Ian Carmichael

191

In this blogposting...
*Three Things You Didn't Know You Didn't Know About Time
*AGM XIII
*Robinson's Grand Tour
*In Memoriam
Now, cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war...

THREE THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT TIME
*In Hindi, the word for ‘yesterday’ - kal - is the same as the word for ‘tomorrow’; and in Punjabi, parson means either the day before yesterday or the day after tomorrow
*In Balinese Indonesia, njepi is a national public holiday where everyone remains perfectly silent
*After the French Revolution in 1789, those wacky revolutionaries renamed all of the months; they called them things like floreal (‘month of flowers’), fructidor (‘month of fruit’), brumaire (‘month of fog’) and pluviose (‘month of rain’). The sarky and disrespectful English quickly nicknamed them all: showery, flowery, bowery, wheaty, heaty, sweety, slippy, nippy, drippy, freezy, wheezy and sneezy.

Now I don’t know about you, but I reckon these cheeky nicknames say just about all there is to say about the months of the year. So much so that, even though the Revolutionary Calendar was abolished by Napoleon in 1806, I think it should be revived under its British guise.

This could be the greatest step towards lunacy that we truckshunters have ever taken - and that’s saying a lot.

And what this all means in practise is that.....

AGM XIII
....will take place this upcoming Friday 19 of Wheezy at 1100 in the cafe of Newcastle’s Central Library. The consequences of your not being there could be serious, depending on what your excuse is. After all....

A splendid time is guaranteed for all.

ROBINSON’S GRAND TOUR
The first ports of call on my stately progress around this awe-inspiring continent of ours will be Brussels and Cologne; one of them famous for bureaucracy and a urinating statuette, the other for its eau. If you have any information, tips, wrinkles or advice about either of those two great cities, now is the time to fill me in. Otherwise, if I miss something I should have seen while I’m there, or if something goes horribly wrong, I will blame you.

Incidentally, to a mind as stubbornly wayward as mine, Cologne is an interesting place-name. Confusingly, in English we use the French name for the city; the natives call it Koln, which is an exact equivalent of the -coln in Lincoln. Both names date from Roman times and come from Latin colonia, ‘colony’. How interesting is that!

And...do sprouts really come from Brussels?

IN MEMORIAM
We truckshunters make it our business to mark the passing of people who were, at some point in their lives, household names but whose stars may perhaps have faded from the memory of the celeb generation.

Sir John Dankworth has died, aged 82. I’ve never been a fan of jazz; it’s like cricket - I just don’t get it and I’m deeply suspicious of people who do. Nevertheless, even to my untutored ear and tastes, the name of Johnny Dankworth (as most people still refer to him) is etched all over my youth. He and the adorable Cleo Laine always seemed to be popping up on the Billy Cotton Band Show and such; they did a great deal to popularise jazz, though not with me!

Another face that peppered my younger days was that of Ian Carmichael, who has died aged 89. He mostly played bumbling upper-class English twits in films like Private’s Progress, Brothers in Law and I’m All Right Jack, and on tv as Jeeves. He only broke free of the typecast in his later career, playing the suave and debonair Lord Peter Wimsey.

CONTACT ME
Post comments on this blog or email me: truckshunters@googlemail.com

THIS BLOG
Some people have had the enormous effrontery to voice highly critical comments about this blog. The two commonest are, firstly, that is does not appear regularly enough (yeah, right) and secondly, that when it does appear, it is too long.

So, purely on the grounds of experimentation and in the interests of brevity...

30 comments:

Kev said...

Ian,
A few years ago my wife and I holidayed in Belgium, using Bruges as a base. One of our excursions was to Waterloo.
We took the triain from Bruges to Brussels and then to Waterloo, expecting to find the site of the famous battle in the near vicinity. We were sadly mistaken. The battleground was miles away. It was akin to expecting South Shields to be on the doorstep of Newcastle central station.
It was well worth the visit but be warned it will take a lot longer than you think!

Sid said...

The sprout was first made popular in Belgium, where they've been grown since about the 13th century.
They grow well in the UK because our climate is usually ideal for them.
Much of the sprouts bad press occurs because they are often overcooked, leading to the distinct cooking smell.

Ian Robinson said...

Thanks Kev. Bruges is lovely, though, isn't it.
Sid...well (as I always had to keep saying on the Blue Bus) - I never knew THAT!!!

Maureen said...

And I never knew that! the month of Wheezy sounds wonderful to me, we must use it in our Truckshunter calendar. I would like to correct the impression given that one of our party thought the blogs were too long...NEVER! One only suggested that since so much research and work was being invested in the blog posting, it seemed to necessitate too much of a pause for the more avid of your readers. The suggestion was timidly and (one had hoped!) tactfully given, that smaller blogs be posted more often! Grovel over, am I forgiven before I decide whether I dare turn up tomorrow?

Leroy La Strange said...

Yoo Hoooo !!!!

Evidently the original colour of carrots is a kind of purple colour, They were sort of geneticaly modified donkeys of years ago to be the colour of the Dutch Royal household's national flag.... so there....... It was on teletext so it must be right.....

Have you been a naughty girl Maurreen ???

Leroy

Maureen said...

Apparently, but it does make life more interesting doesn't it?
I wonder who's turning up tomorrow then... there's always that element of surprise, as Ian says: A splendid time is guaranteed for all.
I used to love Ian Carmichael in Jeeves, sorry to hear of his demise, I hadn't heard.

Ian Robinson said...

