ramblings

Rugby League

During October, while I’ve been ill, I’ve been watching some of the Rugby League World Cup on TV.

I cannot understand the game or its attraction.

Think upon it thus-wise …

  • It’s a game with effectively no competition and no invention.
  • The only tactic seems to be to get the ball and run straight at the nearest three opponents, so they can throw you to the ground.
  • The set plays are all uncontested: the play-the-ball, the scrums, the restart from the ball in touch – you know the outcome in advance.
  • The scrums, as they are defined as uncontested, are pointless – you might as well just give someone the ball and say “Go”.
  • Meaningful penalties are almost non-existent; the vast majority of penalties are effectively no different to the play-the-ball.
  • The opposition only get the ball when you make an error, not by competing for it.
  • Players (and referees) are unable to play without a continual supply of water, with extraneous bodies wandering on and off the pitch to fulfil this need.
  • The referee spends half the time running backwards.
  • Referees seem unable to make decisions – so many of the decisions, especially tries, are referred to the video referee for a decision.

The game is totally sterile and pointless.

And then they try playing it in wheelchairs!

Compare with Rugby Union, where the scrums and line-outs are properly contested; penalties mean something; the tackled player-with-ball sets up ruck and maul which become a contest for the ball; and much more invention in passing and kicking flows from this.

I just cannot see why Rugby League even exists, let alone why anyone would want to play it.

memes, words

Ten Things: November

2 Comments

This year our Ten Things each month are words with particular endings. Clearly this won’t be all the words with the nominated ending, but a selection of the more interesting and/or unusual.

Ten Words ending with -bus

  1. circumbendibus
  2. omnibus
  3. cumulonimbus
  4. trolleybus
  5. harquebus
  6. syllabus
  7. rhombus
  8. rebus
  9. nimbus
  10. incubus

Your challenge, if you choose to accept it, is to write a story in at most three sentences using all these words correctly. Post your attempt in the comments before the end of the month and there’s an e-drink for anyone who I consider succeeds.

amusements

Surrealist Alphabet

While being ill I fell to thinking about what Wikipedia calls a Cockney Alphabet:

The Cockney Alphabet is a recital of the English alphabet intended to parody the way the alphabet is taught to small working class children. The ostensible humour comes from forming unexpected words and phrases from the names of the various letters of the alphabet, mocking the way people from East London speak. Cockney is a name given to the working class of East London by the middle and upper classes.

[Note the erroneous definition of Cockney.]

One version (maybe the original?) was recorded in 1936 by comedy duo Clapham & Dwyer, but under the title A Surrealist Alphabet. Their version is reproduced in the Wikipedia entry. As Wikipedia also notes, there are many variants. Here are my preferred variants.

A for ‘orses
B for mutton
C for yourself
D for Kate
E for brick
F for vescence
G for police
H be for beauty
I for Novello
J for oranges
K for teria
L for leather
M for sis
N for lope
O for a pee
P for relief
Q for a bus
R for Askey
S for you
T for two
U for mism
V for la France
W for a bob
X for breakfast
Y for husband
Z for breezes

As always, YMMV.

amusements, medical

November Quiz Questions

This year we’re beginning each month with five pub quiz style questions, with a different subject each month. They’re not difficult, but it is unlikely everyone will know all the answers, so hopefully you’ll learn something new, as well as have a bit of fun.

November Quiz Questions: Medical

  1. What is the name of the light sensitive panel of cells at the back of the eye?
  2. By what name is Hansen’s Disease more commonly known?
  3. In humans, the atlas and axis bones are found in which part of the body?
  4. The hormone prolactin stimulates the production of what after childbirth?
  5. Which blood type is considered the universal donor?

Answers will be posted in 3 weeks time.

personal

Unblogged October

Well folks, apologies for the radio silence but most of October has been a complete write-off due to a rather nasty cellulitis infection in both feet and ankles. Not just a bacterial infection making one feel really yeuchy, but so incredibly painful that for several days I couldn’t stand without serious assistance.

