Architecture – Bottoms – Adjectives – Rivers
1. A new school of architecture
We have been observing with interest a type of architecture called “You can build a whole building with this!” Mainly used for purveyors of building material, easy examples are concrete works and marble/limestone quarries. An early winner was a maker of concrete pipes and half-pipes, whose HQ was a memorable (if unlovely) Nissan Hut. More recently we saw a windowframe manufacturer and their eye-catching if probably rather hot inside offering.
Note this is not the same as “I can build a building which looks like what I sell”, often used for burger stalls etc. As observed by my number 1 guru Edward Tufte (and btw I already have all his books so sorry no inspiration for birthday presents there).
2. Thoughts on bottoms (again)
Recourse to religion. Jesus said to turn the other cheek. Ha ha what a wit I am, it is just as well that Mifter Bat isn’t around.
Which reminds me of one of our games, called “What car did Jesus drive”. A Honda of course! Because Jesus and his disciples were in one Accord! But then again he returned to heaven in his Triumph. Hours of fun. Especially if mixed in with other games. In fact, only if mixed in with other games.
3. Oxymoronic adjectives
(Not sure this is quite the correct term, please correct me if you can.) Joe reminded me about this phenomenon recently. Basically it is an adjective which, by its presence, guarantees the absence of the thing it describes. Examples are “luxury hotel”, “executive housing”, “quality dining”. Add some more in the comments please.
Which reminded me, as I cycle along (the brain doesn’t have a lot to do on some of these roads, and sometimes mine goes off on a little nostalgia journey of its own) about an International Sheep Shearing Competition we once went to on the Romney Marshes. We were there as part of a visit to Sid’s grandma and we saw the signs pointing off the road. Which we instantly followed. Wouldn’t you? No?! Well I hope that by the time you have read some more of this blog you will embrace your Inner Bonkers and you will be more willing to go and have a splendidly tiny time enjoying…
…a competition which had been expanded to include Australian and NZ shearers who had come over for seasonal work. Otherwise not really international, and all the more fun for that.
4. Rivers
For some reason Sid and Doris have a saying “Say what you like about the French, they do a good river”. France has a big advantage as far as rivers go, which is that it is squarish or hexagonalish or anyway it is a long way from the middle to edge. Contrast that with the UK where the furthest you can be from the sea is 80 miles (you can tell that I am doing some fact-checking in the evening) and the French can just end up with bigger rivers. We would love to do some canoeing as part of the Epic Journey but in order to do that we’d really need a route which aims at the coast at some point.
Anyway it provided a very useful diversion today when Sid observed that several departments were named after their river. “Oh yes?” queried Doris innocently. “How many?” Ha ha many kilometres of entertainment. More sophisticated than “D’ou vient cette voiture” I think you will agree.