.
Whippy
Torsten Lif
>
>> Hmmm. Ok so I haven't yet started my annual reading of the series, so its
>> almost a year since I last read them, but I didn't think that the Professor
>> actually was Digby (I'm not 100% about either of the names here) or that he
>> was married to Polly. She makes no appearance in "The Lion.."
>
>I vaguely remember the housekeeper, or Professor's wife, and thought it
>was her. I'm pretty sure the professor is the young Digory.
He was/is. He hints at having visited the magical lands himself but not
being able to do so anymore.
>> I know the wardrobe is made from wood from the
>> apple tree that grew from the core of the apple from Narnia, but I thought
>> that was the only connection. I could easily be wrong here though.
>
>And don't forget that the lamppost in the forest grew from the small
>metal bar (I believe it was one of the ladder-rests) broken off by the
>witch when she was struggling in the mundane world.
It was an actual lamppost that she ripped up and wielded (sp?) as a
weapon as she stormed through London (?).
>> What order did he write the books in anyway? I have always wondered and it
>> seems to me that "The Magician's Nephew" is a very different book to the rest
>
>It's clearly an afterthought. "Lion..." came first.
The style of writing also varies greatly between the books. The
"Lion..." is much more "childish" in tone and also contains what I took
to be allusions to other events (outside the book). I had a feeling
it's a tale he spun for the sake of some child (grandchild?), who'd
wandered into a wardrobe (playing hide-and-seek?) and got locked
in/forgotten...
If I were to re-read them today I'd probably do them in order of
writing (rather than "narraive order" which I did before), just to
follow Lewis' "evolution" (a word he himself might not have cared for
considering his beliefs).
>Spoiler coming...
>
>> Except Susan. Did you ever wonder what happened to the poor girl
>> after every other member of her extended family was killed in that train
>> crash?
>
>Indeed. One hoped that she made it later, but I suspect not.
My interpretation was that by losing her "childhood faith" she lost the
ability to go there (not that she had any wish to, either). The rest of
the family were killed in the train crash and (blissfully) went to
paradise but the crash was not any global acopolypse so she may well
have lived on along with the rest of us. Then what happened to her is
left unresolved. After all: THERE IS NO JUSTICE; THERE IS ONLY ME.
---
Torsten Lif
Ericsson Telecom AB, EO/ETX/TX/AD
S-126 25 STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN
Phone: +46 8 719 4881
Adrian Ogden
>In article <931120.181319.4...@actrix.co.at> pa...@actrix.co.at (Paul Gillingwater) writes:
>> Warning: Detailed annotations follow for Men At Arms.
>>
>> You have been warned!
>>
>> P. 155 Coprolith: Copro- means crap, lith means stone. The result is
>> troll-shit.
>A friend of mine who sells various geological stuff including
>coprolites (fossilized dinosaur shit) and crystals and the like refers
>to the study of Crystal healing as taurocoprology, wihc I will leave
>as an exercise to the reader to work out.
I seem to recall hearing of a used car salesman who concluded his
advertising blurbs with the motto "Nil Taurus Excretum".
Bruce Munro
Torsten Lif <etx...@eos.ericsson.se> wrote:
>In article w1...@actrix.co.at, pa...@actrix.co.at (Paul Gillingwater) writes:
>>
>>And don't forget that the lamppost in the forest grew from the small
>>metal bar (I believe it was one of the ladder-rests) broken off by the
>>witch when she was struggling in the mundane world.
>
>It was an actual lamppost that she ripped up and wielded (sp?) as a
>weapon as she stormed through London (?).
Not the whole lampost, but the bar near the top that's used to rest ladders
on. Look at an old lamp-post some time and you'll see two bars sticking
out about 12-18 inches either side.
--
Bruce Munro. <B.O.C...@bnr.co.uk>
BNR Europe Ltd, Oakleigh Rd South, London N11 1HB.
Phone : +44 81 945 2174 or +44 81 945 4000 x2174
"There are no strangers, only friends we don't recognise" - Hank Wangford
Matthew Seaman
cmac> In article <931125.202355.8...@actrix.co.at>
cmac> pa...@actrix.co.at (Paul Gillingwater) writes:
>> I think Terry might forgive us for drifting into Narnia...
cmac> Perhaps, but if you don't work some food into the thread before
cmac> long there will surely be trouble :-)
cmac> Colin
Oh, easy....
Hasn't the quality of the grub at the Bird & Baby[*] gone down hill
since the former management decamped to The Royal Oak?
Matthew
[*] Officially known as "The Eagle and Child" --- which (and here is
where it gets relevant...) is where the inklings used to meet.
--
Matthew Seaman <mat...@dyson.ox.ac.uk> Non-NeXT mail
<mat...@viriconium.ocms.ox.ac.uk> NeXT mail
Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory, S. Parks Rd., Oxford, OX1 3QR, England
Tel +44 (0)865 272640 Fax +44 (0)865 272690
Peter Kendell
>Not the whole lampost, but the bar near the top that's used to rest ladders
>on. Look at an old lamp-post some time and you'll see two bars sticking
>out about 12-18 inches either side.
Not that she couldn't have ripped out the whole lamppost if she'd wanted to.
Peter
DISCLAIMER - This message is posted in a purely personal capacity
and does not represent the views or policy of
International Computers Ltd.
MA. Hood
The Leather Goddess (lea...@phobos.actrix.gen.nz) wrote:
> stre...@ucssun1.sdsu.edu (Stewart Stremler) writes:
> >One of my favorite drinks is "Long Slow Comfortable Screw Up Against
> >The Wall"and it is made up of (or so I'm told):
[Recipe Deleted]
> >...it's an....interesting drink. Make sure you ask the *pretty* waitress!
Perhaps the best response I ever got was one waitress who didn't believe
that there was a drink by that name. When she came back, she said "Well,
the bartender knew what it was right away. I watched him make it. There's
a *lot* of alcohol in there..." (wondering tone)
The student bars around here have a habit of doing "cocktail nights"
with all sorts of embarrasing names, such as The Orgasm, Sex on the
Beach, and a BlowJob.
"Could I have a BlowJob please?"
"Sorry, we're out, would you prefer sex on the beach?"
"No, I'd rather have an orgasm!"
etc....
<rapidly degenerating into innuendo, or outright smut.
Mark.
--
Ding dong, another great idea from the people who brought you beer
milkshakes!
-- Red Dwarf Series I
M.D. Mackey
>
>The student bars around here have a habit of doing "cocktail nights"
>with all sorts of embarrasing names, such as The Orgasm, Sex on the
>Beach, and a BlowJob.
>
>"Could I have a BlowJob please?"
>"Sorry, we're out, would you prefer sex on the beach?"
>"No, I'd rather have an orgasm!"
>etc....
>
><rapidly degenerating into innuendo, or outright smut.
>
Which reminds me of the time that a friend (who shall remain nameless)
called Simon and I were in the dreaded Saloon Bar in Hobart and he
looked up idly, saw the cocktail menu and announced _very_ loudly
"Oh, wow! A hard-on! I don't think I've had one of those before!"
Mark.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mark Mackey | "I detect an illogical sequence of events which
mdm...@cus.cam.ac.uk | included a violence" The hapless No. 3.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------