Pedro

For the first time in goodness knows how long I decided to listen to a vinyl of Tom Lehrer songs. Yup, showing my age there. Given the popularity of school and college stories here, I thought of this site when listening to 'Bright College Days' http://www.allthelyrics.com/lyrics/tom_lehrer/bright_college_days-lyrics-252614.html Sorry I could not find a video. What I did find and is probably going to be relevant again soon was this apocalyptic song: I hope our younger readers will enjoy and want to seek out more

Look out for this one when it appears here! A good yarn set in a period of history, I think is not seen much, if at all, in fiction of any kind . Certainly a time I know very little about.

Cole's diversionary tactics meant everything was kept hidden until the final reveal. Nice twist about something that must be a source of maximum teen embarrassment to those afflicted. Well done. i know it is not Cole's usual modus operandi but I wonder if we will see these three again?

I came across this when I was checking the local forecast this morning. I can't see the football jocks being hardy enough to do this - strictly for the swim team https://www.theweathernetwork.com/uk/videos/gallery/snowswimming-stranded-team-dives-right-in/sharevideo/5274760323001

I can't see the football jocks being hardy enough to do this - strictly for the swim team https://www.theweathernetwork.com/uk/videos/gallery/snowswimming-stranded-team-dives-right-in/sharevideo/5274760323001

Thanks to the majors there is no lack of "freezing liquids". These days even Guinness offer their product at a temperature where you expect icebergs to form. As you correctly observe, Colin, there isn't really any climate* related driver for ice cold beer. Traditional beer, as opposed to the cold stuff generically referred to as lager, should be served at between 50-54F. 'Chemical' Lager is popular for a number of reasons including a) it requires little or no skill on the part of the cellerman b) it can be made consistent around the world c) is less challenging to the palette than most beers. Indeed one of the independent breweries (Wychwood) uses/used the catch phrase "What's the matter lager boy? Frightened you might taste something?" when advertising their beers. *Climate? When I was in primary school my geography master, when asked which climate region Britain was in said "None, What we have is all weather and no climate." This topic started out talking about the comparative proportion of population living in conurbations. Thread drift - don't you just love it! Alright, alright, I'll im going back behind the sofa.

The profusion of microbreweries in the U.K. is one of the results of the Campaign for Real Ale to ensure that traditional brewing methods were not lost and some choice remained in the market. CAMRA started in 1971 as a reaction to the big breweries trying to force sterilised artificially carbonated 'chemical beers' on the consumer. Concentration among the majors in the industry is now worse than in the 70s and is now just a few international players............. No! Naughty Pedro! Before you get into a rant about the freezing liquids they call beer in US and Oz, that's enough! Behave! Go on, Get back behind the sofa!

Dude has put Douglas' story up as one of his Picks from the Past for this month.(Jan17). Chilling in its plausibility, the first time I read it was soon after reading Nigel Gordon's 'The Compassionate, The Merciful'. The two together make a powerful reminder that those who claim they have God and Right on their side , probably don't and aren't and are bastardising religion for their own ends. Nigel's story : http://awesomedude.com/nigel_gordon/compassionate__the_merciful.htm

Dude's Picks from the Past for this month (Jan 17) includes the novel 'Heart and Hooves, an Urban Fantasy' by AJ It's not normally my sort of thing but I did enjoy it when I first found this story - and I have read it more than once. However if you haven't read it before I would recommend reading AJ's two short stories, 'After Hours' & 'Cultural Differences' first as they set up the background of how three of the leading characters got together. Finally, has AJ ever hinted at visiting with the Clan of the Red Circle again? links: http://awesomedude.com/aj/after_hours.htm http://awesomedude.com/aj/cultural_differences.htm http://awesomedude.com/aj/HNH/index.htm

For those of you who haven't worked out where the story is in the archive hopefully this link will work http://www.codeysworld.com/nick-james/the-christmas-letter.html No, you didn't fail Mike. You put us on guard without making a spoiler and drew attention to a story that is a reflection of the reality of Christmas for many families. I read it as a story with a background of Christmas and not as a Christmas Story and found the ending in the right place, given the author is challenging us to think of what the boy has just discovered about life. Joyous and uplifting, maybe not. Let's just say to read it is to take time-out from the surfeits of the materialistic way Christmas is celebrated in many countries these days. Colin, thank you for furtling around in the archive and bringing it back for us to read. Finally my own seasonal greetings to all who visit Codey's World & Awesome Dude.

When I tried to refresh the home page or navigate around the site I was getting a blank white screen. Cured it by using a search engine to find the site at the new servers and relinked 'favourites'. I had to do this for both iPad and Win7 desktop. As a supplementary: I find I get the blank screen again if I try to access Camy's stories from the author list (which point to Camysgaff site) but can get to them through the link in the featured author box (which appears to point to a part of the AD site).

