NHS

On Wednesday it was the 60th anniversary of the founding of the National Health Service in the UK.
I celebrated by being ill.

I went to the Admissions Unit at my local hospital and said,"It was me. I did it."

They asked me to describe the symptoms. I said they were a dysfunctional American cartoon family.

Gutter

"We're all stars, but some of us are looking in the gutter."





Look, I know this isn't very interesting, but it's either this or lots of E's, OK?

Eee eeeee ee eee ee eee

E ee eee ee Eeee Eee ee eee eeeee-eee eeee ee.
Eee ee e ee eee eeeee ee eeee eeeeeeeee ee eee.
"E ee eeee ee eeeeeee ee ee eeee?"
"Ee eee eeeeeeee ee eeeeee!"

Eee ee eeeeeeeeee eee eee eeeeeeee e!!!


Eee eee ee eee (ee e eee eeeee ee)




E

George II

I found a coin from the era of George II. He reigned from 1727 to 1760.

They say that behind every old coin is a blurred sink and that's certainly true in this case.

London Town

I've been to London, which is a large city in the south-east of England.

It took less than two hours to get there by train.
I'm old enough to remember the days when long distance travel meant
weeks spent sitting on a goose, so the railway is a great improvement.

In London I saw ...




A fruit stall

and a shop selling shoes*




*I think it sold bags as well.

Some Trees

If you've never seen a tree before, then this is what they look like.






A wild rose flower. Sorry about the insect.
It refused to leave and, as a stranger to the area, I had no legal power to compel it.

More uninteresting photos coming soon.

Mars Landing

This photo shows a place where no human eye has ever set foot.

To be honest, they're not missing much, are they?

More Garden Photos

Yes, it's time for some more photos from my garden.
The interesting thing about these photos is that they are almost exactly like the ones I put up last year.

So here we go ...


The damsel fly. A regular visitor.

They come every year but only for a few days.

And this is what they get up to.


These are pretty.







Forget-me-nots. A bit blurry. Sorry.

Black Cat

Lunaria

Lunaria Annua. Common name: Honesty.
Called Lunaria because the seed heads turn into white, papery discs that look like the moon. These are the discs while they are green and non-papery.

Chepstow Castle

I've been to Chepstow Castle and I'd like to announce it to the world.
It's very impressive. The oldest castle in Britain apparently. The Normans started building it in 1067, the year after the invasion of England. They hadn't got round to invading Wales then and the castle was to defend against the Welsh.

I didn't realise that it was so big; it goes on for miles. Like many old castles, it hasn't got a roof or any glass in the windows. Or any rooms. People didn't need such fripperies then; they were a tougher bunch altogether.

I did enjoy this excursion. I'm planning to go somewhere else later this year, so stay tuned for another exciting instalment.

From the attic

Views from my roof. Sorry they're a bit slopey; I've got that sort of roof.

"Trouble in the loft is always problematic"

Radio Comedy

The Secret World
Worth a listen. Only available till 6th May.

Fritillary

Well, I woke up this morning
there was a fritillary* at my door
Which wasn't too surprising
as I'd planted it there
six months before.



* Or possibly a maxillary capillary papillary capillarities bacillary, according to the spellchecker.

Captain Scarlet

Let us sing in praise of Captain Scarlet
A great hero of yore
The man who beat the Mysterons in 1964
He beat those bloomin' Mysterons
Though crafty they did be
And he caused their spaceships to explode
And fall into the sea

Now of all the superheroes bold
Captain Scarlet was a good 'un
He was a marvel to behold
Though his acting it was wooden
He saved the planet many times
From dark and evil things
And he moved so smooth and gracefully
You could hardly see the strings

Hymns Ancient and Stupid Vol.1

Captain Scarlet

The Distant Town



Church



Trees and Wall



Bit of Wall

Bilingual Bin Bag

I've been working undercover this week and managed to snap a bilingual bin bag in English and Welsh as it grazed in the garden.


Canllawiau Casglu Sbwriel

Os gwelwch yn dda...

* Rhowch eich bagiau sbwriel yn barod i'w casglu erbyn 7am ar y diwrnod casglu.
* Lapiwch bethau miniog yn ofalus.
* Gofalwch na fydd eich bag sbwriel yn rhy drwm.
* Ceisiwch wneud eich bagiau'n ddiogel rhag anifeiliaid a gwynt.

Peidiwch â gwneud y canlynol...

* Rhoi sbwriel gardd allan os nad yw yn y bagiau brown rhagdaledig. Am fwy o wybodaeth gweler Gwastraff Gerddi.
* Gadael eich bagiau ar gloddiau neu waliau etc.
* Gorlenwi'r bagiau ac achosi iddynt dorri.
* Rhoi nodwyddau neu wydr wedi torri heb ei lapio neu duniau etc. yn y sbwriel.
* Rhoi eitemau mawr neu swmpus allan i'w casglu (dros 15kg)

Sbwriel

Alley Cats

Someone has painted these cats on the wall in the alley.

