Saturday 3 March 2018

MARCH THE FIRST IS.....



Actually, March the first is National Pig Day in America. I expected the cartoonists to have a field day with pictures of Trump. but no luck so far.

We live in interesting times. It was February, so I suppose that we ought o expect winter weather, and it duly arrived. And the country seized up, as it always does when something unexpected in the weather turns up. I think it was the winter of 1961-2 that there was a big freeze-up, with snow lasting on the ground from Christmas right the way through until March. It’s when we learnt how to drive on snow, and all of that sort of stuff. We haven’t had anything much like that since. The result is that there are a lot of people driving who do not know how to drive on snow, so they crawl everywhere and frequently stop and then wonder why they get stuck. We were in Dorset when it all started, and drove back in 3 hours without too much trouble, but I had to overtake lines of traffic in the inside lane with a stuck car at the front. You could do this because you can get better adhesion  on virgin snow that on consolidated snow and ice.

However, enough of that, as the sun is now shining, the snow is melting, and we can get to the bird feeder again. It will mean that the grandchildren’s fun is about over – Leon’s younger daughter managed to train the family retriever to pull her along on a sled, which makes a change from constant fiddling with her iPhone. Her older sister has closed all her social media accounts, having discovered how much time is wasted on them when there are other more important things to say and do.

I spent a happy fortnight writing a 10 round quiz as a fund-raiser for the Bowls Club that we used to belong to in Bidborough. Quite fun to do, and they should get a figure a bit north of £1000, which is a drop in the ocean compared with what they probably need to bring the pavilion up to date. Tesco has it right, though.

Interesting program on Greece the other day. Apparently Greece has more armed forces than UK and France put together, or something like that. They fear the infidels to their immediate east, and regard themselves as the easternmost outpost of Christianity. But there have been wars between Greece and Turkey ever since the Trojan wars, so it probably goes a little deeper what they now are saying.

This is all too serious, so here are some old and some new ones: When you get bored, skip to the end for a really good link. Otherwise enjoy March.


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At  last, confirmation of 'Murphy's Law' with a wonderful Irish explanation:
Murphy drops some buttered toast on the kitchen floor,  and lo behold.... it lands butter-side-up.

He looks down in astonishment, for he knows it's a law of the universe that buttered toast ALWAYS is butter-down. So he rushes round to the Parish to fetch Father  Flanagan.

He tells the Priest that a miracle has occurred in his  kitchen. He won't say what it is, but asks Flanagan to come and  see it with his own eyes.

He leads Fr. Flanagan into the kitchen and  asks him what he sees on the floor.
"Well," says the Priest, "it's  pretty obvious that someone has dropped some buttered toast on the floor  and then, for some reason, they flipped it over so that the butter was  on top."

“No Father, I dropped it and it landed like that!"  exclaimed Murphy.

"Oh my Lord," says Fr. Flanagan, "Dropped toast  never falls with the butter side up... it's a miracle... but wait... it's not for me to say it's a miracle, I'll have to report this matter to the Bishop and he'll have to deal with it. He'll send some people round to interview you, take photos, etc."

A thorough investigation is conducted, not only by the Archdiocese but by scientists sent over from the Curia in Rome. No expense is spared. There is great excitement in the town as everyone knows that a miracle will bring in much needed tourism revenue.

Then, after 8 long weeks and with great fanfare, the Bishop announces the final ruling.

"It  is certain that some kind of an extraordinary event took place in Murphy's kitchen, quite outside the natural laws of the universe. Yet  the Holy See must be very cautious before ruling a miracle and all other explanations must be ruled out."

"Unfortunately in this case it has been declared 'No Miracle' because they think... Murphy may have buttered the toast on the wrong side!"

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 Someone had too much time on their hands and came up with this!

1. Two antennae met on a roof, fell in love and got married. The ceremony wasn't much, but the reception was excellent. 
  
2.. A jumper cable walks into a bar. 
The bartender says, "I'll serve you, but don't start anything."

3. Two peanuts walk into a bar, and one was a salted. 

4. A dyslexic man walked into a bra.

5. A man walks into a bar with a slab of asphalt under his arm, and says: "A beer please, and one for the road."

6. Two cannibals are eating a clown. One says to the other: "Does this taste funny to you?"

7. "Doc, I can't stop singing The Green, Green Grass of Home."
   "That sounds like Tom Jones Syndrome."
   "Is it common?"
   "Well, It's Not Unusual."

