Yesterday, sunny and warm, brought an explosion in the number of ladybirds infesting the (mainly timber) house I am staying in at the moment. Thousands of the little brutes all over the sitting room ceiling, and in the hall. Two other houses nearby were similarly infested. There were even some in the car, and one on my sleeve when I visited some Iraqi friends in London night before last, to their great distaste ('Ugh! There's a BUG on you!').
I've never minded ladybirds myself, although my wife was once bitten by one. Children have very fine skin and ladybirds are predators. This unseasonal swarming is unfortunate for them, as there are no aphids for them to eat, so they will starve to death.
'That's when they start biting people,' my wife said darkly. Took me 40 minutes to vacuum most of them off the ceilings. A bit unkind, but kindness to beetles is stretching caringness a bit far I feel, unless one is a genuine Buddhist. Anyway, today, so far so good.
|
>> but kindness to beetles is stretching caringness a bit far I feel
Worked for Yoko and Heather.
|
Not according to Paul :-)
John
|
|
At least there is something exciting happening AC. Here it's the usual Saturday night. She's got Strictly Come Ice Factor on or something as usual and later I have to feign interest in that bloke from the coffee ads dressed up as King Arthur's father for the sake of my son. Highlight of the night will be a swim at the leisure club followed by an orange juice with the slightly disturbing bloke who's always there on a Saturday night and who claims to be a millionaire entrepreneur but probably isn't. The ten year old Daihatsu might of course be a cunning disguise so he doesn't get kidnapped. Small towns really are the worst of everything. Driving home will involve swerving round the usual contingent of inebriated fat girls in too little clothing and bald drunk blokes with their shirts hanging out all being supervised by neckless part time bouncers in imitation Crombie overcoats and cheap dirty shoes.
|
|
can u post me a couple of thousand to overwinter in me greenhouse? if you gan get them all to "take wing" when you put then on the post office scales it shouldn`t cost too much!!
|
cheap dirty shoes.
And above all that condemns them for what they are.
|
>> cheap dirty shoes.
And what, pray, is wrong with cheap dirty shoes?
Is this website like some ghastly cruise liner full of boring ponces who smell of aftershave and don't want to rub shoulders with their perceived social inferiors?
If so, it won't tolerate me for long. And I am already cocking half a snook at it.
|
How very and specifically "English" to reduce and interpret a discussion to a commentary on social status. A concept and measurement system which incidentally holds little relevance those not brought up with any real understanding of it.
But really AC, notwithstanding socio-economic groupings ( if they truly exist outside the imaginations of those infected by home counties values ) dirty shoes of any quality are simply inexcusable. Cheap ones the more so as it reduces their commendability to more or less negative levels.
You should know that and indeed I suspect you do and are simply attempting to be impish. Well let me tell you sir that no one minds a bit of light hearted banter on a frivolous subject but my goodness, " dirty shoes" ! I ask you..
:-)
|
>> those infected by home counties values
>>
I had been wondering where badge snobbery came from. :)
|
Quite so ON. One could get quite cross about such things if one didn't allow for the fact that in some it is so deeply a function of sociological and environmental conditioning. Some simply can't help it, bless them...They are more to be pitied than scolded perhaps..
:-)
|
Of course I don't think you are remotely boring, poncy or snobbish Humph. It did occur to me that given your strong (but non-fetishistic I am sure) feelings about footwear I should have excepted you by name from a general insult to the website, but didn't get round to it.
However it takes all sorts to make a world. My 30 quid Portobello Road Adidas tennis shoes have lasted very well and are a quality product. I will have to see if I can find some new ones though. These are getting a bit frayed inside and have started to let water in.
|
|
Talking of dirty shoes has reminded me of "co-respondents shoes", not heard of much these days. Most people seem to think they are correspondents shoes.
|
... fly away home! - Ian (Cape Town)
