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King Edward VI Grammar School, Stratford-upon-Avon.. Today''s Cheese Recommendation.. "French Cheeses" - Book Review.. Cheese and Jam Sandwiches...
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King Edward VI Grammar School, Stratford-upon-Avon
The image at the top of this page is an old postcard of the 1907 Shakespeare's Birthday Parade passing King Edward VI Grammar School and the almshouses in Stratford-upon-Avon. One of the traditions of the parade is that, when it reaches the school, the staff and pupils come out and lead the procession to the church where Shakespeare is buried. I was a pupil at KES from 1948 to 1955 and took part in the procession several times, clutching a small bunch of flowers and trying not to be seen by children from the other local schools who would take the mickey mercilessly.
It's a great school and I was privileged to go there, although at the time I didn't appreciate it fully. The staff were excellent and I can still recall most of them, some with trepidation but most with a great deal of pleasure.
Today's Cheese Recommendation
Vieux Lille.
Also know as Gris de Lille, Puant de Lille and Puant Macere, this is one of my favourites which I always look for in the supermarkets in Calais or Boulogne. "Puant" means it niffs a lot - and it certainly does ! The book says it is soaked for three months in brine to give it a salty taste, and that the stronger it smells the more the locals like it - certainly true of me, even though I'm not a local. Mind you, it would be worth moving to Lille just to be able to get this more easily !! If you are brave and don't mind a pungent aroma in the house, try it !!
"French Cheeses" - Book Review
May I recommend "French Cheeses", written by Kazuko Masui and Tomoko Yamada and published by Dorling Kindersley (ISBN 1 4053 0666 1) in 2004. This was a Xmas present a few years ago and has now become my bible. It contains descriptions and illustrations of about 350 of the most delicious of the French cheeses, plus hints on how to store them etc.
Obviously you don't want to carry a book around with you when shopping, so I suggest a small notebook in which you record the names of those cheeses which interest you most. I already do this with books - stops me buying the same book twice which I've done before now !!
If you like cheese, get this book - and no, I'm not on commission, this is a genuine recommendation !!
Cheese and Jam Sandwiches.
I've been enjoying cheese and jam sandwiches for more than 60 years now, and intend to continue doing so for the next 60 ! Having read a few other comments about this delightful mix of flavours, I see that there is some debate as to which cheese to use. As far as I am concerned, any cheese is OK - and any jam too - but NOT marmalade. And don't forget to butter the bread. You can also spread jam on toasted cheese sandwiches. Why don't restaurants serve this I wonder - are people so narrow-minded as to be put off by the thought of such a combination ?
I also love jam on cake, especially fruit-cake. I used to get yelled at when I was a kid and tried to spread it on my Xmas cake !
What has happened to Adverbs ?
This is the latest of my grumbles about the awful grammar which is prevalent today. The adverb seems to have disappeared ! An example:- "He did real good !" This phrase is commonly heard and in most cases the speaker or writer intends to convey the message that the person about whom they are talking or writing had a successful time. My response when hearing that phrase is "Really ? To whom ?" What they should say of course is "He did really well", but I'm sure I need hardly point that out if you are taking time to read this ! I'll have more to write about this later as my breakfast (cheese on toast of course) is ready.
The Apostrophe.
I was going to have a go about the misuse of apostrophes, but instead I'm putting in a link to "The Apostrophe Protection Society" which has an excellent explanatory website - go there !!
The difference between "your" and "you're" is also interesting - there are lots of examples on the website, some very amusing !!
"Less" and "Fewer" - another grammar lesson !
This is another very common fault nowadays. The simple rule is to remember "fewer in number, less in quantity". Thus for example "less sugar" but "fewer lumps of sugar" - you would not, after all, say "fewer sugar", although some might say "less lumps of sugar" ! Try to get it right !! Otherwise you will get detention and a hundred lines.
