Canny lass

Here's this week's brain-teasers. I have to admit that only knew the answers to four questions. No points for guessing that nr. 12 was one of them! 1. In which year was the wearing of front seat belts made compulsory in England? 2. Pertussis is the medical name for which infectious disease? 3. Which Spanish singer was a goalkeeper with Real Madrid before a car crash ended his career? 4. Which bird was once known as the Halcyon? 5. What was the first name of the silent film star Fatty Arbuckle? 6. In which American state is The Garden of the Gods? 7. If one, two and three are Cardinal what are First, Second and Third? 8. By what name did Frances Glumm become better known? 9. At which battle of 1798 did the boy stand on the burning deck? 10. In which year was Hong Kong handed back to China? 11. Which metal provides an outer protective layer when iron is galvanised? 12. The berries of which evergreen tree are used to flavour gin? I’ll bet you didn’t know …. Pigeons in Venice were once fed grain mixed with contraceptives to stop them breeding. Answers on Thursday next week.

Tried to upload a video but I didn't succeed. However you can see the simple design of my "restaurant" in the photos. They learn very quickly to open the lid

You can encourage squirrels to come to your garden with a simple feeding box which, while they can be purchasedeasily are also very simple to make yourself. Hundreds of designs and building instructions on Internet. They like peanuts (natural, not salted) and sunflower seeds. I also buy loads of hazelnuts in their shells after Xmas when they are being spld off cheaply. Squirrels will travel quite a long way from their tree/nest for a good "restaurant" and they will entertain you for hours at very little cost to yourself.

I'm afraid i was, Vic! it's all part and parcel of having a winter birthday. The OH had it worse: I was "taken out" for lunch though - to this hunting tower where something "warming" was waiting to be enjoyed. Sauna and roll in the snow (which I missed last year) were enjoyed on my return followed by "something warming" as is the tradition. However, it was a bit different to the usual, Plenty of phone calls but didn't see a soul all day.

Not guilty! It's a matter of self preservation to get the flames quenched as quickly as possible when you are my age and living in a house that's both made of wood and surrounded by wood.

Answers to last week's quiz: 1. Jealousy 2. Dorset 3. Lizard 4. Bedrich Smetana 5. St. Gabriel 6. Lace 7. Theodore Roosevelt (1906) 8. Tommy Farr 9. Friday 10. Finding the Holy Grail 11. Rock (Not the Blackpool type) 12. Alan Mullery New quiz tomorrow.

16 Don't Leave Me This Way (Thelma Houston) 17 Never Can Say Goodbye (cos i've got one foot in both camps) (Gloria Gaynor)

I didn't! Does it work the other way around as well? Should I poke it in the eye will a tail pop out?

The first quiz of 2021: 1. What is often referred to as ‘the green-eyed monster’? 2. In which English county is the Isle of Purbeck? 3. Iguanas belong to which reptile family? 4. Who composed the opera The Bartered Bride? 5. Who is the patron saint of messengers? 6. What was the town of Mechelen in Belgium once famous for? 7. Who was the first US President to be awarded the Nobel Peace prize? 8. Which British boxer lost to Joe Louis on points in 1937 when fighting for the World Heavyweight Title? 9. On which day of the week is a child who is said to be “loving and giving” born? 10. What did Sir Lancelot’s adultery prevent him from doing? (Keep it clean)! 11. What is Gneiss a type of? 12. Which footballer was the first player to be sent off playing for England? I’ll bet you didn’t know …. There are more chickens than people in England. Answers on Thursday next week.

That's a very good question, Jammy! Makes you think twice about snakes and stick insects as well.

Canny Lass has told you the answers to all of these questions and here they are - complete with dates. I think the grading has to be 'Must pay more attention' 1. Mince Pies and Christmas Pudding (17 JUL 2020) 2. Reuters (19 JUN 2020) 3. 13 (21 AUG 2020) 4. America (07 AUG 2020) 5. 4’ 6” (22 MAY 2020) 6. Polar Bear (24 APR 2020) 7. They spit at each other (10 APR 2020) 8. A canon (11 SEP 2020) 9. Chewing gum (17 OCT 2020) 10. Redheads (13 NOV 2020) 11. German (01 MAY 2020) 12. Albania (09 OCT 2020) 13. 1631 (15 MAY 2020) 14. English. He never learned more than a few words. (24 JUL 2020) 15. False. It was Brandy. (12 JUN 2020) 16. Adolf Hitler (12 JUL 2020) 17. Mirrors (04 SEP 2020) 18. More than 17 miles (29 May 2020) 19. Ohio (20 NOV 2020) 20. Hiccups (06 NOV 2020) Normal service will be resumed with a new quiz tomorrow. I'm assuming that you want one as you are now in lockdown again and it's not much better here. We are continuing with our quiz night and your welcome to tag along here if it keeps you out of mischief for a few minutes.

