- Joined
- Aug 7, 2001
- Messages
- 54,631
There's a woman with the name Amelia Gentleman writing in today's Guardian - an unusual surname. (Though I was once at school with a boy named Gent...)
I don't get many phone calls, but, coincidentally, I got one this morning from another Amelia!
I don't get many phone calls, but, coincidentally, I got one this morning from another Amelia!
Peripart
Antediluvian
- Joined
- Aug 1, 2005
- Messages
- 6,739
Equally, can someone put me out of my misery regarding these ones from an earlier post?poozler said:
I mean, "Doctor Doctor", yes, very funny, I suppose, but I'm not sure whether "Leslie" adds much. As for the others, I've been saying them to myself, in a variety of imaginary funny voices, to no avail. As Poozler asked, what am I missing?
- Joined
- Apr 7, 2009
- Messages
- 228
Trees are not blue, Teresa Green. 
Used to work with a chap called Jolyon Stiff.
Made me chuckle a lot.
Ah! Just remembered, my sigoth used to go to school with a girl called - get this - Henrietta Gardener!!! Guffaw!! :lol:
Used to work with a chap called Jolyon Stiff.
Made me chuckle a lot.
Ah! Just remembered, my sigoth used to go to school with a girl called - get this - Henrietta Gardener!!! Guffaw!! :lol:
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2001
- Messages
- 54,631
This is not macabre, or a pub or street name, so this will have to go here!
Longest place name in US spelt wrongly
The longest place name in the United States, Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg, has been spelt incorrectly for years, local officials have discovered.
By Sarah Knapton
Last Updated: 9:02AM BST 22 Apr 2009
The lake in Webster, Massachusetts - known as Webster Lake for short - was always going to be a challenge for sign writers.
But after researching historical spelling combinations, the local newspaper the Telegram & Gazette of Worcester said local Chamber of Commerce officials agreed that some signs at the lake were wrong.
There was an "o" at letter 20 where a "u" should have been, and an "h" at letter 38 where an "n" should go.
The name comes from the language of the local Nipmuck tribe and translates to "Englishmen at Manchaug at the fishing place at the boundary although" and was applied in the 19th century when White people built factories in the area.
One debunked myth suggested the actual words were "You fish on your side, I fish on my side, and nobody fish in the middle."
It is believed the latter was a hoax believed to have been concocted by the late Larry Daly, the editor of The Webster Times.
The stretch of water has several alternative names is also shortened to Lake Chaubunagungamaug to avoid the 45 letter tongue twister.
Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg, the full-length version of the name, is the longest place name in the United States and 6th longest in the world. Its 17 uses of "g" are the most instances of any letter in a word. The name also contains 10 instances of the letter "a" (not including the "a" in "lake"), more than any word in the English language.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstop ... ongly.html
Longest place name in US spelt wrongly
The longest place name in the United States, Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg, has been spelt incorrectly for years, local officials have discovered.
By Sarah Knapton
Last Updated: 9:02AM BST 22 Apr 2009
The lake in Webster, Massachusetts - known as Webster Lake for short - was always going to be a challenge for sign writers.
But after researching historical spelling combinations, the local newspaper the Telegram & Gazette of Worcester said local Chamber of Commerce officials agreed that some signs at the lake were wrong.
There was an "o" at letter 20 where a "u" should have been, and an "h" at letter 38 where an "n" should go.
The name comes from the language of the local Nipmuck tribe and translates to "Englishmen at Manchaug at the fishing place at the boundary although" and was applied in the 19th century when White people built factories in the area.
One debunked myth suggested the actual words were "You fish on your side, I fish on my side, and nobody fish in the middle."
It is believed the latter was a hoax believed to have been concocted by the late Larry Daly, the editor of The Webster Times.
The stretch of water has several alternative names is also shortened to Lake Chaubunagungamaug to avoid the 45 letter tongue twister.
Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg, the full-length version of the name, is the longest place name in the United States and 6th longest in the world. Its 17 uses of "g" are the most instances of any letter in a word. The name also contains 10 instances of the letter "a" (not including the "a" in "lake"), more than any word in the English language.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstop ... ongly.html
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2001
- Messages
- 54,631
Re: Place names
Residents of 'Butt Hole Road' club together to change street's unfortunate name
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 11:24 AM on 26th May 2009
In the end, the constant jokes were just too much to take for the long-suffering residents of Butt Hole Road.
Groups of youths used to visit the street and bare their backsides for photographs while many delivery firms simply refused to believe it existed.
