Oops ! Proper name for that kind :" Orange women "
Makes me think of :"The madonna with the big boobies"
Although Madonna is a too nice name for this.

Sorry, Geert, someone has to go for the pedant of the year award, and time's running out... "I know GB is not only England, but also Scotland, Wales,and N. Ireland and that GB Is a group of Islands." As I suspect you do know, GB doesn't include N.I. - that's the United Kingdom.

Ok, I'm ashamed...


Anyways, orange women. Good lawd, is there anything more unsexy on earth? As is every beautiful woman who thinks they are and 'acts' like it. Beautiful? Yes. Sexy? Nah...

(Whilst Pie Jesu is undoubtedly a beautiful piece of music, O-N, I have to say I found the performers in that clip a bit too head-flicking, doe-eyed & 'look at me'; it actually detracted from the music for me. (Although the dark-haired girl is genuinely stunning... ))

And the sexiest type of woman? Well, it just happens that for me this weather is responsible; the slim figure you see walking in the snow, clad in long wool winter coat buttoned up tightly with a long fluffy scarf, a woolly Peruvian/bobble/beret hat on their head with a burst of thick, glossy, luxurious hair flowing from underneath and cascading over their shoulders. I don't know why that does it for me - is it knowing that they are so warm underneath it all?! Or is it the way these coats follow and emphasise a slim body? Whatever it is, I need to go and lie down...

Sorry, Geert, someone has to go for the pedant of the year award, and time's running out... "I know GB is not only England, but also Scotland, Wales,and N. Ireland and that GB Is a group of Islands." As I suspect you do know, GB doesn't include N.I. - that's the United Kingdom.

You are right! Sorry for that mishap.

Yep, I can understand how it became to be known as Great Britain due to the term being indicative of size, but it still doesn't make sense to me. As Johnathan mentioned we are an archipelago of islands plural, surely the term should be Greater Britain, which, although geographically more accurate term doesn't have that same subliminal ring.

Imagine the raised eyebrows if Germany again decided to call itself 'Grossdeutschland!"

Anyway, enough of the semantics, I have a short tale to tell. Last night was the first instance of cosseting my 2cv since it was put back on the road. It happened by leaving it in the garage and walking rather than disturb it and use it.

You see, my Mrs works the evening shift in a local Hospital and I usually take her and pick her up later. The hospital is only a ten minute walk from home so not too far, and the temperatures here are currently around - 3 by day -9 at night so the snow that fell on Friday is still very much as it was.

Yesterday we spent the whole day at home in front of a roaring fire, occasionally looking out through the front window to see the beautiful quality of clear light illuminating the snow covered trees. The snow is still over a foot deep, and powdery.

In the evening when it came time to take her to work I looked outside once more, by now it was dark and quite obviously bitter cold. I imagined the time it would take to open the garage, start the car which still has no choke, and warm it up sufficiently to drive the quarter of a mile or so to the Hospital. I thought of the engine damage such short cold trips are supposed to cause, and of the salt laden roads, and I decided that we would walk it instead.

Imagine my wife's joy when I informed her of this decision. The only mitigating factor I said, was that I had to walk twice as far because I had to come back again, the application of such twisted logic seems to make it hurt less for her I feel.

So walk it we did, there and back, and in my case there and back twice. The little 2cv remained tucked away safe from harm, and by walking not only did I save on undue engine wear and tear, but I noticed things. I noticed for example, that although it had been a clear cloudless day, which had become a bitter frosty night, illuminated by a full moon - there were no stars.

I would have expected there to have been a full compliment of dazzling stars on such a cloudless night, the moon was bright, yet looking aloft instead of a firmament containing pinpoints of light there were just two or three odd ones, including the polar stars. I've no idea why the others weren't visible.

The second thing that I noticed is perhaps a no-brainer to most people, but I was fascinated by it. Walking along looking at the deep snow that coats virtually everything, I noticed how it glistens. Now our continental forum readers might wonder why I only just noticed this? The reason is that when it snows here it usually melts again the same day, so what you see is fresh snow falling, then slush, then nothing all in a few hours.

With the recent freeze it has been possible to observe the snow lying exactly as it fell in both daylight and by the light of the moon. While walking back from the Hospital last night I saw the bright moon's light reflecting and twinkling from snow covered roofs, and glittering like a carpet of diamonds underfoot. In general the scene looked just like those on Christmas cards that we send, in the past I had always wondered why they put glitter on them, now I know.

