9th Feb 2012 Trivial TipBits Of My Lazy Day

• Had breakfast in a cafe with a friend. He ordered hot chocolate to go with his bacon on toast. Seeing me make a face he said 'Coffee is not my cup of tea.' I burst out laughing. I knew exactly what he meant, being English; it just sounded very funny to me.
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• Then he asked whether my habit of taking coffee all day long was the result of living in Spain, I said 'No, my blood type is coffee'. He laughed out loud too. We are even.
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• For lunch in a restaurant I regularly go to, I ordered pan-fried squid with garlic rice. My lunch companion thought it was strange combination. Well, I am Chinese. Rice with everything - just about everything!
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• I have not been blogging seriously like I used to do, writing articles on a great variety of subjects, and today I decided I should start again. You guess it. I didn't. This rubbish I am writing now makes me realize something is wrong with me these days. Can't think properly, can't concentrate on any one thing, and haven't the foggiest idea why!
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• For dinner, I had red wine, with 2 whole packets of chocolate-coated, roasted almonds. No meal. What did I tell you? I have gone nuts. Correction: I have always been nuts!
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• Did you notice? I didn't work today! Better pack up now. I don't know whether I am annoying anybody with this, but I am beginning to annoy myself. So, Good night all, sleep tight, don't let the mice bite!

Tags: mylazyday

Prev: 9th Feb 2012 Another True Story About Boozing

9th Feb 2012 Another True Story About Boozing

 
Admiral Edward Russell's Booze Up ~

The record for history's largest cocktail party, took place in 1694, when Edward Russell threw an naval officer's party that employed a garden's fountain as the punch bowl.

How was the concoction created, you may well ask? A mixture that included 250 gallons of brandy, 125 gallons of Malaga wine, 1,400 pounds of sugar, 2,500 lemons, 20 gallons of lime juice, and 5 pounds of nutmeg.

A series of bartenders actually paddled around in a small wooden canoe, filling up guests' cups. Not only that, but they had to work in 15-minute shifts to avoid being overcome by the fumes and falling overboard. The party continued nonstop for a full week, pausing only briefly during rainstorms to erect a silk canopy over the punch to keep it from getting watered down. In fact, the festivities didn't end until the fountain had been drunk completely dry. 

Supposedly true but I can't help wondering, just a little, if it's not perhaps ever so slightly exaggerated. 

Tags: cocktailparty

Prev: 9th Feb 2012 Nelson's Blood

9th Feb 2012 Nelson's Blood

Admiral, Lord Nelson ~ 

In 1805, British Admiral, Horatio Nelson was killed during the Battle of Trafalgar off the coast of Spain. Most sailors were simply put to rest at sea, but as an admiral, Nelson had to be brought back to England for an official burial. 

To preserve his body during the voyage home, the second-in-command stored Nelson's body in the ship's vat of rum and halted all liquor rations to the crew. Not a bad idea, but when the ship reached port, officials went to retrieve Nelson's body and found the vat dry.

Disregarding good taste (in every sense), the crew had, allegedly, been secretly drinking from it the entire way home. After that, naval rum was referred to as "Nelson's Blood". 

This, apparently, is no fiction!

Tags: lordnelson

Prev: 8th Feb 2012 Beer Flooding, Incredible But True