I graduated years ago

From the BBC:

The world's most valuable alcoholic beverage company is setting up a university to allow hundreds of students to study the science of liquor.

The Chinese state-run Kweichow Moutai company is to open Moutai University in the city of Renhuai in the country's southern Guangzhou Province as soon as it receives its accreditation from the Ministry of Education, the South China Morning Post reports... the Chinese liquor industry has long suffered a skills shortage, and the university is seen as a means of attracting new recruits.

Kweichow Moutai brews the fiery Moutai (also known as Maotai) brand of liquor, which is often called China's national drink, and it is a popular beverage at state functions.

According to the Post, Moutai University won't be the first in the country to offer unusual courses. Elsewhere, students can study crayfish preparation, lotteries, or the science of hot noodles.

"To me, education is a leading out of what is already there in the pupil's soul." - Miss Jean Brodie

Night, Night, Gromit

Oh dearie me - hot on the heels of dear old Johnny Noakes, two more stalwarts of classic British TV have gone to that great goggle-box in the sky....

Roy Barraclough (who died last week) was a veteran of old-school repertory theatre (in those halcyon days when people had to slog for years before fame beckoned; unlike today when it appears all one needs to do is appear on a reality telly programme). Once he did make the jump to television, he made his name primarily in comic roles - and his spirit of self-deprecating humour made him perfect for the part of Alec Gilroy in Coronation Street, perpetually sparring with his wife Bet (née Lynch) and Rovers Return patrons alike. But it was for his long comedy partnership with "national treasure" Les Dawson for which he is most loved by us aficionados of camp innuendo - not least for his recurring part as "Cissie" to Les's "Ada":

Cissie & Ada - The Art Gallery

Far more gentle was the comedy of Peter Sallis, whose death was announced today. Having trained at RADA just after the War, he had a lengthy stage career and numerous character roles on telly before (finally) in 1973 he became a household name playing "Clegg" in the BBC's longest-ever running comedy series Last of the Summer Wine. He was the only actor to appear in every single episode, until the series finally ended in 2010. To international audiences, however, he was far better known as the voice of "Wallace" in Wallace and Gromit, from which this is a classic scene:

Wallace and Gromit - Breakfast

RIP, both.

Roy Barraclough MBE (12th July 1935 – 1st June 2017)

Peter Sallis OBE (1st February 1921 – 2nd June 2017)

Let Me Make You Smile

We really do need something to make us smile, after the horrors of this weekend.

What could be more diverting on this Tacky Music Monday than the combination of Miss Betty Grable, a bevy of loincloth-clad Muscle Marys and a rendition of Let Me Entertain You from Gypsy..?!

Betty Grable and Muscle Men - Let Me Entertain You (1959 TV special)

Diverting, indeed.

Have a good week!

A pause for thought. Again.

Prime Minister Theresa May:

"Seven people have died as a result of the attack, in addition to the three suspects shot dead by the police. Forty-eight people are being treated in several hospitals across London. Many have life-threatening conditions.

On behalf of the people of London, and on behalf of the whole country, I want to thank and pay tribute to the professionalism and bravery of the police and the emergency services – and the courage of members of the public who defended themselves and others from the attackers...

...In terms of their planning and execution, the recent attacks are not connected. But we believe we are experiencing a new trend in the threat we face, as terrorism breeds terrorism, and perpetrators are inspired to attack not only on the basis of carefully-constructed plots after years of planning and training – and not even as lone attackers radicalised online – but by copying one another and often using the crudest of means of attack.

We cannot and must not pretend that things can continue as they are. Things need to change...

...while the recent attacks are not connected by common networks, they are connected in one important sense. They are bound together by the single, evil ideology of Islamist extremism that preaches hatred, sows division, and promotes sectarianism.

It is an ideology that claims our Western values of freedom, democracy and human rights are incompatible with the religion of Islam. It is an ideology that is a perversion of Islam and a perversion of the truth.

Defeating this ideology is one of the great challenges of our time. But it cannot be defeated through military intervention alone. It will not be defeated through the maintenance of a permanent, defensive counter-terrorism operation, however skilful its leaders and practitioners.

It will only be defeated when we turn people’s minds away from this violence – and make them understand that our values – pluralistic, British values – are superior to anything offered by the preachers and supporters of hate...

...While we have made significant progress in recent years, there is – to be frank – far too much tolerance of extremism in our country.

So we need to become far more robust in identifying it and stamping it out – across the public sector and across society.

That will require some difficult and often embarrassing conversations, but the whole of our country needs to come together to take on this extremism – and we need to live our lives not in a series of separated, segregated communities but as one truly United Kingdom...

... Since the emergence of the threat from Islamist-inspired terrorism, our country has made significant progress in disrupting plots and protecting the public.

