The 3-legged Octopus?!

Nothing much to report. Have been spending some supremely intellectually challenging days going gaga (not in the raunchy telly type way) and goo-goo with my super adorable niece. Else just walking around nice Berkeley, enjoying the warm weather and watching the odd telly.

Thought I'd just update pictures that should have been due a week back - our trip to the Tripoint - the place the 3 countries (Germany, Netherlands and Belgium) meet. We were whisked there by Kedar who kindly informed us about its existence and drove us there as well. Pics below ...

There was obviously a spot where we were supported by a layer of solid steel ... below. Can also check out our footwear ...

Gaurav and Kedar at the ACTUAL point ...

A single strand of hair flies as we take on the Netherlands ... the funniest thing we thought was the clear distinction between each country ... the German side looks onto neatly organized lines of industries, the Netherlands side onto neatly cropped farmland, and the Belgian part ... well, onto nothing :-)

Germany's THROUGH!!! Can't wait to see the quarters - think they're in for a good fight. Luckily for us though, the Psychic '8-legged Octopus' (Unlike the 10 legged or 7 legged variety) (see: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/29/AR2010062901937.html - thanks Ameya!) also thinks Deutschland is going to squichee through.

Sigh. Its lunchie time. This was an abnormally short post - even for me. Hopefully something will catch my fancy (writing-wise) soon enough.

Cheerio

Sush

Ja, the conspiracy ja ...

There is a conspiracy.

It was a dark and dastardly night when all the customs agents across the world decided to meet and discuss how they could best terrorize their hapless travelers without actually, well, 'literally' terrorizing them … that's illegal right?! Hpfhsgfktgnv ...

Sample this conversation between me and the customs agent at Dusseldorf airport … a sturdy Deutschlander of negatable social skills and obviously zero charm.

SHE: You packed this bag yourself ja? No-one else put anything in it … ja ja?

ME: Umm … yes … all me, my two little hands … these worker's hands ... ha ha umm … (on encountering no smile at the other end)

SHE: You traveling alone ja? Nobody with you ja?

ME: Yes … that’s it … I …

SHE: So weapons and other objects that could be used in terrorist activities are there in this bag … na? Ja?

ME: Yes, of course … yes they … wait what did you ask? Hey that was totally a trick question!!! No they’re not … I DO NOT WANT …

SHE: No explosions can be caused from this bag ja? You know …

ME: NO No explosions can be caused from the bag JA … No bag, no boom … comprende?!

SHE: You understand that people try to take in banned activities onto plane? Understand? Ja?

ME: Well … I’m most definitely not taking any ‘activities’ onto the plane … heh, heh … traveling alone you see … and …

SHE: So your bag no explode on the trip? Ja?

ME: OK, I don’t know about the bag, but something standing next to the bag just might decide to explode if this ridiculous line of questioning continues … I am not carrying anything explosive, I don’t …

SHE: Ja, so you are also saying that you have no weapons in this bag … is that correct?

ME: Weapons? What weapons?

SHE: Aah. You have the weapons then …

INNER ME: (Obviously at the broken end of the tether now and now most of this conversation occurs in my head)
Yes you retard – I’m carrying 3 Uzis, 1 Kalashnikov and a generous smattering of AK-47s. Oh and a couple of hand grenades just in case the rest of your family shows up …

ME: Ok, lady … I have no weapons, I have no bombs, I have nothing … nothing … NOTHING … if I don’t have … toooooooo (Only Whitney fans may get this)

SHE: (Looks dismissively at bag and me … sadly me and Osama do not bear a great family resemblance) Ok … ja … you can go.

ME: THANK you … sheesh.

Until I hear behind me – “You carry weapons inside the bag ja?” and a terrified looking elderly lady with fake teeth bent over the walking stick looks like she’s about to take out one of the imaginary weapons and shoot herself … ah well – so they do this to everyone. It’s fine then.

(PS: Have travelled to Berkeley with my adorable niece and a pile of goo that has escaped my mouth ... more umrican updates to follow)

Great Ball of Fire

I haven't posted in some time. Reason? Glorious recovery from illness and gorgeous 24-degree sunshine. So yes - berate me for wallowing in happiness.

So Germany has made it to the next round. There were celebrations through tiny Aachen, resulting in most people not sleeping till the wee hours with all the noise ... see pictures below.

