Darlington_Shed

My recollection is that Dylan, the rabbit, was accused of those crimes:

Just popped in to wish all ERs a merry Christmas! Extended family arrived chez Shed yesterday so we have a houseful, with more arriving for Boxing Day. All bar yours truly have now retired to bed so I'm enjoying a quiet hour - accompanied by a negroni or two - before I turn in. May all your days be merry and bright 🥳

You keep saying that Jamie, but I'm not convinced it's true 😃

They do tend to be, um, devout and doctrinaire.

As we used to say back in the '90s - Apple: Changing the world, one rich person at a time.

Congratulations. Hope this next life is long and enjoyable 👍

Seems like overkill? Surely, every workshop has at least a benchtop disk sander...

Finally got around to watching the Big Freeze of 63 documentary this afternoon and was struck by the innocence of childhood. I had no idea about the effects on the country... to me, it was a few days off school and the greatest adventure of my life. Put me in the mood for more snow-related telly so I watched the first episode of Frozen Planet II. Also enjoyable but things aren't looking great for Polybears 😕

We did that yesterday - tree decorated and Love Actually watched. Christmas has been declared officially open, so season's greetings to all 🥳

A lot of interesting replies but, for me, they overlook a significant issue... We're British and there's nothing we love more than an heroic failure. Off the top of my head, examples include: the Battle of Hastings, Guy Fawkes and Dunkirk. The Dambusters Raid was bold, ingenious, heroic and most involved died... inevitably, it achieved a top spot in British folklore. Another example just came to mind... KIng Arthur. Heroic, failed, died - but our greatest national hero.

Excellent choices, would be strong contenders here. But it's like asking to choose among your children. Favourite album? About 30 or 40 of them. Favourite track? About 1,000 of them. If you put a gun to my head, favourite album would be Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon; favourite track... umph, argh, When the Levee Breaks from Led Zeppelin IV. I can clearly remember the Saturday afternoon in 1973 when I first heard Live in Europe, played in its entirety on Radio 1. It literally changed my life and I made a point of seeing Rory on every UK tour he did until he died.

Definitely up for that... I remember the freeze - best times ever. We lived (I was 7 yrs old) in a residential close with a small green space surrounded on three sides by housing. All the local kids spent days constructing an igloo in the middle from blocks of compressed snow carved out with shovels and spades. Almost 60 years later and it's one of my clearest childhood memories. Only found out, as an adult, that my parents had to burn the tyres off my dad's motorbike to keep us warm that winter. Just looked on Google Maps... here it is (we lived in the penultimate house on the left-hand side; you'll have to imagine the igloo in the middle of the green):

I applaud your excellent taste 👏. A favourite in these parts since I first tried it in a Soho restaurant some 35 years ago*. * Eeek!

An inspiring post. I thought I'd not done much today, but in the spirit of your post... Got out of bed - tick. Had breakfast - tick. Read the papers - tick. Had lunch - tick. Mrs Shed went Christmas shopping without me - double tick. Mrs Shed and Shed Jnr went to a pantomime without me - double, double tick. Had a clear run at the TV accompanied by a splendid bottle of Italian red - multiple ticks. An excellent day all told- (if not for the tediosity of a head cold that arrived on Thursday; but better now than Christmas Day 😃

Jamie, if you're not familiar with them I can highly recommend the "Murder in the Dordogne" series of novels by Martin Walker. Everyday police work, often mixed with international terrorism, but nothing gets in the way of a damned good lunch or dinner. I know nothing of rural policing in France, but have enjoyed every one of them so far 👍

After spending some time on The Night Mail, I've come to the conclusion that I'm not drinking enough single malt. I will try to use the festive season to remedy this shortcoming.

I always imagine you posting those updates with a happy giggle 😃 As for pensions, having received my first payment in May this year, and having paid in for 40 years, I think I need to hang on until age 106 for my golden day. Don't fancy my chances, somehow!

A couple of hours hurling yourself around the mosh pit should sort your neck out. I'd give the crowd-surfing a miss though; they might drop you 😱

Reminds me of a lyric: "Home is made for coming from, for dreams of going to, which with any luck will never come true". Internet points for those who know 🤠

Was your old school in Hertfordshire? He was head of my sons' school in Harpenden some 25 years ago.

Really saddened to hear the news about Andrew C. As a newcomer to these parts I had no direct interaction with him, but always found his posts entertaining and worthy of a smile. Commiserations to his family, and to those ERs who knew him well.

I lived in West Cornforth for a couple of years in the early 60s when my parents were steward and stewardess of the workingmen's club. The origin of 'Doggie' has never been explained, as far as I know, despite it being applied to the related Doggie Pit and Doggie Woods.

Good to know, but I wonder if I'm alone in thinking that cold baked beans taste much better than the heated variety. Just returned from a regular (bi-monthly) event involving dads of a similar age, that largely revolves around steak, chips and red wine. We managed to incur the largest ever bill for said event, largely - I think - because someone decided that buying magnums of wine would work out cheaper than individual bottles. Shurely shome mistake!

With a load of iron ore 26,000 tons more than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty?

Apparently, there are 3 or 4 airworthy examples in North America. In the UK, The Mosquito Pathfinder Trust is working to restore one to flying status (thewoodenwonder).