Devi Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 (edited) Mines always been Debby Duck - when i was 2 years old i ran into a lake nearly drowning, and aging my parents 50 years so my mum says . Scary back then but we laugh about it now. Its stuck with me my whole life, even my friends call me that. Edited September 13, 2013 by Devi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted September 13, 2013 Author Share Posted September 13, 2013 I think we should call you Pops, not in a Grandaddy sense of course, more a Cake Pops sense... I'm agreeable to that I think that could work.. Pops, how are you? I'm very well thanks Athena .. hope you are too Some very odd nicknames there .. I think I'm getting off lightly compared. Alan has a range of unflattering nicknames for me .. Pansy .. which refers to the fact that I'm clumsy .. Bertha .. which either refers to wild hair or just my plain lock-you-in-the-attic type bonkersness and Katie K-Boom .. which refers to my terrible temper when roused It takes a lot to make me blow .. just don't get me on the subject of extendable dog leads Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 Pops, can I just ask.. what is it about extendable dog leads that makes you k-boom? As a dog owner I personally detest them, they are dangerous to the dog and passers by, and are as much use as a chocolate teapot. I'm guessing you may have had a bad tangly experience. Please don't talk about it if Alan is likely to suffer later... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 We had a dog for about 10 months some years ago (long story). I couldn't let him off the lead (he wouldn't come back to me) so an extendible one was the only way he got a bit of freedom when I walked him. I can't say I ever had any bad experiences using it - although I couldn't do recall with him I could make him sit and stay, which is what I did if I needed to reel him in. We were lucky that we had access to a private field, so I would walk him there when possible, but I couldn't take him there every day. My husband could get him to come back so Charlie got a bit more freedom when he went out with Peter. As much as I loved him, all-in-all it wasn't a good experience for me (I'm not really a dog person - I like other people's dogs, but had never had one before we got Charlie) and sadly not one I feel I could ever repeat. He was a cutie though and we were gutted when we had to rehome him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 Poppyshake I just can't imagine you "blowing"! But I guess we all have our things that stretch us too far now and again. I wondered if you ever got mad over food failures, ie a cake not working out ...or is food something you are philisophical about and never get upset? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted September 13, 2013 Author Share Posted September 13, 2013 Where do I begin? I take a long walk almost every day and it's getting to be a real hazard avoiding the extendable dog leads .. I would have paid more attention to skipping at school if I'd have known it would be so useful in midlife (midlife??? .. I must be going to be older than methusela ) I grew up with dogs so I'm not scared of them but I am wary .. this week alone a dog has bounded towards me yapping .. on an EL (can't use the words any longer ... I'm beginning to heat up ) .. and put his front paws up my leg .. not long ago I had to walk along the street with a dog hanging onto my coat for a few feet (I'm not an animal hater .. but if that had been one of my spotty coats .. that dog would have been toast ) .. and always the owner laughs as if I've been blessed with a great favour. I do my best in withering looks but Al tells me they're rubbish On route to the park where I always walk I pass a house where the owner tethers her dog .. on an EL .. to some sort of fixture on the front of her house .. the dog came ferociously barking and yapping towards me the first time I encountered him/her? and stopped within about two inches of my ankles. I nearly had a heart attack but repetition hasn't made it any easier .. I still invariably jump into the hedge like Hyacinth Bucket I have dreams of placing a juicy chop just one inch outside its range You get a lot of these problems with dogs off leads too but the El's have bought in an added feature .. tangling!! I can't count the times I've been tripped up because (by staying on the path ) I have somehow come between dog and owner I've got no beef with the dogs of course .. it's the inattentive owners and as usual it's only a few but it's making the walks very unrelaxing .. they're more like obstacle courses now. I think the owners should have to pass an EL test .. like a driving test .. only they should be watched in secret because otherwise they will all be mirror, signal, manoeuvring like butter wouldn't melt So anyway .. yeah .. that's my view (and you're lucky you didn't have to hear the accompanying noises I was making when typing it up ) Janet .. I totally trust you with an EL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted