If ever there was a mug that needed a good wumping.............

Indeed, yes - for one fluent in Ancient Greek and Latin he only got an upper 2nd class honours degree in Ancient History and Philosophy at Bailliol..... tut ever so tut.

It started last week in the States. We should see it on Channel 4 shortly:

I wrote quite a long post on another thread that seems to have vanished into the ether.

Priscilla as to BJ - it's possible he didn't work as hard as he might have at University. I've sometimes wondered if he pretends the stupidity as part of his "brand".

I can't find the thread where there was a discussion about Channel Islands French not too long ago but I was having a gander at YouTube about Jersey French and chanced on something about Louisiana French; seems people are trying to revive it. It's not something I know an awful lot about - I knew of its existence of course and about the Louisiana purchase and a tiny bit about the Arcadians (who it seems very not awfully well treated by the British) because somebody introduced me to Longfellow's poem "Evangeline". The videos were absorbing but I have a tendency to find the internet addictive if I find something that piques my interest and it's not like I don't have "real life" things calling upon my time. One thing that surprised me was that one documentary about Cajun culture said many of the ancestors of the people rather loosely described as "Cajun" came from Poitou and had left France largely (though not exclusively) because they were Catholic and were having a tough time at home. I thought it was the Protestants who had a tough time in France (not now - back then - revocation of the Edict of Nantes and all that). I'm aware there was (and possibly still is) a Protestant presence in at least part of western France but it still took me aback that Catholics might have felt uncomfortable there.

You should have opened a thread on this, LIR. It's interesting Try one. My contribution will sadly only be about Cajun spices which I have just started using but I shall read with interest.

LadyinRetirement wrote:

there was a discussion about Channel Islands French

Was it on this thread LiR?

Language and local identity

I think you are right Vizzer, many thanks, I will cut and paste my wording above to that thread.

Priscilla has been banned from Res His.

She has asked me to tell you all (as she can no longer enter the site), and has requested that I offer you, on her behalf, a very large glass of the finest tawny port. You are asked to drink, quote, "to my achieving a lifetime site-ban in my eightieth year".  

She is this evening drafting a simple good-bye PM which she understandably wishes to send to old friends here: I shall copy it and send it to people tomorrow, as she cannot do so herself.



Temp.

Priscilla has not been banned from the site.

I shall check what on earth is going on now ...

Priscilla's IP address (I am assuming it is hers) was blocked by Forumotion due to suspicious behaviour, which appears to have been related to deleting a lot of content. They don't apparently like their databases shrinking due to activity from one particular IP address.

I have requested that it be white-listed but I assume I will not be informed when this is complete. In the meantime she can certainly use the site from another device, via a proxy address, or via another router, all of which will allocate a different address to the one in use today.

If Priscilla, or someone on her behalf, had contacted me about this directly earlier it might well have been fixed by now. Not as melodramatic as the approach used, I admit, but it would certainly have been more effective.

I wasn't aware of this safeguard in use by the site's hosts, though of course it makes perfect sense as it certainly smacks of malicious behaviour by hackers, ransomware viruses and the like. I will see if I can get more definite information about what constitutes an alarming amount of deletions by Forumotion standards. If on the other hand Priscilla requires assistance in removing posts, etc, I am here to help.

I simply hope now that the IP address in question was indeed hers, and not in fact a malicious attack on the site which I have now facilitated restarting. We'll soon see.

I hope this all gets sorted. For my tuppence worth I got a message - not a bullguard message - but when I logged in there was a little pop up which said "this is not a secure site" but I have noticed something similar on other sites to be fair. I didn't have the presence of mind to take a screenshot of the screen with the pop up. Maybe it's because it's not a https: site. I have set my anti ad and tracking software levels pretty I will admit.

Hi LiR. That is a separate issue, and one commented on by Temp and Paul, who also have security software that objects to use of non-SSL protocol on this site.

I can in fact quite easily change the site to SSL, it is a cheap and quick process, though this will automatically mean that all links and pictures etc in all the posts here that are hosted on other non-SSL sites will cease to function afterwards.

nordmann wrote:

If Priscilla, or someone on her behalf, had contacted me about this directly earlier it might well have been fixed by now. Not as melodramatic as the approach used, I admit, but it would certainly have been more effective.