Of course before the match there was enough security stationed all round the town square ... assumedly to 'contain' any possible adverse reactions in case Germany decided to go belly-up.

But after the matches were won - it was party time! And thats when you're most happy you're in a walkie-walkie town, so that you can simply bypass the screaming teenagers and go back home.

Its been a fairly topsy-turvy World Cup with hot favorites being thrown out at regular intervals. I guess we all expected France and Italy to actually 'get up' at some point and do their job. If by some chance Spain also doesn't make it, I guess along with Greece, this would complete divine retribution for Germany's handouts to Europe's financial defaulters :-)

Not that I think Germany has bright chances either - I definitely feel they along with England have just wobbled their way into the next round. And anyway, one of them goes out in the next!

Not particularly excited about today's matches ... I know I'm supposed to do cartwheels and exclaim over how cool they are, but somehow Brazil or Argentina have just not done it for me this time. They're good - but they're just boring. I find myself hoping that one of the random countries ... Slovakia ... or maybe even Portugal actually make it all the way this time. Especially for me, I'm super convinced Brazil is not going to lift the Cup. Hell, they may even make it all the way to the finals - but they're not going to win. (Take this from someone who knew the Mumbai Indians were not going to lift the IPL trophy right from match 1 - I forsaw them in the finals, but not doing that final jig ... much to the derision of my entire office)

Will put up pics next of how to watch matches in Aachen. They've set up a massive screen in the middle of the town square and people just plonk down with their shopping, beers and dogs to watch the match. Super fun. I really do think watching the World Cup in Europe comes the best close second to watching the match in South Africa :-)

Cheers ...

Sush

Shcick & Hating It ...

I am officially and unofficially shcick. Who to blame? The weather gods who deceived me with a week of glorious sunshine that made me prance outside in joy in shorts and t-shirts ... only to revert to rain, gloom and below 10 degrees forecasts for this week. And the teaser award also has to go to the weather god this week for suddenly doling out sunshine, and just as you've one step away from opening the door ... there, mr. sun, go right behind those clouds please, thank you very much for your brief and enigmatic performance. Uff.

Had an enjoyable weekend with an old friend from Bombay (and one of my readers!) who dropped in to check out happenin' Aachen. We did the ol' wild partying, non-stop drinking and crazy clubbing scene that Aachen is so very famous for ... nothing fancy :-) (HAA! Right.)

Finally decided to put up the pictures from Gottingen that have been long overdue. They've almost developed a thin layer of digital fuzz from lying in that corner desktop folder for so long.

Gottingen is possibly one of Germany's oldest university towns ... it still has almost all the buildings from pre-WWII times due to a rumored 'arrangement' with the Allies. Although they were fairly merciless in decimating Germany, the deal was that the Allies wouldn't touch Heidelburg and Gottingen, and the Germans wouldn't bomb Oxford and Cambridge in return. Additionally, Aachen and Cologne were also largely left alone, especially the Doms / Cathedrals, since the Allies feared more divine reprisal :-)

Inside the Rathaus / City Hall ... some really lovely work ...

And this is Gottingen's most famous attraction ... if you have been following my blog, you may recognize it as having been ravaged by crazed German football fans celebrating their first victory. It is officially called 'Ganseliesel', which translates to 'Geese Girl' or something equally unfancy.

Phd students are encouraged to climb up Ganseliesel (the fountain, the FOUNTAIN you perverts!) and plant a big smack on her cheek once they are through with their monstrous Phds. So almost all Phd students from Gottingen have a mandatory fotu of theirs with professors and classmates in tow the day they don the gown.

The only other actual 'visit' at Gottingen was driven entirely by my husband who was determined to visit Mr Carl Friedrich Gauss's Tomb (of the Gaussian Mathematics fame) ... some random idea of the genius rubbing off on him. Of course, it took me a little time to figure WHO Gauss even was ... have to admit even now am a little sketchy on the details. However did pick this interesting incident off the net - Gauss was an ardent perfectionist and a hard worker. According to Isaac Asimov, Gauss was once interrupted in the middle of a problem and told that his wife was dying. He is purported to have said, "Tell her to wait a moment till I'm done." What a charmer.

