Month: March 2021

Today whilst walking Buzz and Finn I decided to lie down in the grass in my local park. The sun was shining and the sky was blue.  I was blissing out. I felt something on my hand and looked down to see a little ladybird. It had 8 spots which meant that it was 8 years old.  However, upon further research it transpires that this is a myth as they only live for one year. Who knew?

Finn’s stick burial prior to ladybird experience had me transfixed. His burying skills are imperial to say the least as he had buried one that was twice as long as him. He was in his element.

As I was lying in the grass Buzz began to lick my face and I began to stroke him. His hair was very short and different to touch. Something was not quite right.   I stopped stroking him and looked up. There was a beautiful beagle staring down at me. It has been a long time since I have stroked something that I was unsure of.

The owner was very apologetic. I laughed and told him that I didn’t mind as his dog was really cute and really friendly. A bit like the owner to be honest.

We bade each other farewell and went off about our business.

That’s all for now

 

Stay fab

 

Adele

Following on from yesterday’s animal group names I would like to offer the following for your review and comments please.

Whilst walking Buzz and Finn we frequently happen upon several other dogs. This always brings a smile to my face.  To see their collective tails wagging.    The official collective noun is – a pack of dogs. My personal choice would be –Group of dogs- A Wag of Dogs

 

Here are some other suggestions.

 

1. Gathering of cats – A Meow of Cats (the three official collective nouns are – a clutter, a glaring, and a pounce)

 

2. Gathering of bees- A Buzz of Bees (the official collective noun is – A bike. Who knew? )

 

3. Gathering of Drag Queens a Bliss (As they are all following their bliss)-OK, I know I have gone rogue here as they are not animals. But I am sure that they would disagree with me when they are on a good night out.

 

4. Gathering of skunks- A pong. Self-explanatory really. However, the official collective noun is –A stench- which is rather good.

 

5. Ducks- A quack. Although the official one- a paddle – is rather apt.

 

6. Group of Giraffes- A Neck- The official one is – A Tower
7. Group of zebras- A stripe- The official one is ‘A zeal’, which I love.

And finally

A group of writers (I know. Gone rogue again). –   A scribe of writers? A chapter of writers? An imagination of writers.  A google search revealed the official noun is ‘A worship of writers. Not sure about this one…………

Let me know what you think.

 

That’s all for now

 

Stay fab

 

Adele

@mndiaye_97

#nature#animals#wholesome

♬ Merry-Go-Round of Life (From Howl’s Moving Castle Original Soundtrack) (Live (Remastered)) – Nuvo Orchestra

What a lovely informative, insightful clip.  In case you cannot open it.   Here are the collective pronouns for animals that are shared.

A group of rabbits- A fluffle  (too cute)

A group of Ferrets- A business

A group of vultures- A wake (possibly because if you are not awake when they are circling then you will be a stuffed, or ‘a- dead’. Which incidentally could be the collective noun for a group of people that are asleep beneath several vultures circling?

A group of porcupines- A prickle. No shit Sherlock for this one. Couldn’t have named them better myself. By the way, who thought of these in the first place…Hhhhmmmmm.

A group of sloths- A snuggle. Seriously?? Even cuter than ‘Fluffle’. Or perhaps they could have been called a ‘snooze’ of sloths?

A group of Armadillos – A roll.     Do people that smoke weed use this?    ‘Can you armadillo me up a big boy please?’

A group of platypus-  A paddle. Perfect. Just perfect.

A group of kittens- A kindle.

My least favorite. A group of crows- A murder

A group of Ravens- An unkindness

A gathering of larks- (Love this) An exaltation

A group of rattlesnakes- A rhumba

A group of parrots- A pandemonium

And finally – The process of an Alpaca giving birth- (wait for it….) An unpacking.

Tomorrow’s blog shall feature my very own home-grown collective nouns for your perusal.

 

That’s all for now

 

Stay fab

 

Adele

Warning- WPA- Woeful pun alert

The following blog contains a variety of puns that may cause the reader to wince and possibly gurn.

