Desert Anvils (EIGHT 1/72 P-40s: Sword, Hasegawa, Special Hobby, Legato, Airfix)

[wayne 0]

A few books by Christopher Shores I see.

I love books. Having all that information in your hands is wonderful.

Knowing all that information in your head would be nicer.

Reading is hard.

Models are coming along splendidly.

A sea of Azure.

[Rob G]

I have at least one of those books in that first photo. What you do need for the front room is this one:

http://www.harpercollins.com.au/9780732292737/hung-like-an-argentine-duck-a-journey-back-in-time-to-the-origins-ofsexual-intimacy

Because not only does it have a provocative title (and what's the use of having a missus with friends if you can't disturb them sometimes, eh?), but it's also quite an absorbing read.

As I age, I find Lennon less annoying, but I still can't abide Yoko. The real question though is, are they still making Pollyscale Azure blue, and if so, where can I get it?

[CedB]

Fascinating posts, and now I'm feeling old again.

"Hung Like An Argentine Duck" - love it! But "well-endowed (16.5 inches!)"? I'm not cutting mine in half for anyone (boom boom tish)

I really feel for PC who's under hormone assault as we speak. It's a really tough time in my experience for all sorts of reasons, and nature (or is it nurture) will have its games with us. Parenting is a new experience and there's no (useful) guidance that I've found. Like all 'experiences' you can't be trained for it, it has to be, er, experienced. But the herding of the women is unbelievable - Mother's groups... urrrggghhh. And the looks you get from them! In a sort of "you've done your work and are no longer important" sort of way. "Fish needs a bicycle" and all that. Or perhaps that's just me? And my friends.

Get a copy of the book PC and other ballsy titles and leave them prominently in the front room. We men must stick together (if that's alright with you dear). And, of course, all sing "The Man Song".

There's a wise saying that I had lived by for ages:

In you twenties you try to change the world

In your thirties you try to change the system

In your forties you try to change your life.

Which of course I used smugly in my forties (shouldn't the be a 'u' in that? My spell chequer doesn't like it) to explain why I became less interested in 'international issues' and 'management structures'. But it left me in my fifties thinking "what now?". And now I'm in my 60th year (or is it 61st year? Who cares?) I can only add "In your sixties you don't try to understand stuff or care what silly phrases mean" and try to get on with 'life', which is not easy for anyone, let alone anytwo.

John Lennon was, of course, a "scouser" and behaved accordingly. Any tribe that's proud of such a derogatory sounding label should really, no really, try to stop sounding so whiny. Perhaps a small, very vocal, minority give them a bad name and I really must stop it there or, as Boris Johnson found, they'll set out to get me (I'm not a Guardian reader). "... wallowing in their 'victim status'". As if. If I'm not careful they may lay flowers outside my house... they have to somewhere. Anywhere. And you have to say "sorry" properly. No properly. Go on, say it again.

There are lots of wise words from wise people out there and you can get really boring (like me) quoting them smugly all the time, but "Life is like a sewer. What you get out of it depends on what you put into it." - Tom Lehrer

So I think the main thing is to be happy. Just to spite them. And smile inanely. And be 'manly' - trying to make women 'happy' is, in my experience, self defeating; they always drool over bad boys. I really must remember that and try to do something about it. What? Yes dear... (I always like to have the last word).

So let's keep this tribe going and continue to be supportive. In a manly way, of course.

Great planes, PC. "Not wearing a mask"? Of course not. Manly. You should, really, model topless, build up a sheen of sweat and then stride back into the front room and say "Where's my dinner, woman".

And then the fight started...

[Procopius]

Having all that information in your hands is wonderful.

Knowing all that information in your head would be nicer.

Reading is hard.

Too right. It was much easier before smartphones and MP3 players conspired to truncate my attention span, though.

http://www.harpercollins.com.au/9780732292737/hung-like-an-argentine-duck-a-journey-back-in-time-to-the-origins-ofsexual-intimacy

Because not only does it have a provocative title (and what's the use of having a missus with friends if you can't disturb them sometimes, eh?), but it's also quite an absorbing read.