I was rather dismissively told that I could never experience the paroxysms of delight mathematicians, statisticians, micro economists and astronomers would when they were in the presence of such greatness ... deceased and in the ground as they may be. Oh well, damn I guess.

Random pictures from around the town ...

(Sorry - I need to include pictures of myself sometimes, else I get frequent complaints from family about how there were only pictures of 'everything but you ... why do we even visit your blog etc etc' ... once in a while I bow to family pressure like all other good Indian girls :-)

It is dinner time and my nose is still running like the Brahmaputra in the monsoons. Pictures from our trip to the Tripoint tip next time ... the point where Belgium, Germany and Netherlands meets. Thanks Kedar for 'point'ing it out! :-)

Cheeri ... oh whatever. Blah.

Suuuuuuu-schoooooooooo!!!! Sniff.

Futbol Shutbol Hai Rabba!

Football Fever is officially on. I am admittedly, a fair-weather football fan. Exactly a weekend back, I would have possibly not been able to distinguish between a football and a tennis ball if they were dipped in paint ... but today, I watch each match hawk-eyed, with cutting criticism worthy of Pele's papa or Maradona's mama.

Its an easy enough game to watch and pass comments on ... none of the intricacies or erudition of cricket or even tennis for that matter, and a fairly single-minded aim while you're on the field. Ball --> Inside Goal Area. I doubt even the most sports-challenged amongst my friends would find it difficult to follow THAT simple rule!

Of course, recent events have forced Germany to hang their beer mugs in shame, having lost to Serbia in their second round match. As a German friend of GG's astutely noticed, there are very few things that truly unite Germans - football being possibly the only one. Patriotism is not necessarily a a valuable quality here - something which took me a while to understand ... as Indians, we are ritually brain-fed on the whole unity-in-diversity crap, so it was kind of ... well, alarming for me that Germans didn't necessarily need to 'feel' patriotic. UNTIL he made me recall the last world event that actually brought the Germans together as a nation. Aah. Right. The extermination of 6 million Jews. Hmm ... makes sense I guess, in an uncomfortable ahem-ahem type of way.

Also finished reading Sir Attenborough's sort-of biography - 'Entirely Up To You, Darling'. Not what I would consider a nail-biting page-turner, but some parts, especially those that pertained to the making of 'Gandhi', were thoroughly interesting, and totally ha-ha. Loved the part where financiers whom he approached for funding dismissed the film, saying that no one would want to watch a film about 'an old man wearing a sheet and carrying a beanpole'. He had mortgaged everything he owned, and had even forgone his directing fees to make 'Gandhi'. Essentially, he would have been bankrupted if it tanked.

I always wonder what makes these people so certain about what they do. It must take incredible strength to actually take those decisions that could completely ruin ... or rebirth you. And here I go into primordial spasms if I have to choose between penne or rigatoni. Damn.

Pikchurs from Gottingen still due. Pukka tomorrow if the weather is bad and I need to stay indoors. Pwamise. And apologies for the changing design of my blog - I have discovered the 'Change Design' button and still have too much fun pressing each option. Revert back strongly if you had liked any of the options and think it needed to stay that way.

A friend today told me she is my 10th reader. Sniff. I'm touched, I really am. I almost feel like I own my own cult ... in a non-scary-happy-hippie type way, to clarify :-)

Adios folks. Till the writing urge overcomes me again ...

Sush

Paap No Paschatap

Why do we Indians stick out like sore thumbs wherever we go? In the middle of Gottingen, we expected to be accosted by different types of Germans and the odd Asian, but we instead encountered a rotund gentleman from Solapur - who growled 'Buttirrrr?' at the very frightened looking German hostess in a breakfast buffet and after some time followed it up with a solidly bellowed 'Wattirrr?' ... charming. Just charming. Especially the part where he forgot to read the sign that suggested 'Self-Service'.

The 'Paap' part happened when we were locking up our door ... we distinctly heard an agitated female voice say ... "Yeh Paap Hain!!!!" (We presumed the same character from above was involved in this as well ... I mean how many Indians could be in Gottingen right??!) Obviously our overactive imaginations went into hyperdrive, imagining the various situations that could have provoked her to say that. Note - she didn't say the much-oftenly-used 'yeh galat hain', it was the word of sin ... 'PAAP'.

