The Fryday Fry Up

The blog version of Fryday goes out on the Internet and is of course accessible there to anybody anywhere with a computer and a connection. Whilst I can’t determine who is reading Fryday, I can monitor the numbers, where they are from and what they are reading. A random look at the blog stats yesterday got even me questioning Fryday’s attraction. It appears that one person (presumably one) spent over an hour in one session reading Fryday and in the process got through sixteen pages. Now, that is very gratifying and I am flattered that they found Fryday Quite Interesting (to coin a phrase). But what I found Quite Interesting was that the person was in Brazil and the entry-page they started with was an item on Tuku Morgan. What possible interest would a Brazilian have in Tuku Morgan, even if Tuku Morgan may be persuaded to have an interest in a Brazilian—underpants tend to chaff, after all. Nevertheless some Brazilian has taken to Tuku and from there ventured elsewhere in the Fryday Realm. Quite Interesting, and, yes, I am getting to that point—an unashamed plug for another Fry up: the Stephen Fry hosted, John Lloyd conceived, BBC series QI on Prime each weeknight at 7.00. It is truly addictive as the erudite Stephen Fry presents an ever-changing panel of comedians and other celebrities with an array of little known but (seemingly) unassailable facts upon which they are invited to comment by way of confirming or otherwise the veracity of such facts. Points are deducted if the obvious but wrong answer is given; points are awarded if the answers are QI—Quite Interesting. There is such a profusion and confusion of facts that I can’t remember them all, but here are a few from memory. See if you can answer them correctly. 1. In what year did the Second World War between the Allies and Germany end? 2. The Spanish national anthem is sung in what language? 3. How many legs has a centipede and what is extremely odd about the answer? 4. At one time or other one-eighth of all Californians have insured themselves for what? 5. According to a survey, 46% of all Americans can’t read well enough to read what? That’s the type of thing that in the deft hands of Stephen Fry QI on Prime is compulsive viewing—even if they are yet to find even one remotely interesting fact about Hamilton.

Slàinte, sonas agus beartas

Oscar Wilde said of the United States and the United Kingdom that they had everything in common except language. He was right of course. In their land of excess, Americans have paradoxically opted for minimalism in language. They have dropped more letters than a disgruntled south Auckland postie on P. And rearranged more letters than a Mt Eden prostitute on a good night. Color=colour, flavor=flavour, meter=metre, etc. Which is why I find it surprising, musing on this over the Christmas break, that in one area dear to me Americans have elected to add a letter, the letter E to whisky. They spell it whiskey, which is the way the Irish spell it and that in itself may be an explanation, given the Irish influence in early America. There are almost as many American whiskies as there are Scotch whiskies (in the plural both countries employ the E) and the distinctions are many. In the interests of robust research I have sampled—and will continue to sample—as many as I can. Scotch is the form and firm favourite for me though. Helensville is the site of the only successful Scotch invasion since Braveheart and will, hopefully, last a lot longer. There is little more enjoyable to me than the big blustery, take-no-prisoner single-malts from Islay (pronounced Eye-Lah) and the favour of friends. With that in mind and glass in hand I raised a few drams to you this happy Hogmanay. Allow me to do so again with a Scottish greeting I like, plus, appropriately, a translation for all my Fryday friends: May the best ye hae ivver seen be the warst ye'll ivver see. May the moose ne'er lea' yer girnal wi a tear-drap in its ee. May ye aye keep hail an hertie till ye'r auld eneuch tae dee. May ye aye juist be sae happie as A wuss ye aye tae be. The above, in translation, reads: May the best you have ever seen be the worst you will ever see. May the mouse never leave your grain store with a tear drop in its eye. May you always stay hale and hearty until you are old enough to die. May you still be as happy as I always wish you to be. Slàinte, sonas agus beartas (Health, wealth and happiness) Fyday.