Thanks, John, for outing me. I might have guessed you would refuse to let me hide myself away. You're right, of course, about Paddy's additions. Their poeticism may be subject to analysis but you can't gainsay the traditionalism behind it. A small point but an interesting one from the language point of view, the "splanks" that were being ris' from the stone floor is derived from the irish word, "splannc" meaning a flash of light / spark. HOP