sweasel.com

I have a rather nice urn in the middle of the lawn all planted up with spring bulbs and topped-off, just to see us through till the bulbs emerge in the Spring, with some pretty cat-faced violas.

This monstrosity of a junior dinosaur has eaten the bloody lot.

The Weasel has a pet name for him. So have I. Mine is ‘Christmas dinner’. All the more so as I have just discovered that one of our supermarkets is selling cockerels for Christmas at £40 a flap.

It occurs to me that Her Stoatliness may have started a business here without realising it.

Bah! Humbug!

My dad used to raise rabbits for meat. One day when I was visiting he showed me one of the critters. The wabbit had dark markings across the front of his schnozz. Dad said he nicknamed him Groucho.

I had recently seen a program that mentioned that one doesn’t normally name a food animal and that once you do, it’s a lot harder to slaughter and eat Bubba than it is “that steer over there.”

That night was the last time we had rabbit when I came to visit. The rabbits were gone shortly thereafter.

So, for the sake of Christmas supper, I hope Stoaty forgets she named him.

We often name steers at home. Usually something crafty like Hamburger. Now that I think about it, there’s always one named Hamburger.

You have my sympathy, Uncle B. Y’know, you could get cute and name the beast something like Koko Vann or Gordon Bloo or Al Aking…

@Stoatie – There is one important thing about GIMP that is infinitely superior to PhotoChop: price tag.

When he pecks you, he’s letting you know he’s in charge. But you probably knew that. Watch out when he gets the big spurs that really hurt. Is a cockerel the same as a capon or a plain old chicken? Whatever, the price is outrageous.

I suspect one of these:
https://tinyurl.com/yd4zjhf5
or similar would quickly convince him of the error of his ways. Both in the pecking as well as in the “gardening”. Of course, you would have a white stripe behind him if you cranked it up on high speed.

And of course, anything similar would work just as well. I expect you have something that would work, even on THAT side of the Pond. Even with May and the rest of the traitors in the EU…

You’re right about the price, PatAZ – and yes, it was billed as a cockerel not a capon.

Mind you, I’ve been surreptitiously eyeing the price of turkeys this year. An independent supermarket near us has just sent me a flier proudly pointing out that their free rage bronze feathered turkeys start at £50. That’s for a 4kg sparrow, and to save anyone looking it up, (as I had to, because I don’t think in French either) 4kg is 8.8lbs.

You can get cheaper, but you run the risk of tasteless rubber.

I’d almost be tempted to return to the pre-colonial fare of roast beef, except I saw a joint of that for over £90 (not a typo) not so long ago.

I’m not ready to take out another mortgage, so it’ll be beans on toast again! 🙂

Uncle B, I suppose tinned Beef is right out.

Is this normal? Or are your prices suffering from anti-meatousis globally warmed over climate changing EU brexitation?

It’s a combination of opportunism and the price of 70 years of socialism, both ours and then the EU’s, DY. When half your employed population ‘works’ for the State, what can you expect?

Like many I speak with, I am reluctantly starting to come to the conclusion that we are finished – and I’m not usually given to that sort of pessimism. The latest betrayal, over our clear instruction to leave the Museum of Socialism, is the final straw.

p.s. GIMP does some things better than Photoshop. It compresses jpgs smaller without looking lossy, for example.
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What is “lossy”? Is that some “chiefly Brit.” dialect term I haven’t heard of?

Uncle B – at least some of your betters really ARE royalty as ordained by God, swords and spears, and gold (admittedly not always in that particular order).

Our betters are self appointed, as ordained by, gold.

One word: greaves.

I’d greet the little dude with a water pistol, but I suppose you can’t buy and/or own a water pistol where you are. Maybe a spray bottle then, with the sprayer set on streaming. Hell, for all I know, maybe I can’t buy a water pistol here anymore, either.