....Is today's wrapping paper for my latest eBay delivery. (Twenty-six blackbird pie funnels, since you asked.) It turned out to be the Sunday Times Coronation Souvenir Special from earlier this year and I couldn't resist smoothing out the crumpled sheets (yes, I am still talking about the newspaper) and taking a look.

At the time of the Coronation, we both remarked how awkward the King and Queen's crowns had looked on the screen[2] In the pictures in the newspaper it looks even worse than that: a badly coloured-in picture of a crown Photoshopped onto a pair of elderly bonces. Oh dear. Well, they probably won't have to wear them again for a while.

Nick
nickodell49@yahoo.ca
[1]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zoJg8U1Atk
[2]The Beeb had a TV Licence moratorium for the Coronation and EE were giving away free data for the weekend so we watched it on Liliana's tablet

On Mon, 24 Jul 2023 03:19:49 -0700 (PDT), Nick Odell
<nickodell@bigfoot.com> scrawled in the dust...

>...Is today's wrapping paper for my latest eBay delivery. (Twenty-six blackbird pie funnels, since you asked.)

Oi!
Why have you bought 26 blackbird pie funnels, isn't two dozen the usual
amount?
--
Penny
Annoyed by The Archers since 1959

In message <0gutbi9j2gcbm86v335rq0okop3env5i2b@4ax.com> at Mon, 24 Jul
2023 23:27:19, Penny <spam@labyrinth.freeuk.com> writes
>On Mon, 24 Jul 2023 03:19:49 -0700 (PDT), Nick Odell
><nickodell@bigfoot.com> scrawled in the dust...
>
>>...Is today's wrapping paper for my latest eBay delivery. (Twenty-six
>>blackbird pie funnels, since you asked.)
>
>Oi!
>Why have you bought 26 blackbird pie funnels, isn't two dozen the usual
>amount?

Maybe baker's dozens are involved?
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Norman Tebbitt has the irritating quality of being much nicer in person than
he is in print. - Clive Anderson, RT 1996/10/12-18

Penny <spam@labyrinth.freeuk.com> wrote:
> On Mon, 24 Jul 2023 03:19:49 -0700 (PDT), Nick Odell
> <nickodell@bigfoot.com> scrawled in the dust...
>
>> ...Is today's wrapping paper for my latest eBay delivery. (Twenty-six
>> blackbird pie funnels, since you asked.)
>
> Oi!
> Why have you bought 26 blackbird pie funnels, isn't two dozen the usual
> amount?

Ah! I think I can answer that one! Twenty are sold in a pack and an extra
four were required, but the smallest multipack is six, hence 26. Simple
really, HAND.

--
Toodle Pip, Mike McMillan

On 25/07/2023 08:23, Mike McMillan wrote:
> Penny <spam@labyrinth.freeuk.com> wrote:
>> On Mon, 24 Jul 2023 03:19:49 -0700 (PDT), Nick Odell
>> <nickodell@bigfoot.com> scrawled in the dust...
>>
>>> ...Is today's wrapping paper for my latest eBay delivery. (Twenty-six
>>> blackbird pie funnels, since you asked.)
>>
>> Oi!
>> Why have you bought 26 blackbird pie funnels, isn't two dozen the usual
>> amount?
>
> Ah! I think I can answer that one! Twenty are sold in a pack and an extra
> four were required, but the smallest multipack is six, hence 26. Simple
> really, HAND.
>

You forgot to add that it's cheaper that way than four six-packs.

john

In message <u9nvu9$12i0s$1@dont-email.me> at Tue, 25 Jul 2023 09:08:41,
john ashby <johnashby20@yahoo.com> writes
>On 25/07/2023 08:23, Mike McMillan wrote:
>> Penny <spam@labyrinth.freeuk.com> wrote:
>>> On Mon, 24 Jul 2023 03:19:49 -0700 (PDT), Nick Odell
>>> <nickodell@bigfoot.com> scrawled in the dust...
>>>
>>>> ...Is today's wrapping paper for my latest eBay delivery. (Twenty-six
>>>> blackbird pie funnels, since you asked.)
>>>
>>> Oi!
>>> Why have you bought 26 blackbird pie funnels, isn't two dozen the usual
>>> amount?
>> Ah! I think I can answer that one! Twenty are sold in a pack and an
>>extra
>> four were required, but the smallest multipack is six, hence 26. Simple
>> really, HAND.
>>
>
>You forgot to add that it's cheaper that way than four six-packs.
>
>john

OK, I'll give in and ask:

What IS a blackbird pie funnel? Clearly severalrats know - but I've
never heard of them! (And can't think what they might be!)
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

....Every morning is the dawn of a new error...