Meatball Sandwiches
When I lived in Rhode Island in the 1960s, we used to frequent a little take-away restaurant in, I think, Cranston, which made the best Boston Submarine Sandwiches ever. They were basically a nine-inch bread roll filled with meatballs and gravy, and were very moorish - we used to sit in the car and eat them. I recall one night stopping there in a snowstorm and being told by a policeman that we could only stop in an emergency. We told him it was an emergency because we didn't have anything to eat, so he laughed and buggered off !
In recent years I have visited Philadelphia and can recommend a little place in the bottom of the Bellevue Hotel at Broad and Walnut - can't remember the name but it's easy to find, and they do very good meatball sandwiches !
And next time you have one, don't forget the CHEESE !!!
Time to go to Calais
We are running out of wine, so it's time for a trip across the channel. It's usually too long for a day trip - about 400 miles driving - so the last couple of times we have been we stayed overnight. I remember a little hotel in Gravelines where we stayed a few years ago - great hot chocolate for breakfast. And then there was the day we parked, went and had a great meal and then found our car had been broken into and half the stuff we bought stolen. This was no fun, and ruined the day out - especially when the car broke down just outside the Channel Tunnel in Kent.
But all in all I have enjoyed the many day and two-day trips we have taken over the last 20 years. We used to stay near St Omer, at Tilques, and in Boulogne - go to Chez Jules for a good meal. (If Jeff ever reads this, he will remember the slugs !!) Cite Europe is OK, and convenient for shopping, but go into Calais or Boulogne and enjoy the local shops and restaurants as well. And don't forget to buy tons of cheese - try Vieux Lille if you can find it - stinks like hell but great taste !!
Pay Per Post
I am, as you might expect, a total newcomer to "Pay Per Post". The idea is excellent, and I hope that it will work out and that I will be able to make some very much needed money in the future. I have to admit that I do find the technical side a bit confusing - all these codes that I am supposed to add etc - I haven't the vaguest idea how to do it ! 
However, as I said, the idea is great ! Apart from the opportunity to make money, there is every opportunity to make friends with people from all over the world with, hopefully, similar interests, so that we can exchange views and come to a better understanding of our cultures. This is indeed one of the benefits of the internet, and sites such as Pay Per Post help encourage this.drive traffic
I have been writing blogs for a few years now, but occasionally let things slip and don't write for a while. Pay Per Post has encouraged me to start again. My interests are very varied and will not of course appeal to everyone - although I'm sure there are very many people who like cheese just as much as I do ! I am an avid reader and hope to come across many who share this interest, and also like the English language. I am a stickler for correct English grammar, punctuation etc (hope I haven't made any glaring errors in this !) and hope that my ability to write well will provide me with lots of money-making opportunities !!
"A Lifelong Passion" - a book review.
"A Lifelong Passion - Nicholas and Alexandra - Their Own Story", by Andrei Maylunas and Sergei Mironenko. Published in the UK in paperback by Phoenix Giant in 1996.
I have just finished reading this book and found it one of the most fascinating reads I've had for a long time. The book consists of a series of extracts from letters, diaries and memoirs by the last tsar of Russia and his family and acquaintances, plus some formal reports and documents from the period. These cover the years from 1881 to 1918 when the Romanov family was executed - some will say murdered - by the Bolsheviks at Ekaterinburg.
The tsar and his family seemed on the surface to be such nice people - and no doubt were in their own way - and yet the extracts show only too clearly their opposition to any form of democracy and their anti-semitism. Nicholas and Alexandra were also very vulnerable in that they were easily influenced by almost everyone around them, not only by the notorious Rasputin but by almost anyone. The tsar had the reputation of having the opinion of the last person to whom he spoke.
The book reflects the deep love between Nicholas and his wife, their love for their children and the terrible suffering of their son Alexei, who had haemophilia. There are some funny moments, and also some events which reflect the social structure of the time and yet seem inexplicable to us today - for example the tsar banned his brother from entering Russia when he married a divorced commoner and considered that the family had been disgraced by this episode !
