Tuesday 20 November 2012

After Monday and before Wednesday



It's Tuesday

The name Tuesday derives from the Old English "Tiwesdæg" and literally means "Tiw's Day".  Tiw is the Old English form of the Proto-Germanic god Tîwaz, or Týr in Norse, the god of single combat, victory, heroic glory and law in Norse mythology. Tiw was equated with Mars in the interpretatio romana and in most languages with Latin origins (French, Spanish, Catalan, Italian, Romanian, Gallician, Sardinian, Corsican, but not Portuguese), the day is named after Mars, the Roman god of war.


In the Greek world, Tuesday (the day of the week of the Fall of Constantinople) is considered an unlucky day. The same is true in the Spanish-speaking world. For both Greeks and Spanish-speakers, the 13th of the month is considered unlucky if it falls on Tuesday, whereas many countries consider it unlucky for it to be Friday 13th.  In Judaism, on the other hand, Tuesday is considered a particularly lucky day, because in the first chapter of Genesis the paragraph about this day contains the phrase "it was good" twice.  What happens if you are Greek or Spanish Jew I'm not sure....

The Liverpool Carters’ Working Horse Monument


This is down at the Liverpool Pier Head and was being much admired when we passed last month. 

It is the boast of Liverpool that the horses employed in the city's industry are the finest in the kingdom and it is a boast to which it is scarcely possible to take exception."
1914 Guidebook to Liverpool


There was a May Parade of all the carter's horses and their families were involved for a while beforehand in polishing the buckles and brasses, blacking the leatherwork and creating the ribbons for fringing onto the bridle, collar and breeching.  The horses were groomed and shined and their manes and tails plaited.


And More in the Name 

Following on from my last post I have learned that there was, for a long time, a curiosity in nomenclature on the Australian pension list. His name was "Through-much-tribulation-we-enter-the-Kingdom-of-Heaven Smith."  The officials of the Pension department very pardonably abbreviated him into Tribby Smith.



Johnston’s Chameleons


Two tiny and very delicate Johnston’s Chameleons (Chamaeleo johnstoni) have hatched in UK’s Exmoor Zoo. Just over an inch (3 cm) long, the babies were laid by a female that was part of an illegal shipment seized by customs agents in Belgium whilst en route to the Czech Republic.  Johnston’s Chameleons occur only in the western branch of Tanzania’s African Rift Valley – the Albertine Rift – and are extremely rare in captivity, according to Danny Reynolds of the Exmoor Zoo.  “These are probably the first of this species ever born in captivity within UK zoos,” he said.  

The illegal shipment of 59 Chameleons was due to be destroyed when the UK’s Specialist Wildlife Services and UK Customs officials intervened and placed all the lizards in UK zoos. Females at several other zoos have laid eggs, but those at the Exmoor Zoo were the first to hatch.



Like all Chameleons, Johnston’s Chameleons are zygodactylous – they have two toes pointing forward and two toes pointing backward, which enables them to cling easily to tree branches (or toothpicks, as seen in these photos!)  They capture insects with their long, extrudable tongues.  In captivity, the babies are fed fruit flies and tiny crickets.

 Are you not....?

"Are you not going to mention me on your blog today?"
"No, dear."
"Your ratings will go down!"
"No, they've seen enough of you for a while." 
"Miaooooow.
"Oh, all right then..."



16 comments:

  1. That little chameleon is so cute and tiny. And of course, That Darn Cat.

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  2. I love the photos and the tour! I always learn something when I visit you~ Thank you John :D

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  3. I am glad the chameleons were not killed!! What a way to deal with illegally shipped animals, really!

    In German, Tuesday is Dienstag. I suspect that has nothing to do with Dienst (service).

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    1. I think the reason illegally shipped animals are often killed is because zoos can't accomodate them all and there is a risk of them being diseased.

      Accprding to Wiktionary, Dienstag is from Middle Low German dingesdach, the day of the ding (“the thing, a council assembly”). Wiktionary also says the name is also thought to be connected to the Germanic god Tiwaz (ang. Tiw, on. Týr), Old High German Ziu - but it doesn't say how!

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  4. In my samll town we have lizards (but no chamelions), horses (but none of bronze), cats (but none belonging to me), and Tuesdays (but not noticable unlucky). This Tuesday is rainy, but with the farmers this is good luck.

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    1. I had to click on your name to confirm you were Pastor Dennis - though I had guessed you were. Like you I find this Google+ both incomprehensible and un-necessary.

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  5. In Swedish Tuesday=Tisdag. I checked the Swedish Wiki article and they refer to the Norse god Tyr as well - in Old Swedish known as Ti. He was the son of Odin. In Europe in the Middle Ages, Tuesdays were considered a good day for starting wars - and also for activities like forging swords! I must remember that if I ever get inspired to write my own fantasy story... ;)

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  6. I do love the photos of your new assistant! How's her spelling coming along? Probably better than mine, if I'm honest.

    Love all the interesting facts I can learn from your blog: all about Tuesday (lucky or unlucky day? it depends), the beautiful horse sculpture, the tiny little chameleon, and finally our daily dose of Ivy! :o)

    Have a great day!

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    1. Her spelling seems to contain a lot of the same letter - she putsssssssssssssssssssssss herrrrrrrrrrrrrrr pawssssssssssssssss on and leaves them there.

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  7. I remember the cart horses, 'tho not the Liverpudlian ones but the big Belgians the farmers used in Flamborough. Some of them were occasionally kept in the field behind our house. We had donkeys in the field across the road, and cows, sheep and carthorses behind us. Not to mention the chickens and geese. Then of course there were the lobsters and crabs in the boiler house (where they were boiled)just behind the donkey field. I'm not really fond of chameleons and their ilk (having a senior moment, can't think of their class. As for Ivy, well you know of course that CATS RULE!

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  8. Why are some of your qwerty keys in big letters?....I wondered if you are teaching the kitten to type.

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    1. I have double vision and focussing problems so they help me know where certsin parts of the keyboard are. They don't stopme mslking loads of typod though!

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  9. Oh, dear, you know something? I feel sorry for that poor old horse, and it is only a statue! I have seen old cab horses in various less developed countries and many of them are ugly and bony in that way. I know, really, though, that some carters were very proud of their horses and didn't treat them badly like cabhorses were often treated.

    So I wonder what it is about it that touches my heart, then? A wonderful statue, anyway.

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  10. Your conversation with Ivy puts me in mind of "archy and mehitabel."

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