Canny lass

Well stocked up om split peas since my last visit to Blighty but thanks anyway! ...and, this may sound strange, but my all-time favpourite stottie filling is Fried pork sausage - split in half lengthways - and orange marmalade! It was also one of my father's favourites to take down the pit in his 'bait'.

Get crackin! 1. In a game of snooker, which colour ball is worth 5 points? 2. In which novel did Michael Henchard sell his wife for five guineas? 3. What do we call the loss of water from the leaves of plants? 4. Who had a hit in 1972 with the song Sylvia’s mother? 5. If A is Alpha and T is Tango what is M? 6. True or false: Glyndebourne Opera House is in East Sussex? 7. In which country is the Vosges mountain range? 8. What do the initials C.G. stand for on an Ordnance Survey Map? 9. How many standard bottles are there in a Nebuchadnezzar? 10. Which is the only bird that can fly backwards 11. If a person is lapidated what happens to them? 12. Whose legendary horse was called Lamri? I’ll bet you didn’t know …. Two army teams once competed in a Tug of War battle for 2 hours and 41 minutes. Answers on Thursday!

There's a few 'golden oldies there! Love the car Vic! My OH is green with envy. He's building a sports car from scratch. Started 2012 and it's coming along nicely.

I'll definitely be making this!

Answers to last week's quiz: 1. Burj Khalifa, Dubai (828m) 2. Pope Francis 3. Alexander Flemming 4. 1912 5. Showaddywaddy 6. 6 months 7. 20, 000 8. 2006 9. David Randolph Scott 10. 7 11. Cambodia 12. Live and let die New quiz tomorrow!

Sorry it's a bit late. Snow shovelling has started with a bang! 1. What is the highest building in the world? 2. By which name is Jorge Mario Bergoglio better known? 3. Who discovered penicillin? 4. In what year did the Titanic sink on her maiden voyage? 5. Which pop group was formed in 1973 by amalgamating the two groups: Choise and Golden Hammers? 6. What is the average life-span of a dragonfly? 7. Approximately how many breaths does an adult male take every day? 8. Which year did Arsenal move from Highbury to The Emirates Stadium? 9. Who dropped a feather and a hammer on the moon to show that, without air, they would fall at the same speed? 10. How many players in a water-polo team? 11. In which country can you find Angkor Wat? 12. In which James Bond novel/film do we meet the character Tee Hee? I’ll bet you didn’t know …. An Ohio law states that pets have to carry lights on their tails at night. Answers on Thursday.

Answers to last wek's quiz: 1. Mahatma Gandhi 2. Edo 3. The libretto 4. Pace, drove or herd, 5. 12 6. To the commemorate Napoleon’s victory 7. Robben Island 8. Ethyl alcohol (drinkable) 9. 1776 10. Homer 11. Silver 12. Lebanon New quiz tomorrow and Christmas special being prepared!

Are you seriously telling me that the Arc de Triumph was built as an armchair for a giant?

21 confirmed!

It's Friday! It's quiz night! 1. Who was totally for non-violence but never received the Nobel Peace Prize, despite being nominated five times? 2. What was the earlier name of Tokyo? 3. What is the text of an opera called? 4. What name do we give to a group of donkeys? 5. How many edges does a cube have? 6. For what was the Arc de Triumph, in Paris, built? 7. Nelson Mandela was imprisoned on which island? 8. What is C2H5OH? 9. What year is represented here: MDCCLXXVI? 10. Which Greek wrote The Iliad and Odysseus? 11. For what is Ag the chemical symbol? 12. Cedar is the national tree of which country? I’ll bet you didn’t know …. Redheads have fewer hairs on their heads than blondes. Answers on Thursday next week!

Answers to last week's quiz; 1. Collar bone 2. Basketball 3. Harold II 4. Joe Orton 5. Norwegian 6. Tower of London 7. Circe 8. Avon 9. Margaret Thatcher and Prince Philip (Not together, I hasten to add!) 10. Cheam 11. Spender 12. Miss Sophie New quiz tomorrow!

Is that what I'mve been doing wrong!

Painful and at the same time beautiful! Certainly would make me think twice before ignoring the advice being given to EVERYONE, not just the chosen few, on how we can help reduce the spread of Covid-19. Thanks for sharing that, Eggy!

Welcome back yersel!!!

That's certainly true, Vic. People only knew the sounds that they heard on daily basis, among the people they rubbed shoulders with, so there was no need for any adaptation in order to be understood. It's the ability to move about the country and the world that waters down our lovely dialects (and the dialects of all other western countries). I agree with you that there are differences even locally, particularly in the vocabulary of the areas - some more pronounced than others. I managed Blyth and Ashington no bother but had difficulties with Morpeth. I remember a Morpeth friend saying to me at a staff party, as she nodded in the direction of the bar: "Deek i thi mort carey wi the bary colga". I thought she was asking if she should get a round in so I just nodded in agreement but when she made no effort to move I realised that I must have been mistaken. I think the only bit I'd ever heard before was 'bar'. Turned out she was pointing out a young lad with a bonny jacket (who became her husband a few years later)