Maureen...I deliberately DIDN'T say who my critic was. Identities should always be kept secret to protect the innocent. And, yes OF COURSE you're forgiven. I would forgive you ANYTHING.
Leroy...is that true about carrots?

Maureen said...

I don't mind owning up! Ta very much, keep me a seat!

Maureen said...

The noble carrot has long been known as an orange vegetable. Generations of people in the West have grown up believing that carrots are always orange. But as long ago as 2000 BC temple drawings from Egypt show a plant believed to be a purple carrot. It is also identified in the garden of the Egyptian King Merodach-Baladan in the eighth century BC.

In Roman times carrots were purple or white. By the 10th century purple carrots were grown in Afghanistan, Pakistan and northern Iran. Purple, white and yellow carrots were imported to southern Europe in the 14th century. Black, red and white carrots were also grown. Purple carrots were used as a clothing dye fro Afghan royalty.
More information can be obtained from the world carrot museum (!) at www.carrotmuseum.co.uk

Vivienne said...

Wow! Purple, black, red, white & yellow carrots! I didn't know that!!!

I hope you all have a super time tomorrow. As I mentioned earlier, I've a dental appointment tomorrow - two actually. I'm seeing the dental hygienist at 11.20, followed by work to replace a crown. My dentist set up a new practice in Lanchester, and I decided to transfer from Whickham. So I'll be too far away to meet up with you.

Ian, I hope you have a wonderful holiday, and take lots of photos to post on Truckshunters. I hope too, that you get a group photo tomorrow, so I can see what I've missed.

Lots of love to you all,

Vivienne xxx

Sid said...

Many seed company's still offer carrot seed that will produce carrots of different colours.
Should you want to grow some, all you need is a large container, (more than 8ins deep) and some fine soil/compost. The results are well worth the bother....trust me.

No grovelling needed Maureen, you're amongst friends.

Ellie said...

Drat! I'm stuck at home waiting for some furniture to be delivered. Have a good meeting everyone and I'm really sorry to miss it..
No matter the colour of the carrots, cook them in orange juice for a real treat x x x

Hildie said...

Morning Truckshunters .....
however did carrots get into this?!
What I'd like to know is - are they Brussels Sprouts or Brussel Sprouts? I've seen them referred to as both.
Vivienne and Ellie .... sorry you are not able to join us ... be assured we will raise a glass
(or a coffee cup) to absent friends. It may well be a glass, if Maureen has coke!

Maureen said...

Sorry that some of you won't be able to make it today, as Hildie says we'll raise a glass.
We've got snow here, hope that it's the right kind for the metro...

Maureen said...

The AGM was a resounding success as always. Ian was right you know, a splendid time is ALWAYS guaranteed for all! I think we all left feeling nearly as excited as Ian about his travels. So roll on Robinsons' Rambles...

Sid said...

There was soo much going on I never got the chance to ask what happens if one of his trains is cancelled or delayed. It happens so much here, it must be a worry.

NEV said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Nev said...

Good to see you all yesterday! Sid ...if his trains are cancelled or delayed, I will probably get the blame!

Leroy La Strange said...

Yo Ian,

I loved that posting Ian..... I've laughed for ages at your innocent question...."Leroy...is that true about carrots?".

How come it's the simple innocent thing that make people laugh ?....

Sid said...

Glad to see you here Nev. The info from the girls must have worked.

You would have laughed a lot yesterday Leroy, not only was Ian in fine form, but so was Ada. She is our new Honourary President.

Sid said...

For a moment Nev I thought you had a hand in Ians posting.
He had had critical comments about this blog. Ian listed the two commonest:
It does not appear regularly enough:
When it does appear it is too long.
Straight from the Typsy Duchess script.

Maureen said...

Well done Neville, we knew that you could do it! Now we're just looking out for J. Arthur to post! Sid, I was going to say that Neville did even better by appearing twice, but one comment has disappeared and I think that we are heading into Kenneth Williams territory so I'd better leave it there!

Hildie said...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY
VIVIENNE x x x

Hildie said...

Did you Truckshunters know it's
THINKING DAY? What shall we think about?

Sid said...

Happy Birthday Vivienne, hope your teeth are fine today.
Lots of love from the Bowermans.

Sid said...

Morning Hildie, I didn't know that! Now you've got me wondering again...

Hildie said...

Sid ..... I only know it's THINKING DAY because I used to be a "Sixer" in the BROWNIES. I was "Sixer" of the "Pixies" ....
that's quite important, you know,
and you're very honoured as I don't choose to tell too many people! It's the birthday of both Lord and Lady Baden Powell, and on this day we used to think about Brownies all over the world.

Sid said...

I'm impressed Hildie. Mind you, when you brought those Ambient sausage rolls to the Sage I thought that you had an element of the "Pixies" about you. Sort of being prepared....and well organised.

Are we still allowed to call them Brownies nowadays, (he says with a smile on his face) things change so quickly I don't even try to keep up.

Ian Robinson said...

Happy Birthday to yoooooo
Happy Birthday to yoooooo
Happy Birthday dear Vivienne
Happy Birthday to yoooooo
SPEECH!!!

Maureen said...

Can I just add my best wishes to Vivienne, before I move on to the 'other side'
Hildie, as a Girl Guide I always remember 'Thinking Day' too as all good Scouts and Guides should. I was 'thinking' today that I was only a Guide for about 3 years yet rmember the date every year, after all of this time, strange isn't it? Sid, I was a patrol leader of the Scarlet Pimpernel patrol...now what does that tell you?