The last voyage of the Gallant Maid
We drove through the town of Rye this afternoon as they were building their bonfire.
The boat is a tradition. It harks back to olden times, when Rye was a harbor and sometimes groups of miscreants would go down to the dock and set fires. There’s a story that one ship’s captain was drinking and whooping and enjoying the spectacle, until he realized it was his own ship on fire.
The harbor silted up hundreds of years ago and the sea is miles away now, but if they can find a derelict boat, they lay it on the bonfire.
It’s a sad tradition, I think. This one even looks reparable.
Good bye, Gallant Maid, and good weekend to you all!
p.s. it looks like Rich Rostrom has won the Dick with Frank Borman. I saw it too late for this week, so you know the drill.
Posted: November 10th, 2023 under history.
Comments: 11
Comments
Comment from durnedyankee
Time: November 10, 2023, 9:30 pm
know the drill? By Jove I do!
Fear God,
Honour the Queen,
Shoot straight!
and
Keep it clean!
Comment from Anonymous
Time: November 11, 2023, 12:22 pm
The Guy stood on the burning deck
Whence for Bonfire Day he’d been put;
The flame that lit the ship’s old wreck
Shone o’er him and licked his foot.
Yet bold and arrogant he stood, despite his ruined plan to rule the Isle -
A creature with true Villain’s blood,
Who’d hatched the gunpowder plot true vile.
The flames rolled on – yet the Guy would not burn without a splash of gas;
A punter, five pints in, bellowed,
’Bloody put a torch in his bleedin’ arse!’
He then called aloud: – ‘say, blowin’ up bleedin’ Parliment
Nowadays is not really that bad a thought!’
But the Punter didn’t that the police cameras
were
Recording his 21st Century Gunpowder Plot.
And finally many booming fireworks began,
And now fast the bonfire flames rolled on.
Upon his face he now felt such heat as should given him alarm
But he looked at the bonfire with childhood memory’s love
And then felt a tug on his arm
As a lad asked ‘Penny for the Guv?
Comment from steve
Time: November 11, 2023, 1:48 pm
Congrats to Rich Rostrum, and all, but….
My kid made the pick fair and square.
The miscreant put a bullet into his noggin, as anticipated.
My epy ominous rule was invoked.
And then the coroner(bless his or her heart, put the TOD nearly 12 hrs AFTER the pick was made, thus invalidating claims that my kids pick was even subject to Rule Zero, in the first place.
(Shameless lobbying continues)
Comment from Uncle Al
Time: November 11, 2023, 6:04 pm
@steve — You and your kid make good points, but I look at this situation as akin to some referee calls in football: they’re simply not reviewable and whether or not they were made in error is irrelevant. Stoaty, bless her cotton pickin’ heart, being the Tsarina of the Dead Pool, could if she chooses change her ruling. But the ruling was clearly made. Discussion/debate at this point may well help in a rule change that would tend to eliminate or at least reduce the probability of a similar event occurring in the future, but otherwise the discussion is moot.
Believe me, having been tragically and underhandedly denied a dick in the past, I have full empathy and sympathy here. (OK, OK, it was tragic only to me, and only for about 15 minutes, and it was the sort of underhandedness that’s positively encouraged.)
Comment from Uncle Al
Time: November 11, 2023, 9:01 pm
“15 minutes” is hyperbolic.
…and I’m not talkin’ conic sections here.
Comment from durnedyankee
Time: November 11, 2023, 10:35 pm
Perhaps we can settle this in true English style like the House of York and the House of Lancaster.
The war of the Dicks.
Or senior management may take that tried and true approach when something like this occurs.
Give the prize to the non-participants.
Comment from Armybrat
Time: November 12, 2023, 2:32 am
Gah!!! We’re overrun with ghost/sugar ants here! What the hell! We normally have an influx at the start of the rainy season but our rainy season was a bust here this year. We’re down 20” and Uncle Al is probably about the same. So why am I fighting the good fight now?! So I’ve deployed all the ant bait and will sprinkle the outside with borax tomorrow. Living in the sub-tropics is hard. Oh…and I turned the pool heater on the other day so there is that
Comment from Uncle Al
Time: November 12, 2023, 4:03 pm
@stoaty — perchance do you have any pics of that bonfire lit up?
@Armybrat — We found that Terro liquid ant baits pretty much eliminate the speedy little bastards. It’s easy to find; they’re the clear plastic pods filled with a viscous clear liquid. The plastic is quite tough so you’ll probably want to use scissors when you deploy the things. We tried a few other brands and they did NOTHING, but when we tried the Terro the ants disappeared withing 24 hours and didn’t return for months. I sure hope this works as well for you!
Comment from Rich Rostrom
Time: November 14, 2023, 4:12 am
I’ve responded at length at the end of the last DP. Short version: if Card counts as a “celebrity”, then Steve’s Kid is the winner, but that celebrity status is dubious. Ms. Weasel?
Comment from Drew458
Time: November 14, 2023, 2:28 pm
Uncle Al is spot on; the Terro liquid baits do the job.
A photo essay of the event. Too bad there aren’t any action shots of the famous Rye Dragon.
Comment from Anonymous
Time: November 14, 2023, 10:03 pm
@Drew458 — Wow! Thanks hugely for that link to all those great photos!
I expect I shall never know what Stoaty and Uncle Badger look like, so I’m going to save this picture and pretend it’s them. The fit seems good to me!
edit: Dang. Uncle Al forgot again
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