@Winston  @janetteB

Yes, spending time with our friends over there is our version of cottage time, as they live in a beautiful area just outside Victoria, surrounded by nature. And they are enthusiastic wine drinkers, so a great time altogether. It has been hot here (hot for us, anyway) so windows open 24/7 and fans going all night long. As…[Read more]

@puroandson    I thought I’d respond in the pub, as that is the appropriate place for sports talk, is it not?  🙂

Thank you for your kind thoughts. That young swimmer is quite a success story, I believe she’s only sixteen! The Australian team is seeing some nice results as well. But I picture Australia as a kind of perpetual beach party, so it…[Read more]

@puroandson      Also, Son of Puro, I have to second @Whisht‘s comments about your cousin. She has a great voice, very rich and soulful. I’ll bet she’s great on the blues/soul repertoire. And kudos to her on that gig. Way, way back in the day when I aspired to a career of that sort, I played a few times in those kind of pub-places where you were…[Read more]

@puroandson         I’m sorry, the ball has been dropped and I dropped it! Happy belated birthday, Puro! Some music for you, and the stories that go with it.

My husband played sackbut this morning at the Anglican cathedral downtown. He and his little gang of sackbutters accompanied the cathedral choir in a half-dozen compositions of 17th-cent…[Read more]

@puroandson        Well, I loved S8, but as I have written here before, Peter Capaldi had me the instant he poked his head out of the TARDIS. He is without doubt my AG Doctor. It also did what I hadn’t expected, in that it was a complete turnaround for Clara’s character. I hadn’t found her time with Matt Smith hugely engaging, except for the 50th…[Read more]

I saw this and was reminded of some conversation here recently about Xena.

https://twitter.com/Spacekatgal/status/674677279163854848

@ichabod    It is interesting, though, to think about the s**t that happens this way: “I”, or some continually developing version of me, lived with heat stroke in Egypt, really crazy government in Rome during the Empire, endless cockamamie religious wars in northern Europe, various forms of slavery and prostitution always and everywhere, lots o…[Read more]

Congratulations @Miapatrick on your distinction!

@puroandson     They stick to their ridiculous opinions even when their head’s about to be ripped off and eaten by a European bear.      My husband has just started reading a book called Don’t Think of An Elephant, all about why people can be persuaded to hold views that are actually against thei…[Read more]

I see I’ve been missing lots of lively discussion in the pub, as always. Just back from a week in Chicago. I could rant on and on about what an absolutely wonderful city that is. They are struggling with some horrendous social challenges, but there is so much on offer there that a week was simply not long enough. People are just astoundingly f…[Read more]

@puroandson      Sympathies on the uncertainties of a close election. It’s what we thought we were getting last fall until surprising numbers of voters actually coalesced around a single viewpoint.

I’ve been confused by some of what I’ve been reading, can you clarify for me? Your government has been a right wing coalition, but it includes the…[Read more]

@puroandson      I see you’ve gone all cerebral over at the pub (all very interesting, btw). As we are celebrating Canada Day today, I’ve got the music playing and thought I’d share. Just so you all don’t think that our only musical exports are named Justin, Celine, and Nickelback.  🙂

Today I have listened to the wonderful and idiosyncratic [Read more]

@lisa  @pedant        Speaking from a Canadian point of view, I would have thought that it isn’t so much a case of other countries being completely unwilling to do business with Britain, but more an acceptance (or not) of geographic and economic reality. Canada spent a number of years trying to diversify trade after running into problems deali…[Read more]

Oh, dear, that was long-winded. Oops. Well, it is a pub, hopefully philosophers are welcome if they buy a round!

@Whisht    I’m of the opinion that it’s our intentions that make all the difference. I don’t think we can ever entirely escape our cultural history, our upbringing, our generation, whatever it is that governs how we respond to things and people. Sometimes, it’s enough to understand that our instant assumptions aren’t always justified (while so…[Read more]

I originally came to leave this, because, well, it’s epic.

Hands up everyone who had ever heard a bass saxophone before?   🙂

@Bluesqueakpip

Will this do?

Also, how about the mad Newfie Celtic version of your contribution?   🙂