And coachloads of amused American tourists frequently turned up to view the sign after it appeared in a US book.
And so despairing households in the suburban street in Conisbrough, South Yorkshire, decided that the road's name simply had to change.
The sign for 'Butt Hole Road' which has now changed to Archers Way after complaints from residents in Conisbrough near Doncaster
They spent £300 to change their address to the rather more palatable Archers Way.
Resident Peter Sutton said he originally thought the street's name would be fun - but admits he soon got tired of the jokes.
Mr Sutton moved into the house vacated in 2003 by Paul and Lisa Allott, who were forced to move after becoming fed up with their street's name.
Mr Allott said: 'We'd heard every single gag there is and we'd had enough.
'We've had people flashing their bottoms for photographs by the drive, we've had people ringing us up with hilarious jokes about the street name and then we've had those who just don't believe us.
'All the other street names around here are quite sensible.
'I just can't see why they didn't call it Butt Hall Road, or something like that. I've no idea why it was named like this.'
Elizabeth Brennan, 77, who uses the street for access to her home, said: 'It was a bit tedious having the street laughed at all the time. The new name is much nicer.'
But an internet petition has already been started to change the road's name back again.
Butt Hole Road is believed to have been named after a communal water butt that was originally in the area.
The road has been renamed Archers Way to refer to a medieval castle that is just half a mile away.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... -name.html
Anonymous said:
Residents of 'Butt Hole Road' club together to change street's unfortunate name
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 11:24 AM on 26th May 2009
In the end, the constant jokes were just too much to take for the long-suffering residents of Butt Hole Road.
Groups of youths used to visit the street and bare their backsides for photographs while many delivery firms simply refused to believe it existed.
And coachloads of amused American tourists frequently turned up to view the sign after it appeared in a US book.
And so despairing households in the suburban street in Conisbrough, South Yorkshire, decided that the road's name simply had to change.
The sign for 'Butt Hole Road' which has now changed to Archers Way after complaints from residents in Conisbrough near Doncaster
They spent £300 to change their address to the rather more palatable Archers Way.
Resident Peter Sutton said he originally thought the street's name would be fun - but admits he soon got tired of the jokes.
Mr Sutton moved into the house vacated in 2003 by Paul and Lisa Allott, who were forced to move after becoming fed up with their street's name.
Mr Allott said: 'We'd heard every single gag there is and we'd had enough.
'We've had people flashing their bottoms for photographs by the drive, we've had people ringing us up with hilarious jokes about the street name and then we've had those who just don't believe us.
'All the other street names around here are quite sensible.
'I just can't see why they didn't call it Butt Hall Road, or something like that. I've no idea why it was named like this.'
Elizabeth Brennan, 77, who uses the street for access to her home, said: 'It was a bit tedious having the street laughed at all the time. The new name is much nicer.'
But an internet petition has already been started to change the road's name back again.
Butt Hole Road is believed to have been named after a communal water butt that was originally in the area.
The road has been renamed Archers Way to refer to a medieval castle that is just half a mile away.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... -name.html
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2001
- Messages
- 54,631
...
Professor Robert Smith? (the question mark is part of his surname and not a typographical mistake) and colleagues wrote: "We model a zombie attack using biological assumptions based on popular zombie movies.
"We introduce a basic model for zombie infection and illustrate the outcome with numerical solutions."
On his university web page, the mathematics professor at Ottawa University says the question mark distinguishes him from Robert Smith, lead singer of rock band The Cure.
....
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8206280.stm
8)
Professor Robert Smith? (the question mark is part of his surname and not a typographical mistake) and colleagues wrote: "We model a zombie attack using biological assumptions based on popular zombie movies.
"We introduce a basic model for zombie infection and illustrate the outcome with numerical solutions."
On his university web page, the mathematics professor at Ottawa University says the question mark distinguishes him from Robert Smith, lead singer of rock band The Cure.
....
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8206280.stm
8)
Mal_Adjusted
Justified & Ancient
- Joined
- Aug 6, 2003
- Messages
- 2,246
Some interesting names among the institute of Civil celebrants list:
http://www.iocf.org.uk/reg_members.htm
Faith Oxford
Susan Reeve
Barbara E Paternoster
Evelyn Temple
(seriously though, a useful resource for anyone wanting civil celebrants - wish I'd know of this for my dad's funeral.)
http://www.iocf.org.uk/reg_members.htm
Faith Oxford
Susan Reeve
Barbara E Paternoster
Evelyn Temple
(seriously though, a useful resource for anyone wanting civil celebrants - wish I'd know of this for my dad's funeral.)