8. Two cows are standing next to each other in a field.  
Daisy says to Dolly, "I was artificially inseminated this morning."
   "I don't believe you," says Dolly..
   "It's true; no bull!" exclaims Daisy.

9. An invisible man marries an invisible woman. The kids were nothing to look at either..

10. Deja Moo: The feeling that you've heard this bull before.

11. I went to buy some camouflage trousers the other day, but I couldn't find any.

12. A man woke up in a hospital after a serious accident.  
He shouted, "Doctor, doctor, I can't feel my legs!" 
The doctor replied, "I know, I amputated your arms!"

13. I went to a seafood disco last week...And pulled a mussel.

14. What do you call a fish with no eyes? A fsh.

15. Two fish swim into a concrete wall. The one turns to the other and says, "Dam!"

16. Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly, so they lit a fire in the craft. 
Not surprisingly it sank, proving once again that you can't have your kayak and heat it too.

17. A group of chess enthusiasts checked into a hotel, and were standing in the lobby discussing their recent tournament victories.

   After about an hour, the manager came out of the office and asked them to disperse. 

   "But why," they asked, as they moved off.

   "Because," he said. "I can't stand chess-nuts boasting in an open foyer." 

18. A woman has twins, and gives them up for adoption. 
One of them goes to a family in Egypt, and is named 'Ahmal.' 
The other goes to a family in Spain; they name him 'Juan.' 
Years later, Juan sends a picture of himself to his birth mother. 
Upon receiving the picture, she tells her husband that she wishes she also had a picture of Ahmal. 

Her husband responds, "They're twins! If you've seen Juan, you've seen Ahmal."

19. Mahatma Gandhi, as you know, walked barefoot most of the time, 
which produced an impressive set of calluses on his feet. He also ate very little, which made him rather frail and with his odd diet, he suffered from bad breath. 

This made him...A super-calloused fragile mystic hexed by halitosis.

20. A dwarf, who was a mystic, escaped from jail. 
The call went out that there was a small medium at large.

21. And finally, there was the person who sent twenty different puns to his friends, 
with the hope that at least ten of the puns would make them laugh. 
No pun in ten did.

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Bons mots

Last week, I stated this woman was the ugliest woman I had ever seen. I have since been visited by her sister, and now wish to withdraw that statement..
- Mark Twain

The secret of a good sermon is to have a good beginning and a good ending; and to have the two as close together as possible
- George Burns

Santa Claus has the right idea. Visit people only once a year.
- Victor Borge

Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint.
- Mark Twain

By all means, marry. If you get a good wife, you'll become happy; if you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher.
- Socrates

I was married by a judge. I should have asked for a jury.
- Groucho Marx

My wife has a slight impediment in her speech. Every now and then she stops to breathe.
- Jimmy Durante

I have never hated a man enough to give him his diamonds back.
- Zsa Zsa Gabor

Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four essential food groups: alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
- Alex Levine

My luck is so bad that if I bought a cemetery, people would stop dying.
- Rodney Dangerfield

 Money can't buy you happiness .... But it does bring you a more pleasant form of misery.
- Spike Milligan

Until I was thirteen, I thought my name was SHUT UP .
- Joe Namath

I don't feel old. I don't feel anything until noon. Then it's time for my nap.
- Bob Hope

I never drink water because of the disgusting things that fish do in it..
- W. C. Fields

Sometimes, when I look at my children, I say to myself, 'Lillian, you should have remained a virgin..'
-Lillian Carter (mother of Jimmy Carter)

I had a rose named after me and I was very flattered. But I was not pleased to read the description in the catalogue: - 'No good in a bed, but fine against a wall.'
- Eleanor Roosevelt

We could certainly slow the aging process down if it had to work its way through Congress.
- Will Rogers

Don't worry about avoiding temptation.   As you grow older, it will avoid you.
- Winston Churchill

Maybe it's true that life begins at fifty .. But everything else starts to wear out, fall out, or spread out..
- Phyllis Diller

By the time a man is wise enough to watch his step, he's too old to go anywhere.
- Billy Crystal

And the cardiologist's diet: -
If it tastes good, spit it out.

May your troubles be less, may your blessings be more, and may nothing but happiness come through your door.

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And here is the link. You have seen the picture, probably, but this puts it in context.