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Rebecca Holden's avatar

The ballet picture is FANTASTIC! When will we be seeing you at Sadlers Wells as primo dancer, Terry?

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Terry Freedman's avatar

THank you. Sadlers Wells? Pah! Amateurs, the lot of them.

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Rebecca Holden's avatar

🤣

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Mary B's avatar

Your ballet art is another t-shirt worthy graphic, and the pizza crisps disclaimer was so good! We had a similar thing here in Texas (perhaps nationwide) that a particular brand of tortilla chips were pulled off the shelves because they were too hot for most.I searched for the story but couldn't find it, but I clearly remember native Texans scoffing at "too hot to safely eat". P.S. Analog book currently reading, Out of Africa. This particular edition was a second printing and the book proper is small format, so lovely to hold. I'll take analog books any day.

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Rebecca Holden's avatar

I'm really into analogue books, too! I was on holiday recently and thoroughly enjoyed every opportunity I had to curl up with the terrific travel memoir I've been enjoying - it's one of those which I don't want to end!

I much prefer analogue to digital - and that goes for news consumption, book reading, research and indeed writing. xxx

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Terry Freedman's avatar

It’s a bit of an effort having to physically turn over a page though, innit? I’m used to touching and swiping myself.

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Rebecca Holden's avatar

Ah, well, have you ever seen a young child trying to zoom in on the page of a real-life book with two fingers? Or swiping it with a fingertip in order to turn it?

Makes me want to weep......

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Mary B's avatar

😂

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Terry Freedman's avatar

Thanks, Mary! Too hot? Give me strength! I like Kindle books cos you can easily find bits and make notes, but on the whole analogfue is a far more rewarding experience I think.

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Rebecca Holden's avatar

Yes! Rewarding! I love seeing how far I've got (and not just by page-number-monitoring, but by looking at how thick the 'read' part is in relation to the 'to be read' part). And I find if I want to read something online (and sadly that goes for my Substack reading, too) I find that I only DO it when I know I've got x-amount of time for it at the precise moment I start, whereas if I'm reading a BOOK book I can literally pick it up and put it down at a moment's notice and read just a page in a sitting, or indeed a quarter of the whole. x

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Terry Freedman's avatar

Yes, that visual feedback is very useful. Gives one a sense of satisfaction as the right-hand wedge of pages diminishes!

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Mary B's avatar

Seriously on the too hot! I think ghost pepper seasoning may have been on the chips, and as we live in a litigious society, the warning may have saved the company a lawsuit.

Indeed on the analogue thing!

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Terry Freedman's avatar

“litigious society”: one of the less pleasant things we in the UK imported from you lot. I’ve even seen, on a packet of nuts, the warning: “May contain nuts.” 😂

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Mary B's avatar

😂 Blame accepted on behalf of the US! It seems to have started when a woman successfully sued MacDonald's for too-hot coffee . . .

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Rebecca Holden's avatar

I know that burn injuries aren't funny at all, but I have been served so many not-hot-enough cups of coffee in my time (not from McD's, though, admittedly) that I might well have once or twice been tempted to sue in respect of coffee that's too cold!

The right temperature for every hot drink, in my opinion, is 'SCORCHIO'!

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Mary B's avatar

Scorchio is the perfect name for a race horse, a taco, certain peppers, and a cafe specializing in too-hot-to-drink beverages, complete with a waiver of anyone right's to pursue legal action. 😂

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Terry Freedman's avatar

You should buy an iced coffee and sue them on the grounds that it isn’t hot. I might try that myself!

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Terry Freedman's avatar

I seem to remember that! 😂

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Jill CampbellMason's avatar

you ARE chortling!

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Terry Freedman's avatar

😂 Thanks, Jill

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Beth T (BethOfAus)'s avatar

Another fun read. Thanks for the cryptic crossword explanation - so simple! (My grandmother’s name was Ivy.) (Comments are allowed to include random pieces of useless information.) Have a lovely day. (Or night or whatever.)

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Rebecca Holden's avatar

Ivy's such a lovely name, Beth - how lovely that it was your grandmother's! And I love the Latin name for the ivy plant - Hedera helix - it's like a two-word poem. Beautiful! x

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Terry Freedman's avatar

Yes, nice name, and nice Latin name.

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Terry Freedman's avatar

Thanks, Beth. Are you going to try the two crossword clues I set?

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Sharron Bassano's avatar

May I jump into the analog book sharing arena? I have purchased used copies of every story written by Meg Rosoff and am reading them slowly, savoring every word. She is author of How I live Now and other poignant YA novels. I love her style, the way she gets into the heads of young people and elevates their thoughts. I highly recommend, too, the film of How I Live Now. More magic...

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Rebecca Holden's avatar

Ooooh, another author to check out, Sharron! Thank you so much for the recommendation! x

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Terry Freedman's avatar

You like YA then? I haven't found one that I can take seriously to be honest. But then I do tend to view Amazon films with titles like "Five teens get trapped in a time tunnel".

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Rebecca Holden's avatar

I don’t habitually seek it out, but there are some absolute gems.

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Terry Freedman's avatar

I haven’t heard of her. But then I don’t read YA as a rule. Do you think I should check her out?

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Sharron Bassano's avatar

If you do, make it How I live Now. Or watch the film. Stunning production.

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Terry Freedman's avatar

Right-o. THanks for the tip, Sharron.

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David Perlmutter's avatar

Since I'm of Norse ancestry, I have mixed feelings about how Python seemed to portray Vikings as kind of foolish (in the Spam sketch as well as the "Njorl's Saga" episode). I don't think they entirely understood how fierce and humorless those guys really were.

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Terry Freedman's avatar

I've just always assumed that the humor was the juxtaposition of vikings (a) in a canteen and (b) singing a daft song.

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Laura Moreno's avatar

Drawings with real character, Terry!

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Terry Freedman's avatar

Thanks, Laura! 😃

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Richard Donnelly's avatar

Hey Terry Spam is proof we're trying to kill you guys : )

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Terry Freedman's avatar

it certainly feels like it!

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