- Joined
- Feb 26, 2008
- Messages
- 4
I know someone called Nicholas Muff lol. What were the parents thinking? :-o:-D
JamesWhitehead
Piffle Prospector
- Joined
- Aug 2, 2001
- Messages
- 14,217
The Phone Book around here reflects the exotic mix of people we now have.
There's an M. K. Vijayanarayanan, a V. Veeraraghavar, a P. Ufomba, an Unachukwu, an S. P. Unitt, the vowelless T. Tymczyszyn, an S. Uanprommna, the exemplary P. Ure, the ungrateful A. & T. Unthank, and I like to think she might be J.(ane) Vain.
I suppose Mr C. Vanbentum might be a panel beater? let's assume A. Whipday offers ice-creams. Does D. Wiseglass read a crystal ball? H. Wink sounds a bit of a rascal. As does P. R. Winkle. (known as Peri?) There's a K. B. Winpenny followed by the unlikely but true P. Winperbottom, where that intrusive N is plain annoying.
P. Wittering has no Unman or Zigo to team up with. He or she will have to make do with T. S. Undy and Chan O. Zong, J. Zorno or M. Zott. The directory spaces out the last column of names to fill the space, as if it is especially proud of them.
So it should be. For here lie A. Zonfagharghani and A. Zsoltjasjfali, G. M. Zuk (Geneticlally Modified?) Finally we meet W. Zynilbdeen.
The Zamitts sound a tad expletive, Zatman a superhero.
O. Yakubu'olugbenga is probably named after a loud conversation on a mobile phone. The Smellies have sensibly gone ex-directory but there is an R. Smelson.
J. Snippe was intended for hairdressing. B. Snowball for games and G. Spanner sounds a handy character. In an emergency you could call Z. Sos. S. S. Soda Wala sounds like a hangover from the Raj. For apologies, you can't beat A. Sorry and R. Skuse. No Slags appear but plenty of Slacks.
I wouldn't mess with G. Slonker. E. Sistern of Sale sounds flush. J. Sithole sedentary, while J. Slymon sounds a bit sluggish to me. D. Shipperbuttom and G. R. Shirt are close neighbours on one page, if not in life. I am intrigued by I. Shotloserg. Dr T. Simper and Willfrid Sharphorse. P. Shegog must be a female giant! Mr J. Shellabear suggests a fat bloke in a tracksuit.
A. Shafto and S. Shaft live in Radcliffe, a long way from the sea or Harlem, come to that. The directory boasts two Shanmugams.
Finally, for now, I salute J. Sanchobitch of Prestwich!
Yes, I do have lots of important things to do. However did you guess?
edit: intrusive h in crystal!
There's an M. K. Vijayanarayanan, a V. Veeraraghavar, a P. Ufomba, an Unachukwu, an S. P. Unitt, the vowelless T. Tymczyszyn, an S. Uanprommna, the exemplary P. Ure, the ungrateful A. & T. Unthank, and I like to think she might be J.(ane) Vain.
I suppose Mr C. Vanbentum might be a panel beater? let's assume A. Whipday offers ice-creams. Does D. Wiseglass read a crystal ball? H. Wink sounds a bit of a rascal. As does P. R. Winkle. (known as Peri?) There's a K. B. Winpenny followed by the unlikely but true P. Winperbottom, where that intrusive N is plain annoying.
P. Wittering has no Unman or Zigo to team up with. He or she will have to make do with T. S. Undy and Chan O. Zong, J. Zorno or M. Zott. The directory spaces out the last column of names to fill the space, as if it is especially proud of them.
So it should be. For here lie A. Zonfagharghani and A. Zsoltjasjfali, G. M. Zuk (Geneticlally Modified?) Finally we meet W. Zynilbdeen.
The Zamitts sound a tad expletive, Zatman a superhero.
O. Yakubu'olugbenga is probably named after a loud conversation on a mobile phone. The Smellies have sensibly gone ex-directory but there is an R. Smelson.
J. Snippe was intended for hairdressing. B. Snowball for games and G. Spanner sounds a handy character. In an emergency you could call Z. Sos. S. S. Soda Wala sounds like a hangover from the Raj. For apologies, you can't beat A. Sorry and R. Skuse. No Slags appear but plenty of Slacks.