September 13, 2013 Author Share Posted September 13, 2013 Poppyshake I just can't imagine you "blowing"! But I guess we all have our things that stretch us too far now and again. I wondered if you ever got mad over food failures, ie a cake not working out ...or is food something you are philisophical about and never get upset? My temper is legendary .. I'm not good at sounding off in general so when I do ... watch out (and I'll remember then every little thing that ever bugged me ) Most of the time I do my best to keep a lid on it. I don't lose my temper with food but I do get incredibly stressed and emotional about it .. and can sometimes end up whimpering in a dark room Alan loves his food but there's always a mix of fear and pleasure in his eyes if I say I'm going to bake I always forget my disasters though .. every time I think it's going to be brilliant. Janet is coming to lunch soon and she will probably notice that I'm wearing more of a wild eyed look than is usual with me .. when people come, everything I've ever learnt about cooking flies out of the window and it's as if I've never seen an oven before Also .. I HATE being over hot .. and cooking always makes me hot and cooking with stress makes me even hotter .. it's a lethal combination. I bet Janet's glad she said she'd come now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 I am glad. We're both looking forward to coming. We'd be happy with a sandwich for lunch - we're coming to see you, not assess your catering. I'm sure whatever lunch is will be lovely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted September 13, 2013 Author Share Posted September 13, 2013 Awww .. thanks Janet I will do my best not to be stressed I feel quite calm about it at the moment .. let's just keep that thought going It'll be lovely to see you anyway xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 (edited) Poppyshake's 133 books You Must Read Before You Die List (with further apologies for any you've read that you think suck I'd be very grateful if you didn't point them out )What a great list - definitely worth a serious browse, especially given how many of those we've both read. I agree with your rating on so many of them. Indeed, you include five of my top six (although the one missing is my number one! - A Month in the Country). There'll always be some differences of opinion , but they are definitely in a minority, with only two fiction that I positively dislike (Gatsby and Diary of a Nobody). We do differ rather more on non-fiction (I'm no fan of Bryson's travel books!), but Hermione Lee's biography of Virginia Woolf is up in the top three biographies I've read to date, and the Susan Hill book is high in my bibliophilia favourites. Edited September 13, 2013 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted September 13, 2013 Author Share Posted September 13, 2013 What a great list - definitely worth a serious browse, especially given how many of those we've both read. I agree with your rating on so many of them. Indeed, you include five of my top six (although the one missing is my number one! - A Month in the Country). There'll always be some differences of opinion , but they are definitely in a minority, with only two fiction that I positively dislike (Gatsby and Diary of a Nobody). We do differ rather more on non-fiction (I'm no fan of Bryson's travel books!), but Hermione Lee's biography of Virginia Woolf is up in the top three biographies I've read to date, and the Susan Hill book is high in my bibliophilia favourites. Thanks Willoyd I haven't read A Month in the Country yet .. but I've put it on my wishlist over at Goodreads. I know Bill is not to everyone's taste ... you wouldn't be alone in disliking his books or The Great Gatsby .. but I'm surprised about The Diary of a Nobody .. what was it you disliked? .. was it too silly? I do like silliness in books .. I love PG Wodehouse for instance (and am only now wondering why I haven't included any of his?) and I quite prized Mistress Masham's Repose for it's absurdity but not everyone agreed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 (edited) .. but I'm surprised about The Diary of a Nobody .. what was it you disliked? .. was it too silly? I do like silliness in books .. Difficult to describe - I just found it very unfunny. But I often have a problem with books that are supposed to be funny! I love PG Wodehouse for instance (and am only now wondering why I haven't included any of his?) I find him OK - the last couple have been 3 stars (out of 6). Everybody seems to find him very funny, but yes, here I think you've hit the nail on the head, in that they all seem a bit silly and a bit obvious - too much so to really enjoy (I found the same of The Diary of A Provincial Lady too).and I quite prized Mistress Masham's Repose for it's absurdity but not everyone agreed Loved it!! Humour is an odd one; I suppose it's because it's very personal. There just aren't many books that I find funny - most of my humour comes through radio (although comedy on Radio Four has for me nosedived in recent years, with the odd exception), or theatre. The humour in books almost always appears to be forced. (All of this probably says more about my sense of humour than anything else!). Edited September 14, 2013 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 I'm not 100% sure what you mean by extendable dog lead, Pops, but it must be annoying what you describe! When we walk our dogs, we never let them get close to strangers, we always keep them close to us when there's other people. Not that they wouldn't behave themselves, but we think it's the right and polite thing to do. I'm sorry to hear the people aren't that polite where you live and walk . It makes sense how you feel, I would find that experience annoying too. @ Janet I'm sorry to hear the experience wasn't for you. The dog on the photo looks very beautiful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 I have been in the same situation with E.L's Pops, but with them being wrapped around my dogs legs which as you imagine can cause all sorts of problems, especially if it happens to be Obi who can be a little edgy when put into situations he isn't uncomfortable with. The worst was when someone thought it would be better to let go of said lead when they got tangled, of course that made it worse as it acted like one of those extending tape measures completely freaking the dogs out! Luckily Obi is just about portable (if you have a strong back! ) so I lifted him up and out before someone got hurt. I think you'll find that most of these people use them as they would have even less control of their dogs without them! I know the owners at puppy/dog trainers get given a stern lecture if they turn up to training with them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted September 15, 2013 Author Share Posted September 15, 2013 Difficult to describe - I just found it very unfunny. But I often have a problem with books that are supposed to be funny! I find him OK - the last couple have been 3 stars (out of 6). Everybody seems to find him very funny, but yes, here I think you've hit the nail on the head, in that they all seem a bit silly and a bit obvious - too much so to really enjoy (I found the same of The Diary of A Provincial Lady too).Loved it!! Humour is an odd one; I suppose it's because it's very personal. There just aren't many books that I find funny - most of my humour comes through radio (although comedy on Radio Four has for me nosedived in recent years, with the odd exception), or theatre. The humour in books almost always appears to be forced. (All of this probably says more about my sense of humour than anything else!). Humour is very personal it's true. I haven't read all of PG Wodehouse's by any means .. in fact I've read very few and know them mostly from the audio's and the TV series with Fry and Laurie (and I mainly liked the first two series .. it went off a bit after that). I'm afraid I do often like silly and obvious though. I listen to Radio Four Extra and they have a lot of classic comedy on there .. for the most part funny. I quite like Count Arthur Strong on the radio but wasn't sure it transferred well to TV. My mum and dad practically kill themselves laughing at Mrs Brown's Boys but I hardly ever crack a smile over it .. it's most odd. Miranda is silly and obvious but I do love her .. again though I think it might wear thin over time. I'm not 100% sure what you mean by extendable dog lead, Pops, but it must be annoying what you describe! When we walk our dogs, we never let them get close to strangers, we always keep them close to us when there's other people. Not that they wouldn't behave themselves, but we think it's the right and polite thing to do. I'm sorry to hear the people aren't that polite where you live and walk . It makes sense how you feel, I would find that experience annoying too. Extendable leads are like ordinary leads .. except they're between about 3m - 8m long and retractable .. meaning the owner can keep the dog on the lead but the dog can roam fairly freely as if it were off the lead. This works okay with sensible owners but often they don't pay attention and this extra long lead can easily trip up passersby (and from what chalie says other dogs as well). Like I said before, they are in the minority (though there's a worrying increase I think) but still there's enough of them to make walking around the park hazardous. I get jumpy thinking about it but still go most days. I have been in the same situation with E.L's Pops, but with them being wrapped around my dogs legs which as you imagine can cause all sorts of problems, especially if it happens to be Obi who can be a little edgy when put into situations he isn't uncomfortable with. The worst was when someone thought it would be better to let go of said lead when they got tangled, of course that made it worse as it acted like one of those extending tape measures completely freaking the dogs out! Luckily Obi is just about portable (if you have a strong back! ) so I