On 25/07/2023 09:50, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
> OK, I'll give in and ask:
>
> What IS a blackbird pie funnel? Clearly severalrats know - but I've
> never heard of them! (And can't think what they might be!)

It's a funnel that you put in a fruit pie with the top (beak) poking out
through the pastry and it prevents a build up of steam from the fruit
making the pastry top go soggy. Doubtless you will know relevant
nursery rhyme, thus why the funnel is in the shape of a blackbird
(rather unnaturally positioned with it's beak pointing skywards!)

--
Jenny M Benson
Wrexham, UK

On Tuesday, July 25, 2023 at 9:08:43 AM UTC+1, john ashby wrote:
> On 25/07/2023 08:23, Mike McMillan wrote:
> > Penny <sp...@labyrinth.freeuk.com> wrote:
> >> On Mon, 24 Jul 2023 03:19:49 -0700 (PDT), Nick Odell
> >> <nick...@bigfoot.com> scrawled in the dust...
> >>
> >>> ...Is today's wrapping paper for my latest eBay delivery. (Twenty-six
> >>> blackbird pie funnels, since you asked.)
> >>
> >> Oi!
> >> Why have you bought 26 blackbird pie funnels, isn't two dozen the usual
> >> amount?
> >
> > Ah! I think I can answer that one! Twenty are sold in a pack and an extra
> > four were required, but the smallest multipack is six, hence 26. Simple
> > really, HAND.
> >
> You forgot to add that it's cheaper that way than four six-packs.
>
...... unless it was a Tesco Clubcard Price offer, in which case all bets are off
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65854124

Nick
nickodell49@yahoo.ca

On Tuesday, July 25, 2023 at 3:50:51 AM UTC+1, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
> In message <0gutbi9j2gcbm86v3...@4ax.com> at Mon, 24 Jul
> 2023 23:27:19, Penny <sp...@labyrinth.freeuk.com> writes
> >On Mon, 24 Jul 2023 03:19:49 -0700 (PDT), Nick Odell
> ><nick...@bigfoot.com> scrawled in the dust...
> >
> >>...Is today's wrapping paper for my latest eBay delivery. (Twenty-six
> >>blackbird pie funnels, since you asked.)
> >
> >Oi!
> >Why have you bought 26 blackbird pie funnels, isn't two dozen the usual
> >amount?
> Maybe baker's dozens are involved?
<Groan>

N.

On Monday, July 24, 2023 at 11:27:30 PM UTC+1, Penny wrote:
> On Mon, 24 Jul 2023 03:19:49 -0700 (PDT), Nick Odell
> <nick...@bigfoot.com> scrawled in the dust...
> >...Is today's wrapping paper for my latest eBay delivery. (Twenty-six blackbird pie funnels, since you asked.)
> Oi!
> Why have you bought 26 blackbird pie funnels, isn't two dozen the usual
> amount?

The short answer is that up until then I only had had nineteen and eight of those had flown south for the winter and never returned.

The slightly longer answer is that I want to be remembered as the grandfather who baked four and twenty blackbirds into a pie and that sometimes, when you are collecting blackbirds, stocks can go down as well as up.

And (if you are still here) the more detailed answer has to do with the vagaries of eBay.

When I started out I wanted twenty-four but I set myself a budget of paying no more than £3.00 per bird, including postage. (Several years later, that further twenty-six came in at £1.86 each. Result!)