This particular edition has been shortened by the publishers, which is a shame as I would like it to go on and on - a thoroughly good and entertaining read !!
Cameras
I've been a very amateur photographer ever since I was a child when my mother let me use her Kodak box camera - which by the way produced excellent results until the light began to get in. I still have many old black and white negatives which produce excellent prints, even after 60 years.
Are you like me ? Do you have a cupboard full of old cameras ? I have a Kodak Instamatic among others - this one is about 45 years old and no doubt still works. I took thousands of slides with it in the 1960s and 70s.
How photography has been transformed in the last few years with the widespread introduction of digital cameras. The whole philosophy behind taking photos has changed - whereas formerly one had to think twice before clicking because of the limited number of shots available and the cost of processing, now one may click away without thinking and then select and edit only those photos one really likes. I still find it difficult to adjust to this mentally, but I'm slowly changing !
I have two cameras now - a Nikon D40 and a Fujifilm S5500, both of which produce first class images. I recommend either and both to anyone thinking of buying a new camera. The Nikon is more of a professional camera (not that I'm a professional in any way, it was given to me !) - it's a digital SLR and you need to buy a selection of lenses to benefit fully from it. This of course can prove expensive. The Fujifilm on the other hand has a great zoom and is just the job for everyday and holiday use.
Enjoy taking pix !!
Today's Limerick
I just came across this one in my book of limericks:
There once was a young girl from Norway
Who hung by her feet from the doorway.
This worked out quite well,
'Cos when you rang her bell,
It actually turned out to be foreplay!
Send me your favourite limerick !
Old Postcards Wanted.
We are currently looking for old postcards for our website "Postcards of the Past". Do you have any that you would like to see on our web pages ? If so, please get in touch. Good quality images will be fine, preferably in jpeg format. All contributions will be acknowledged on the website - unless you don't want us to of course ! Thanks !
Who was that girl singing at the Pope ?
Now I'm the first to confess that I don't know a lot about pop singers and even less about religion, but by chance I came across a video on YouTube of some girl singing the Ave Maria to the Pope in - of all places - Yankee Stadium (what on earth was he doing there ?). Now I know the Pope is getting on a bit and probably doesn't really appreciate pop music, but he must have been as embarrassed as hell to hear this poor girl sing - she was AWFUL ! How on earth could the organisers let someone like that try to sing this song ? They must have been nuts. And then, when I read the comments, everyone said how wonderful she was ! Good heavens, don't you Americans know anything about singing ? This girl was dreadful ! I can't remember her name but I'm sure you will all know it - and I'm sure she can belt out a pop song as well as anyone else - but this was terrible. And then I see a note from the person who posted the video saying that any more negative comments will be deleted. Now this made me very annoyed. I was under the impression that America was a democracy and protected freedom of speech - even under that prat G Bush - so to act as censor and ban criticism is appalling. I hope this silly person is ashamed of himself or herself !
PS I've just been told that the poor girl's name is Carly Smithson - sorry Carly, never heard of you, but it seems plenty of people have, so good luck - and stick to what you do best !
PPS Blush blush - apparently the girl was Kelly Clarkson - never heard of her either - sorry girls !
Silly me !
The freezer door wouldn't close last night, so I had a look and the inside was coated with ice. So I started chipping away instead of defrosting the thing properly, stuck a knife into a pipe and out came the gas ! So now we have to buy a new fridge, which we can ill afford at the moment. My own stupid fault.
But on the positive side, it's a lovely morning, and quite warm too - already 65F and only 10.30am.
I've just ordered an Indesit fridge - if anyone would like me to review it, please get in touch !
"Laying" and "Lying" - Use the Correct Word !!!!
This is one misuse of the English language which - for some reason unknown to me - annoys me intensely ! Just to be clear, "to lay" is a transitive verb which requires a direct object - thus chickens "lay" eggs - and if you say your are going to "lay down" then you must say what it is you are going to lay down - eg your pen or - to quote the song - your arms. "Lie" (which of course can also mean to tell an untruth) is an intransitive verb and is used in the sense of placing oneself horizontally, ie "I am going to lie down". Get it right and stop annoying me !!
