Lower Loxley
Robin Fairbairns
>Is Lower Loxley a stately home, they seem to have conferences there,
>but they have no staff except for Mrs thingy who makes the coffee.
the also have titcombe (or some such person) who's a sort of higgs (he
provides weight to the discussions but is never seen or heard from).
mind you, one of titcombe's tasks used to be to tip julia into the
muckspreader on the back of the tractor and whisk her off to
borchester, and he's not been doing much of that recently.
>I remember when the electrics went, and they had to cancel all the
>bookings for wedding receptions.
niggle has recently said it's a pity his dad didn't pay much attention
to the state of the place, and (remembering the state of the electrics
in the house we bought in the 70s) things can go catastrophically
wrong, so it was believable -- to me.
what's less believable is that they should have failed for so long to
notice that the roof was being eaten by excitable little beetles.
>Does Lizzie do the catering?
no, they get caterers in. there's been a storyline about problems
with caterers, and there was the time (was it when the electrics were
on the blink, or was it something entirely different?) when they were
hosting a wedding where people were going off to grey gables for a
meal afterwards.
>She had a battle with Julia about the new kitchen, but now never seems
>to set foot in it.
we've heard them making horlicks or something in there, haven't we?
>And what exactly was she consulting (at? of? to? )
having done a two-year course at a tech on marketing, she was of
course the worlds leading expert on the matter, and wouldn't be
working at l-l if niggle hadn't snapped her up as resident tie-in to a
fotw documentary based in an adjacent village. so it was natural that
she should do a bit of consulting to increase the cash flow (note, i
make no mention of juices flowing -- none whatsoever).
>They are going to be working on christmas day, what will they be
>doing, cleaning bat droppings from the attic, bagging it up to sell as
>guano?
aren't they going to be sleeping on christmas day? (or probably, if
you believe the spoilers, eating a hearty meal with 25 other assorted
archers chez roof and deeavid.)
>Surely it's too late to organise some money making event.
when did that ever stop anyone in ambridge?
>How did the house get to be in the family, are they aristos, down to
>the last dregs?
i think so. there's certainly not much inherited by way of liquid
assets around.
>Was Nigel's dad the last of the line,
could well be, since afaik niggle doesn't have any cousins. but then,
given how much he speaks of his sister (who we _do_ know about) he
could have them in hordes, and nary a mention.
>who as a last
>resort married the dreadful Julia, in the hope of injecting some good
>working class genes into the ancestral lineage?
julia has all the signs of having been a reet nice bit of stuff when
niggle's dad married her. she then chose to emulate the people in her
new world rather than try to bring them more nearly down to earth.
pity, really. her sister's far more pleasant a person (though where
_she_ got money to own a bar on the costa del crime is probably best
not investigated too deeply).
> - so many questions.
and, as this is umra, so many damn-fool answers.
--
Robin Fairbairns, Cambridge
Tim Hall
Tandy) wrote:
>I may have missed countless reasons why the following puzzles me, but
>I only listen infrequently and have to rely on the excellent summaries
>to get my fix.
>
>Is Lower Loxley a stately home, they seem to have conferences there,
>but they have no staff except for Mrs thingy who makes the coffee.
>I remember when the electrics went, and they had to cancel all the
>bookings for wedding receptions. Does Lizzie do the catering?
>She had a battle with Julia about the new kitchen, but now never seems
>to set foot in it.
I think it is indeed stately home. The named staff include Mrs Thingy
who makes the coffee and Titcombe (or something) who seems to be
gardener/driver. However, when Lizzy said they would work on Christmas
day it was because they were trying to save money and couldn't afford
to pay the staff overtime rates. I took this to mean hordes of
underpaid cooks and bottlewashers.
>
>And what exactly was she consulting (at? of? to? )
PR. Whatever that is.
>
>They are going to be working on christmas day, what will they be
>doing, cleaning bat droppings from the attic, bagging it up to sell as
>guano?
A big American firm is having some kind of end of year conference/p**s
up.
>Surely it's too late to organise some money making event.
>
This is a long term booking, but as explained above Lizzy & Nigel will
have to work at it, instead of their minions.
>How did the house get to be in the family, are they aristos, down to
>the last dregs?
Julia drank the last dregs I think.
