It's bloody freezing today and the weather has been wild for the last couple of days.
I'm sure that Richard and Shelley are glad that they didn't drive to Greytown where the weather is just as bad or worse I hear.
Shelley is unwell apparently and Richard has 'man flu'.
Lynn seems to have caught the 'man flu' I had and has been snuggling in bed all today. I ventured out this morning to get provisions and some Lemsip and Robitussin for her. The Thorndon pharmacy was closed so I had to walk to the Chemist Warehouse in Lambton Quay but didn't mind the walk as I'd dressed in 3 layers for it. One of the advantages of living in a close-to-the-city suburb is being able to easily walk to shops and services.
Yesterday, in the middle of a major gale I had to do some emergency repairs to the rear fence which was threatening to collapse under the strong winds. I cobbled together some materials and nailed some bracing to the fence. This hopefully will hold until a repairman fixes the fence next week. I had to don waterproof overtrousers, my Muck boots and a 'souwester' raincoat to do this in. One thing that I miss about our house up north is the amount of spare timber and bits and pieces of building materials I had stored in the basement. These came in handy for emergency repairs. The downside of living in a tidy townhouse is the absence of these. I used some bits of wood that the handyman who is doing some work for us left awaiting finishing his chores next week. He'll have to buy some more timber now. Funny enough, when he was about to affix a bit of outdoor artwork to that very same fence he alerted me to the fact that it might fall down in a storm and has strengthening it on his list of things to do.
This is to go on the fence once it's repaired
Stay warm, stay safe and I hope that your houses don't blow down.
Do you remember The Great Quiz Controversy Fiasco of 2023?
The quiz series had to be abandoned for a while see: HERE
One of Richard's alter ego got a bit snippy as did Richard.
After a while things settled down and The Curmudgeons Inc.ⓒ reintroduced the quizzes along with conundrums, riddles and other stimulating brain teasers.
I'm sad to report though that the latest of these little delectables has fallen on deaf ears - 'pearls before swine' if you will and has gone unappreciated.
See here the peevish responses from a couple of contributors who each only managed to get 0 out of 5 answers correct.
It's sad really but only to be expected.
Just to hand is news that Richard has gone out and created a new quiz of his own.
Robert must have joined forces with Richard's Bass Bag Confederacy as both he and Richard both scored zero on the latest The Curmudgeons Inc.ⓒ quiz.
For those interested here are the official answers to the questions - none of which were answered correctly or to the satisfaction of the adjudicator (me). Please see the competition rules* and know that there will be no discussion on these or the results. Thank you.
Question one: What do these people have in common? Franz Schubert Richard Prowse Carl Orff
Answer: They are all ex school teachers.
Question two: What do these people have in common? Trent Horn Robert Prowse Sister Mary Fruitloop
Answer: They all promulgate crazy Catholic beliefs.
Question three: What do these people have in common? The Curmudgeon Chiara Ferragni Joanna Goddard
Answer: They all have been acknowledged for their blogging.
Question four: What do these things have in common Eternity Elephants The end of space
Answer: They all have the letter 'e' in common:
Eternity starts with an 'e'; elephants has two 'e's; The end of space ends with an 'e'.
Question five: What do these places have in common? Wainuiomata Moera Thorndon
Answer: Nothing.
* Competition Rules
1. Application. These general competition rules (“General Competition Rules”) apply to competitions (each, a "Competition") operated by The Curmudgeons Inc.ⓒ at the applicable The Curmudgeons Inc.ⓒ blog (the “Blog") on which the Competition appears, unless there are specific competition rules for a particular Competition, in which case those specific competition rules will apply. By entering a Competition, entrants agree to be legally bound by these General Competition Rules, and will be deemed to have read and understood these General Competition Rules.
2. Eligibility. Unless otherwise stated, to enter a Competition and to be eligible to win, entrant must be a legal resident in the province or territory in which the Blog is located. Each entrant must be over the age of majority in his/her/its province or territory of residence. Employees of The Curmudgeons Inc.ⓒ, its agents, parent, affiliated or related companies, subsidiaries, divisions, prize sponsors, promotional and advertising agencies or employees of any other entity involved in the development, production, administration, or fulfilment of the applicable Competition (and any person domiciled with any such employee) are ineligible to enter. A winner of a previous The Curmudgeons Inc.ⓒ. contest within the thirty (30) days preceding the winner selection date for this Competition (including persons designated by such winners to take ownership of prizes and persons domiciled with a winner) may be disqualified. A winner who claims a Prize during the Competition Period is not eligible to enter again.