Loving the two feet of snow! Definitely going to attempt a pair in the garden.

I thought we might start the New Year with a summary of the old one: Trump Death Covid Covid Trump Covid Trump Covid Covid More Covid Chrsitm …, Nope, Covid New Yea …, Nope, Brexit Don’t expect any New Year resolutions from me. I intend being the same awkward, cantankerous, irritating, sarcastic delight you’ve all come to know and love! Wishing you all a 2021 filled with good health, love and happiness. PS. Happy Birthday for tomorrow 3G

New Year Special: A quiz is not just a way to remind ourselves of what we know (or don’t know). It’s also a way to learn new things, to pick up small gems of wisdom which fit nicely into the category “one never knows when that might come in handy”. There have been plenty of those in the Friday Night Quiz. Thinking Caps on! Now is the time to see how your learning curve has developed during the pandemi: 1. What did Oliver Cromwell forbid anyone to eat? 2. Which news agency started in 1850 used pigeons? 3. Each century is longer than the previous by how many seconds? 4. A cow was killed in Cuba by a rocket from which country? 5. How long is the nose of the Statue of Liberty? 6. The liver of which animal is poisonous to humans because of the amount of Vitamin A it contains? 7. What do Massai tribesmen do to each other when they meet? 8. What did Queen Christina of Sweden have that was 10 inches long? 9. The Russian postal service will not deliver letters containing what? 10. Who have fewer hairs on their heads – redheads or blondes? 11. From an ancient form of which language does the word bride originate? 12. The king of which country smoked 100 cigarettes a day? 13. In which edition of the bible was the seventh commandment given as “Thou shalt commit adultery”? 14. Which language could King George 1 not speak? 15. Nelson’s body was returned to England in a barrel of Sherry. True or false? 16. Who started the custom of carrying a flaming torch from Athens to the site of the Olympic Games? 17. What did Queen Elizabeth 1 ban from the royal court? 18. Approximately how many miles of corridor are there in the Pentagon? 19. In which American state is there a law stating that pets must carry a light on their tails at night? 20. What was the result of Napoleon’s attempted suicide with poison? I’ll bet you didn’t know …. Over 72 000 pairs of nylon stockings were sold in New York on the very first day they were put on sale. Answers on Thursday 7 January 2021

Answers to the Christmas Special quiz: 1. White Christmas, Bing Crosby 2. i) Isländska ii) Italienska iii) Spanska iv) Danska v) Tyska 3. Turkey: The town Myra, in Lycia, was originally an ancient Greek town which became Roman Greek, then Byzantine Greek, then Ottoman Greek before becoming the small Turkish town of Kale (renamed Demre in 2005). Kale is found today in the present day Antalya province in Turkey. 4. 146 legs (?+32 = 178): 1 Partridge – 2 legs 2 Turtle doves – 4 legs 3 French hens – 6 legs 4 Calling birds – 8 legs 5 Golden rings – 0 legs 6 Geese a-laying – 12 legs 7 Swans a-swimming 14 legs 8 Maids a-milking –16 legs (possibly 32 more if the cows being milked were part of the gift)(Stool legs not included, as there is no adequate proof as to the number of legs per stool). 9 Ladies dancing – 18 legs 10 Lords a-leaping – 20 legs 11 Pipers piping – 22 legs 12 Drummers drumming – 24 legs 5. Cupid 6. Ebenezer 7. Michael Caine 8. Krampus 9. Jingle Bells 10. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York 11. Tiny tots 12. Dumbledore (a character created by J.K. Rowling in her Harry Potter books). 13. Following the Reformation in 1560 the Scottish Church refused to accept anything related to Catholicism including their religious holidays. In 1640 the Scottish Parliament passed a law which rendered the celebration of the Christmas holiday illegal. 14. Justin Trudeau 15. Norway 16. King George V in 1932 17. A Visit from St. Nicholas 18. To and From 19. Blitzen, Comet, Cupid, Dasher, Prancer, Vixen, Dancer and Donner 20. Santa Clause New Year Special coming up shortly.

