@idiotsavon

I was a bit rushed when I posted earlier, but I have been thinking further about what you wrote and am inclined to continue the discussion, even though it means straying further off topic.

The idea that the interwoven threads in traditional stories have their origin in a prehistory common to all speakers of Indo-European languages is…[Read more]

@idiotsavon

So that might explain why the Grimm brothers didn’t confine themselves to purely German tales: they didn’t see folk tales as existing in geographical isolation

The point is that by the time the Grimm brothers were collecting them the stories had been thoroughly assimilated into German folk culture and given a regional twist, and the…[Read more]

@thane16

Marl in common English usage and according to the Oxford dictionary definition is a soil consisting of clay and lime used as a fertiliser. The marl which was used in this way in parts of Norfolk is to be found as a subsoil beneath lighter sandy top soils and overlying the chalk.

If your camellia looks healthy, with dark green, glossy…[Read more]

@idiotsavon

Yes, there is always that cross connection of recurrent themes and it goes back a very long way. People don’t always realise how much traffic there was across the whole of Europe, not only in goods but in cultural ideas and material traditions, even in prehistory. This was further facilitated during the centuries of the Roman empire,…[Read more]

@thane16

I’ve always assumed sand is, well, sand! With a normal pH and not at all acidic

I was generalising, of course, but sandy soils do tend to be acidic as well as low in fertility; the latter because they are so free draining that the nutrients get leached out.  In parts of Norfolk the soils are sandy and light from glacial deposits ov…[Read more]

@Craig

I emailed that link to my brother in France and his response this morning was. ‘Nice one! But isn’t there a worrying bit at the end where she falls off a cliff holding it, into an all-consuming fire, and the whole country comes crashing down?’

@CathAnnabel

The Antizone certainly shared some characteristics with the labyrinth, and Ribbons perhaps the Minotaur

The labyrinth and the minotaur of classical legend are to me firmly rooted in the Mediterranean and sun-baked Knossos, not the North of myth, legend and fairy tale which is evoked here. The Antizone reminded me more of a natural…[Read more]

SPOILER, SPOILER, SPOILER...

@Arch @pedant @Bluesqueakpip @thane16

Reverting if I may to the subject of moral issues raised by the decision to confine Tzim Sha in a stasis pod rather than killing him, I wrote yesterday evening that it might be considered a crueller fate than death. That does not mean that I thought it was not the right decision, not least because for Graham…[Read more]

I really wanted to like this, but my feeling while watching was that it was very much a curate’s egg – good in parts, but overall disappointing, because the story struck me as having a great deal more potential than was realised. It was a particular disappointment after last week’s episode, seeming as if Chibnall was aiming for a grand,…[Read more]

@thane16

It seems that you too are multiplying 🙂

I have to say “the grey leaves as a hint” wasn’t a hint for me

It’s all to do with conservation of moisture. narrow, greyish leaves with a thick surface – e.g. lavender, rosemary, santolina – retain moisture much better than large, soft leaves. Succulents, with thick, fleshy leaves and a leath…[Read more]

@thane16 (puro)

From your description I take it that the ‘landscaper’ has cut some (many?) of the stems of the lavender back to the bare wood, in which case they are very unlikely to sprout again. You could try cutting the bare stems back to ground level which might stimulate new growth from the base, but I would be inclined to just start again…[Read more]

A very Doctorish take on Through the Looking Glass, and perhaps the best and most imaginative episode so far this year. The initial misdirection was neatly done and the concept of an alternative and lonely universe yearning to connect with ours was compelling, though it rang faint bells and I’m not sure it was entirely original. As @pedant says,…[Read more]

BBC APPROVED SPOILERS...

@thane16 (17)

Happy birthday Thane. Enjoy the day, even if it does include school. 🙂

@pedant

So why is it suddenly an issue when Chibnall is doing what has usually been done?

Not suddenly at all as far as I am concerned. As I stated in my post above, it is something I have always wondered about, even if in the overall scheme of things it is a relatively minor stumbling block – and I emphasise, minor.

Evidently I came across as a…[Read more]

@blenkinsopthebrave

Yes, it does sometimes feel as if I’m beginning to disintegrate, but considering all the near-misses I’ve had in my life, from  polio at age 6* onward, I’m just happy to have survived so far in relatively bouncing form. And the inner me is  no than 30 – probably less.

* The mild form of the disease, so for me it entailed a l…[Read more]

@Arbutus (and everyone)

I saw the dermatologist yesterday, and she confirmed that the GP I saw was haring of on the wrong track and there was no way it could be a melanoma. She (the GP) was very pleasant, but if she does not know what a melanoma looks like I feel a bit relieved that she is not my regular doctor.

The consultant dermatologist…[Read more]

@pedant @Bluesqueakpip

It isn’t at all that I want or expect that a work of fiction, whether in a novel or drama, should adhere to facts at a documentary level; I do know the difference. It would, though, help me to suspend disbelief if there were, to adapt a quotation from W.S.Gilbert, enough  ‘… corroborative detail … to give…[Read more]

For anyone interested in the Pendle witches and who hasn’t already come across it, I can recommend the novel ‘Mist Over Pendle’ by Robert Neill.  It is quite a while since I last read it, but this has prompted me to consider re-reading it, perhaps over the Christmas holiday.