Last week’s temperatures in the Isle of Man soared up to and well beyond 20 degrees Celsius, whatever that means.
I thought Celsius was one of those washing up liquids in the more desperate commercials on ITV.
Many people like me think in imperial. You could call us Mint Imperials.
But it meant that in the heat wave a lot of old men, managing to wake up to the reality of it being unusually hot outside, felt compelled to stir abroad of a morning without their trousers on and this accounted for some of the more distressing sights to be seen not only in public places but in the workplace.
Of course the men did not discard their Y-fronts as well as their trousers, even though some might well should have done.
They put on what they thought of as shorts.
But the men concerned were unconcerned, even though in many cases their skin was a deathly pale with the legs themselves looking to be, well, on their last legs I suppose. They could have benefited also from a quick rub down with brown shoe polish.
These men didn’t know how frightful their legs looked. Some were obviously no longer able to bend over far enough to have a look at them.
Also shorts today are a misnomer. They are not short. They tend to go down as far as the knees and even the mid-calf. Manly shorts should be short. They should extend down to well before the mid-thigh.
Like mine did.
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My grand-daughter Annie came to the Isle of Man for a few days on an easyJet flight from Gatwick. Before take-off the captain announced: ‘Our flight time will be five minutes.’
This gave new meaning to the order: ‘Fasten your seat belts.’
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Lots of newspapers carried stories about how 20 minutes of vigorous exercise three times a week will help to prevent the onset of dementia.
I must try and remember this.
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Email in from one of what I appear to have two Mrs P’s on my supply list: ‘I was stunned to realise that the Isle of Man has grown in size overnight. In the Examiner there was an advertisement for the Old Horses Home on Richmond Hill saying it is only 33 miles from Douglas.’
Neigh.
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This week’s Manx crossword clue has come in from Sara Goodwins and Clive Alford. It was in the Radio Times as follows: ‘Gold found under island house (5) – MANOR.
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Church notice: ‘Ladies, don’t forget the rummage sale. It’s a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Bring your husbands.’