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Merkin

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Everything posted by Merkin

  1. I applaud this incredible effort, Rutabaga. Having the thumbnail bios and the chapter reference will be invaluable. Thanks. BTW, Nigel, don't you plan on posting twice a week?
  2. Aside from the use of Cockney to confuse that particular mystery, Cole, I believe Dick Francis made a real effort to give his American readers access to his work by taking time within his novels to explain British quirks and customs. Once he became famous he resided in Florida and rarely returned to England except to deposit his cheques.
  3. I so admire how Cole has built toward this moment, chapter by chapter, one painful revelation after another, like digging away at a scabbed-over wound.
  4. Perhaps we Yanks should set test questions using 'get-got-gotten' when trying to unmask British spies amongst us.
  5. There is very little room behind my ear these days what with my eyeglasses, hearing aids, and now the damn Covid masks. Consequently I forget about almost everything.
  6. As is the word 'sweet'. For shame, Cole, I thought you'd be caught up on that distinction between meat-based and sugar-based treats--haven't you been watching The Great British Baking Show ? At any rate, this discussion appears to be endlessly misunderstood, and I think any good English/Irish/Scots cookbook would clarify everything for the Yanks among us. Plus I think the Brits have been having us on just a bit.
  7. Although I can be tempted by Spotted Dick, my very favorite is Sticky Toffee Pudding.
  8. British writers appear to have a lot more nuance to trudge through than we Yanks do. I think a major concern for them would be maintaining consistency for character class, rank, or origin throughout a story.
  9. Let me get this straight, Bruin. You didn't go to the Wimpy Burger for the burgers, but for the doughnut?
  10. When I was a kid we often called a burger a 'wimpy' and I believe it was in honor of the Popeye character. To learn that there was an actual chain of burger bars named Wimpy is outstanding.
  11. Pay no attention to Camy, Cole. That salad and many like it are served all over the South. The classic version of it is the Waldorf Salad, using apples and raisins and celery. The main controversy about these salads seems to be whether to use Duke's mayonnaise or some other brand. Since I grew up in New England I prefer to use Hellman's and as a result my fruit salads are often shunned at local covered-dish suppers here in Virginia.
  12. Hooray! Exactly as I remember, and now I can read it again. Woo hoo, to quote a three-toed flightless bird.
  13. I, too, remember that story Nigel--only bits and pieces, however, and sadly not enough to help you with your query. However maybe between the two of us we can jog someone else's memory. The additional detail I remember: the fugitive student is being hidden from an uncle in Africa who wants to take over the family lands and fortune after a dreadful slaughter of the new boy's family. The boy is the only survivor. Our main character befriends him and becomes his protector, a role enhanced by the main character's involvement with the school's cadet corps (? what is it called in England?) and and this leads later to identification of the new boy's pursuers while they are on a cadet training exercise. Later in the story both boys are at the main character's rather lavish family farm while the rest of the family are away, and they are forced to defend the holding from a team of assassins deployed to kill the new boy. I think there may also be a later scene set in Africa... it's all very hazy, and I'm somewhat led to believe I read it on a site like IOMfAtS. I hope that helps to add some pertinent detail to your query?
  14. Alan, your take on the life of boys is always unique, and the results are stories that are unpredictable. I love it. Thanks for this one. James
  15. Loved it, Camy. Especially the juicy dialect you've come up with to set the tone for a broken end time. The ending is masterful. A great flash.
  16. Very interesting. This is not nuanced piano playing. How old is Olivier now? He's been subjected to the camera's eye for a good while--do I detect a little bit of push-back?
  17. Thanks for the suggestion, Nigel. I'm reading it now, and enjoying what is for me an unfamiliar cultural perspective on familiar themes. It's quite complicated, isn't it?
  18. Out of Stock Christmas comes but once a year— your credit card has nothing to fear for credit lines are infinitely long and pleas to buy are in every song. The debt piles up and threatens to sink household budgets and drive you to drink while lending mongers wave new offers designed to tie you to their coffers At least until another season of hyped-up giving exceeds all reason, and increases every obligation for the citizens of this sad nation, All of whom seem to have turned away from the real basis for this holiday: how can Peace on Earth still be sought when Amazon says it can’t be bought? --Merkin
  19. Chris James has always been noted for his thorough fact-finding and authentic basis to his stories, and it's lovely to get this affirmation from you, Rutabaga. I always enjoyed my forays into Rehoboth Beach when I was a young D.C. dandy.
  20. In the U.S. Navy, the coming (sill) of a passageway watertight door is very high and is known as a 'knee knocker'. It has led to many injuries to careless sailors passing through--as has the very low overhead.
  21. John Williams made his mark on the Boston Pops decades ago but luckily the brahmins in charge at Symphony Hall and WCRB/WGBH still know which side their bread is buttered on and the classics prevail. The current camel nudging it’s nose under the tent at the Pops is Celtic music, somewhat strident at the present moment but I have great confidence that the baton will swing back as it always does in staid New England.
  22. That review makes me want to read the book, so job accomplished, James K.
  23. I quote from Alan's last paragraph: 'The entire family loved the Cape and the ocean. None of them ever left, living out their lives surrounded by family and love.' I love reading about the Cape, and I wish I could also claim that, once I had found it, I had never left. Thank you, Alan, for an inspiring story.
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