I suggested to Priscilla that it could be a technical hitch when I spoke to her this afternoon, but she definitely ruled that possibility out.

I actually typed out a PM to you before I sent the message to the Bar, but, believing that I should do nothing that Priscilla had not authorised, decided not to send it.

No one was being "melodramatic" here: my message was simple and direct, and was exactly what Priscilla asked me to say. We had enough discord - from all sides - yesterday. No more please.

I am simply the messenger here: I do not wish - or deserve -  to be shot simply for doing what Priscilla requested and acting as a necessary intermediary.

If all the tawny has gone then there really will be trouble on site. Just for the record I did not vote that 'yes' so I'll take back thoughts of a noon execution for it. Sorry to land you in it Temps but I thank you for raising the toast anyway...... a bit disappointing really. I thought I had got a gran-ban. I never considered my bar toast a melodrama -   after a lifetime of Am Dram, I can do that really, really well. 

After losing most of me Rant thread without warning, I again supposed this was the way things are done with explanation afterwards, and  so it appears to be in this case also. I am far to old for technical hitches. Age Concern ought do something about it. Not good for the nerves, you know.And I only the one nerve to do most that I do left.

What a palaver. You could get a sketch for the Res Historica 2017 Christmas pantomime out of all this.


Nordmann: You stupid, melodramatic old bat, why didn't you tell me you couldn't access the site?

Priscilla: Because I couldn't access the site, you arrogant young whippersnapper. And don't you wave your Windows For Dummies at me.

Nordmann: Why didn't you send one of the servants with a message?

Priscilla: I did.

Small Voice: Did me best, ma'am, honest. Sorry, ma'am. Sorry, nordmann. Sorry, everyone. This is all my fault. Sorry.

Nordmann: Shut up, you. No one asked for your opinion.

Small Voice: Sorry.

Nordmann: I would never do anything so precipitous as banning an old friend without adequate warning. I demand an apology - ten apologies in fact. On your knees. Now. Or else.

Small Voice: That's what I said to her, about you not being precipitous, I mean.

Priscilla: Shut up, you.

Small Voice: Sorry.

Priscilla: Never. No apology. The Brits never apologise to anyone. We are never wrong. I can be a bloody difficult woman, you know. I demand an apology for your demand of an apology.

Nordmann; Never. No apology. The Irish never apologise. We will fight you to the death. I demand another apology for your demand of an apology for my demand of an apology. I can be a bloody difficult man, you know.

Small Voice: You could both count to three and then say "Sorry" nicely together. Might that be - er - a compromise?

Nordmann and Priscilla: One, two, three - never!

Thought that I had better add that the above was sent in the hope that two old friends for whom - believe it or not - I have great affection and respect, can resolve their differences so that we can all live happily ever after.

Even if it is on bloody Facebook.

You're wasted in the day-job, Temp. TV comedy is going through a slump at the minute and could do with some new screenwriters. Failing that, isn't there a vacancy coming up in the Middle East now that Blair is approaching his inevitable trial for war crimes?

Hmpfff! Your e-mail in reply is in the ethos, Temps. Keep it up! Brill!     Act 2 may become even funnier. I'll see what I can do about getting you material for it - shouldn't be much of a strain.

And I expect my 'You have been Banned' badge to be sent by Res in due course. Compensation would affect me Benefits, I think. 

So now - after I had begun to clear me dross from the lockers - it seems we are not going all exposed and  'In yer Face book' so I have shot my foot off by the start I made in preparing for that on exit. No good crying over lost posts - anyway the Res His hankie is looking dreadful.

How Priscilla sees nordmann and Priscilla:




How nordmann sees Priscilla and nordmann:




Temp's vision of how it all should be here:




The reality:

I can't see any of the pictures!

Just X marks the spot.

You really need to white-list this site! Next thing you'll be telling me you've been banned ...


Temperance's current view on Res Historica

Just as well you can't see it, Temps. In his view he thinks I have a mustache.

And nordmann, topless and wearing a grass skirt, is not a pretty sight.

