This could be interesting

I *love* backgammon. I used to think I was good until I met a Turk who
beat me hollow. Every game.[/QUOTE]

We had an Iranian where I once worked - beat him and he was very
annoyed. Then we had a Greek girl where I now work - beat her and she
was very puzzled. Owen used to think he was good, until he joined our
club and came up against some very good tournament players (me not
included) and found he was the weakest link but not bye bye, he went
on to gain the annual trophy one year.

--
Marina Mayes - Reading, UK. To email me remove XX from my address
SR250 - on the road again. BOTAFOT12, BOD#2, BOTAFOS#2
KotLBOD#s, KotLBOTAFOS#s,IMC#2, Tart#10-19, SR#3
Original Sinergy - wicked T-shirts for a wicked world: www.originalsinergy.com
I never give in to fear or blackmail; I always give in to temptation.
www.pericles.demon.co.uk
"You're a national treasure" - porl, 18.1.03

 

C'mon Champ, you should know by now I don't do arguing for the sake of
it. I rarely post and, when I do, it's because I have something to
say. Several points occur to me:
1. I know _I_ am not typical; that's why I widened my list from the
specific, e.g backgammon, to the general - and you must know that a
great many older women play bridge.
2. Because I know I am not typical, I have spent many years studying
yer average woman in an effort to fit in wiv 'em.
3. I suspect that you are thinking not of the quoted 'middle aged
women' but of women older than that - the ones that knit and bake and
so on. If that's the stereotype you're into, then of course, none of
this makes any sense. But think - 'middle aged' means, what 45 - 60?
And your average 45 year old is much much more modern than that. I
know quite a few - not a one has a blue rinse or a twinset and pearls.
They go clubbing and can't sew.

Hoppy? Oh sure, many a man is into photography but also many a
woman. No, they are not into doing people so much, but landscapes and
social history. Magazines like people 'cos people sells.

As you say, you dunno. Gamblers, yes, male almost to a T. but bridge
is a gambling game, as is canasta and gin rummy. not a lot
professional gamblers there, but it is still gambling. Women,
especially at the upper age I stated, gather in the afternoons for
penny-ante games of bridge etc.

True. Most women think of a car as a form of transport, nothing more,
and would not list driving as a hobby. But they do enjoy it ... I'm
not helping my case am I? I'll fold on this one.

Oh pish and tush - don't be so narrow minded. Who said anything about
bands, music shops etc.? Music: folk guitar, playing the piano by
yourself, singing in the church choir, joining the local operatic
society - where would all these things be without yer middle aged
women, eh? My sister, aged 48, is just starting piano lessons; she
also plays guitar. I doubt she has bought a non-classical CD or any
music magazine in 30 years.

--
Marina Mayes - Reading, UK. To email me remove XX from my address
SR250 - on the road again. BOTAFOT12, BOD#2, BOTAFOS#2
KotLBOD#s, KotLBOTAFOS#s,IMC#2, Tart#10-19, SR#3
Original Sinergy - wicked T-shirts for a wicked world: www.originalsinergy.com
I never give in to fear or blackmail; I always give in to temptation.
www.pericles.demon.co.uk
"You're a national treasure" - porl, 18.1.03

 

I must introduce you to Sarah's sister's SO. He does it for a living.

 

Cool. Win-win situation for me - if I win, I'm a champoin, if I lose,
well, I was going to wasn't I?

--
Marina Mayes - Reading, UK. To email me remove XX from my address
SR250 - on the road again. BOTAFOT12, BOD#2, BOTAFOS#2
KotLBOD#s, KotLBOTAFOS#s,IMC#2, Tart#10-19, SR#3
Original Sinergy - wicked T-shirts for a wicked world: www.originalsinergy.com
I never give in to fear or blackmail; I always give in to temptation.
www.pericles.demon.co.uk
"You're a national treasure" - porl, 18.1.03

 

On Tue, 21 Dec 2004 12:54:56 +0000, Halla

I've saved the rest of the post and I'll bung my ramblings in when my
head's straight.