The writer assumes no liability for any such reactions and can only apologize for the overuse of such puns.

https://youtu.be/1Q5CXN7soQg

I have become obsessed with the documentary ‘Seaspiracy’ on Netflix.  Buoy, but the revelations are extraordinary.  It is very current and most certainly makes waves in the fishing industry. Shell I share some of them with you?  From the dolphin friendly tuna labels being a farce to discarded fishing nets. Plastic paraphernalia dumped from trawlers also contribute to marine life death.

I wish that I could unsea some of the horrific scenes. The perpetrators of these horrendous marine crimes need to be held accountable.  Sustainable fishing is a joke. Merely a marketing ploy.

The New York Times emphasizes the rhetoric of the documentary but you cannot argue with the facts that are revealed. Corruption is the new pandemic. Global corporations and governments all benefit from plundering and pillaging our seas.

There is a ray of hope. There are solutions. The sole reason for the destruction of our seas is greed.  Pure unadulterated greed.  Fishing is compared to the gold rush. We don’t need to eat fish.  They belong in the sea.  We have alternatives. We have a choice.  Seaize the day.

 

That’s all for now

Stay fab

Adele

Recently I conducted some research relating to the best TV Sitcoms of all time. It was a fascinating study. To me the litmus test of a great sitcom was whether or not it had created a spin off series. Like ‘Frasier’ from ‘Cheers’ or ‘Young Sheldon’ from ‘the Big Bang Theory’.

Drag Queen TV shows are all the rage nowadays. What about ‘Cher’s’ instead of ‘Cheers’?  It could be a group of ‘Cher’ drag queen impersonators living together and their trials and tribulations? Some of my favorites were the UK ‘Only Fools and Horses’ and ‘Shameless’. The US bought ‘Shameless’ as it was so unique. But ‘Only Fools and Horses’ can never be replicated. The writing was amazing.

Over the years we have been treated to Aliens, Mork and Mindy’, medical war camps ‘Mash, (I know that I am showing my age here), questionable hilarious priests ‘Father Ted’, and probably the most famous ‘Friends’, from 1994 to 2004.

Many new soaps adopt the ‘Documentary style’, which I believe was very successfully pioneered by ‘The Office’.  ‘Modern Family’ and ‘Schitts Creek’ are the US modern day trailblazers.  Some of my all-time favorites are ‘Fawlty Towers’, ‘Absolutely fabulous’ and ‘Blackadder’. I am off to exercise my laughing gear with some ‘Schitt’s Creek’ this afternoon.

Giggles away

That’s all for now

Stay fab

Adele

When I was chatting with a friend the other day, he mentioned that he was the facilitator of a zoom narcolepsy meeting. I asked him how long it took.  He answered with what I had considered the answer to be.   ‘Rather a long time’.

I then asked him how he minuted the meeting and his answer was ‘With great difficulty, as every one of the members is nodding off intermittently’. I know that it must be a dreadful affliction and that many suffer from it.

Over the years whilst attending meetings that were interminably long, I had dreamt of having narcolepsy.  Just to have an excuse for nodding off mid meeting as I was never a midday napper.

It appears that my wish has come back to bite me in the arse. I now find myself doing it every now and then. I call mine a ‘power nap’. As at least that infused the act with some degree of energy. As opposed to the more obvious reason for occasionally nodding off which, let’s be honest, is often age related.

However, I have now decided to call my naps ‘Beauty naps’. As the whole ‘power’ thing was a bit overrated and I have never really felt all powered up after having one.     The ‘Beauty nap’ works well for me.    I am off to have one now.     Zzzzzzzzz.

That’s all for now

 

Stay fab

 

Adele

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMd54bFAv/

The lovely dog in this clip most definitely deserves an Oscar. As dramatic dogs can get, he is top notch.  Who know maybe his name is Oscar? Getting his nails clipped is obviously not his most favorite task.

I have seen other videos where the dog owner wraps cellophane around her forehead and then proceeds to coat her cellophane forehead with peanut butter. It is really rather innovative as the dog can then be distracted by having its nail clipped by licking the peanut butter from its owner’s head.  Well, they say that necessity is the mother of all invention.

I am constantly reminded of how I underestimate the intelligence of my two dogs, Buzz and Finn.  Buzz is four and a half years of age and Finn is two.  As such Finn is much thinner than Buzz as he races around the beach and the park like his ass is on fire for over 40 minutes. Lately I have begun giving extra treats to Finn just to bulk him up a bit.

