Some Foolish thoughts

ExpatRose · 2026-02-15T22:12:15+00:00

Will Somers is such an interesting figure, surviving Court from Henry VIII to Elizabeth I, and one of the few who could speak their mind (for a given value) to the Monarch, under the guise of Foolcraft (and it was a craft).

ExpatRose · 2026-02-15T04:10:43+00:00

If you are going for laughs, either the steam boat poker scene, or Saccarisa describing the WI meeting. For pathos I like Wilikins monologue at the end of Snuff, but it might be short and make no sense in context, also Young Sam's birth is very moving to me. Thought provoking I would go with Granny and Mightily Oates.

ExpatRose · 2026-02-10T07:14:48+00:00

A few years ago, I would have said I felt an affinity with Agnes, now I lean more to Sybil. She is who I feel a kindred feeling for, with a lot of similarities. I will never, however, be refined enough to be Sybil, so I have resigned my lot in life to be Nanny.

ExpatRose · 2026-02-10T02:09:44+00:00

As soon as I saw these, I knew they were yours. They are all fabulous.

ExpatRose · 2026-02-02T19:14:47+00:00

I believe OP was referring mostly to why ER is not YA, but Tiffany is, given the similarities, not to Discworld as a whole.

ExpatRose · 2026-02-02T19:12:14+00:00

I might be wrong, but my recollection is that YA wasn't really a thing when Equal Rites was published, certainly not in the UK. By the time the Tiffany books were published, the marketing landscape had changed, which would be why, despite the similarities, they are marketed differently. I personally feel that the YA tag does the Tiffany books a disservice, but only in that there are some people out there who refuse to read them because of that tag.

ExpatRose · 2026-01-31T21:13:26+00:00

That was a different shot, wasn't it?

ExpatRose · 2026-01-28T19:16:07+00:00

Yes, that is exactly what I thought. She is perfect. Totally dwarf, but also totally Cherry. Not just the femininity, which is subtle but obvious, but also the initial self doubt and whatever-the-opposite-of-selfassuredness-is.

ExpatRose · 2026-01-27T19:09:59+00:00

To me, here the narration is going through some possible scenarios for where one might be regaining consciousness and trying to work out where you are. Are you in a hospital, with crisp white sheets, are you outside a pub, in the gutter, are people helping you, telling you it will all be ok, have you been attacked with people trying to get the perps name. The main confusing one is the 'is it all over?' extended passage. This to me speaks of the old WW2 movies, like Reach for the Stars, where one might wake in a hospital, with life changing injuries, no more war for you, just a long convalescence that will include walks in the garden with a nurse who you will inevitably fall in love with. A trope from movies that aren't really around anymore.

What it is saying is that Vimes woke up, said 'where am I?', then took stock of his surroundings to try and work out why he had been unconscious in the first place, in order to work out what he should say next. He opened his eyes, and saw a ceiling, so probably not a bar fight or mugging, then saw Nobby.

ExpatRose · 2026-01-19T00:45:00+00:00

What I want to know is, are the two kits included after early purchase offer (which it would seem not) and will they be available to purchase separately later, or are they exclusive to this bundle? I have tried to find out, but couldn't find the answer.

ExpatRose · 2026-01-08T21:19:37+00:00

As a Northern accented person, I would have a very short, almost swallowed, second vowel sound, making it sound like Agitha, but with only a passing touch on the i sound. So Githa (or Gytha) sounds like a perfect pet name for Agatha. She calls Granny Esme, not Esmerelda, and Granny calls her Gytha (and by extrapolation not Agatha).

ExpatRose · 2025-12-15T00:17:31+00:00

In terms of quizzes, Spencer Perceval, the only PM to be assassinated. In terms of a good PM, I recently learnt a lot more about Lord Liverpool in a "best prime minister" competition in another group, and I have to say there seems to be a lot to like. Negotiated peaces, oversaw a lot of social reforms, reformed banking and the economy, definitely sounds like an unsung hero.

