Ants in My Pints

Sir John Lubbock, 30 April 1834 – 28 May 1913

Back any KMSA Knight into a pub corner and get him to empty out his pockets, and odds are you will find, amongst the bottle tops and beer coasters, a few pieces of torn out newspaper
(knights are inveterate readers of newsprint ) where he has spotted an odd fact or news item, and torn it out of the publication, to use to his advantage at a later date.

And so it was that Hooky, over a foaming London Pub brew (actually it was his hotel bedroom, but we'll draw a veil over that) dug around in his pants pocket and handed me a warm scrap of newsprint, that when uncrumpled was titled;

'Weird fact of the Day'

Sir John Lubbock experimented on ants by getting them drunk. The 19th century biologist discovered sober ants would carry their drunken ant comrades back to the nest, if they were from the same colony - but they would throw drunk strangers into the ditch.

This sort of thing is like catnip to a KMSA Knight, dealing as it does with; Drink, Curiosity, Eccentricity, and generally the notion that there is nothing better or more important in life than to just get a bunch of ants drunk in the name of science.

My requested quest then was to find out more of this John Lubbock.

Well for a start it turns out he is an English Aristocrat; the 1st Baron Avebury, no less, and a real Sir as well, which puts our own self titled knighthoods to shame for a kickoff.

He also looks a great deal like a young Sir Bowie.

The rest of his resume, reads pretty much like you'd want your average KMSA knight to be; Banker, Politician, Biologist, Archaeologist and alround thinker and drinker. (okay so I put the last one in )

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Lubbock,_1st_Baron_Avebury

And so it was as an amateur biologist of some distinction, writing books on hymenoptera (Ants, Bees, and Wasps. A Record of Observations on the Habits of the Social Hymenoptera. in 1884.), on insect sense organs and development, on the intelligence of animals, and on other natural history topics, that Hooky's scrap of paper was drawn.



But it was to a little footnote to his life that I was drawn, as in its simplicity it summed up one of the main tenets of KMSA life, that of the Library or now-a-days the Internet, when he was cited as having written the quotation, "We may sit in our library and yet be in all quarters of the earth". This variation appears in his book The Pleasures of Life: "Not only does a library contain "infinite riches in a little room," but we may sit at home and yet be in all quarters of the earth."

Quite So Sir John.

Sir Dayvd (the travelling Cyber-knight) of Old Oxford Town.

The Past Haunting the Now: The Melancholy Journey of a Midwestern Troubadour

As I traveled yesterday through the River valleys of Southern Indiana, Northwestern Kentucky and Southern Ohio I was reminded of the similarities of the landscape to Somerset in England. Listening to the CD that Sir Dayvd gave me of the Oxford band, Red Ox, I was thrown back into a melancholy journey through time. The past is haunting the now, as I view my world through a new set of lenses.




I had no trouble remembering to drive on the "Right" side of the road; however, I did catch myself reaching for the Diesel pump as I stopped to fill up my car. Leaving the gas "petrol" station I once again directed my metal steed towards the north lands of central Ohio. As the rolling hills gave way to the flatter fields I became aware of how much bigger things are here than in England. Bigger roads, bigger homes, bigger rivers...but are our hearts and minds bigger?

Taking a back road into Delaware, Ohio for a meeting I missed the narrow lanes through stone clad villages...that feeling of history touching your very soul in the now. Sterile clap board farm houses now speckled the road I travel...telling their own story of a new land tamed by man.




Last night I would normally go to the "Pub" in Polaris; however, I could not bare to experience the American version of England...preferring to remain in my Melancholy state, where art and living create! I headed for a smaller neighborhood bar called the Rusty Bucket Corner Tavern, where I engaged in local conversation, good beer and food. I felt at home and satisfied!

I woke up this morning in a Hilton, and for a brief moment I thought I was back in London. The truth is, I am. I am waiting for my spirit to catch up to my body. I'm living in a separate reality, listening to the Smith's, watching the gentle rain falling on a perfect English morning in Ohio.

Sir Hook the Melancholy Troubadour of Warrick (Who is Learning How to "Kill Your Speed")

Mind the language gap

In preparation for our trip across the pond, Lady Suzanne and I watched a couple of travel DVDs. We just had to laugh at the overuse of the word “quintessential” in describing British landmarks, traditions, and customs. It turns out that the laugh was on us! Upon arriving in England, it didn't take us long before we caught ourselves using the word to describe what we were seeing and hearing.


Three quintessentially quintessential phrases used more than a brolly (a.k.a. umbrella) on a typical day in England – and now enduringly recorded in my American mind – are:


“Mind the gap”

“Lovely”

“No worries”


“Mind the gap” is a direction we heard innumerable times in the tube (subway). Basically, it means to watch your step and not fall down the crack between the platform and the train. Though I've always said “watch your step,” I believe the word "mind" is more, well, mindful. I mean, it's one thing to watch and see, it's quite another to be mindful and do.

Most everything in England is “lovely.” Lovely means everything thing from very an enjoyable or pleasant event (as in “Oh, what a lovely war.”), sensory quality of something, thank you, or even something that you're completely annoyed about (as in “Lovely, the tube is flooded and I'll have to walk 52 blocks to the hotel!”).


All and all, I believe that I will mind my language and use “lovely” more often. Above is a photo or the first KMSA coaster being displayed in an English pub (our first stop in London). Lovely!

Finally, “No worries” (is Mad Magazine's Alfred E. Neuman British?).

This phrase seems to be used for saying that you will be able to do something easily or also as a response to a seeming unpleasant event (as in “I'm sorry I accidentally jabbed my brolly into your groin.” “No worries!”)


I love the phrase “No worries” and will bloody well try to use it more often.

“Bloody well”? (I'll have to defer to Sir Dayvd on the use of “bloody” in his language).


Bloddy hell, look what time it is. Time to get off my arse and sally forth with my day!
I hope you found this little blog to be lovely. If not, no worries.


Sir Bowie “off to mind the gap” of Greenbriar