Limericks
Having just created a page of old postcards of Limerick, I was reminded of many old "Limericks" which caused us great amusement in our younger days - and which still do !! Edward Lear started things off, but his always lacked a decent punch line, simply repeating the opening line. I remember a Jerry Colonna - probably spelt that incorrectly - record from the 1950s which included:
A flea and a fly in a flue
Were imprisoned, so what could they do ?
"Let us fly" said the flea,
"Let us flee" said the fly,
So they flew through a flaw in the flue.
Also in the song was:
That bottle of perfume that Willie sent
Was highly insulting to Millicent.
Her thanks were so cold
That they quarrelled, I'm told,
Through that silly scent Willie sent Millicent.
And then there are the dirty ones. In fact, the majority of Limericks have a sexual content - I'm pleased to say. Some are downright filthy and most are hilarious - to me anyway !
If anyone reads this, please add your favourite !
Postcards of the Past
We are currently updating our New York City pages, so please bear with us for a few days ! If you haven't already seen our old postcards of the Big Apple, please go to www.oldstratforduponavon.com/nyc and have a look.
We have also just created some pages for postcards of Ireland. We don't have too many postcards yet, so if you can help, please get in touch ! Thanks !! Click here to see these pages - www.oldstratforduponavon.com/irelandhome
Postcards of the Past
Visit our newly designed website to see some lovely old postcards of many towns and villages in Europe and North America. The link is www.oldstratforduponavon.com
Above are a couple of samples of the almost 4000 old postcards on view. Postcards are added daily, so keep coming back ! And if you have any postcards you would like to contribute - good quality scans will be fine - please get in touch. You can email us on gregoryolney@aol.com.
God Hates America Dot Com
We watched a documentary on TV the other night about this strange religious bunch who run the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas, in the USA. Louis Theroux made the programme and as usual he did it very well - just the chap for this kind of documentary. On the face of it, most of the church members seemed to be very nice people, although their aged leader, Fred W Phelps Sr, was a silly old sod with no manners and obviously unable to respond sensibly to any questions put to him. If you get the chance, have a look at their website - www.godhatesamerica.com - it is very amusing as long as you don't take them seriously (hopefully, no-one will !!) In particular, their reasons for hating Sweden gave me hysterics !! They appear to believe that homosexuals - whom they rudely refer to as "fags" - are evil, although they don't say why, other than the bible doesn't like them. The church members seem to spend most of their time and energy in demonstrating at funerals of soldiers who were killed in Iraq, so it's hardly surprising that they are not the most popular people in the USA ! This is yet another example of how religious belief warps people's minds and causes trouble and strife throughout civilisation - but it also makes one ask why there are so many fundamentalist groups like this one in the USA.
Noel Gallagher...and others.
We went to see Noel Gallagher at the Albert Hall last night, and this reminded me of other rock/pop concerts I've seen.
The first was in 1964, August 23 I believe, when I saw the Beatles in their famous Shea Stadium concert. "Saw" is the right word, because you couldn't hear much. The sound system was crap and the crowd was full of screaming girls wetting themselves. Quite a few people walked out because it was rather a waste of money - but just being there and seeing them, admittedly in the distance, was worth the effort. There was no large screen TV either, so all you got was four small lads on a stage in the middle of this large stadium. No idea what they sang, you really could not hear a thing !! It all began with the Goodyear Airship (or "blimp" as the Americans call it) flying over the stadium flashing "Help" (the movie had just been released), followed by a helicopter which deposited the lads just outside the stadium. The doors opened and they ran in to a crescendo of screams which scarcely abated for the whole of the concert. And that was it - no warm up acts, just the Beatles for an hour or so. I remember we got stopped by the police on the way home to Rhode Island, checking up on why we were out so late and having to explain where we'd been !!
