Canny lass

"Error" is simply another word for 'contribution to the development of the English language'. Trust me I'm linguist! Language is lazy! It's always looking for the easy way out both in speech and writing. One of the commonest causes of language change is the repeated deviation from the 'norm' of spelling and grammar. Spellings which don't adhere to the norm, if used often enough, WILL become the new norm - take recognise and recognize as just one of a thousand examples. Deviation from the norm can do two things: Disturb communication or Destroy communication The function of language is to enable communication, so destruction will defeat its purpose. However, a disturbance will not. The language used is still understandable and the speaker/writer is still communicating. Example: Disturbed communication: Nvr apolgse fr yor spllng mistks. Destroyed communication: Verne apologized for your spilling smisktea. Those two sentences, full of spelling mistakes are one and the same. Which one do you understand? Never knock yourself for spelling which deviates from the 'norm'. The reader (providing they have the same mother tongue) will make the necessary corrections in their head and communication will not be destroyed. If it is destroyed, they will ask for clarification.

They are called Turkish Pepper here and I think that's the name I remember from my childhood. You can get Salmiak tasting everything here - not just 'boiled bullets': Ice-cream Ice lollies Chocolate Liquorice sticks and my favourite alcohol shots Of course, you can make this very easily and cheaply by dissolving a packet of these into any bottle of Vodka. Great for warming you up on a cold day!

Would it be these, Vic? Rock hard, boiled sweets with a powdery salmiak centre:

You and I must be soul mates of the first degree! I love anything with salmiak!

Are we ready for this week's challenge? Pencils poised? Thinking caps on? Right, let's get going: 1. On what date does Halloween fall? 2. In which Scottish town was James Watt born? 3. How many metres in a mile? 4. In which Dickens novel does Thomas Gradgrind of Coketown appaer? 5. Spanish flu, 1918-1920, claimed 50 million lives. Where did it start? 6. In which year was the Apple iphone launched? 7. Which Harrod’s boss became Chairman of Fulham FC? 8. Who said, after winning the Grand National, “Sex is an anti-climax after that”? 9. By what name is polytetrafluoroethylene better known? 10. What was the name of the raft which Thor Heyerdahl used to sail from Peru in 1947? 11. Which country invaded Kuwait in 1990? 12. Which British cathedral has three spires? I’ll bet you didn’t know …. King George I couldn’t speak English. Answers, as usual, on Thursday,

I remember them - but they didn't come in a bag they came in a small tin box about the size of a matchbox but a bit thinner. My father used to take them down the pit instead of cigarettes.

Answers to last week's quiz: 1. Never Say Never Again 2. Pebble dash (or rough cast) 3. Susan Brown 4. India 5. A bat 6. Christmas rose 7. Beaver 8. Kamikaze 9. Benjamin 10. Tau 11. Holland 12. Epsom Salts New quiz tomorrow!

As a child i was often in Eyemouth on family holidays. We kids were fascinated by what we called "the pirate's graveyard" because of all the skull and crossbones figures on the tombstones. We genuinely believed that this was where pirates were buried. However, we were later told by a scot that this was in fact a very popular thing to put on Scottish tombs (and even on crucifixes in churches) as a symbol of mortality - a reminder to the onlooker that we are not immortal and would go the same way as the bloke in the grave. Others preferred to display the symbol for immortality - an angel/cherub or just a pair of angel's wings. Really shattered my childhood illusions!

I have a good friend with MS who swears by it.

Shame on you (for wanting to bring that law back)! Christmas pudding and mince pies are the highlight of my seasonal menu. I still make my own pudding every Boxing day for the following year. There's only me who likes it so I get a whole pudding to myself - I also get all the brandy sauce and brandy butter. Usually lasts me a week and the last slice is always fried in the last of the brandy butter and eaten for breakfast on New year's day. Great for hangovers!! Not so good for the waistline!!!!

I just love these photos from underground! Always appalling conditions yet always a smile on their faces. I've yet to see a miserable face underground. Thanks for posting.

... and very welcome you are HPW! A've missed ya geordie twang! Hope the missus is OK and that you're both keeping safe.

The nice thing about this quiz is that, unlike a pub quiz, you are allowed to google for the answer, thereby building up a mountain of knowledge that will probably never be used again. But it puts an hour to use on a Friday evening.