I wouldn't mess with G. Slonker. E. Sistern of Sale sounds flush. J. Sithole sedentary, while J. Slymon sounds a bit sluggish to me. D. Shipperbuttom and G. R. Shirt are close neighbours on one page, if not in life. I am intrigued by I. Shotloserg. Dr T. Simper and Willfrid Sharphorse. P. Shegog must be a female giant! Mr J. Shellabear suggests a fat bloke in a tracksuit.
A. Shafto and S. Shaft live in Radcliffe, a long way from the sea or Harlem, come to that. The directory boasts two Shanmugams.
Finally, for now, I salute J. Sanchobitch of Prestwich!
Yes, I do have lots of important things to do. However did you guess?
edit: intrusive h in crystal!
Blinko_Glick said:Trees are not blue, Teresa Green.
Used to work with a chap called Jolyon Stiff.
Made me chuckle a lot.
Ah! Just remembered, my sigoth used to go to school with a girl called - get this - Henrietta Gardener!!! Guffaw!! :lol:
You really need to get out more, we have a Dr D'eath in our cycling club.
- Joined
- Aug 5, 2009
- Messages
- 57
My Dad knew a family with the surname H' Arse (sic?), they had daughters called Rosie and Tanya.
I assume it was a deliberate.
I assume it was a deliberate.
BlackPeter
Ancient Badger
- Joined
- May 5, 2006
- Messages
- 449
I used to work as a youngster for a gentleman with the very unfortunate surname of A'Ness. No prizes for guessing his nickname
- Joined
- Mar 9, 2002
- Messages
- 13,692
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2001
- Messages
- 54,631
Real-life Harry Potter reveals why sharing the wizard's name has made his life a misery
By Beth Hale
Last updated at 3:12 AM on 22nd October 2009
The similarities are there - right down to a scar on the forehead.
But the biggest thing they share are eleven letters spelling out two short names. Harry Potter.
And as the dark-haired young man (the one without the glasses) pictured here can testify: being a real-life Harry Potter is not quite as magical as it might seem.
Mr Potter has endured taunts from the public, police, phone companies and even a football referee - all because he shares a name with arguably the world's best known wizard.
Mr Potter, who was born in 1989, had eight peaceful years of being a schoolboy with a fairly ordinary name before JK Rowling released a book entitled Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, and everything changed.
Then Daniel Radcliffe, who at 20 is the same age as Mr Potter, brought the boy wizard to life and suddenly introducing himself as 'Harry Potter' became something of a minefield.
Mr Potter even had to show his girlfriend his passport so she would believe him when they first met and a bus company refused to issue him with a pass because they didn't believe he was telling them the truth when he tried to sign up. :shock:
Mother Tracey Shaw, 47, never dreamed that when she picked a name for her first child, that it would one-day be a global phenomenon.
'People used to assume that he was named after Prince Harry, and that was his nickname when he was very young - we called him Prince Harry,' she said.
'There was no such thing as Harry Potter at the time so I didn't have a clue the name would become so famous.'
Last night Mr Potter, from Portsmouth, in Hampshire, said he wished author Rowling had never used his name for her books.
'My life has changed completely since the books were written,' he said. 'At first I thought it might be quite a good thing to have the same name.
'But now it is like someone has cast a bad spell on me, the reactions I get from people range from making fun to plain aggressive.
'Sometimes I wish JK Rowling had never used my name.
'People seem to forget that I was Harry Potter before the character. I was nine when the books first came out.'
It was Mrs Shaw who brought the first Harry Potter book home for her son to read. Neither she nor her son realised how it would take off.
'Whenever I was playing up at school, the teachers would make some joke about my name, which soon shut me up,' said Mr Potter.
'After 12 years of it I couldn't count the amount of times I've heard "You're a wizard Harry". It does wear a bit thin after a while.
'And I've heard all the puns about my wand.' 8)
Apart from the joke, Mr Potter has a far more humdrum life than his fictional counterpart from Hogwarts School of Wizardry.
He works in the more mundane surroundings of Lloyds TSB.
Mr Potter said: 'When I got my job in the bank, they couldn't believe that I was telling the truth on my application form.
'I'm the only person in the building who doesn't have to use my full name when I'm talking on the phone.
'Beginning a phone conversation with the mention of my name is never a good start - it distracts people too much.'
And while the young stars of the film series have snapped up a string of multi-million properties, Mr Potter will be happy when he and girlfriend Philippa Hall, 18, manage to buy their first house together.
