Corfid

[Gitchigumee]

At the risk of sounding incredibly stupid, what is the meaning of "Corfid?" Seeing how I'm a Corfidian, I probably should know, but I don't, so can anyone enlighten me?

[Winter's Claw]

I've always wondered about that, too.

[Gitchigumee]

Thank goodness it's not just me.

[Auburn Annie]

In the "About" section of the website, it reads:

Why did I choose the name Corfid?
I loved to play one of the best computer games ever, The Bard's Tale. It was one of the very first role-playing games and I played it without end. An official clue-book has been released and in this clue-book one of the characters (the Bard) was named 'Corfid op Orfin', so ever since I called one of my characters in role-playing games Corfid.

[Gitchigumee]

That is so totally un-Gordon Lightfoot-ish. Perhaps someday there will be a definition in Webster's:

Corfid: a Gordon Lightfoot-based web site
Corfidian: a Gordon Lightfoot fan who is a registered member of Corfid

[BILLW]

Originally posted by Gitchigumee:
That is so totally un-Gordon Lightfoot-ish.Well Gitchigumee it just goes to show that the ONE thing we ALL have in common here is a love of all things LIGHTFOOT. Once we stray from that common ground our interests are quite varied and rarely overlap.

It's quite noticeable since most times when the arguments start they have nothing to do with Lightfoot, LOL.

Anyway in this setting diversity is pretty cool.

Bill :)

And since the guy who plays as "corfid" built this website you can see my point.

[Dream Street Rose]

Of all the things we could have in common how nice it is Gordon Lightfoot. A very talented and well respcted "MusicMan". I still can't believe I have found a nice group of people that I have something in common I enjoy so much that feel the same way I do(I don't think that was a very good sentence). :redface:

[Borderstone]

There's always nice people out there Rose,they just seem very hard to come by lately.

Hmmmm...maybe if we all move to the mid-west we can find more?? :D

[Dream Street Rose]

Hi Boarderstone, we were in Phoenix 8 times last year. We found the people there to be wonderful. :) Our little dog got stung by a bee and we had to find a vet fast. She has a bad reaction to bee stings. We usually have about 15 minutes before she will probably die. :( Usually I look for the vet before we leave incase we need one but did not get a chance the last time we went. People we asked on the street all tried to help us. It took a few stops to ask more people but finally found the vet in time. We love this little dog so much. Someone dumped her and we found her in the street dodging cars. We are prepared to pay a high price if she needs a vet when we are on the road. The vet and his staff were so awesome. Our dog needed quite a bit of medical attention and he only charged us $50. We definately had extra Angles watching over us that day. Anyway, this long story is trying to say that I am usually lucky and find nice people everywhere I go. My Phoenix experience remimded me there are still people out there who are really trying to make the world a better place by being kind. :D

Please don't move to the mid-west. I like knowing there is a Lighthead only a state away. Maybe when we are there this year we will get to meet eachother if you have time. I will let you know. Thanks for listening (reading). :) :D :D

[johnfowles]

You two make a fine pair, and should get out more! All you had to do was be a little adventuresome and explore the site better because at:-
http://www.corfid.com/gl/about.htm
Florian explains all
in a paragraph nicely headed
"Why did I choose the name Corfid?"
Or after googling you could try to make sense of
http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:DJCsoCJpM7kJ:ca.geocities.com/nwn_drainc%40rogers.com/Skara_Brae_mod_conversations.txt+%27Corfid+op+Orfi n%27&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=4
a web page headed
"THE LEGEND OF SKARA BRAE - A Neverwinter Nights Mod"
wherupon you can inded read
"Corfid op Orfin. Elven male bard. ---------- Before NPC has found the parchment of Lord Garrick, Corfid is singing the lines of the Bard's Tale II song (floating over his head like Mecandes.)"
which ends reassuringly sanely with:-
"[Update Journal: The Mad God's Temple Investigate the cult of the Mad God at Tarjan's ruined temple in the center of Skara Brae.]"
and moreover:-
"1. Scratching his ear thoughtfully, the elf ponders your question. "I don't know. But I do know that in recent years it has been said that a secretive underground cult exists which claims to worship the 'Mad God'. They are percieved as somewhat harmless and misguided small-minded vagrants, but one has to wonder why they are tolerated at all." A sudden thought seems to occur to the bard. "A hundred years ago, Tarjan had a temple erected in his honour right in the Gran Plaz at the heart of the city. It has since fallen into ruin of course, but you may find more clues there..." [Update Journal: The Mad God's Temple Investigate the cult of the Mad God at Tarjan's ruined temple in the center of Skara Brae.]
1. "Thank you, this has been very helpful," you say.
2. Leave. ---------- After this conversation has taken place and journal updated, Corfid could go back to singing his song."
Exactly I could not have said it better myself

