Banana

[Cyril Haearn]

Bananas grow in many places

I bet banana is not the only word for banana

[Mick F]

They're great for making Banana cake.

Absolutely!
Mrs Mick F is a diva at making them. There's only two of us at home these days, so when she makes one in a loaf tin, half of it goes into the freezer for some other time. We have one in there at a the mo.

She buys cheap bananas on the turn from our local greengrocer. Every so often, they have them on offer, so she buys a few!
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@50.42424 ... 312!8i6656

http://www.tamarviewfruiterers.co.uk
We've been going there for 30odd years from when they first started. Francis has now handed over to his sons, but Francis is there from time to time and always welcomes us.

[geocycle]

I have a mighty impressive banana guard that always draws a titter! It just fits the saddlebag and would probably be not allowed on an aeroplane. It does a good job of reducing bruising while riding my bike though.

[Mick F]

The lady on the left eating the banana is Una Merkel.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Una_Merkel
On the right, is Ginger Rogers - of course.

We watched the whole movie last night.

[youtube]aMdEqB-TB8g[/youtube]

[landsurfer]

Following sage advice on this forum, the last 2 mornings i have opened my drive to work banana from the opposite end ... it is easier !!!
Then having scoffed said bananas i ejected the skin at my latest environmental change area ...

[Cyril Haearn]

The Grauniad has an article about schools in London that were closed after a few harmless (?) spiders were found

Another article describes being bitten by a spider, the bitee nearly died, the docs nearly amputated part of his left arm, -99

Apparently some bananas are packed in the country where they are grown, intact spider egg sacs could survive the journey

[pwa]

The future of the banana as we know it, the Cavendish, is threatened by a disease. Panama disease.

[kwackers]

The Grauniad has an article about schools in London that were closed after a few harmless (?) spiders were found

Another article describes being bitten by a spider, the bitee nearly died, the docs nearly amputated part of his left arm, -99

Apparently some bananas are packed in the country where they are grown, intact spider egg sacs could survive the journey

Nearly amputated? An oxymoron? Reminds me of semi-permanent.

Back in the 70's a girl I went out with worked at a farm fruit & veg store. They'd get crates of bananas often with dead spiders in but very occasionally one would still be alive - and often they were quite big.
They'd ring a guy up and he'd come and collect them.

One day I went into the shop and everyone was stood at the far end, apparently a large spider had come out of the bananas and took up residence in the corner.
I went over to have a look and as I got close the spider (about the size of my hand) turned apparently to face me, so I moved around to look at it from the side and it turned around to keep facing me.

At that point I decided it was on its own and joined them all at the other end of the shop.

[Cyril Haearn]

I mean, the docs suggested amputating the left arm below the elbow, the patient declined, he got better eventually but his hand is a bit sore, the spider was not found

[661-Pete]

Another article describes being bitten by a spider, the bitee nearly died, the docs nearly amputated part of his left arm, -99

That's nothing. A former colleague of mine was scratched by his own cat; the scratch got infected (or possibly an allergic reaction); his arm swelled up like a barrage balloon; he was rushed to A&E where they told him it was touch and go whether he'd lose the arm.

Luckily, he's still got them both. I reckon he's a lot more careful around cats, nowadays. I don't know whether he kept that particular moggie...

[Mick F]

About 2am this morning, I got "Nellied".

Nellie, one of our cats is very independent. Sometimes we don't see her for days on end, but she's not very far away, just hunting rabbits and small mammals. She doesn't bother with birds as she likes the meat of an animal.

She comes in sometimes and Nellies us. Purring her socks off and if you pay no attention, she'll climb on your lap and bat you with her paws until you pay her some attention. She did it to me at 2am in bed, and woke me up by scratching my lip. I was up in a jiffy and feeding her with cat food. Obviously running out of rabbits!

I still have my lip this morning, and it's no worse for wear. No amputation necessary thank goodness.

[Cyril Haearn]

Thanks for bringing this up, it nudged me into "regular" banana consumption
I buy one banana, leave it by the window to ripen (2-3 weeks in autumn)
Should get through about a dozen a year