771 - BATHE

SAmanTha had bEen serving in the soup kitchen for a couple of years, 4 days a week. But this week was different - she'd just inherited a lot of wealth and property. This didn't however stop her heading for the soup kitchen as usual. During her time there, she had got to know the back story of one of the regulars, Bill, and today she asked Bill if he would like to come and live and work on one of her properties. Bill was astonished and was hesitant at first, having become accustomed to his life on the streets. But Samantha persisted in making the offer and a month later Bill said he would like to try to see if it would work. The next day Samantha took him to his cottage on the estate. One of the first things Bill did was to have a good long bathe and then a rest. The next day he was shown his job which wasn't too taxing and gradually Bill adapted to his new lifestyle.

Soup Kitchen

770 - CURLY

The little girL Ran into the room and bUrst into tears. "Why have I got straight hair - I want curly hair." Mum didn't have an answer for her!

Little girl with curly hair

769 - ETHOS

ArThur Scargill was a kEen member of the NUM having observed some terrible conditions for some of the miners. He is very left wing having been a member of the Communist Party for a while and is currently a member of the Socialist Labour Party. During the period of the country moving away from coal power he led the miners in strike action and his speeches would stoke up resolve to carry on. The whole ethos amongst the coal miners was very militant, but ultimately in 1985 they had to admit defeat and a lot of mines closed and jobs were lost. It is ironic that today talk of restarting coal-fired power stations to help with energy demand are resisted by militants, albeit those for the green lobby.

Arthur Scargill

768 - DISCO

Cecil was a modern day monk who lived in a quiet house where he could contemplate the universe. But one day his house became very noisy. Eventually it stopped, but not until 2am. The next time it started he put on his long cloak and, pausing only to buy a box of mints from the local kiosk, he put on a pious look and went to investigate. Having discovered the cause of the noise he returned home, pondering what to do. Before becoming a monk, Cecil had been a cunning scientist and engineer and he put his previous skills to work and created an amazing gismo which he put in his garden between his house and the source of the noise. The next time the disco started all was peaceful and quiet in his house and Cecil could get back to his contemplations.

study of a monk in contemplation

767 - HEART

Bobby was grumpy that week. (See 765 - HOBBY) AfTER the school week finished, he yawned as he he came downstairs, all grumpy as earlier. But there in the fire grate was a treat that froze him to the spot for what seemed like a great time. His stare was taking in all the sight of his new cycle. He became all teary and he felt his heart would burst. He threw his arms around his mommy and his dad and said how sorry he was for being grumpy.

Kids bike

766 - WHEEL

Except during the winter, Dani runs the oLdEst rowboat ferry in England and has done so for the last 22 years. Since as early as 1236 a ferry has plied the River Blyth. In modern times it operates from dawn to dusk. Dani finds it easy to sleep well! You can even see a wheel or few on the ferry as it also takes cycles and strollers.

Dani Church has run the Southwold-Walberswick ferry for the last 22 years. Her family has been navigating the River Blyth since 1885.

The River Blyth is only 164 feet wide at this point, and the ferry ride takes mere minutes

765 - HOBBY

RObert had a wonky dodgy cycle; the chain kept slipping off, the brakes were worn down beyond their limit and the saddle wouldn't stay put. "Please mommy, can I have a new cycle, or at least get mine repaired", asked Robert. "Not just now Bobby, I need to concentrate on my hobby as there's an exhibition coming up and I've quite a bit to finish off. Ask your Dad when he gets home."

Brake pads worn beyond wear grooves

764 - WHALE

In 1836, the ship 'Industry' set off from its Massachusetts port with its crew of 15. Some of the crew were of African descent or were raciaLly mixed blAck and whitE. These crew members or their ancestors would once have called themselves a slave though they were freemen. They were apprehensive because their destination was many miles South in the Gulf of Mexico. They were on the lookout for any whale that might be passing for them to catch. But the ship got into trouble and sank. Fortunately another whaling ship rescued the crew, otherwise they might have become enslaved again if they landed in Mississippi where there was a law saying that free black or mixed crew were to be detained whilst in port so as not to upset the status quo.(See Wreck of whaling ship discovered nearly 200 years later in the Gulf of Mexico)

This image taken by NOAA Ocean Exploration in February 2022 shows what researchers believe to be the wreck of the only whaling ship known to have sunk in the Gulf of Mexico. The two-masted brig Industry went down in 1836 about 70 miles from the mouth of the Mississippi River.