Then there was Pink Floyd in 1977. The boyfriend of a girl who we knew in Hampton Hill was their business manager or something. They (she and him, not the band !) turned up at our house in Hartwell in a Lamborghini one afternoon out of the blue and said they were off to Stafford for a concert, and if we would like to go we could meet them there and get in for free - so we did ! We got badges and were able to go anywhere. We watched the concert from the top back of the arena, looking down on the crowd and the haze of sweet-smelling smoke rising gently upwards. We were on a level with the flying pigs and stuff. Don't remember much of the concert - again the sound was pretty crap compared with today. Afterwards we went backstage and sat with the band, their guests and the crew. Brian May was there - towering above everyone else. We sat drinking beer at a large table. We didn't know anyone and just chatted to whoever was there. After a while the bloke next to me got up and left, and our friend asked me if I knew who he was. She said it was Freddy Mercury. My response was "Who the fuck is Freddy Mercury ?" Well it was 1977, and I wasn't really into rock in those days - I'd never heard of him ! Funny I recognised Brian May though. Queen are still the top band ever !!
Noel Gallagher was great last night. There were two other warm up groups, the first of which was rubbish - a lot of people walked out. There was some drunken idiot in the crowd who stood up and tried to sing and dance, must have been their fan ! Then after the interval and a brandy we saw Choral who were very good. They got a good reception, and the hall began to fill up, so that by the time Noel came on there wasn't a seat anywhere. He got a great reception. The crowd was amazing, very entertaining to watch them. Everyone joined in and sang - there was one very annoying lad behind us who was overly enthusiastic with his "singing" but other than that everyone was fine, singing and dancing - and filming the whole show. Dia had her cell-phone cam and got told by a man in a red coat that she mustn't take photos !! But no-one took any notice, they had no chance of enforcing that, everyone was taking pics. Looking round when the lights were low was hilarious, cell-phone glows everywhere. Technically everything was amazing. The sound system was just right - not overly loud. There was a big screen behind the band with quite amazing resolution, and superb camera-work. Three or four "static" cameras and another small cam on a boom. The producer must have had fun switching between them - he certainly produced a great show which will no doubt be available on video soon. Meanwhile look on YouTube !! Noel put on a great show, almost 90 minutes non-stop. He did a couple of songs with Paul Weller but other than that he was on his own - well with a couple of other blokes on guitars and keyboard, and a dozen blondes playing the violin and cello behind him ! It was nice to see so many people enjoying themselves.
Why the World Hates America !
I hope the title seized your attention !
Let's be quite clear. The world does NOT hate America ! As an Englishman I am sure that most of us and most Europeans love America and it's people, and that the same is true for the greater part of the world. Mind you, when some US restaurants substituted "Freedom Fries" for "French Fries" we did have our doubts for a while !!
What we DO hate is the current US regime which seems bent on world domination - or at least domination of those regions which can supply oil and gas. Why can't they just leave everybody else alone and concentrate on their domestic problems - health care, general welfare, eradication of poverty. If they really want to have friends around the world, spend money on providing the necessities of life for the millions who are in dire need. Don't squander US tax-payers' hard-earned money on killing hundreds of thousands of innocent people. Think how the money spent on the Iraq slaughter could have helped the needy in other countries - I'm sure Halliburton could have diversified and "won" the contacts !! Stop stirring up hatred of other religions. Stop American big businesses exploiting cheap labour in poor countries.Then perhaps the Muslim world would not be so devoted to harming US interests - and would no doubt happily sell oil to the US as well.
I'm not for one moment approving Muslim extremism. Like other religions, what they preach and how they act in the name of their god is abominable and an insult to the ordinary Muslim, but so is what US right-wing Christian organisations preach - and Bush is a member of one of these churches - so the USA should put its own house in order before condemning the Taliban or Iran. The Iranian people are lovely people - unfortunately, like so many Americans, they have been indoctrinated by clever, garrulous preachers all their lives, and do not question what they have been taught.
