Captain Oates

Sorry I missed the day, Starch. I hope it was a good one!

Bravo Canadian Paul! And congratulations to Slave to the Grave who was only a single point behind him! That was my fault for not properly editing my cut and paste from Wiki.

Vera Lynn is 'now an angel' - no, that's not what they mean! Special video interview to mark her recent 90th birthday.

I haven't received yours yet, CO, you must truly be waiting for the last minute Now 3 minutes until the changeover - got to get ready to congratulate CP. Don't worry though, I will still accept late entries if you say 'please'. You have received mine and I've had the acknowledgement. I used a different ID (same as last year) but as you only wanted one entry per person, 'CO' could not enter in person. I hope you weren't biting your nails! I've been watching the latest 4 episodes of Southpark and was oblivious to the time.

The deadline, as advertised is midnight / prior to 00:01 UTC on April 1st. No mention of daylight saving time and various time zones so here is a link to the UTC time. That gives me an extra hour (by the clock on the wall opposite) to get my ducks in a row! If you're around, W90, could you please confirm that I have got this right?

Don't panic, folks! It doesn't move, it's only the colours that change and Monoclinic is correct - it's all in the eyes. As HCW spotted, the fish eye changes from red to yellowish and the cat's eyes glow just a bit brighter. It's quite hard to see both changes at the same time on my monitor. CA, if you can't see the Jumblie waving, then it's probably just your browser that's too old, and nothing to do with your offspring or any of their friends.

i would say easier than flash.. all depends which programme you're using. and how complicated you want the .gif - my flag is only 4 or 5 frames of the same image with varied transparency on a loop. Did you notice that my avatar is an animation? It has 8 frames (made with GIMP2.2, which I highly recommend and it's free) but you would have to look very carefully to see the far too subtle effect. It's easy to do - the fact that I can do it proves that!

...but does a paragraph in the discussion page count as a 'valid article on the English Wikipedia'?

Whats wrong with my spelling? Also check your punctuation, please. Edited to remove superfluous comma.

Only a few weeks ago I was chatting to young pupil, a bright boy of about 14 years, at a small private school with class sizes not more than 10. For some reason I asked him what he thought the word 'literally' meant and his prompt reply was, "It's a word you use when you mean that something isn't what you mean." He wouldn't believe me when I told him the truth! He had simply never heard the word used correctly, either figuratively or otherwise! Surely the current usage of 'literally' is straying into the realms of paradox. (Is there a paradoc in the house? )

It has looked like that for a couple of years now. The odd thing is that the folds in her shirt haven't settled yet. I must remember to send my ironing to the embalmers in future!

Hmmm.... I think I prefer the version that can't be seen!

...and with the sound turned on!

This chap, Yuri Felshtinsky, might well be on someone's hit list. Not sure what his obit status would be but if they get him, it ought to make the news at least.

I'll recommend you, were you any good? I had a quick look at E's visible contribution to TRF (yes... I snuck in a registration even after double banishment! ) and I would say that she did a decent job - sensible, useful posts and remarkably patient in that jungle of craziness. That can be coupled with obvious good judgement, E having left that place while continuing to visit here.

I can do a slightly bigger one if you like. But as NAP mentions, there's a limit. What colour of background do you want, if any? Try this link. I think photobucket may have sized it down, but that one has no background. Remember to save it as .gif or .png (better quality) to keep the transparent background.

...and a belated one from me

Yes, it would have been quicker... ...but the puss would likely have been impaled on the fence below and have left a nasty mess, etc. Besides, I'd have missed meeting all those lovely dishy firemen!

I was just about to change or the picture to a more dramatic one but you got there first with your quote... But here it is anyway.

London Fire Brigade to the Rescue and thank you to the RSPCA for calling them out this morning! Safe in the arms of RSPCA officer, who proclaimed him fit and very lucky. Puss scampered off happily and unconcerned into the maze of gardens and rubbish bins that is our street. The owner may never know what adventures his cat has had!

We've been hoping all day that he would find his own way down, but there isn't really anywhere safe for him to land if he makes a such a dramatic descent as the cat in the video!. And a sore throat! The poor thing is still up there! I imagine he's stuck there for the night now! It's reasonably mild for the time of year but there's quite a breeze blowing. I only hope that he's as resilient as they all say cats are supposed to be!

He's been up there for more than twelve hours now. He's wedged in a narrow fork in the tree-trunk so he (we think he, rather than she, having now studied him with binoculars) must be rather uncomfortable and in need of a sleep. Actually I think he may have cat-napped in the afternoon sunshine with his front legs dangling vertically down the tree! RSPCA have said they will ask the fire brigade to help, but nothing has happened yet and its starting to get dark. We tried a few tree-surgeons, but they don't seem to answer their phones at the weekend.

I'm not being flippant (well a bit), but perhaps they should read, 'Postman Pat, cat-in-a-tree party'. I did recently, and the plot is based around the theory that if you leave a 'stuck' cat in a tree alone, it will eventually get down without any help. I am no expert, but leaving the cat alone for a bit and having tea and cake would seem the safer option, that tree looks tall. We're having some lunch in a few minutes! This cat looks quite healthy and seems to be uninjured, so we're hoping that she'll find a way down. I can see her from the front window and she has made a few attempts to head down but gives up every time and starts to wail. I think she's stuck! There are no branches.

I live in Kent if that's any help. I live in Surrey. But I could walk to Kent in less than ten minutes. Where's the party?