what I have learned today.

[rafletcher]

That "Chickens in tutu's are a thing".  Courtesy of a colleague, of course.

[spesh]

Epsom had similar. I believe that one in ten of the population was officially insane. Those institutions too are now all long gone.

Given how many hospitals there were on the Horton Estate on the north-west of Epsom, that wouldn't surprise me. 

ISTR most of the east side of Horton Lane had already been redeveloped by the time I'd moved away 20 years ago.

[hatler]

Were you living in Epsom when the "Uh Uh !!" newspaper seller stood at the Spread Eagle crossroads ?

[spesh]

Were you living in Epsom when the "Uh Uh !!" newspaper seller stood at the Spread Eagle crossroads ?

Can't say I remember that guy - strictly speaking, while my postal address had Epsom in it, I was up by the race course and usually only came into town on a Saturday...

[Mr Larrington]

• Drilling holes into brick is a lot easier if your 8mm masonry bit is not as blunt as your criticism of Julia Tory-Sewer, and
• There are nowadays two sorts of drill bit, and those with the oversize shaft will not fit your elderly Bosch

(Stomps off to Screwfix* in a huff)

* where I should have stomped yesterday, had I been clearer of thought

[geraldc]

50ml of PVA glue, 1/4 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda, and 1/2 teaspoon of contact lens cleaning solution (as long as it contains borax), with a drop of food colouring, makes slime.

It has kept my 4 year old amused all afternoon

[chrisbainbridge]

50ml of PVA glue, 1/4 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda, and 1/2 teaspoon of contact lens cleaning solution (as long as it contains borax), with a drop of food colouring, makes slime.

It has kept my 4 year old amused all afternoon

brilliant.  I might borrow that for the granddaughters coming on Saturday morning

[campagman]

I have learned the word cragfest. When climbing, if you get stuck and can't go up or down. Ooops.

[jsabine]

I think you might mean cragfast. Cragfest sounds altogether more enjoyable.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Cragfest

[cygnet]

Cragfest

Pretty, but perhaps not as enjoyable as I (and I suspect jsabine) were thinking of for CragFest

[jsabine]

Cragfest

They're quite lovely - and I'm pleased that you avoided the temptations of CamelCase.

We resisted, so why couldn't cygnet?

[cygnet]

I was imagineering a festival with amplified music, some rock climbing maybe, with tents beneath, and possibly above, crags. Take your pick (ho ho) as to possible locations.

[jsabine]

Oh, so was I, as well as thinking it was probably a better manner for the Mountain Film Festival

[cygnet]

Tonight I have learned that there are 2 Mountain Film Festivals appearing at the top of a Google search 😁
One is the Banff MFF and the other is a more global one.

Maybe check whether safesearch is on before you Google MFF in front of an audience though.

[jsabine]

I was actually thinking of the Keswick one

It does appear that that's a Mountain Festival that happens to have films

[Cudzoziemiec]

Cragfest

They're quite lovely - and I'm pleased that you avoided the temptations of CamelCase.

We resisted, so why couldn't cygnet?

Probably because there's been recent discussion of shipping containers, I'm now seeing a crate full of dromedaries.

[mark]

That "junior drag racing" for children as young as 5 is a thing in this country. Apparently they run 1/8 mile races instead of 1/4 mile, in cars that top out at around 30mph. I was talking to the lady who cuts my hair about her plans for her Dodge Durango (which involve a  supercharger and some track time) when she mentioned that her daughter (age 8 ) was starting to show an interest in a children's racing program.

[perpetual dan]

Tonight I have learned that there are 2 Mountain Film Festivals appearing at the top of a Google search
One is the Banff MFF and the other is a more global one.

Maybe check whether safesearch is on before you Google MFF in front of an audience though.

I’m pretty sure the Banff one goes on tour (or used to). I’ve been to it in Brighton.

crag_fest* reminds me of a scooby doo film - the legend of the vampire, set at a rock festival with a mountain backdrop.

* Sorry, the camel case comments made it hard to resist some snake case

[Cudzoziemiec]

That makes "snake case" a thing I have learned today. 

[JennyB]

I have learned the word cragfest. When climbing, if you  stuck and can't go up or down. Ooops.

There's a word in this part of the country for a cycling equivalent - storm-stayed.

[Feanor]

I have learned the word cragfest. When climbing, if you get stuck and can't go up or down. Ooops.

See also: Gargoyled

[campagman]

Yes, sorry, I did mean cragfast. I said it was a new word. I'm still learning it.

[Beardy]

There have been six series of Love Island, which is some sort of reality TV fest available for your education and entertainment on that there anabaric distascope.

Apparently the seventh series will have 3,700 episodes. It’s been difficult for me not to become aware of it this year because my guilty pleasure is looking at the front pages of most of the news papers occasionally and the tabloids in particular seem to have had a picture of one of the ‘contestants’ pretty much constantly over the last week or two. I first became aware of it when a friend’s daughter turned down an offer to be a contestant either last year or the year before, but I don’t believe I’ve ever actually seen it, and I certainly couldn’t tell you how the participants compete with each other.

Given the article I’ve just read on the Graun website, I’m not quite sure how it’s being allowed to be broadcast. It sounds abhorrent. I don’t believe I’ll be making an effort to find out which channel it is on.

[hatler]

Prurient bollocks at its worst. I loathe 'reality' TV. A bunch of talentless (mostly) exhibitionists (the very worst sort). This is part of the reason I gave up on TV some years ago.