Options of things that might have been 'paap' or 'paapi' that we immediately came up with -

1) They mistakenly ate a currywurster and only then realized that they weren't plops of paneer but umm ... plops of ... some animal's body part?!

2) Sirjee from Solapur had bought a little firangi item number for himself back to the room when he was accosted by Mrs Sirjee from Solapur.

3) They had mistakenly wandered into the sex shop that was next door to our hotel and had purchased a few 'necessities' to only now realize their actual usage ... maybe that was not an electric blender after all :-)

Yup. That's it. For me - those were the heights or depths of paapi-ness that someone could stoop to to be referred to as having committed a treasonable 'paap'.

And oh - we spent the after-ness of the definitive German win at the World Cup in Gottingen. Its a super tiny student town, and needless to say, the undergrads displayed great maturity and dignity to celebrate the win ... by tossing bottles, cans, climbing on any public structure over 3 ft and roaring like they had just lifted the bloody World Cup itself.

And finally a video ...

And that's that. More pictures from the town of Gottingen in my next post. Don't wait with bated breath - you may die of disappointment.

And finally - the Name of the Rose is over. Marvelous, stupendous and a totally fabulous read. Can't wait to pick up another Eco, although I have been warned that this was his best. Damn. Now have started on a biography of sorts on Richard Attenborough ... bios are usually not my thing, but then who really does know until you've had a go at one, right?!

Cheerios my dears.

Sush

The Real Old Monk For Whom I Would Sell My Imaginary Ferrari

I still remember my first 'real' drink. Not something flicked from a friend, not a careless sip from across the table - my first 'ordered' drink. It was nothing fancy, nothing imported, nothing disguised as a fruit.

It was an Old Monk and Coke - referred to me then as a 'Rum-ola'. At the time, I totally enjoyed it ... i scarfed it down, and would proceed to scarf down a few more. It was quick, easy to make and totally affordable. The ideal and ultimate college drink.

As I grew older, the inevitable desire for more 'firangi' alcohol grew. I didn't want to be seen with a rum and coke, and I also joined the bandwagon ... wistfully exclaiming after Absoluts, Schnapps, Bacardi and its ilk. But in those in-between moments when I would revert to my first drink, I would always privately wonder in amusement as to how all those usual fancy descriptors for wine ... bittersweet taste of vanilla, sweet but firm aftertaste, cherry coloring etc could very well describe Old Monk. I could never decipher a single note in any wine I've ever tasted, but I can smell Old Monk from a mile away.

So today, I'm back. With the experience and indulgence of one who has been there, tried that ... but has fallen back on an old favorite. So if you ask me my drink of choice - waiter, one old monk and coke pls ... diet coke btw - well, a few things do change :-)

(If you're wondering what inspired this post - it was when I came across Old Monk as a rum option in a random out-of-town Indian restaurant here in Gottigen, Germany, and I could barely control my glee. There's nothing like desi daru in a firangi dhaba. Cheers! Hic.)

Of Heids and Bergs

Picking up right where I left off ... we then wended our way to very pretty Heidelberg, which is possibly most well-known for its fairy tale castle ... the city also known for being one of the few American military bases in Europe after they squicheed their way in post WWII on pure holocaust guilt-tripping. Why they're still there? Beats me!

Lots of pictures - mostly taken from the riverside (totally Enid Blytonish I know) and from the bridges that connect the castle-side to the ... umm, well non-castle side.

Isn't that totally fairy-taleish? Another view below ...

And to give a 360 degree view of it ... a vid of course.

And so if you see something which looks so beautiful - you of course want to go to have a closer look ... all 300 steps of it :-) Which of course turned out to be hugely underestimated, as the crafty builders had sweetly indicated the number of steps to climb at the very beginning, and had also marked each step ... BUT neglected to mention huge patches of climb which were slope-ish in between. But nevertheless, I found the climb highly doable (especially when you KNOW how many steps there are, there's something oddly reassuring about it), but would not recommend the same to several people I know who think that large sized malls need to come with golf carts.

(Me confirming with Nina that we HAVE to walk up the whole way and there is no easier route)

Tons more pictures from inside the castle which showcase its grandliness ...

Part of the castle fortification that fell off after some nasty bouts of lightening ...

And now for some fun random ones.

Pls, don't cry Rabbit.

La la la la la .. doo dooo daaa ...

