READERS WRITE

 

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Feedback is always welcome.

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From Ron T, who resides in the US, responding to the post about ‘Pop Goes the Weasel’:

Loved it.

I watched, many times over, a British cooking series, Two Fat Ladies, who had the most engaging culinary show on TV.

If I recall correctly, treacle is what we in the U.S. refer to as molasses, a super sweet concentrated liquid.

All the best to you and your loved ones.

Thanks Ron, and the best to you and family.

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An email from Tim B, who also hails from the US, in response to the Funny Friday joke about Green Adair:

Morning Otto,

I had to really laugh at the joke about Green Adair. My brother and I were at a Dublin, Ireland pub and next to our table were two middle age ladies drinking a bottle of wine…each. Two ladies, two bottles. They asked what we were doing there as they detected we were from the US. When we told them playing golf, one said “you came all the way here to play fockin golf?

I don’t say fuck anymore, I say fock….am I still cussing?

Have a great day Otto.

Thanks Tim. ‘Fock’ or ‘Fuck’, is a matter for u. Ha ha.

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Ron T also commented on the series of fail pics in ‘You had one job’:

Fantastic ! !

One needs a Bytes as this to perk up for the day.

Wishing you and your loved ones all the best.

Ron

Thanks again Ron.

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Sue P’s email:

Hi Otto!

Surprisingly these are not bullet holes through glass, but embroidered silk!

Sue

https://www.artsy.net/artwork/zhao-zhao-constellations-18

Thanks, Sue. Not a very restful peace for one’s wall or a corporate office.

Here is another:

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David B from the UK commented on one of the images in the past pics post, of the foot sizer in shoe stores:

Very few of yesterday's childhood memories that I don't share from growing up in Industrial West Yorkshire in the fifties.

But the picture of the foot measuring device in shoe shops reminds me of the X-ray machines that were common in shoe shops.

You put your foot in its new shoe under the machine and saw a picture of its bones on the screen. The x-rays might have been a health hazard but, by heck, you got a comfortable shoe.

I responded:

Never seen those, we never had them in Oz.

Very interesting.

Hope you enjoy Funny Friday.

Stay well.

David replied with a link:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoe-fitting_fluoroscope

From that link:

Shoe-fitting fluoroscopes, also sold under the names X-ray Shoe Fitter, Pedoscope and Foot-o-scope, were X-ray fluoroscope machines installed in shoe stores from the 1920s until about the 1970s in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa, Germany and Switzerland. In the UK, they were known as Pedoscopes, after the company based in St. Albans that manufactured them.

In the second half of the 20th century, growing awareness of radiation hazards and increasingly stringent regulations forced their gradual phasing out. They were widely used particularly when buying shoes for children, whose shoe size continually changed until adulthood.

They had a ledge with an opening through which the standing customer (adult or child) would put their feet and look through a viewing porthole at the top of the fluoroscope down at the X-ray view of the feet and shoes. Two other viewing portholes on either side enabled the parent and a sales assistant to observe the toes being wiggled to show how much room for the toes there was inside the shoe. The bones of the feet were clearly visible, as was the outline of the shoe, including the stitching around the edges.

A shoe fluoroscope, 1938

An Adrian Fluoroscope at the Dufferin County Museum, Ontario, Canada (2012). The x-ray tube was removed to render the apparatus harmless before being put on public display, due to the possible risk of radiation burn or other health problems if it were switched on.

This decommissioned Adrian Fluoroscope is part of the collection of the Dufferin County Museum in Ontario, Canada. This image shows the operator's controls and three viewing screens on the top of the device. On the opposite side is a low platform with two half-circle holes cut into the vertical back surface for inserting the fronts of the shoes. The device emitted lots of radiation when operated, so it was sent to Ottawa, where it was rendered harmless by removing the x-ray tube head.

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From David B (a different one), in Scotland, also about the images from the past:

Hi Otto, loved the trip down memory lane! This 'Bytes' must be a full time job! Hope that you are improving in your health.

You always bring a smile to my face with your 'Bytes Daily'.

All the best, David

Thanks David.

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From Joy C:

Hello Otto,

I’m a friend of Tom C’s.

I just wanted to thank you for your emails and every one you send gives me something to think about or reflect on.

Tom speaks very highly of you and you are in my prayers every day.

In kindness

Joy C

Thanks Joy.

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An email from Ron T responding to the poem ‘Tying Knots in the Devil’s Tail’ –

Otto, greetings,

The more I enjoy the Bytes, I come to the [obvious] conclusion that Australia and the US are so wonderfully similar in so many ways.

