hats – A S H Smyth

Hat trick ball

A S H Smyth — Thu, 16 Jul 2020 04:24:44 +0000

My mate Howard has found a cricket ball in his aunt’s attic…

NEWS AT A GLANCE

A S H Smyth — Mon, 02 Oct 2017 08:00:37 +0000

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Few of those who know and admire the camellia, that waxlike and pure flower, are aware that the parent plant, the origin of the million plants scattered throughout Europe, is still alive and is in Italy.

— The Nelson Evening Mail, January 22 1907

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The Taliban now control more territory in Afghanistan than they did in 2001.

A castanet is a musical instrument that can be used for fishing.

The Yellow Pages was first printed in 1963.

Sri Lankan violinist and composer Lakshman Joseph de Saram is 36% Viking.

During the Terror of 1793-4, young French aristocrats danced jigs upon the scaffold to signify their contempt for revolutionary justice.

Theresa May gargles jobbies.

The first Playboy interview was a conversation about race between Alex Haley and Miles Davis.

The Icelandic word ‘nostaklígja’ denotes the gall-like taste you get in your mouth before you throw up.

There are no woodpeckers in Ireland.

D-Day did not actually happen on D-Day.

Trends towards simpler language have been observed in US presidential speeches.

The Khmer king was crowned with a bowler hat decorated with ostrich feathers.

The ‘Musician’s Church’ has closed its doors to those who wish to hire it for concerts and rehearsal sessions.

NEWS AT A GLANCE

A S H Smyth — Mon, 23 Jan 2017 09:00:04 +0000

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Omnibuses in Holland are fitted with letter-boxes.

— The Nelson Evening Mail, July 13 1908

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A ‘havelock’ is the flap of cloth that hangs down from a soldier’s kepi, to protect the neck.

Donald Trump’s inauguration as the 45th president of the United States drew bigger crowds to Washington DC than any previous inauguration.

The rules of Pratt’s permit no other card games besides bridge and cribbage.

During the WW2 ‘Baedeker’ Raids schoolboys were often given their exams one question at a time, to stop them conferring in the bomb shelters during interludes.

Table-top football game Subbuteo™ was invented and manufactured outside Tunbridge Wells.

Giles Coren, restaurant critic of The Times (London), was paid a £30,000 advance for his debut novel Winkler. The book sold 771 copies in hardback, another 1400 in softcover.

Otters juggle when bored.

At 27+ hours, Jim Norton’s narration of Ulysses lasts longer than the day James Joyce’s characters experienced.

Some of the oldest extant musical instruments are flutes made out of human bones.

Duff Cooper once drew the line at seeing in the new year being kissed by a man.

The Colossus of Rhodes stood for only 56 years.

The Spectator columnist and bon viveur Jeffrey Bernard was repeatedly unwell.