Actually sounds a bit like a book Mrs. P would read, she loves stuff like that. All it needs is a chapter where Kirk and Spock kiss, and you've covered about 70% of her reading habits, the remaining 30% being reserved for those dreadful teens in YA novels after some sort of apocalypse that kills all the adults and leaves only hunky boys and sassy independent girls left alive, presumably also what the producers of BBC 4's SKINS dream of every night.

The real question though is, are they still making Pollyscale Azure blue, and if so, where can I get it?

Oh heavens no, heavens no. Pollyscale is long OOP, sadly, I got mine by hunting about on ebay. There's not much left out there, which is a pity, as their acrylics are jolly nice. I'd recommend waiting another five years and we should see some from the next round of estate sales.

I'm not cutting mine in half for anyone (boom boom tish)

Indeed. How would you open jars then?

I really feel for PC who's under hormone assault as we speak. It's a really tough time in my experience for all sorts of reasons, and nature (or is it nurture) will have its games with us. Parenting is a new experience and there's no (useful) guidance that I've found. Like all 'experiences' you can't be trained for it, it has to be, er, experienced. But the herding of the women is unbelievable - Mother's groups... urrrggghhh. And the looks you get from them! In a sort of "you've done your work and are no longer important" sort of way. "Fish needs a bicycle" and all that. Or perhaps that's just me? And my friends.

What gets me is the pervasive culture of "you-go-girl-ism" that seems to abound these days, (he said, seemingly seconds away from demanding the return of the Borstal and the birch), where any terrible idea is encouraged, because: sisterhood. (This phenomenon also exists with men but the timescale is shorter and the results are almost invariably fatal, so it's self-correcting.) Case in point, my wife's profoundly irresponsible friend who has decided to undergo fertility treatment so she can have a baby, and who has obtained a boyfriend of highly dubious provenance entirely for this purpose...yet of course we have to be encouraging -- or at least I have to bite my tongue as this senseless hippo waddles down the garden path to motherdom when she can't even take care of her dog...blegh. Mrs. P feels like we'd be bad friends to try and dissuade this woman, but I feel like there's potentially another human life involved, and it's being treated like a mere lifestyle accessory.

Get a copy of the book PC and other ballsy titles and leave them prominently in the front room. We men must stick together (if that's alright with you dear). And, of course, all sing "The Man Song".

Heh. Yes, like the monarchy or the pre-reform House of Lords, I have a great deal of theoretical power in my own home, provided I don't actually exercise it.

There are lots of wise words from wise people out there and you can get really boring (like me) quoting them smugly all the time, but "Life is like a sewer. What you get out of it depends on what you put into it." - Tom Lehrer

I actually tried to use this in a how-to on our content management system (Adobe CQ5, for those who know and the smaller minority of those who care) last week, but was reined in.

It snowed here last night, because how else would you welcome in Spring?

[CedB]

"Indeed. How would you open jars then?"

Eh? Opening jars??!! Hmmm. Actually I exaggerated, of course. It's only 12" but I don't use it as a rule (boom boom tish)

"What gets me is the pervasive culture of "you-go-girl-ism" that seems to abound these days,"

Ooh, you've got me started now. At any sign of disagreement with this you're labelled a 'male chauvinist pig' or misogynist. Accuse them of misandry and they look at you blankly - no one knows what that means. Equality? After you dear.

"I have to bite my tongue as this senseless hippo waddles down the garden path to motherdom when she can't even take care of her dog..."

LoL! The UK has one of the highest teenage pregnancy rates in Europe. And our hippos push their designer pushchairs wearing tops that show off their beer bellies and piercings, and tight tights, or very short skirts. I call this fashion style 'the Western Burkha' just to try to make a point, but it goes over the heads of most people.

"I have a great deal of theoretical power in my own home, provided I don't actually exercise it."

