There is a thread running on uk.rec.gardening with the subject line
"Glut of Plums." I can't help thinking that "Glut of Plums" is an
obscure little place in the north of Scotland.

--
Jenny M Benson
Wrexham, UK

On 22/08/2023 11:48, Jenny M Benson wrote:
> There is a thread running on uk.rec.gardening with the subject line
> "Glut of Plums."  I can't help thinking that "Glut of Plums" is an
> obscure little place in the north of Scotland.
>

:) and doubtless has a Laird Of That Ilk...

Meanwhile in the Central Belt, I have about ten plums on my tree and
they stubbornly refuse to get soft. It was sold to me last year as a
damson tree but the fruits look awfully like plums, and one that did get
ripe tasted very plummy too. I don't really mind, as it's the jam I want
to make. One of these years...

--
Kate B

On Tuesday, August 22, 2023 at 12:59:17 PM UTC+1, Kate B wrote:
> On 22/08/2023 11:48, Jenny M Benson wrote:
> > There is a thread running on uk.rec.gardening with the subject line
> > "Glut of Plums." I can't help thinking that "Glut of Plums" is an
> > obscure little place in the north of Scotland.
> >
> :) and doubtless has a Laird Of That Ilk...
>
> Meanwhile in the Central Belt, I have about ten plums on my tree and
> they stubbornly refuse to get soft. It was sold to me last year as a
> damson tree but the fruits look awfully like plums, and one that did get
> ripe tasted very plummy too. I don't really mind, as it's the jam I want
> to make. One of these years...

Further South, in the North (IYSWIM[1]) I don't grow my own plums but pick them from a (Victoria?) plum tree growing wild in the hedgerow of a footpath I use. Year after year there is always an abundant crop and they were ready to pick some time ago but I had to leave them until this weekendpast because of the incessant rain. Is it an old wives tale that fruit picked in the wet will grow mouldy? Anyway, I've never picked fruit in the rain because of the risk of mould or old wives so I had to wait until these plums were past their best.

I triaged my haul. The squidgy ones were for quickly making into jam before they went beyond squidgy, the reasonable ones for bottling whole with cinnamon sticks and the really nice ones for the fruit bowl. The only trouble was that the reasonable ones kept going squidgy before my eyes so the jammers pile kept growing.

Just a tip for any who don't already know: if you are scrupulously hygenic, you can bottle fruit without any preservative (ie sugar) and it will still keep for years. I do this when I have far too much fruit to use up quickly and I can't tell whether in a year or two I'll want jam or pie filling or sauce or whatever. When I eventually open the jar and use it I add the right amount of sugar for the recipe I want to work on.

Nick
nickodell49@yahoo.ca
[1]When you leave London and finally reach what the direction signs call 'The North' you have only travelled about one third of the way up this island..

On 22/08/2023 11:48, Jenny M Benson wrote:
> There is a thread running on uk.rec.gardening with the subject line
> "Glut of Plums."  I can't help thinking that "Glut of Plums" is an
> obscure little place in the north of Scotland.
>
Not that I'm aware of, but it's an interesting thought. In any case,
plums are usually referred to as "plooms" in Scotland, especially when
they're "soor". See "Soor Plooms" for more information. See also Hawick
Balls, Berwick Cockles, Jethart Snails, Edinburgh Rock, and (used
traditionally on Sundays, in the kirk) Pan Drops.

There's a Butt of Lewis, a Rhins of Galloway, and (much closer to me) a
Carse of Gowrie.

On 22.8.23 21:50, Nick Odell wrote:
> I don't grow my own plums but pick them from a (Victoria?) plum tree growing wild in the hedgerow of a footpath I use.

When we lived on a farm I was given a plum tree as a present. Sadly
after a couple of years we had to move and the small tree could not be
moved. I have a feeling all of that part of the farm has since been
bulldozed so it is lost forever.