[RM]

Mr. Fowles,

If you would be so kind.....please stop hyperlinking incredibly long addresses. Perhaps you could use the
available option to rename the address in a more condensed form, such as "The Legend of Skara Brae".
A link such as that will take you to the very same place without skewing the formatting of every post in the thread. I'm aware that not all users are affected by hyper-hyperlinks but I doubt that I am the only one.

[Shutup and Deal, I'm Losin']

I always thought it was a made-up, unique sounding name. If I were to have my own website and forum, I'd come up with a made-up word.

[patybear]

To John Fowles:
With all due respect,Sir John-I found your replies in this thread to be a bit harsh.I didn't see the section enetitled,'about' either.(Oh silly me!) Does that make ME stupid also?
This isn't like you Sir John,
patybear

[RM]

What did I miss ? Apparently, some posts have been deleted.

[Gitchigumee]

Well it seems some of us got up on the wrong side of the bed today!!! Just a couple of brief comments:

You're right, Borderstone, us midwesterners are very nice people, and humble too.

I believe there were some jabs poked at each other, and if any were intended for me, I'm happy to say that I am blissfully ignorant.

I appreciate all the info given in clearing up the Corfid question.

As to other remarks recently posted, I think we should all keep in mind the fact that we have much varied computer skills, and what may seem obvious to some, is not to others. It doesn't mean anyone is dumb, or anyone else is pretentious.

I'm moving on to the General Discussion. Have a great rest-of-your day everyone!

[RM]

Originally posted by Gitchigumee:

As to other remarks recently posted, I think we should all keep in mind the fact that we have much varied computer skills, and what may seem obvious to some, is not to others. It doesn't mean anyone is dumb, or anyone else is pretentious.

I'm moving on to the General Discussion. Have a great rest-of-your day everyone! I'm glad you got the info you requested. I certainly don't claim to be a computer guru, but if the above references pertain to my request to Mr. Fowles to avoid hyperlinking long addesses, then perhaps he could PM me with an explanation on how to circumvent the "wrap-around" differences between Mozilla Firefox and IE....no tutorials please.

[johnfowles]

Originally posted by patybear:
To John Fowles:
With all due respect,Sir John-I found your replies in this thread to be a bit harsh.I didn't see the section enetitled,'about' either.(Oh silly me!) Does that make ME stupid also?
This isn't like you Sir John,
patybear Ur Umm As some of you might have expected I am not prepared to sit back and take unfair criticism without a detailed response so please bear with me
Patybear there seems to be huge amounts of confusion here.
You have publicly castigated me for the "harsh" tone of my "replies", I note your use of the plural.
I also noted that there is a possibility that some posts have been deleted. none by me I assure you
I declare that this is only my second reply
and despite what some may think I always try to be helpful even if some are averse to my tutorials
in this case I thought a timely reminder, sorry Ron, that there is a lot of good information scattered around Florian's site was justified as
some newer members may nor be aware of all features here hence ,my suggestion that GG and WC and yourself should be more adventurous I do not see how that could be interpreted as harsh.Moving on to To Ron's hyperlink criticism rather than reply to him by a PM I will instead for everybody's benefit state quite uniquivocably that as far as long links go I am always conscious that they do not always appear as intended ,indeed one of the plus points about this board compared to the Newsgroup is that hitherto I have found the UBB automatic handling of links as plain text converted to pukka hyperlinks is usually impeccable whereas the NG will often completely foul them up
If there is any doubt I usually use the excellent and free forwarding service provided by http://www.notlong.com
to make snappy and easily remembered short hyperlinks such as:-
http://www.corfid.notlong.com
which directly opens the table showing the latest postings on all three forums here.
Because of my concern and following earlier criticism that my ocasional display of overlarge pictures created scrolling problems
especially for viewers persevering with old limited resolution monitors.
I routinely use the "preview" facility to try to avoid any problems .I was therefore very surprised at RMD's reaction and initially I failed to understand how he had a problem
In fact I made the following pair of screenshots using my favo(u)rite
freeware screen capture program(me)screenhunter (http://htp://www.wisdom-soft.com/products/screenhunter.htm)