After studying the eBay listings for a bit I worked out that most people only wanted one bird. Okay, okay, the vast majority of people didn't want any birds at all but of those that did want a bird nearly all of them only wanted one. There were hardly ever any bids put on blackbird job-lots so I used to pick the job-lots with enticingly-low starting prices and bid on those.. It just so happened that the most recent job-lot with an enticingly low starting price was not for three or four - or even the amazing fourteen I bid on and won a couple of years ago - but for twenty-six.

So, I've got more blackbirds than I originally had wanted? So what? Next time a grandchild comes over for tea it's going to be offered blackbird pie!

Nick
nickodell49@yahoo.ca

In message <ki9ij1Fd9khU1@mid.individual.net> at Tue, 25 Jul 2023
10:22:40, Jenny M Benson <NemoNews@hotmail.co.uk> writes
>On 25/07/2023 09:50, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
>> OK, I'll give in and ask:
>> What IS a blackbird pie funnel? Clearly severalrats know - but I've
>>never heard of them! (And can't think what they might be!)
>
>It's a funnel that you put in a fruit pie with the top (beak) poking
>out through the pastry and it prevents a build up of steam from the
>fruit making the pastry top go soggy. Doubtless you will know relevant
>nursery rhyme, thus why the funnel is in the shape of a blackbird
>(rather unnaturally positioned with it's beak pointing skywards!)
>
Ah. I did think it might be that sort of prop - and I had vague memories
of seeing them in the shape of a bird; I just couldn't fathom why anyone
might want so many of them. But I suppose if you make a lot of pies, and
maybe they have a limited lifetime.
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Sometimes I believe we made up god just to have someone to blame for our
mistakes - "Sarah Sidle" (Jorja Fox), CSI

In message <8554e5ba-8ae5-4a97-992c-5054948145e0n@googlegroups.com> at
Tue, 25 Jul 2023 04:19:58, Nick Odell <nickodell@bigfoot.com> writes
>On Tuesday, July 25, 2023 at 9:08:430 []
>> You forgot to add that it's cheaper that way than four six-packs.
>>
>..... unless it was a Tesco Clubcard Price offer, in which case all
>bets are off
>https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65854124
>
>Nick
>nickodell49@yahoo.ca

For what it's worth: the competition and markets authority (I think
that's the right title) is looking into, and hopefully will clamp down
on, the display of pricing of multipacks; one recent missive of theirs
specifically mentioned clubcard prices, too. (I. e. they will insist on
per-unit pricing being displayed on twofers, 3for2, clubcard, and so on.
And, hopefully, all the same unit, too [not e. g. some per 100g and some
per kg].)
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Sometimes I believe we made up god just to have someone to blame for our
mistakes - "Sarah Sidle" (Jorja Fox), CSI

On 25/07/2023 12:49, Nick Odell wrote:

> So, I've got more blackbirds than I originally had wanted? So what? Next time a grandchild comes over for tea it's going to be offered blackbird pie!

When we first moved to Ceriana we were looking for good circular walks
and found one on a map to a place called Pampara. So off we set along
the track by the river and passed an orto with a house and a chap
working on his veggie garden. We said hello and asked him about the
track to Pamapara. "It's blocked" he said, but we carried on anyway and
discovered he was correct.

On the way back we saw him again and conceded he was right with a grin,
so he invited us in for a drink which we did and got to know him, Tino,
his wife and a friend Toto who had an orto next door. Lovely people all 3.

We eventually found a way to scramble up the hillside to find the return
high path back to Ceriana so it became a favourite walk and this was
also the start of the original road from the village to the coast which
we also walked a few times, so we passed Tino's place a couple of times
a year at least and were always invited in.

