Here’s a test of character
1 See 7 Down 3 Matters under discussion for those paying allegiance (8) 8 Name the chap at home embracing Virginia (4) 9 What the fiddler’s doing for dancing! (8) 11 They provide relief for map readers (7,5) 13 A sign of promotion for the priest, maybe (6) 14 How to lose weight fast! (6) 17 Brave an unpleasant situation, as conductors do (4,3,5) 20 Mysterious coteries broken up (8) 21 A little pest to escape from, we hear (4) 22 Strange secrets about the first of the phantom spirits (8) 23 & 19Dn. Get up earlier, being unable to settle (8) 1 Royal title incorporated in the newspapers (8) 2 Bridge-making tool (7) 4 Heedless of a deviation in the runway (6) 5 Precisely on the beat without a minute to spare (4,2,4) 6 In which I’d expect to be reproachful (5) 7 & 1Ac. It indicates the way to end off the letters (8) 10 It sounds like a word of praise for all the ship’s crew (10) 12 A special aptitude is required to write church music (8) 15 Decide to work out the puzzle again (7) 16 Transport that keeps one in the hunt (6) 18 Make some reparation soon after midnight? (5) 19 See 23 Across
1 Up-and-coming; 9 Retrace; 10 Raise; 11 Dirge; 12 Enamour; 13 Nicety; 15 Brainy; 18 Plumber; 20 Smash; 22 Shiny; 23 Set fair; 24 Entrance fee. 2 Peter; 3 Nearest; 4 Clever; 5 Maria; 6 Nairobi; 7 Trading post; 8 Nearly there; 14 Caution; 16 Rosette; 17 Arisen; 19 Buyer; 21 Awake.
ONCE more unto the breach, dear friends… tomorrow night is a test of character for the Sharks. Not so much a test of skills and brawn, but mental recovery from last week’s debacle when the wheels suddenly flew off altogether.
They’ve got what it takes, there’s no doubt about that. But can they get their knickers untwisted?
They’ll be playing against possibly the toughest hombres in the competition before a crowd that does everything but run onfield with the bola – that lasso thing they use in South America, with weights on each end of the rope.
But nil desperando. Let’s play to our strengths, ball in hand. We’ve got those strengths in every department. Hou kop! Don’t get sucked into a brawl! Play to the game plan! Ball in hand!
They just have to pull it off. There could otherwise be ugly scenes in the Street Shelter for the Over-Forties, where the damsels are getting restive and threatening to throw their knickers into the pizza oven in disgust.
Midlands tranquillity
EARLIER this week we discussed the fellow who reversed his vehicle from the Notties bar in Nottingham Road to Loteni, 60km away in East Griqualand, to win a bet of a bottle of whisky. HIGH maintenance people require constant attention and approval.
They crave to be the center of almost every conversation and will often become symptomatic (moody, resentful, loud, threatening) when they are not. They
It prompts memories for Chris Knaggs, of North Beach, who in the ’70s played music at Notties on Friday and Saturday evenings.
Late-ish one Saturday afternoon, as they were setting things up, they were wonderfully entertained.
“There had been a swanky wedding in the area and it had obviously been decided to carry it on further at Notties.
“The gentlemen arrived, removed their trousers and underpants, and jumped on to the bar counter, proceeding to bash the copper pots hanging above and singing bawdy songs.
“Naturally, having come from this swanky wedding, they were still wearing their top hats and tails.
“Hey man, Notties – never a dull moment!”
Yes, a typical Midlands party. Incidents have been known at Notties where somebody throws a pint of draught beer down the bar counter, at which gals dive on and slide the length of the counter stark naked, the locals analyse every move, thought, word and action of others, and then read more meaning into things (statements, looks, sighs, attitudes) than was intended. They are easily hurt, quickly offended, quick to rebuke when they do not get the kind of attention they think they deserve. Threats of withdrawal or lifting their pints to allow them to pass.
Retire to the Midlands for a quiet life.
Yankee Wood
ALSO earlier this week, in the context of East Griqualand, I mentioned Yankee Wood.
The local newspaper in EG is the Kokstad Advertiser – full name, Kokstad Advertiser and East Griqualand Gazette. It was founded in the mid-19th century by Yankee Wood, an African-American sailor who had jumped ship at East London and wandered inland seeking adventure and fortune.
He met up with Adam Kok, the Griqua Kaptein who was on his way back from the Cape to arrange with the governor for the annexation of the territory his people had settled in after trekking from Griqualand West.
There were two conditions attached to annexation. Kok had to set up a parliament for the territory plus have a newspaper in which laws and proclamations from the Cape would be published.
Yankee Wood happened to be a trained printer. He set up the Kokstad Advertiser and East Griqualand Gazette. He prospered. He built and owned the Royal Hotel in Kokstad.
Then he moved to the goldfields of the Transvaal and prospered even further, rubbing shoulders with the Randlords and becoming a desertion become a way of life.
Highmaintenance people are difficult, sometimes impossible, even in the most relaxed of circumstances. They pick fights, find fault, and personalise almost everything. They argue with people who are closest to them for no apparent reason. They often pick on strangers (waiters, helpers). They often live in a racehorse owner.
Then he went to the diamond fields in Kimberley, and that was a mistake. He lost everything and ended up back in Kokstad as doorman at the Royal Hotel, which he had once owned.
A sad yet somehow stirring story. The era clearly was not quite what people today make out it was.
Session over
THE parliament? Yes, Adam Kok did set it up. But it never passed a single law because sessions lasted no longer than the time it took to roast an ox on the spit.
Deliberations would be ended by the cook coming in and announcing: “Kom boys, die kos is gaar.” (Come on boys, the food’s cooked).
Tailpiece
“I’VE got to find a new hobby to get in some exercise. I used to play frisbee with my dog when I got home in the afternoons.
“Fantastic! Why did you stop?”
“He was getting too old and heavy to fling through the air.”
Last word
MEN occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever happened. – Sir Winston Churchill
world of cut-off relationships where others are idiots and no one understands.
What can you do if you are in a relationship with a high-maintenance person?
You can do very little that will not hurt, offend, or get a reaction – but you must make a stand.
High-maintenance people seldom benefit from pity or patience or empathy. They will only benefit from being constantly challenged to grow up. Code Cracker is challenging, but fun. Each number in the grid represents a letter of the alphabet. For example, today 15 represents K, so fill in K every time the number 15 appears. You have 2 letters in the grid to start you off. Enter them into the main grid and then use your knowledge of words to work out which letters go in the missing squares. Code Cracker does not always use all the letters of the alphabet.