> Was Nigel's dad the last of the line, who as a last
>resort married the dreadful Julia, in the hope of injecting some good
>working class genes into the ancestral lineage?
You might say that. I couldn't possibly comment.
>
>
>
> - so many questions.
>
So much entertainment.
>
Tim
Penny Mayes
>In article <3677ec31...@news.clara.net>, tide...@clara.net (Tim
Hall)
>wrote:
>> I think it is indeed stately home.
>
As they said yesterday I think (which I don't believe is a spoiler).
I've just had a quick look at the references in VW's TA Official Inside
Story and find that it is Jacobean and that Niggle knew at sometime
between June 1988 and August 1992 that the roof was "desperately in need
of repairs". Anyone recall if anything was done about it back then? If
so I find it very hard to believe that there was no evidence of beetle
activity at the time. Seems to me they might have cause to complain to
whoever fixed it last time unless it was just an emergency bodge job
that they seem to have forgotten to get fixed properly.
I didn't understand the stated connection between DWB and damp, maybe I
should pick up some up-to-date literature on the subject. I am also
surprised that the Pargetters have not joined the listed buildings
owners club.
Penny
Mike Ellwood
: I think it is indeed stately home. The named staff include Mrs Thingy
: who makes the coffee and Titcombe (or something) who seems to be
: gardener/driver. However, when Lizzy said they would work on Christmas
: day it was because they were trying to save money and couldn't afford
: to pay the staff overtime rates. I took this to mean hordes of
: underpaid cooks and bottlewashers.
But shirley, if the client is daft enough to want a conference on
Christmas Day, (s)he will also be daft enough to shell out the
ackers to cover the overtime, and a bit on top?
: A big American firm is having some kind of end of year conference/p**s
: up.
Bill Gates doing a spot of winter team-building?
: This is a long term booking, but as explained above Lizzy & Nigel will
: have to work at it, instead of their minions.
Have Christmas for the whole cast at Lower Loxley.
There will still be room for Bill Gates and his robots.
Sorted!
--
Mike.E...@rl.ac.uk
Niles
>
>But shirley, if the client is daft enough to want a conference on
>Christmas Day, (s)he will also be daft enough to shell out the
>ackers to cover the overtime, and a bit on top?
>
Ah, but maybe, a la Fawlty, they are paying over the odds to keep the chef
on, and the pargetters are just trying to make a bit of Mikymaus money.
--
Niles im Ausland ICQ 12724766
** The light at the end of the tunnel
** Doesn't shine at the end of the day
Replies to this address forwarded to usual address. http://i.am/niles
Chris McMillan
<URL:mailto:tide...@clara.net> wrote:
> On Wed, 16 Dec 1998 16:48:45 GMT, she...@shandy.demon.co.uk (Sheila
> Tandy) wrote:
> The named staff include Mrs Thingy
Pugsley.
Sincerely, Chris
--
Mrs. Chris McMillan. Tel. 0118 926 5450. e-mail:
ch...@mikesounds.demon.co.uk http://www.mikesounds.demon.co.uk/Family.htm
Chris McMillan
<URL:mailto:r...@cl.cam.ac.uk> wrote:
> Sheila Tandy <she...@shandy.demon.co.uk> wrote:
> >Is Lower Loxley a stately home, they seem to have conferences there,
> >but they have no staff except for Mrs thingy who makes the coffee.
>
> >They are going to be working on christmas day, what will they be
> >doing, cleaning bat droppings from the attic, bagging it up to sell as
> >guano?
>
IIRC a businessman's conference (don't they have homes to go to, or are
they all of one of the ethnic/religious groups who don't celebrate
Christmas?), and they can't afford to pay their staff to run the day so
they're doing it themselves.
Chris McMillan
<URL:mailto:ma...@peTHEUSUALmail.net> wrote:
> Rosemary Miskin wrote in message ...
> >In article <3677ec31...@news.clara.net>, tide...@clara.net (Tim
> Hall)
> >> I think it is indeed stately home.
> >
>
> As they said yesterday I think (which I don't believe is a spoiler).
> I've just had a quick look at the references in VW's TA Official Inside
> Story and find that it is Jacobean
According to 'the Book' 1702 is engraved over the front door. Jacobean is
the reign of Charles 1 and James 1 (16 something or other), which I just
looked up in NCarta.