One Sunday morning there was a delicious smell coming from a large
cast-iron pan on an outside fire, so I complimented them on what smelled
like a wonderful meal cooking. He beckoned me over an lifted the lid. I
was expecting rabbit. No he said, "Tordi". I didn't count them but there
were a lot. Oh dear, no wonder blackbirds and thrushes are so rare in Italy.

john ashby <johnashby20@yahoo.com> wrote:
> On 25/07/2023 08:23, Mike McMillan wrote:
>> Penny <spam@labyrinth.freeuk.com> wrote:
>>> On Mon, 24 Jul 2023 03:19:49 -0700 (PDT), Nick Odell
>>> <nickodell@bigfoot.com> scrawled in the dust...
>>>
>>>> ...Is today's wrapping paper for my latest eBay delivery. (Twenty-six
>>>> blackbird pie funnels, since you asked.)
>>>
>>> Oi!
>>> Why have you bought 26 blackbird pie funnels, isn't two dozen the usual
>>> amount?
>>
>> Ah! I think I can answer that one! Twenty are sold in a pack and an extra
>> four were required, but the smallest multipack is six, hence 26. Simple
>> really, HAND.
>>
>
> You forgot to add that it's cheaper that way than four six-packs.
>
> john
>

I didn’t wish to insult the collective intellect of UMRA of course…. ;-)))

--
Toodle Pip, Mike McMillan

J. P. Gilliver <G6JPG@255soft.uk> wrote:
> In message <u9nvu9$12i0s$1@dont-email.me> at Tue, 25 Jul 2023 09:08:41,
> john ashby <johnashby20@yahoo.com> writes
>> On 25/07/2023 08:23, Mike McMillan wrote:
>>> Penny <spam@labyrinth.freeuk.com> wrote:
>>>> On Mon, 24 Jul 2023 03:19:49 -0700 (PDT), Nick Odell
>>>> <nickodell@bigfoot.com> scrawled in the dust...
>>>>
>>>>> ...Is today's wrapping paper for my latest eBay delivery. (Twenty-six
>>>>> blackbird pie funnels, since you asked.)
>>>>
>>>> Oi!
>>>> Why have you bought 26 blackbird pie funnels, isn't two dozen the usual
>>>> amount?
>>> Ah! I think I can answer that one! Twenty are sold in a pack and an
>>> extra
>>> four were required, but the smallest multipack is six, hence 26. Simple
>>> really, HAND.
>>>
>>
>> You forgot to add that it's cheaper that way than four six-packs.
>>
>> john
>
> OK, I'll give in and ask:
>
> What IS a blackbird pie funnel? Clearly severalrats know - but I've
> never heard of them! (And can't think what they might be!)

Sir!, Sir!, Sir! I know that one, it is a porcelain or ceramic blackbird
shaped pie funnel and the bb has its’ beak wide open thus allowing the
pressure that might build up when the pie is cooking to escape. We have one
somewhere…. I think.

--
Toodle Pip, Mike McMillan

In message <ki9tksFf2f6U2@mid.individual.net> at Tue, 25 Jul 2023
13:31:24, BrritSki <rtilburyTAKEOUT@gmail.com> writes
[]
>the track by the river and passed an orto with a house and a chap

What's an orto?
[]
>his wife and a friend Toto who had an orto next door. Lovely people all

Who had probably never been to Kansas (-:
[]
>smelled like a wonderful meal cooking. He beckoned me over an lifted
>the lid. I was expecting rabbit. No he said, "Tordi". I didn't count
>them but there were a lot. Oh dear, no wonder blackbirds and thrushes
>are so rare in Italy.
>
Smelled wonderful, though - were you offered some, and if so can you
comment?
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

"There are a great many people in the country today who, through no fault of
their own, are sane." - Monty Python's Flying Circus

On Tue, 25 Jul 2023 04:49:15 -0700 (PDT), Nick Odell
<nickodell@bigfoot.com> scrawled in the dust...