lifted him up and out before someone got hurt. I think you'll find that most of these people use them as they would have even less control of their dogs without them! I know the owners at puppy/dog trainers get given a stern lecture if they turn up to training with them! I hope you gave them a good ticking off chalie I sometimes say things .. like once when a dog came towards me on an EL barking ferociously and the owner was too busy to notice at first that it had reached me and was growling .. I shouted out 'I'm not impressed' .. apparently though this was very funny I have noticed that these leads are causing a lot of dog confrontation too .. maybe because as you say some of these owners haven't control and their dogs should be on a tighter rein. I like to see dogs playing and I don't mind them padding towards me but I hate them rushing at me in a highly anxious state (both me and the dog ) and I find this happens more with dogs on El's than it ever does with dogs off the leash. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted September 15, 2013 Author Share Posted September 15, 2013 Fiction Ben Aaronovitch - Rivers of London series NEW Joe Abercrombie - The First Law Trilogy Charles Dickens - A Tale of Two Cities Jasper Fforde - The Thursday Next series Joseph Heller - Catch 22 John Irving - A Prayer for Owen Meany Kazuo Ishiguro - Never Let Me Go Stephen Kelman - Pigeon English Barbara Kingsolver - The Poisonwood Bible Lauren Liebenberg - The Voluptuous Delights of Peanut Butter & Jam Karen Maitland - Company of Liars Hilary Mantel - Bring Up the Bodies NEW Wolf Hall - Hilary Mantel - Wolf Hall Daphne du Maurier - My Cousin Rachel NEW Toni Morrison - Beloved Paul Murray - Skippy Dies Lynn Shepherd - Tom All-Alones NEW Kathryn Stockett - The Help Donna Tartt - The Secret History Young Adult Stephen Chbosky - The Perks of being a Wallflower A.A. Milne - Winnie the Pooh Mary Norton - The Borrowers P.L. Travers - Mary Poppins NEW Non-fiction Stephen Fry - The Fry Chronicles NEW Brian Keenan - An Evil Cradling Sylvia Plath - The Journals of Sylvia Plath Oh dear It has come to my attention that .. despite saying the above books were my faves .. I don't actually own hard copies of them. This is a bit sad because I like to be surrounded by my fave books and when you think I've still got a copy of Madame Bov hanging around the place and I loathe it .. it's a bit of a shocker. There are exceptions, in that I have got Sylvia Plath's Journal .. the lovely frankie sent it to me .. but I'm wanting to get the unedited version and I've also got most of The Rivers of London series and two of the three First Law books but I think, truth be told, I only own two of the Thursday Next's As for the others there's not a sign of them in the house .. not even the beloved Mantel's Now this is because I've either borrowed them from the library or friends or downloaded them from Audible. It doesn't matter of course because reading them is the thing .. not owning them but all the same ... one likes to put one's hand out and pluck a good book off the shelf every now and then. I do it for comfort when I've read a bad book .. I did it with Jonathan Strange & Mr Norell the other week .. after reading Death Comes to Pemberley I think. I got it off the shelf and sunk myself into the first couple of chapters and topped up my tank with some good fiction I need to put this right .. there's Penelope taking up shelf space that could and should be put to better use. It's scandalous that there's no A Tale of Two Cities to be found here. I'm ashamed What if, when Janet comes, she does an inventory? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 (edited) Yes, I should listen to R4 Extra more often. On R4, I enjoy the current affairs comedies, like The Now Show and The News Quiz. Love I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue. I think the only comedy drama I currently enjoy on R4 is Cabin Pressure. I find most of the rest on R4 so bad, I have to turn it off, something we never do with radio. On R4 Extra, my favourite is probably The Navy Lark. It's the same on tele though - comfortably the funniest of the British programmes are the vintage Dad's Army and Yes Minister, although Outnumbered can be good. The Americans I'm sorry to say, are far better at writing comedy drama at present: Big Bang Theory is compulsory watching amongst the whole family, not least because offspring and I both relate to the characters (offspring is even a physicist!). Otherwise, it's all somewhat dreadful at present. Mind you, I never liked Tony Hancock either!! Edited September 15, 2013 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted September 16, 2013 Author Share Posted September 16, 2013 (edited) Yes, I should listen to R4 Extra more often. On R4, I enjoy the current affairs comedies, like The Now Show and The News Quiz. Love I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue. I think the only comedy drama I currently enjoy on R4 is Cabin Pressure. I find most of the rest on R4 so bad, I have to turn