silverfox

Ooops, cross-posted with Drew so deleted article. The picture shows a man pushing a funny looking buggy outside Franklins Farm Shop with the caption: Deli delights: Franklins, on Lordship Lane, is a haven for lovers of fine food Mary Turner for The Times There's also a picture gallery of seven pics including Green & Blue

It was Richard Jeni, the American comedian and actor. A lapsed catholic, unfortunately he had mental problems, schitzophrenia, and committed suicide by shooting himself in the face. Just thought I'd mention that to put the idea of imaginary friends into perspective.

shellacking  As used by President Obama when taking the blame for the the midterm election results shel?lack?ing[shuh-lak-ing] ?noun Slang (chiefly US, Canadian) 1. an utter defeat: "a shellacking their team will remember". 2. a sound thrashing: "His father gave him a shellacking for stealing the book". Origin: 1705?15; shell + lac (trans. of F laque en ?cailles) 1 shel?lac  [shuh-lak] noun, verb, -lacked, -lack?ing. ?noun 1. lac that has been purified and formed into thin sheets, used for making varnish. 2. a varnish (shellac varnish) made by dissolving this material in alcohol or a similar solvent. 3. a phonograph record made of a breakable material containing shellac, esp. one to be played at 78 r.p.m.: an LP that can hold nearly 10 times as much as the old shellac. ?verb (used with object) 4. to coat or treat with shellac. 5. Slang . a. to defeat; trounce. b. to thrash soundly. Word Origin & History 1713, from shell + lac (see lacquer). Translates Fr. laque en ?cailles "lac in thin plates." The verb is 1876, from the noun. The slang sense of "beat soundly" is 1920s, perhaps from the notion of shellac as a "finish." Shellacked "drunk" is from 1922 (cf. plastered). Online Etymology Dictionary, ? 2010 Douglas Harper

Don't be deluded by figures of ?27/36K - it's much worse than that. These are only potential fees we're talking about. Students have to pay rent, utility bills, eat, clothe themselves, buy course books/materials as well as socialise with plenty of alcohol. Even with fees at, say, ?6,000 a year outside the big cities, say Keele or Bangor universities, you must be looking at at least another ?150 a week to live (?7,800 pa). Circa ?14,000 a year to go to University is a more likely average figure. Edited to add the word 'average'

rheumy As in "Casting a rheumy eye round the chamber, Charlie realised he was under-dressed..." Quentin Letts Daily Mail (3/11/10) rheum noun \ˈr?m\ Definition of RHEUM 1: a watery discharge from the mucous membranes especially of the eyes or nose 2 archaic: tears ? rheumy\ˈr?-m?\ adjective Origin of RHEUM Middle English reume, from Anglo-French, from Latin rheuma, from Greek, literally, flow, flux, from rhein to flow Merriam-Webster Dictionary His head and rheumy eyes distill in showers. --Dryden. And tempt the rheumy and unpurged air To add unto his sickness. --Shakespeare.

hieing Used by woolmarkthedog on the Ask Silverfox thread in the Lounge HIE (verb) hied hy-ing or hie-ing Definition of HIE intransitive verb: to go quickly: hasten transitive verb: to cause (oneself) to go quickly Examples of HIE we had best hie home before the snow gets worse Origin of HIE Middle English, from Old English h?gian to strive, hasten First Known Use: 12th century Merriam-Webster Dictionary