Niggle inherited LL in March 1988 when 'daddy' died. Nothing else I can see
relates to LL.
> surprised that the Pargetters have not joined the listed buildings
> owners club.
>
The LSWs haven't heard of it until now, Penny. :)
Tony Gardner
two (yes, count 'em) replies to her own post.
Is Gillivering (should that be Gilliverisation?) catchable?
If so, what is the mode of transmission? ITWSBT :-)
--
Tony Gardner
Andrew Stevenson
Sheila Tandy wrote ...
>
>Is Lower Loxley a stately home, they seem to have conferences there,
I always imagine it as rather more compact than the Longleats, Castle
Howards etc. More of a manor house, with a few bits going back to the late
16th century, but primarily dating from the late nineteenth century.
Probably about 15 bedrooms at the most, and that might even include the
former servants' quarters.
Perhaps a LSW would like to have one of the inspector people that the
council will send in the new year, wander round giving a full description
into his dictaphone. S/he might also like to clarify what grade listing the
building has (as in a listed building, not toppling over into the Am).
>but they have no staff except for Mrs thingy who makes the coffee.
There's Titchmarsh^H^H^H^H^Hcombe the gardener cum odd job man.
>I remember when the electrics went, and they had to cancel all the
>bookings for wedding receptions. Does Lizzie do the catering?
Caterers. But wasn't there a problem with the good catering firm they used
to use?
>She had a battle with Julia about the new kitchen, but now never seems
>to set foot in it.
In comparison with Brookfield, I think N&L hardly eat at all. Though they
did have a dinner party a while back (Shula and Usha?)
>They are going to be working on christmas day, what will they be
>doing, cleaning bat droppings from the attic, bagging it up to sell as
>guano?
This sounded odd to me too. They're mainly corporate hospitality and
weddings aren't they? Can't see either of those booking Lower Loxely on Dec
25.
>How did the house get to be in the family, are they aristos, down to
I've always assumed the Pargetters have been lords of the manor for
centuries, but I don't think there's any basis for that assumption.
>the last dregs? Was Nigel's dad the last of the line, who as a last
I think Nigel's the last of the line, unless/until he and Lizzie get a move
on (as even Julia seems to have noticed).
>resort married the dreadful Julia, in the hope of injecting some good
>working class genes into the ancestral lineage?
and instead what they got was an ice-cream selling gorilla. :-)
--
Andrew
Andrew Stevenson
Robin Fairbairns wrote ...
[snip]
>[Ellen]'s far more pleasant a person (though where
>_she_ got money to own a bar on the costa del crime is probably best
>not investigated too deeply).
Proceeds from the Borchester mail van robbery I'd expect. (aka money
laundering for Nelson).
--
Andrew
Andrew Stevenson
Tim Hall wrote ...
>
>I think it is indeed stately home. The named staff include Mrs Thingy
>who makes the coffee and Titcombe (or something) who seems to be
>gardener/driver. However, when Lizzy said they would work on Christmas
>day it was because they were trying to save money and couldn't afford
>to pay the staff overtime rates. I took this to mean hordes of
>underpaid cooks and bottlewashers.
I think it was just Mrs Thingy (will somebody please remind us of her
name!!!), whom Julia had asked to cook for Sir Sidney and Mercedes.
Now, just a minute. Do we know Mercedes' origins? Sounds a bit Spanish to
me. [pause for brain to make the various connections that are becoming
apparent to it] We know Julia has something with which she can blackmail
said Mercedes. Robin Fairbairns wondered where Julia's sister got the money
for a bar on the costa del gabriel. I wondered if the money had come from
the Borchester mail van robbery. Obvious innit? Mercedes was the Spanish
end of the operation. She's probably married to Nelson as well for good
measure, meaning Sir Sidney's been married (or not) to a bigamist all these
years. And thus becomes clear the reason for Nelson's hurried departure.
Julia was blackmailing him too. Julia owns the winebar, Honeysuckle Cottage
etc.
(been looking at the chronology too
[http://www.phesk.demon.co.uk/archers/thechron.txt] - it's amazing just how
many times Nelson has disappeared! Apparently he also owned Hollowtree
farmhouse, which was let out as flats. Nelson was in Venezuela and Spain in
1979.)
