More vivid autumn colours seen from the Churchyard. Met up with Ann (and a good many of our friends) and had coffee and croissants (sort of flaky French buns). Heard from Hilary that Eileen has been involved in a road accident and written her car off - she herself got away with a broken sternum. Went to High Street and bought some (very) early tulips for Eileen. Walked round to Eileen's, and to my surprise she answered the door herself. At least she is vertical and mobile, but warned me that she might scream at any moment- this would be due, not to my presence, but to very painful sternum. Gave her tulips and assurance that our car and one of us as driver was at her disposal as necessary. She's a game old bird (it's alright- she hasn't a computer, so is unlikely to read this blog). Walked home, and on way popped into Barber's shop and had a (much needed) haircut, so feel rather shaven and shorn now.
7 comments:
Croissants Mike, are so called because that word is French for 'crossing'. If the ends do not cross over (as in the case of the flaky french rolls which I purchased in young John Sainsbury's self-service general store t'other day falsely alleging themselves to be croissants) then they ain't croissants. The giggle comes when you realize that folk have seen these objects and thought the name referred to the curved shape. Much use of this word in Britain corrupted the word into 'crescent' so that an item intended to venerate the Christian cross gave us a word for an object peculiar to Islam.
I suppose I should add:- Allah, blessed be all his names, moves in mysterious ways to unite his squabbling children who believe that their name for him is his only name.
This in no way brings into question the absolute fact that God is an English gentleman.
(as well as the blind and crippled starving leper in the shadowy corner of the souk.)
I love the red in contrast to the grey brick.
Thank you G.U.C., once again you have enlightened me. I had no idea of the origin of the word "crescent", obviously I knew God's nationality, but are you sure of the gender?
Hi Carl, to continue the discussion I've just had an email from our good friends David and Sue, who read the blog, but are unable to comment directly onto it as they don't have a blog. They say that the word croissant is french for crescent. I've looked it up (as have David and Sue) and can find no other derivation save crescent, and Ann says that when making them (which she has done) she cuts out a triangular piece of pastry then rolls it up, and has no knowledge of any 'crossings' at the ends. My Collins French/English pocket dictionary gives croise (with a grave accent over the 'e'- but my computer doesn't do foreign accents) as cross, and croissant as crescent, and also as crescent roll.
P.s. I am proud to add that this blog's comments are becoming steadily more like the letters collumn in the Daily Telegraph.
P.p.s. And, oh doubting daughter, both your Mother and I are sure of God's gender. He is refered to as male throughout the Old Testament, and in the New Testament he is also refered to as 'FATHER, SON, and Holy Spirit'
Well, anyway, them's OUR beliefs.
Much love, Pa and Granny.
Darling Pooh,
of course I'm sure about God's gender. In all private conversations of a religious nature I refer to her as 'She' because of her creative/generative nature: when communicating with your beloved Papa I refer to her as 'Him' since he appears to have accepted the bias of the early church Patriarchs who just hated being the creation of i) a female human mother and ii)a feminine creative spiritual principle. When you immerse yourself in the silence of 'The Presence' you will understand that this is all nonsense and gender is a physical rather than a spiritual issue.
When it comes to the origins of 'croissant' perhaps I should have specified pre-Norman French as my source. Of course in modern French the word crescent has been returned to them and they now believe croissant means crescent - much as our modern hot-cross-bun is frequently served cold and occasionally bears no easily recognised cross upon it.
I suppose we should tell french bakers not to play with their food, or only to cross the ends of their bread-rolls if they wish to pray with their food?
Poor Eileen. I hope her sternum mends without too much pain and discomfort.
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