Subject: Questions for McGrath of Harlow From: allanwill Date: 27 May 02 - 12:47 PM You made this statement in the "duffer" thread: "Remember, it is better to set fire to your whiskers than to curse the darkness. Try it some time." 2 questions. Do you have a beard? Do you smoke? Allan |
Subject: RE: BS: Question for McGrath of Harlow From: Jerry Rasmussen Date: 27 May 02 - 12:51 PM I'll let McGrath answer this one, but a comparable phrase is "It beats a poke in the eye with a sharp stick." Probably a whole 'nother thread there." Jerry
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Subject: RE: BS: Question for McGrath of Harlow From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 27 May 02 - 12:59 PM Well, at least you get some light that way. Whiskers yes. Smoke, no. |
Subject: RE: BS: Question for McGrath of Harlow From: allanwill Date: 27 May 02 - 01:01 PM That one is bit close to home for me, Jerry. I'm blind in one eye and I was out in the garden one time and walked into a tree branch (sober - just have a problem with distance perception) and a twig went into my good eye. Was totally blind for a few days - very scary experience. Allan |
Subject: RE: BS: Question for McGrath of Harlow From: Jerry Rasmussen Date: 27 May 02 - 01:35 PM Real sorry to hear that, Allan: But glad to hear that you were only blind for a few days. I like to walk at night, and got jabbed just below the eye by a low branch one evening... enough to draw blood. Another half inch and I would have had what you had. Eyesight is an amazing thing, even if you haven't lost it. The elderly Mother of a friend of mine went in for a cattaract removal and something went wrong. She had three more operations to try to correct it and when they finished working on her, the eye had gone completely white and all the specialists pronounced her permanently blind in that eye. My friend and her Mother are praying folk, so they turned elsewhere for healing, and a couple of weeks later when she went in for a follow-up on her eye, she read the eye chart with her "blind eye." The Doctors had no explanation for how it could have happened. Jerry |
Subject: RE: BS: Question for McGrath of Harlow From: allanwill Date: 27 May 02 - 01:50 PM Jerry Seems we have all survived virtually unscathed. Allan |
Subject: RE: BS: Question for McGrath of Harlow From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 27 May 02 - 01:57 PM Blackbeard the Pirate used to tie fuses in his beard, and light them just before moving into hand to hand fighting. The idea presumably was that the sight of this horrible hairy pirate with his beard spitting sparks and fire would give him the edge.
That wasn't actually what I had in mind, but it comes to mind now. (Actually I was thinking "better light a candle than curse the darkness" - but that admirable sentiment seemed a bit high-minded for the context. And the implication of lighting your whiskers if that's the only way to shed light on the scene has a quality of do-what-you-can-regardless-of the-personal-cost, which I rather admire.) |
Subject: RE: BS: Question for McGrath of Harlow From: Jerry Rasmussen Date: 27 May 02 - 02:00 PM Michael Jackson started his hair on fire for Pepsi. :-) Wadda thread! Jerry |
Subject: RE: BS: Question for McGrath of Harlow From: Nigel Parsons Date: 28 May 02 - 04:14 AM Michael Jackson shouldn't do that now, his face would melt! |
Subject: RE: BS: Question for McGrath of Harlow From: sian, west wales Date: 28 May 02 - 04:28 AM A friend of mine had to step in as a 'supply' in a woodwork club for kids in a tough area of London some years back. The regular leader was a bit draconian and had yelled at the kids to sweep up the shavings while he concentrated on something at his work bench. So the kids swept them all into a pile right behind his feet and set them on fire. sian |
Subject: RE: BS: Question for McGrath of Harlow From: Dave Bryant Date: 28 May 02 - 05:05 AM Why don't we have a sponsored "McGrath Beard Burning" at Buntingford this year - I'm sure Derek Brown et al would be willing to organise it. Only kidding Kevin. |