--
Andrew
Penny Mayes
>
>
>Perhaps a LSW would like to have one of the inspector people that the
>council will send in the new year, wander round giving a full
description
>into his dictaphone. S/he might also like to clarify what grade
listing the
>building has (as in a listed building, not toppling over into the Am).
It was said to be grade 2 recently as part of beetle storyline.
>I think it was just Mrs Thingy (will somebody please remind us of her
>name!!!), whom Julia had asked to cook for Sir Sidney and Mercedes.
Mrs Pugsley
>>They are going to be working on christmas day, what will they be
>>doing, cleaning bat droppings from the attic, bagging it up to sell as
>>guano?
>
>This sounded odd to me too. They're mainly corporate hospitality and
>weddings aren't they? Can't see either of those booking Lower Loxely
on Dec
>25.
Corporate something I think.
Penny
ž*°•¤q.§.p¤•°*ž*°•¤q.§.p¤•°*ž*°•¤q.§.p¤•°*ž*°•¤q.§.p¤•°*ž*°•¤q.§.p¤•°*ž
Merry Christmas
ž*°•¤q.§.p¤•°*ž*°•¤q.§.p¤•°*ž*°•¤q.§.p¤•°*ž*°•¤q.§.p¤•°*ž*°•¤q.§.p¤•°*ž
Nick Meredith
(Andrew Stevenson) wrote:
>
>Sheila Tandy wrote ...
>>
>>Is Lower Loxley a stately home, they seem to have conferences there,
>
>I always imagine it as rather more compact than the Longleats, Castle
>Howards etc. More of a manor house, with a few bits going back to the late
>16th century, but primarily dating from the late nineteenth century.
>Probably about 15 bedrooms at the most, and that might even include the
>former servants' quarters.
My view of it has always been a bit like a favourite venue of mine -
Knuston Hall in Northamptonshire. OK - it's run by the County Council,
so it has had a few "portacabin" style classroom blocks added in the
old kitchen garden - but apart from that it seems to match fairly
well.
By clever subdivision of old rooms, it manages to fit 50 - 60 visitors
mainly in single rooms, most these days including ingenious plastic
"capsule" bathrooms.
From what I've seen the staff is the warden and his deputy, one
administrator, plus various kitchen and cleaning staff, plus whoever
is tutoring each course.
BTW - I'm just a satisfied (and regular) customer there, and have no
connection with the hall.
--
Nick Meredith, Coventry, UK
Chris McMillan
<URL:mailto:A.Ste...@lancaster.ac.uk> wrote:
>
> Tim Hall wrote ...
> >
> >I think it is indeed stately home. The named staff include Mrs Thingy
> >who makes the coffee and Titcombe (or something) who seems to be
> >gardener/driver. However, when Lizzy said they would work on Christmas
> >day it was because they were trying to save money and couldn't afford
> >to pay the staff overtime rates. I took this to mean hordes of
> >underpaid cooks and bottlewashers.
>
>
Mrs. Pugsley : keep up at the back there, Tim.
> Now, just a minute. Do we know Mercedes' origins?
Apart from a quote from Sid about her, the book tells us only that she is
the Spanish born wife of Sir Sidney.
> Sir Sidney
There's much more about him: He got his gong for services to industry: he
has interests in canning factories in the UK and Spain, he fought in the
Spanish war on the side of Franco (must be how he met Mercedes): and he's
spoken in the past - his alter ego was Roger Hume.
Chris McMillan
<URL:mailto:A.Ste...@lancaster.ac.uk> wrote:
>
> Sheila Tandy wrote ...
> >
> >Is Lower Loxley a stately home, they seem to have conferences there,
> Perhaps a LSW would like to have one of the inspector people that the
> council will send in the new year, wander round giving a full description
> into his dictaphone. S/he might also like to clarify what grade listing the
> building has (as in a listed building,
We were told its a grade 2, which means it may not get all the grants a
grade 1 would.
>
> I've always assumed the Pargetters have been lords of the manor for
>centuries, but I don't think there's any basis for that assumption.
>
18th cent. See wot I wrote a few days ago.
Robin Fairbairns
>Andrew Stevenson <URL:mailto:A.Ste...@lancaster.ac.uk> wrote:
>> I've always assumed the Pargetters have been lords of the manor for
> >centuries, but I don't think there's any basis for that assumption.
