Half Penny

Going through some of my pocket change left over from my last trip to Great Britain, I came across this half penny from 1935. Very cool, I think. It was one of my favorites. No! It was my absolute favorite coin as a boy growing up in East Anglia, especially after I discovered one buried in my parent's front yard. Treasure!

I'm not sure how I came to have this one. It may be somewhat like the Canadian pennies you occasionally come across here in the United States. Not legal tender. But, hey! What are you going to buy for a penny, much less a half penny, anyway? :-)

40% Off

So I was told that I will need a pair of dark slacks for a formal dinner at King's College later this month only to discover that the pair I had -- uhm -- were, shall I say, not quite ready for prime time. What to do? 

Fortunately, there was a 40% off sale going on down at Bryant's. But could I have them in time for my departure next week???

"Yes," I was told.,"No problem." And, in fact, they did have them ready for me to pick up yesterday. Actually, they even had them ready the next day. I just couldn't go by to pick them up until yesterday. Whew!

But, hey! I wasn't quite prepared to discover how much more men's clothes cost these days. Sheesh! Even at 40% off!

Van der Kiste

Just finished reading Kiste's book: "In this first biography of the two monarchs for over thirty years, John Van der Kiste provides a lively and accessible account of their lives and times." -- Goodreads

Gaza

Yeah, so I'm guessing I wasn't the only one who thought Trump's proposal concerning Gaza an incredibly reckless idea. I mean, it may be one thing to raise something like this in a corporate board meeting where straw man arguments, I presume, are routinely tossed around and out. But it seems to me to be another thing altogether for world leaders to float such arguments, when they can and almost certainly will touch off eternal resentment.