Here we go again: 1. In which 1984 film did Sean Connery return as James Bond after a 13 year gap? 2. What in the building trade is called ‘harling’ in Scotland? 3. Who was the first woman to participate in the University Boat Race? 4. In which country was Salman Rushdie born? 5. What sort of creature is a pipistrelle? 6. Helleborus niger is better known as which perennial plant? 7. Which animal is Canada’s official emblem? 8. Which word meaning ‘divine wind’ describes suicide missions of Japanese pilots? 9. Who, in the bible, was the youngest son of jacob? 10. Which letter of the Greek alphabet is the equivalent to T? 11. The 1969 Eurovision Song Contest ended in a four-way tie between France, UK, Spain and which other country? 12. What is Magnesium Sulphate called when used as a laxative? I’ll bet you didn’t know …. Oliver Cromwell passed a law forbidding anyone to eat mince pies or Christmas pudding. Answers on Thursday.

Answers to last week's quiz: 1. John Glenn 2. Speedy Gonzales 3. Hypnotism 4. White or Bluish white, but variations can occur 5. Cork 6. Postcards 7. Apple tree 8. A lip ornament 9. 30 10. Bedrock 11. Kevin Keegan 12. Sierra

My older sister worked there in the early fifties. Unfortunately, I have no photos.

Here's last Friday's quiz, Vic. Answers on Thursday as usual: 1. Who was the first American to orbit the earth? 2. Who was the ‘fastest mouse in all Mexico’? 3. With which branch of medicine is Mesmer associated? 4. What colour is a moonstone? 5. Which Irish county is Blarney in? 6. What do deltiologists collect? 7. What type of tree is a Pirus Malus? 8. What is a labret? 9. A pearl wedding celebrates how many years of marriage? 10. In which town do the Flintstones live? 11. Which football player advertised Brut in the 1980s? 12. If B is Bravo and N is November, what is S? I’ll bet you didn’t know …. The custom of carrying a flaming torch from Athens to the site of the Olympic Games was started by Adolf Hitler in 1936.

The "world" doesn't appear to include us, I'm actually pleased to say in this instance! We've had no 'official' lockdown to come out of but the majority of folks still seem to be following government recommendations. for which I'm thankfull. We have had a high death rate from Covid but 50% of them occurred in homes for the elderly. That's tragic of course but, to me, it also indicates that the other half - who, mostly, are going about their business in a sensible manner and following recommendations - have done a fantastic job in keeping the numbers down. Take away the deaths occurring in homes for the elderly and we actually have a very low death rate here. Some other countries complain about our numbers being three times as many as theirs but we have three times the population as well, so I think It's a little unjustified. I haven't been short of time for gardening, Eggy. Just the opposite - the garden has had one of its best 'overhauls' in years. It is big, but we have modern machinery to help and we even have wifi out there. No need to sit indoors to use a laptop.

Everything's fine here, Vic! Day 114 in isolation för the over 70's and not looking like we're to be allowed out any time soon. I'll have to find something else to keep me out of mischief on a Thursday and Friday afternoon/night then. Gardening and feeding the wildlife is morning work. Last quiz, now that Britain is going to the pub on a Friday again: I thought you's didn't want the quiz anymore so I haven't posted one but I still do the quiz, which I e-mail out on Fridays, for the family and friends. I can mail it to you too, Vic - or I can start to post it here again.

Answers to last week's quiz: 1. Ikea 2. Nothing compares 2 U 3. Blackthorn 4. All Saints Day 5. Brazil 6. Baron Frankenstein 7. K 8. Poult 9. Ice Skating 10. Nunatak 11. Bona fide 12. Larry Grayson

I'll have to find something else to keep me out of mischief on a Thursday and Friday afternoon/night then. Gardening and feeding the wildlife is morning work. Last quiz, now that Britain is going to the pub on a Friday again: 1. Which furniture chain was founded in 1950 in Sweden by Ingvar Kamprad? 2. Which Sinead O’Connor single topped the charts in 1990? 3. Sloes are the fruit of which shrub? 4. By what name is November 1st known? 5. Which was the first country to win football’s World Cup four times? 6. Which screen role connects Peter Cushing, Boris Karloff, Sting and Kenneth Branagh? 7. Which is the only letter worth five points in a game of Scrabble? 8. What is a young turkey called? 9. Brian Orser was a world champion in which sport? 10. What name is given to an isolated mountain peak protruding through an ice sheet? 11. Which well known Latin phrase means ‘in good faith’? 12. Whose catchphrase was “Shut that door!”? I’ll bet you didn’t know …. Al Capone’s business card gave his profession as ‘secondhand furniture dealer’.

Answers to last week's quiz: 1. Twenty 2. 305, Add 61 to each number 3. Bohemian Rhapsody 4. Abraham Lincoln 5. Joule 6. Kedgeree 7. A tree 8. Seth 9. Jack Shepherd 10. Three 11. String 12. Crossed swords New quiz being prepared for tomorrow.

That's an improvement! Thanks Malcolm!

Could be worse - you may have had to cover yourself in jam/glue/ treacle. Be thankful for the small things in life.

I've got the same problem! Must be catching!