It's England, it's 52.6 deg. North, the City Hall clock reads 3:28PM and the sun disappears below the horizon.
All's well and peaceful at the castle. The nasty modern materials in the picture will become the roof over the much needed wc block. The new stuff outside the keep is Gabriela, Erin and Dan's kingdom. I tried to persuade them to put a proper lead roof on the wc block but they pointed out that it would cost many thousands more and besides, you cannot see the roof from anywhere (unless you actually jump off the battlements directly above it).
Inside the keep (my kingdom), the archæology is protected and the old floors cleared out ready for the restoration of Henry 1st's palace.
I decided on a whim to have the boys make up some alpenhorns …
Actually they're the connectors between the rainwater downpipes and the existing sewer but we all enjoyed parping and blarting down them … as you do.
9 comments:
I had to look up "parp" and "blart." Excellent words, I look forward to using them.
Thanks for sharing the castle's progress, it's still fascinating.
You made me look them up too, Petrea. I'd always thought that parp was the noise made by an old-fashioned bulb motor horn but all I got were links to Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase. Who knew?
At least blart still means what I thought it did.
Hoorah for onomatopœia!
I googled "British slang parp" and British slang blart" and got the following, which corroborates with your thinking. The links are kind of crazy but they take you to my search results.
Parp
https://www.google.com/search?q=british+slang+parp&sxsrf=AOaemvJymjU-FNhjx_nvIANSnqoGqzHCnQ%3A1639324616190&ei=yBu2Yfv_CtS5qtsP37udyAQ&ved=0ahUKEwj7g62L0N70AhXUnGoFHd9dB0kQ4dUDCA4&uact=5&oq=british+slang+parp&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAMyBggAEBYQHjoHCCMQsAMQJzoHCAAQRxCwAzoECCMQJzoFCAAQgAQ6BQgAEJECOggIABCABBCxAzoKCAAQgAQQhwIQFDoHCAAQgAQQCkoECEEYAEoECEYYAFCqBljpGWCCH2gBcAJ4AIABnAKIAcsJkgEFMC44LjGYAQCgAQHIAQnAAQE&sclient=gws-wiz
Blart
https://www.google.com/search?q=british+slang+blart&oq=british&aqs=chrome.0.69i59l2j46i433i512j0i67j46i67i199i433i465j46i67i199i291j46i67i433j46i67i199i291j46i67i199i465j0i271.3051j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
"Parp" and "blart" as words sound like the noises they are defining.
Every once in a while I read an article about the restoration of Notre Dame cathedral, and I think you should be glad lead is not being used for the roof. I understand that the lead used for that roof created a toxic site over the entire area that has proven difficult to clean up. Here's a link to one article -
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/notre-dame-square-reopen-lead-pollution-1771161
Oh, yeah, there's also Paul Blart, Mall Cop, a 2009 movie.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Blart:_Mall_Cop
Thank you, Petrea. That's much more like it. More fun than PARP the cancer-fighting enzyme, though probably not so useful.
Ah, Speedway; I recall the lead-poisoning of the Île de la Cité. Alas, modern substitutes look crap and contained (until 1984) copious amounts of asbestos dust, while the current plastic fake lead gives off hydrogen cyanide in a fire. You pays your money, you takes your choice. I love a good lead roof. The "visible" new roofs at the castle will all be good old Code 6 lead. Luverley.
So many new things to reconstruct so old. What a marvel, sweetpea.xoxo
So cool to see your photo of the inside of the keep! I assume it will seem much less cavernous once it's done? I especially like the image of columns at the top right, made, I'm guessing, by long-gone stone that kept that section clean while the surrounding area was exposed? Let's all go down to the Parp & Blart for a pint to discuss it!
Dive, you are a bad influence. During the Great Stay-At-Home, I enrolled in a series of Zoom lectures about British medieval archaeology, and even bought books about medieval stonemasons and graffiti. Me?! Stuck in the middle of Murca, I've been "walking" through Norwich via YouTube videos, gobsmacked by the beautiful buildings and narrow lanes. I've been cruising the rivers via narrow boat, too, wondering how long it would take me to travel the length of the country - stopping at pubs, taking pictures, making paintings.
So many questions ...
Is flint still mined? I love the Guild Hall.
How much would a home in the Cathedral Close cost?
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