There is always a bottle of La Gitana or similar in the fridge.

OK, I've got to do SLIPPERY WHEN WET now.

www-users.york.ac.uk/~ss44/joke/d...

Slippery when wet.

I wrote on the packaging, "DO NOT EAT".

We can't be that old. Does not compute.

Bleach your brain immediately.

Haha, I fear the review may close a few doors 😱

Of course! I didn't even think about looking for those books online. Doh!

I fear I may have to break into the library at CU. I'm not affiliated with any august institution 😶

Cambridge Uni library!

I need to go back to the library for another look at the handwriting manuals, to compare to the decorated caps on Swithland stones. I'm betting they used one or more of the manuals we saw. My review of the conf will be in the next Forum. Brace yourself 😬

Very true. That's why Derek, he of the finest engraving I have seen, never touched it unless forced.

There were two NAG style sheets. The original, ?1950, was beautiful. The later one ?1980, much less so. They guy who did my engraving in Bham, Derek Tipson, was a bit sneery about the latter, but he was a purist, and he knew the guy who engraved the original sheet. I have scans of both somewhere.

At a conference in Cambs Uni recently Vera & I saw handwriting manuals from the C18 which I am certain were used by the Swithland headstone firms. @ same time, Baskerville et al were selling their fonts to the print trade and I'm sure carvers were following the current fashion.

True. I think they followed the general styles, but every headstone was a hand carved one-off and they drifted away from the original inspiration (or style sheets for fonts / handwriting manuals).

I think headstone carvers followed what was happening in print. The same general styles are found across the country. Bodoni's 'modern' faces were widespread on headstones through the C19, alongside Baskerville-esque styles with more curvy serifs. The Victorians spoiled everything of course 😱

Watched the first flight take off from LHR to New York, 1977, from the top of an escarpment at Englefield Green where I was at college. Good view over to Heathrow. All other planes got up and slowly made their way, Concorde got up and then just went zoom.

I think that covers everything. Today a friend was telling us about his Evertonian mate who is on a 24h heart monitor, and who sent a screenshot of the 2h spell when Everton were playing and his heart rate doubled. Football is bad for you. Obvs.