Tales of Home

So I was wandering around central park looking for musicians, and thought Petty might be interested in this one.

{{ OK I admit given previous experience with busking bagpipers I had expected to leave a snarky comment like, "well he's almost playing them" or some such, but he's actually pretty good Hope you chucked him some coin Halfy. }}

{{{ Photo of the local blacksmiths, the Curries. They've had the blacksmiths in the village I grew up in since it was established in 1851, its called aptly 'Vulcan Place.' This is generations four, five and six, plus the smiddy dug, Kela (not sure if smiddy is just a Scots word or not, its the name of a blacksmiths workshop and is sometimes used instead of blacksmiths too). Hearty lads, never get on the wrong side of a blacksmith!   }}

they don't look frail.

I think my bagpiper might pull in more money if he'd lose the baseball cap. Provokes automatic dismissal. I gave him a buck.

Smiddy is probably an old word.
Norse smíða (smída) means blacksmith. Blacksmith = smed in Fjordian. Smie/Smia is the blacksmith workshop, smidja in some dialects.

The dog looks like it can handle itself

There has been discussion concerning a line of dialogue in the Coen Brother's film Oh Brother, where art Thou :"Are any of you fellas a smithy, or otherwise versed in the metallurgical arts?"

A "smithy" refers to the shop, while a "smith" is the person who plies the trade there. I would have thought smiddy would be derived from smithy, but perhaps the other way around?

{{ Thanks Amarie.
According to the onllne entymology dictionary -

"workshop of a smith," c. 1300, from Old Norse smiðja (cognate with Old English smiððe), from Proto-Germanic *smith-ja-'

Figg- the smaller the scottish dug, the more crabbit they are! }}

that's one small furry crabbit face.

{{ Much like my own these days now I have my big beard back }}

Had Teddy my pet dog put to sleep yesterday. Very sad. 🥺🥺

{{ Really sorry to hear that Chris. Thoughts are with you. }}

oh no that's really sad. so sorry Chris. Sometimes I think I don't want any more pets because the little buggers break your heart, but while they are with you its worth the pain.

Dogs throw themselves into a relationship like nothing else. Hard to have that ripped out of your life. Rest in peace, little fuzzball.

As Dave's working on getting his new tablet fired up, I thought I'd post a video he sent me last week, but I was too busy getting grades in to do anything with it. It seems they have a local kitty picking on the local livestock.

{{ Thats going to need more than a bowl of milk left out for it }}

{{ Off to work shortly, start new job tonight. More night portering, gone from 2nd largest hotel in town to the largest! }}

will there be any nude people wandering about?

Or creepy looking twin sisters?

Ah yes, the Selborne.  Plenty of grass, no website, view over the Clyde.

Let us know of any action down at the cocktail bar.

{{ First night was very quiet- not even a drunk tourist let alone any spooky goings on, and no nudists Figg! Though must be first thing anyone thinks of as was first thing folk asked me about working at Glenmorag. Sign of the times however get new job, start shift, come home with a covid testing kit! }}

Could be worse Petty. Last I remember you were barricading yourself in your Hobbithole with only a large bag of porridge oats for company

{{ I just had to fill out many, many reptitive and annoying pages of online forms for this job, even though Ive already got the thing I hate forms! I hate online forms more! I hate really long online forms even more than that!!! And I hate really long online forms that ask you to put the same information in different sections over and over most of all - and apparently I'm in the wrong if I write "I've told you this several times already just scroll up the page you lazy bastards!" }}

the most disturbing thing about the bureaucratic mindset is the idea that every bit of personal information can fit into predetermined boxes. This can drive into a frothing rage. Why should my employer phone number (whoever the hell that is at the moment) be the primary contact number if I'm working at home? It calms me down to realize that all they need is an answer, it doesn't matter what that answer is.

A whole bunch of photos taken recently: