To feague requires an eel and a horse

HorologicalMark Forsyth’s book, The Horologicon, is a fascinating examination and collection of English words laid out with regard to the relevance of the hour of day.  The richness and eccentricity of the English Language is well illustrated and I can recommend it as a delightful read.

To Feague is to insert a live eel into a horse’s rectum.  The idea is to cause the horse to lift its tail in a pretty way.  What an extraordinary thing to do and how extraordinary for it to have its own verb!

I have learnt that ,bumf, is short for bumfodder a term for toilet paper used in 1653 and, snollygoster, is a good name for all too many politicians as defined in 1890 by an American Journalist.

Needless to say I have had to train the spellchecker but at least there is that facility.

Londinium is launched

As well as launching the exhibition with a ceremonial cutting of a ribbon by the Mayor of Enfield, Patricia Ekechi, we had a great party with lots of food, including jellied eels, and lovely wines.  I was particularly pleased that it was a good social event, everyone chatting and mingling as well as enjoying the exhibition.  We  are able to play recordings from the jukebox over the sound system.  It was, all-in-all, a wonderful evening.

Cllrs. Yasemin Brett and Bernadette Lapage read the French version and Warren Grant, Sonia Jarema and Eve Pearce read the Jamaican English, Ukrainian and Doric versions.

There was a video made and will be soon up on YouTube I’ll post this when it is up.  Meantime you might like to read an article which appears in our local Paper this week.

http://www.enfield-today.co.uk/article.cfm?id=109205&headline=The%20poetry%20of%20diversity&sectionIs=news&searchyear=2016.

Details of the exhibition and venue can be seen on a previous blog

Gold plated, ceremonial scissors from Japan

 

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Gold plated ceremonial scissors last used to cut ribbon in 1980 , Japan.
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Trying them out on the ceremonial ribbon.

A sharp, well-crafted pair of scissors is a thing of wonder, they have a soul, as do all well-made sharp things such as knives and chisels.  I love the sound these scissors make cutting the ceremonial ribbon, it is precise, significant.

I found them on EBay in Tokyo and they arrived in only a few days.  I wanted something special for the Mayor of Enfield to use to cut the ribbon at the Londinium opening ceremony March 22nd 6pm at the Dugdale centre.