I remember, when I was a kid, the Children's Holiday Programme was broadcast on the National Programme. The programme had daily sessions featuring stories, music, and question-and-answer games to keep kids entertained during school breaks.
These were very good especially on rainy days with stories like Little Toot, Diana and The Golden Apples, Maxi The Taxi Driver, Flick the Little Fire Engine, Sparky etc keeping us enthralled and the quizzes engendered fierce competition between me and my siblings.
As the weather has packed up and no doubt the bloggers are indoors sheltering from the cold and rain, I thought that a little quiz game might come in handy.
As you are all out of practice since the last quiz I ran was back in February 2025 I've decided to keep this one short and limited to five questions only - easy ones.
Here goes.
Question one:
What do these people have in common?
Franz Schubert
Richard Prowse
Carl Orff
Question two:
What do these people have in common?
Trent Horn
Robert Prowse
Sister Mary Fruitloop
Question three:
What do these people have in common?
The Curmudgeon
Chiara Ferragni
Joanna Goddard
Question four:
What do these things have in common?
Eternity
Elephants
The end of space
Question five:
What do these places have in common?
Wainuiomata
Moera
Thorndon
Send in your answers and I promise that if you are successful your name will be published.
When it's raining heavily like this morning I drive The Old Girl to work and or pick her up in the evening.
I swear though that she's getting more and more like Hyacinth Bucket in her 'back-seat driving'.
As the blog readers struggle with reading long posts it's necessary to alternate with simple posts ideally accompanied by video clips, cartoons, pretty pictures or promises of things to be won.
* What the person who named Greytown probably intended if his spelling was as atrocious as Robert's is.
***************
Richard has picked up a bug.
You just never know what those Wainuiomartians will get up to next.
With luck he'll get up to Greytown on Saturday provided he leaves a day early. Mind you, he lives so far out in the wop wops he's halfway to the wire-wrapper Wairarapa already.
I hope the old guy gets better before his trip and, if not, he uses a mask when socialising.
I've had some sort of a cold for over a week now with similar symptoms to the one he describes. I must have picked it up on a bus trip or at the picture theatre Sunday week ago. I must try and remember to wear a mask when I do this. I do recall some idiot sneezing and coughing at the film (De Gaulle) and thinking at the time that the person should have stayed at home.
Robert of Bob's discombobulate Bobadilish (I must provide him with another name soon) has been using what he calls a tag-line provided by The Vatican this year. It is "Embrace Your Cross" although he gets confused and sometimes writes "Carry Your Cross". That's OK, it's nonsense whichever way you look at it.
The Vatican has wheeled out this construct regularly over the centuries with popes using the cross imagery to represent active discipleship, urging Christians to share in the redemptive love of Christ by stepping into the pain and struggles of others. As such the theme of 'carrying your cross' appears frequently in papal homilies, encyclicals, and Vatican-related messaging.
In recent years Pope Francis emphasised that "to carry the cross of Christ is never in vain". He explained it means becoming "each of us, for one another, a Simon of Cyrene" by bearing the burdens and sufferings of others. Well, he was pope so had to say something to keep the followers in check I suppose.
This year, new pope Pope Leo XIV described the call to carry the cross as an embrace of the "Way of the Cross," a path of unity, hope, and faithful witness to the Gospel" - Witnessing to the Faith. To demonstrate this he actually carried a cross around all of the Stations of the Cross. A bit over the top I feel but he is American and they like to appeal to the lowest common denominators.
As a result Catholic Churches around the world are exhorting their followers to 'Embrace (or carry) The Cross". This supersedes that other silly slogan - "Have fun and don't sin" which Robert did to death.
In light of this I was wondering how The Vatican markets these concepts and whether there is in fact, as I have suspected, a Josef Goebbels-type propaganda machine at work. I contacted The Vatican (+39 06 6988 45600) and asked to talk to the head of marketing. I was put through to Prefect Analyctix and here's a transcript of our conversation which makes up Interview number 39 in this very popular series.
The Curmudgeon: Ah Bonjorneo .. err Signiturore Analyct ... er Prefect ...