The young man, does however, share one key feature with his namesake, a scar on his forehead.
Film Harry gained his in a battle with arch enemy evil Lord Voldemort. Mr Potter ran into a lamppost aged 15.
etc...
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z0UeTnkKOo
By Beth Hale
Last updated at 3:12 AM on 22nd October 2009
The similarities are there - right down to a scar on the forehead.
But the biggest thing they share are eleven letters spelling out two short names. Harry Potter.
And as the dark-haired young man (the one without the glasses) pictured here can testify: being a real-life Harry Potter is not quite as magical as it might seem.
Mr Potter has endured taunts from the public, police, phone companies and even a football referee - all because he shares a name with arguably the world's best known wizard.
Mr Potter, who was born in 1989, had eight peaceful years of being a schoolboy with a fairly ordinary name before JK Rowling released a book entitled Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, and everything changed.
Then Daniel Radcliffe, who at 20 is the same age as Mr Potter, brought the boy wizard to life and suddenly introducing himself as 'Harry Potter' became something of a minefield.
Mr Potter even had to show his girlfriend his passport so she would believe him when they first met and a bus company refused to issue him with a pass because they didn't believe he was telling them the truth when he tried to sign up. :shock:
Mother Tracey Shaw, 47, never dreamed that when she picked a name for her first child, that it would one-day be a global phenomenon.
'People used to assume that he was named after Prince Harry, and that was his nickname when he was very young - we called him Prince Harry,' she said.
'There was no such thing as Harry Potter at the time so I didn't have a clue the name would become so famous.'
Last night Mr Potter, from Portsmouth, in Hampshire, said he wished author Rowling had never used his name for her books.
'My life has changed completely since the books were written,' he said. 'At first I thought it might be quite a good thing to have the same name.
'But now it is like someone has cast a bad spell on me, the reactions I get from people range from making fun to plain aggressive.
'Sometimes I wish JK Rowling had never used my name.
'People seem to forget that I was Harry Potter before the character. I was nine when the books first came out.'
It was Mrs Shaw who brought the first Harry Potter book home for her son to read. Neither she nor her son realised how it would take off.
'Whenever I was playing up at school, the teachers would make some joke about my name, which soon shut me up,' said Mr Potter.
'After 12 years of it I couldn't count the amount of times I've heard "You're a wizard Harry". It does wear a bit thin after a while.
'And I've heard all the puns about my wand.' 8)
Apart from the joke, Mr Potter has a far more humdrum life than his fictional counterpart from Hogwarts School of Wizardry.
He works in the more mundane surroundings of Lloyds TSB.
Mr Potter said: 'When I got my job in the bank, they couldn't believe that I was telling the truth on my application form.
'I'm the only person in the building who doesn't have to use my full name when I'm talking on the phone.
'Beginning a phone conversation with the mention of my name is never a good start - it distracts people too much.'
And while the young stars of the film series have snapped up a string of multi-million properties, Mr Potter will be happy when he and girlfriend Philippa Hall, 18, manage to buy their first house together.
The young man, does however, share one key feature with his namesake, a scar on his forehead.
Film Harry gained his in a battle with arch enemy evil Lord Voldemort. Mr Potter ran into a lamppost aged 15.
etc...
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z0UeTnkKOo
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2001
- Messages
- 54,631
Italian town wins fight to use strange nicknames
Residents of a small Italian town where 8,000 people have the same surname have won a legal fight to use their nicknames, which can descend into the derogatory, on official documents.
Published: 7:00AM GMT 16 Nov 2009
For more than 200 years, the people of Chioggia near Venice, have used the nicknames to distinguish between distantly related families, but they were never officially recognised.
Now, following a decree from the interior ministry, families in the town will be allowed to adopt their nickname as a second, official surname, the Guardian reports. Some of the more bizarre nicknames include "Mad", "Fat" and "Peasant".
"We fought hard for this so we can avoid a lot of confusion, as well as making filling out forms less complicated," said the mayor, Romano Tiozzo, whose family nickname is "Pagio", or "straw" in local dialect.
Chioggia, at the south end of the Venice lagoon has 8,000 Boscolos and 5,000 Tiozzos out of 52,000 people.
The 300 family nicknames used to distinguish between the various Boscolos and Tiozzos often recall trades or character traits, including Schilla, a lagoon shrimp, and Femminella, or effeminate. Tiozzo's opponent in the last mayoral election was Lucio Tiozzo "Fasiolo", dialect for "bean".
