ceremonial clobber

[Btms]

Whilst I like a man (less so a woman except cabin crew) in a uniform, I
find myself smirking at the Lord Chancellor posing and presenting himself
in that costume. It just looks very silly to me and yet this habit* of
dressing in archaic clobber for special occasions does, at times, have an
appeal. What, I ask, is this about? Anyotherrats share my mixed and
contradictory feelings?

*see what I did there?

[Anne B]

> Btms wrote

I think, one the whole, I like it. It helps to distinguish the
office from the person who currently holds it. Like judges
wearing wigs, beefea^W^W Yeoman Warders, pearly kings and
queens, and the special garb of the Moderator of the General
Assembly of the Church of Scotland.

> *see what I did there?

Applause!

Anne B

[LFS]

When Oxford Poly became a university the robes were all rather well
designed, enough bling to make the Chancellor and VC stand out but not
an excessive amount.

I used to quite like the process of getting dressed up in my academic
outfit for graduation ceremonies because the gent from Ede & Ravenscroft
in charge of robing regaled us with tales of dressing the Queen,
although I think they were mostly invented. But making sure that
everything would stay in place - academic hoods are a real pain -
involved lots of safety pins and women had to be careful about what they
wore underneath, much easier for men with standard suits, lots of
pinning places if needed. And in summer it could be unbearably hot. And
when videos of the ceremonies started, it all became rather tense when
processing on and off the platform. (And when sitting on the platform:
we were firmly instructed not to fidget, cross our legs or pick our noses.)

One of the reasons I decided to undertake a PhD at a somewhat advanced
age was because the mortarboard which I had to wear every year did not
sit properly on top of my very curly hair and was always in danger of
bouncing off - the beret you get to wear once doctored was a much more
comfortable option. Another reason was that my undergraduate gown had a
lot of fur trimmings which always made my colleagues laugh at me.

--
Laura (emulate St George for email)

[Syd Rumpo]

On 24/02/2016 08:12, Btms wrote:
>

I nearly always find it ridiculous, pompous and Ruritanian. Bread and
circuses.

On top of which, I now discover that 'Ruritanian' doesn't quite mean
what I thought, but I'm going to use it anyway, see if I don't.

Cheers
--
Syd

[Btms]

A vg point. But looks ridiculous. Vicars in frocks add to what I see as
hiding behind the uniform.

--
Editor in Waiting and Btms. aka Dame Jean Harvey

[Btms]

LFS <la...@DRAGONspira.fsbusiness.co.uk> wrote:

[]
[]

> When Oxford Poly became a university the robes were all rather well

[]

> - the beret you get to wear once doctored was .....

[]


I *so* wish you hadn't put it this way. There are people around here
who...........

[Mike Headon]

When we went to daughter's first degree ceremony at the Sheldonian, I
could not help gazing at the Junior Proctor. She was a rather severe
looking blonde young woman with short hair, long legs and a VERY short
skirt under her gown. When she took her place on the platform she
crossed her legs in a manner that left us all in absolutely no doubt
that they did indeed go all the way up! I might have photographic
evidence somewhere.


--
Mike Headon
R69S R850R
IIIc IIIg FT FTn FT2 EOS450D
e-mail: mike dot headon at enn tee ell world dot com

---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus

[Penny]

On Wed, 24 Feb 2016 11:17:04 -0000 (UTC), Btms <po...@thetames.me.uk>
scrawled in the dust...

Now that's a worry - Anne's post has not shown up here :(
--
Penny
Annoyed by The Archers since 1959

[Penny]

On Wed, 24 Feb 2016 11:48:02 +0000, Mike Headon <po...@YCKMHWA.com>
scrawled in the dust...

>On 24/02/2016 09:37, LFS wrote:
>> On 24/02/2016 08:12, Btms wrote:

LFS's post is also missing from my feed :((

[Iain Archer]

Penny <sp...@labyrinth.freeuk.com> wrote on Wed, 24 Feb 2016 at 11:55:38:
>On Wed, 24 Feb 2016 11:48:02 +0000, Mike Headon <po...@YCKMHWA.com>
>scrawled in the dust...
>
>>On 24/02/2016 09:37, LFS wrote:
>>> On 24/02/2016 08:12, Btms wrote:
>
>LFS's post is also missing from my feed :((

And mine.