"The time you ask? Let me just have a look at ... wtf??!!!"

And another final view from the top ...

Oh well. It was tons of fun, and in the night, we were treated to a fireworks display over the hills which was put up specially for touristy chaps like us. This was preceded by a delicious Thai dinner (Thanks Nina!!! :-) and after which we found our ways back home. The next day, we were back in good old Aachen, and routine life. Aah, well. Next on next.

Cheerios my dear readers numbering 3 (on a good day) ...

Warm Regards and all that ...

Sush

Whine Fest and Little Rest

I finally get down to documenting our Heidelberg-Mannheim trip. Although you may incorrectly presume that it had something to do with a recovery from an alcohol-induced haze, nothing could be further from the truth. It was recovery from incidents FOLLOWING an alcohol-induced haze. If you want the more sordid details - I am afraid that they are way too sensitive and grotesque to be verbally paraded around a blogpost. Personal calls only, please.

So anyway, it was a lovely weekend filled with tons of sun - it started on Friday with a trip down to Mannheim station from where a dear friend picked us up to take us to a delightful place called 'Worms' ... and before I spot any sniggers, in poor Worms defense, it is pronounced as 'Varms' and not the more genus creepabilis 'Worms'. We all then made our way to a very picturesque village wine festival (yes, Germany does make wine too - I was not that drunk that I couldn't make out the difference between beer and wine, thank you very much). Lots of pictures from the fields around and at the fest ...

So the first 2 pictures are obviously those that I expect will win me a Pulitzer for most 'Artistic Composition and Creative Depth', but after that - the entry to the fest and the vineyards we had to walk through to get there. But if you feel you're not really getting a sense of the festival - not to fear when funf is here. (Don't bother laughing - its a private Germanic joke - which only I get. Ha ha. Sigh. Video below.)

Now I shall carefully document the phases at which we slowly but surely started losing minds due to vicious alcohol poisoning.

Phase 1 - Buying the glass ... jovial and happy.

Phase 2 - Wine tasting n ... 20% talli (Pls note that copious amounts had already been consumed prior to entry at festival)

Phase 3 - What lovelyizz colours??!! hic.

Phase 4 - Check out the eclipze ... zo beeyootiful.

Phase 5 - Cherries! Sorry, Cheers!!! (90% talli)

Phase 6 - Am smiling for the camera ... everyone say konica!!!

Phase 7 - We just habe to go on bump-bump carz ... suz fun!

Phase 8 - (Removed due to sensitive nature)

So that's that. Post those bright lights, my mind is a vacuous haze. On to the next day, pls. For me as well, dear folks ... next blog post material required ... Heidelberg tomorrow.

Back to Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose. My parents were right, a shard of intelligence has placed itself in me - I am totally following and enjoying this book. Do pick it up - very relevant and interesting read, especially in todays troubled times in the Church.

Cheerio.

Sush

High GE and Low BP

It finally feels like Europe. My current apparel includes a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. Aah - just stay this way dear weather, stay this way.

Tons of reading / watching accomplished this past week. Quick overview includes Murakami's Kafka By The Shore (Brilliant, btw - that is what I call complex thought without the profanity of verbosity :-), another PD James, a Jodi Picoualt's Nineteen Minutes (Engaging even if slightly predictably soppy), Towelhead (Movie - existential / sexual angst of Arab teenager growing in post 9-11 America ... hmm, unnecessary Arab element, clearly brought in only to add 'one more layer to the plot'), Mississippi (I know I've mispelt that!) Burning (Again fairly competent retelling of Southern integration issues from an FBI agent's pov), District Nine (Intelligent idea, kinda OK film), Up In The Air (again, again ... but still enjoyed it ... "your boyfriend broke up with you on text? Yah, thats like firing someone on the internet ..." Ha ha ... don't bother trying to laugh if you haven't seen the movie) and 2 others I can't remember. Am now ambitiously trying to read an Umberto Eco, but I do not harbor any great pretensions about my staying power.