Interior ministry undersecretary Michelino Davico told the Corriere della Sera: "If we find similar situations in other towns we will also consider sorting them out."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... names.html
Residents of a small Italian town where 8,000 people have the same surname have won a legal fight to use their nicknames, which can descend into the derogatory, on official documents.
Published: 7:00AM GMT 16 Nov 2009
For more than 200 years, the people of Chioggia near Venice, have used the nicknames to distinguish between distantly related families, but they were never officially recognised.
Now, following a decree from the interior ministry, families in the town will be allowed to adopt their nickname as a second, official surname, the Guardian reports. Some of the more bizarre nicknames include "Mad", "Fat" and "Peasant".
"We fought hard for this so we can avoid a lot of confusion, as well as making filling out forms less complicated," said the mayor, Romano Tiozzo, whose family nickname is "Pagio", or "straw" in local dialect.
Chioggia, at the south end of the Venice lagoon has 8,000 Boscolos and 5,000 Tiozzos out of 52,000 people.
The 300 family nicknames used to distinguish between the various Boscolos and Tiozzos often recall trades or character traits, including Schilla, a lagoon shrimp, and Femminella, or effeminate. Tiozzo's opponent in the last mayoral election was Lucio Tiozzo "Fasiolo", dialect for "bean".
Interior ministry undersecretary Michelino Davico told the Corriere della Sera: "If we find similar situations in other towns we will also consider sorting them out."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... names.html
poozler
Ephemeral Spectre
- Joined
- Mar 29, 2005
- Messages
- 338
The story posted by Rynner reminded me of something I'd heard about when I was living on the east coast of Canada many years ago.
Many small towns and hamlets in Nova Scotia are rather insular, it seems, with families never moving away from the family home region. (I once met a man in NS who said he wished he could move somewhere else, and when I asked why he just didn't go ahead and DO it, he said 'My mum lives here'. I guess that explained everything.) Consequently, family names get passed along and all tangled up. In one town there were so many John Mackenzies that the phone book gave their nicknames, which allowed phone book users to sort everyone out. My favourite was John 'Dump' Mackenzie. I wonder how he got the nickname. Did he work at the dump ... or was it something else?
Many small towns and hamlets in Nova Scotia are rather insular, it seems, with families never moving away from the family home region. (I once met a man in NS who said he wished he could move somewhere else, and when I asked why he just didn't go ahead and DO it, he said 'My mum lives here'. I guess that explained everything.) Consequently, family names get passed along and all tangled up. In one town there were so many John Mackenzies that the phone book gave their nicknames, which allowed phone book users to sort everyone out. My favourite was John 'Dump' Mackenzie. I wonder how he got the nickname. Did he work at the dump ... or was it something else?
OneWingedBird
Beloved of Ra
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2003
- Messages
- 15,431
Do weird/funny place names go in this thread or another, because if it's there i can't find it, just the macabre place names thread.
I found this earlier today by accident, had no idea where pembrokeshire was but wanted to know if it was in travelling distance of Leeds (answer, not that easily)
Matthew's Wick, Rob's Wick, and Seal Hole, all located close to Shag Rock! :shock: 
I found this earlier today by accident, had no idea where pembrokeshire was but wanted to know if it was in travelling distance of Leeds (answer, not that easily)
Matthew's Wick, Rob's Wick, and Seal Hole, all located close to Shag Rock!
:shock:
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2001
- Messages
- 54,631
That post brought back a few memories, BRF. I was in the CG at St Anne's head (not far away), and kept a small boat at Dale. I've sailed through Little Sound a few times (but take care, the tides can be fierce), and anchored overnight in the little bay north of Seal Hole.
Shag Rock is a common term around the British coast - it's presumably named for the diving bird.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Shag
(There are also many Gull Rocks - quelle surprise! )
Skomer itself is a well-known bird sanctuary. Many of the local place names are of Viking origin, and I think Wick is another example.
It seems to refer to a narrow opening eg:
Shag Rock is a common term around the British coast - it's presumably named for the diving bird.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Shag
(There are also many Gull Rocks - quelle surprise! )
Skomer itself is a well-known bird sanctuary. Many of the local place names are of Viking origin, and I think Wick is another example.
It seems to refer to a narrow opening eg:
and
OneWingedBird
Beloved of Ra
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2003
- Messages
- 15,431
Curious. It's almost the reverse of the modern meaning, as something that sticks out.