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27 May 02 - 12:47 PM (#718140) Subject: Questions for McGrath of Harlow From: allanwill 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 |
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27 May 02 - 12:51 PM (#718142) Subject: RE: BS: Question for McGrath of Harlow From: Jerry Rasmussen 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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27 May 02 - 12:59 PM (#718145) Subject: RE: BS: Question for McGrath of Harlow From: McGrath of Harlow Well, at least you get some light that way. Whiskers yes. Smoke, no. |
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27 May 02 - 01:01 PM (#718147) Subject: RE: BS: Question for McGrath of Harlow From: allanwill 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 |
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27 May 02 - 01:35 PM (#718166) Subject: RE: BS: Question for McGrath of Harlow From: Jerry Rasmussen 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 |
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27 May 02 - 01:50 PM (#718188) Subject: RE: BS: Question for McGrath of Harlow From: allanwill Jerry Seems we have all survived virtually unscathed. Allan |
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27 May 02 - 01:57 PM (#718192) Subject: RE: BS: Question for McGrath of Harlow From: McGrath of Harlow 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.) |
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27 May 02 - 02:00 PM (#718196) Subject: RE: BS: Question for McGrath of Harlow From: Jerry Rasmussen Michael Jackson started his hair on fire for Pepsi. :-) Wadda thread! Jerry |
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28 May 02 - 04:14 AM (#718610) Subject: RE: BS: Question for McGrath of Harlow From: Nigel Parsons Michael Jackson shouldn't do that now, his face would melt! |
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28 May 02 - 04:28 AM (#718611) Subject: RE: BS: Question for McGrath of Harlow From: sian, west wales 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 |
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28 May 02 - 05:05 AM (#718620) Subject: RE: BS: Question for McGrath of Harlow From: Dave Bryant 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. |
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28 May 02 - 06:03 AM (#718634) Subject: RE: BS: Question for McGrath of Harlow From: Pete Jennings 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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28 May 02 - 09:10 AM (#718718) Subject: RE: BS: Question for McGrath of Harlow From: Jerry Rasmussen 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 |
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28 May 02 - 01:25 PM (#718869) Subject: RE: BS: Question for McGrath of Harlow From: Don Firth What can I say but "If you can't stand the heat, don't sit on the barbeque!" Don Firth |
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30 May 02 - 01:45 AM (#719977) Subject: RE: BS: Question for McGrath of Harlow From: AKS 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 |
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30 May 02 - 01:54 AM (#719981) Subject: RE: BS: Question for McGrath of Harlow From: DougR This subject is worthy of a whole thread? McGrath, you should feel flattered! DougR |
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30 May 02 - 04:41 AM (#720029) Subject: RE: BS: Question for McGrath of Harlow From: Dave Bryant 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 ! |
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05 Jun 02 - 11:15 PM (#724027) Subject: RE: BS: Question for McGrath of Harlow From: GUEST duffer thread where? im one im sure |
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06 Jun 02 - 07:43 AM (#724201) Subject: RE: BS: Question for McGrath of Harlow From: Noreen Here you are, GUEST: Duffers on the Mudcat Forum (click here) |
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06 Jun 02 - 08:41 AM (#724228) Subject: RE: BS: Question for McGrath of Harlow From: MikeofNorthumbria 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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06 Jun 02 - 08:48 AM (#724232) Subject: RE: BS: Question for McGrath of Harlow From: greg stephens You be careful,too, Mike, I've seen a photo of you without a beard! |
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06 Jun 02 - 10:06 AM (#724284) Subject: RE: BS: Question for McGrath of Harlow From: McGrath of Harlow 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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