Yes I can make my own short hyperlinks here quite nicely thank you
http://www.johnfowles.org.uk/images/hyperlink1.jpg

monitor set at 800 by 600 pixels

http://www.johnfowles.org.uk/images/hyperlink2.jpg

monitor set at 1024 by 768 pixels

So I maintain that it obviously was not that problem that caused Ron so much grief
No the key was in his latest reply where he admits to being one of the growing number of surfers intent on shooting down Microsoft by using Firefox. Frankly I am almost 100% satisfied with Internet Exploder (and I have yet to try out IE7 that I have dutifully downloaded and understand features many of the better and newer features of Firefox.
What I do know is that I do a lot of File Transfer Protocol (FTP) operations to upload files to my websites and by far the nicest method is to configure and use Internet Explorer, and my researches so far indicate that Firefox is unable to do that without installing some obscure program or plugin.
Fortunately this computer has Firefox too so I tried opening this topic using Mozilla's creation
and found as I had begun to suspect another reason not to use firefox
http://www.johnfowles.org.uk/images/firefox-640.jpg

image reduced in width from its original 942 pixels to 640 to avoid scrolling problem

Point of interest here I recently wanted to use Word to print a set of 2 inch square "thumnbnails " and discoverd that 1 inch equals 96 pixels so I used my favo(u)rite thumbnail program:-
BatchThumbs (http://www.harmware.net/bthumbs.htm) to rapidly make a batch of 192 pixels square "thumbnails" which worked a treat.
Obviously Firefox's putting the hyperlink all on one line whilst being pretty dumb means it was not possible to get a single screenshot of the whole thing but I think you'll get the picture (to coin a phrase!!)
I think the best thing to have come out of this discussion was by the topic starter who eruditely pointed out
QUOTE]Originally posted by RMD:
Originally posted by Gitchigumee:

As to other remarks recently posted, I think we should all keep in mind the fact that we have much varied computer skills, and what may seem obvious to some, is not to others. It doesn't mean anyone is dumb, or anyone else is pretentious.

then perhaps he could PM me with an explanation on how to circumvent the "wrap-around" differences between Mozilla Firefox and IE....no tutorials please. [/QUOTE]

Thus my answer Ron as I intimated above is Do Not Use Firefox!!!
as a student of good web page design a few years ago I am well aware that different browsers interpret HTML web page code differently but if Firefox is supposed to be thebee's knees
surely this problem should not arise
I am as I suspect Ron is using Firefox version 1.0 so just possibly version 2 does not feature this rificulous problem
OK regarding GG's comments
I unreservedly apologise if I am coming across as pretentious
and I certainly do not think that anybody is in any way dumbfor not having my long experience with computers, which goes back to my first brilliant self-assembled "Uncle Clive" Sinclair ZX80 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinclair_ZX80) in 1981
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/ZX80.jpg

I think I am a latent teacher and a large part of my enjoyment and thanks for still being alive is that I can try to impart some of my knowledge to others, as a way of paying back for all the computer and internet help that I have received over the years, hence my determination to write up relevant topics as tutorials that I appreciate some deride (most unfairly)
OK I must get off my soapbox now!!
John
There you got two superb freeware tips,a review of Firefox, a mission ststement and an apology.
what more do you want?!??

