Just...................whatever

Mrs Figg wrote:Reading the guardian I saw some iconic bookshops have being asking for online custom because they are struggling so I bought a book from Shakespeare and Company in Paris and am currently looking to buy something from The Strand Bookstore in New York. These guys in Paris have been open since the 1900s. I hate to see bookshops in trouble.

Amazon is crushing them. There really is nothing that compares to spending part of an afternoon in a bookstore, finding hidden treasures. Even the streetside booksellers who lay out their wares on folding tables are a gem - I remember a couple of them looking over my selections fondly with the bittersweet feeling of giving away puppies to a good home. These people really care about books.

Do you know The Strand Bookstore Halfy?

yes, pretty large used book store. Passionate young people clerking the place. If you want passionate old people, go to Argosy bookstore, where you can find them restoring books of maps that you read about in history.

wherever I travel to the first thing I do is find book shops, I love em.

{{ Few things I learned watching a Lucy Worsley documentary that I didnt know.

The title Chairman of the Board comes not from business as such but from medieval farmhouses, which were large and usually had many of the farm workers living in the same large building as the farmer and family. The main large room was communial but divided by status in half, there would be a large 'table' at one end exclusively for the owner, it was constructed from a huge long board of wood placed on tressles, and at its centre would be a chair where the head of the farm sat to eat with is family, making him the Chairman of the Board.

Halls in modern houses are likewise derived from a similar space in old buidlings, they were the first thing you entered upon going in and were in fact hall sized, not hallways as they tend to be in modern houses. But despite no longer being an actual hall the name stuck for the first area you enter a house.

The term for a room where you may go to sit and relax in a modern home, called several things; living room, parlour and drawing room. That last one is the original name, almost, its been shortened from Withdrawing room, as after feeding your guests thats where youd all go for conversation and entertainment, you would withdraw from the main part of the house to the withdrawing room.

I love language and how it works over time. }}

Kevin the Carrot made me cry.

{{ Carved from a 40ft tree stump in Wales after a storm destroyed the tree. }}

somewhat disturbing to come across that during a traipse through the woods, I'd think.

Its brilliant. Its like the Earth reaching up. It would be scary seeing it in the dark tho !

I've been listening to a History of the English Language podcast Petty. There is something delightful about uncovering the roots of a word or phrase. I always assumed that "drawing room" was a reference to an area in which fine English ladies practiced their arts.

{{ You got a link to the podcast Forest? }}

just got my new book from Shakespeare and Company in Paris, they even put a nice stamp on it.  

Pettytyrant101 wrote:{{ Carved from a 40ft tree stump in Wales after a storm destroyed the tree. }}

Oh I like that! would be a bit disconcerting to see leering out of the trees on a foggy morning though...

Reminds of something they did at the country park near me last year:

https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/17572588.royal-victoria-country-park-unveils-new-fairy-garden-easter-weekend/

I actually volunteer at The Chapel in the country park sometimes (well, I did before the lockdown anyway) and it's worth a visit if any of you ever find yourselves in my corner of the world for some reason maybe you'll get lucky and bump into the resident ghost who supposedly haunts the building

https://www.hants.gov.uk/thingstodo/countryparks/rvcp/explore/chapel

https://www.visit-hampshire.co.uk/things-to-do/royal-victoria-country-park-p46473

Looks a lovely place

Just had the two jabs for flu and pneumonia. My arm hurts a bit but no other reactions. My doctor says the pnuemo jab lasts a lifetime, he also says the immuno-protection is important this year, so I advise all of you to get them done if possible in a safe environment. I actually had mine done outside his front door, it was a freezing day but the paranoia was running hot.

There's a lifetime vax for pneumonia? I'd think that would be required. I either haven't heard of it or possibly got it ages ago and it didn't register.

yep, he said it wasn't a yearly jab like the flu and it lasts a long time. It is normally given to old folk in homes or people with asthma but this year they are giving it out to everyone who asks for it because they need to reduce normal respiratory diseases as much as possible over Winter.

We know news voices are different. Her voice isn't as huge a difference as may be expected but the shift to "professional voice" still catches you by surprise.

https://www.tiktok.com/@msnewslady/video/6894368286264397061

{{ Something similar here- we have the Scottish News accent- which is a sort of neutral scottish accent that doesnt actually exist anywhere in the country. }}

I hope Norc is ok, I was just thinking of her today. its ages since she was here.

wow, you're right! It was way back in May but it feels more recent than 6 months ago.

Inside the Tomb of King Seti I (KV17), is often regarded as one of the most beautiful Tombs in the Valley of the Kings. The tomb was discovered in October 1817 by Giovanni Battista Belzoni and is often called "the Tomb of Apis". Belzoni considered it the tomb of Psamtik I, but in 1828 it was recognized by Jean-François Champollion as that of Seti I. The mummy of Seti I was found in 1881 in the cache in Deir el-Bahari.



I was not aware how colourful these tombs could be !

Looks digitally manipulated, like an increased contrast perhaps.

The podcast, Petty, is called "The History of English". https://historyofenglishpodcast.com/

{{ Cheers Forest }}

Yay!

Just got final confirmations for my Africa trip next October. Can't wait to get back there!!!

Also just noticed how bad the quality of my South America video is on YouTube. Checked the original footage and it was good so must have been the file type is used to upload when I was there and WiFi sucked. Redoing with the original quality video so people can actually see things!