After watching eagles soar down the canyon last week I decided that
when I got home I'd look into it. We're brain celling again.

Sat in a small amphitheatre cut into the side of the mountain, the sun
blazing down, the various birds flown in from the ridge over the heads
of the crowd. Wild birds rising from the ridge as the eagle swooped
along the edge of the cliff face. Watching him flick his wing tips
then rise up on the thermals, lazily spiralling free, ignoring the
calls of the falconer. Magic, one of the file for when your old
moments.

Is he still doing it?

Ooo where from? I was wondering where to start. I lived just down the
road from the Falconry centre near Barry in Wales for years and always
meant to go and find out more but boys and bikes distracted me.

 

Of some women. Though he may have been writing it of all in his
experience.

And the reverse applies, They (some men) don't appreciate that for
many women, tolerate you as we do, we like to get away for a while.

Is there anyone who doesn't?

Halla said..

Only if they're available.

I blame patricarchy, capitalism and the lack of decent grass.

At what point does the joke wear thin?

 

Ah she'll be trading you in for a younger model soon.

If you were on your own it would be far more as you wouldn't be
burning the calories off as effectively.

 

On Tue, 21 Dec 2004 23:58:22 +0000, Halla

Champ said.

Any on what happens after you've had your tubes tied?

Not to mention the fun aspect.'you and me baby etc'

Define (runs)

'Mostly humans', who else has? Or are we going to go down the 'pack
rules' thing again?

Elephants paint (and will you two stop being so fecking reasonable and
fight <g>)

 

Really? So what was the pop at the compilation 'tape' about then?

 

You were doing a damn good job there. Though I'd add bits but it's
days old now. Shame I wasn't around for this.

 

Like, draw pictures in the sand with their trunks or something? Scratch
cartoons on rocks with their tusks?

 

On Wed, 22 Dec 2004 22:16:07 +0000, "Verdigris"

Women's hobbies..

What generation is this? Thinking about my friends' hobbies [1][2]
none of them include anything that is traditionally associated with
women.

There's a sub thread here about the consumer culture around hobbies
as opposed to interests.

[1] LARPing, bikes, sailing, painting, debating, dancing, film making
as an example. And that's before you even touch on interests.
[2] my definition of which is something you do that involves action,
either alone or in a group and often has an end product,

 

Lady Nina says...

<stands in line>

 

And it is interesting to look at where 'new' hobbies are placed in the
market. Follow the money. The disposable income of the newly retiring
baby boomers is being hit by lots of 'back to basics' hobbies, the
recreation of a childhood that didn't exist for most. Fishing will
always be big, that father/son time thing. nd no doubt women will be
encouraged to do nice little hobbies around the home. But hey if
you're feeling the urge to be something more, just be 'creative', it
will soon pass. As if quilling a bit of paper makes you Picasso. Best
stick to cooking love. Surely by now we all know the marketers tricks,
what they are trying to create, so why does anyone still buy inot it?

 

But as I said: most of them are there primarily as a social activity, not
for the game itself. At the Cheltenham club, there are indeed a lot of
older women. Some of them are quite good - they've been playing for half
a century or more! - but very few of them are *very* good. With some
notable exceptions they don't take the game itself seriously enough to
rise to a higher level. Now not all of the men are actually much better,
but generally their attitude is rather different: more competitive and
less interested in having a chat with their friends.

Bridge is NOT a gambling game. Poker and backgammon are, because you
cannot play either one properly unless money is involved. (Without money
and doubling, backgammon is about as interesting as draughts.)

Bridge has a scoring system. It is possible to convert that to money at
the end, but it is not necessary in order to enjoy the game and betting is
not part of the play of the game.

