Friday Trivia - Zap those Monsters!

Image courtesy of Ambro freedigitalphotos.net

I've just been reassuring Daydreamer that she needn't worry; those antibacterial sprays really do kill 100 % of all known bacteria - and some.  If you're a Time Lord...or a time Lord's companion....or a Time Lord's companion's pupil (IRL the safeguarding authorities would have freaked out in a big way) that is. Oh, and if you happen to be on the moon and are being attacked by a giant spider. 

You can tell it's a Friday afternoon, can't you?

Greenpatch New Year Tealights

As ever, I'm indebted to  Archdruid Eileen, both for the inspiration for this post and  for relieving me of the onerous task of digging around in the bowels of my blog in order to dredge up my "Highlights of 2012." Where the Beaker Folk go, I will follow - preferably at least ten miles behind ensconced in a cosy cafe with copious supplies of tea, cakes and back copies of the Church Times.

1. I too will not obsess over my blog stats this year. I've enough problems with my RL vital statistics. 2012 was the year when post-menopausal symptoms kicked in big time.

2. Tweeting is for the birds, whatever St Francis may have had to say on the matter. However, I shall continue to promote  shamelessly nick   wisdom where I find it; the pearls of a certain Archdruid deserve far greater exposure than they're currently receiving, I'm sure you'll agree.

3.  I'm a Franciscan.  I wouldn't dream of upsetting other people in order to up my blog stats; far better to stick to safe, uncontroversial topics like kittens, embroidery and bird baths. Though funnily enough, St Francis would not have agreed with me on this one. I suspect he upset rather a lot of folk in his time. As I've written elsewhere part of the Franciscan ethos is to be the awkward squad, the irritant in the oyster, the questioner of the status quo. I may need some practice on this one then...

4. Feedjit? Get thee behind me... Though I'll admit to missing the frisson of excitement and panic as you try to work out whether the reader from one's home town is a) My husband, b) the vicar c) a stalker or d) the lady in charge of the after church coffee rota.

5. Klout?  At risk of sounding like that judge in the 60's who didn't know who the Beatles were, what's that? Our son will relate proudly to anybody willing to listen that I still don't know who Cheryl Cole is. I'll just have to resign myself to the fact that I'll never blog with The Big Boys.

6. E-Buzzing?  It's for the bees. I shall nobly resist all temptation to join in the blogosphere's obsession with labelling and  ranking  everything that moves. I shall forgive their predecessor, Wikio (to whose database one of my old blogs was submitted without my knowledge or permission) for placing my most   valuable pieces of  spiritual and theological reflection in the "Entertainment" category. (I think it must have been the Dr Who references that confused them.) For some reason the current setup only ranks Growing Greenpatches on the French version of the site. There  must be some very puzzled French blog readers out there, methinks.  Especially as the "Religion and Belief" category doesn't appear to exist across The Channel.

7. We've kept quiet about the wax splashes on side chapel carpet at church after my last, unfortunate foray into the world of tealights. I like them; they don't like me.

8. ?

9. Re-tweeting? See 2 above. Nothing wrong with it IMHO. It's much the same as recycling my old Greenpatches, surely?

10. Same Sex Marriage? See 3 above.  Could Do Better.

Happy New Year, everybody!

Veni, Vidi, Vici, II: Cambridge Classics Revisited

I Came, I Saw, I Conkered, again. Simply couldn't resist some more recycling; all in the name of culture, you understand...Likely some dead links in these; do feel free to pop over to the originals: Latin Pro Dr Quisnam Fans and... well, I'm sure your O Level Latin is up to translating. Have fun.

Illic eram ultum sniggering yesterday ut Mr ASTUS quod EGO persevero ut reprehendo sursum in vetus Medicus Cuius. ( Pro vetus , lego David Tennant ). Permaneo night’s visum eram Incendia of Pompeii episode. Curiosus research laxus ok – Google – ostendo sum ut we âre non solus ones ut macula offensio similis inter Romanorum prosapia featured inibi quod unus ut inspired ( puteus , nonnullus of vicis ) innumerus Latin O Campester discipulus tergum in dies of yore. Etiam it’s bonus vetus Cambridge Schola Ordo Exertus totus ob : Caecilius , uxor Metella , bonus – for- nusquam filius Quintus , quod a novus addition pro Dr Quisnam, Evelina a would – exsisto sortilegus. Misericordaliter , suum canis Cerberus , eram emineo per suus absentis ; si EGO memor vere , suus jugis papilla of imbellis passersby eram super plurrimi suscito res ut venio in Inflatus. Nisi vos duco Metella’s ordinarius shopping trinus ad forum. Vos nunquam teneo , si tantum Russell Davis quod Co had been in in O Campester syllabus maybe I’d have curo praeter a grade C!

In contendo , nostrum Galifrean vicis lord’s poema poematis had nonnullus intorqueo quod volvit quod EGO certainly can’t memor via tergum in 1975. Tergum tunc , frigus res super tractus eram packaging : neon coloured leaflets in a snazzy parum plastic folder. Per vicis nostrum filia tackled suus GCSE , ( quo vicis Latin eram an ân “extra” quod tutela secundum ), is had reverto ut a boring vetus textbook at in vultus , utique , magis per versus of formido ˜Kennedy’s Eating Primer” quod EGO tolero procul a praevius schola typical text “ The nauta es sailing ut Insula prosecutus agricolum per telum quod “Medicus quod suus socius es volatilis per tractus quod vicis ut muto tractus of history per a sonic screwdriver.” Quam does ut sanus?

 There was much sniggering yesterday as Mr M and I continued to catch up on old Doctor Whos. ( For old, read David Tennant). Last night’s viewing was the ‘Fires of Pompeii’episode. Careful research later – ok, Google – revealed that we’re not the only ones to spot the striking similarity between the Roman family featured therein and the one that inspired (well, some of the time) countless Latin O Level students back in days of yore. Yes, it’s the good old Cambridge School Classics Project all over again: Caecilius, wife Metella, good- for- nothing son Quintus, and, a new addition for Dr Who, Evelina, a would-be soothsayer. Mercifully, their dog, Cerberus, was conspicuous by his absence; if I remember rightly, his constant nipping of unwary passers -by was about the most exciting thing that happened in Pompeii. Unless you count Metella’s regular shopping trips to the marketplace. You never know, if only Russell Davis and Co had been in on the O Level syllabus, maybe I’d have managed more than a grade C!

In contrast, our Galifrean time lord’s version had some twists and turns which I certainly can’t remember way back in 1975. Back then, the coolest thing about the course was the packaging: neon coloured leaflets in a snazzy little plastic folder. By the time our daughter tackled her GCSE, (by which time Latin was an ‘extra’ and charged accordingly), this had reverted to a boring old textbook – in appearance, at least, more along the lines of the dreaded ‘Kennedy’s Eating Primer’ which I endured at a previous school, typical text – “The sailors are sailing to the island to attack the farmers with spears and arrows.” “ The Doctor and his companion are flying through space and time to alter the course of history with a sonic screwdriver.” How does that sound?