Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[clan chieftain]

Being a Scot I dont know what all the fuss about Rabbies 250th anniversary is all about. I am just not into his works and ("a that") Yet the Russians used to put him on their stamps.
Same with Shakespeare. He has bored schoolchildren for generations with allegedly his poetry as well.
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The Clan Chieftain

[pigtin]

Can't agree with you on Shakespeare, he spun a damn good yarn and you must realize things could have been worse.

The fate of the greek tragedy playwright, Aeschylus, is a case in point. He had a tortoise dropped on his head by an eagle! The stupid eagle had mistaken his bald head for a rock which, had it been so, would have smashed the tortoise open and provided him with a tasty meal.
But no: Aeschylus’ head was softer than the Tortoise: saving countless generations from losing the will to live, during the many turgid plays he had planned to write.
This guys plays make Burns and Shakespeare's work look positively dumbed down.
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Due to the onset of my mid eighties I'm no longer sprightly and rarely seen in my Austin special. I have written a book though. https://amzn.eu/d/7rwRRqL

[Greeney in France]

You have to look at them in the context of time
Burns was a poet of his time, a comedian a song writer
Shakespeare's works were meant to be seen not read in no different a way than a modern producer/director of a film
They both wrote about universal and human themes such as love, death, jealousy, vanity, revenge, ambition, power, sex, lust. Who can say these themes are not relevant today? People are no different today, music, TV is no different today.
Modern day rap, what ever your views of it is just modern day poetry, have you ever listened to a good Eminem rap, It has content
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www.OldFrenchCars.com

We do these things not to escape life but to prevent life escaping us

[pigtin]

A good Eminem rap certainly has content, as does our trash can

But seriously, I think much popular culture has merit, as Greeney says, but it's a product of a dumbed down system and is supposed to give instant gratification to the senses. Just depends what your senses are seeking.

I can find few people who share my love of Baroque dance, but the sarabande was banned at the time for being to sensuous. I've no doubt some old fart like me will seize on the Spice Girls in three hundred years time and think it's the best thing since sliced bread.
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Due to the onset of my mid eighties I'm no longer sprightly and rarely seen in my Austin special. I have written a book though. https://amzn.eu/d/7rwRRqL

[47p2]

Ah our Rabbie, what a man he was. It's said he had 9 children of which 6 were illegitimate, he was not a popular man when he was alive because he was a tax collector and it was years after his death before he became famous.
There are hundreds of poems that are unpublished as they are deemed "too rude" to be put to print. From what I have been told they will never be published.



Now who else could have wrote such wonderful poetry as this

To A Mouse.


Wee sleekit, cow'rin, tim'rous beastie,
O, what a panic's in thy breastie!
Thou need na start awa sae hasty,
Wi bickering brattle!
I wad be laith to rin an chase thee,
Wi murdering pattle!

I'm truly sorry man's dominion
Has broken Nature's social union,
An justifies that ill opinion,
Which makes thee startle
At me, thy poor, earth-born companion.
An fellow mortal!

I doubt na, whyles, but thou may thieve:
What then? poor beastie, thou maun live!
A daimen icker in a thrave
'S a sma request;
I'll get a blessin wi the lave,
An never miss't!

Thy wee-bit housie, too, in ruin!
Its silly wa's the win's are strewin!
An naething, now, to big a new ane,
O foggage green!
An bleak December's win's ensuin.
Baith snell an keen!

Thou saw the fields laid bare an waste,
An weary winter comin fast.
An cozie here, beneath the blast,
Thou thought to dwell,
Till crash! the cruel coulter past
Out thro thy cell.

That wee bit heap o leaves an stibble,
Has cost thee monie a weary nibble!
Now thou's turn'd out, for a' thy trouble.
But house or hald,
To thole the winter's sleety dribble,
An cranreuch cauld!

But Mousie, thou art no thy lane,
In proving foresight may be vain:
The best-laid schemes o mice an men
Gang aft agley,
An lea'e us nought but grief an pain,
For promis'd joy!

