Etiquette advice sought. . .

If a friend (not very close) invites you, among others, to their home for a meal and then serves unmistakably under-cooked chicken, what procedure should one follow?

Charity Sponsorship

This is a modern phenomenon which has never quite clicked with me. If, along with a few dozen, hundred, thousand, others you agree to hand over £x to some athlete prepared to run 6 marathons back to back or ride up Mount Kilimanjaro on a unicycle, and you are completely trusting that, if he succeeds a large proportion of this £x will be donated to a favourite charity, would you, in the event of him dropping dead or otherwise failing in his mission say. "Oh no, sorry you can't have the money"?

If your answer is "no", why not hand over the whole sum right at the start and save him the trouble. Tell him you want the whole sum to go straight to the charity and he should fund his adventure some other way.

Just a thought . . .

The Lady of Shalott

I like Tennyson and I like Loreena McKennitt, so - no contest.

We are not the Centre of the Universe

Another strange sign from across the pond . . . .

This was situated at a viewing point on the south rim of the Grand Canyon. No doubt they can be seen elsewhere in the States but this was the only one I noticed.

The First Amendment states: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

I don't know exactly what the The National Park Service is afraid of but notice how it differs from the kind of sign that might be expected in  National Parks in England. These would be full of prohibitions; no litter, no picnicking, no barbecues etc.

I like the font they've used. Very 'Art Deco'.

Bear Advice

Last Lines 4

"I lingered round them under that benign sky: watched the moths fluttering among the heath and harebells, listened to the soft wind breathing through the grass, and wondered how any one could ever imagine unquiet slumbers for the sleepers in that quiet earth"

Emily Bronte, Wuthering Heights
(This is a very well-known last line, but none the worse for that. In fact when one comes to search for notable, resonant or distinctive examples they are very hard to come by. I have looked, for example, through all Dickens's novels and short stories and only found the already well known one from 'Tale of Two Cities", which I shall no doubt be driven to use at some time. Any suggestions will be welcome.)