[ January 03, 2007, 18:07: Message edited by: johnfowles ]

[Sydney Steve]

Well if you get 72 virgins for dying a martyr in the name of Islam then I reckon reading this post of John's from start to finish must earn you at least a couple of hookers.

The Tedium Train of Pretentiousness (dressed up as wisdom has sooooo many carriages).

All aboard ...sorry that should read
" all are bored..."

[johnfowles]

Originally posted by Sydney Steve:
Well if you get 72 virgins for dying a martyr in the name of Islam then I reckon reading this post of John's from start to finish must earn you at least a couple of hookers.

The Tedium Train of Pretentiousness (dressed up as wisdom has sooooo many carriages).

All aboard ...sorry that should read
" all are bored..." Tedium you are a fine one to speak young sir
It had been so long since the Sydney hooligan had spouted his vitriol against me or anything come to that that I had high hopes that one of his New Year resolutions was to be nice to me and everybody by refraining from posting any more irrelelevant blatherings here
Dang well there goes that theory!!

[Winter's Claw]

After reading some of the more mean-spirited posts found in this thread, I have to ask myself: Who would have thought corfid.com would be the wrong place to ask what the term 'corfid' means?! I wouldn't have ever believed it, but...

I guess Gitchigumee and I ("a fine pair") have learned our lesson: Google. Always Google! There are no 'dumb' questions--just questions that you *really* regret asking!

[brink-]

hmmm, I guess I missed some posts too. I didn't see anything mean=spirited.

[Winter's Claw]

brink-
98% of the posts were perfectly friendly, but I thought there were a couple of sarcastic jabs taken in a couple of posts.....I hope I am wrong--maybe I misunderstood a comment or two.

[charlene]

Originally posted by Winter's Claw:
brink-
98% of the posts were perfectly friendly, but I thought there were a couple of sarcastic jabs taken in a couple of posts.....I hope I am wrong--maybe I misunderstood a comment or two. It's the "Brit" - "Aussie" dynamic....no worries...they have a friendly go-round at each other all the time...I love reading them...makes me laff out loud...I guess being another 'colonial' I get the humour more readily...
;)
Char Canuck...

[Gitchigumee]

Originally posted by Winter's Claw:
... Who would have thought corfid.com would be the wrong place to ask what the term 'corfid' means?! thanks for that

[Winter's Claw]

Well, as long as everyone else is unphased by it, I can live with that. I wasn't personally offended by anything, really, but I didn't understand a lot of what was being said on this thread.

[ELizabeth]

I don't see any harshness in JF's post. In fact Sir John is most helpful and I believe deep down he is a real softie(y)(Sorry John but I believe you to be a pussy cat). He has helped me on several occasions for which I am forever grateful. Long live the Everly's and their '57 Chevy! 'Lizbeth

[ January 08, 2007, 16:20: Message edited by: ELizabeth ]

[johnfowles]

Originally posted by ELizabeth:
Sorry John but I believe you to be a pussy cat). Long live the Everly's and their '57 Chevy! 'Lizbeth I woke up the other morning convinced that I had heard that Phil had died and it took some determined googling to convince myself that it was a bad dream (All I have to do of course!!)

Yes how very perceptive of you Lizbet.
I am indeed a softie and am really only trying to help where I can. especially if young damsels are in distress. but as for being a "pussycat" I don't know, funny you should say that because one of my treasures that I had to leave behind in England in 2000 was my great friend and mouser, not to mention self-proclaimed culler of birds "Alice"
http://www.johnfowles.org.uk/images/Alice_Drying_off.jpg
Alice aged about 3 months in 1991
Fortunately another good friend who lives on a farm in Shaftesbury, Dorset
about 25 miles from my old home took her in and she settled down very happily there.
http://p.vtourist.com/2028482-Gold_Hill_Shaftesbury-Dorset.jpg
a row of English Country Cottages on Gold Hill at Shaftesbury
I phone them ocasionally and Alice purportedly perks up at the sound of my voice but I have yet to hear the accompanying alleged purring!!