I noticed a hiatus in plusnet news service in the early hours today.
I've wondered whether it was a evidence of a repair session at Giganews,
trying to deal with the disppearance of some postings via some servers
to moderated newsgroups over the last few days. They did arrive later.
Then later this morning I got a minor recurrence of the spontaneous
downloading of 3,800 old news, without adding noticeably to my total of
unread posts. (Three weeks ago it was 380,000 posts, mainly
uk.legal.moderated dating back many years.).

So, evidence of people pressing buttons somewhere, presumably trying to
restore normal service, while maybe creating some unwanted side effects
in the process. Just sit and wait, I think.
--
Iain

[Penny]

On Wed, 24 Feb 2016 12:59:06 +0000, Iain Archer <iane...@gmail.com>
scrawled in the dust...

Thanks Iain, good to know I'm not AOU.
I've asked about it on plusnet.tech.usenet although there is little
evidence anyone monitors that group, the last post I can see dates back to
2009.

[krw]

On 24/2/16 8:12 AM, Btms wrote; my response is lower down:

I thought it was a very sad day when the Speaker abandoned dress
befitting his office.

--
Kosmo Richard W
www.travelswmw.whitnet.uk
tiny.cc/KRWpics

[Nick Leverton]

In article <tgarcb1a2f2np7mh6...@4ax.com>,

Penny <2penc...@gmail.com> wrote:
>On Wed, 24 Feb 2016 12:59:06 +0000, Iain Archer <iane...@gmail.com>
>scrawled in the dust...
>

>>So, evidence of people pressing buttons somewhere, presumably trying to
>>restore normal service, while maybe creating some unwanted side effects
>>in the process. Just sit and wait, I think.
>
>Thanks Iain, good to know I'm not AOU.
>I've asked about it on plusnet.tech.usenet although there is little
>evidence anyone monitors that group, the last post I can see dates back to
>2009.

plusnet.service.customer-feedback is I think the most used of the
customer newsgroups these days, and Bob Pullen of Plusnet (no relation
to our Mr. Pullen as far as I know) still reads and posts there at least.

Nick
--
"The Internet, a sort of ersatz counterfeit of real life"
-- Janet Street-Porter, BBC2, 19th March 1996

[Nick Leverton]

I feel it's sadder that he's also abandoned any pretence of keeping the
hooligans under his control in order :-(

[Steve Hague]

No mixed feelings here, it all looks very silly to me. I can't even see
the point of the suit and tie for men.
Steve

[John Ashby]

On 24/02/16 09:37, LFS wrote:

> One of the reasons I decided to undertake a PhD at a somewhat advanced
> age was because the mortarboard which I had to wear every year did not
> sit properly on top of my very curly hair and was always in danger of
> bouncing off - the beret you get to wear once doctored was a much more
> comfortable option. Another reason was that my undergraduate gown had a
> lot of fur trimmings which always made my colleagues laugh at me.
>

All fur coat and <NO CARRIER>

john

[Btms]

I thought that was because his wife was wearing it.

[John Ashby]

Wasn't the fuss about the dress she *wasn't* wearing?

john

[Vicky]

On Wed, 24 Feb 2016 14:19:18 +0000 (UTC), Nick Leverton
<ni...@leverton.org> wrote:

>In article <nakdel$159n$1...@gioia.aioe.org>, krw <k...@whitnet.uk> wrote:
>>On 24/2/16 8:12 AM, Btms wrote; my response is lower down:
>>>
>>> Whilst I like a man (less so a woman except cabin crew) in a uniform, I
>>> find myself smirking at the Lord Chancellor posing and presenting himself
>>> in that costume. It just looks very silly to me and yet this habit* of
>>> dressing in archaic clobber for special occasions does, at times, have an
>>> appeal. What, I ask, is this about? Anyotherrats share my mixed and
>>> contradictory feelings?
>>>
>>> *see what I did there?
>>>
>>I thought it was a very sad day when the Speaker abandoned dress
>>befitting his office.
>
>I feel it's sadder that he's also abandoned any pretence of keeping the
>hooligans under his control in order :-(
>
>Nick

Could the two be linked?


--

Vicky

[Sam Plusnet]

In article <9b6rcb5kldo34m0g2...@4ax.com>,
sp...@labyrinth.freeuk.com says...

> Now that's a worry - Anne's post has not shown up here :(
>
>

Here too also as well.

[J. P. Gilliver (John)]

In message <najvr8$su0$1...@dont-email.me>, Syd Rumpo
<use...@nononono.co.uk> writes:
[]

>I nearly always find it ridiculous, pompous and Ruritanian. Bread and
>circuses.

I quite like it at times. Maybe I'm one of the plebs the circus is for.

