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Whacky Signs.


Colin_McLeod
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A good and well-intentioned notice, but I think the author forgot what one connotation of 'spend a penny' is...

 

 

????

Someone has forgotten his nursery rhymes:

 

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat.

Please put a penny in the old man's hat.

If you haven't got a penny a hap'nny will do,

If you haven't got a hap'nny God bless you

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Speaking of fattened geese, my mother, who grew up in the 1920s, used to tell the story of the family being given a goose, by a kind neighbour, for their Christmas dinner.  It roasted up beautifully but, sadly, they couldn't eat it because it had been reared on fish meal.

 

John

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Poor old Satan, always being left out.  No wonder he has a complex.

 

John

I remember reading a science fiction short story years ago, where someone got talking to an old guy on a park bench. Seems this old chap used to be Vice President of a large concern, but the boss got jealous, framed the chap and had him thrown out of the firm with a very bad reputation. As he gets up to leave he introduces himself as Satan.

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I remember reading a science fiction short story years ago, where someone got talking to an old guy on a park bench. Seems this old chap used to be Vice President of a large concern, but the boss got jealous, framed the chap and had him thrown out of the firm with a very bad reputation. As he gets up to leave he introduces himself as Satan.

That sounds like one of Frederic Brown's short stories - he was the absolute "master" of the one to three page short SF stories - If you haven't seen them, Look out for" Honeymoon in Hell",  "Angels and Spaceships" and "Nightmares and Geezenstacks" amongst others. 

Fredric Brown (October 29, 1906 – March 11, 1972[) was an American science fiction and mystery writer. He is known for his use of humor and for his mastery of the "short short" form—stories of 1 to 3 pages, often with ingenious plotting devices and surprise endings. Humor and a somewhat postmodern outlook carried over into his novels as well. One of his stories, "Arena", is officially credited for an adaptation as an episode of the American television series Star Trek.

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A good and well-intentioned notice, but I think the author forgot what one connotation of 'spend a penny' is...

 

attachicon.gifSpend a penny.jpg

 Unambitious too. 'Spend a tenner' scans nicely... 'Drop a pony' is even better in the ambition stakes but equally likely to be miscontrued as what was written... 'Splash a monkey', that's more like it. (The only small shopkeeper I truly know as a personal friend makes Barker's portrayal of 'Arkwright' look positively charitable. "Make no mistake, my job is to get hold of your wallet and empty it at every opportunity".)

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Speaking of fattened geese, my mother, who grew up in the 1920s, used to tell the story of the family being given a goose, by a kind neighbour, for their Christmas dinner.  It roasted up beautifully but, sadly, they couldn't eat it because it had been reared on fish meal.

Probably, it was around about 1958, my folks, (who previously always bought chickens from the local butcher, and had to prepare them by cutting the head and feet off, etc, and then singing off the feather remnants over the gas ring, before cooking) bought an oven ready chicken from Ivor Dewdney's in Exeter - a new concept back then - mass produced food.It had been reared on fish based food, too. I cannot remember exactly what my Dad said, but we never bought one again. Today the 'oven ready' hens are simply chemical conversions, the food and bird breed are matched, to get a 3.5 pound bird in less than 42 days from a day old chick.

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