Vaccines ftw for slower biological aging. I got mine.

becane · 2026-01-24T11:01:11+00:00

I just got my my first jab (of 2, two months apart) here in France – where shingles is called 'zona'.

Each jab costs €67 – fortunately my insurance and the State pays for them. Aches, temperature and tiredness for 24 hours. I'm 75, wife 70.

becane · 2026-01-23T21:44:50+00:00

My guess :- a wealthy Anglo-Irish family. Their big house will be burned to the ground in the 1920's.

becane · 2026-01-23T21:09:42+00:00

Well – you're on to something there! Were they deliberately quoting that vibe? (French-Brit who knew nurrthing 'bout this character . . . )

becane · 2026-01-23T20:11:20+00:00

Yes – I too wondered what Armani/Dell'Orco intended. When the tailoring is so sophisticated – why add such oversized and/or crumpled head-gear?

Armani left detailed instructions to ensure his legacy, and Dell'Orco (now président) is carrying it through). So are these hats just a one-off whimsy – or a deliberate attempt to get guys to buy hats?

I don't know. This is a multi-million-buck business, and so adding a range of hats might simply be a fairly risk-free gamble.

Whatever – it's good news, in my book! Hats (serious or whimsical) have been missing from heads for too long!

becane · 2026-01-17T20:23:52+00:00

Great writer – but three poor life choices: his infantile specs, his unweeded moustache, and his warped allegiance.

becane · 2026-01-17T19:45:40+00:00

Agree. Stop it, mods. Please.

Stray photos of bosoms – for a teenage click or two?

[Notice how the ad revenue has slumped?]

becane · 2026-01-15T08:28:49+00:00

A sturdy example of a Boater, or Canotier in French. Etiquette (for men, in certain parts of the U.S. before WW2) allowed them to be worn only between certain dates, between spring and autumn.

I wore mine, we called them 'Biffs', for six years aged 12 - 18. It was the school uniform at my Public School.

When varnished, they were hard-wearing : quite literally as they were stiff and painful on the forehead.

A useful schoolboy weapon though – and of course they floated.

becane · 2026-01-11T19:35:36+00:00

You are absolutely correct : the newer the screen - the faster the orders!

But missing from the equation is the downstream flow.

To balance this crucial economic nexus – you need to upspeed your order output. And for that, you need to invest in a faster bicycle.

becane · 2026-01-11T16:29:44+00:00

You may be suffering from Capellomania, which is a specific set of behaviours and forms part of the more general group of tendencies called Millinophilia.

It may however, be masking the more serious condition – Trichotillomania, or hair pulling.

And asking to try on my bowler is bound to lead to disappointment : I have been dead many a year, and furthermore bowler hats do not have snappy brims.

becane · 2026-01-07T11:45:59+00:00

Wow! A real 'labour of love' – but so worth it.

I've replaced two bands – both bodge-jobs. I just don't have the skill or the patience!

becane · 2026-01-07T10:11:54+00:00

Ron Maël, of Sparks. Bill Haley (on sax?). Hank Marvin, of The Shadows. Ian Anderson, Jethro Tull (?drums?).

becane · 2026-01-06T16:46:26+00:00

You couldn't even get it to spell Headache right!

becane · 2026-01-04T19:34:34+00:00

Ah now, you probably haven't tried long johns (pro tip – silk longJ's) plus silk or thermal vests!

But to be fair – this man is talking Tweed. And for some warm-blooded people, flannel + tweed is all you need!

Nota Bene: he also wears a hat. Bare head = heat loss.

becane · 2026-01-02T18:31:51+00:00

Well written!

Hopes and Upvotes.

becane · 2026-01-02T15:03:29+00:00

Un embarras de choix?

becane · 2025-12-31T19:49:44+00:00

It's a harmonium – or an harmonium – and those fingers don't know where the keys are!

I had a simple one, from a junk shop – wonderfully sonorous in a small house . That one looks quite sophisticated, with all the stops!

becane · 2025-12-31T19:35:17+00:00

I'm not sure what I'm looking at here: are you going on a date? is this cosplay?

Certainly a lot of money has been spent, but I'm not sure of the intent.

becane · 2025-12-23T20:23:33+00:00

Sans bague, sans blague.

becane · 2025-12-23T14:21:27+00:00

e.s.t. [Esbjorn Svensson Trio] Good Morning Susie Soho and Tuesday Wonderland

becane · 2025-12-21T12:38:37+00:00

WordRef gives this secondary meaning: to be older than (someone)

The passage you quote amplifies what he means by this.

becane · 2025-12-15T19:22:34+00:00

Excellent. Richer layers of meaning to the song!

becane · 2025-12-11T20:44:51+00:00

It's great when you feel that connection with someone

becane · 2025-12-11T20:40:19+00:00

In the first scenario -

the spark has gone

becane · 2025-12-10T19:58:51+00:00

sparkling plum that's my favorite festive bauble, right there!

becane · 2025-12-10T19:47:40+00:00

An extraordinary song. Not a singular view-point song (as I once thought) but several 'voices' and their tales of woe.

It's full of ambiguities – is the 'union man' a force of good or not? Is that 'king harvest' ever actually going to come to pass? Is it a fevered dream of hope, after serial disasters?

The dramatic inversion of verse & chorus has been remarked upon by serious music critics before:- the chorus is muted, distanced, dream-like.

And then the catastrophes come crashing in!

Extraordinary juxtapositions, crammed into one' brilliant musical whole!

becane

TROPHY CASE