--
Kosmo Richard W
www.travelswmw.whitnet.uk
https://tinyurl.com/KRWpics

On 23.8.23 08:16, John Armstrong wrote:
> On 22/08/2023 11:48, Jenny M Benson wrote:
>> There is a thread running on uk.rec.gardening with the subject line
>> "Glut of Plums."  I can't help thinking that "Glut of Plums" is an
>> obscure little place in the north of Scotland.
>>
> Not that I'm aware of, but it's an interesting thought. In any case,
> plums are usually referred to as "plooms" in Scotland, especially when
> they're "soor". See "Soor Plooms" for more information. See also Hawick
> Balls, Berwick Cockles, Jethart Snails, Edinburgh Rock, and (used
> traditionally on Sundays, in the kirk) Pan Drops.
>
> There's a Butt of Lewis, a Rhins of Galloway, and (much closer to me) a
> Carse of Gowrie.

Wikipedia claims the latter may have had vineyards in past times. Would
that be the last time there was global warming?

--
Kosmo Richard W
www.travelswmw.whitnet.uk
https://tinyurl.com/KRWpics

On Wed, 23 Aug 2023 09:32:16 +0100, krw <krw@whitnet.uk> wrote:

>On 22.8.23 21:50, Nick Odell wrote:
>> I don't grow my own plums but pick them from a (Victoria?) plum tree growing wild in the hedgerow of a footpath I use.
>
>When we lived on a farm I was given a plum tree as a present. Sadly
>after a couple of years we had to move and the small tree could not be
>moved. I have a feeling all of that part of the farm has since been
>bulldozed so it is lost forever.

We've got a plum tree in a pot in the garden and it had quite a good
supply this year.They're yellow ones. Cherries on my walk were later
and sour but blackberries early and good.

On 23/08/2023 09:32, krw wrote:
> On 22.8.23 21:50, Nick Odell wrote:
>> I don't grow my own plums but pick them from a (Victoria?) plum tree
>> growing wild in the hedgerow of a footpath I use.
>
> When we lived on a farm I was given a plum tree as a present.  Sadly
> after a couple of years we had to move and the small tree could not be
> moved.  I have a feeling all of that part of the farm has since been
> bulldozed so it is lost forever.
>

In 1998 we moved to a house with a greengage tree. It wasn't the only
reason to buy the house, but it was certainly in the mix.two years later
the marriage broke down and I lost access to the tree. My new partner
was a fellow allotment holder and we amalgamated our land so we had one
full (hers) and two half plots (mine). After a few years we planted two
greengage trees, one on each of the two half plots. Then we realised we
needed to downscale and one of the half plots had to go, so I lost that
tree. My partner insisted we still had visiting rights to that tree but
they disappeared when the new owner was immunocompromised over the
pandemic and a too zealous working party cut down the tree.

One left, and then my partner and I parted company in a way which meant
she was not welcome on the allotment. I had to decide which bits of land
to hang on to and because the full plot had a polytunnel, a greenhouse
and several other fruit trees the half with the remaining greengage had
to be relinquished.

My new new partner has a mulberry tree in her garden (as well as access
to two in college). I wonder how long I'll have mulberries.

john

On 23.8.23 13:13, John Ashby wrote:
> On 23/08/2023 09:32, krw wrote:
>> On 22.8.23 21:50, Nick Odell wrote:
>>> I don't grow my own plums but pick them from a (Victoria?) plum tree
>>> growing wild in the hedgerow of a footpath I use.
>>
>> When we lived on a farm I was given a plum tree as a present.  Sadly
>> after a couple of years we had to move and the small tree could not be
>> moved.  I have a feeling all of that part of the farm has since been
>> bulldozed so it is lost forever.
>>
>
> In 1998 we moved to a house with a greengage tree. It wasn't the only
> reason to buy the house, but it was certainly in the mix.two years later
> the marriage broke down and I lost access to the tree. My new partner
> was a fellow allotment holder and we amalgamated our land so we had one
> full (hers) and two half plots (mine). After a few years we planted two
> greengage trees, one on each of the two half plots. Then we realised we
> needed to downscale and one of the half plots had to go, so I lost that
> tree. My partner insisted we still had visiting rights to that tree but
> they disappeared when the new owner was immunocompromised over the
> pandemic and a too zealous working party cut down the tree.
>
> One left, and then my partner and I parted company in a way which meant
> she was not welcome on the allotment. I had to decide which bits of land
> to hang on to and because the full plot had a polytunnel, a greenhouse
> and several other fruit trees the half with the remaining greengage had
> to be relinquished.
>
> My new new partner has a mulberry tree in her garden (as well as access
> to two in college). I wonder how long I'll have mulberries.
>
> john

Congratulations on all the partners. Commiserations on all the
ex=partners. Obviously allotment holders have a wild time compared with
me (no allotment).

--
Kosmo Richard W
www.travelswmw.whitnet.uk
https://tinyurl.com/KRWpics
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On 23.8.23 13:13, John Ashby wrote:
> On 23/08/2023 09:32, krw wrote:
>> On 22.8.23 21:50, Nick Odell wrote:
>>> I don't grow my own plums but pick them from a (Victoria?) plum tree
>>> growing wild in the hedgerow of a footpath I use.
>>
>> When we lived on a farm I was given a plum tree as a present.  Sadly
>> after a couple of years we had to move and the small tree could not be
>> moved.  I have a feeling all of that part of the farm has since been
>> bulldozed so it is lost forever.
>>
>
> In 1998 we moved to a house with a greengage tree. It wasn't the only
> reason to buy the house, but it was certainly in the mix.two years later
> the marriage broke down and I lost access to the tree. My new partner
> was a fellow allotment holder and we amalgamated our land so we had one
> full (hers) and two half plots (mine). After a few years we planted two
> greengage trees, one on each of the two half plots. Then we realised we
> needed to downscale and one of the half plots had to go, so I lost that
> tree. My partner insisted we still had visiting rights to that tree but
> they disappeared when the new owner was immunocompromised over the
> pandemic and a too zealous working party cut down the tree.
>
> One left, and then my partner and I parted company in a way which meant
> she was not welcome on the allotment. I had to decide which bits of land
> to hang on to and because the full plot had a polytunnel, a greenhouse
> and several other fruit trees the half with the remaining greengage had
> to be relinquished.
>
> My new new partner has a mulberry tree in her garden (as well as access
> to two in college). I wonder how long I'll have mulberries.
>
> john

Congratulations on all the partners. Commiserations on all the
ex=partners. Obviously allotment holders have a wild time compared with
me (no allotment).

--
Kosmo Richard W
www.travelswmw.whitnet.uk
https://tinyurl.com/KRWpics
. Path: i2pn2.org!i2pn.org!eternal-september.org!news.eternal-september.org!border-1.nntp.ord.giganews.com!nntp.giganews.com!Xl.tags.giganews.com!local-2.nntp.ord.giganews.com!nntp.brightview.co.uk!news.brightview.co.uk.POSTED!not-for-mail
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On 23.8.23 13:13, John Ashby wrote:
> On 23/08/2023 09:32, krw wrote:
>> On 22.8.23 21:50, Nick Odell wrote:
>>> I don't grow my own plums but pick them from a (Victoria?) plum tree
>>> growing wild in the hedgerow of a footpath I use.
>>
>> When we lived on a farm I was given a plum tree as a present.  Sadly
>> after a couple of years we had to move and the small tree could not be
>> moved.  I have a feeling all of that part of the farm has since been
>> bulldozed so it is lost forever.
>>
>
> In 1998 we moved to a house with a greengage tree. It wasn't the only
> reason to buy the house, but it was certainly in the mix.two years later
> the marriage broke down and I lost access to the tree. My new partner
> was a fellow allotment holder and we amalgamated our land so we had one
> full (hers) and two half plots (mine). After a few years we planted two
> greengage trees, one on each of the two half plots. Then we realised we
> needed to downscale and one of the half plots had to go, so I lost that
> tree. My partner insisted we still had visiting rights to that tree but
> they disappeared when the new owner was immunocompromised over the
> pandemic and a too zealous working party cut down the tree.
>
> One left, and then my partner and I parted company in a way which meant
> she was not welcome on the allotment. I had to decide which bits of land
> to hang on to and because the full plot had a polytunnel, a greenhouse
> and several other fruit trees the half with the remaining greengage had
> to be relinquished.
>
> My new new partner has a mulberry tree in her garden (as well as access
> to two in college). I wonder how long I'll have mulberries.
>
> john

Congratulations on all the partners. Commiserations on all the
ex=partners. Obviously allotment holders have a wild time compared with
me (no allotment).

On Wed, 23 Aug 2023 13:13:53 +0100, John Ashby <johnashby20@yahoo.com>
scrawled in the dust...

>On 23/08/2023 09:32, krw wrote:
>> On 22.8.23 21:50, Nick Odell wrote:
>>> I don't grow my own plums but pick them from a (Victoria?) plum tree
>>> growing wild in the hedgerow of a footpath I use.
>>
>> When we lived on a farm I was given a plum tree as a present.  Sadly
>> after a couple of years we had to move and the small tree could not be
>> moved.  I have a feeling all of that part of the farm has since been
>> bulldozed so it is lost forever.

There was an elderly plum tree in the garden here when I bought the place.
We were doing a lot in the house for the first 12 months or so and I didn't
really notice it until the day half of it broke away from the trunk and
spread ripe plums all over the place - must have been a summer storm, and
those droopers really weigh down the branches. I'm not sure what variety it
is, good sized purple fruit ripening in July, I love them raw (and peeled)
but so do the birds, wasps, wood lice, snails... so I usually pick all
those I can easily reach before they are ripe, keep them in the fridge and
take out a few every day to ripen. This year I made 6 jars of jam too, as
the black currant crop had been disappointing. The rest of the garden is
littered with baby trees from the root stock, which is a bit of a nuisance.
I keep most under control but one has grown - I had thought of grafting
onto it to effectively 'move' the old tree, which blocks the path to the
back gate with its drooping branches, but it hasn't happened. The small
round, green fruit of the wild tree don't have much flavour, I should
really cut it down completely.

>In 1998 we moved to a house with a greengage tree. It wasn't the only
>reason to buy the house, but it was certainly in the mix.

My family moved to a big house, close to a village in rural Essex in 1965.
The garden included a green gage orchard and a walnut tree. Villagers spoke
of being allowed to pick the gages by the previous owner (an American woman
who was only in residence intermittently). In the following years I don't
believe they produced any fruit at all and my father slowly took them out
to make room for raspberries and maize, which both did well. The walnut did
produce nuts, the rooks* enjoyed most of them but I did develop a taste for
green walnuts, and the smell of the leaves was absolutely wonderful. I
tried to make some wine with them but the tannin content was far too high.
Several years later, after many [I umbrella the right word for moving wine
from one big jar to another to leaf the sediment behind]s I ended up with a
couple of bottles of something like sweet sherry, with a ghost of the scent
of walnut leaves.

- - -

>My new new partner has a mulberry tree in her garden (as well as access
>to two in college). I wonder how long I'll have mulberries.

Mmm, mulberries :)
Bro#2's Tasmanian in-laws had a mulberry on their plot, I'd never tasted
them before, lovely!

*the garden was big, with a public footpath running through it, separating
the orchard from a plantation of young elms (they didn't survive the
plague) inhabited by rooks.
--
Penny
Annoyed by The Archers since 1959

In message <4ea3977d-7b34-4eb0-b7c9-167cbfd5714an@googlegroups.com> at
Tue, 22 Aug 2023 13:50:13, Nick Odell <nickodell@bigfoot.com> writes
[]
>> On 22/08/2023 11:48, Jenny M Benson wrote:
>> > There is a thread running on uk.rec.gardening with the subject line
>> > "Glut of Plums." I can't help thinking that "Glut of Plums" is an
>> > obscure little place in the north of Scotland.

Or a soft folk-rock ensemble.
[]
>this weekendpast because of the incessant rain. Is it an old wives tale
>that fruit picked in the wet will grow mouldy? Anyway, I've never
>picked fruit in the rain because of the risk of mould or old wives so I
>had to wait until these plums were past their best.

I've never heard that one; I could imagine that if it's damp it's more
likely to than if it's been dried by the sun, but one would hope that if
you dry it thoroughly (maybe with a little heat too), it ought to be OK.
(But as UMRA knows I don't cook, so just guessing).
[]
Things are late this year in Kent: my car MoT falls due on the 17th (of
September, so I get it done in August to get the maximum overlap
allowed, in case it has something terminal wrong, to give me time to
look around for a replacement). As it's usually nice weather, I walk
back home from the garage, and then back down to collect it when it's
done; this involves 20-30 minutes' walk along the A20. I take a tub for
blackberries and a bag for apples, both of which are plentiful along
that particular stretch; however, this year there wasn't a black or even
red blackberry to be seen - all still green, and the apples were all
still too small and green (I don't know what variety - these are wild,
in the hedgerow - but they're one that goes red when ripe); I only
picked one.

I did see a few black ones (no, not apples!) on Sunday [20th] on the
cliffs in Folkestone, but then that's a south-facing microclimate (there
are several tropical trees and other plants on it that don't generally
grow in England), and even those were the exception.
>
>Nick
>nickodell49@yahoo.ca
>[1]When you leave London and finally reach what the direction signs
>call 'The North' you have only travelled about one third of the way up
>this island.

On my trips north - A11, A1 - I've always liked the rather bleak signs,
around Cambridge, just pointing to The North; I've always wanted to take
a picture of one, against a bleak grey sky, but have always thought the
powers that be would take a dim view of me pulling off the road to do
so.

I presume you mean that "The North" - presumably Yorkshire, Durham, and
Northumberland - is only about a third of the way up because of
Scotland. I'm not sure at what point the signs stop saying "The North".

On the whole, we don't have signs to distant places, even within
Britain: going north, I don't think I've ever seen one for Edinburgh, at
least until around Newcastle or beyond (maybe a little south); never
seen one for Aberdeen, say. In Germany, almost as soon as you cross from
Holland, Berlin appears on the signs (the ones that give distances).
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Old soldiers never die - only young ones

In message <87rcei5982psp3p4a5mjklmq6tt2683i8j@4ax.com> at Wed, 23 Aug
2023 22:43:56, Penny <spam@labyrinth.freeuk.com> writes
[]
>Several years later, after many [I umbrella the right word for moving wine
>from one big jar to another to leaf the sediment behind]s I ended up with a
[]
Decant? I know that's normally used WRT bottles (or indeed decanters!),
but I can't see why it shouldn't be the right term for amphorae too.
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Old soldiers never die - only young ones

On 24/08/2023 00:09, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
> In message <87rcei5982psp3p4a5mjklmq6tt2683i8j@4ax.com> at Wed, 23 Aug
> 2023 22:43:56, Penny <spam@labyrinth.freeuk.com> writes
> []
>> Several years later, after many [I umbrella the right word for moving
>> wine
>> from one big jar to another to leaf the sediment behind]s I ended up
>> with a
> []
> Decant? I know that's normally used WRT bottles (or indeed decanters!),
> but I can't see why it shouldn't be the right term for amphorae too.

Racking. And the jars are usually demijohns, you can't get the troughs
of sand that amphorae would need these days.

john

On 23/08/2023 09:34, krw wrote:
> On 23.8.23 08:16, John Armstrong wrote:
>> On 22/08/2023 11:48, Jenny M Benson wrote:
>>> There is a thread running on uk.rec.gardening with the subject line
>>> "Glut of Plums."  I can't help thinking that "Glut of Plums" is an
>>> obscure little place in the north of Scotland.
>>>
>> Not that I'm aware of, but it's an interesting thought. In any case,
>> plums are usually referred to as "plooms" in Scotland, especially when
>> they're "soor". See "Soor Plooms" for more information. See also
>> Hawick Balls, Berwick Cockles, Jethart Snails, Edinburgh Rock, and
>> (used traditionally on Sundays, in the kirk) Pan Drops.
>>
>> There's a Butt of Lewis, a Rhins of Galloway, and (much closer to me)
>> a Carse of Gowrie.
>
> Wikipedia claims the latter may have had vineyards in past times.  Would
> that be the last time there was global warming?
>
It's an interesting thought. Climatically, it seems still to be well
adapted. The Carse is still one of Scotland's major soft fruit growing
areas. Dundee at its east end is regarded as one of Scotland's driest
and sunniest cities.

On 24/08/2023 00:07, J. P. Gilliver wrote:

>> Nick
>> nickodell49@yahoo.ca
>> [1]When you leave London and finally reach what the direction signs
>> call 'The North' you have only travelled about one third of the way up
>> this island.

> On my trips north - A11, A1 - I've always liked the rather bleak signs,
> around Cambridge, just pointing to The North; I've always wanted to take
> a picture of one, against a bleak grey sky, but have always thought the
> powers that be would take a dim view of me pulling off the road to do so.
>
> I presume you mean that "The North" - presumably Yorkshire, Durham, and
> Northumberland - is only about a third of the way up because of
> Scotland. I'm not sure at what point the signs stop saying "The North".

On the M6, I think it's in the Manchester area. They may even say
"Scotland and the North")
>
> On the whole, we don't have signs to distant places, even within
> Britain: going north, I don't think I've ever seen one for Edinburgh, at
> least until around Newcastle or beyond (maybe a little south);

That is about right.
never
> seen one for Aberdeen, say.

I don't think road signs for Aberdeen appear until one reaches Dundee's
outskirts. I must pay more attention next time I'm away! (Four weeks
today!) I'm going to north Yorkshire, which is almost 300 miles south
from me, and which you regard as "The North".

On Thu, 24 Aug 2023 03:50:24 +0100, John Ashby <johnashby20@yahoo.com>
scrawled in the dust...

>On 24/08/2023 00:09, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
>> In message <87rcei5982psp3p4a5mjklmq6tt2683i8j@4ax.com> at Wed, 23 Aug
>> 2023 22:43:56, Penny <spam@labyrinth.freeuk.com> writes
>> []
>>> Several years later, after many [I umbrella the right word for moving
>>> wine
>>> from one big jar to another to leaf the sediment behind]s I ended up
>>> with a
>> []
>> Decant? I know that's normally used WRT bottles (or indeed decanters!),
>> but I can't see why it shouldn't be the right term for amphorae too.
>
>Racking. And the jars are usually demijohns, you can't get the troughs
>of sand that amphorae would need these days.

Racking, that's the one, thanks.
--
Penny
Annoyed by The Archers since 1959

On 24/08/2023 00:07, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
>
> On the whole, we don't have signs to distant places, even within
> Britain: going north, I don't think I've ever seen one for Edinburgh, at
> least until around Newcastle or beyond (maybe a little south); never
> seen one for Aberdeen, say. In Germany, almost as soon as you cross from
> Holland, Berlin appears on the signs (the ones that give distances).

Perhaps we should. My father (I think) was once stopped by a motorist
somewhere in the viccinty of Spaghetti Junction[1] and asked which was
the right road for Glasgow. During the conversation my father asked
where they had come from and was told "Manchester".

[1] A crossroads in Birmingham.
--
Ric

On 24.8.23 13:05, Joe Kerr wrote:
> On 24/08/2023 00:07, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
>>
>> On the whole, we don't have signs to distant places, even within
>> Britain: going north, I don't think I've ever seen one for Edinburgh,
>> at least until around Newcastle or beyond (maybe a little south);
>> never seen one for Aberdeen, say. In Germany, almost as soon as you
>> cross from Holland, Berlin appears on the signs (the ones that give
>> distances).
>
> Perhaps we should. My father (I think) was once stopped by a motorist
> somewhere in the viccinty of Spaghetti Junction[1] and asked which was
> the right road for Glasgow. During the conversation my father asked
> where they had come from and was told "Manchester".
>
> [1] A crossroads in Birmingham.

Whilst roads do indeed cross each other in that vicinity I think to
describe the Gravelly Hill Interchange using a form of Italian pasta to
be potentially racist and ageist as some people may not be old enough to
know the name as well as being misleading as none of the roads are
really upset.

--
Kosmo Richard W
www.travelswmw.whitnet.uk
https://tinyurl.com/KRWpics

On 24/08/2023 13:55, krw wrote:
> On 24.8.23 13:05, Joe Kerr wrote:
>> On 24/08/2023 00:07, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
>>>
>>> On the whole, we don't have signs to distant places, even within
>>> Britain: going north, I don't think I've ever seen one for Edinburgh,
>>> at least until around Newcastle or beyond (maybe a little south);
>>> never seen one for Aberdeen, say. In Germany, almost as soon as you
>>> cross from Holland, Berlin appears on the signs (the ones that give
>>> distances).
>>
>> Perhaps we should. My father (I think) was once stopped by a motorist
>> somewhere in the viccinty of Spaghetti Junction[1] and asked which was
>> the right road for Glasgow. During the conversation my father asked
>> where they had come from and was told "Manchester".
>>
>> [1] A crossroads in Birmingham.
>
> Whilst roads do indeed cross each other in that vicinity I think to
> describe the Gravelly Hill Interchange using a form of Italian pasta to
> be potentially racist and ageist as some people may not be old enough to
> know the name as well as being misleading as none of the roads are
> really upset.
>

Though none of them go to Glasgow by way of Wigan Pier.

--
Kate B

krw wrote:

>On 24.8.23 13:05, Joe Kerr wrote:

>> Perhaps we should. My father (I think) was once stopped by a motorist
>> somewhere in the viccinty of Spaghetti Junction[1] and asked which was
>> the right road for Glasgow. During the conversation my father asked
>> where they had come from and was told "Manchester".
>>
>> [1] A crossroads in Birmingham.
>
>Whilst roads do indeed cross each other in that vicinity I think to
>describe the Gravelly Hill Interchange using a form of Italian pasta to
>be potentially racist and ageist as some people may not be old enough to
>know the name as well as being misleading as none of the roads are
>really upset.

What never fails to upset my directional instincts is that, when
heading north on the Aston Expressway out of Birmingham, in order
to get to M42 northbound, the Lane to be in is London (M1).

Yes, it does have (M42 & M40) beneath it, but the headline
destination still feels wrong.

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 24/08/2023 14:16, Chris J Dixon wrote:
> krw wrote:
>
>> On 24.8.23 13:05, Joe Kerr wrote:
>
>>> Perhaps we should. My father (I think) was once stopped by a motorist
>>> somewhere in the viccinty of Spaghetti Junction[1] and asked which was
>>> the right road for Glasgow. During the conversation my father asked
>>> where they had come from and was told "Manchester".
>>>
>>> [1] A crossroads in Birmingham.
>>
>> Whilst roads do indeed cross each other in that vicinity I think to
>> describe the Gravelly Hill Interchange using a form of Italian pasta to
>> be potentially racist and ageist as some people may not be old enough to
>> know the name as well as being misleading as none of the roads are
>> really upset.
>
> What never fails to upset my directional instincts is that, when
> heading north on the Aston Expressway out of Birmingham, in order
> to get to M42 northbound, the Lane to be in is London (M1).
>
> Yes, it does have (M42 & M40) beneath it, but the headline
> destination still feels wrong.
>
Like needing the centre lane to turn right and the right lane to go
straight on.

> Chris

--
Ric

On 24/08/2023 09:43, John Armstrong wrote:

>
> I don't think road signs for Aberdeen appear until one reaches Dundee's
> outskirts. I must pay more attention next time I'm away! (Four weeks
> today!) I'm going to north Yorkshire, which is almost 300 miles south
> from me, and which you regard as "The North".
>
A former colleague (originally from Newcastle) used to claim that
civilisation began at the souther end of Platform 1 in Sheffield railway
station, but he declined to specify in which direction.

john

Joe Kerr wrote:

>On 24/08/2023 14:16, Chris J Dixon wrote:

>> What never fails to upset my directional instincts is that, when
>> heading north on the Aston Expressway out of Birmingham, in order
>> to get to M42 northbound, the Lane to be in is London (M1).
>>
>> Yes, it does have (M42 & M40) beneath it, but the headline
>> destination still feels wrong.
>>
>Like needing the centre lane to turn right and the right lane to go
>straight on.

That sort of thing. Then you need a special sign to convince
people:

<https://goo.gl/maps/qZ5ypZDwit9GWQPdA>

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.

In message <uc7m2f$3fvjl$1@dont-email.me> at Thu, 24 Aug 2023 14:30:55,
John Ashby <johnashby20@yahoo.com> writes
>On 24/08/2023 09:43, John Armstrong wrote:
>
>> I don't think road signs for Aberdeen appear until one reaches
>>Dundee's outskirts. I must pay more attention next time I'm away!
>>(Four weeks today!) I'm going to north Yorkshire, which is almost 300
>>miles south from me, and which you regard as "The North".

No, I assumed that the "The North" roadsigns included it; to me, who
grew up in Northumberland and Durham, Leeds was somewhere in the deep
south.
>>
>A former colleague (originally from Newcastle) used to claim that
>civilisation began at the souther end of Platform 1 in Sheffield
>railway station, but he declined to specify in which direction.
>
>john
>
I'm reminded of the account of when the SNP was just getting going,
which would have been the '60s or '70s that time round I think, of an
SNP campaigner saying to a Shetlander, "do you really want to be
governed by somewhere hundreds of miles to the south?", and getting the
reply "oh - you mean like Edinburgh?".
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

I've never really "got" sport or physical exercise. The only muscle I've ever
enjoyed exercising is the one between my ears. - Beryl Hales, Radio Times
24-30 March 2012

In message <uc7h2t$3f311$1@dont-email.me> at Thu, 24 Aug 2023 13:05:47,
Joe Kerr <joe_kerr@cheerful.com> writes
>On 24/08/2023 00:07, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
>> On the whole, we don't have signs to distant places, even within
>>Britain: going north, I don't think I've ever seen one for Edinburgh,
>>at least until around Newcastle or beyond (maybe a little south);
>>never seen one for Aberdeen, say. In Germany, almost as soon as you
>>cross from Holland, Berlin appears on the signs (the ones that give
>>distances).
>
>Perhaps we should. My father (I think) was once stopped by a motorist
>somewhere in the viccinty of Spaghetti Junction[1] and asked which was
>the right road for Glasgow. During the conversation my father asked
>where they had come from and was told "Manchester".
>
>[1] A crossroads in Birmingham.

I think it would be a good idea in general - promote more unity (as well
as reminding people just how big the country _is_). For that matter,
having Berlin, Paris etc. on signs wouldn't hurt either, though I
appreciate the actual distances might be arguable.

(I am reminded at this point of the old "Harwich for the continent"
signs, which were usually graffitied with "Frinton for ...")
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

I've never really "got" sport or physical exercise. The only muscle I've ever
enjoyed exercising is the one between my ears. - Beryl Hales, Radio Times
24-30 March 2012