Watched the series on Queen Elizabeth and noted the independent spirit of Australia and your PM at the time Princess Dianna visited.

Too bad that Pacific Ocean is in the way.

Warm regards for you, Kate and your family.

Thanks Ron.

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'England and America are two countries divided by a common language'

- Attributed to George Bernard Shaw and Oscar Wilde

THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY

 

SIGNS AND HEADLINES

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The following item was emailed to me by both Steve M and John P – thanks guys.

I don’t know how many are factual, I would like to believe all are.

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PROOF READING: A LOST ART

Signs and headlines . . .

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Did I read that sign right?

TOILET OUT OF ORDER. PLEASE USE FLOOR BELOW.

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In a Laundromat:

AUTOMATIC WASHING MACHINES: PLEASE REMOVE ALL YOUR CLOTHES WHEN THE LIGHT GOES OUT.

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In a London department store:

BARGAIN BASEMENT UPSTAIRS...

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In an office:

WOULD THE PERSON WHO TOOK THE STEP LADDER YESTERDAY PLEASE BRING IT BACK OR FURTHER STEPS WILL BE TAKEN

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In an office:

AFTER TEA BREAK, STAFF SHOULD EMPTY THE TEAPOT AND STAND UPSIDE DOWN ON THE DRAINING BOARD.

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Outside a second-hand shop:

WE EXCHANGE ANYTHING - BICYCLES, WASHING MACHINES, ETC. WHY NOT BRING YOUR WIFE ALONG AND GET A WONDERFUL BARGAIN?

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Notice in health food shop window:

CLOSED DUE TO ILLNESS...

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Spotted in a safari park:

(I sure hope so.)

ELEPHANTS, PLEASE STAY IN YOUR CAR.

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Seen during a conference:

FOR ANYONE WHO HAS CHILDREN AND DOESN'T KNOW IT, THERE IS A DAY CARE ON THE 1ST FLOOR.

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Message on a leaflet:

IF YOU CANNOT READ, THIS LEAFLET WILL TELL YOU HOW TO GET LESSONS.

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On a repair shop door:

WE CAN REPAIR ANYTHING. (PLEASE KNOCK HARD ON THE DOOR - THE BELL DOESN'T WORK.)

Proofreading is a dying art, wouldn't you say?

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MAN KILLS SELF BEFORE SHOOTING WIFE AND DAUGHTER

This one I caught in the SGV Tribune the other day and called the Editorial Room and asked who wrote this It took two or three readings before the editor realized that what he was reading was impossible!!! They put in a correction the next day.

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SOMETHING WENT WRONG IN JET CRASH, EXPERT SAYS

Really? Ya' think?

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POLICE BEGIN CAMPAIGN TO RUN DOWN JAYWALKERS

Now that's taking things a bit far!

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PANDA MATING FAILS; EXPERT TAKES OVER

What a guy!

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MINERS REFUSE TO WORK AFTER DEATH

Good-for-nothing lazy so-and-so's!

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JUVENILE COURT TO TRY SHOOTING DEFENDANT

See if that works better than a fair trial!

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WAR DIMS HOPES FOR PEACE

I can see where it might have that effect!

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IF STRIKE ISN'T SETTLED QUICKLY, IT MAY LAST AWHILE

Ya' think?!

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COLD WAVE LINKED TO TEMPERATURES

Who would have thought!

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ENFIELD COUPL SLAIN: POLICE SUSPECT HOMICIDE

They may be on to something!

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ED TAPE HOLDS UP NEW BRIDGES

You mean there's something stronger than duct tape?

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MAN STRUCK BY LIGHTNING: FACES BATTERY CHARGES

He probably IS the battery charge!

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NEW STUDY ON OBESITY LOOKS FOR LARGER TEST GROUP

Weren't they fat enough?!

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ASTRONAUT TAKES BLAME FOR GAS IN SPACECRAFT

That's what he gets for eating those beans!

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KIDS MAKE NUTRITIOUS SNACKS

Do they taste like chicken?

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LOCAL HIGH SCHOOL DROPUTS CUT IN HALF

Chainsaw Massacre all over again!

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HOSPITALS ARE SUED BY 7 FOOT DOCTORS

Boy, are they tall!

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And the winner is...

TYPHOON REIPS THROUGH CEMETERY; HUNDREDS DEAD

Did I read that right?

 

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

 

AESOP'S FABLE

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Aesop's Fables, or the Aesopica, is a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a slave and storyteller believed to have lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 564 BCE. Of diverse origins, the stories associated with his name have descended to modern times through a number of sources and continue to be reinterpreted in different verbal registers and in popular as well as artistic media. The fables originally belonged to the oral tradition and were not collected for some three centuries after Aesop's death. By that time a variety of other stories, jokes and proverbs were being ascribed to him.