763 - FROZE

Conner was a pEtty thief who was on the pRowl for an innocent victim. He crept along the verge wearing his moire patterned hoody which he hoped would help him blend into the surroundings. He heard a shout behind him and he lay down prone, hoping not to get noticed. But as the footsteps got nearer he broke into a run. "Halt, this is the police", shouted the armed cop. Conner froze with his hands in the air - he didn't fancy being shot!

Thief under arrest

762 - BURLY

There were two brothers - Let's call them 'A' and 'B'. They weRe quite different. 'A' was in the military being on drill every morning at 6am. 'B' had curly hair and was quite surly, often to be found on the settee eating a pizza. He set himself no goals. Because of his inactivity and bad diet he was obese, unlike 'A' who was burly.

US 331st Training Squadron practices drill, Basic Military Training, at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas

761 - FLANK

Having completed the LAst check of the zonal details on the chart, Herbert went back to the workshop. It was time to start on the sculpture. He put the heavy plastic sheet into the clamp and he proceeded to cut into it. All was going well until one slash damaged a pressurised oil gland on the nearby machine and warm oil started spraying everywhere. He groaned; the disappointment made his mind go blank and he froze. Hearing the kerfuffle, Frank dashed in and attended to the machine, stemming the flow of oil. "Oh, thank you", said Herbert. "What's your name - I'll make you a special piece of artwork." "My name is Frank", he replied. "Did you say Flank", asked Herbert, who still had his ear protectors on. Frank pointed to his protectors and, once Herbert had removed them, he was able to correct what Herbert thought he'd heard. They laughed!

Annual cycle amplitudes of temperature (left) and zonal wind (right) at 30 hPa. The non-linear colour scale used represents the square root of the wavelet power in K for temperature and in m s −1 for zonal wind.

760 - TONIC

SomeThIng Oliver ate made him vomit. It wasn't obvious what the toxin was but the rest of his plate of food had to be considered toxic and was thrown away. The waiter brought him a tonic to help settle his stomach and he was presented with a voucher for two to dine there on another occasion, including drinks.

Toxic food

759 - FLYER

LEonaRd was a friend of John Wesley. At each place Wesley was due to preach, Leonard could be found with a ruler, pencil and paper drawing the lines and words on the flier he was creating to advertise the event. Many would fleer at what the preacher was doing, but some of those were convicted of their sins and attitudes and would repent, becoming followers of God and His Son Jesus becoming filled with the Holy Spirit. Leonard's 10th generation descendant had become a preacher in Africa with other people doing the media & advertising and with many abandoning their sinful lives. Because he travelled so much he was amassing many frequent flyer miles.

Preaching to crowds in Africa

758 - DROOP

SiR Ferdinand was a proud man - you never saw him droop his head in shame. None of his "friends" really liked him but were glad of the association with a "Sir"!

Proud man

757 - TOPAZ

WilliAm was a respecTable businessman with a good reputation as an employer and as a pillar of the community. There was not a stain on his character. But secretly there was a plan afoot for William to steal a valuable gemstone from the museum. When the topaz was missing one morning there was much consternation and none of the Miss Marples, Father Browns or Gromits, nor the police had any idea that William was the culprit.

Feathers McGraw

756 - CRONE

Aaron had plantEd 70 acres of tRees to grow various types of drupe. He had been warned about the wild animals damaging his young trees and so to begin with he roped off the land in a crude attempt to keep them at bay. Later On he set about the chore of building a fence. As a make-do he was using some broken up barrels with the croze near the ends providing a useful notch for attaching to the rails. He had to have loads of beehives during the flowering season. Aaron did a rough calculation and reckoned there would be about a crore (10,000,000) of cells within all the hives combined. A year later, Aaron's mother, an old and wise crone, came to live with him. She became very prominent in the local WI taking it from being a cosy club into a more strident voice for the put-upon females of society and attracting a lot of younger members.

