X or SWALK

X is the only way one of Albie’s fellow soldiers can sign his name.

 I was surprised to discover how many young men only learned the three Rs when they joined the Army.

Here's an excerpt from my Novel Helter-Skelter:-

….it turned out he was upset because he’d been put on a charge for walking through a door marked “Authorised Personnel Only”.

“What did you do that for, you stupid Paddy git?” Thompson demanded.

O’Brien ran his huge navvy’s hand over his recently shorn scalp and muttered, “Can’t fecking read, can I?” He wasn’t the only recruit who’d missed out on the three Rs, but he was probably the only one to have private tuition from his entire hut to back up the army’s crash course…..

 X = a kiss, with which many a homesick soldier sealed his letters home SWALK. Strangely my Spanish friends tell me they don’t use an X – they simply write “besos” .

XYLOSE =  It is my usual bedtime wind-down to do a Cryptic Crossword – and this word cropped up so I thought I’d use it today. According to the clue in the  crossword it is SWEET AND SUGARY but the dictionary definition is much more complex:

XYLOSE is a white crystalline dextrorotatory sugar found in the form of xylan in wood and straw. It is extracted by hydrolysis with acids and used in dyeing, tanning, and in foods for diabetics. Formula: C₅H₁₀O_5.

So now we all know.

A photo of Canada for no real reason other than I am missing my Canadian son. xxxx

QUEST, QUESO, QUIERO

I was QUITE certain that I’d fall at this fence, but various QUAINT & QUEER bits of inspiration have struck during the day, so here goes on a sampler.

QUEST – A quest is a common theme in novels of all kinds – the quest for love or power or wealth makes a great basis for a story. One of my main themes in Helter-Skelter is Albie’s quest for his biological father. 

George has known Albie for a few months when he asks Albie the QUESTION “Why were you sleeping under the pier?” and this is the moment Albie tells George about it:

 Albie stared at the tattoo on the back of George’s wrist and spoke so softly that George could only just hear.

“Mum told me to eff off. She was going to stay with this bloke, she said – the one what hit her – and they didn’t want a gyppo bastard tagging along.” He stirred his tea savagely. “She’s always calling me that – says a gypsy got her in the club. Anyhow, I’d fed meself for months, she said, so I could carry on doing it. Then they both laughed, so I effed off.”

Is it any wonder that he searches for his father? Anyone would be an improvement on a mother who treats her twelve-year-old son that way. 

Years later, Albie and Bert are QUAFFING their ale in their local tavern when his own mother fails to recognise him and propositions him. Imagine the horror of that.

QUESO = cheese, which we love. Most local cheese is made from goats’ milk – any cows have to live under cover away from the fierce sun – and many Canarians breakfast on QUESO FRESCO Y MEMBRILLO , which is a sweet jelly made from QUINCES. They are very sweet toothed, but I prefer my breakfast sharper-tasting. Lemon curd works well!

 

QUIERO – is the first person singular of the verb QUERER. It can mean simply “I want” as in “I want that shirt”, but it can also mean “I love”. "TE QUIERO" = "I love you." I suppose it could also mean “I want you” but I’ve never been in that kind of situation with a Spanish speaker!