Sat 1 I wonder what horrors this month will bring? Last month we had: been ill (twice); death of the Queen; 2 PMs the latest having less clue (or care) than the previous; and a Chancellor the same; mini-budget which wrecked everything except a handout to the richest; £ fell to $1.03; another interest rate rise; promises of fewer environmental controls.
Sun 2 Had horrid indigestion for last week. Feeling rough; totally flattened and unable. Frightened, panicky & depressed – some of the worst I’ve known. Call doctor tomorrow.
Mon 3 A day trying (again) to catch up and organise the junk on my desk; some success, tho’ not enough. But gradually feeling a bit better.
Tue 4 This is getting tedious; not at all a collection of odd and interesting snippets as I’d hoped. Depths of depression today, culminating in meltdown halfway though doing the grocery order: why am I even bothering; what’s the point; I won’t be here by then. I suggested N just put me down; which she declined on the basis that it’s illegal.
Wed 5 Finally a call-back from GP. She’s not very concerned; might just be a nasty viral infection (not Covid). But concerned enough that I’m on 2 week referral for endoscopy – just in case! Bugger, but wise.
Thu 6 Blimey! Talk about a quick response. Hospital called this morning to arrange appointment. And more … I was offered an appointment at o’God o’clock on Sunday morning. At least that’ll get it over with.
Fri 7 Blood taken by nurse at GP’s this morning. Also saw GP: have painful cellulitis in foot = antibiotics. Slept most of the afternoon.
Sat 8 Totally stressed and panicky about tomorrow. Cellulitis f***ing painful; cannot put weight on it without painkillers. Doesn’t bode well for tomorrow.
Sun 9 Full moon which I actually saw was no. 888 since I was born.
Mon 10
to
Wed 26		 And then everything was a write-off. As my GP expressed it, I was quite poorly with the cellulitis in both feet and ankles. Unbelievably painful even with strong painkillers and strong antibiotics. Lucky not to be hospitalised with it; largely due to calm, pragmatic and determined GP.
Thu 27 Finally beginning to surface. Feet still painful, but a lot less so; have to stop every hour or so for a lie down as that’s the most comfortable for the feet. Can walk about home, but not stand for any length of time. Now on third course of antibiotics, and still on the painkillers.
Fri 28 A day feeling dopey. Check-in with GP who is pleased with progress. Still trying to catch-up and build my new big laptop (got fed up with struggling with the old small one which won’t take Windows 11).
Sat 29 Good grief! It isn’t even November and already the BBC are making all their presenters wear a poppy. Gah!
Sun 30 Arrggghhhh!! Yet again we have to bugger around changing the clocks. It really winds me up! We should stay on GMT – it’s our heritage innit! Or at least decide what time zone we want to be in, stay there, and stop wasting time changing everything twice a year. Gah!
Mon 31 It’s the end of October, and still almost every tree is in full green leaf. A few species are already bare, and some are starting to turn autumnal; but many still look as if it is high summer.
amusements, history

October Quiz Answers

OK, so here are the answers to this month’s quiz questions. All should be able to be easily verified online.

October Quiz Questions: American History

  1. Which Native American princess is buried in Kent? Pocahontas; at Gravesend
  2. How many World War II casualties were there on US soil? Six; in 1945 a Japanese balloon bomb landed in Oregon killing a woman and five children
  3. Which nation in 1886 gave the Statue of Liberty to the USA? France
  4. Who, in 1825, became number 6? John Quincy Adams, 6th President of USA
  5. Where, in 1773, was there a famous tea party? Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Answers were correct when questions were compiled in late 2021.

memes, words

Ten Things: October

This year our Ten Things each month are words with particular endings. Clearly this won’t be all the words with the nominated ending, but a selection of the more interesting and/or unusual.