Personally, I'd be very reluctant to play bridge for money because there's
no way of backing out. If I'm playing poker or backgammon and the stakes
get too high, I can quit. At every stage I know exactly how much I stand
to lose.
But with bridge, I can't tell before the hand is played how much money is
involved. The best I can do is figure out the worst case and set the
stakes such that I can always afford it. Unfortunately, there is a
considerable difference between what's typical, and what's possible: if
the stakes are low enough that I can cover thousands of points of
penalties, they're too low to be interesting when actually there's only a
couple of hundred points in it.

 

Ta, did you have a suitably cool yule?

TBH I'm thinking about looking at the last minute stuff and fucking
off for another week. No enthusiasm for cold damp weather. Sooner the
smalls **** off and I can move somewhere warm the better. Daughter
agrees, but with son having started GCSEs and not wanting to move I'm
stuck for a couple more years.

 

So UR does falcons meet then?

Oh well as I have the attention span of a gnat at the moment I'll
probably go and try it and get bored.

I've got loads.

No. I haven't even JFGI yet. It's been put on the list of things to
research/read/write/mend/clean/do something about. I'm reasonable at
Time Management but I still need a good few more lifetimes to fit
everything I want to do in.

I'd have pulled in and watched. I can happily spend an hour or more
watching the birds scrapping in the trees behind the house. That and
the psycho squirrel. With the odd fox thrown in.

 

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/06/0626_020626_elephant.html

 

OK, so lets look at what we were talking about. Mens v. womens hobbies
and interests. I set out a list of mine - people took isssue with
whether they were typical h/i of a middle aged woman. Erm, where did
we go off onto discussing a) whether they were any good at it and b)
whether they gambled? I suggested a gambling game, backgammon, but
also said bridge would be more likely. We are talking h and i, not
level, ability, progression to higher levels. The whole point of an h
or i is that it is something that you enjoy and which takes up your
time and effort.

Oh, so sorry, my father, international bridge master that he was,
obviously taught me wrong.He would never play unless there was a
significant amount of money involved. Since my mother was his bridge
partner (and also very good, obviously, since they won quite a lot of
money together), she also gambled at bridge.

Not true - if you are a tournament player, you have no money involved,
only kudos and it is played over a series of games, e.g. 'an 11-point
match'. I have played against professional backgamon gamblers and they
play quite differently to a tournament player.

That's true - I learned just on winning or losing - but even at 12 I
wondered what the point (ha ha) of the numbers 'under the line' was if
they didn't count. They do count, but only in money terms (AFAIR - I
never said I was any good at bridge, nor do I now play).

--
Marina Mayes - Reading, UK. To email me remove XX from my address
SR250 - on the road again. BOTAFOT12, BOD#2, BOTAFOS#2
KotLBOD#s, KotLBOTAFOS#s,IMC#2, Tart#10-19, SR#3
Original Sinergy - wicked T-shirts for a wicked world: www.originalsinergy.com
I never give in to fear or blackmail; I always give in to temptation.
www.pericles.demon.co.uk
"You're a national treasure" - porl, 18.1.03

 

It's still saved. I'll get there...

snip

It would, wouldn't it. Shall we actually do anything about this do you
think?

snip bird stuff.

Having JFG there are loads of places. Some of which have a distinct
wiff of 'lets grab a couple of birds and stick 'em on peoples wrists
and charge 'em for photos' about them. This requires more research.
The ones that from a quick read merit further investigation are
scattered about the country. I'd like to meet this woman, such a
change to see thought rather than baying (pun intended)

http://www.huntinginquiry.gov.uk/evidence/natbirdsprey.htm

I do that anyway to most things.

I think it's scottish, it grabs the fox by the ears, pulls it down to
his level then headbutts it, shouting 'you loooking at my nuts eh, eh'
(or maybe it was canadian) before running up over its head along the
tail and away. Impressive sight. And you wouldn't believe what the
wood pigeons get up to. I don't know where they find the sequins.