I am put in mind of a SciFi short story I read 35-40 years ago. The premise was that Weathermen could control the weather by manipulating Sunspots amongst other means, and would take requests for particular types of weather for specific reasons. Eg ensure crops don't fail. Then comes a request from California from someone (child I think) suffering from something nasty, incurable and fatal to see snow before he dies. Although at the limits of their abilities, the Weathermen take on the challenge to create a small localised snowstorm. Sorry I can't remember the title or the author. So Dude and Cole, if you want to see snow, hang in there for a few centuries until the technology catches up. Might be easier to go visit Gee though. I'm sure he, and every other Canadian would be willing to share.

It is a good story. I like Mark Peter's reports from Thompsonville. I confess to having read them elsewhere. Has anybody had any contact with him lately as his website does not appear to have been updated since February 2016?

Just so Cole doesn't feel I am getting at him: Cole, he asked for Christmas verse But got from Pedro something worse Remember, though, it must be said That Yorkie Scotsman takes a-bed His own wee padlocked barren purse.

I made a journey today along a boring motorway when I got home i wrote down this pome that I'd thought of to pass time away: UNCLE COLE Old King Cole Was a merry old soul And a merry old soul was he. Uncle Cole Has a different goal For the writing fraternity. He graciously helps Us scribbling whelps So our stories do make some sense. He corrects the mistakes That each of us makes And ensures we use the right tense. We know he does frown If we verb a noun But still checks each declension and case, So when he is done Our readers have fun As there's never a word out of place. It's willingly generously Done gratis, for free... (I think) But his nephews four (or more) Are not so sure With generous they would agree. They find problematic This fixation grammatic And think he's being obtuse, It's just a good wheeze A veritable tease A really blatant excuse, When their list of requires And Christmas desires Is rejected for being verbose. For they think there's a stash Of unspent cash He keeps exception'ly close Oh, he rewards them with praise In non-fiscal ways Including his magical pies But he says things are tight Though maybe, just might We all have a pleasant surprise And his present be more than a cent.

I seem to remember hearing of a society based in the Lost Colonies working for a return of the prodigals to the bosom of Mother Britain. I wonder if membership applications have increased since the elections?

I couldn't comment: I might have lived in Yorkshire for 45 of my 62 years but I am not a Yorkshireman, I was born elsewhere. I have just about qualified for my passport. Anyway, Mihangel, you did forewarn your readers in the preamble and it was an amusing way to illustrate that there must have been regional Latin accents in the Roman Empire. After all look at the variation across the British Empire and its lost colonies. Now what would the Latin spoken along Sarn Helen have been like?

i have been enlightened and entertained. Like the best tutors, Mihangel, has shown us a new slant on something that we take for granted, explaining in a clear manner (*), then following up with a delightful tale to illustrate the how and the why, piqueing our interest with a number of ideas in other fields of study along the way. He also shows us that the ancients were a clever bunch. Despite the limitations of the technology available at the time, they were able to come up with an intellectually elegant solution to what is a complicated problem: the division of a day into twelve daylight and twelve night hours no matter how long the period of daylight, showing understanding of the movement of the earth in relation to the sun through a year. Thank you Mihangel (*) OK I will admit I did have to read the exposition more than once before I was satisfied I had grasped how things worked.

Seriously though. I think amongst other reasons both Brexit and the U.S. vote went the way they did because the electorate are fed up with career politicians who have never had a proper job (straight from student debating soc to research assistant to party candidate) and have no concept of the challenges most of us face. For my money nobody should be allowed to stand for national (and state for readers across the pond) office unless they have had a non political job for at least five years.

You may not need the U-haul. I gather there is a move for California to cede from the Union. http://www.ksat.com/news/elections/as-a-trump-presidency-awaits-some-toy-with-idea-of-a-califrexit Would Oregon and Washinton State follow suit? You could join Canada without moving. Close off the passes in the Rockies and you've even got your bit of the wall that Nigel suggested.

there is unseasonably early snow outside this morning, but I shall have to get ready for that stroll in the garden!

Chapter 28 has now posted on Castle Roland and this excellent story has come to an end. Thank you, Arthur. It says End at the bottom of the last page but there are strong hints that there might be a book two at some time in the future. If there is I shall have the enjoyment of reading book one again before moving on to Thomas' new adventures.

The final chapter of book three about the Leopards has now posted. Only thing to do -put some tinnies in the eskie by the side of the chair, sit down and watch the footie this arvo then start book one again. Thank you Graeme for this excellent well crafted story, seasoned with just enough background information to to enlighten pommies (and others) about Aussie Rules football and the professional set up. I will miss the guys. Unless or until you can be persuaded to send reports from Lilydale again next season.

I think this was from the satirical radio show 'The News Quiz' on Friday 30 September. It should be available on BBC i-Playerfor the next couple of weeks. Try:http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07wm6jj The U.S. bit is around 6 minutes 40 in. I don't really like Frankie Boyle, but here he and the other contributors' comments are on the money. warning: not for strong language, but for strong regional accents!

Has anyone else had a go at the South African English Quiz? I managed 9/12 although I had only heard of three or four of them before and had to take a calculated guess on the rest. I also want to know how well Graeme and Des did on the Australian test....