>On Monday, July 24, 2023 at 11:27:30?PM UTC+1, Penny wrote:
>> On Mon, 24 Jul 2023 03:19:49 -0700 (PDT), Nick Odell
>> <nick...@bigfoot.com> scrawled in the dust...
>> >...Is today's wrapping paper for my latest eBay delivery. (Twenty-six blackbird pie funnels, since you asked.)
>> Oi!
>> Why have you bought 26 blackbird pie funnels, isn't two dozen the usual
>> amount?
>
>The short answer is that up until then I only had had nineteen and eight of those had flown south for the winter and never returned.
>
>The slightly longer answer is that I want to be remembered as the grandfather who baked four and twenty blackbirds into a pie and that sometimes, when you are collecting blackbirds, stocks can go down as well as up.
>
>And (if you are still here) the more detailed answer has to do with the vagaries of eBay.
>
>When I started out I wanted twenty-four but I set myself a budget of paying no more than £3.00 per bird, including postage. (Several years later, that further twenty-six came in at £1.86 each. Result!)
>
>After studying the eBay listings for a bit I worked out that most people only wanted one bird. Okay, okay, the vast majority of people didn't want any birds at all but of those that did want a bird nearly all of them only wanted one. There were hardly ever any bids put on blackbird job-lots so I used to pick the job-lots with enticingly-low starting prices and bid on those. It just so happened that the most recent job-lot with an enticingly low starting price was not for three or four - or even the amazing fourteen I bid on and won a couple of years ago - but for twenty-six.
>
>So, I've got more blackbirds than I originally had wanted? So what? Next time a grandchild comes over for tea it's going to be offered blackbird pie!
>
>Nick
>nickodell49@yahoo.ca

Great Grandfather move!
(Possibly Great-Grandfather move, one day :))

I've more or less given up cooking/baking for my family (unless they only
arrive one at a time). I have plenty of equipment, including at least two
pie funnels, but I can't keep up with all the allergies/intolerances/things
they do or don't eat. I thought I was on a winner when Bro#2 brought is
wife with him from Oz. Turns out the reason she only fed us on bangers,
chicken, or minced beef when we visited them in 1979, was not, as I
thought, because their children were picky eaters - that's all she will
eat. Never mind - Bro will eat anything you put in front of him, especially
if it is a dish our mother used to make.
--
Penny
Annoyed by The Archers since 1959

On Tue, 25 Jul 2023 13:31:24 +0100, BrritSki <rtilburyTAKEOUT@gmail.com>
scrawled in the dust...

>One Sunday morning there was a delicious smell coming from a large
>cast-iron pan on an outside fire, so I complimented them on what smelled
>like a wonderful meal cooking. He beckoned me over an lifted the lid. I
>was expecting rabbit. No he said, "Tordi". I didn't count them but there
>were a lot. Oh dear, no wonder blackbirds and thrushes are so rare in Italy.

I believe it is now illegal to shoot birds in Malta* - whether the locals
pay any attention to that, I don't know. On our three visits the only birds
we saw were canaries for sale in cages. We did hear people shooting
(presumably birds) around the coast. It's odd to be on a small island and
not even hear a gull.

*In the hope of slowing the loss of migratory birds which has been noticed
in UK and elsewhere.
--
Penny
Annoyed by The Archers since 1959

On Tue, 25 Jul 2023 10:22:40 +0100, Jenny M Benson <NemoNews@hotmail.co.uk>
scrawled in the dust...

>On 25/07/2023 09:50, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
>> OK, I'll give in and ask:
>>
>> What IS a blackbird pie funnel? Clearly severalrats know - but I've
>> never heard of them! (And can't think what they might be!)
>
>It's a funnel that you put in a fruit pie with the top (beak) poking out
>through the pastry and it prevents a build up of steam from the fruit
>making the pastry top go soggy. Doubtless you will know relevant
>nursery rhyme, thus why the funnel is in the shape of a blackbird
>(rather unnaturally positioned with it's beak pointing skywards!)

My mother reserved the blackbird for steak pie, she used a very plain,
boring funnel for fruit. She would decorate the pastry (usually rough-puff)
with suitable shapes from the off-cuts on both.
--
Penny
Annoyed by The Archers since 1959

Nick Odell wrote:

>..... unless it was a Tesco Clubcard Price offer, in which case all bets are off
>https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65854124

Or Sainsbury's Baked Beans 400:g

4-pack £1.65 (£1.03/ kg)
6-pack £2.60 (£1.08/ kg)

I once challenged Sainsbury's, before they cut back on multibuy
offers, where similar issues could arise.

"Is this just some strange marketing ploy taking advantage of the
fact that not everybody has the time or inclination to do the
maths? "

After a few unsatisfactory emails, their final response was:

"Some of our customers prefer to purchase smaller pack items
whereas other customers prefer multibuys. By having various
offers available this allows our customers to make an informed
choice when shopping."