And the spectators look on

Temperance wrote:

I can't see any of the pictures!

Just X marks the spot.

Me too. I mean I see just X marks. And when I click on it: "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later." To be honest I had the same problem with these X marks on a French site too. Nordmann, is there a trick that we don't know to open these X marks?

Kind regards, Paul.

Priscilla wrote:

So now - after I had begun to clear me dross from the lockers - it seems we are not going all exposed and  'In yer Face book' so I have shot my foot off by the start I made in preparing for that on exit. No good crying over lost posts - anyway the Res His hankie is looking dreadful.

I'm glad you have not left, Priscilla.  I saw something about Facebook and  Forum Motions in one of Nordmann's recent posts - is it that there might just be an add-on from Facebook to make things on the site run more smoothly (I'll really have to go back and read the post again and try and make sense of it).  I thought of joining Facebook and friends who are parents and grandparents (or even great grandparents) say it is handy for keeping in touch with scattered family members.  I decided against joining it as I wasn't very keen on them having the right to firtle through my emails.  I would have to set up a separate email to use Facebook I think because I don't want people knowing who my contacts are.  I'm even thinking of unsubscribing from LinkedIn because I get these emails from them "Do you know x and y and z" and I know I clicked the box saying no I didn't want them to have access to my emails when I set up the account.  Before I started running Ad Block I used to see notices like "three people have unfriended you from Facebook" on Youtube and I knew that was a load of cods because not only did I not have a Facebook account but I hadn't logged into Youtube but was just browsing - I suppose they could trace my IP address.  One of my pet peeves about the internet is that some of the address providers bully users into agreeing to use of them setting cookies on the computer.  It's "agreeing" in the sense that I "agreed" to go to the religious retreats held annually at my convent secondary school - or about as "voluntary" as the voluntary contributions that some parents are browbeaten into making to their children's schools (that isn't confined to "religious" schools; I don't think it is anyway).  Sorry I've gone off topic - why use one word when I can use six - but I was genuinely pleased to see you still posting, Priscilla.

PaulRyckier wrote:

Temperance wrote:

I can't see any of the pictures!

Just X marks the spot.

Me too. I mean I see just X marks. And when I click on it: "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later." To be honest I had the same problem with these X marks on a French site too. Nordmann, is there a trick that we don't know to open these X marks?

Kind regards, Paul.

No. This has been the point of the upgrade ...

I will just go with whatever is decided, though I am very incompetent with computers and might not be able to access a new site easily.  If you never see me again, it won't be because I have left in a huff, just that I can't get in.  I do have email contact with a few people here so can probably get their help if the worst happens. Not that my contributions are either very regular or learned.

I can see the pictures now - the one of nordmann cooking Priscilla, I mean; also the one of Priscilla with a moustache!

I tried to copy the picture of the boiling/parboiling/blanching/poaching of Priscilla to include in this post, because I want to know who man in the background is - the one covered in paint who is holding a spear. He looks very unsettled about something. Is it MM, worrying that nordmann has overdone the seasoning in the Priscilla casserole?

The attempt at copying did not work: I was told that content could not load and please try later. I wonder why the content won't load? I am using Chrome and there are lots of "s"s everywhere I look, also padlocks and assurances of security. Not that it matters.

Is it just me, or is anyone else finding all this Technical Stuff utterly bewildering? All this technospeak is terribly confusing, and makes one feel terribly old and useless. The medium is the message all right and not much in the way of messages is being said anymore; but it's nice to know that what isn't being said is now secure.





PS I regret to tell you all that Priscilla is locked out again - really. She is clearly making a habit of this to get attention. I have told her about Trike and Ferval having problems yesterday, and have advised her to email you, nordmann. I doubt that a food parcel is required, but maybe a large glass of port and a key to get back in would be appreciated?

Well they didn't last long:

Points of View free forum

Time for your Friday scare:

It's been very quite here over the weekend and so you all missed out on a piece of birthday cake, though you might not have liked it much. It was Doggy-dog's eighth birthday on Saturday and I baked him a special wholemeal-flour, sugar-free, non-chocolate, cake. Though frankly I think he liked the raw rabbit head he had for supper better.