Jojo, there's nothing silly or daft about the geordie twang - or North Eastern dialect, as it's called in linguistic parlance. I was also born at Netherton and grew up with it. I've had to modify it on my travels in order to be understood, as no country teaches it as a second language. Only the Queens English (received pronunciation, RP, to give it its full handle) is good enough för for that purpose. This does not imply that RP is better or more superior in any way. It is simply because it is the accepted standard worldwide thus aiding communication the world over. Imagine a meeting of the European parliament where every country chooses to use one of its many dialects instead of its standard version! It's standard English and a gigantic, well oiled machinery of simultaneous interpretators and translators that make it possible for any communication to take place. It's difficult but it would be impossible if everybody spoke in dialects. As I said earlier, dialects are not taught in schools. On the contrary, I'm old enough to remember 'articulation' lessons in school, during the 50's, when moves were afoot nationally to eradicate some dialects, usually working class dialects and Geordie was top of the list! However, it held it's ground and achieved almost cult status in the late 80's, turning up on TV, radio and even in films where it started to be used by characters with social, educational or professional standing rather than by portrayed thugs and layabouts. Gliff, gully and cheble I remember well but no longer use, and the first words my husband (not British) learned from me were "by hinny this cheble's claggy" - picked up over a pint in a pub probably known to most people here. Claggy and clarty are, however, two words that have stayed with me even after 30 odd years living abroad. Even the occasional 'mebbies' instead of 'maybe' has been known to escape my lips. Dialects are being diluted because we move about much more freely than we've ever done. We aid communication in one of three ways: we modify our own dialect, we adopt the dialect of the other speakers or we revert to Queen's English as best we can - at risk of being accused of 'tring to be posh' or of 'putting on airs and graces'. So words and phrases are disappearing. There are a few stalwarts, including this site's very own HPW (High pit Wilma) who carry on the tradition - if you want to read some of his wonderful posts. Sadly, in reality, the dialects have no written form. We all write our own version which makes the content available to very few people - that's to say, those who are familiar with the spoken version. Even more sad is that within a half century or so, all information in the texts will be lost as only a handful of academics specializing in the North Eastern dialect will be able to read them. Gaan canny!

On your marks, get set, GO! 1. What is the more common name for the clavicle? 2. With which sport do you associate Michael Jordan? 3. Who was the last Saxon king of England? 4. Which English playwright was murdered by his lover , Kenneth Halliwell, in 1967? 5. What nationality was the composer Edvard Grieg? 6. Where in London would you see the White Tower? 7. Which sorceress turned Odysseus’ men into swine? 8. What is the Celtic name for ‘river’? 9. Who said “We live over the shop”? 10. Which Berkshire school did Prince Charles attend? 11. In which TV series did Jimmy Nail play a Geordie detective? 12. Pomeroy, Von Schneider, Winterbottom and Sir Toby,were the dinner guests. Who was the hostess? I’ll bet you didn’t know …. Napoleon tried to kill himself but because the poison he took was old it had lost its potency and gave him hiccups instead. Answers on Thursday.

Fair point, Vic! The 'country' was, as you say, USA. The city was Los Angeles. Bonus point awarded.

With Christmas fast approaching your thoughts may already be turning to what to buy for the young lady in your life. Shopping can be a nightmare, especially if you are thinking of buying clothing of a ‘more personal nature’. Here’s some handy information on bras which may be of help: Bras come in 4 types: Catholic – supports the masses Salvation Army – lifts the fallen Presbyterian – keeps them staunch and upright Baptist – makes mountains out of molehills Then there’s the lettering system for the cup size! But, we women have a simple way of remembering it: A – Almost boobs B – Barely there C –Can’t complain D –Dang! DD – Double dang! E – Enormous F – Fake G – Get a reduction for Heaven’s sake! H – Help me; I’m falling over (sometimes simply labeled as ‘The over-shoulder, boulder holder) Happy shopping

Answers to last week's quiz: 1. George Harrison 2. Cake 3. Los Angeles 4. Bricklayer 5. Amstel 6. Micron 7. Jean Castex 8. Tea 9. Dr Doolittle 10. Tower Bridge 11. Eddie Waring 12. A dress New quiz tomorrow!

We haven't seen ours out yet. New recommendations for over 70's last week is that they should now follow the same recommendations as everybody else. This is not because the situation is now safer for us to leave our homes but because the number of over 70's seeking help for depression has risen alarmingly. Also new for us is that local authorities may now make their own rules. Several counties (including mine) have now ruled that people should stay at home. Back to the drawingboard it is for us then. Now in day 230 0f isolation.

You're more than welcome! We don't stand on ceremony so there's no need to get dressed up for the occasion. Slippers on, is recommended though - as is pint in hand - and, as nobody can see you, you can even lounge around in your 'loincloth', laundered or otherwise.

Well..., to be fair, it's like Eggy said "man admits when he is wrong" and that 'man' had clearly realized that that he'd not included sufficient grey cells in his design.

Bedlingtonians are fantastic!

I think that's correct. Bank Cottage seems to have a long history. I think its location is shown better on this map from 1860: It can be easily seen that the building matches the photo, standing at right angles to the road and the terraced houses beyond it. I don't know much about it but I can see from the 1911 census that it was small as it then housed two families - one in 3 rooms and the other in 2 rooms.