Police are warning: all men who frequent clubs, party goers and unsuspecting bar regulars to be alert and stay cautious when offered a drink by any woman. A date rape drug on the market called “beer” is used by many females to target unsuspecting men. The drug is generally found in liquid form and is now available almost everywhere. It comes in bottles, cans, from taps and even large kegs. “Beer” is used by female sexual predators at parties and in bars to persuade their male victims to go home and have sex with them. Typically, a woman needs only to persuade a guy to consume a few units of “beer” and then simply ask him home for no-strings-attached sex. Men are rendered helpless against this approach. After several “beers” men will often succumb to her overtures and perform sexual acts on horrific looking women to whom they would never normally be attracted. After drinking “beer” men often wake up with only hazy memories of exactly what happened to them the night before, often with just a vague feeling that something bad occurred. At other times these unfortunate men are swindled out of their life savings in a familiar scam known as a “relationship”. It has been reported that in extreme cases, the female may even be shrewd enough to entrap the unsuspecting male into a longer form of servitude and punishment referred to as “marriage”. Apparently, men are much more susceptible to this scam after “beer” has been administered and sex has been offered by the predatory female over a period of time. PLEASE! Forward this warning to every male you know. However, if you do fall victim to this insidious “beer” and the predatory women administering it, there are male support groups with venues in many towns where you can discuss the details of your shocking encounter in an open and frank manner with similarly affected, like-minded men. For the support group nearest you, just look up “Golf Courses” in the yellow pages.

It’s a ’one-legged’ milking stool, a spin-off from the invention of Alfred Nobel who insisted that they were used by his workers when looking after his nitroglycerin vats (Absolut Vodka is not the only good thing to come from Sweden!). The stool prevented workers from falling asleep on the job and risking falling into the vat. Early health and safety, you might say. Nobel’s design was, of course, not so sophisticated as the one in the picture. A later, simple wooden design was used, not only by milk-maids but by people who like them moved from one workplace to another and were required to sit. Strapped to the rear end, you could take your seat with you while keeping your hands free to carry other essential work requirements – milking pails, for example. The modern variant is equipped with a spring coil which acts as a shock absorber for the spine.

Whoa! Whoa! Too Much Information!

The grandbairns definitely have their uses!

I'm afraid I would be needing proof about that. Are you quite sure it wasn't one of these: ...or even one of these?

Christmas Special! 1. Which Christmas song is the best-selling ever? 2. In English-speaking countries we say ”Merry Christmas”. To which European language has Google translated Merry Christmas here? i) Gleðileg jól ii) Buon Natale iii) Feliz Navidad iv) Glædelig jul v) Frohe Weihnachten 3. The modern Santa Clause, with a red outfit and a big white beard, is originally based on St Nicholas, an archbishop from Myra. In which modern day country was he born? 4. During the 12 days of Christmas, how many ‘legs’ did “my true-love give to me”? 5. Which one of Santa’s reindeer shares a name with a famous symbol of Valentine ’s Day? 6. In Charles Dickens’ novel “A Christmas Carol” what was the first name of Mr. Scrooge? 7. In The Muppet’s Christmas Carol who played Mr. Scrooge? 8. According to the folklore of Austria (and some other countries) what horned figure punishes naughty children at Christmastime? 9. What well-known Christmas song was the first to be broadcast from space in 1965? 10. Which holiday movie includes a cameo by Donald Trump 11. Whose eyes are “all aglow” in The Christmas Song? 12. Who said “One can never have enough socks. Another Christmas has come and gone and I didn’t get a single pair. People will insist on giving me books.” 13. Why did Scotland ban Christmas? 14. Which world leader celebrates his birthday on Christmas day? 15. Which country sends a tree every year to be erected in Trafalgar Square? 16. Which royal monarch made the first Christmas broadcast? 17. “Twas the Night Before Christmas” , Clement Clarke Moore’s classic poem,was originally published under what name? 18. What are the two most popular words used on Christmas gift tags? 19. We all know Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer, but what are the other eight called? 20. Who resurrected Frosty in Frosty the Snowman? I’ll bet you didn’t know …. Golf balls were originally made of leather stuffed with feathers. Answers will be posted on WEDNESDAY 30 December - together with a New Year Special (to keep you out of mischief).

Answers to last week's quiz: 1. Nod 2. Limestone 3. Change money 4. Hungary 5. Crewe Alexandra 6. DNA 7. Gorky Street 8. Left 9. A stone anchor 10. Aniseed 11. Shoulder Pork And Ham 12. Sherlock Holmes New quiz in a few minutes.

Lovely photo Maggie! There's somebody local who goes around putting old spectacles on those small, mossy mounds here . They look quite charming. Maybe something for you to start in England?

Yipee! It's Christmas! Let the celebrations begin!

Merry Christmas everybody!