But where is everyone, or have you all been locked out of your PCs by the ransomware attack?

I hope Doggy-dog had a good day along with you, Mm.

Moi, I've been preparing myself for a meeting, I'll be attending in less than an hour.

So help yourself to a bisquit and a glass of your own choice.

No, no ransoms here but I have been busy dealing with ramsons which I acquired illegally. Other highlights of my weekend included having another shot at finding the mysterious disappearing broch near Stirlung which we were looking for last year, thankfully with some possible success this time so we will be going back. Then I was out with friends on Saturday night.It's been a while since I hit the flesh pots at the weekend; dear God, pubs are so noisy these days. On Sunday, between aching from digging and hoarse from screaming over the din, I was not in the best state to drive some very elderly veterans to a military commemoration event for which I has foolishly volunteered.

Then there's the sweet wee tabby that has taken to hanging round my garden. I'm not sure if it's a stray but it's dreadfully nervous and it's taken me a couple of weeks of providing food to get it to let me within three feet. It's wet here today (hooray, the garden really needs the rain, boo, the slugs and snails will be swarming) and I haven't seen it this morning.

Happy birthday, dear doggy.........

What have you all been up to?

No ramsons growing here but amazingly you can get them ready prepared as a pesto in jars! I recently got given a pot of ail des ours by the neighbours (out of date but they know I'll eat anything).



It's been wet all weekend but now it's hot and sunny, and a bit steamy ... so yes all the slugs and snails are feasting on anything green, except weeds. But everything is growing well, except the French beans which suffered from a cold damp spell - only half a dozen sickly plants came up and they promptly got eaten by slugs - so I replaced the whole lot with courgettes. I'd planted a load of courgette seeds in small pots expecting only a fraction to actually germinate. But they've nearly all come up and are now planted out although finding space for them all was a problem despite the French bean fiasco. So this year i've got 14 courgette plants, many already producing little courgettes, so I'm expecting a massive glut in a few weeks time. Tomatoes, aubergines and peppers are growing well and the carrots have all come up and need thinning out. My broad beans are currently giving about 500g (after shelling) every fews days but that'll only last for another week or two, and I've been eating my lettuces and radishes for about two months now. The mulberry, cherry and fig trees are nearly ready with fruit and there might soon even be some wild mushrooms in the woods.



Of course I'm supposed to be hoovering, dusting, washing, ironing and making beds etc ... but pottering about in the garden is much more enjoyable.

"Strong and stable". Sounds like the smell from the cellars back on the BBC site - when the onagers hadn't been mucked out for a couple of months, and you couldn't tell which was ass piss and which was Miss Frobisher's eau-de-toilet.

I am just thinking of throwing out my eau-de-cologne, given to me by a German exchange student, some twenty years ago, and never really liked as I associate it with very old women, as does everyone else.  But I never throw out perfume, any more than I can bear to throw away books, even the ones I pass over always when I am choosing one to read. 

But I don't think my perfume smells as badly as Miss Frobisher's eau-de-toilette did!

Was always in some doubt as to whether the story about Miss F was that she had been discovered "infragrante" or "in flagrante".

Having nicked this on another thread from Temperance, "Then again, it's summer and people are often busy. Ferval, for example, is probably digging away in a big hole somewhere, and Priscilla is no doubt adding another luxurious storey to the accommodation she provides for the snails in her huge garden."

Back in my soldiering days, an often repeated sentence - especially when training as infantry - was, "When you're in deep sh*t, stop digging!"

Would it help if someone ordered drinks to the room?

It always helps if someone buys a round, Nielsen. Between this god-awful election and Trump, I'm not an aggressive or violent person but I'm beginning to consider political assassination as an option, a small refreshment even at this time in the morning sounds like a plan. Make it a Bloody Theresa (like a bloody Mary but with added venom) please.