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The Frogs and the Well

Two frogs lived together in a marsh. But one hot summer the marsh dried up, and they left it to look for another place to live in: for frogs like damp places if they can get them.

By and by they came to a deep well, and one of them looked down into it, and said to the other, "This looks a nice cool place. Let us jump in and settle here."

But the other, who had a wiser head on his shoulders, replied, "Not so fast, my friend. Supposing this well dried up like the marsh, how should we get out again?"

Moral:

"Look before you leap."

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In the 19th Century, an English poet called Jeffreys Taylor turned the fable into verse:

The Two Frogs, by Jeffreys Taylor

THE day was hot,—the heat was dire,

Enough to make a post perspire;

The ponds were empty, pumps were dry,

The ducks were thirsty, so was I.

Two frogs resolved (quite right I think)

To take a tour in search of drink;

And long they sped them on their way,

And many a dangerous leap had they;

But there appear’d a well at length,

Which both approach’d with failing strength;

But when they gave an anxious peep,

Alas! ’twas twenty fathoms deep!

“Well,” said the youngest, “let’s descend;”

“No,” said the other, “youthful friend;

For should the water dry here too,

I ask thee what we then should do?”

Deep was the well, not quite so deep

Our moral lies,—”look ere you leap.

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It’s very close to the moral of the Seven P's:

QUOTE FOR THE DAY

 

SOME MONDAY CHEER

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The pics below were sent to me by friend annd colleague Leo M. Thanks Leo.

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Let's play hide and seek !

This is the Strait of Gibraltar, where Europe and Africa almost touch, and a sea and an ocean meet:

QUOTE FOR THE DAY

 

SYDNEY SUBURBS

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DENHAM COURT

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Location:

Denham Court is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia located 44 kilometres (27 mi) south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government areas of the City of Campbelltown, City of Liverpool and City of Camden. It is part of the Macarthur region.

Name origin:

The suburb of Denham Court was named after the 202-hectare (500-acre) land grant of 1810 to Judge Advocate Richard Atkins, this in turn being named after his father's estates in Buckinghamshire in England.

The land grant of 500 acres made to Richard Atkins was lost to Richard Brooks when he became indebted. Brooks increased the holding and enlarged the house to become a grand homestead for his large family.

History:

Richard Atkins (1745-1820), deputy judge advocate, was born on 22 March 1745, the fifth son of Sir William Bowyer, baronet, and his wife Anne, née Stonhouse. He assumed the surname Atkins in recognition of a legacy from Sir Richard Atkins, of Clapham, Surrey, England.

He procured a military commission and by the 1780s became adjutant to the Isle of Man Corps. Addicted to liquor, immorality and insolvency he led a thoroughly dissolute life. Principally to evade his creditors, he resigned his commission and sailed for Sydney, arriving in February 1792. He made much of the fame of his brothers, Sir William Bowyer, Lieutenant-General Henry Bowyer and Admiral Sir George Bowyer, and of being a close friend of Samuel Thornton, judge-advocate of London, and the governors were impressed by his connexions.

Soon after he arrived, Governor Phillip made him a magistrate at Parramatta and in March 1792 appointed him registrar of the Vice-Admiralty Court; this enabled him to enhance the aura of influential prestige behind which he sheltered from existing creditors while engaging fresh credit locally on the security of his family name. It was soon commonplace knowledge that his bills were not met.

Upon instructions from England, Governor Huntter appointed Atkins acting deputy judge advocate during the absence of David Collins on leave. The judge-advocate was the senior judicial officer in the colony, the president of both the civil and criminal courts, 'committing magistrate, public prosecutor and judge'. Atkins also served as registrar of exports and imports, assistant inspector of public works at Parramatta and temporary superintendent of police.

Atkins, although he had neither knowledge of the law or fair character, remained the colony's principal legal officer for years. Of commanding stature and fine presence, when sober he was impressive enough to delude creditors and governors alike; but he was ignorant and merciless, an inveterate debauchee, leading a life which Surgeon John Harris called 'worse than a Dog's' in a squalid dwelling described as 'a perfect pigstye'. Lieutenant-Governor William Paterson remarked on 'his character for low debauchery and every degrading vice as well as a total want of every gentlemanly principle'. Governor William Bligh deemed him 'a disgrace to human jurisprudence', who 'has been the ridicule of the community: sentences of death have been pronounced in moments of intoxication; his determination is weak, his opinion floating and infirm; his knowledge of the law is insignificant and subservient to private inclination; and confidential cases of the Crown he is not to be entrusted with'. Bligh found it necessary to take legal advice from George Crossley an ex-convict attorney, whom Atkins himself employed as counsellor for many years.