Buzz has cottoned onto the fact that Finn is getting more treats.  Whenever I am dishing out the treats Buzz will now leave his treats to go for Finn’s first. It is remarkable. Now that I have mentioned peanut butter, I am off to get me some.

 

Nuts away.

That’s all for now

 

Stay fab

 

Adele

Warning GFA-Giggle free alert

Happy Wednesday to you. And what a Wednesday it is. A Wednesday to end all Wednesdays’.  We have made it through 54 weeks of a global pandemic.  Many have not.

As I was driving today, I noticed a queue of people outside somebody’s house.    I realized that somebody must have passed away and that everyone was paying their respects. I was reminded how fragile life is for us all still.

I was inspired to write a poem about friendship as the person that passed was obviously a friend to so many. Two of my dearest friends have also celebrated their birthdays this month. This is also for them.  You know who you are.

 

The Alchemy of friendship

I gave you my peril

You gave me a pearl

I gave you my shattered soul

You gave me your world

My perspective was prosaic

You altered my prism

You said my life was a mosaic

I just needed to walk out of my prison

I surrendered to self-love

Fought the fear, learned from the pain

I mined my spirit treasure trove

Began to believe in myself again

The alchemy of our friendship

Is our odyssey to embrace

I cherish our companionship

I am forever touched by your grace

 

 

That’s all for now

 

Stay fab

 

Adele

Driving in Dublin 1976

https://youtu.be/pWUferyKCww

In researching the ‘Diceman’ I was reminded that he used to perform in The Dandelion Market. I also discovered the YouTube clip above, of ‘Driving in Dublin in 1976’ which I thought you might enjoy.

I recall that once I had crossed ‘O’Connell Street I had my sights set on some bohemian bargains from The Dandelion Market. That is once I had dodged being accosted by the ‘Crucifix lady’ on O’Connell Street.

http://adeleleahy.ie/marion-curran-aka-the-crucifix-lady/

 

As I am a Northsider I would usually head to Saint Stephen’s green via Liffey Street, the Ha ‘penny Bridge and Merchant’s arch. Definitely the most interesting and scenic route.

Occasionally I might stop off at the very funky Indian fashion shop called ‘Asha’. One of my favorite items of clothing was a long black cotton skirt that I bought that had miniature tiny mirrors sewn into the hem. It also had tiny little bells on the waist drawstring. I was obviously a burgeoning hippy way back then.

The Dandelion market was famed for its vintage clothing, funky furniture, art and second-hand records. Everyone felt that they were a card-carrying member of the Dublin ‘cool brigade’ just by shopping there. Apparently, it was also the venue for one of U2’s first gigs. Who knew?

Sadly, it closed in 1981 after 11 years. I suppose the best description would have been that it was very similar to Portobello Market in London. Sadly, nowadays there is nothing quite like it.

That’s all for now

Stay fab

Adele

Marion Curran, aka The Crucifix Lady was another of my favorite childhood memories. Whilst crossing O’Connell Street in the 1980’s pedestrians were met by this tall, attractive white-haired lady. Whilst brandishing a large crucifix and reciting passages from the bible she put the fear of God in us all.

Apparently, she would wollop random courting couples with one of her prayer books as they walked past.  One of my friends used to love winding her up by saying ‘Show us your cross’, where she would run towards her being very cross indeed whilst brandishing said cross.

Catholicism was alive and well in Ireland in those days. Every house had a ‘front room’ and the ‘good delf’ that were solely reserved for any visiting clergy.      Priests and nuns were treated like the pope himself.

Such was the efficacy of the church for imbuing the fear of God in us all. I was told that ‘The crucifix lady’ was one of God’s female apostles and I believed this.  Like many young girls I harbored a notion of becoming a nun myself but after a few years of divilment and mischief this was soon cast aside.

Going to Mass and confession was a weekly occurrence.  I can recall wracking my little brain for things to say to the priest once I got into the box to tell my sins. The irony was that in not being able to remember any sins and making new ones up that I was committing another sin. A true case of damned if I did and damned if I didn’t.

That’s all for now

Stay fab

Adele