I tend to keep off religion and politics in conversation though last week I mentioned who I would probably vote for (not the party currently in office) and one lady, who I normally get on with okay said "Well if you want the country to be run by an idiot". I thought that was rather rude.  I was tempted to say it had been run by idiots for the last seven years - but it's the way the Conny Onnies want to seemingly take a sledgehammer to the NHS and withdraw benefits that make life easier for disabled folk that really worries me.  I didn't make the remark.  Ferval, one good thing about Mrs May is that she's not David Camiknicks.  He irritated me from the get-go with that daft publicity stunt riding his bike to Parliament!  Also the services at my local hospital were severely curtailed on his watch.

Caro's gardening activities are making me feel guilty.  I have been out this morning with some spray on weedkiller spraying.  I can't keep blaming my tardiness in catching up on jobs - both household and in the garden on fatigue because of the coeliac disease - albeit I do still get very tired sometimes even though I am taking (on doctor's orders) iron tablets and folate tablets.  My back seems to ache when I "put it" into anything these days.  I'm not a prolific sewer and certainly not an expert but I'm thinking of making a corset type thing to give my back support when I do my rather Heath-Robinson version of weeding.

ferval wrote:

It always helps if someone buys a round, Nielsen. Between this god-awful election and Trump, I'm not an aggressive or violent person but I'm beginning to consider political assassination as an option,  a small refreshment even at this time in the morning sounds like a plan. Make it a Bloody Theresa (like a bloody Mary but with added venom) please.

As I don't have any venom - not that I'm aware of - I could triple the vodka, do you think that would help?

LadyinRetirement wrote:

I tend to keep off religion and politics in conversation though last week I mentioned who I would probably vote for (not the party currently in office) and one lady, who I normally get on with okay said "Well if you want the country to be run by an idiot". I thought that was rather rude.  I was tempted to say it had been run by idiots for the last seven years - but it's the way the Conny Onnies want to seemingly take a sledgehammer to the NHS and withdraw benefits that make life easier for disabled folk that really worries me.  I didn't make the remark.  Ferval, one good thing about Mrs May is that she's not David Camiknicks.  He irritated me from the get-go with that daft publicity stunt riding his bike to Parliament!  Also the services at my local hospital were severely curtailed on his watch.

Caro's gardening activities are making me feel guilty.  I have been out this morning with some spray on weedkiller spraying.  I can't keep blaming my tardiness in catching up on jobs - both household and in the garden on fatigue because of the coeliac disease - albeit I do still get very tired sometimes even though I am taking (on doctor's orders) iron tablets and folate tablets.  My back seems to ache when I "put it" into anything these days.  I'm not a prolific sewer and certainly not an expert but I'm thinking of making a corset type thing to give my back support when I do my rather Heath-Robinson version of weeding.

Re religion and politics, I couldn't agree more, LiR, I never talk of them in public as I know how easily I could be politically un-correct.
Re having the - any - country run by an idiot, it seems to me that quite a few are, including some with quite serious armaments.

I can't really comment on your NHS and disability matters, but say that the incumbent Danish counterparts apparently are dragging us many years back in time, definitely in the language used about disabled and elderly people. 
As we insist on referring to ourselves as 'citizens' and 'tax-payers' just go to show that we don't understand the situation.
Accessibility is a strong word for some people to comprehend - but having that to the political mind is almost impossible.

LadyinRetirement wrote:

one good thing about Mrs May is that she's not David Camiknicks.  He irritated me from the get-go

Same here. His resignation was at least one positive outcome of the referendum result. A good riddance if ever there was one.

P.S. Great to have to you back LiR.

Gilgamesh of Uruk wrote:

Was always in some doubt as to whether the story about Miss F was that she had been discovered "infragrante" or "in flagrante".

Gilgamesh of Uruk,

glad to see you once again. 9 days out of "combat"...the time to get a new donor kidney...I have three of them now, one new one and two "caduc" ones...just back from clinic...haven't  had yet time to read it all...will have to come a bit first to my "positives"...before I am fully operational again.

Your faithful Paul.

Good to see you back, Paul.

One cannot have too many kidneys. Good to hear you're back in combat, Paul.

There's a whole kidney industry out there waiting for you ... (human ingenuity when it comes to extricating the folding stuff from your pocket never ceases to amaze me)

Welcome back Paul.

We have a friend in Sweden desperately awaiting a Kidney donor, if you have one to spare.....