Merkin
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Posts posted by Merkin
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Good news, Mike, hope all goes well. Watch out for teenagers in the middle of the night!
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Chapter 3. I wish I had an Uncle Bernard.
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Yes, Biff, I do want to read more. What you have teased us with is well-written and filled with both unique detail and strong characterization that lead me into the story. I want to find out what happens next. I'll look forward to seeing more of it.
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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? -
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.
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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.
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Perhaps we Yanks should set test questions using 'get-got-gotten' when trying to unmask British spies amongst us.
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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.
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5 hours ago, Cole Parker said:
That's another term, savoury, that you guys use frequently and it means something else over here. To us savory is an adjective, never a noun, and it designates a good flavor, often a sharp or strong one. Also, we spell it correctly. 🙄
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.
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Although I can be tempted by Spotted Dick, my very favorite is Sticky Toffee Pudding.
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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.
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6 hours ago, Bruin Fisher said:
They used to do a ring doughnut with a dollop of ice-cream, chocolate sauce and crushed nuts that I was very fond of.
Let me get this straight, Bruin. You didn't go to the Wimpy Burger for the burgers, but for the doughnut?
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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.
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Now that is just wrong.
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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.
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Very special.
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Hooray! Exactly as I remember, and now I can read it again. Woo hoo, to quote a three-toed flightless bird.
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On 12/25/2021 at 5:18 PM, Nigel Gordon said:
Not sure where to put this post, we could do with a find story subject.
I am trying to find a story which I am certain is on AD. It is based in a public school which I is in the north of England or might even be in Scotland. The main character in the story befriends a new boy who has been sent to the school as somewhere to hide him. The boy is taken ill and the main character's intervention saves him. The story ends on a farm in the South of England in a shoot out.
I read this story years ago and it impressed me with its plot line, which I recommended to a friend. He's asked me about it and I can't now remember its title or the author. Can anybody help?
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?
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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
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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.
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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?
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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?
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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
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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.
Scan to donate
"Being Johnny" by Nigel Gordon
in Readers Rule!
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Chapter six up and getting all legal on us. Since I've never had more than two cents to rub together, reading about all that money is a treat.