Join the club. Whilst we may wear the trousers they were probably chosen by our 'better halves'.

Ahhh, that's better. Thanks for that chance to rant. Very therapeutic. Now I must go and empty the dishwasher and perform my other manly chores.

What chores? I'll have a pint of bitter please (boom boom tish again! Always leave 'em laughing...)

[Procopius]

"What gets me is the pervasive culture of "you-go-girl-ism" that seems to abound these days,"

Ooh, you've got me started now. At any sign of disagreement with this you're labelled a 'male chauvinist pig' or misogynist. Accuse them of misandry and they look at you blankly - no one knows what that means. Equality? After you dear.

The joke I always tell Mrs. P is "did you know men only make, on average, 30% more than women? We've got to get that number up!" She manages a wan smile every time. I'm not a big fan of the term misogyny, which is more of a mental disorder, to my mind, but I do feel that sexism is a real and terrible force, and it cuts both ways, because oppression always subtly distorts the oppressors just as insidiously as it distorts the oppressed. Anyhoo, off my soapbox.

The UK has one of the highest teenage pregnancy rates in Europe. And our hippos push their designer pushchairs wearing tops that show off their beer bellies and piercings, and tight tights, or very short skirt

Mrs. P and I had several false starts -- to put heartbreak as flippantly as possible -- before we got this far into pregnancy, and we always used to joke that "there's never a good time to get pregnant, at least after high school."

Join the club. Whilst we may wear the trousers they were probably chosen by our 'better halves'.

I actually kind of appreciate that, I hate shopping for clothes.

[Cookenbacher]

it cuts both ways, because oppression always subtly distorts the oppressors just as insidiously as it distorts the oppressed.

Very insightful view PC. Perhaps you should be the Senator.

Unbelievable progress on the Kitty/Tomahawks by the way - did you have to buy Azure blue in gallons?

Impressive all around.

[Procopius]

Amazingly, all that was done with a single colour cup. Azure Blur as fashioned by the hands of the ancients covered well.

[caszerino]

Blimey, I go to work for 10.5 hours and look at everything I missed! I really must try to skive more while I'm at work. Plenty of time for that after my probationary period is over, I suppose. And I found out today that we only get two weeks paid vacation ... but there is a silver lining. After three years, it goes up to three weeks! I think that's pretty fair for the US, particularly in a vehemently anti-union "right to work" state like Florida. Could almost manage an entire World Cup without taking any unpaid leave. And yesterday, my Swedish mate (internet pal) says to me, "Oh, I only have 41 days of paid vacation left this year." I wanted to smash his bloody face in.

John Lennon was, of course, a "scouser" and behaved accordingly. Any tribe that's proud of such a derogatory sounding label should really, no really, try to stop sounding so whiny.

As a Manchester United supporter with several Lancastrian friends, this brought a very large smile to my face. Thank you, sir.

[Rob G]

Actually sounds a bit like a book Mrs. P would read, she loves stuff like that. All it needs is a chapter where Kirk and Spock kiss, and you've covered about 70% of her reading habits, the remaining 30% being reserved for those dreadful teens in YA novels after some sort of apocalypse that kills all the adults and leaves only hunky boys and sassy independent girls left alive, presumably also what the producers of BBC 4's SKINS dream of every night.

Oh heavens no, heavens no. Pollyscale is long OOP, sadly, I got mine by hunting about on ebay. There's not much left out there, which is a pity, as their acrylics are jolly nice. I'd recommend waiting another five years and we should see some from the next round of estate sales.