Still thou art blest, compar'd wi me!
The present only toucheth thee:
But och! I backward cast my e'e,
On prospects drear!
An forward, tho I canna see,
I guess an fear!
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ROVER
One of Britain's Fine Cars

[Penman]

Hi

[RotaryBri]

My what a cultural evening we are having tonight.
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Keep Torqueing,

RotaryBri

1976 NSU Ro80

[47p2]

Culture, Scotland is famous for its culture

How about Matt McGinn, one of the funniest men I have ever heard.

I wonder if Dave has heard this one before

THE BEE FROM THE OLD TOWN OF EFFEN
(Matt McGinn)

He kept bees in the old town of Effen
An Effen beekeeper was he
And one day this Effen beekeeper
Was stung by a big Effen bee


Now this big Effen beekeeper's wee Effen wife
For the big Effen polis she ran
For there's nobody can sort out a big Effen bee
Like a big Effen polisman can


The big Effen polisman he did his nut
And he ran down the manin Effen street
In his hand was a big Effen baton
He had big Effen boots on his feet


The polis got hold of this big Effen bee
And he twisted the Effen bee's wings
But thes big Effen bee got his own back
For this big Effen bee had two stings


Now they're both in the Effen museum
Where the Effen folk often come see
The remains of the big Effen polis
Stung to death by the big Effen bee


That's the end of that wee Effen story
'Tis an innocent wee Effen tale
But if you ever tell it in Effen
You'll end up in the old Effen jail
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ROVER
One of Britain's Fine Cars

[oldtimer]

Hello all,
I am with Greeney on this one.I find little has changed in the human condition, it seems,and my favourite lines are in Tam o' Shanter :
" Whare sits our,sulky,sullen dame
Gathering her brows like gathering storm
Nursing her wrath to keep it warm "
Tam is under no illusions what kind of reception to expect on his return from the pub!!!
I reckon this takes some beating too;
"But pleasures are like poppies spread,
You seize the flow'r,its bloom is shed;
Or like the snowfall in the river,
A moment white,then melts for ever;
Or like the borealis race,
That flit ere you can point their place;
Or like the rainbow's lovely form
Evanishing amid the storm."
oldtimer

[Scotty]

[47p2]

You forgot the deep fried Mars bar Scotty
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ROVER
One of Britain's Fine Cars

[Greeney in France]

pigtin has the point too about "instant gratification" I had this very same discussion with my niece who is 13 and doesnt do much else than watch TV nintendo DS or playstation, in one of those argumentative moment she just said "it entertains me" when I asked about why big brother was so entertaining to her. That set me off I gave her a book to read
the AA Milne winne the pooh set and I won that one as she loves it.
But being entertained is what it is all about not seeking your own.
I blame schools to a certain degree,I did English Literature at school and had to read dozens of works make comparisons and argue relevancy. Because this is not taught now, nothing is relevant to them any more other than what they feast their eyes on.
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www.OldFrenchCars.com

We do these things not to escape life but to prevent life escaping us

[pigtin]

Are there not any decent poems featuring cars of motorbikes? Ode to an 'E' type, or something like that. Maybe someone should start writing them... there may be a market.
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Due to the onset of my mid eighties I'm no longer sprightly and rarely seen in my Austin special. I have written a book though. https://amzn.eu/d/7rwRRqL

[peter scott]

Taking up Penman's McGonagal and with the recent Hudson rescue in mind and also being an atheistic sort of chap I can happily say that there is a awful lot of rubbish written. e.g.

"If God had intended us to fly he'd never have given us the railways."

Peter
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https://www.nostalgiatech.co.uk
1939 SS Jaguar 2 1/2 litre saloon

[peppiB]

With apologies to WH Davies (Leisure)


What is this life, without a car
Time just standing at the bar
Pint in hand, so fingers shiver
Lord knows what's happening to me liver!
No more standing at the bench
To maim myself with saw and wrench
Laying prostrate on the floor
Watching oil from engine pour
On the drive, it leaves a stain
Better not do that again
Getting there by bike or bus
That really is like too much fuss
Private transports best by far
Best I get another car!