finbar visits horse or: for God's sake I hope that tomato plant survives!

[finbar]

Originally posted by SuperSneak

1) I wish I were a "famous writer" so I could hang about looking like a beach bum all day.

I forgot to applaud your use of the subjunctive tense. Are you sure you're American?

[Alexander's Horse]

the b*tchin part of it is I think Sneak has the potential to be a great writer if he put his mind to it.

[finbar]

OTOH, he might have used the subjunctive tense accidentally.

[Alexander's Horse]

Boy are you going to be in Dutch fella when Mrs finbar finds out you let Dermott drive her car to Canberra.

I want 2 helpings of sweets next time I visit to keep schtum.

[finbar]

Ooooopps! I forgot to vacuum the dog hair out of the driver's seat and empty the car's ashtray! He can't concentrate driving for 10km without a drag.

But I'll give him something - he mastered the indicator stalk being on the LHS side of the steering column quicker than I did!

[Alexander's Horse]

I'll bet he had the kinks out of his elbows.

[Ted Striker]

this would be a nice thread if the server would actually display the photos

[Alexander's Horse]

You'll just have to come to canberra Ted.

[SuperSneak]

What was that you were driving, Fin? Looked like it might be a Toyota, but I have a feeling it's most likely some kind of German car--you seem like a BMW 540I type of guy.

And you know, when I'm not abusing ellipses, I am quite fond of the subjunctive tense.

You and Horse look like a couple of cool old rock stars, getting together to rehash the good old days.

[finbar]

Originally posted by SuperSneak
What was that you were driving, Fin? Looked like it might be a Toyota, but I have a feeling it's most likely some kind of German car--you seem like a BMW 540I type of guy.

I have a Honda Civic. It's the dogs' car. It's just ticked over 5000 miles in 5 years taking them to the park and back.

It was Mrs finbar's brand new Peugot 307. I took it for a run down to Canberra to give it some exercise. It replaced her beautiful Honda Prelude that was stolen from out the front of the house back in June. Parts thieves. They stripped it - to the point of write-off - and dumped it across town. Bastards!

Anyway, you want some irony? We knew the car had been stolen between 11pm Sunday June 22 and 1am Monday June 23. About three weeks ago, we received a traffic infringement notice in the mail. The car had been photographed - by a security camera - being driven through an E-tag toll gate on the Sydney Harbour Bridge without an E-tag fitted to it. Because we'd never fitted one. The photograph was taken at a quarter to one in the morning of Monday, June 23. It was the thieves. On their way from our place, across the bridge, to wherever they stripped it.

And you know, when I'm not abusing ellipses, I am quite fond of the subjunctive tense.

Proves you're not really American.

You and Horse look like a couple of cool old rock stars, getting together to rehash the good old days.

Horse has to "dum-de-dum-da-dum" after the first couple of lines of "Stairway".

[finbar]

Originally posted by Alexander's Horse
You'll just have to come to canberra Ted.

He did the impossible on the way home. Gave a highway cop the finger. And, as you're aware, he doesn't have fingers.

[SuperSneak]

I just want to know if you had to pay the fine. Due to incredible bureaucratic idiocy here, you'd probably still be battling it in court.
Hmm...trading in the bankable dependability of a Honda for the sleek yet difficult to repair European car.
Business must be good.

How'd the kid's show project go, by the way? Don't tell me you tried to adapt The Illiad to puppetry and got turned down cold?

[finbar]

Originally posted by SuperSneak
I just want to know if you had to pay the fine. Due to incredible bureaucratic idiocy here, you'd probably still be battling it in court.
Hmm...trading in the bankable dependability of a Honda for the sleek yet difficult to repair European car.
Business must be good.

No problem with the fine. We had a copy of the report made to the police at the time. We got home - via taxi - at 11pm and the car was there. The wicked stepdaughter got home - via taxi - at 1am and, I established with her next morning, her taxi had pulled up where the Prelude had earlier been parked. All of that was in the report, so it basically proved we weren't in the car. The time on the infringement notice - 12.44am, from memory - meant the car had been stolen about 2 minutes earlier because we're only 2 minutes from the bridge toll gates at that time of night (or morning). All of which means that if the wicked stepdaughter had arrived home about 18 minutes earlier, she'd've disturbed the thieves.

Mrs finbar would've replaced the Prelude with another one except Honda stopped making them about three years ago. No one knows why, not even the Honda dealers who were selling every single one that arrived in their showrooms. They were wonderful cars. The only other coupé Honda makes - or sells here - is the Integra, which is a smaller, tinnier version of the Prelude. And the Accord, which Honda upgraded after abandoning the Prelude, is just another 4-door, mid-range and unremarkable sedan. Thus, after a Civic and three Preludes over many, many years, Mrs finbar reluctantly changed brands.

How'd the kid's show project go, by the way? Don't tell me you tried to adapt The Illiad to puppetry and got turned down cold?

Finished it about 5 weeks ago. It's already on air here and on Channel 5 in England. So well received that they now want to make a feature film based on it. So I'm now trying to come up with a story that will sustain for feature-length.

[Alexander's Horse]

I once owned a black BMW 520i Alpina with racing tyres and trim if that is any help Sneak.

Had it when I was courting Mrs Horse in fact. Our first 2 dates were long day trip drives. I have a photo of her from each trip too. Lucky huh?

[finbar]

I suspect Sneak's a Trabant driver.