Ten Words ending with -lum

  1. baculum
  2. speculum
  3. antebellum
  4. curriculum
  5. reticulum
  6. pendulum
  7. tantalum
  8. frenulum
  9. hoodlum
  10. phylum

Your challenge, if you choose to accept it, is to write a story in at most three sentences using all these words correctly. Post your attempt in the comments before the end of the month and there’s an e-drink for anyone who I consider succeeds.

amusements, history

October Quiz Questions

This year we’re beginning each month with five pub quiz style questions, with a different subject each month. They’re not difficult, but it is unlikely everyone will know all the answers, so hopefully you’ll learn something new, as well as have a bit of fun.

October Quiz Questions: American History

  1. Which Native American princess is buried in Kent?
  2. How many World War II casualties were there on US soil?
  3. Which nation in 1886 gave the Statue of Liberty to the USA?
  4. Who, in 1825, became number 6?
  5. Where, in 1773, was there a famous tea party?

Answers will be posted in 3 weeks time.

amusements, personal

Unblogged September

Thu 1 Blimey! What a day! It’s surprising how much work a new credit card makes, what with activation, PINs, update all the finance apps, insurance etc. – and that’s before you start updating all the places you use a card online. That was just one part of a never ending stream of emails and things needing to be done NOW! How did I manage to do this every day at work?
Fri 2 Poorly pussycat. Not eating; being sick. V.E.T. tomorrow morning.
Sat 3 N takes Boy Cat to the V.E.T. who thinks he has an infection especially as the other 2 also off their food at bit. I stay home because the gardener is coming – but he doesn’t!
Sun 4 A day of deep depression; weepy and struggling to do even the minimum. Even a really nice chicken curry not restorative.
Mon 5 We’re getting a new treasurer for the literary society. So, as I’m the one who brings in most of the money (memberships & shop), I had to dust off and update my finance processes. It’s surprising how much it had changed in only 3 years – so much more being done online.
Tue 6 Rain! We have rain! It absolutely poured down for a large part of the afternoon. But it had stopped by 19:00 when I went to feed the pond fish, and it was actually a nice, warm and fresh evening.
Wed 7 It was another of those instances where you need to do a job, but find you don’t have the necessary materials to hand. In this case, flash drives. Fortunately Mr Amazon came to the rescue with same day delivery.
Thu 8 It’s raining again. For at least the third day in a row. This is most unusual for the first week of September, which is usually dry, sunny, and warm – so much so that we have often taken holiday at this time. Today is our umpty-n-th wedding anniversary; this day in 1979 was indeed dry, sunny, and rather warm, as were the preceding and following few days.
Fri 9 Well what should one do on the day after the death of the Queen? I don’t know, but basically we did bugger all apart from jellivate and studiously ignore the continual morbidness on TV and radio.
Sat 10 Picked an enormous quantity of runner beans. The gardener took half, and we gave some to a neighbour and still have enough for us for tomorrow. That’ll not be the last of them, but they’re beginning to wind down, so maybe only one more picking. Not bad for last year’s plants – yes they’re perennials, not annuals as we always treat them.
Sun 11 Afternoon cookathon. Bread pudding. Salmon (for cold tomorrow). Marinated pork slices for dinner (with jacket potatoes & veg). Alcoholic summer fruit salad for dinner.
Mon 12 Well that certainly needed doing … Comes the gardener to relay half the front path which was in a dangerous state with several lifted slabs due to the encroachment of roots etc.
Tue 13 I really struggle to understand why people are so disorganised. You send out an invitation to a (free) talk, followed by a reminder two weeks beforehand. But at least 20% won’t book until the day before, after you’ve sent out the Zoom link to those who’ve already booked, thus causing extra work.
Wed 14 Guy next door gets a so-called tree surgeon in to cut back my trees on his side of our mutual boundary – which he’s entitled to. But he doesn’t have the courtesy to bother to tell me. Have to get out of pram with said tree surgeon who is straying over our side; and working unsafely; with the wrong tools. And because all the trimmings are technically mine they get thrown over the fence, onto my lawn, for me to clear up, without any “by your leave”. Very not impressed.