Honeycomb with eggs and larvae

755 - FIEND

Things wEre getting weird. Barnard kept hearing a strange noise and there was this odd stain on his trousers. Being a retired policeman, he set to with the hemin to see if it was blood on the denim - it wasn't. He was convinced someone was trying to feign being a ghost but he didn't deign to let it scare him. He decided to begin lifting floor boards looking for the source of the noises. Pretty soon he discovered the fiend causing the problems - a family of rats had taken up residence. Feeling a trifle sorry for the creatures, he placed rat poison under stones around the house. Before long the weird goings on had ceased.

Hemin - Formula C₃₄H₃₂ClFeN₄O₄

754 - BARGE

AlbERt, the retired sarge, spread some marge on his toast and sat out at the aft deck of his narrowboat enjoying his breakfast and watching the world go by. A passer-by spoke to him - "I like your boat - the decoration is awesome". "Thank you", Albert replied, "do you want to join me for a cuppa and toast on my narrow boat?" "Oh, yes please. And here was me thinking it was a barge". "Ah yes, a common mistake - a barge is wider."

Modern narrowboats on the Kennet and Avon Canal

753 - WHIRL

EmiLy loved leaRnIng the skill of a metalworker in her Dad's workshop. Today she was using a bench drill. Her Dad was concerned and queried her attire, particularly the frill on her blouse. She assured him that she was aware of her garments and that she was no more at risk than anyone else. As usual, at the end of each day, her Dad would grill her on what she'd been doing and had learnt. This evening she was meeting her friends in town and, being excited, gave a whirl as she left the workshop, skilfully missing all the hazards near the door. Her Dad smiled and finished up for the day.

Whirl

752 - EARTH

Products like metAl lamps That arE connected to the mains Reqire an earth wire connection.

Brass Floor Lamp

751 - FOLLY

LeO was developing a new toy. He had to logon to the dolly to adjust the code. At the end of the day, the dolly could now sing "The Holly and the Ivy" in a jolly way. As he tidied up the code something he did wiped out all his additions and changes. He became all huffy as the prospect of doing it all over again sunk in. Next day he tried again, but he had learnt from the folly of his ways and backed up the code at regular intervals. This time the code was even better, playing "Jingle Bells" as well!

First verse from an anonymous broadside published by H. Wadsworth, Birmingham, 1814–1818

750 - ENTER

Jackson was an apprenTicE caRpenter. This morning he had been given a lot of miter joints to complete. The boredom was relieved to some extent by being able to watch the otter out of the window. Eventually the pile of work started to peter out. With the workload easing, Jackson started singing to himself enjoying the poetic meter of the words. At the end of the working day, Jackson would wash his hands in water and the-ester-of-glycerol-and-a-fatty-acid-combined-with-sodium-hydroxide (soap to you and I). On his way home he would enter the diner (where he often met Eric) and devour a plateful of donuts.

An ester of carboxylic acid. R stands for any group (organic or inorganic, typically hydrogen or organyl) and R′ stands for organyl group.

749 - COWER

ERic the biker was telling his friends about the hitch hiker and the viper (see 740 - DINER), elaborating the story as much as he could. His wife was kicking him under the table and, when she could, mouthing to him to stop being such a poser. Eric's monologue was interrupted by flashing lights and the screech of tyres outside as Frank, the criminal, was surrounded by police, his cover having been blown. Overhead a helicopter had come to the hover and a one of the police was fulfilling the role of a mover clearing onlookers out of the way. Frank was put into the police Rover and taken to the detention facility. He was put to work in the kitchen being given the task of using a corer to prepare the apple crumble. Once Frank was sentenced he was given the tougher task of being a coker in the prison boiler room. He was allowed an hour a day for recreation and took to gardening, becoming rather proud of his chive patch. Some of the inmates mocked him but others said that what works for him, works for him. A new prisoner was being bullied and would cower whenever certain inmates were around. But Frank became his friend and protector, and Frank was not someone you messed about with.

Chive patch

748 - DONUT

The sound of someone eating a packet of crisps is easy to record but recording someone eating a donut is difficult!