What gets me is the pervasive culture of "you-go-girl-ism" that seems to abound these days, (he said, seemingly seconds away from demanding the return of the Borstal and the birch), where any terrible idea is encouraged, because: sisterhood. (This phenomenon also exists with men but the timescale is shorter and the results are almost invariably fatal, so it's self-correcting.) Case in point, my wife's profoundly irresponsible friend who has decided to undergo fertility treatment so she can have a baby, and who has obtained a boyfriend of highly dubious provenance entirely for this purpose...yet of course we have to be encouraging -- or at least I have to bite my tongue as this senseless hippo waddles down the garden path to motherdom when she can't even take care of her dog...blegh. Mrs. P feels like we'd be bad friends to try and dissuade this woman, but I feel like there's potentially another human life involved, and it's being treated like a mere lifestyle accessory.

It snowed here last night, because how else would you welcome in Spring?

It's a book about prehistoric animal sex and the evolution of the male copulatory organ (to be - hopefully- not banned by the mods), not one bit of kissing in it, Spock, Kirk OR Uhara. An interesting read, with a large percentage of scientific humour, nay scientific humour written by an Australian, which means very dry and very funny, as well as very scientific. Highly recommended. Even if just to have it on the shelf for when those friends show up.

Your comment re Pollyscale echoes what I had thought was the case - I have just discovered it via a couple of sets I bought many moons ago and have had in storage until such time as they were required, which is now, with, coincidentally, a 72th Hasegawa Kittyhawk 1a in desert colours. Lovely paints, thus far. I will have to get online and hunt.

re the 'senseless hippo'. You CANNOT deny her her right as a woman to have children, even though she's done everything in her power to dissuade any reasonably thinking male of the species to want to mate with her, you just CANNOT! It will get you on the wrong side of the feminazis, and you will be hounded everywhere you turn. (I shall remove my tongue from my cheek now.)

Spring arrives here with a blast of hot, humid air and temps in the vicinity of 30C. No snow for miles and miles and miles. Parsecs, probably.

What chores? I'll have a pint of bitter please (boom boom tish again! Always leave 'em laughing...)

Very subtle, sir.

I actually kind of appreciate that, I hate shopping for clothes.

I too hate shopping for clothes, which is why I am usually dressed in out of fashion stuff from 3 years ago, because that's about how often I go clothes shopping. However, my ex-wife wanted to dress me up in a certain style that I didn't agree with, so we had a number of discussions on the subject over the years that we were shackled together. I still dress like a dag, and I don't care. If any new lady in my life (unlikely to happen, admittedly) wants to start all that again, she can leave the way she came in.

[Procopius]

It's a book about prehistoric animal sex and the evolution of the male copulatory organ (to be - hopefully- not banned by the mods), not one bit of kissing in it, Spock, Kirk OR Uhara. An interesting read, with a large percentage of scientific humour, nay scientific humour written by an Australian, which means very dry and very funny, as well as very scientific. Highly recommended. Even if just to have it on the shelf for when those friends show up.

No, no, that's the sort of thing Mrs. P would like, even without Spock or Kirk. She was working at a bird sanctuary when we started dating, and unlike me, she has a hard sciences undergraduate degree. (And, also unlike me, a Masters.)

Your comment re Pollyscale echoes what I had thought was the case - I have just discovered it via a couple of sets I bought many moons ago and have had in storage until such time as they were required, which is now, with, coincidentally, a 72th Hasegawa Kittyhawk 1a in desert colours. Lovely paints, thus far. I will have to get online and hunt.

Yes, I've really liked the Pollyscale I could get my hands on so far; it's my preferred Extra Dark Sea Grey.

Spring arrives here with a blast of hot, humid air and temps in the vicinity of 30C. No snow for miles and miles and miles. Parsecs, probably.

I suppose I'll take small consolation in the fact that the odds of a cassowary booting my head off are vanishingly slim.

I too hate shopping for clothes, which is why I am usually dressed in out of fashion stuff from 3 years ago, because that's about how often I go clothes shopping. However, my ex-wife wanted to dress me up in a certain style that I didn't agree with, so we had a number of discussions on the subject over the years that we were shackled together. I still dress like a dag, and I don't care. If any new lady in my life (unlikely to happen, admittedly) wants to start all that again, she can leave the way she came in.