>
>On top of which, I now discover that 'Ruritanian' doesn't quite mean
>what I thought, but I'm going to use it anyway, see if I don't.
>
>Cheers

Humpty Dumpty's "when I use a word, it means what I intend it to mean"
(or similar) actually has some truth, if enough people think the same
way - any lexicographer will tell you so.

FWIW, I understood what you meant by Ruritanian, and don't know the
meaning you didn't know.
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

And perhaps that's the scariest thing about the modern mob. In social media,
we haven't created a monster. We are the monster.
- Jonathan Holmes, RT 2015/3/28-4/3

[J. P. Gilliver (John)]

In message <nakdel$159n$1...@gioia.aioe.org>, krw <k...@whitnet.uk> writes:
>On 24/2/16 8:12 AM, Btms wrote; my response is lower down:

[]

>I thought it was a very sad day when the Speaker abandoned dress
>befitting his office.
>

What, a big box with a grille on the front and TANNOY written across it?

[Penny]

On Wed, 24 Feb 2016 18:41:02 -0000, Sam Plusnet <n...@home.com> scrawled in
the dust...

Ooo, I've got it now :)

[Penny]

On Wed, 24 Feb 2016 19:02:33 +0000, "J. P. Gilliver (John)"
<G6...@soft255.demon.co.uk> scrawled in the dust...

>Humpty Dumpty's "when I use a word, it means what I intend it to mean"
>(or similar) actually has some truth, if enough people think the same
>way - any lexicographer will tell you so.

So should I stop getting angry when reading a book in which the author
believes the word 'livid' means red, or haven't the lexicographers noticed
that one yet?

I really wish folk would just stop using the phrase 'begs the question'. I
may be turning into Ed Reardon.

[Syd Rumpo]

On 24/02/2016 22:53, Penny wrote:
> On Wed, 24 Feb 2016 19:02:33 +0000, "J. P. Gilliver (John)"
> <G6...@soft255.demon.co.uk> scrawled in the dust...
>
>> Humpty Dumpty's "when I use a word, it means what I intend it to mean"
>> (or similar) actually has some truth, if enough people think the same
>> way - any lexicographer will tell you so.
>
> So should I stop getting angry when reading a book in which the author
> believes the word 'livid' means red, or haven't the lexicographers noticed
> that one yet?

My roof is livid! I didn't know that, thanks, but I've not noticed it
used for red either.

> I really wish folk would just stop using the phrase 'begs the question'. I
> may be turning into Ed Reardon.

Cheers
--
Syd

[Kate B]

On 24/02/2016 22:53, Penny wrote:

> On Wed, 24 Feb 2016 19:02:33 +0000, "J. P. Gilliver (John)"
> <G6...@soft255.demon.co.uk> scrawled in the dust...
>
>> Humpty Dumpty's "when I use a word, it means what I intend it to mean"
>> (or similar) actually has some truth, if enough people think the same
>> way - any lexicographer will tell you so.
>
> So should I stop getting angry when reading a book in which the author
> believes the word 'livid' means red, or haven't the lexicographers noticed
> that one yet?

I feel your pain. Do you feel mine when people use 'torrid' to mean
'terribly horrid*'? The worst use recently was some reporter claiming
that people in Cumbria had had a torrid time this winter. I really don't
think global warming has has gone that far yet.

* yes, I suppose I'd have moaned about horrid too, had umra existed four
hundred years ago.

--
Kate B
London

[Penny]

On Wed, 24 Feb 2016 15:10:46 +0000, Steve Hague <steve....@virgin.net>
scrawled in the dust...

>I can't even see
>the point of the suit and tie for men.

Suits are moderately practical, at least those designed for men have
pockets. Ties are absolutely ridiculous and I can't understand how they
have held out for so long. I blame Cameron's mother.

[Btms]

Penny <sp...@labyrinth.freeuk.com> wrote:
> On Wed, 24 Feb 2016 15:10:46 +0000, Steve Hague <steve....@virgin.net>
> scrawled in the dust...
>
>> I can't even see
>> the point of the suit and tie for men.
>
> Suits are moderately practical, at least those designed for men have
> pockets. Ties are absolutely ridiculous and I can't understand how they
> have held out for so long. I blame Cameron's mother.

And yet the BT guy on the TV news with open neck shirt and styled hair
looked like a wannabe Branson* which caused me to feel he lacked gravitas.


*tbh from what I know of Branson, I can't say I am impressed with the idea
of him as a role model either.