Entrance to The Donut Hole bakery and landmark in La Puente, California

747 - WINDY

Beryl was learnIng to read music. She'd got familiar with crotchets and quavers and was now learning what a minim was. To begin with her pet finch was all agitated with the discordant music, but before long the music was sounding ok and the bird was much happier, joining in with each performance. After a year, Beryl found playing by sight was a cinch. Soon after that she reckoned it was time to upgrade the tatty keyboard to a new piano. The layout of the house meant that the piano had to be lowered in through the window using a winch. After it had been moved into position, it was time for the piano tuner to set it up properly. Despite being a wingy, that didn't stop him from tuning the piano with his remaining hand by using his artificial one and his foot. Beryl was delighted when she could at last play her new piano. She placed the music for one of the Grieg poetic tone pictures on the piano stand. She'd just started playing when the weather changed outside. Unfortunately with the windows wide open the windy conditions resulted in the music blowing off the piano, spoiling her debut. After closing the windows, Beryl was able to play her piece, much to the delight of the movers and the tuner as they had their cups of tea and cake.

Edvard Grieg - Poetic Tone-Pictures Op. 3: Number 3. Poetic Tone-Picture Key: C Minor, Year: 1863, Level: 7, Period: Early Romantic

746 - VENOM

Rudolf, thE scion of an ancient family, was disenchanted with wealth and high position. He escaped as much as possible to help the gardener since he enjoyed the outdoors. One day he was bitten by a spider and his arm swelled up. He had to go to casualty where he was treated with antihistamines to counter the spider venom. This didn't deter him from his work in the gardens, though he was now more respectful of spiders.

False Widow Spider

745 - IRATE

AnThony couldn't undERstand why Geraldine didn't like Marmite. One day he made some delicious-looking cakes as a treat for Geraldine. But secretly he had included a trace of Marmite in the recipe and was intrigued to know how she would react. When Geraldine came home from work it was lovely and warm in the back garden. "Let me take your things and sit here on this designer crate whilst I bring you some refreshments", said Anthony. "Ooh, these taste great; what is in them?", asked Geraldine. Anthony relaxed in his hammock, puffing contentedly on his cigar and listed the ingredients. At the mention of Marmite, Geraldine became quite irate and spat out the piece of cake she was eating. She dashed inside to rinse out her mouth and sulked all evening.

Designer Crate!

744 - HOTEL

It had been a Long journey and ThE sun had set. Walter pulled in to the motel but was gutted to find there were no rooms available. Across the highway was a hotel but it was far too expensive for his budget. So Walter went to the diner and had a tall strong black coffee and a can of coke. He had to drive another two hours to the next town. Here the motel had rooms which was a big relief for Walter.

The Lorraine Motel, site of the 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., is part of the National Civil Rights Museum

743 - MOSSY

Undeterred by the huge budgets and massive equipment used by other scientists, OScar was doing his own sub-atomic particle research in his garage. He was investigating different types of boson, fermion and hadron. One piece of equipment created Higgs bosons for brief periods of time. Some other apparatus isolated some of the gluons before they too vanished. He was convinced that he was on the trail of the elusive graviton that others were desparate to prove existed. The rest of his house suffered terrible neglect because Oscar was so engrossed. The gutter above the garage had become so mossy that during the next storm it gave way and crashed through the garage roof. The effects of the mythical graviton were plain to see! This was a nasty setback for Oscar because of all the mess covering his precious equipment.

(And, no, I also don't understand what Oscar was up to! But I can look up articles in Wikipedia!)

Bosons form one of the two fundamental classes of subatomic particle, the other being fermions. All subatomic particles must be one or the other. A composite particle (hadron) may fall into either class depending on its composition

742 - BLEEP

It had been a Long day and it had bEen a while since Felicity had eaten. So before retiring to bed she had three pieces of toast and most of a packet of holey Emmental cheese. Sleep came quickly but so too did the nightmares. Eventually she was dreaming of being in hospital with tubes coming out of her and the bleep bleep of the monitor when she came to, finding the noise was in fact her alarm clock. "I'm never going to have cheese before bed again", she vowed. 

Emmental cheese

741 - STRAW

As the conTaineR crane moved along its track, the foreman in his office was engrossed in his craft work. The gantry started unloading the containers. As one container was landed a stray dog ran out from it - how it had been hanging on was a mystery to everyone. The foreman stopped his crafting and with the help of some other workers managed to corner the dog. The foreman took it back to his office and made a nice straw bed in the corner and gave it the meat from his sandwiches.

Container cranes