Trackie-daks, then? Happily Mrs. P has little interest in turning me into a clotheshorse (but conversely, fails to melt when I don a suit, so it cuts both ways), being merely satisfied if I get haircuts and bathe and so forth regularly.

Blimey, I go to work for 10.5 hours and look at everything I missed! I really must try to skive more while I'm at work. Plenty of time for that after my probationary period is over, I suppose. And I found out today that we only get two weeks paid vacation ... but there is a silver lining. After three years, it goes up to three weeks! I think that's pretty fair for the US, particularly in a vehemently anti-union "right to work" state like Florida. Could almost manage an entire World Cup without taking any unpaid leave. And yesterday, my Swedish mate (internet pal) says to me, "Oh, I only have 41 days of paid vacation left this year." I wanted to smash his bloody face in.

Fortunately, as a not-for-profit, it's tacitly understood that any actual work we do here is a bonus, rather than expected. I have, as of today, 141 hours of accrued paid leave, which using out 7.5-hour-day, comes out to just under 18 days of vacation. I'm about to use a week of that in AZ.

I started spraying the Middlestone, which is Vallejo Model Air; I'm sorry to say I'm almost certain the colour is off (we'll blame it on US replication of UK colours), but I have no other Middlestone until my Gunze gets here. As it is, the colour looks almost as deep as RLM79:

[Learstang]

Enough of this prattle, and let's get down to a serious matter that needs attending to. Mr. Procopius, if that is your name (well of course it isn't really), that bookshelf of yours is disgracefully neat! That will not do, sir, no, not at all! If you don't have some loose papers on top of the books, some books on their side, a magazine or two (or five) where there should be books, an inappropriate bookend (such as a shrunken head), then it's just not a proper bookshelf, sir! I say this as an author and proud bibliophile. I do notice that you have some dust jackets that have seen better days, such as the one for the book on Peter the Great (a good book, I must say). That is a slight saving grace. Otherwise, disgraceful, simply disgraceful!

Regards,

Jason

[John Laidlaw]

I started spraying the Middlestone, which is Vallejo Model Air; I'm sorry to say I'm almost certain the colour is off (we'll blame it on US replication of UK colours), but I have no other Middlestone until my Gunze gets here. As it is, the colour looks almost as deep as RLM79:

Yes, it is too dark, as I've just recently found out. The trick is to mix it with a brighter yellow, such as their RLM04 Gelb (71.078) until it's an earthy hue of Ident Yellow.

[Procopius]

Enough of this prattle, and let's get down to a serious matter that needs attending to. Mr. Procopius, if that is your name (well of course it isn't really), that bookshelf of yours is disgracefully neat! That will not do, sir, no, not at all! If you don't have some loose papers on top of the books, some books on their side, a magazine or two (or five) where there should be books, an inappropriate bookend (such as a shrunken head), then it's just not a proper bookshelf, sir! I say this as an author and proud bibliophile. I do notice that you have some dust jackets that have seen better days, such as the one for the book on Peter the Great (a good book, I must say). That is a slight saving grace. Otherwise, disgraceful, simply disgraceful!

Well, I had literally just finished reorganizing them when I took that photo. Previously one of the bookcases had started to develop a gradual curve approaching fifteen degrees before being shored up. Does this make you feel better:

I still need to set up two new shelves, so these await a home. You can see my most expensive and second most prized book, Edgar J. March's British Destroyers, published in 1966, when the war was as recent a memory as Desert Storm is for me now. I paid $500 for it, which was almost half a month's pay for me at the time.

Yes, it is too dark, as I've just recently found out. The trick is to mix it with a brighter yellow, such as their RLM04 Gelb (71.078) until it's an earthy hue of Ident Yellow.

Argh. Well, it will go well with their much-too-dark Dark Earth.

[Learstang]

Yes, now that's a proper floor, I mean bookshelf, PC! The discarded sock is a nice touch which I sadly don't have on any of my overloaded bookshelves. Yet!