Tree

My camera is repaired and to prove it I've taken a photo of a tree.

- by

Hallo chums!
As a keen "blogger" people often ask me: "Can you write out a list of all place names ending in -by in an area bounded north to south by the rivers Humber and Welland and east to west by the river Trent and the North Sea?"

I say - Of course. But first I'd like to explain where that particular suffix came from: It was all about 600 AD, I think, when the Vikings started a-lootin' and a-plunderin' the British Isles. At first they were content with burning monasteries and so on, but after a while they took a liking to the place and started settling.

In those days immigration restrictions were much more flexible. There were no "citizenship tests" or anything. Basically, if you wanted to settle down somewhere, you just killed the people already living there.

So, anyway, in moved the Vikings. There must have been a lot of them, as Northern England got to be called the Danelaw and loads of places there still have Viking names.

Which brings us to -by, that, I think, is Danish for a small village. This suffix mostly occurs in the North, hardly ever in the South, but for some reason there are loads of them in what you could call the East Midlands. Why is that? I don't know.

One interesting thing (well, depending on how you define 'interesting'), is that there are some places ending in -bey as well. This just mean they were settled by Norwegian Vikings and not Danish ones. Not a lot of people know that, and those that do often keep it to themselves.

Anyway, on with the show:

Starting from the Humber and moving south, I've found these -

Saxby All Saints; Bonby; Worlaby; Ulceby; Ulceby Skitter; Coleby; Thealeby; Appleby; Roxby; Normanby; Fockerby(other side of the Trent, but I couldn't resist);
Brumby and Ashby (parts of Scunthorpe); Scawby; Wrawby; Barnetby le Wold; Brocklesby; Keelby; Riby; Aylesby; Laceby; Irby upon Humber; Grimsby; Bigby; Somerby; Searby; Owmby; Grasby; Clixby; Aisby; Snitterby; Atterby; North Owersby; South Owersby; Kirkby; Usselby; Osgoodby; Kingerby; Walesby; Tealby; Claxby; Normanby le Wold; Thorganby; Beelsby; Barnoldby le Beck;
Ashby cum Fenby;Grainsby; North Thoresby; Utterby; Fotherby; North Ormsby; Little Grimsby; Caenby; Normanby (another one); Saxby; Owmby(another one);

Just for a spot of light relief, at this point there are two other villages: one is called Toft next Newton and the other is Newton by Toft.

Onwards and upwards...
Kexby; Brattleby; Bransby; Saxilby; Harby; Whisby; Swinderby; Thurlby; Wickenby; Fulnetby; Wragby; Langton by Wragby; Apley; Ranby; Sotby; Legsby; Goulceby; Asterby; Scamblesby; Fullerby; West Ashby; Thimbleby; Gautby; Digby; Ashby de la Launde; Coleby; Boothby Graffoe; Navenby;

Saltfleetby St Clements; Saltfleetby All Saints; Saltfleetby St Peter; Grimoldby; Manby; Maltby le Marsh; Beesby; Saleby; Markby; Swaby; Aby; Rigsby; South Thoresby; Ulceby; Bilsby; Thurlby; Anderby; Mumby; Willoughby; Sloothby; Skendleby; Scremby; Candlesby; Orby; Gunby; Ashby by Partney; Spilsby; Irby in the Marsh; Firsby; Ketsby; South Ormsby; Driby; Sutterby; Bag Enderby; Aswardby; Ashby Puerorum; Somersby; Salmonby; Fulletby; West Ashby; Hemingby

Lusby; Asgarby; Mavis Enderby; Hundleby; Raithby; Hareby; Moorby; Miningsby; Wood Enderby; Revesby; Kirkby on Bain; Tumby.

Then, apart from the town of Coningsby, they take a break ...

only to start again with a vengeance at Sleaford, where you get -

Ewerby; Kirkby le Thorpe; Asgarby; Aswarby; Spanby; Aunsby; Aisby;Oasby; Osbournby; Kelby; Silk Willoughby; North Rauceby; Dembleby; Haceby; Braceby; Humby; Boothby Pagnell; Ingoldsby; Corby Glen; Aslackby; Dowsby; Dunsby; Hacconby;

and finally Thurlby and Carlby, before they peter out at Peterborough.

They continue inland, through Melton Mowbray and Leicester, seeming to follow the course of the river Eye. That would figure, as the Vikings were into boats.

But I won't go there. I think it's important to set yourself limits when listing all places ending in -by.

I hope this work of great scholarship will add to the sum of human knowledge and, who knows, may even help us understand how the universe was created. Perhaps.