h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

You're right, Bagpuss.
William and Mary did rule jointly.
They had a great court composer named Henry
Purcell, who (among other duties) wrote
birthday pieces for Queen Mary. He also
wrote funeral music for her.
He died not long after she did, so they dusted
off the music for her funeral, and used it
for his as well.

But I never write anything interesting. You'll get a conversations list filled with banal pronouncements.

Isn't it fun when replies leapfrog each other like that

I'm very familiar with Purcell's Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary Paul - I once heard a performance of it in Exeter Cathedral, and part of it appears on the Clockwork Orange soundtrack

I'm being outdone here; I just used up all my knowledge of that bit of history.

Except... Wasn't William an orange or something?

Oooh, banal pronouncements.
I'm in hog heaven.

William of Orange was Dutch... was he the same William as William and Mary? Can't be - Cromwell sent William of Orange across the Irish Sea to quell the Irish (hence The Orange Order in Ulster), whereas William and Mary weren't much before Victoria I think.

Dang it all, someone's snagged my copy of 1066 and All That so I can't check on it

Hmmmm, so the 18th century never happened, Gosho?
Handel and Mozart and Thomas Jefferson would be
very disappointed to learn that.

Anyway, William was William the Third, I believe.
His full title was William of the Clockwork Orange.

How gloopy of me Paul, you're much more oomny than me.

Since you mention it, Gosho, 1066 And All That refers to "Williamandmary - England ruled by an orange" (quotation from memory, therefore wrong).

Oh sod it, I just have to check the facts now. Encyclopaedia Britannica reveals Will III and Will of Orange to be one and the same (technically he was William III Prince of Orange, there having been two Williams of Orange before him). William became king in 1689, which was just 31 years after Cromwell's death.

First Lizzy, then Jim. Cromwell rousted out
the crowned heads for a while. Then Chuck
came in for a while, and he was followed
by Bill and Mary.

And Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice

"1066 and All That"

My Mom had a copy that someone snagged, too. We also had copies of "From Pillar to Post" and "Home Sweet Home", which were terrific and also snagged by someone. I haven't seen them for more than 25 years and still recall the illustrations.

http://www.adh.brighton.ac.uk/schoolofdesign/MA.COURSE/01/LIALancaster.html
http://isd.canberra.edu.au/~ajc/cathy/osbert.html
http://isd.canberra.edu.au/~ajc/artists-corner.html

Wibble.

I finally remembered to try walking backwards in flip-flops, and had no problem with it at all.



They don't make that distinctive "fwip" sound with every step though, since you need to grip with your toes to keep them from falling off. At least *I* need to grip them with my toes to keep them from falling off, but that may just be because my feet are narrow and the straps are always too loose anyway.

It would be interesting to hear how it works on someone with normal width feet, whose flip-flop straps actually fit.

You can always find something for breakfast, you just have to widen your concept of what constitutes breakfast food.

That's today's thought btw.

Pizza is ideal - being nature's perfect food, it's ideal *any* time of day!

It has to go well with coffee, though.
That's the important thing.

Not if you don't drink coffee!

But I *do* drink coffee, Lady Scott.

Even if I didn't, though, there would be no harm in
eating food that would go well if there were coffee
to drink with it.