Regards,

Jason

[Procopius]

Argh. Well, it will go well with their much-too-dark Dark Earth.

Memo from future me: no, it looks weird as hell.

I sprayed one freehand and one using blu-tac masks, sort of experimentally. Pretty unhappy with the colours, don't think I'll be using Model Air again after these, though it is pretty easy to spray.

[Stew Dapple]

Oof. Feel your pain there mate, that's looks like a similar result to what I got with the Dorniers and the so-called colour-matched paints I used on them.

Still, apparently we shouldn't get hung-up on these things, so everything is actually fine I do agree that the Vallejo paints are lovely to spray, but that in itself isn't really enough.

No matter, are you not off to New Mexico? Have a good trip and give our collective regards to Cookie

Cheers,

Stew

[philp]

Hey, if you get bored with the heat in Arizona, take a ride up north. I am in Salt Lake City and we have the Hill Aerospace Museum just north. Not nearly as neat as Pima but still a pretty good stop.

[CedB]

Well, you guys are like buses eh?* Nothing, and then a load turn up at once... (Ooh, is there a double entendre there? Nah.** Not good enough. And replacing 'turn up' with another, obvious, word is just too smutty).

Feeling like a teenager this morning*** 'Like', 'like', 'like'...

Casey:

"...this brought a very large smile to my face." Good. You're very welcome.

RobG:

"feminazis". Brilliant. Stored for later use.

"Very subtle, sir." Thanks Rob. Subtle, me?

"out of fashion"? If you don't like the fashion, wait six weeks and it'll change. If your clothes are out of fashion wait six years and they'll be in fashion again.

"Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months." - Oscar Wilde

PC: LoLs all the way through, as usual.

Books and shelves: Don't do books no more. P'raps that's why my grammur has detir... deteer... gone to pot. Ebook anyone? I have gigabytes on my 'phone!

Vallejo model air. Hmmm. As I said at the Brighton conference "Sprays beautifully, just not the right colour".

May I suggest, PC, given your tight timescales, you leave the colours and apply some 'weathering'? Sand perhaps?

* The 'eh' is an affectation I've picked up from my Canadian friends and is irreplaceable in some circumstances.

** The 'Nah' is an affectation I've picked up from my US friends and is irreplaceable in some circumstances.

*** "but where can I get one at this time of day" Boom boom tish, score 1

[John Laidlaw]

Memo from future me: no, it looks weird as hell.

I sprayed one freehand and one using blu-tac masks, sort of experimentally. Pretty unhappy with the colours, don't think I'll be using Model Air again after these, though it is pretty easy to spray.

Yup, their version of Dark Earth is much too chocolatey and dark. It needs to be mixed with white until it's more of a dried-clay brown. Their Azure Blue is wrong also - that one's the right shade, but completely lacks the violet component of the real thing.

All of this is a great shame if you don't like having to mix the allegedly-matched colours, as the paints themselves are lovely.

[Procopius]

No matter, are you not off to New Mexico? Have a good trip and give our collective regards to Cookie

Tomorrow, yes, but Arizona. Similar to New Mexico, but I've always thought of New Mexico as more low-key, less intense.

Hey, if you get bored with the heat in Arizona, take a ride up north. I am in Salt Lake City and we have the Hill Aerospace Museum just north. Not nearly as neat as Pima but still a pretty good stop.

Interesting! Also, the number of Americans on Britmodeller is really nuts, I'm going to have to emigrate to bring it down to manageable levels. Darn.

Still, apparently we shouldn't get hung-up on these things, so everything is actually fine

But no, no it's not. It looks wrong, really, really wrong and I'm kind of upset. I think I now have a clearer understanding of how you must have felt after spraying the Hataka paints on your Do17. It's especially irritating since I've been busting my hump to get to this stage.

Books and shelves: Don't do books no more.

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat.

Vallejo model air. Hmmm. As I said at the Brighton conference "Sprays beautifully, just not the right colour".