So why doesn't America elect a president who will do away with the corruption in government, who will stop all these needless military actions against innocent peoples and who stretch out the hand of friendship to everyone, not just to those who will help turn a profit ? A friend commented that if a politician were brave enough to try to do this, his life would be in danger, and I have to agree. Sad.
The United States establishment has a long way to go if it wants to win the hearts and minds of the rest of the world. Fortunately, the USA is a great country and I have every hope that it's people will throw off the shackles of religious extremism and corporate profiteering, rein in its military and the CIA and set an example to the rest of the world of how its much-trumpetted democracy can force its establishment to behave in a civilized manner.
What's in a Name ?
I was reminded this morning of the well-known tale of the young college student who told her parents that she didn't believe in god. They were faintly amused and didn't take a lot of notice. However, when she subsequently told them that she was an atheist, they were outraged !!
UFOs and God
An acquaintance asked me the other day if I believed in UFOs. "What a strange question" I thought. Of course I believe in UFOs, or at least in what I mean by UFOs, which is simply "Unidentified Flying Objects". I see them regularly - things in the sky which I can't identify, and I'm sure there are lots of similar objects which even the experts can't identify. This does not, of course, mean that they are alien space craft, which is what my friend meant. So the lesson from his question is, be sure you know what you mean when you use an expression such as "UFO", as it apparently means different things to different people. Be sure you can explain what you mean. As we shall see, the same applies to "God".
In the 1940s and 50s there was a weekly Radio Programme called “The Brains Trust” which was broadcast on the BBC Home Service. Listeners sent in questions, some of which were answered by the distinguished panel, one of whom was a Professor CEM Joad. He became famous for his “catchphrase”, which was “It all depends what you mean by……….”.
Much later in life I began to understand what he was getting at. When discussing science or mathematics, for instance, it is nearly always quite apparent “what you mean by” a particular word or phrase, for scientific and mathematical terms are nearly always well-defined and understood by expert and student alike.
However, when it comes to other, less well-defined matters, the situation is very different. Take for example the current “war” in Iraq. Both in the United States and here in Great Britain we are regularly exhorted to “support our troops” – but what exactly does this mean ? Are we supposed to approve of them being there ? If we don’t approve, in what way are we required to support them ? Certainly no-one wants to see them killed or injured, but how is wanting this supporting them ? Moral support would no doubt help them but how should we do this ? Should we bake them a cake, knit them socks, send them money ? I can’t pray for them, I’m an atheist - and by the way there is some scientific evidence that prayer can be harmful if the "beneficiary" of the prayer is aware that he or she is being prayed for ! We can encourage our elected representatives to ensure that they are well-looked after and supplied with the necessities to do their job, but I suspect this is not quite what the opinion pollsters are getting at. I think they don’t really know, haven’t really thought about their question, and just used words without thinking about their meaning. It all depends what you mean by ‘support’ !
So then to religion. When asked “Do you believe in God ?” my response is “What do you mean by ‘God’ ?” Few can answer other than with some mumbo-jumbo about a supernatural being, and to date no-one has answered convincingly. There is also the question, of course, of what you mean by “believe” ! I have come to assume a definition of this word (in this context) as “to hold something to be true for which you have no firm evidence”.
However, it is the term “God” which is the more important of the two. So, if you are a believer, try to answer the question “What do you mean by God ?” Think about it. Try to come up with a definition that doesn’t use woolly language. Don’t be like George Bush or a southern Baptist preacher and waffle on using meaningless words and phrases. Make sure you know what the words in your definition mean. Write it down. Talk to someone about it. Don’t use words like “spiritual” unless you are quite clear as to their meaning, and can explain them clearly and unambiguously to others. In other words, make sense.
Enough for now - if you have any thoughts I'd be pleased to hear them ! As long, of course as you think about what you mean by.......
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