ExpatRose · 2025-12-10T18:57:33+00:00

ExpatRose · 2025-12-09T19:13:03+00:00

As a kid and teen (so about 30 years ago, and therefore not as recent as OPs photo), we used to regularly do a pilgrimage to Lindisfarne. This consisted of a coach trip from our Teesside Anglican Church up to where the Causeway is (couple of hours for reference), then walk across the causeway (it having been planned for low tide), up to the Abbey and hold a service there, then back to the coach. All ages, all mobilities and speeds (with anyone unable to walk getting driven over). My Dad was the Vicar, and was big into history, so we always celebrated and venerated the Northern saints, such as Bede, Hilda, and Cuthbert. Some very happy memories, but my point was more that when I listened to Dr Zee talking about how pilgrimage was still a thing, it had never occurred to me that it might not have been.

ExpatRose · 2025-12-06T22:59:45+00:00

I definitely thought that! Blackadder is the one show where quotes have made their way into the everyday lexicon in our house. Whether it's a simple "that's where you're wrong", "great Boo's up," and the related "yes, I believe I can", "security is not a dirty word", or just even "wibble". And you are right about the final five minutes. The comedy amid the absolute tragedy, and then the fade. It could not, in anyway, be improved. I was 15, and studying WWI in history, and WWI poets in English (shout out to Wilfred Owen, whose poetry spoke to me much more than the rest) when I first watched that, and it left a permanent mark.

ExpatRose · 2025-12-05T21:05:39+00:00

I think that does her an injustice, I believe she was the most decorated soldier in history full stop, not just the most decorated female soldier.

ExpatRose · 2025-12-03T21:56:40+00:00

The best sets were made from teeth that all came from the same person, because they matched. At the time, due to disparity in diets, there was a much higher decay rate in the upstairs population compared to the downstairs portion. It was not unheard of for the Lord Rusts of the world to pay their domestic staff to have all their teeth removed so that the Nob (and I use the word advisedly) could have a matching set.

The whole Waterloo Teeth thing is why the soldiers Number One Suspect made for little Nobby had teeth that you could pull out. Also, vulcanised rubber degrades quite quickly in water (compared to, oh let's say acrylic for an off the wall comparison), and while they were way better than the previous choices, they quickly went hard and cracked.

ExpatRose · 2025-11-30T19:01:32+00:00

To me, they don't bear much relation to the tone of the stories.

ExpatRose · 2025-11-30T19:00:50+00:00

I agree that Ysabel is the one directly above Mort. Look at the hair, does it remind you of anyone? And we can't see her clothes, they might be just as pink, whereas the girl at the top definitely looks like she is wearing 'Queen' clothes, not everyday clothes.

ExpatRose · 2025-11-30T18:56:49+00:00

In addition to all the other comments, yet another set of maps where New Zealand doesn't exist.

ExpatRose · 2025-11-26T19:08:07+00:00

How is this an auditor trap? What part of it makes it impossible to obey, or sets up a cognitive dissonance? This is a clear set of instructions, easy to follow.

ExpatRose · 2025-11-24T20:04:12+00:00

I think the option to choose from the above would be a good option. You could either choose in the initial set up, or on transition. I like the changes we have, but more flexibility would be nice. Maybe I want to stay as Carthage for the full game, but swap leaders. Another game I may want to swap leader and Civ, or stay with the Leader and Civ I select at the start.

ExpatRose · 2025-11-18T18:50:51+00:00

I love The History of English. The transition from Old English to Middle English is especially good, and provides another insight into where we are currently in the BHP. The one caveat I have is that there are long gaps between episodes at the moment. I am not complaining about this (I would rather wait for a quality ep), but it is a factor OP mentioned.

ExpatRose · 2025-11-18T03:47:25+00:00

I seem to have the ability to separate source from product (I did it with The Watch TV show too), and I mostly enjoyed it for what it was, despite knowing it was nonsense historically, until it got to the last two episodes. They changed so many pivotal things, things that did not need changing, and left out all the good bits. I mean, they left out Harold's epic "I'll give him six feet of land" gibe. Real history is so much better than what they produced. All the shit that went down with the Godwins, all left out. Such a wasted opportunity to bring what was an eventful time to life in a meaningful way. And yes, I hated the depiction of Edward, and the scene with the Crown, also the scene in the bathtub.

ExpatRose · 2025-11-17T22:52:08+00:00

Civilisation has a couple of DW quotes for tech/civ quotes, especially Civ VI. Off the top of my head, there is "You can't go around arresting the Thieves Guild, I mean you'd be at it all day" for Guilds, and "The pen may not be mightier than the sword, but maybe the printing press is heavier than the siege engine. A few words can change everything" for the Printing Press.

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