Tons of important news as well. Have been actively following up on BP's Mount Atlas sized f**kups ... its STILL going on. I just figure if we can't repair it, we shouldn't be making it folks ... of course the internet is a repository of info on the spill, but I found a really funny Slate article that asked readers to write in with what they felt the BP executives deserved in punishment. There was the inevitable 'dunk em in it and burn baby burn' type replies, but there were some genuinely interesting thoughts as well. http://www.slate.com/id/2255773/?from=rss ... And for those who have been living in caves and are wondering if BP stands for Bharat Pharmas, there's a cute intro video the crisis as well. http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1772825659?bctid=89381329001

And of course the US still defends waterboarding Khalid Sheikh Mohammed http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2010/06/03/bush_torture/index.html ... because they got him to confess to plotting 9/11. Never mind he would have probably also confessed to framing Roger Rabbit and tinkering with Amelia Earhart's aeroplane after those levels of torture.

The news does depress sometimes. And it just popped up - we let the Bhopal gas tragedy villains just walk away as well. Oh darn.

Next will be some cheerful pikchurs. Pukka promise.

Till the next ...

Sush

Blast from the Past ...

Super quick one before I go and rest my tired olde legs from all the wanderlust around Heidelburg and Mannheim. Came across a news item that I found extremely interesting http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1283273/WW2-bomb-kills-G-ttingen-experts-attempt-defuse-it.html, especially since we're visiting the same town next week for some conference ... (So yes, wisecrackers - I will look beneath my feet, although I don't think that may help too much)

I did not know that WWII bombs still go off so regularly - so it was a total eye-opener ... imagine your tombstone hailing you as a WWII bombing victim in 2010 ... that should raise a few eyebrows at least!

Rest in short - Desi evening was skipped in favor of general drinking, and we found a film club that occasionally plays English movies (Once every 3 weeks) ... the best part being that you can carry beer inside ... it really did make the movie a whole lot better!

The next post shall be one of those epical literary masterpieces (in my eyes at least :-) which shall detail (pictorially and otherwise) our drunken and non-drunken exploits in pretty Heidelburg and Mannheim.

Au revoir, my dear friends. We shall meet again. Once I can feel my legs again.

Sush

New Girl About Town

According to any tourist book worth its weight in Bavarian beer, Aachen is most well-known for its 'Dom' or the main cathedral. It obviously then goes without saying that I hadn't visited it as yet. Because in all my infinite wisdom, I believe one must go backwards in the holy order of tourist-iness ... i.e. visit the lesser known places first and then go to the motherlode of Patel snaps. (Meaning of patel snap described here http://stuffdesislike.wordpress.com/2008/04/15/29-patel-snaps/)

But I did finally venture there, and was fairly impressed. I had made a mention of the Holy Relics of Aachen in one of my previous posts, and dude - these guys sure do know how to relic-ify stuff! Pikchurs below ...

Also found a cute little devil on one of the side wings ...

Super legend about the building of the Aachen Cathedral, and how it was supposedly sponsored by none other than Satan himself ... http://www.travelgermanyinenglish.com/aachendevilpaidforcathedral.html I always find the local legends to be supremely fascinating and in this case, fairly dark as well ... I wouldn't have liked to know that my primary place of worship had been funded by you-know-who, and I don't mean Lord Voldemort.

As you enter this first part of the Church, there is the gorgeous stained glass paintings of the St Nicholas Chapel ... and from here you take a little swing into main octagonal cathedral.

Of course as with all old churches, it is the main altar that literally grabs you ...

The gold chest to the front contains the 4 Great Aachen Relics - the robe of Mother Mary, the swaddling clothes of Baby Jesus, St John's beheading cloth (ugh) and Christ's loincloth - brought to Aachen by the Head Dude Charlemagne ... these are exhibited to the faithful every 7 years in this super huge ceremony. Read my previous post for more details ... http://sushmabharath.blogspot.com/2010/05/and-i-thought-it-was-just-another-city.html

A closer look at the gorgeous centre-piece of the shrine ...

And the centre-piece and the 'Golden Ambo' or Pulpit ... yes all that is gold, diamonds and other ridiculously expensive pieces of stuff.

Some more pictures from around the cathedral that struck my artistic fancy ...

And now that I have successfully enriched your lives with the sharing of knowledge, its time to have my bath. Yes, yes ... you have been reading the post of someone who hasn't even bathed yet. AHAH! Not to fear though ... I am almost one step into the tub as I type these letters out.

BTW I think my number of readers have gone up by one. Heavens rejoice!

Toodle-do and all that ...

Sush