it off, something we never do with radio. On R4 Extra, my favourite is probably The Navy Lark. It's the same on tele though - comfortably the funniest of the British programmes are the vintage Dad's Army and Yes Minister, although Outnumbered can be good. The Americans I'm sorry to say, are far better at writing comedy drama at present: Big Bang Theory is compulsory watching amongst the whole family, not least because offspring and I both relate to the characters (offspring is even a physicist!). Otherwise, it's all somewhat dreadful at present. Mind you, I never liked Tony Hancock either!! I don't really laugh at Tony Hancock either .. occasionally but not often. I love the Navy Lark and Dad's Army in particular and still laugh though I've heard/seen them all a million times. I haven't caught many of the new British comedy's (the David Walliams or Jack Whitehall school ones for instance) but I don't think this will go down as a particularly golden age for British comedy. I sort of gave up with Outnumbered though loved it initially .. once the kids got older it wasn't quite as spontaneous. I do like Hugh Dennis though. Edited September 16, 2013 by poppyshake Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted September 16, 2013 Author Share Posted September 16, 2013 I really need to do some reviews .. I'm so far behind. My thinking is that I should just get some thoughts down and try and cut down on the waffle .. I know what you're thinking .. 'good luck with that' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 As you were talking about comedy programmes, and knowing your fondness for him, thought you might be interested in this ... Mitchell and Webb set to return to BBC Radio 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted September 16, 2013 Author Share Posted September 16, 2013 The Girl in the Polka Dot Dress by Beryl Bainbridge Synopsis: In the summer of 1968, Rose sets off for the United States from Kentish Town; in her suitcase a polka-dot dress and a one-way ticket. Together with the sinister man known only as Washington Harold, she goes in search of the charismatic and elusive Dr Wheeler - the man Rose credits with rescuing her from a terrible childhood, and against whom Harold nurses a silent grudge. As the odd couple journey across an America on the brink of paranoid disintegration, their journey mirrors that of Robert Kennedy's presidential campaign. As they draw ever closer to the elusive Dr Wheeler, one hot day in June at the Ambassador Hotel in LA, their search finally reaches its terrible climax. Review: I'm sure you'll share in my disappointment that the polka dot dress hardly featured Obviously this was one of the main things that drew me to the book and I never really got over the loss of it. I found it to be a difficult story to get into actually .. it's deliberately cloak and dagger .. you're left in the dark as the tension mounts. For the longest time you're not really sure why Rose and Harold are searching out the elusive Dr Wheeler. People act very strangely .. I know I can talk but really I couldn't fathom them out at all. I think I know where it was all leading ... the last few pages are riveting but alas .. it's not quite finished Beryl died before completing and though she had left notes they weren't added (to this edition anyway). I quite liked it in that she had taken a real life event (Robert Kennedy's assassination) and woven a story around it (based on hearsay etc). Still, fancy buying a polka dot dress and not wearing it much 3/5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 Awww .. thanks Janet I will do my best not to be stressed I feel quite calm about it at the moment .. let's just keep that thought going It'll be lovely to see you anyway xx Having just read your other thread I feel I ought to mention (if I haven't already) that I'm not a fan of blackberries. Sorry... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted September 16, 2013 Author Share Posted September 16, 2013 As you were talking about comedy programmes, and knowing your fondness for him, thought you might be interested in this ... Mitchell and Webb set to return to BBC Radio 4 Yes, yes, yes! Fantastic! .. I love them both. Thanks Claire I'm slightly confused about the first quote from David though .. '"I love doing radio, mainly because you don't have to do the actions. David does the actions anyway." .. surely Rob must have said that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted September 16, 2013 Author Share Posted September 16, 2013 Having just read your other thread I feel I ought to mention (if I haven't already) that I'm not a fan of blackberries. Sorry... You did mention it Janet .. don't worry Our special Saturday will be blackberry free Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 You're right, it doesn't make sense. Just had a look at the press release about it, and it's much clearer! http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2013/mitchell-and-webb-sound.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.