Yes, I thought to myself, as I was about to spray it, "but what if all their paints are as wrong as the ones poor Ced sprayed? Ha! No, that's preposterous." WELL HERE I AM.

May I suggest, PC, given your tight timescales, you leave the colours and apply some 'weathering'? Sand perhaps?

You may, of course, but quite honestly, I'm feeling a bit discouraged. I think I'll probably wait for the Gunze I ordered to get here, and then spray over these. Weathering will take probably just as long as doing it right, so I'll still blow the deadline, and it won't look any less wrong for having spent the time. And as a lazy person, the thought of spending time to make something still wrong, but differently wrong is abhorrent to me.

All of this is a great shame if you don't like having to mix the allegedly-matched colours, as the paints themselves are lovely.

Yes, funny thing about me, I buy "colour-matched" colours because I'm crap at mixing. Well-played, Vallejo, the worst thing to come out of Spain since Franco. "They spray nicely" is my new "but the trains run on time".

[CedB]

"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat."

I still read, a lot, just eBooks. Honest. 'Tom Thorne' novels are a new discovery thanks to a free eBook from Amazon and there's lots more in the series (rats, fell for it, what a dumb consumer). Winkle's "Wings on my Sleeve" was an eBook and Severne's memoirs "Silvered Wings" is waiting under a hovering finger... they're the new thing and the next generation don't do paper.

"...as a lazy person..." building eight, yes eight (count 'em) models at once. I think not!

OK, I'm with you on the missed deadline but with correct colours later.

Have a great time with Cookey (Cookie? Cooky? No, that's not right, help me out here) and come back refreshed. You can then re-attack the 3/4 squadron with vigour*. I shall think of you visiting all those planes, enviously, whilst I'm crashed out in Devon.

* a well known cleaning product that magically converts WWII camouflage to its correct colour. Now that WOULD be a find.

[Procopius]

the next generation don't do paper.

I was about to say, that clip showed a child whose parents should be shot, but then I realized shooting would be far, far too quick, and in fact they should be beaten to death, by a throng of jeering librarians and booksellers. (My sister is a librarian, my mother and mother-in-law sell or sold books.)

Have a great time with Cookey (Cookie? Cooky? No, that's not right, help me out here)

Cookie, aka Senator J. Cooken Cookenbacher III, (Whig-NM).

* a well known cleaning product that magically converts WWII camouflage to its correct colour. Now that WOULD be a find.

Royal Mail would refuse to ship it, on safety grounds.

[John Laidlaw]

"They spray nicely" is my new "but the trains run on time".

This made me laugh out loud .

[CedB]

"I was about to say, that clip showed a child whose parents should be shot, but then I realized shooting would be far, far too quick, and in fact they should be beaten to death"

Quite possibly. Burn the Witch! They certainly can't handle a camera.

"...by a throng of jeering librarians and booksellers"

Oooh, scary! (In a sarcastic voice) In all the films I've seen where jeering crowds go after someone (usually with burning torched) I've never seen one with librarians and/or booksellers... perhaps there's a movie in that idea?

"Cookie, aka Senator J. Cooken Cookenbacher III, (Whig-NM)."

Of course I searched for that. Then in bits. Nothing. Except BM of course.

'Cookenbacher' on its own did return one entry: "Local "celebrities" that need to end it - Topix" but I don't think that's it, is it? It was obviously archived and didn't respond within my attention span (2.5 mseconds) so I gave up.

Either I'm missing something, or Cookie's one of those Senators responsible for a US three-letter acronym and has all references redacted. Hell, better watch myself.

Cookey (I'm going with that to follow Stew and avoid the biscuit yearnings) help me out here! I think PC's [pulling my leg]*. Not that I can say much - one of my friends insists on greeting me, loudly, in public, with "Ah, Lord Bufton of Bath!". And no, I'm not a Lord - you Americans...

Anyway, you both have a good trip, take photos for us and try not to tease too many people (whine whine).

* insert geographically appropriate phrase here