This year we’re beginning each month with a (potentially logical) oddity to think about, and to keep the brain cells active. This month:

What if my dog only brings back the ball because he thinks I like throwing it?

Please leave your thoughts in the comments.

This year our Ten Things series, on the tenth of each month, is concentrating on things which are wackier than usual, if not by much. From odd road names to Christmas carols by way of saints and scientists. So here goes with a seasonal December offering …

Ten English Traditional Carols

1. Boar’s Head Carol
2. The Cherry-Tree Carol
3. Coventry Carol
4. The First Noel
5. Here We Come A-wassailing (right)
6. The Holly and the Ivy
7. Sans Day Carol
8. The Seven Joys of Mary
9. Sussex Carol
10. Unto Us a Boy is Born

Again, if you’re interested to know more, most of these carols have Wikipedia entries.

We’re beginning every month this year with a haiku (or a longer poem made of haiku) relevant to the month.

All the poems can be found online at http://www.haikupoemsandpoets.com.

This year our Ten Things series, on the tenth of each month, is concentrating on things which are wackier than usual, if not by much. From odd road names to Christmas carols by way of saints and scientists. So here goes with November …

Ten Comedy Catchphrases

1. “You dirty old man”
   Harold Steptoe; Steptoe and Son (right)
2. “Silly Old Moo!”
   Alf Garnett; Till Death Us Do Part
3. “Don’t panic!”
   Lance-Corporal Jones; Dad’s Army
4. “You stupid boy”
   Captain George Mainwaring; Dad’s Army
5. “It’s good night from me…”
   “…and it’s good night from him”
   Ronnie Corbett & Ronnie Barker; The Two Ronnies
6. “I’m Free”
   Mr Humphries; Are You Being Served?
7. “Listen Very Carefully, I Shall Say This Only Once”
   Michelle Dubois; ‘Allo ‘Allo!
8. “I have a cunning plan”
   Baldrick; Blackadder
9. “May your god go with you”
   Dave Allen
10. “Just like that”
    Tommy Cooper

We’re beginning every month this year with a haiku (or a longer poem made of haiku) relevant to the month.

All the poems can be found online at http://www.haikupoemsandpoets.com.

This year our Ten Things series, on the tenth of each month, is concentrating on things which are wackier than usual, if not by much. From odd road names to Christmas carols by way of saints and scientists. So here goes with October …

Ten Pieces of Femto Fiction

[Femto Fiction (or Micro-Micro Fiction) is that which, while looking like a short book title, with almost no imagination tells you the whole story. Genre of work in brackets.]

1. Gothic Pricks [horror]
2. Christmas Goose [erotica]
3. Feel the Mistletoe [romance]
4. A Strangely Beaked Bird [thriller]
5. Educated Derelict [autobiography]
6. Pubic Overtures [erotica] (right)
7. Duck Shooting in Venice [autobiography]
8. A Case of Yellow Haddock [detective]
9. French Knickers [romance]
10. Admiral Horatio Leftsmith [fiction]

We’re beginning every month this year with a haiku (or a longer poem made of haiku) relevant to the month.

All the poems can be found online at http://www.haikupoemsandpoets.com.

This year our Ten Things series, on the tenth of each month, is concentrating on things which are wackier than usual, if not by much. From odd road names to Christmas carols by way of saints and scientists. So here goes with September …

Ten Relatively Unknown Scientists

1. Robert Hooke (1653-1703)
2. John Flamstead (1646-1719)
3. Paul Dirac (1902-84)
4. Mary Anning (1799-1847)
5. Eric Laithwaite (1921-97)
6. Alice Hamilton (1869-1970) (right)
7. Paul Flory (1910-85)
8. Paracelcus (1493-1541)
9. Emmy Noether (1882-1935)
10. Grace Hopper (1906-92)

If you’re interested to know more, all have Wikipedia entries.

We’re beginning every month this year with a haiku (or a longer poem made of haiku) relevant to the month.

All the poems can be found online at http://www.haikupoemsandpoets.com.

This year our Ten Things series, on the tenth of each month, is concentrating on things which are wackier than usual, if not by much. From odd road names to Christmas carols by way of saints and scientists. So here goes with August amusement …

Ten Amusing (but Real) UK Placenames

1. Brass Knocker Hill, Claverton, Bath
2. Dead Woman’s Bottom, Somerset
3. Fanny’s Cross, Devon
4. Fishpond Bottom, Dorset (right)
5. Fryup, Yorkshire
6. Marsh Gibbon, Buckinghamshire
7. Berrick Salome, Oxford
8. Twatt, Orkney
9. Ugley, Essex
10. Bell End, Worcester