woofmarkthedog Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Dear Silverfox > > When I stand up fast my head swims > > I'm not hieing am I > > > W**F As a vet I am often stopped and asked "when my dog stands up fast his/her head swims. He/she is not hieing is he/she?" The first thing I point out is heads can't swim. To do this heads would need arms and legs or fins and a tail or tentacles or jellyfish-like tendrils. You woofmarkthedog are a dog. If you exercise often and are in good shape you might occasionally experience dizziness and lightheadedness when you stand up quickly. This is generally nothing serious, and occurs due to a slow heart rate. Cardiovascular exercise makes your heart stronger and a stronger heart has a larger stroke volume. That is, the amount of blood pumped out during each beat is greater, so the heart doesn't have to beat as often. A slow pulse rate is an indication of a strong, healthy heart. However, a slow heart rate can sometimes lead to dizziness when you change position. When you stand up quickly gravity pulls blood from your brain towards your paws and tail and blood doesn't return to the brain until the next heart beat. With a slow pulse, this takes a second or two and that is enough time to feel the lack of oxygen in the symptom of lightheadedness or dizziness. It is also related to something called postural hypotension. This results from a decrease in blood flow to the brain, due to a drop in blood pressure upon standing up. As long as it occurs only occasionally, you don't really need to worry. On the other hand, if you do not exercise regularly and are out of shape, and you experience dizziness, religious apparitions, imbalance, circling or inability to walk, then lay off the booze and wacy backy and you won't keep getting 'high'. Get your master to send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to Ask Silverfox, C/O The EDF Forum for my leaflet 'Dogs, drugs and alcohol: what they don't teach you at vet school'

felt-tip Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Dear Silverfox, > > I have become accustomed, nay, addicted, to, shall > we say, the finer things in life and I have > developed gout in my face. > > Your advice would be gratefully received. Dear felt-tip, You have my sympathy for what is a most painful affliction. Gout, as you may know, is an arthritic condition, meaning that it causes pain and inflammation of your joints. Usually it affects one joint in your body - commonly your big toe, but it can affect other joints, usually in the arms or legs. In extreme cases such as yours, felt-tip, gout can affect the face leaving you looking like a dead-ringer for Joseph Merrick, otherwise known as the Elephant Man. According to the UK Gout Society, gout affects around one in every 100 people. It's more common in men, particularly those aged 30 to 60, and in older people. Gout is caused by having too much urate in your body. Urate (also called uric acid) is a chemical that everyone has in their blood. It's a waste product formed from substances called purines, which are found in every cell in your body and certain foods. Excess urate is usually passed through your kidneys and out of your body in your urine. However, the level of urate in your blood can rise if your kidneys don't pass urate quickly enough or your body produces too much urate If the level of urate in your body is too high, it can form tiny crystals that collect in your tissues, particularly in and around your joints. This is what causes the swelling and pain. These crystals form at cooler temperatures, which is why gout is common in your fingers and toes. The medical literature as to the causes of gout are confusing. An attack of gout often occurs for no clear reason, but may be triggered by an illness, injury, high blood pressure, being over weight, eating foods rich in purines or drinking too much alcohol. However, my own research has shown a clear link between the exponential rise in cases of gout in and around East Dulwich and the arrival of William Rose 'Purveyors of Quality Meat' Butchers on Lordship Lane. Single handedly, this butcher has turned what was a quiet healthy back-water in south-east London which subsisted on a diet of bread and dripping into an enclave of obese voracious carnivores prepared to queue for hours for a heart-attack inducing cholesterol feast. In short felt-tip, while your affliction and looks may have paid dividends while you were scaring the life and soul out of householders while 'Trick or Treating' over Hallowe'en, I can only suggest you think about joining a circus freak show in, say, India where these things are still popular, getting bit parts as an accident victim in Casualty or disaster movies or putting a bag over your head when you go out. Send the usual stamped SAE to Ask Silverfox, C/O the EDF, for my leaflet 'Some queue, we chew: how to beat the queues at William Rose'

