On Fri, 1 Aug 2008 02:03:13 +0100, "J. P. Gilliver (John)"
 wrote:

>In message , Jo Lonergan 
> writes
>>On Wed, 30 Jul 2008 23:36:45 +0100, "J. P. Gilliver (John)"
>> wrote:
>>
>>>Hmm, the latter is not on - I'm _not_ a good salesman. I still have some
>>>of the USB Christmas trees I bought last summer to sell last Christmas
>>>...
>>
>>I'm strangely interested, how big are they?
>>
>About four inches, guessing. Clear plastic, containing a colour-changing 
>light (presumably three LEDs), and a gold star on top.
>
>They also exist with a sound facility - you press a button on the base, 
>and they (LOUDLY) play carols. The ones I got are mercifully silent.
>
>Search for "USB Christmas tree" and you should find plenty of examples 
>(UK distributors sell them with a huge markup though). They did also 
>make good novelty gifts for friends whom I wouldn't normally give a gift 
>to. (I did get my blind friends one of the musical ones, with which she 
>was delighted - she likes anything like that; her husband was I suspect 
>a little less so ...)

I once gave a friend a Santa candle that played Jingle Bells. The problem was
that it wouldn't stop...

-- 
Jo

On Fri, 1 Aug 2008 18:00:26 +0100, Jenny M Benson 
wrote:

>(*) Exchanging naff presents is a sort of standing joke between us.

I used to exchange dull postcards with a friend of mine who died more than 10
years ago. I still think of her whenever I see a really good ^w boring one.

-- 
Jo

On Fri, 01 Aug 2008 19:19:26 +0200, Jo Lonergan
 wrote:

>On Fri, 1 Aug 2008 18:00:26 +0100, Jenny M Benson 
>wrote:
>
>>(*) Exchanging naff presents is a sort of standing joke between us.
>
>I used to exchange dull postcards with a friend of mine who died more than 10
>years ago. I still think of her whenever I see a really good ^w boring one.

My ex and d#1 used to do that, plus they tried to add very short and
scientific messages on them (she was studying chemistry) so two cards
showing, respectively, the art gallery in Albert Dock and the river in
Taunton (where we used to live) read "acetate" and "acetone".

lff

On Fri, 01 Aug 2008 19:19:26 +0200, Jo Lonergan
 wrote:

>On Fri, 1 Aug 2008 18:00:26 +0100, Jenny M Benson 
>wrote:
>
>>(*) Exchanging naff presents is a sort of standing joke between us.
>
>I used to exchange dull postcards with a friend of mine who died more than 10
>years ago. I still think of her whenever I see a really good ^w boring one.

I gave a friend musical socks one Xmas.  They played carols, I think
it might have been different ones left and right foot.  Never saw him
wear them. Never heard him either :)

Jenny M Benson wrote:
> In message , Jo Lonergan 
>  writes
>>> They also exist with a sound facility - you press a button on the base,
>>> and they (LOUDLY) play carols. The ones I got are mercifully silent.
>>>
>>> Search for "USB Christmas tree" and you should find plenty of examples
>>> (UK distributors sell them with a huge markup though). They did also
>>> make good novelty gifts for friends whom I wouldn't normally give a gift
>>> to. (I did get my blind friends one of the musical ones, with which she
>>> was delighted - she likes anything like that; her husband was I suspect
>>> a little less so ...)
>>
>> I once gave a friend a Santa candle that played Jingle Bells. The 
>> problem was that it wouldn't stop...
> 
> I gave my 4-yr-old Great Niece a "musical" (fs limited vo "musical") 
> birthday card with which she was absolutely delighted. You can get away 
> with doing things like that when you're a Great Auntie!  Although my did 
> niece did confess that the card "mysteriously disappeared" after a 
> couple of days.
> 
> I treasure the Mother's Day card my daughter got me(*) a year or 2 ago. 
> A very raucous voice with a decidedly northern accent proclaims "Mum, 
> you are the greatest, a shinin' twinkly star.  You're totally cool, you 
> flippin' well rule - You're the bestest Mum by far!" One of those things 
> that is just so *awful* you have to love it and it makes me laugh every 
> time I hear it.  I shall be really sorry when the battery runs down!

My brother was given (by his adult son) a talking doll called "Mr 
Wonderful". It says things like,"I'll do the washing up, dear, you just 
put your feet up", or "Of course I'd love your mother to stay for 
another week!" or "Shall we just have a cuddle tonight?"  ...and so on.

We got one on eBay to give to some friends who were getting married 
(second marriage, requesting no presents, but they loved this).


-- 
Marjorie

Jo Lonergan  writes:
>On Fri, 1 Aug 2008 18:00:26 +0100, Jenny M Benson 
>wrote:
>
>>(*) Exchanging naff presents is a sort of standing joke between us.
>
>I used to exchange dull postcards with a friend of mine who died more than 10
>years ago. I still think of her whenever I see a really good ^w boring one.

in my family the standard thing is either (yet another) view of the
seven sisters, or the local equivalent of the dartmouth card we found
in the 60s, with two gulls on the marine parade, captioned gulls on
parade.

(our bank, in days of yore, offered pictorial cheques; one of them was
of the seven sisters, and i paid a small debt i owed my dad with one
such.  he placed it under the glass top of an occasional[*] table, and
i don't believe he ever paid it in.)

[*] well, most of the time, actually[**]
[**] should the footnote be inside the parenthesis?
-- 
Robin Fairbairns, Cambridge

In article <g73vm4$h31$2@gemini.csx.cam.ac.uk>, rf10@cl.cam.ac.uk (Robin
Fairbairns) wrote:
> [*] well, most of the time, actually[**]
> [**] should the footnote be inside the parenthesis?


And, if so, should the footnote to the foonote also be in the parentheses?

Rosemary


-- 
Rosemary Miskin     ZFC Pm   miskin@orpheusmail.co.uk
Loughborough, UK             http://miskin.orpheusweb.co.uk