Recent content by Illustrious

It is indeed Cornwall - as evidenced by the Chough (the little black and white bird on the hat), which is the emblem of Cornwall.

Me neither. Mostly because it's not even good Latin. Mind you, I can understand mere scientists not getting as far as the second declension vocative... :)

It's all about having a co-ordinated civic strategy for cyclists and pedestrians.... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copenhagenization_%28bicycling%29

Not really. The song was written in 1965 for the TV show "That Was The Week That Was" (a short-lived US version of the classic UK hit series). A couple of weeks earlier, Lehrer had produced a song ("Who's Next?") about nuclear proliferation, following on from news of a Chinese nuclear test -...

I don't buy the Greek version either. The historian in question wrote the entire story of Caesar in Greek, so the fact that his last words are given in Greek tells us nothing about the actual language Caesar was speaking. The odds are that he either: (1) said nothing at all (as you...

Exactly. Now would be a good time to provide a link to the "Ladder Theory", which sets this view down in some detail. Go here To quote: The first thing to notice here is that a woman has not one ,but two ladders. This is becasue in addition to the normal ladder, a woman also has a friends...

I'm all in favour of public nudity as long as I don't have to do it myself. :blush:

No one answer - not all marches are alike. Sousa's marches are very different both in tone and style from British military marches, which in turn differ from Prussian marches. And then there's cavalry marches, which have a very different feel from ordinary infantry marches. Not to mention...

Why no marines/guns on merchant ships? Probably a European Union thang: it would violate the "human rights" of the pirates.....:crazyeye:

YNCS raises the best point so far on the subject of effects on British history: it's not down to the overall quality of any one harbour, but rather the fact that the English coast has good, sizeable natural harbours at short, regular intervals all along the Channel coast from London in the East...

George Bernard Shaw's ingenious variation on how to spell "FISH": (1) in the word "enough", gh is pronounced as "f" (2) in the word "women", o is pronounced as "i" (3) in the word "nation", ti is pronounced as "sh" Therefore, "fish" should be spelled ghoti

Any trading entity (an individual, a partnership or a limited company) is obliged to register for VAT if its total turnover from taxable supplies exceeds the relevant threshold. Once registered, it is issued with a VAT Number. Certain things follow from this: (1) all of an entity's supplies...

Once again col proves himself to be the man. :worship: I was there 20+ years ago (Sidney Sussex College), and my team singularly failed to win it! :cry: Cambridge-related cringe story: Two years ago I was on a pub quiz team with some mates, and a question came up about a particular...

"So Long Mom, I'm Off To Drop The Bomb" by Tom Lehrer This was a satirical song for World War III written in 1965. Words as follows: So long, mom, I'm off to drop the bomb, So don't wait up for me. But while you swelter down there in your shelter You can see me on your TV. While...

On the subject of not-so-honourable Members: Kafka, it would be great to see your inimitable style let loose on Horatio Bottomley...