Yes, another of those posts about the tedious details of my life that you care nothing about. And also an advert for my honey, hurrah.
In the middle you'll see my beehive. I've finally done most of the honey-related stuff this year (see-also previous bee blogging) so if you live nearby and care to purchase some finest quality Stoat honey with only a few bits of dead bee in it, please email. This year it does seem to be rape, judging by the speed at which it sets. The "comedy" aspect of the beekeeping was the way I managed to stumble around knocking the supers nearly off as I tried to get the lid on. Fortunately the ladies seem quite well behavined, even the one that sneaked into my suit. The kitchen is still full of odd bits of comb waiting to be melted down (I fail again: I left them for a week or more with an empty upper super, so of course they filled it full of beautiful comb which I must destroy, alas).
Saturday saw we few venture off downriver over Baits Bite lock in the Four of Death (drumroll). We didn't get as far as Bottisham - it was rather windy and the last stretch down there didn't tempt, unlike Tanya's coffee which did, since she was moored just before the bridge. And she even gave us chocolate cake, and a second cup of coffee when it rained. So we could truthfully say we had a 3 1/2 hour outing, even if some of it wasn't on the water. And bits of the rowing were good, and even the unbalanced bits weren't dreadful. Steven turned out to be a perceptive coach, though I'm not going to straighten my arm, sorry. But full marks for spotting it :-).
Oh, and Brian's latest is good.
I forgot to mention that today was fathers day, and I got breakfast in bed courtesy of Miranda and Eve, with a menu and a card too, and a chocolate coin.
- Log in to post comments
Sounds like a sweet father's day for you.
It's curious to me that the US and UK converge for the date of Fathers' day, but diverge for the mothers. I see the UK uses the liturgical calendar to set mothers day.
More vindication for Watts! Look how poorly situated the box is.
A sticky situation for a climate scientist if you ask me.
Too bad it's just rape honey this year, but have you thought of luring the bees into a scull with promises of more exotic forage? With some practice and good coxing you might get a good stroke rate out of them. Or perhaps you could use them to incentivize a human crew.
The Wikipedia articles on Father's Day and Mother's Day give the background to these American feasts, and the story is more interesting than you might think, but not much more.
Mother's Day appears to have originated as an anti-war statement by a feminist, and was made an official holiday by act of Congress. Father's Day was conceived as a response to Mother's Day, but was not made into a permanent holiday until a proclamation by President Nixon, in the early 1970s.
Thus neither of them seems to bear any relation to Mothering Sunday. Both are specifically American celebrations created by Americans, embedded in American history (the war against the slave states), and sanctioned by the American government.
It's got a weird history, though I don't suppose that means it's a bad idea.
Re: Brian's
I prefer the experiment when the detector is placed at the side of the tube so as to detect the re-radiation. I have lost the link.
------------
And here is how they used to do it
http://www.jstor.org/pss/82280
Tony,
In the U.S. four times the normal Sunday long distance calls are made on Mother's Day. On Father's Day 10% fewer than normal long distance are made, but they include twice the normal number of collect (reverse charge) calls.
Best thing about Father's Day: the final round of the U.S. Open.