>
>18th cent. See wot I wrote a few days ago.
<mode="aunt ada doom">
there's always been pargetters at lower loxley hall.
</mode>
--
Robin Fairbairns, Cambridge
Alan Ross
><mode="aunt ada doom">
>there's always been pargetters at lower loxley hall.
></mode>
>--
>Robin Fairbairns, Cambridge
How lovely to find a NG that has a quote from Stella Gibbons' Cold Comfort
Farm..... a bit like Brookfield now the cattle are dropping like
flies...obviously something VERY nasty in the woodshed there.....Does anyone
remember Kenneth Williams' inspired reading of it on Radio 4 in the late 60s
or early 70s?
Alan Ross, Stockton
martin
I wonder if it's out on a cassette?
--
"maz" Martin up in t' Pennines.
The lights are on but there's no-one at home.
To reply: leave out overnight.to.defrost.
Charles F Hankel
r...@cl.cam.ac.uk (Robin Fairbairns) was heard to say:
> Chris McMillan <Ch...@mikesounds.demon.co.uk> wrote:
> >Andrew Stevenson <URL:mailto:A.Ste...@lancaster.ac.uk> wrote:
> >> I've always assumed the Pargetters have been lords of the manor for
> > >centuries, but I don't think there's any basis for that assumption.
> >
> >18th cent. See wot I wrote a few days ago.
>
> <mode="aunt ada doom">
> there's always been pargetters at lower loxley hall.
> </mode>
Am I imagining things, or has your ex/future employer been pretty
swift at pulling your account?
--
Charles F Hankel
-------------------------------------
Hapless FAQer on the Wirral peninsula
http://www.mersinet.co.uk/~hankel/uf/umrafaq.html
Penny Mayes
>
>
>><mode="aunt ada doom">
>>there's always been pargetters at lower loxley hall.
>></mode>
>>Robin Fairbairns, Cambridge
>
>How lovely to find a NG that has a quote from Stella Gibbons' Cold
Comfort
>Farm..... a bit like Brookfield now the cattle are dropping like
>flies...obviously something VERY nasty in the woodshed there.....Does
anyone
>remember Kenneth Williams' inspired reading of it on Radio 4 in the
late 60s
>or early 70s?
Gosh, was it that long ago? Is it available on tape?
Penny
Robin Fairbairns
>How lovely to find a NG that has a quote from Stella Gibbons' Cold Comfort
>Farm.....
umra's like that. whatever gem you think of, there's someone here who
knows it and will quote from it.
>a bit like Brookfield now the cattle are dropping like
>flies...obviously something VERY nasty in the woodshed there.....
but who at brookfield persists in clettering the dishes with his
little twig despite the fact that jill has got a dishwasher?
>Does anyone
>remember Kenneth Williams' inspired reading of it on Radio 4 in the late 60s
>or early 70s?
indeed, it was a touchstone of my family (i didn't actually _read_ ccf
until some time later).
i'm fairly sure i heard kw's reading with my kids (oldest b.1974)---i
suppose we were listening to a repeat.
`big business' used to live on colonsay when we had holidays there,
and would run up and down the roads in an apparently startling way...
since the earliest we went to colonsay was about 1980, the broadcast
i'm thinking of must have been in the '70s some time.
--
Robin Fairbairns, Cambridge
Robin Fairbairns
>Outside the Cat & Fiddle
>r...@cl.cam.ac.uk (Robin Fairbairns) was heard to say:
>> there's always been pargetters at lower loxley hall.
>> </mode>
>
>swift at pulling your account?
i've hardly ever dialled in[*], and today's the first day i've come
back to work. (i'd intended to be in on sat or sun, but my ex has
been ill and i've therefore had responsibility for entertaining the
kiddlywinks.)
my account's still here. cambridge's net connection has been in
rather poor health since i left in time to be at home listening to r4
at 1500 on thursday.
[*] this is likely to change, with the new job. but, since the
dialling in will be job-related, i shan't have to pay for it any more
than i have to pay for what i'm doing now. (the down side is that i'm
likely to spend time on call. sigh.)
--
Robin Fairbairns, Cambridge
SimGardner
For one glorious moment I thought likkle Danyul had been planted in the Wood!
