95 Comments

Great letter again Terry! I love your back and forth with Rebecca. It's surprising how you have been able to go back and forth for so long.

I thought my eyes were deceiving me there for a minute. You changed the background color.

If Mocha keeps this up with reading music, you can become a duet or duo. That's one smart cat. 🤣

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Lol Thanks Matthew. I changed the colour because the cursor wouldn't show up on the other one. Weird, eh?

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Nov 9, 2023Liked by Terry Freedman

Such excellent photos this time, Terry! You are a man of many talents! I enjoy the letters so much. You two are like Laurel and Hardy.

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Laurel and Hardy!!!! 🤣 Sharron, you're priceless!

Terry, that's another fine mess you've got me into..... 😉

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Indeed. I was going to ask: which one of us is who? 😂😂

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Hmmmm, now there's a question.....! 😁

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😁

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Thanks, Sharron. But what do you mean by "this" time? Aren't they ALWAYS excellent?

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Laurel and hardy 😱 Who's who?😂

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#fishingforcompliments 🙄

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It's the only way I get them. I am an outcast from the world of appreciation

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🤣

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Chortlefest is go ! Just as good as Rebecca's wake up call to you. Spiffing ! Peace, Maurice

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LOL, Maurice - thanks for the compliment! 😊

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Bah!😡

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Thanks, Maurice. Wot wake-up call? 🙃

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Dunno mate, I've lost the thread whilst scrolling...................

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😂

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It’s nice to see the perks that come with being a famous writer - the gift of a rubber duck and an extra fancy coffee. I’ve got goals now!

Good luck with Puddlegate Terry🙂

Also, I love this letter. I’m laughing out loud while sitting in an appointment. Thank you!

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LOL Thanks, Donna. Glad it gave you a laugh!

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Terry, I CAN count! I've just had a birthday, and having diligently counted ALL of those years I am delighted to announce that I have at last reached my late teens... 😁

Despite the unfounded aspersions you have cast on my numeracy, I thoroughly enjoyed this letter, and am looking forward to responding to your points in my reply next week. I love the new book review section, but I'll warn you now that my tome of choice (Bleak House) is going to be reviewed a chapter a week, as I haven't got time to read the whole thing before Wednesday... I mean, there are books, and there are 884-page books. 🙄

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If you're in your late teens, I'm in my early twenties. 🤣

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😁

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😂

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Late teens??? You must have used the binary system or something. No wait a minute, that would make you around 110,010 -- almost as old as me

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🤣

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Read the Coles Notes version

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I love the new wheels. Understated elegance.

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"understated"? My gosh, what would count as 'over the top' in your book? 🤣🤣

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Now I want a cup of tea.

That puddle! You ought to write a letter of complaint to the town crier, mayor, constable…? What do you call your local government people in charge?

I’m impressed you hung in with the Keegan story after man bashing. I would have closed the book. Yes, I admit, I need to grow patience for some authors.

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Well now Seakay, we call 'em all sorts of things, rarely complimentary. Once upon a time ,I was (theoretically) an influential advisor to them. Most folk are even less complementary. Peace, Maurice.

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Nov 9, 2023Liked by Terry Freedman

Peace Maurice rhymes in the US, but not in England, where I believe it would be pronounced Peace Morris. Which version are you Mr. Bisby?

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correct

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Hi Sharron, thanks for your interest. Actually it's French, so it does rhyme in England - except when English strangers mispronounce it. Just about every other country I have lived in, and there have been many, including Scotland, Eire, N. Ireland and Wales rarely make that mistake. The only exceptions have been in Germany, where 1% have called me Mauritz. BTW the name Morris occurs much more often in England amongst the Jewish community. Etymologically the origin is thought to be a description of someone who looks Arabian, ie:- Moorish. which I don't, and I get taken for Danish, German or Dutch. Lol ! So ! Peace, Maurice.

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I'm a Brit, and we would pronounce 'Maurice' to rhyme with 'lease', especially if the person wasn't English

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Nov 9, 2023Liked by Terry Freedman

Thanks for this explanation. Then there is the woman's name, Clarice. Which I have heard as rhyming with peace and also as rhyming with Paris! I suppose it follows the same rule as Maurice.

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Not quite so sure of my ground on this one. Came only a few times across it mid - late 1900's, only in Eire and England with the pronunciations you suggest. The French usually pronounce Paris as Parie, so one could even argue that in English and Amerenglish we mispronounce it. Also in the same period I sometimes came upon Clara and Clarissa in England, Nederland and Germany. Far more common nowadays, particularly in France and England, is all the various forms of Claire, whilst Germany and Nederland have predominantly Karla & Carola. The variations go on and on, via historic global movements of Peoples, and the language adaptations that follow. Accents, Idioms, Dialects, Lettershifts etc., I have spent decades looking at the fascinating old connections betwixt European Languages. Whilst I do offer some standard etymological theory, I often find myself at loggerheads with the copycat 'research' that's too lazy to dig really deep. But I do find deeper Grokkings useful when writing my Historical Semi-Fiction Posts. It's such fun !! Peas, M'Rees !

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never heard of it, so the problem has never arisen for me. I'm only friendly with people whose names I know how to pronounce

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Nov 9, 2023Liked by Terry Freedman

About that -- sorry Maurice and I took up so much space for our digression on YOUR post. I rarely do that. I promise, snivelling.

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There are quite a few Dutch female names that the English struggle with. My ex wife, also Dutch, had three forenames, the first of which she had trouble pronouncing herself. Lol

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Same in the US. Funny coincidence. Seakay.

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Thanks, Good. (What IS your name by the way?) Officially they are called Councillors. I'd rather not say what their unofficial names are. I think we did write to the council, I can't remember. Nothing much gets done anyway, except for the time that E managed to get a tree protection order slapped on some trees that some so-called developer was going to chop down.

Most of the time I manage to get to the end of a story before throwing it across the room.

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I like, Good. Hehehe. I’m Carissa. I thought my stack revealed my pen name which is CK Steefel.

Glad the trees were saved. 🌲

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Oh I must have missed it. Sorry. Hello, Carissa 😊

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Hi.

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😊

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Laughing out loud with my morning coffee in hand in my Ember. Perhaps you and RH would like an Ember to keep your tea and or coffee/latte perfectly heated at the same temp for 2 hours. Yes, that's what an Ember does. More comments later on this great post. Just had to get this out there. 😂https://ember.com/?gclid=Cj0KCQiAgK2qBhCHARIsAGACuzk99mUtgf-BRSjQawar49VxQOdS16ioV6E51g_MfxqIB_Koufs1fkgaAjroEALw_wcB

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Gonna check this out later, Mary - thank you! My old glass annealing oven had a hole in the top, and I used to keep my cup of tea on the boil ALL DAY when I was in my workshop - it was brilliant!

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It's wonderful! I love walking with it in the early morning, especially when temps are cold, and my Ember keeps my coffee hot hot hot. It's so awesome!

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AWESOME product! Thanks so much for the link! I have a Stanley flask mug which keeps my drink hot, but it doesn't actually HEAT it along the way.... I clearly need an Ember!

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tea on the boil? 😱 it gets worse

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I used to pour boiling water over the same tea bag multiple times in one day. After hours of doing that, the tea water would change color but was devoid of taste. 😂

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Good grief. I'm going to slap a trigger warning on this post

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Mary, that's just not on! 🤣

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I agree with you 😂

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Makes a change, Terry! 🤣

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😂 Right?!

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Wrong!

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I'd never heard of Ember, so thanks for the link. In my experience, kept-warm tea is invariably disgusting, but as Rebecca has no taste anyway it probably won't matter to her. When one is a tea connoisseur, like what I am, things are different. The tea has to be fresh, and quaffed within minutes of its appearance.

Glad the article gave you a good chortle 🤣

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'...Rebecca has no taste anyway.....' 🙄

🤣

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You're welcome for the Ember link and one of the reasons I love mine so much is after our French Press coffee is ready, is too hot for me to drink right at the get go. My Ember "cools" it to the perfect just-hot-enough-to-drink temperature. Heaven. You and RH make me laugh out loud. I read bits to my husband minutes ago. Did you hear him laugh, too?

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I wondered who it was guffawing 😂😂

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Both of us!!!

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😂 glad it gave you a chortlefest!

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Ah! Well, to me no hot drink is too hot to drink - I'm surprised I don't get blisters! I'm the same with food. If it's designed to be eaten hot, I'll eat it HOT! 🔥

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Is your throat lines with asbestos?😱

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Almost certainly. Hands, too. Mind you, I did used to work with fire, so I guess that's to be expected. 🔥

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Of course. There was a song made about you. I remember now: https://youtu.be/en1uwIzI3SE?si=ZBI7Rz0F3N8RbRxa

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I like drinks and eats hot enough to blow on them to cool them off to my favorite temp, which is way better than being served a hot thing, cold, with no way to get it back up to the temp it should be!

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....unless you're a dragon - which I guess would be handy for heating up chilled food! 🤣

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Very true

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Does Mocha like to watch while you play the saxophone? :).

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Of course not: she's a music lover!

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🤣

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I enjoy studying your writing. I think, they are so real, fluent and simple and cause to attract everyone who reads them. I wish you the more and more success for your Pen, Thoughs and Literal texts and poets. ✌️♾️☘️

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Thank you for your kind comments, Maryam 😁

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I’m so glad you did manage to find a few moments of pleasant outdoor coffee drinking weather. And I love the vehicular upgrade. Very snazzy. Enjoy your week Prince Terry. 😃🥽🌂

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Thanks, Beth. Yes, it was very nice that day for an hour or so. Glad you like the transport upgrade. I think it's important for lords to live up to the title!

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😂

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