I contend that those lacking time, inclination or ability to do
the maths will certainly not be able to make an informed choice.

Chris
--
Chris J Dixon Nottingham
'48/33 M B+ G++ A L(-) I S-- CH0(--)(p) Ar- T+ H0 ?Q
chris@cdixon.me.uk @ChrisJDixon1
Plant amazing Acers.

On 25-Jul-23 13:16, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
> In message <ki9ij1Fd9khU1@mid.individual.net> at Tue, 25 Jul 2023
> 10:22:40, Jenny M Benson <NemoNews@hotmail.co.uk> writes
>> On 25/07/2023 09:50, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
>>> OK, I'll give in and ask:
>>>  What IS a blackbird pie funnel? Clearly severalrats know - but I've
>>> never heard of them! (And can't think what they might be!)
>>
>> It's a funnel that you put in a fruit pie with the top (beak) poking
>> out through the pastry and it prevents a build up of steam from the
>> fruit making the pastry top go soggy.  Doubtless you will know
>> relevant nursery rhyme, thus why the funnel is in the shape of a
>> blackbird (rather unnaturally positioned with it's beak pointing
>> skywards!)
>>
> Ah. I did think it might be that sort of prop - and I had vague memories
> of seeing them in the shape of a bird; I just couldn't fathom why anyone
> might want so many of them. But I suppose if you make a lot of pies, and
> maybe they have a limited lifetime.

A real blackbird, used in this way, would definitely have a limited
lifespan. That's why the pottery versions are employed.

--
Sam Plusnet

On Tue, 25 Jul 2023 20:54:15 +0100, Chris J Dixon <chris@cdixon.me.uk>
wrote:

>Nick Odell wrote:
>
>
>>..... unless it was a Tesco Clubcard Price offer, in which case all bets are off
>>https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65854124
>
>Or Sainsbury's Baked Beans 400:g
>
>4-pack £1.65 (£1.03/ kg)
>6-pack £2.60 (£1.08/ kg)
>
>I once challenged Sainsbury's, before they cut back on multibuy
>offers, where similar issues could arise.
>
>"Is this just some strange marketing ploy taking advantage of the
>fact that not everybody has the time or inclination to do the
>maths? "
>
>After a few unsatisfactory emails, their final response was:
>
>"Some of our customers prefer to purchase smaller pack items
>whereas other customers prefer multibuys. By having various
>offers available this allows our customers to make an informed
>choice when shopping."
>
>I contend that those lacking time, inclination or ability to do
>the maths will certainly not be able to make an informed choice.
>
>Chris

All supermarkets do this and I have to spend time working out the best
buy. Packs of toilet rolls for instance, come in 9s, 16s, 18s and the
prices are confusing and some are only cheaper if you have a Tesco
Club card. In Tescos that is. No help from that card in Asda.

Vicky <vicky.ayech@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Tue, 25 Jul 2023 20:54:15 +0100, Chris J Dixon <chris@cdixon.me.uk>
> wrote:
>
>> Nick Odell wrote:
>>
>>
>>> ..... unless it was a Tesco Clubcard Price offer, in which case all bets are off
>>> https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65854124
>>
>> Or Sainsbury's Baked Beans 400:g
>>
>> 4-pack £1.65 (£1.03/ kg)
>> 6-pack £2.60 (£1.08/ kg)
>>
>> I once challenged Sainsbury's, before they cut back on multibuy
>> offers, where similar issues could arise.
>>
>> "Is this just some strange marketing ploy taking advantage of the
>> fact that not everybody has the time or inclination to do the
>> maths? "
>>
>> After a few unsatisfactory emails, their final response was:
>>
>> "Some of our customers prefer to purchase smaller pack items
>> whereas other customers prefer multibuys. By having various
>> offers available this allows our customers to make an informed
>> choice when shopping."
>>
>> I contend that those lacking time, inclination or ability to do
>> the maths will certainly not be able to make an informed choice.
>>
>> Chris
>
> All supermarkets do this and I have to spend time working out the best
> buy. Packs of toilet rolls for instance, come in 9s, 16s, 18s and the
> prices are confusing and some are only cheaper if you have a Tesco
> Club card. In Tescos that is. No help from that card in Asda.
>

Don’t you find that the club card is rather hard and possibly a little on
the small size for that job?

--
Toodle Pip, Mike McMillan

Nick Odell <nickodell@bigfoot.com> wrote:
> On Monday, July 24, 2023 at 11:27:30 PM UTC+1, Penny wrote:
>> On Mon, 24 Jul 2023 03:19:49 -0700 (PDT), Nick Odell
>> <nick...@bigfoot.com> scrawled in the dust...
>>> ...Is today's wrapping paper for my latest eBay delivery. (Twenty-six
>>> blackbird pie funnels, since you asked.)
>> Oi!
>> Why have you bought 26 blackbird pie funnels, isn't two dozen the usual
>> amount?
>
> The short answer is that up until then I only had had nineteen and eight
> of those had flown south for the winter and never returned.
>
> The slightly longer answer is that I want to be remembered as the
> grandfather who baked four and twenty blackbirds into a pie and that
> sometimes, when you are collecting blackbirds, stocks can go down as well as up.
>
> And (if you are still here) the more detailed answer has to do with the vagaries of eBay.
>
> When I started out I wanted twenty-four but I set myself a budget of
> paying no more than £3.00 per bird, including postage. (Several years
> later, that further twenty-six came in at £1.86 each. Result!)
>
> After studying the eBay listings for a bit I worked out that most people
> only wanted one bird. Okay, okay, the vast majority of people didn't want
> any birds at all but of those that did want a bird nearly all of them
> only wanted one. There were hardly ever any bids put on blackbird
> job-lots so I used to pick the job-lots with enticingly-low starting
> prices and bid on those. It just so happened that the most recent job-lot
> with an enticingly low starting price was not for three or four - or even
> the amazing fourteen I bid on and won a couple of years ago - but for twenty-six.
>
> So, I've got more blackbirds than I originally had wanted? So what? Next
> time a grandchild comes over for tea it's going to be offered blackbird pie!
>
> Nick
> nickodell49@yahoo.ca
>

Typical nutty umratic idea!

Mrs McT

Mike McMillan <toodle.pip1@virginmedia.com> wrote:
> J. P. Gilliver <G6JPG@255soft.uk> wrote:
>> In message <u9nvu9$12i0s$1@dont-email.me> at Tue, 25 Jul 2023 09:08:41,
>> john ashby <johnashby20@yahoo.com> writes
>>> On 25/07/2023 08:23, Mike McMillan wrote:
>>>> Penny <spam@labyrinth.freeuk.com> wrote:
>>>>> On Mon, 24 Jul 2023 03:19:49 -0700 (PDT), Nick Odell
>>>>> <nickodell@bigfoot.com> scrawled in the dust...
>>>>>
>>>>>> ...Is today's wrapping paper for my latest eBay delivery. (Twenty-six
>>>>>> blackbird pie funnels, since you asked.)
>>>>>
>>>>> Oi!
>>>>> Why have you bought 26 blackbird pie funnels, isn't two dozen the usual
>>>>> amount?
>>>> Ah! I think I can answer that one! Twenty are sold in a pack and an
>>>> extra
>>>> four were required, but the smallest multipack is six, hence 26. Simple
>>>> really, HAND.
>>>>
>>>
>>> You forgot to add that it's cheaper that way than four six-packs.
>>>
>>> john
>>
>> OK, I'll give in and ask:
>>
>> What IS a blackbird pie funnel? Clearly severalrats know - but I've
>> never heard of them! (And can't think what they might be!)
>
> Sir!, Sir!, Sir! I know that one, it is a porcelain or ceramic blackbird
> shaped pie funnel and the bb has its’ beak wide open thus allowing the
> pressure that might build up when the pie is cooking to escape. We have one
> somewhere…. I think.
>

We do, I’m sure we haven’t got rid of it

Mrs McT