Peckhamgatecrasher Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Dear Silverfox > > My MP doesn't like gingers. > > I feel that she can't possibly represent my > interests with such prejudices. How do I get her > impeached? > > Yours > > PGC Dear Peckhamgatecrasher, Apologies for not getting back to you earlier but the demand from forumites for my workshops and residential therapy courses is overwhelming. I presume you are referring to Harriet Harperson, the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party and former equalities minister, who referred to Danny Alexander, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, as a ?ginger rodent?. I think far too much has been made of her comments by the right-wing press and, judging by the thousands of letters, emails and tweets I have received on this issue over the past couple of days, most people consider her comments as quite innocent, a mere attempt to try to be funny and liven up an otherwise boring speech. As Ms Harperson made clear in her speech, she likes red squirrels so I think it is a bit over the top of you to accuse her of disliking gingers, having prejudices and asking for her impeachment. You have however, raised a topical issue - that of "gingerphobia" (fear of redheads) and "gingerism" (prejudice against redheads). There are millions of redheads on these shores. In Britain, it has been speculated that the dislike of red-hair may derive from the historical English sentiment that people of Irish or Celtic background, with a greater prevalence of red hair, were ethnically inferior. The word "ginger" is not often considered insulting these days. However, the abbreviation "ginge" or "ginga" is sometimes used derogatorily to describe red-headed people. In my considered opinion had Ms Hardperson meant to insult the Scottish prat she could have chosen some of the more colourful words used for bullying redheads, eg, agent orange, ginger pubes, ginger minger, fanta pants, matchstick head, copper knob, ginger nut, carrot top, carrot head, duracell, ginger ninja or my favourite - 'rangas' (orang-utans). Send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to Ask Silverfox, C/O The EDF Forum for my leaflet: 'Gingerphobia v Gingerism: who gives a f...?"

Interesting. I've no problem with the judge questioning the age of liability in civil cases. However, how about contributory negligence? "...Juliet Breitman and another child were four years old when they raced their small bicycles on a Manhattan street and ran into Claire Menagh, 87... Ms Menagh - and later her son, acting as executor of her estate - sued the children, arguing they were "negligent in their operation and control of their bicycles..." Query. What was a doddery 87 year old doing on the sidewalk anyway? Is son negligent for letting her out unaccompanied? I must follow this case

Saila said: "...Eaten a mcdonald's burger..." You've never lived. How can you possibly reject/condone Anglo-Saxon neo-imperialism if you haven't tried it. People in Bejing and Moscow are chomping as we speak.

Bit negative this thread. Why not re-name - things I've yet to do

Might be hard to sell your house though computedshorty

How many times have you been burgled Pearson? If none I hope you never will. You've either been lucky in London or you're a recent arrival. Given the cuts, it'll only get worse.

Bunny19 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I was told a dog grooming parlour That would do well around here

Narnia said: "... If there existed something beyond our comprehension, well we wouldn't be able to comprehend it. Hence we alter things to suit our needs..." Exactly Narnia, or even because our humanity finds the idea incomprehensible let's take the easy option and dismiss the possibility

Ramble66 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > TMC is great but avoid the high street guys who > just want to rip you off. I can recommend Angelo > at the Vale Practice on Grove Vale. He does > chinese herbs as well as acupuncture. > http://www.angelodalberto.com/ Angelo sounds Italian to me... Don't tell me, he did a course. What would Confucius say about these two-bit quacks?

I'm told it's going to be a gentleman's barbers.

Puzzled is a good name for this thread because I'm puzzled. What is the trendy shop? If it's doing such a public service why are you so frightened to name it? Have the 'shoplifters' been convicted? pk is correct: "who knows whether in practice any CCTV does show someone shoplifting in relation to the pictures displayed?2

Query. If the results of the census show that the majority of people in this country are non-religious that makes 'believers' a minority. As such, doesn't this strengthen the arguments and justification for faith schools, ie to protect minorities from discrimination?

Don't wish to be pedantic but ... Here's an interesting one from the For Sale section: Rugs - Traditional Style 2.5m x 3.4m (that's 8.2' x 11.2' in old money) (I count at least three mistakes)

Damn, meant to click on the colon or whatever it is that means I don't have to read this thread.

As does a photograph. So... when a woman says this is my good side/photograph my good side what does she mean? (or does it matter, just take the damn photo to keep her happy)

On snow?

Surely Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) was a fancy title designed to reduce the unemployment figures. Post YOPS (Youth Opportunites Scheme - ie, six week crash course in how to be a brain surgeon etc) the government had to invent a new title so yoof didn't appear in the jobless figures.