There aren't a lot of wild animals around these parts. Sure, you might get a nip from a bothered badger if you happened across one but they're mainly nocturnal and we don't go out walking at night much. Still you can't be too careful and that's why Pixie is sporting the full protective gear - long sleeved top, hat, stick and boots - for a walk up to the top of Fladbury Hill.Yes, I know teasels are vicious, like hundreds of hedgehogs on sticks, so I agree, better safe than sorry. And the boots - never know when an earwig might slip into your footwear. Bare legs - not on your nelly!
Incidentally: - number of species of poisonous spiders in the UK - nil; number of species of poisonous snakes - 1 (very timid, generally not lethal but you wouldn't enjoy the experience). Still there's always a first time.
The white headgear sported by my beloved is a Tilley Hat. These are very comfortable and fold up into almost nothing. The company claim that their hats could pass through an elephant and still be wearable. That prompts a number of questions:
1. Why would you feed your hat to an elephant?
2. Why would you want to
wear a hat that smelt of an elephant's bum?
3. Where can I find an
elephant in the Vale of Evesham so that I can experiment with Pixie's hat?
The Tilley Hat is Canadian and is actually a damn fine product if you like hats (which I don't - loathsome objects that make your head hot and stop your hair wafting freely in the breeze). We bought a couple of them in British Columbia and, surprise, surprise; they were half the price they are in England. So what, I hear you say, they on home ground, stands to reason.
No it doesn't.
A piece of Nikon camera equipment in the USA might cost $100; in the UK the same equipment would cost me £100. I know we got very close to parity with the dollar in the early 1980s but now it's closer to $2 to £1. Someone somewhere is getting ripped off and I've an idea it's me. This pricing policy is the same across a wide range of goods.
No doubt someone will point out to me differences in standards of living, wages and other excuses but it doesn't wash. When it comes to pricing consumer goods in the UK, someone is having a laugh.
And it isn't me
(Two blogrants on the trot - shall I go for another tomorrow or will it be Tweeville again? Watch this space.)
(No, not literally. You don't have to sit there glued to the screen. Go and do something creative. Then come back and see if it's changed, or not. Tomorrow, maybe. Or after the weekend. Your choice.)
7 comments:
I'm so tired, and I'd love to go to bed, but I'm watching this space, waiting for ranting or tweeing, or - with luck - both.
Now that you've put the mental image of an elephant pooping out a hat and someone actually wearing it, a bit of twee would be a welcome sight tomorrow. :-)
i love your voice and the way you see the world. Best advice i've had all day is yours..."go out and do something creative!" i think i will.
The people living in mansions are the ones having a laugh, I suspect...
Also...where I run in is a quiet residential neighborhood. Nobody seems to have dogs there. No fences in back yards. No barking EVER.
But one fellow insists on walking with a large stick.
I don't get it. But, apparently, he's just a little scared.
I travelled to Malaysia a number of years ago, one of the most enjoyable aspects of the road trip around the peninsular was eating, fresh tropical fruit particularly. We stopped at a roadside market in the middle of a steamy valley, bounded by massive forrest trees. I sighed when I saw giant mangos for less than a dollar (my money) at a stall, and made the comment, "I wish we could get mangos like that in Australia!" After translation, the stall owner looked at me as though I was mad and said, "These ARE Australian mangos!" Bugger... If we COULD buy those in our own country they would have been at least $10 each!
About the hats; I think they only produce WHITE ones, this is so people can see at a glance if someone has put the hat through the elephant test!
Bluesmama - you've had a long wait and the rant still han't arrived. Sorry.
Sorry, Susan, no twee available, apart from my Mum's birthday greeting.
Thanks, Snowsparkle, for your very kind words.
Josephine, perhaps he's only someone if he has a big stick.
Thanks, Gargoyle, great story. And interesting theory about the hats although mine is a light green - perhaps it's been through already and that's the stain!
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