What ho, pip pip, jolly good, etc. - Page 3

Solly · June 5, 2003, 10:12

Where's page three?

Buck Birdseed · June 5, 2003, 10:17

In The Sun.

Solly · June 5, 2003, 10:19

Used to have 20 posts per thread. They've not took away that option, so when I changed my avatar they ****ed around with that as well.

Re-instate 20 posts per thread!

Immortal Wombat · June 5, 2003, 10:25

Reinstate 50 posts per thread!

Boris Godunov · June 5, 2003, 14:34

Quote:

Originally posted by Demerzel
Did you find time to visit the tower of london? or some of the other museums?

oh and yeah the 11pm shutting time rule sucks, they are "making" plans to change this but its been happening for several years now, so who knows when we'll finally get more continental style hours.

I didn't go to the tower, as I had been there before 9 years ago. I went to the City Museum of London, which was really cool, and the National Gallery.

If the food were better, London bars were open later, and prices were a bit more reasonable, I'd be sorely tempted to relocate there. I really loved being around all that history. American cities just can't compete with Europe's legacy in this regard.

Jaguar · June 5, 2003, 14:49

Quote:

Originally posted by Boris Godunov
3) Gorgeous hotel room. Spectacular view. Helpful, friendly (and often cute!) staff. No air conditioning.

I was about to say "Cute women with British accents

" but then I remembered who I was quoting.

Those huge walking tours suck majorly. Whenever I see one in DC, I always feel like us native people should haze em or something.

Paul Hanson · June 5, 2003, 14:55

Can someone explain what exactly is wrong with British food?

Jaguar · June 5, 2003, 15:10

Steak is good when your cows aren't sick. (

)

alva · June 5, 2003, 15:16

Quote:

Can someone explain what exactly is wrong with British food?

Just to name one; overcoocked.

Paul Hanson · June 5, 2003, 15:29

Such as? I'm honestly not sure what you're refering to.

Japher · June 5, 2003, 15:50

Welcome back Boris.

Quote:

Can someone explain what exactly is wrong with British food?

There ARE other ways to cook food beisdes boiling it and frying it... Ever hear of spices? (not just herbs)... Yellow/Orange cheeses are great, you should try them sometime... Sausage does not HAVE to have blood in it... Sugar is something that should be added to desserts, not coffee... Milk goes on cereal not in tea... Cabbagge does not smell, nor taste good... if you must purette everything at least put some rum in it...

I could really care less, British Ale is much better, and as I like to say "there is a sandwhich in every beer, and a steak in every high-ball"

Oh, yeah, two more things wrong with British food: Jamie Oliver.

FrustratedPoet · June 5, 2003, 16:04

Quote:

Originally posted by Japher There ARE other ways to cook food beisdes boiling it and frying it... Ever hear of spices? (not just herbs)... Yellow/Orange cheeses are great, you should try them sometime... Sausage does not HAVE to have blood in it... Sugar is something that should be added to desserts, not coffee... Milk goes on cereal not in tea... Cabbagge does not smell, nor taste good... if you must purette everything at least put some rum in it...

Boiling/Frying: We roast a hell of a lot of stuff too.

Have we ever heard of spices: Have you ever heard that spicy Indian food is the most popular meal in the UK?

We should try Yellow/Orange cheeses: We have almost nothing but yellow and orange cheeses.

Sausage with no blood: Umm ..... we know that.

Milk on cereal: What else would we put on it???

Quote:

Oh, yeah, two more things wrong with British food: Jamie Oliver.

Well I can agree with you on this ..... pukka.

Starchild · June 5, 2003, 17:39

£2.17 for a pint of Fosters at my local pub. Local punk/ska club does a £1 a drink deal before ten though. And I hear pubs stay open much later in Edinburgh (strangely my family has yet to comment on this reason for my uni choice).

I also always manage to find AC in a club. I dunno if my local ones are just odd but there's always one place you can stand that's cool.

Boris, didn't tell me you were going to G-A-Y. Damn, I should have gone to London after all.

Arrian · June 5, 2003, 17:43

I like English food - at least some of it. I guess it depends on exactly who is cooking it... the basic type of dishes are fine (sheppard's pie, roast leg 'o lamb, meatloaf, etc).

And the full-blown English breakfast is one of the greatest things ever invented. Fried tomatoes

Not so sure about fried bread, but the rest of it is solid.

-Arrian

*End Is Forever* · June 5, 2003, 17:43

Were you in G-A-Y on Saturday 31st then? I was in the Astoria for a gig that night... probably missed you by about an hour.

