caldrail's Blog

Accountants and auditors are like that. Did he have ink stains on his cuffs? He'll probably catch you for all the stuff you nicked.

 

Aside from making me 'recent', what will you resolve for a groat or a stoat?

 

You want snow? Ship off to Buffalo, N.Y. Aside from the Lake Erie effect, they like it so much that they import it by the gondola full.

 

What I wouldn't give for a massive downfall of snow and for it to stop just long enough for the kids to try out their new (well it was 2 years ago!!) "Speed Demon" sledge that grandad got them for Christmas many moons ago. it's still on blocks in the garage!

 

Can you believe it, my youngest is 3yrs old and she's never seen snow!!!

Now look here you Brits!, I know that we Yanks are gullible, but you're putting me on! We have snow in such places as georgia, florida, and texass, and yes, kali4kneeya - and they are all in the tropics!

 

GPM, tell Grandpa to get canoes next time!

 

Rushey Platt! Wouldn't the proper British be Rushfordshire or Plattboroughsexingham?

 

I keep watching the radar here. It's supposed to rain for the next 3 days--a typical January here in the San Francisco Bay Area is quite wet. However, as the first bands of rain come off the Pacific, they're skipping San Jose all together. Man, I'm all ready...I'm bundled up, got a pot of tea starting, and am ready for a nap. Ooooooh...a quick sleep while the rain is pinging off the roof. But, dammit, it's not raining here yet. C'mon...I want my siesta!

DoLl, no sushi? The temp is going to be sub-zero here in America. I am going to have lots of fried cugootz tonight. Eat your hearts out! Brits are probably eating blood pudding, blanc mange, toad in a hole, or fish & chips.

 

Any of you lot know what fried cugootz is?

 

No sushi...just carne guisada tacos and Gordon Biersch WinterBoch. And a 10 lb. feline who won't get offa my lap!

No sushi...just carne guisada tacos and Gordon Biersch WinterBoch. And a 10 lb. feline who won't get offa my lap!

 

You're going to eat the cat!!!???

 

Rushey Platt! Wouldn't the proper British be Rushfordshire or Plattboroughsexingham?

 

 

Gaah! No way! First of all Rushey Platt is an independent peanut republic, not a mere shire. Secondly, its a rainforest in Darkest Wiltshire, not a ford, and thirdly, it in no way resembles a borough. The proper english name for Rushey Platt is... well... Rushey Platt.

 

Actually, to be strictly accurate, Rushey Platt was once a county parish (and a village?) down the hill from a small market town called Swindon in days of yore. Rushey refers to the natural marshland that once dominated the area, and there's still a small corner of it left as a nature reserve down by the Wilts & Berks canal. The site of Ladds Mill is now a pub. Much of the area was owned by Rushey Platt farm, whose cottage still stands in the corner of a small scrapyard at the back of a garage in a trading estate, on the site of the sawmill that traded lumber up until the 1970's. Allotment gardens and a ghastly new housing estate have filled the rmaining land. The Great Western mainline from London to Bristol is still in use, but the line that crossed over it, the Midland & South West Junction Railway, has long since disappeared and partly converted to a cycle track. The junction between the lines was right next to Rushey Platt Farm and the remains of the old goods station there are still visible. The escarpment of Okus is just across the canal to the northeast, where there was once a roman farmstead.

 

Any questions?

Yup! Please translate into Yank Speak when you have lots of time on your hands and foots:

 

Swindon in days of yore - When knights were bold, and toilets weren't invented ...?

trading estate = Something like a 'stock market'?

Allotment gardens =

housing estate = a place for the very rich?

cycle track =

goods station = Where highway smokies hang out?

Okus = "Oklahoma!, where the wind runs right behind the rain..."?

 

 

Swindon...the only thing I know about that is it is the 'other Office' of Wernham Hogg Paper Company...or, at least it was in Ricky Gervais' head.

Swindon...the only thing I know about that is it is the 'other Office' of Wernham Hogg Paper Company...or, at least it was in Ricky Gervais' head.

 

He got that absolutely right. Swindon is like an old woman who dresses in the latest fashions and goes nightclubbing to attract the young men.

Yup! Please translate into Yank Speak when you have lots of time on your hands and foots:

 

Swindon in days of yore - When knights were bold, and toilets weren't invented ...?

trading estate = Something like a 'stock market'?

Allotment gardens =

housing estate = a place for the very rich?

cycle track =

goods station = Where highway smokies hang out?

Okus = "Oklahoma!, where the wind runs right behind the rain..."?

 

 

 

Swindon is mentioned in the Domesday Book after William the Conqueror landed and conquered in 1066 with his Norman buddies, descendants of vikings from france. Swindon (the name means 'pig hill') was divided into five diocese, one of which was given to Bishop Odo, half-brother to William himself.

 

Swindon wasn't the center of the universe (it still isn't) and remained an isolated town with only four roads in and out, these having toll gates when liquor smuggling became Swindons growth industry in the rambuctuous 18th century. The old town on the hill has long had rumours of tunnels for smugglers to transfer barrels of rum and ineed, some of these have been found in building restorations in recent years. The Bell Inn in old town was once a coach stop and dates from the 16th century.

 

Trading Estate - an area of buildings built for business/commercial use, either as offices, warehouses, or small industries.

 

Allotment gardens - Areas of land allocated to interested indivuals for growing vegetables. Much less popular now than in previous decades, and when I was young, there were several areas where these gardens had long been abandoned.

 

Housing Estate - New housing developments. Although not intended for the rich, its often difficult to afford the prices of these buildings, and many are deliberately targeted at affluent middle class families. There's been a recent move toward affordable housing for first time buyers... Yeah right.

 

Cycle track - a route set aside for bicycles (available for pedestrians and horse riders too, but no motorised transport). Old railways are popular for this and the M&SWJR can be followed all the way south to Marlborough, plus the route is being extended to Cricklade in the north so I hear.

 

Goods Station - A railroad depot where passengers services don't call. They used to stop at Rushey Platt Junction when the M&SWJR first crossed the GWR mainline, but there wasn't enough traffic to justify it. To be honest, there wasn't enough goods traffic for the four platforms either.

 

Okus - Not sure where the name comes from, though one suspects it has a latinised origin. I can state quite categorically that it has nothing to do with hollywood musicals. Actually, Okus was the site of Swindons gallows during the brief period in the 18th century when we had our own (criminals were usually sent to Devizes for execution), and the was once an infirmary there too, now the site of a school threatened with closure. A quarry, now mostly filled in, is adjacent to the school and is used as their sports ground - it is actually a flattened grassy area now, with a small corner left to show where the rock face once was.

Swindon and Rushey Platt.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Swindon

 

http://www.swindonsotherrailway.co.uk/mor.html

I think that I would like to have a mansion in both Wolfhall and Ludgershall. I am a big fan of wolfs and ludgers.

 

Looks like the Rushey Plattians are almost ready to pave the cow paths.

 

All those peoples are driving on the wrong side of the road! No wonder why the smokies are having a good time.

 

I'm sorry sir, but driving on the right simply isn't british...