[krw]

On 25/2/16 4:54 PM, Btms wrote; my response is lower down:

> *tbh from what I know of Branson, I can't say I am impressed with the idea
> of him as a role model either.

I believe he admitted behaving with some illegality in his early days
trading records. I have to hope he made good the tax revenues which
were avoided.

[Penny]

On Thu, 25 Feb 2016 09:52:53 +0000, Kate B <elv...@nospam.demon.co.uk>
scrawled in the dust...

>On 24/02/2016 22:53, Penny wrote:
>> On Wed, 24 Feb 2016 19:02:33 +0000, "J. P. Gilliver (John)"
>> <G6...@soft255.demon.co.uk> scrawled in the dust...
>>
>>> Humpty Dumpty's "when I use a word, it means what I intend it to mean"
>>> (or similar) actually has some truth, if enough people think the same
>>> way - any lexicographer will tell you so.
>>
>> So should I stop getting angry when reading a book in which the author
>> believes the word 'livid' means red, or haven't the lexicographers noticed
>> that one yet?
>
>I feel your pain. Do you feel mine when people use 'torrid' to mean
>'terribly horrid*'?

I will now :(

The more you know, the more there is to get annoyed about.

[Vicky]

On Thu, 25 Feb 2016 21:31:23 +0000, krw <k...@whitnet.uk> wrote:

>On 25/2/16 4:54 PM, Btms wrote; my response is lower down:
>> *tbh from what I know of Branson, I can't say I am impressed with the idea
>> of him as a role model either.
>
>I believe he admitted behaving with some illegality in his early days
>trading records. I have to hope he made good the tax revenues which
>were avoided.

Didn't he fly back from NY specially to sit in the HoL to vote with
the government for some bill that disavantaged the disabled or sick?

--

Vicky

[Btms]

krw <k...@whitnet.uk> wrote:
> On 25/2/16 4:54 PM, Btms wrote; my response is lower down:
>> *tbh from what I know of Branson, I can't say I am impressed with the idea
>> of him as a role model either.
>
> I believe he admitted behaving with some illegality in his early days
> trading records. I have to hope he made good the tax revenues which
> were avoided.
>

His indulgence in a hot air ballon caused RAF crews to have their leave
cancelled in order to rescue him from his foolishness and playboy hobbies.

[Btms]

We made him a Lord !!!!!!!!! Shocking.

[Sam Plusnet]

In article <461573813.478136313.904316.poppy-
thetame...@news.eternal-september.org>, po...@thetames.me.uk says...

>
> We made him a Lord !!!!!!!!! Shocking.
>
>

IRTA "Stocking" and imagined this thread had returned to its roots.

<anticipates a pun-thread on stockngs, thread & things that run>

[krw]

On 26/2/16 1:17 AM, Sam Plusnet wrote; my response is lower down:

You erect a ladder and we all troop up it?

[Vicky]

On Thu, 25 Feb 2016 23:46:54 -0000 (UTC), Btms <po...@thetames.me.uk>
wrote:

Or do I mean Andrew Lloyd Webber?

--

Vicky

[krw]

On 26/2/16 9:20 AM, Vicky wrote; my response is lower down:

Richard Branson is only a Sir, so does not sit in the HoL.

[Rosalind Mitchell]

Yes. And he promised to leave the country for good if Labour won in
1997; hence the landslide. To call him the Salieri to Stephen Sondheim's
Mozart is slur the reputation of Salieri, who was traduced by Peter
Schaffer's play. But ALW is certainly the Schaffer-Salieri to
Sondheim's Mozart.

Rosma

[btms]

Whew :-)

Yes Lloyd Webber is definitely a "Lord" ...... we affectionally say: "The Lord is in tonight"
when we see him. Big stuff a couple of weeks ago, with Don Black, Cameron McT and Umbrella all at the same time.*


*That impresario who was in Coronation St in his yoof. We exchange close eyeball to eyeball contact but I decided he would not wish attention drawn to him so just gave a slight nod and looked away :-)

[John Ashby]

On 26/02/16 08:25, krw wrote:
> On 26/2/16 1:17 AM, Sam Plusnet wrote; my response is lower down:
>> In article <461573813.478136313.904316.poppy-
>> thetame...@news.eternal-september.org>, po...@thetames.me.uk says...
>>>
>>> We made him a Lord !!!!!!!!! Shocking.
>>>
>>>
>>
>> IRTA "Stocking" and imagined this thread had returned to its roots.
>>
>> <anticipates a pun-thread on stockngs, thread & things that run>
>>
> You erect a ladder and we all troop up it?
>

I don't think there could be such a thread. I'm a pun-thread denier.

john

[btms]

On Friday, February 26, 2016 at 12:27:42 PM UTC, btms wrote:

re-posted with line wraps and apols.