Boris Godunov · June 5, 2003, 17:45

Starchild, of course I went to G-A-Y! How could I not?

EIF, no, I wasn't there Saturday. Went Thursday and Friday. Was far away at White Swan on Saturday.

Agathon · June 5, 2003, 19:24

Quote:

Originally posted by Boris Godunov

10) The walking tour I took was the Jack the Ripper tour, and the guide was Donald Rumbelow, who has written several books and was a major consultant on "From Hell," even giving a personal tour to Johnny Depp. It was actually a pretty interesting tour.

That must have been good, Rumbelow is one of the better Ripper authors (although "From Hell" was crap). The best Ripper book IMHO (having read most of them) is "The Complete Jack the Ripper" which was written by him (I think it's that one - the one which tries to make out that George Stephenson the poisoner was the Ripper - which I don't believe).

I own a piece of the door from the entry 29 Hanbury Street (the site of the Chapman murder - she and the Ripper went through this door). My Dad was a Ripper enthusiast and a friend of his went round there when it was being demolished in the 60s and walked off with the door, which he then cut up and distributed among other Ripper-heads.

Boris Godunov · June 5, 2003, 19:46

Quote:

Originally posted by Agathon

That must have been good, Rumbelow is one of the better Ripper authors (although "From Hell" was crap). The best Ripper book IMHO (having read most of them) is "The Complete Jack the Ripper" which was written by him (I think it's that one - the one which tries to make out that George Stephenson the poisoner was the Ripper - which I don't believe).

This is the book I had Rumbelow sign, which I haven't yet finished, and you've just ruined the ending for me.

Agathon · June 5, 2003, 19:59

Quote:

Originally posted by Boris Godunov

This is the book I had Rumbelow sign, which I haven't yet finished, and you've just ruined the ending for me.

No I haven't. I was confusing that book (which is an oldie but a goodie) with "The Complete History of Jack the Ripper" by Philip Sugden. I even got the name of the poisoner wrong (I haven't thought about the Ripper much for a few years).

If you do get a chance, get the Sugden book - it's easily the best historical analysis of the case I've read and he methodically trashes the common theories about who did it. I used to think that the Ripper was a man called Montague Druitt who killed himself after the Kelly murder and was suspected by family members of being the Ripper (Daniel Farson painted him as a suspect) but Sugden proves it can't have been him.

Boris Godunov · June 5, 2003, 20:08

So far, the theory I find most intriguing is that he was a sailor on a cattle ship that was in port on weekends in London. This would explain the witness accounts of him being dressed like a sailor, his seeming knowledge of anatomy (quickly finding and removing the desired organs) and why the killings all occured on a weekend.

Rumbelow's book is prefaced by a criminal psychologist, and he points out that the Ripper and subsequent similar sex criminals all followed a basic patern of being social outcasts who, thanks to the industrialization and impersonalization of the world, had time to brood upon their misanthropy and develop deep-seated hatred to those whom they blamed for their alienation. They also took glee in shocking the society they hated, hence their committing murders in an effort to provoke public terror.

In this regard, yes, it is extremely unlikely the Duke of Clarence or the Prince of Wales was behind the murders. The notion of a top-hatted, caped Ripper may be "romatic," but is utterly absurd, giving the character of Whitechapel. No such figure would have been able to move around that district unnoticed--he would have stuck out like a sore thumb. Considering how quickly the Ripper eluded the police on the night of his double murder, he would have had to have been able to blend into the morning market crowds easily. Only someone dressed very commonly would have been able to do that.

Agathon · June 5, 2003, 20:17

Another reason for reading the Sugden book: he pours water on the notion of medical knowledge - apparently not much was required.

I always thought Aaron Kosminski was a good candidate (other than Druitt) but Sugden shows that theory up as crap (this is what's good about his book: he does more historical spadework than most).

Boris Godunov · June 5, 2003, 20:34

Medical knowledge was not necessary, but knowing how to find and get at the organs was. Particularly the kidney, which is concealed by a membrane. This is the kind of knowledge a butcher would have, and the cattle boat sailor would have it.

The only problem with this theory is that it makes the letter the Ripper sent (the one which enclosed a piece of a liver), if it is genuine, a bit hard to explain.

Agathon · June 5, 2003, 20:38

Quote:

Originally posted by Boris Godunov

The only problem with this theory is that it makes the letter the Ripper sent (the one which enclosed a piece of a liver), if it is genuine, a bit hard to explain.

You mean the kidney? Tother half I fried and ate... and all that.

I don't really think that the letters were sent by the Ripper with the possible exception of that one (the "Dear Boss" letter).

I've resigned myself to never knowing.