He eventually retired and returned to England. His attorney in 1817 offered a composition to his creditors in New South Wales, but Atkins remained insolvent until his death in London on 21 November 1820.

As noted above, Richard Brooks received Richard Atkins’ landholding to settle debts owed to Brooks by Atkins.

From:

https://www.campbelltown.nsw.gov.au/About-Campbelltown/History/History-of-Our-Suburbs/History-of-Denham-Court

For Captain Richard Brooks of Denham Court, the desire to be "master of all he surveyed" was probably a strong one. It has been suggested that he wanted to recreate the typical English country estate - with himself as the lord of the manor. Certainly it's true his panoramic hillside estate was one of Sydney's most vibrant social centres of the 1820s and 1830s. And for good reason - Captain Brooks had six beautiful daughters. The proud squire did his utmost to make Denham Court a name to be noticed.

That makes it all the more ironic that a more recent owner - Miss Gowan Flora MacDonald - fought tooth and nail to prevent Denham Court from being used as the official suburb name in 1970.

Miss MacDonald made special representations to Liverpool Council asking that the name only be applied to the historic Denham Court house and farm which she owned. Any use of the name for surrounding areas was unauthorised, she argued.

Miss MacDonald suggested the "Edmondson" be used instead, honouring locally-bred John Edmondson who won the first Australian Victoria Cross medal for bravery of World War II. Unfortunately, it had been awarded posthumously in 1941 as he had been killed in action. Liverpool Council, regarding it as a fine tribute to the local war hero, offered no objection.

But the suburb in question straddled the council boundary. And the support of Campbelltown was needed prior to any name change - support that was hard to find. Hostile aldermen claimed the "Parish of Denham Court" was a historic name applying to the whole area, and not just the house or farm. Council advised Liverpool that it objected.

In November 1970, the NSW Geographical Names Board attempted a compromise. It decided to name part of the area within Liverpool territory as "Edmondson Park", while the remainder would simply be "Denham". But this dumping of the word "Court" only drew unanimous criticism from Campbelltown Council, and the war of words continued until 1976, when the full title was finally approved.

At first Brooks and his family lived in Sydney, but by 1825 the family had moved into a home at Denham Court. And within years the famous colonial architect, John Verge, had added elaborate wings and new central section.

Ruth Banfield says Cpt Brooks' "grand vision" of being the English squire was such that he ordered a private chapel to be built on the estate. Church Road now leads to this "St Mary the Virgin" Church, which is supposedly based on a similar structure at Denham in England.

However the Captain barely lived long enough to see his dreams come to fruition. After being gored by a bull, he died at the age of 68 in 1833.

Denham Court was inherited by his daughter, Christiana, who had married an army lieutenant in the 48th Regiment - Thomas Valentine Blomfield. By the late 1830s, the property was becoming the nucleus of a small village, with a mill, church and hotel. Christiana and Thomas both died in the 1850s.

After some years as a ladies boarding college run by Miss Sarah Eliza Lester, it became the home of the Blomfields' son Richard.

In turn, his son, Andrew Blomfield, took charge and oversaw a huge subdivision of the Denham Court property in 1884, creating 444 blocks and leaving the old house standing on only 26 acres (10.4ha). Yet few blocks were sold.

John Mayne bought the property in 1890 and 11 years later the widower married local lass, Maud McDonald. It was their niece, Miss Gowan Flora MacDonald, who inherited the historic holding and sparked the debate with Campbelltown Council in 1970.

In 1974, Dr Keith Okey bought the house (which was classified by the National Trust in 1978) and carefully restored it as a private home.

About:

The suburb is one of the most affluent in south-west Sydney, with the median property price standing at $1.60 million in January 2015, over three times higher than the median of properties in surrounding suburbs. The median income also stands noticeably above the average of surrounding suburbs at over $1,900 per week, while the median of surrounding areas stands at $900 per week.

The area is most well known for its luxurious properties, including a colonial era compound from which the suburb takes its name It is sometimes referred to as 'the south-western millionaires' row'] in reference to the row of mansions along Denham Court Road, where a prominent ridge allows views all the way to Sydney.

Gallery:

Denham Court House (ie house, not court of law)

Denham Court Anglican Church

Ottimo House, wedding reception venue

Ottimo House

Some residences: