The Naked Party Thread

NaokoSmith said:

Seriously Weightwatchers! They can be great fun. One of my friends lost lots of weight and made good friends at Weightwatchers. You better pass on the Under the Sea cakes, though! the Piglet and I haven't quite got the hang of doing icing in pretty delicate ways, we just slosh it on all over .

Good news - there's spam! I have rushed in to fry up some fritters before the thread gets deleted like that exciting Lacoste one was. That was a really good one, I did crocodile steaks and everything in that one. Put in your special order quickly if there's anything you fancy (Camel Wellington, HP? ).

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Before discussing Camels, how did it die ?
Nothing but a pure Silver bullet (of large calibre) will suffice.
These creatures are very dangerous. Those high heels do no good for a human toe at all.

Grrr, well curse this wretched body and its need for sleep. Looks like I'm beginning to fade here, so editing will have to be postponed a bit longer. Goodnight HP, Duchess.

johneb87 said:

Grrr, well curse this wretched body and its need for sleep. Looks like I'm beginning to fade here, so editing will have to be postponed a bit longer. Goodnight HP, Duchess.

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Sleep well, friend.

johneb87 said:

Grrr, well curse this wretched body and its need for sleep. Looks like I'm beginning to fade here, so editing will have to be postponed a bit longer. Goodnight HP, Duchess.

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Night night, Top Guy! LOL.

HandleyPage said:

Before discussing Camels, how did it die ?
Nothing but a pure Silver bullet (of large calibre) will suffice.
These creatures are very dangerous. Those high heels do no good for a human toe at all.

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It's a MILF secret how I hunt down these beasties for breakfast delectation . I will drummed out of Stepford and made to hand back my frilly apron collection if I tell you, LOL. Rest assured, everything was done very safely. Even the H&S inspectors of the ballet would find no fault .

NaokoSmith said:

Night night, Top Guy! LOL.



It's a MILF secret how I hunt down these beasties for breakfast delectation. I will drummed out of Stepford and made to hand back my frilly apron collection if I tell you, LOL. Rest assured, everything was done very safely. Even the H&S inspectors of the ballet would find no fault .

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Oh good: That is a relief, to be sure. Although I have to say that I can probably work it out. But:
In that case, may I suggest preparation and then freezing some for another occasion ?

Meanwhile, some domestic shopping is needed.
See you all later, folks.

Handley_Page said:

Oh good: That is a relief, to be sure. Although I have to say that I can probably work it out. But:
In that case, may I suggest preparation and then freezing some for another occasion ?

Meanwhile, some domestic shopping is needed.
See you all later, folks.

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Have a happy shop! Let me know if there are any were products in the freezer section, LOL.

NaokoSmith said:

Have a happy shop! Let me know if there are any were products in the freezer section, LOL.

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My local CoOp is only a small shop; it has sufficient to my needs for the most part, so I'm not expecting frozen Were-camel or tinned Unicorn any time soon.

They do have some strange Ice-creams though.

johneb87 said:

Thanks! I'm still learning the technical aspects of photography; balancing aperture, ISO, and shutter speed. I was afraid that the flat lighting of a rainy day wouldn't allow me to get many good shots, plus I didn't want to get my equipment wet.

Good point about MuLan. And yes, the mountain battle was my favorite scene.

Still trying to think up a custom Lit status.

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Overcast and rainy days are surprising for great shots. The natural light is diffused, so you don't need to be concerned about where the shadows are falling. Some of my favorite pictures were taken in cloudy or rainy conditions.

Ah, memories of Mulan! I was doing a play at the time and one of my fellow actors was carrying on about Disney and "male nipples!" I took my niece to see it and we both loved it.

Handley_Page said:

My local CoOp is only a small shop; it has sufficient to my needs for the most part, so I'm not expecting frozen Were-camel or tinned Unicorn any time soon.

They do have some strange Ice-creams though.

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Ooh, do tell more about the strange ice creams!

annanova said:

Overcast and rainy days are surprising for great shots. The natural light is diffused, so you don't need to be concerned about where the shadows are falling. Some of my favorite pictures were taken in cloudy or rainy conditions.

Ah, memories of Mulan! I was doing a play at the time and one of my fellow actors was carrying on about Disney and "male nipples!" I took my niece to see it and we both loved it.


Ooh, do tell more about the strange ice creams!

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Oh I love MuLan so much! I love Kung Fu Panda too. Tigress is fab!

OK, I admit it, I also love Cinderella and Princess Diaries. LOL. In fact I wrote a blogpost about the surprisingly feminist twist in Princess Diaries II.

HP, do do tell about the strange ice-cream.

anna please post piccies of rainy day shots and tell more about the lighting and stuff. I would love to know about digital photography and managing the lighting.

Hahaha! Piglet is playing some kind of internet werewolf game on the BBC's children's site. .

NaokoSmith said:

anna please post piccies of rainy day shots and tell more about the lighting and stuff. I would love to know about digital photography and managing the lighting.

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It was in a photography class I took years ago that I heard about the lighting being better on overcast days, and that was when I was using only standard film! I really know very little about managing the lighting.

Good lord, there is still a ton of hair spray in my hair.

annanova said:

It was in a photography class I took years ago that I heard about the lighting being better on overcast days, and that was when I was using only standard film! I really know very little about managing the lighting.

Good lord, there is still a ton of hair spray in my hair.

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Is there a story behind that hair spray?
What time is it with you now? Can I offer you a cup of tea? A cup of tea is usually a safe offer.

Good morning Duchess, anna.

Looks like that cold has been holding off. May I grab myself a cup of tea?

johneb87 said:

Good morning Duchess, anna.

Looks like that cold has been holding off. May I grab myself a cup of tea?

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There you go. Luaka Ceylon, although I think you like Darjeeling?

NaokoSmith said:

There you go. Luaka Ceylon, although I think you like Darjeeling?

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Ah, thank you. I am more of a darjeeling fella, but I'm always up for something new.

Anna, I never thought about the diffused light being an advantage during a overcast day, I'll have to give it a try. I think I can rig up something for the rain. Sorry your headache is still lingering.

NaokoSmith said:

Is there a story behind that hair spray?
What time is it with you now? Can I offer you a cup of tea? A cup of tea is usually a safe offer.

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There's always a story. My hair no longer holds a curl well, so I had to mousse and then spray each section of hair before curling it for the Gala on Saturday.

Tea would be welcome, but I just poured a cup of coffee.

johneb87 said:

Ah, thank you. I am more of a darjeeling fella, but I'm always up for something new.

Anna, I never thought about the diffused light being an advantage during a overcast day, I'll have to give it a try. I think I can rig up something for the rain. Sorry your headache is still lingering.

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Yeah, I hadn't thought of it either! Funny the things you can pick up from a pro during a community-ed class. But yeah, if you think about it it makes sense since you don't have to worry about the harsh shadows that come about during full sunlight.

johneb87 said:

Ah, thank you. I am more of a darjeeling fella, but I'm always up for something new.

Anna, I never thought about the diffused light being an advantage during a overcast day, I'll have to give it a try. I think I can rig up something for the rain. Sorry your headache is still lingering.

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I took pictures of Monet's garden at Giverny in heavy rain. Apart from the lack of shadows, the major advantage was the absence of people.

oggbashan said:

I took pictures of Monet's garden at Giverny in heavy rain. Apart from the lack of shadows, the major advantage was the absence of people.

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Oh you have been to Giverny! I would so love to go there, although I do understand that the amount of people is a real issue.

When I went to the Parthenon it was like that. Luckily I got there very early, before it had even opened. (I went on Sunday, when it's free to go in.) I was able to go inside and walk about in relative peace but by the time I left, I felt like every step I took was being captured on someone's snapshot, there were so many people taking pictures everywhere.

It was like that in the British Museum too. We wanted to see the Rosetta Stone but whenever we went up to it, it was totally surrounded by a dense mass of people. In the end, I said, "Gosh, let's just buy a teatowel! It will say the same things and we can use it to dry the dishes."

LOL, Forster was already gently satirising the tourist who thinks no other Philistinic tourists should be allowed in A Room With a View.

NaokoSmith said:

Oh you have been to Giverny! I would so love to go there, although I do understand that the amount of people is a real issue.

When I went to the Parthenon it was like that. Luckily I got there very early, before it had even opened. (I went on Sunday, when it's free to go in.) I was able to go inside and walk about in relative peace but by the time I left, I felt like every step I took was being captured on someone's snapshot, there were so many people taking pictures everywhere.

It was like that in the British Museum too. We wanted to see the Rosetta Stone but whenever we went up to it, it was totally surrounded by a dense mass of people. In the end, I said, "Gosh, let's just buy a teatowel! It will say the same things and we can use it to dry the dishes."

LOL, Forster was already gently satirising the tourist who thinks no other Philistinic tourists should be allowed in A Room With a View.

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My best cultural experiences were on a ship travelling (shh! 1st Class) from England to Australia.

The ship stopped at Naples and we left early to go to Pompeii. We had two coach loads of 1st Class passengers, about 50 people, and we were split into small groups for a guided tour. We had two hours in Pompeii before it opened to the general public. That was amazing, to see Pompeii virtually by ourselves. The tours were arranged so that we didn't meet or even see the other groups.

In Sri Lanka we went to Kandy, to the Temple of the Tooth, and were personally met by the Abbot of the Temple. He took us right into the Shrine of the Tooth where tourists weren't normally allowed.

Each trip from the ship was relatively expensive because of payment for overtime for the guides and staff at Pompeii, and a large donation to the Temple of the Tooth - in US dollars.

In Singapore I had an even more exclusive visit arranged by some of my father's colleagues in the Admiralty...

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Some things are still possible. When we visited Versailles, we avoided the queues by buying an annual season ticket which was about the cost of three days' visits. With that photo pass, we could walk past all the queues for the Chateau, the Trianon etc. and straight in. If we wanted a toilet, our pass admitted us immediately to any of the buildings to use the internal toilets which had no queues. We also found out that we could park our car in the grounds of Versailles, cheaper than outside, and we could drive from the Trianon to the Chateau, the Chateau to Marie Antoinette's hameau, to the restaurants.

We were told that we were the first UK residents EVER to buy an annual season ticket. It meant that we were treated as very special visitors.

oggbashan said:

My best cultural experiences were on a ship travelling (shh! 1st Class) from England to Australia.


In Singapore I had an even more exclusive visit arranged by some of my father's colleagues in the Admiralty...

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LOL, your secret is safe with me . Are you going to tell about the Singapore visit?

Maybe that's why I liked North West Frontier Province. There sure weren't any tourists! It was kind of wild. I wouldn't take my child there, maybe when she's grown up I'll go back.

Once when I was on the train to Peshawar I came to the point where two rivers meet, I think it was where the Kabul flows into the Indus. The Indus comes across the whole of Asia and is a rich brown with alluvial soil but at that point the Kabul has come straight off the Himalayan mountains and is still turquoise blue. The point at which they meet has an old red clay fort above it where political prisoners were certainly still held in those days and probably still are. The turquoise blue and the brown waters tumble and mix together under the walls of the fort with the soldiers looking down - and you are just on an ordinary train journey - although it is the route of the old Khyber Express. Tourists ordinarily travelled by road in air-conditioned Mitsubishi Pajeros.

When we travelled back that evening, they were serving food in the restaurant car with thick linen napkins, a little worn in places, which must have survived from the days of the Raj.

I'll have a closer look at the strange ice-cream flavours when I next go.

I'll have to post some pictures from my trip to Italy several years back. Rolf, I'll have a venti mocha please. Going to need something to keep me awake this second half of the day. Felt tired very suddenly.

johneb87 said:

I'll have to post some pictures from my trip to Italy several years back. Rolf, I'll have a venti mocha please. Going to need something to keep me awake this second half of the day. Felt tired very suddenly.

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Perhaps a "Power Nap" is the answer ?

Handley_Page said:

Perhaps a "Power Nap" is the answer ?

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I wish, but still have another couple hours of work left. I'll have to hang on until I get home.

Hooray! John is finally going to get some sleep.

Although I don't know why I'm cheering, it leaves me alone in here until HP gets up for his egg and toast. Oh well, when in doubt put the coffee on anyway.

Oh God, do post piccies of Italy and make me really really jealous! No, determined to go. I shall go next Easter with Piglet and camp and visit the Roman sites she really wants to see. So post with impunity!

And sweet dreams.