I have to admit that Phil and I get a little obsessed with words and expressions, their meanings, where they come from and so on. It’s the result of spending a good part of your life studying, teaching, reading and translating foreign languages. I’m pretty sure there are worse things to be obsessed with. Indeed I’m pretty sure there are worse kinds of pedantry.
Anyway, at some point yesterday one of us used the word “rigmarole”, provoking the other into wondering where such an odd word came from. Later in the day I went and looked it up - good old internet! Here we go:-
“Definition of rigmarole
1: confused or meaningless talk
2: a complex and sometimes ritualistic procedure
Did You Know?
In the Middle Ages, the term Rageman or Ragman referred to a game in which a player randomly selected a string attached to a roll of verses and read the selected verse. The roll was called a Ragman roll after a fictional king purported to be the author of the verses. By the 16th century, ragman and ragman roll were being used figuratively to mean "a list or catalog." Both terms fell out of written use, but ragman roll persisted in speech, and in the 18th century it resurfaced in writing as rigmarole, with the meaning "a succession of confused, meaningless, or foolish statements." In the mid-19th century rigmarole (also spelled rigamarole, reflecting its common pronunciation) acquired its most recent sense, "a complex and ritualistic procedure."
Examples of rigmarole in a Sentence
We had to go through the rigmarole of installing, registering, and activating the software before we found out it wouldn't work.
He just told us what to do without all the usual rigamarole.”
So there it is. Today’s bit of useless knowledge. But think how dull the world would be if we only ever acquired truly useful knowledge!
Yesterday was an odd day. I ran in the sunshine first thing. By the time I came out of the shower, torrential rain was falling. Phil went out to the dentist later in the morning, by which time the sun was back again. I walked into the village to buy some stuff at the coop and got home just as the next lot of torrential rain came down. And that was the pattern of the day. There was a fine sunset and then, before I went to bed I looked out at a sparkling waning moon in a clear sky. For days (or should that be nights?) it’s been hidden by clouds. Today is mostly sunshine with clouds on the horizon so far. Will it last long enough for us to go for a walk? We shall see!
I’ve been collecting odds and ends from the media and the news again. Here we go:-
From somebody or other’s Twitter feed:
“Lord of the Flies tells the story of a bunch of public schoolboys who take back control of an island and then collapse into vicious in-fighting. I’s a work of fiction apparently.”
No comment!
As pubs and restaurant re-open, I come across reports like this one from the Campaign to rejoin the EU:-
“Britain’s employers are struggling to hire staff as lockdown lifts amid an exodus of overseas workers caused by the Covid pandemic and Brexit, industry figures reveal.
However, in a sign of growing pressures in the jobs market amid rapid growth in consumer spending, the professional body for HR and people development said there had been a sharp decline in the numbers of EU workers, fuelling the risk of labour shortages.
The jobs website, which is tracked by government officials for early warning signs from the labour market, found the number of overseas job searches from western Europe and North America had halved – a decline of about 250,000 – since February 2020, just before Covid-19 spread to the UK.”
And there’s this about fruit and veg in the Mirror:-
“Supermarkets face a devastating fruit and veg shortage while crops rot in fields this summer because of government delays in allowing foreign pickers into Britain.
It means delicious foods like strawberries, blueberries, peas and lettuce look likely to decay in fields while shops lack enough stock for customers.
The government has only announced two of four operators for its Seasonal Workers Pilot last week, which was supposed to find the necessary migrant labour to harvest crops. With the peak of the harvesting season a matter of weeks away, furious MPs have slammed ministers for dragging
Post-Brexit rules have tightened up visas for seasonal pickers who help get much-loved fruit and veg off the vine and onto the shelves. Overseas workers account for the vast majority of the agricultural labour force.
"British Growers have been placed at the bottom of the Home Office's priorities list, and the unnecessary uncertainty could prove costly for producers."
15 percent of daffodils went unpicked this spring thanks to the same problem, with Parish warning the industry may be short of up to 30,000 workers in summer.
A Defra spokesperson said: "Seasonal workers provide vital labour to ensure that local produce gets onto supermarket shelves.””
It’s odd: I thought there were people looking for work. Maybe they are all in the wrong places. Or maybe it’s the wrong kind of work for them.
For those feeling stressed a new leisure activity is opening up in Manchester. “Destroy EVERYTHING at Manchester’s First Smash Room”, goes the publicity. “Temper Tank” seems to be a venue where you go,into a room and smash up everything in sight. What an odd way to spend your time. No doubt people will pay to do this. Not me!
And to finish off, here are some Michael Rosen words:-
“First they advocated herd immunity
but because we were old '
it wouldn't matter if we died.
Then they advocated lockdown
but because it was late,
it was too late.
Then they said that they didn't advocate herd immunity
and they did all they could
But we didn't hear because we were dead.”
That’s all for now.
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
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