Change All Around I See

Those readers who have been here before will probably have noticed the change of name for the title of this blog. This is no way intended to cause confusion, to reduce the search engine visibility of this blog, or anything of that technical nature. The purpose, if that is the word I want, is merely to change for the sake of change and also to enrich the reading experience of my visitors. As you know, the That Reminds Me World Official Fan Club, now with 29 members, working out of its headquarters office in downtown Ulan Bator, has, under the terms of its Charter, to approve by a straight majority vote any and all such changes. I am happy to announce that approval was granted by a unanimous decision taken at 01:16 GMT today.

Due to a technicality in the Club Constitution, the Fan Club was under obligation to dissolve itself and reform again under the new name Ex-Philosopher Fan Club (EPFC) and I am pleased to announce that this was achieved during class break, which took place at 10:30 local time.

Meanwhile here in Normandy, there was uproar when it was discovered that my neighbour's pet budgerigar, Claude, was missing. This has apparently never happened before since Claude is generally the most home-loving of birds. While my neighbour was out combing the streets and alleys of old Rouen for his errant feathered friend, I was given the somewhat irksome task of calming his girlfriend. She is a formidable woman, who entered into the tragic spirit of the occasion with a gusto of the intensity that can only be achieved by a Frenchwoman. I decided it would be safest to keep my own counsel in the matter.

My neighbour's girlfriend and I have indeed hardly been on speaking terms for the past six months. This is how it happened. The budgerigar had somehow, I don't know how, learnt some very choice English swear words, which it delighted in bringing forth at the most inopportune moments, such as when there was company. Since I am the only Englishman who comes into regular proximity with the animal, the finger of suspicion naturally pointed at me for teaching them to him. It was useless to protest that it was more likely the fault of the television, where every other word begins with F these days. My neighbour's girlfriend was most vehement and voluble in her denunciations of your correspondent, so I told her frankly that I did not care for her attitude and tone.

The matter was left there, but since then there has been some tension in our dealings. For example, there was the incident with the onions, which I consider to be trivial and petty beyond description. But we pass over that.

Anyway, in the manner of a true English gentleman (which I should say that I am most certainly not a gentleman) I attempted to console the poor woman in her hour of distress and tribulation. All's well that ends well though, as some time later my neighbour, smiling broadly, reappeared with the prodigal parrot. He had been discovered perched on the topmost pinnacle of the local pub, whence he had been retrieved with some minor assistance from the Fire Brigade. Sphere: Related Content