But it is time to say enough is enough. Everybody needs to go about their lives as they normally would. Our society should continue to function in accordance with our values. But when it comes to taking on extremism and terrorism, things need to change...

...As a country, our response must be as it has always been when we have been confronted by violence. We must come together, we must pull together, and united we will take on and defeat our enemies."

Vera Lynn - Land of Hope and Glory

A camp Incredible Hulk, or Love in a Mist?

From the weird and wacky Alchemy Works:

The name of this plant [Nigella damascena] comes from a legend about the Emperor Frederick I (1125-1190), who drowned in a shallow Turkish river as he was leading a Crusade. According to the story, he was seduced by a water spirit with green hair who drowned him in the hip-deep water. This plant sprang up at the shore and displays the water spirit's hair... This magic herb is also known as bride-in-hair from the Renaissance tradition of a bride going to her wedding with her hair down to signify her virginity (lots of Maiden stuff going on here). We normally think of Venus-ruled plants as aids to love spells and such, but this legend hints at a great feminine power. The alchemist and physician Geber recognized this plant's power when he named it as an ingredient in his red elixir. Some of love-in-a-mist's other common names - jack in prison, love-in-a-tangle, and devil-in-a-bush - show that airy-fairy love spells can be as binding and as powerful as the worst hex or curse... In the Victorian language of flowers, which better fits with how this plant can be used for love charms, love-in-a-mist means "kiss me" or "you puzzle me."

...In India, the seeds are used as a sachet to keep bugs out of clothing. Rubbing them releases the scent of strawberry jam, which is what its essential oil smells like. The seeds are used in cooking - flavouring for curry and a sprinkle on bread - and supposedly taste like nutmeg but are nowhere near as good as those of its relative, Nigella sativa (black cumin). At one time the seeds were roasted and an ill person breathed in the "fumes" to "drie the braine," and it is mentioned by Dioscorides and Theophrastus for digestive complaints.

And from the far more practical (and wonderfully tongue-in-cheek) Higgledy Garden:

Nigella is a national favourite flower, a country garden staple, reliable, quirky and undoubtedly beautiful. Though she is a fleeting mistress... staying for a few short weeks before eloping with the vicar and flowering no more.

But what blooms they are, powder puff flowers in white, blue and pale purple relax amongst cool fern like foliage. The flowers soon turn into balloon-like pods with purple stripes. The pods have ‘horns’ which is where it gets another of its common names, ‘Devil in a Bush’.

I love this change it has from flower to pod, it’s nothing short of bonkers and reminds me somewhat of a camp Incredible Hulk.

Here in the extensive gardens of Dolores Delargo Towers, this "fleeting mistress" has sown itself about liberally, and adds a beautiful, frothy understory to the drama of the tall Delphiniums and Foxgloves. And, by happenstance of nature, rather than design, they complement that jonquil-yellow Aquilegia perfectly.

And it looked particularly beautiful in today's glorious sunshine.

Sigh.

It's a bedside mystery

Oh what a relief! Another weekend is hoving into view - and not a moment too soon...

To get ourselves into the mood, let's slip into a blush pink jumpsuit made entirely of man-made fibres, check that it bulges in all the right places, and twirl!!

...just like the faboo Tavares (whose founder member "Chubby" celebrates his birthday today) - Thank Disco It's Friday!

Tavares - Whodunit (1977)

Whodunit
Who stole my baby
Whodunit
Everyone in the room looks shady
Whodunit
Who stole my girl from me (Yeah)
Whodunit
Who took my honey
Whodunit
I know the motive was not funny
Whodunit
It's a bedside mystery (Yeah, yeah)

Hey, where's the phone to call Sherlock Holmes
[Somebody took my baby]
I've been framed by what's his name
And he's gettin' away Charlie Chan, see if you can
Help me find those two, won't you
Where were you on the night of the 12th
[I was by myself]
She went dancin' in the dark,
Somebody stole her heart Ellery Queen if you're so keen
Won't you help me find my sweet thing (Yeah, yeah)

Whodunit
Who stole my baby
Whodunit
Everyone in the room looks shady
Whodunit
Who stole my girl from me (Yeah)
Whodunit
(Whodunit)
Who took my honey
Whodunit
I know the motive was not funny
Whodunit
(Whodunit)
It's a bedside mystery

They don't write lyrics like that any more... [Or maybe they do? I cannot deny I have no idea what anyone in "the charts" is on about.]

Have a great weekend, dear reader.

Kosher meat

No idea what this is all about, but it certainly looks like a buffet I wouldn't mind sampling!

Sapir Saban & Arisa

It is (of course) the latest fantabulosa promo video for "Arisa" gay club in Tel Aviv.

[Note to self: must book Tel Aviv for next holiday...]