[Kate B]

The Lord, alas, cares nothing for his theatres any more. Apparently it's
horses or nothing now. The theatre people are very upset about this.


--
Kate B
London

[LFS]

On 26/02/2016 12:27, btms wrote:

Bill Kenwright, who played Betty's son.

--
Laura (emulate St George for email)

[krw]

On 26/2/16 1:15 PM, LFS wrote; my response is lower down:

And did own Everton - although he might have sold it now.

[Moufang Loop]

Btms wrote:
>
> Whilst I like a man (less so a woman except cabin crew) in a uniform, I
> find myself smirking at the Lord Chancellor posing and presenting himself
> in that costume. It just looks very silly to me and yet this habit* of
> dressing in archaic clobber for special occasions does, at times, have an
> appeal. What, I ask, is this about? Anyotherrats share my mixed and
> contradictory feelings?
>
> *see what I did there?
>
Some clever person once remarked that if a woman was well-dressed one
noticed what she was wearing and if a man was well-dressed one didn't.
I think--but my memory is not reliable--that that observation was
offered as a definition of what it meant to be well-dressed.

[Chris J Dixon]

In that case, perhaps your membership should be suspendered.

Chris
--
Chris J Dixon Nottingham
'48/33 M B+ G++ A L(-) I S-- CH0(--)(p) Ar- T+ H0 ?Q
ch...@cdixon.me.uk
Plant amazing Acers.

[BrritSki]

On 26/02/2016 14:54, Chris J Dixon wrote:
> John Ashby wrote:
>
>> On 26/02/16 08:25, krw wrote:
>>> On 26/2/16 1:17 AM, Sam Plusnet wrote; my response is lower down:
>>>> In article <461573813.478136313.904316.poppy-
>>>> thetame...@news.eternal-september.org>, po...@thetames.me.uk says...
>>>>>
>>>>> We made him a Lord !!!!!!!!! Shocking.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> IRTA "Stocking" and imagined this thread had returned to its roots.
>>>>
>>>> <anticipates a pun-thread on stockngs, thread & things that run>
>>>>
>>> You erect a ladder and we all troop up it?
>>>
>> I don't think there could be such a thread. I'm a pun-thread denier.
>
> In that case, perhaps your membership should be suspendered.
>

I fall into the 10-20 denier range - sheer joy !

[Btms]

That's him . 😎

[Btms]

Crikey! How did he get so rich?

[Btms]

I disagree.

[krw]

On 26/2/16 2:13 PM, Btms wrote; my response is lower down:

Investing in the right stage shows.

[krw]

On 26/2/16 2:13 PM, Btms wrote; my response is lower down:

> Crikey! How did he get so rich?

Sir John Madjeski (sp?) rightly observed that he was very rich until he
invested in Reading - as he says investing in any football club is a
good way to make a millionaire out of a multi-millionaire.

[Moufang Loop]

krw wrote:
> On 26/2/16 2:13 PM, Btms wrote; my response is lower down:
>> Crikey! How did he get so rich?
>
> Sir John Madjeski (sp?)

Madejski

[Moufang Loop]

krw wrote:
> On 26/2/16 2:13 PM, Btms wrote; my response is lower down:
>> Crikey! How did he get so rich?
>
> Sir John Madjeski (sp?) rightly observed that he was very rich until he
> invested in Reading - as he says investing in any football club is a
> good way to make a millionaire out of a multi-millionaire.
>

Did someone once say something similar about the stage? How do you
become a millionaire? Earn ten million them invest nine of them in the
West End. Something like that.

[Sam Plusnet]

In article <napjb0$1bg9$1...@gioia.aioe.org>, k...@whitnet.uk says...

> And did own Everton - although he might have sold it now.
>
>

Was he hoping to make a mint?

[Rosalind Mitchell]

He couldn't do that for toffee.

Rosma

[krw]

On 26/2/16 4:03 PM, Moufang Loop wrote; my response is lower down:

Thank you.

[Chris Brown]

Currently to be heard on a Radio trailer talking about tasting his
Granny's rissoles.
Unfortunately the trailer is full of high-pitched feedback noises that
physically irritate me. Do they think all R2 listeners are too old to
hear those frequencies?

Chris