The final thing I noticed was three young men walking in my direction but on the other side of the road, they were walking one close behind the other, in a line. That was curious enough but the headwear they had on was even stranger, they were wearing woolly hats that had an extra bit dangling at the back like those the seven dwarves wore in snow white. Is this a new fashion?

Luckily I hadn't been drinking so I know they were real. In fact it is lucky I hadn't been drinking or I would probably have shouted "HI _ HO!" when I saw them!
The 2cv has had it's respite and is about to be dragged out of the garage once more - I need more coal!

DA try this version of Pie Jesu by Sissel. Beauty and grace personified.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSKnkqAOhpA

I mentioned before that there are times I even like to listen to Gregorian chants. I'm not religious so it's nothing to do with that, but listen to this as a new slant on an old discipline. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNx_UfB1umg

Trappers' hats! Everywhere! Was stuck at New St station on Saturday, and virtually everyone under 30 was wearing them!
Brought a dozen back from Peru (made of alpaca) back in 98 and back then my mates laughed at me and told me they looked sh*te (also brought a dozen peruvian woolen hats too and my mates laughed even harder). Couldn't give em away! I told them they were the future and I was right!! I now realise that I'm about 12 years ahead of my time. Therefore I predict that being lazy and tinkering with an old car will be THE major trend of 2022.


I had a brief dalliance (another underused word) with Gregorian chants after getting into this classic by The Beloved, back in 90 (or was it 89?) when I was a young floppy-haired waster: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2hzlEdXsg0
It featured a sample of this rather beautiful piece, called O Euchari: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgF9xelcvoM

The Beloved's song sparked quite an interest in Gregorian chants. Several albums of original unadorned chants were released, and were sampled to varying degrees of effectiveness on a number of early trance tracks.

One of the pioneers of Gregorian chant in pop/dance music was French band Enigma, with their MCMXC album, one of my favourites.

Below is Sadness-Part 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4F9DxYhqmKw

Trappers hats, been around a lot longer than the 90s

I reckon old nail is on about those patterned bobble hat things that are sometimes sans bobble but with strange plats down the sides or back

Thanks, O-N; yes I prefer that more. And then I found this which has a duetting singer and choir (coming in at 1.36) that I think suits it even more and you may even prefer yourself as you enjoy Gregorian Chants - I feel it's more 'raw' and natural: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAC9vJr- ... re=related


(Geert - only pulling yer leg )

I especially liked that sadness part 1 Johnathan. I'll listen to some more of that stuff later, Not too much mind, or I'll end up putting on my England shirt and invading Jerusalem.

Those hats I saw last night, they were like this, only they were plain grey, and they wore the pointy bit backwards.



I mean, why would you? They were obviously not worn for novelty value as these guys were dressed against the cold. The way they just trudged in each others footsteps one behind the other all wearing the droopy bit to the rear was very comical.

You can tell I'm bored, because I'm now going to do a post about going for a bag of coal. As I said I hadn't driven the car since Saturday due to walking last night so I was quite surprised to see that upon opening the garage there was still snow on the wings and bumpers. More unusually, as I got in the car to start it up the snow that had been on the floor which had fallen from my boots on Saturday was still there unmelted!



Having coaxed it to life once more without choke, which involves some very delicate throttle manipulation and a light foot, I set off and up the country lane to the coal merchants. Country lanes are not clear of snow, but again no problem for a 2cv. What did surprise me was this: In the photo below taken further along the lane you may just make out a Mitsubishi Pajero 4x4 in the distance, he is in the act of turning around.



I waited until he had done his 26 point turn, and when he was facing me I looked at him questioningly, as if to say "what's up?" The guy just shook his head and simultaneously blew out of his mouth as if to say 'Stuff that! and drove off in the opposite direction. Well the coal Merchants is further around that lane, and I didn't even consider going home empty, so on I went, wondering if I could make it.



Piece of piss Coal loaded, fire now burning away nicely, and the car sat outside awaiting tonight's run to the Hospital as the compacted snow on the pavements is now ice. Pajero's are for pussies, the little 2cv seems unstoppable!

Sort of Harry Potter kind of hats.
Maybe you bumbed into the Harry Potter cast on their way to the next pub.