Subject: RE: BS: Question for McGrath of Harlow From: Pete Jennings Date: 28 May 02 - 06:03 AM Reminds of the time during one Formula One motor race when Keke Rosberg came in to the pits to refuel and some spilled over and caught fire. Rosberg was out of the car in about five nanoseconds and the crew quickly put out the flash fire. So, the pit boss tells him to get back in the car and rejoin the race, to which Keke replied "You get back in the f*****g car, it burned my moustache!" Pete
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Subject: RE: BS: Question for McGrath of Harlow From: Jerry Rasmussen Date: 28 May 02 - 09:10 AM When I was a kid, there was a dump out behind the Parker Pen plant along the railroad tracks. They'd throw away discontinued pen barrels and other parts. One night, we had a bonfire in the backyard and were wedging the pen barrels onto the ends of sticks and starting them on fire. They gave off brilliant colors like those chemically treated fireplace logs. Very cool. It was even cooler if you swung the stick around and made patterns in the air. My friend Dave got a little too enthusiastic and as he was waving the stick around, the flaming barrel came off, flew through the air and stuck on his eyebrow, still in flames. The burning plastic made a dandy super glue. He did one of the best imitations of a Plains Indian dance I've ever seen, complete with war whoops, until he got the thing off. No permanent damage, but that was the end of our Parker Pen fireworks display. Jerry |
Subject: RE: BS: Question for McGrath of Harlow From: Don Firth Date: 28 May 02 - 01:25 PM What can I say but "If you can't stand the heat, don't sit on the barbeque!" Don Firth |
Subject: RE: BS: Question for McGrath of Harlow From: AKS Date: 30 May 02 - 01:45 AM In addition to Mr Rosberg's burning moustache, there's another fiery Finnish speciality: The Flaming Sideburns, a rokkenrol band that presently tours mostly (fortunately, sez I) in continental Europe. AKS |
Subject: RE: BS: Question for McGrath of Harlow From: DougR Date: 30 May 02 - 01:54 AM This subject is worthy of a whole thread? McGrath, you should feel flattered! DougR |
Subject: RE: BS: Question for McGrath of Harlow From: Dave Bryant Date: 30 May 02 - 04:41 AM Of course at one time in some morris sides there was a custom of "Smoking the Fool". The fool of the side who would wear a "tatters" type of smock with lots of strips of cloth, would have some paper strips inserted which were then set alight. I believe that there was generally a bucket of water to hand to extinguish him ! |
Subject: RE: BS: Question for McGrath of Harlow From: GUEST Date: 05 Jun 02 - 11:15 PM duffer thread where? im one im sure |
Subject: RE: BS: Question for McGrath of Harlow From: Noreen Date: 06 Jun 02 - 07:43 AM Here you are, GUEST: Duffers on the Mudcat Forum (click here) |
Subject: RE: BS: Question for McGrath of Harlow From: MikeofNorthumbria Date: 06 Jun 02 - 08:41 AM Nobody on this thread has yet mentioned the old Australian sheep-shearers song, "Bluey Brink", which tells the tale of a heavy boozer who accidentally drank some cleaning fluid. The full text is on the digitrad, but the key verse goes as follows
"I thought I knew drink, but I must have been wrong;
Be careful what you sup Kevin! Wassail!
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Subject: RE: BS: Question for McGrath of Harlow From: greg stephens Date: 06 Jun 02 - 08:48 AM You be careful,too, Mike, I've seen a photo of you without a beard! |
Subject: RE: BS: Question for McGrath of Harlow From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 06 Jun 02 - 10:06 AM But I'm the only one of us three with the affrontery to stick his picture in the Mudcat rogues' gallery, beard and all.
I've never set light to it as yet, but I've sizzled it a few times doing the odd fry-up.
Martyn Wyndham-Read does a great Bluey Brink. I can't remember whether he sings it or does it as a recitation, I was laughing so much when I heard him.
I've got a song I wrote myself with the blazing whiskers element - clearly it must be a worry that floats around in my subconscious mind:
"He must drive his family crazy, for he's never ever still
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