Thu 15 I can’t believe* that the queue to walk past a flag covering a box (even if it does contain the mortal remains of the Queen) in Westminster is almost 5 miles long, stretching along the South Bank back to Southwark Park; and that if you join the queue now (about 20:00) you might just get through by sunrise – or is that sunrise on Saturday?
[* Well actually I can believe this because the British people are sufficiently stupid and gullible.]
Fri 16 Day totally disrupted by a supermarket delivery which was 90 minutes after the booked slot. How can they send a driver out with paperwork not having the crate numbers for every delivery? And then apparently do nothing until I ring up to find out what’s happening. We eventually got to have lunch around 14:15, so basically ended up writing off the afternoon as well as the morning.
Sat 17 At last, and sooner than expected … we got our 4th Covid jabs this morning at our local chemist. We were a bit early so had to join a short queue – 5 chairs rather than 5 miles long. They really are good; well organised and efficient; and they automatically deliver our prescriptions at no charge.
Sun 18 Eddie Butler, rugby player and commentator, died a couple of days ago. I bumped into him once, almost literally, maybe 20 years ago on Reading station. I’m a pretty big bloke, but he absolutely dwarfed me.
Mon 19 I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised at it being a weird day, what with ER funeral and all … but I felt really out of sorts all day: cold, miserable, depressed, and totally unable to settle to do anything at all. I am though in awe of the logistics which have gone into the whole of the last 10 days; I know it is all planned out in advance, but there’s so much that can’t be fixed until the time comes – like selecting and training guardsmen to carry the coffin, naval ratings to pull a gun carriage, transport & detailed orders of precedence for dignitaries, rehearsal and final timings. And that bearer party were (at least in what I saw) nigh on faultless – at least two were still teenagers! – and commanded by a young Second Lieutenant, the most junior of junior officers – what responsibility, and deserving of something more that just kudos. Equilibrium partly restored later with cold chicken, sauté potatoes and champagne.
Tue 20 Oh God! Spent the day horizontal and cancelled everything. Vertical hold totally buggered by vertigo. Effectively motion sickness; dizzy and nauseous.
Wed 21 Still flattened, though slightly better. Very annoying, especially as I have a couple of things which I needed to do urgently yesterday.
Thu 22 Managed to be semi-upright. Trying to catch up on that which should have been done in the last few days. Doctor she say want to see me when it happens again; may need ENT referral.
Fri 23 Slowly improving, but still in catch-up and rest mode.
Sat 24 Nice literary society zoom meet at lunchtime with fun discussions about Dornford Yates, George Orwell, Tolkien and others; plus totalitarianism, healthcare, fishing and Scotland. Never let it be said our meetings are dull!
Sun 25 What’s happening? Has everyone died? It is just so quiet around here; even our usually noisy neighbours are pretty quiet. Mind you they can’t say the same for us today; the gardener has been here shredding, mowing and strimming all day!
Mon 26 After a dull, wet and miserable day, some glorious evening sunshine on the top of the silver birch tree. The wild rose has climbed right to the top of the tree and is a riot of bright glowing red hips in the sun. No photo can really do it justice, but here’s a shot!
Click the image for a larger view.
Tue 27 How computers waste time! Spent 2½ hours this morning while N was at the hospital trying to fix several (mostly minor) glitches on her PC. Failed at all but one; and even that took some wrangling.
Wed 28 Well that wasn’t quite as scheduled. I missed Jupiter’s close approach on Monday night, because as usual it was cloudy. But at 04:15 this morning it was an unmissable bright light in the SW sky. I was too asleep to go get binoculars, but impressive all the same.
Thu 29 I’ve had so little alcohol recently that this evening’s half bottle of red left me feeling distinctly unsteady.
Fri 30 It’s flu jab day! I wonder if it’s going to knock me out for 24 hours like it usually does? Luckily I’ve managed to keep the weekend free.