Oh dear, so sorry to hear about Astrid but so glad that you found a good solution. Weather here has just warmed up as well but we are not holding our breathe that it will remain ... .... We saw several red kites on our way to Lincolnshire last week. Off to Devon next week to look at some houses!!! Happy travels x
Great photos again and glad that you are still enjoying Queensland. We have just had our Ozzie friends stay over for a week which has been great. Hope to catch up when you are in the area. Cheers Paul and Sheila x
My friend Max Cryer is a researcher of word origins. He says:For many centuries, mustard has been an essential accompaniment to beef. It became associated with vigour and enthusiasm because it added zest and flavour. The phrase ?Keen as? is first recorded in print in 1672 . The word ?keen? is used when associated with mustard in the sense that ?keen? means ?sharp, effective and noticeable? which good mustard is.Another version appears in 1679 ? ?You shall see a man as hot as mustard against Plot and Plotters." By 1925 the association was so strong that the word was used like this: ?That fellow is mustard? ( Edgar Wallace . Note that ? people and things were not like mustard, they were mustard). The phrase 'hot stuff' comes from the same comparison. A company called Keen and Sons was one of the early manufacturers of the condiment. They were taken over by Colman's in 1903, although the Keen brand name persists and mustard is still available under the name Keen. There is no direct connection between the firm and the saying ? since the saying ?keen as mustard? was published in 1672 and Keens the makers of mustard weren?t established until a hundred years later -1742. But there is little doubt that the presence of Keens helped re-inforce the hundred-year-old saying about mustard being ?keen.?
I'm delighted that you liked seeing the Linotype machine in operation. I spent many happy hours in my youth, watching one working at my Dad's printing works in Auckland. But I haven't seen one working for over 40 years. Fascinating. Did you notice how the keyboard wasn't QWERTY. And did he explain "upper case" and "lower case" as being the upper & lower boxes of type at the top right?
you both 'scrub up' well - looking forward to catching up with you this year in your uk campervan - hopefully dressed a little differently!! ... ... ... love pandas x
Glad you are still enjoying NZ and taking us back to places we have such fond memories off - hopefully catch up with you in the UK some time this year.
So glad you made it full circle and that you enjoyed the company of Ruth & Albert - such wonderful hosts - so many happy memories to take with you and treasure - we often think of our time with them both. Hopefully we can catch up in Du bai in the meantime a very Merry Christmas from us two.
Susan
non-member comment
On a Sunny Day you can't beat our beautiful Northumberland Countryside.