Note: this image is not mine and may be copyright the original photographer/artist;
please click on the image for further information and a larger view
Note: this image is not mine and may be copyright the original photographer/artist;
please click on the image for further information and a larger view
Today is the Feast of St Nicholas (supposed prototype for Santa Claus). In some traditions this day is actually more important than Christmas Day, and for others it signals the start of the Christmas season. So today seems an appropriate time for a Christmas meme. Sing along Join in with your version as you choose.
TV programme I want to watch: Royal Institution Christmas Lectures
TV programme I hate: every film and soap
Christmas tradition: our first winter lights go up on the Feast of Christ the King (Sunday before Advent) and don’t come down until Candlemas (2 February); it’s a festival of light combined with a pagan belief in providing light to see us through the darkest months
Living person (not family) I’d like to have a Christmas drink with: Prof. Alice Roberts
Favourite Christmas drink: just lots of Champagne
Christmas food I like: Brussels Sprouts (yes, really!)
Christmas present I’d like: restored libido
Christmas thing I enjoy: Christmas dinner
Christmas thing I hate: “Away in a Manger”
Something I want to do at Christmas: relax & read (but I never do!)
Tree: real or artificial: artificial, why kill a tree (and we don’t have garden space for yet another live tree)
Holly or mistletoe: both
Do you send cards: yes, it keeps people in touch
When does Christmas start: First Sunday in Advent
And when does Christmas end: Twelfth Night
Best present ever: Noreen
Gold, frankincense or myrrh: Frankincense
Christmas pudding with brandy butter or with custard: either
Turkey or something else for Christmas dinner: sometimes turkey, sometimes pork or beef
Do you buy presents for your pets?: of course, doesn’t everyone?
Favourite carol: The Boar’s Head
Christmas cake or mince pies: mince pies
Is your Christmas sacred or secular?: secular, but with a few Christian bits and some pagan bits thrown in
Note: this image is not mine and may be copyright the original photographer/artist;
please click on the image for further information and a larger view
Terracotta plaque from Mesopotamia (early 2nd millennium BC)
Note: this image is not mine and may be copyright the original photographer/artist;
please click on the image for further information and a larger view
Note: this image is not mine and may be copyright the original photographer/artist;
please click on the image for further information and a larger view
Note: this image is not mine and may be copyright the original photographer/artist;
please click on the image for further information and a larger view
Note: this image is not mine and may be copyright the original photographer/artist;
please click on the image for further information and a larger view
Note: this image is not mine and may be copyright the original photographer/artist;
please click on the image for further information and a larger view
Just for a bit of fun, I thought I’d make up my own birthday meme. Hopefully it doesn’t give too much away!
Do you share your birthday with anyone well known? Yes, former miners’ leader Arthur Scargill (b.1938), golfer Ben Crenshaw (b.1952) and England footballer Bryan Robson (b.1957).
Do you share your birthday with anyone you know? Yes, JP.
Do you share your birthday with an historical figure? Yes, most notable Harry Gordon Selfridge (b.1858), founder of the eponymous London department store; also James Paget (b.1814, English surgeon and pathologist) and Ezra Cornell (b.1807, founder of Western Union and Cornell University).
Do you share your birthday with an important historical event? Again yes, the first recorded lottery in England in 1569.
Where were you born? University College Hospital, London.
What time of day were you born? Just in time for lunch! [No change there then!]
How much did you weigh? Something over 8lb.
Who are you named after? No-one to my knowledge, although I do have my mother’s family name embedded.
Zodiac sign? Capricorn.
Chinese zodiac sign? Metal Tiger.
Innie or Outie? Innie.
Do you wear glasses or contact lenses? Glasses since I was about 14.
What have you had pierced or tattooed? No tattoos, and you really do not want to know where my piercing is.
Do you still have your tonsils? Yes, I still have my tonsils, but I’ve been robbed of my appendix, a deformed fingernail and my right knee joint.
At what age did you become aware of pornography? I think probably at about 13.
What is your best attribute? An analytical brain.
What is the thing you least like about yourself? An ability to be tactlessly outspoken.
With who do you feel most comfortable talking to about anything? Noreen, Katy.
The last time you felt broken? Today — it’s a knee thing.
Do you consider yourself an introvert or an extrovert? Introvert.
Have you ever taken drugs; if so what? Only the West’s drugs of choice: alcohol and tobacco.
Who amongst your current friends (not family) have you known the longest? Ken King; we were at primary school together 50+ years ago and have recently make contact again.
Is there anyone on your friends list you would ever consider having sex with? Yes; but no I’m not going to tell you who!
What were you doing when you last lost track of the time? Being wheeled into the operating theatre.
What can you do today that you couldn’t do a year ago? Use crutches properly.
Do you think you’ll change in the next 3 months? Yes, of course; we all change all the time.
What will you be able to do at this time next year that you can’t now? With luck I’ll be able to walk properly.
If you had to be executed but could choose the method, what method would you choose? Instantaneous poison.
What will people say at your funeral? “Phew! There goes that PITA at last.”
So you’re all now challenged to complete this on (or even not on) your birthday each year. The only rule is that you must add or change at least one question each year. Have fun!
Eccentric looks at life through the thoughts of a retired working thinker