Today is Boxing Day or Stephens Day here in Hibernia or Ireland to be precise.
Traditionally people from the big houses would give the little men and women boxes or presents on this day. Probably Toblerones and Hoover bags.
Talking of Hoovers you know what we did last weekend? We only went in Argos and purchased three vacuum cleaners. No they weren't for me and I even gave my usual blog rant about if there was a political party that pledged to ban Hoovers in their manifesto I would vote for them! I told this to the cashier/receipt checker and she laughed. The wife carried one vacuum cleaner and I carried the other two. Oh what looks we got off people. It was like they were thinking: " Is there an Hoover shortage?"
Yes I'm a man of contradictions. Saying that they weren't for me. I sound like a drug dealer or even worse, a Hoover dealer.
Talking of contradictions. I watched a cracking Sky Arts programme presented by Frank Skinner and Denise Mina: Wordsworth and Coleridge Roadtrip the other night. I love Frank Skinner because he always makes me laugh.
Any road if you can chance go see the programme please watch it. They visit the poets stomping grounds and point out how William Wordsworth commented about how he disliked white houses and ended up living in two such buildings.
They visited Dove Cottage where Dorothy had papered her bedroom with newspapers (like you do) and I remember me and my wife buying a book of his poems there and she read them to me in the beautiful garden and I was that moved that I bought her a ginger man from the famous ginger bread shop and I had a few pints of Ruddles in a white painted pub in Grasmere.
So if it's good enough for a poet Laureate to contradict themselves so can l!
Did you actually buy a Hoover? My Dad was a devil for 'correcting' anyone who used the tradename for some product.
ReplyDeleteNo you're right Potty. It's just a familiar/colloquial term for vacuum cleaners that we use. We unfortunately own a red Henry vacuum cleaner and we purchased a green pet friendly Henry and two Bush vacuum cleaners. They were the last ones in stock and Harvey Norman didn't have the green Henry. Btexit is making it difficult to source UK products in Ireland. I have to go to Kerry for my Newcastle Brown Ale. Thanks for commenting Potty.
ReplyDeleteBtexit? No more texting😊 or even Brexit!
ReplyDeletePotty beat me to it. The eponymous Hoover.
ReplyDeleteEpoynmous sounds like the name of a Prog Rock band from Canterbury or Cambridge Tasker.
ReplyDeleteEspecially when I spell it wrong.😊 Great word Eponymous.
ReplyDeleteIt's St Stephens day here too. Another bloody celebration. Thank goodness we've got no Stephens in the family but we do have a Steven in Australia. Too far away for sticky cakes and glasses of whisky.
ReplyDeleteWe have too 'Hoovers'. Both found in the rubbish, not Lidls rubbish. Why can't they make Hoover's that go round corners? They send a man to the damn moon
I give the Christmas Box to the postman and the bin men. It is traditional around here to give money. Thanks for the tip re. the Coleridge and Wordsworth on Sky Arts; I will watch it. There was a goody last night on BBC2 the artist/illustrator Quentin Blake, a man who spoke of drawing in my way of thinking. Have a good day Dave. Thanks for the post.
ReplyDeleteHi Linda. I think it is Boxing day in England,the home countries and all the Commonwealth countries and St Stephen's day everywhere else. I can't see why they can't invent a silent hair dryer, washing machine or Hoover in the twenty first century. Perhaps our next topic should be garden noise and DIY power tools?
ReplyDeleteI missed the Quentin Blake programme Rachel. We use to tip the bin men when we lived in England. My Irish uncle and my parents use to tell me how everyone use to give the post boy a Christmas drink of whiskey at Christmas and someone find him sleeping at the side of the road next to his bike. Happy days. The Coleridge and Wordsworth Roadtrip is well worth watching. Well done Sky Arts. Thanks Rachel and keep drawing.
ReplyDeleteI taped an envelope to the bin and parked it beside the road the night before the "trash" guys came. It sat there for most of the day with the envelope clearly visible to all who passed.
ReplyDeleteI am very happy to live in a place where nobody molested the envelope or felt compelled to steal it.
Yes, cash is best. I used to have a boss who gave out gift cards. Unfortunately, the only place I could redeem them (his favorite restaurant) was 40 miles away. Eighty miles of driving to eat a pizza and (possibly) see my boss on my time off? No thank-you.
Cash would have been useful.
Love the last paragraph. So true. Thanks for commenting.
ReplyDeleteWhy on earth did you purchase three vacuum cleaners? Are you one of them there sadomasochists?
ReplyDeleteI just drove the getaway car Gov. It's a fair cop.😊
ReplyDeleteWell this sucked, and I am not just talking about the 'hoovers', man I believe we are all owed an explanation as to how a Hoover hating hibirnium happen to be heaving 3 hoovers in his Honda? Ps you probably don't drive a Honda, however it would be helpful when hauling Hoovers.
ReplyDeleteI blame it on the one who must be obeyed Debby.😊 They arrived at their respective residences safely and thankfully I do not not need to see or hear them.
ReplyDeleteAhhhh - presents? Or just a delivery service? We read all those comments hoping that all would become clear, and what we understand is that they didn't end up in your house - correct? I, The Tigger, like a vacuum cleaner. They are excellent for removing loose fur & creating a pleasant airflow over the skin on a hot day. Not keen on them dragging my tail into the spout tho. (Too deaf to hear them these days!)
ReplyDeletePet Henry vacuum cleaners are supposed to be very good for fur Tigger. They are green coloured. None of them ended up in our house but one is next door. I am trying to live in a vacuum free zone.
ReplyDelete