Prefect Analyctix: English is fine The Curmudgeon. I sort of speak it as I am American.
The Curmudgeon: American? Wow - I didn't know. By the way you can call me TC.
Prefect Analyctix: TC? I like it. Top Cat was one of my favourite cartoon characters - well, I am from New York after all.
The Curmudgeon: New York. Oh that's right the new pope's from New York isn't he.
Prefect Analyctix: Rob's actually from Chicago but I won't hold that against him especially since we beat the sh... the stuffing out of them at basketball recently.
The Curmudgeon: Rob?
Prefect Analyctix: Rob, yes, Robert Francis Prevost. You'd know him better as Pope Leo XIV. Rob likes to have some Americans on his team to balance out those eyetie cardinals.
The Curmudgeon: Ahh, I see, the politics of religion.
Prefect Analyctix: No, just good business practice. When Rob made me Prefect ...
The Curmudgeon: ... I was a prefect at school you know.
Prefect Analyctix: Glory days TC, glory days. "Contritionem praecedit superbia, et ante ruinam exaltatur spiritus." which means ...
The Curmudgeon: ... "Pride precedes destruction and an exalted spirit before a fall."
Prefect Analyctix: Well done TC. You must be one of those famous 3P boys I've heard about.
The Curmudgeon: Yeah but if you want to know anything about double entry bookkeeping or where Zambesi is then you'd need a 3G boy.
Prefect Analyctix: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ...
The Curmudgeon: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ...
Prefect Analyctix: So tell me TC, why the call?
The Curmudgeon: I read about Rob's sorry, Pope Leo's exhortation to Catholics to use the 'carry your cross' greeting or sign-off and I wondered ...
Prefect Analyctix: ... where did you read it?
The Curmudgeon: Robert, not the pope, is using it on his blog Bob's discombobulate Bobadilish.
Prefect Analyctix: WTF? Bob's discombobulate Bobadilish! Is he mad?
The Curmudgeon: Yeah, kind of, he is a Catholic ... no offense.
Prefect Analyctix: None taken. Between you and me it's all a game. Did you know that it was one of mine?
The Curmudgeon: One of your what?
Prefect Analyctix: One of my marketing campaigns, the latest in fact. "Carry Your Cross" has a ring about it don't you think? I was head of marketing and advertising ata Madison Avenue agency before Rob recruited me as Prefect.
The Curmudgeon: What does Prefect actually mean Prefect?
Prefect Analyctix: Here at The Vatican the Prefect oversees the Vatican's official news portals, publishing house, press office, and radio networks. I'm the head of the Dicastery for Communication. Its a funny term 'dicastry' and I suspect some lowbrows would like to make scatological jokes about it.
The Curmudgeon: I know just the person. He was one of the 3G students. He would also make rude 'witticisms' about your name.
Prefect Analyctix: It figures. As I was saying, I manage all Vatican media operations, including Vatican News the L'Osservatore Romano newspaper, and the Holy See Press Office.
The Curmudgeon: That's impressive. In my past career I was a marketer. A wine marketer.
Prefect Analyctix: Really? Then you would have written those back labels on wine bottles and created the blurb and hype around wine and wine brands then. You must be good at obfuscating the truth and creating nonsense. I suspect that you are an atheist but, having been in the famous 3P must have been a Catholic at some time. Why not come back into the fold. I could create a job here for you my son.
The Curmudgeon: It's TC, not Mason but thanks, I'm quite happy here and have a very successful blog that keeps me busy.
Prefect Analyctix: Oh, OK, but if you change your mind give me a call. I have to run now.
The Curmudgeon: I'll call again soon as I want to ask you about some of the past Vatican marketing scams, er, campaigns like aggiornamento, new evangelisation, "mercy over judgment", Nostra Aetate and others.
Prefect Analyctix: They were some doozies all right. I wish they had been mine. I've got some new ones I plan to introduce soon that I'd like to get your input on, things like:
Give us a 7. Give us another 7. And another 7. What have we got? 777!
You can still be a nun if you are not a virgin.
Photo competition - best pics of the Virgin Mary statues.
New motto - "Don't leave home without your scapula".
The Curmudgeon: (voce sotto Sheesh!). Yeah, good Prefect, I can help you with those. Ciao.
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