BTW wasn't he lisping more than usual tonight? Regressive behaviour from
mithing hith Mummy?
Thimon... er thorry, Simon
Simon
--------------------------------------------------------------
"O! many a shaft, at random sent,
Finds mark the Archer little meant!
And many a word, at random spoken,
May soothe or wound a heart that's broken." [Scott]
J. P. Gilliver (John)
In article <75eeqt$bk3$1...@news8.svr.pol.co.uk>, Tony Gardner <Tony@gardne
r213.freeserve.co.uk> writes
I think it is an inevitable consequence of UMRA use, rather like lung
cancer is supposed to be for tobacco use (and yes, I too had a great-
grandma who nearly reached 90 despite liking her Woodbines). Unless you
have a lot of time (as those unfortunately out of work might have,
though I know they often don't either), you either have to discard vast
amounts unread, or go into apparent hibernation for a while to work
through it.
The means of transmission is UMRA itself (-:
However, IIU the term as invented (not by me!) rightly, to gilliver
properly, just outputting a lot of posts - including replies to oneself
or not - at once isn't enough; they must be at long intervals, and be
followups to posts which have been forgotten even by their authors.
And I may not even qualify myself on the first count (though certainly
do on the second) at the moment, because, due to my father's illness*, I
have been connecting rather more often to gather information, and thus
my outputs have escaped into the world of UMRA before they might
otherwise have done. (Since I hadn't [still haven't!] worked through
what I already have, I had turned off newsgroup download, otherwise I'd
just get increasingly behind!)
(*: my father's been diagnosed with rather more cancers than is good to
have at once [two, bowel and liver]; thanks very much to the two UMRAts
who have corresponded and commiserated with me separately.)
[]
Use my works address (john.g...@gecm.com) for a (much!) faster response!
[* Send to G6JPG@soft255 - not nospam - if I'm posting or replying to a post. *]
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G.5AL(+++)IS-P--Ch+(p)Ar+T[?]H+Sh0!:`)DNAf
** TRY http://www.soft255.demon.co.uk/; last updated 1999-1-2. **
PRIME DIRECTIVE, MY A**! Phasers on maximum!
J. P. Gilliver (John)
In article <75lm9t$g9p$1...@info1.lancs.ac.uk>, Andrew Stevenson
<A.Ste...@lancaster.ac.uk> writes
[]
>I've always assumed the Pargetters have been lords of the manor for
>centuries, but I don't think there's any basis for that assumption.
I've always assumed it too. The _name_ actually means one who does
pargetting, and that is artistic exterior plasterwork (a bit like
artexing but outside); there's a village somewhat to the north of me
here (I'm near Chelmsford; I think it might be Thaxted) which is
supposed to be have lots of good pargetting.
I can't at the moment think of any of the long-standing aristocratic
families whose surname is that of a skilled trade, but I'm sure there
are plenty of them; certainly, Nigel has always seemed to me to be of
genuine old aristocracy - a bit loony and otherworldly when younger (the
gorilla and the ice cream), refers to Mummy and Daddy, a certain way of
speaking (not just an accent), and many other such things, which though
not a guarantee of such ancestry, are (IMO) a pretty good indication.
J. P. Gilliver (John)
In article <758q3h$ivs$1...@pegasus.csx.cam.ac.uk>, Robin Fairbairns
<r...@cl.cam.ac.uk> writes
[]
>pity, really. her sister's far more pleasant a person (though where
>_she_ got money to own a bar on the costa del crime is probably best
>not investigated too deeply).
Although the suggestions about BMVR proceeds are fun, I got the
impression when Ellen visited that she was sufficiently down-to-earth,
and hard-working when necessary, to have built it up by hard work.
J. P. Gilliver (John)
In article <768e1l$j62$1...@pegasus.csx.cam.ac.uk>, Robin Fairbairns
<r...@cl.cam.ac.uk> writes
>Alan Ross <lek...@primex.co.uk> wrote:
>>How lovely to find a NG that has a quote from Stella Gibbons' Cold Comfort
>>Farm.....
>
>umra's like that. whatever gem you think of, there's someone here who
>knows it and will quote from it.
[]
Usually at sickening length. (Don't get me on Tom Lehrer - oops, too
late - let alone THHGTTG!)