[Jesse Joe]

Very nice photo John. Dont you ever miss that part of the world? :rolleyes: I could live in a setting like that... :eek:

Alice is some good looking Kitty. :)

[BILLW]

Originally posted by Jesse-Joe:
Very nice photo John. Dont you ever miss that part of the world? :rolleyes: I could live in a setting like that... :eek: I could live there too Jesse but I think I'd have to build a new house, no offense intended but they look drafty.

Bill :)

[ELizabeth]

Sir John,
I should think that it would be very hard to leave someone as cute as Alice. I am glad you
were able to find such a good home for her. 'Lizbet

[Sydney Steve]

By way of explanation :

John (I call him The Master after " Obi Wan " ),is a cool bloke , a helpful man and taught me heaps about the 'net , - I had never posted a picture/resized etc on the net before his advice (now I have on another unrelated to music forum posted maybe 200 !) He introduced me to chatting and the like too.

That doesn't stop me from being mean to him though. Its not meant entirely as nastily as it comes across and is in part misunderstood by people from the US who don't fully understand the dynamic and the link in senses of humour shared by Poms & Aussies - most Australians cut their teeth on English comedies.)

Consider it more like a verbal joust you might have with a friend/relative over a drink (with an unstated wink)...

You have to realise there is a "thang" between the English and Australians....- its a rivalry and a kinship in one . Here in Australia we have just finished a Test series versus the English in cricket and this fires us Aussies up a touch. (I am only 4 generations Australian - my ancestors were Poms !).

This doesn't necessarily mean I don't reckon there is an element of truth in my shots at him...but that's just my opinion...- and may well be only mine.

You are not the first to be concerned at the meanspirited nature of a post of mine aimed at John's enthusiasm and zest for things computer - based.

I realise most posters are a bit nicer than me to all & sundry -but hey how could you judge the nice ones if not for the nasties ?
;)

[Jesse Joe]

Originally posted by BILLW:
I could live there too Jesse but I think I'd have to build a new house, no offense intended but they look drafty.Bill :)


http://p.vtourist.com/2028482-Gold_Hill_Shaftesbury-Dorset.jpg


Maybe your right Bill, but they are so beautiful. And look at the scenery. Awesome part of the world... :) ~Jesse~

[johnfowles]

Originally posted by Jesse-Joe:
quote:Originally posted by BILLW:
I could live there too Jesse but I think I'd have to build a new house, no offense intended but they look drafty.Bill :)
Yes that my well be but not half as drafty as this old "house" in my hometown
http://www.ecastles.co.uk/sherborne.jpg
Ruins of Sherborne "Old" castle
from the "wiki" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherborne_Castle)
"In the Civil War Sherborne was strongly Royalist, and the old castle was ruined by General Fairfax of the Parliamentary forces in 1645."
after that one Walter Rawleigh nicked some of the stones from the old castle to build his "New Castle" nearby



Maybe your right Bill, but they are so beautiful. And look at the scenery. Awesome part of the world... :) ~Jesse~ [/QUOTE]Encouraged by Jesse's appreciation I am going to risk another uncalled for verbal attack from down under to say:-
Yes my home county of Dorset is a spectacular and scenic area
Shaftesbury was rechristened "Sherton Abbas" by the great Dorset novelistThomas Hardy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Hardy)
http://www.johnfowles.org.uk/johnfowles/Thomas_Hardy's_England.jpg
a book co-authored by my late namesake (http://www.johnfowles.org.uk/johnfowles/)
and about 30 miles south is another fine collection of village cottages in another real "Abbas" Milton Abbas (http://www.molero.free-online.co.uk/macmillan/mabbas.html)
http://www.molero.free-online.co.uk/macmillan/mabbas.jpg
which as you can read was created by "Joseph Damer (later Lord Milton, 1st Earl of Dorchester) who had the whole town
demolished because he disliked its proximity to his great house (built adjacent to the abbey), and employed a rather famous man called Capability Brown to erect a new model village half a mile away. Damer moved those inhabitants he could not drive away to the new village. Only one thatched cottage of the old town survives under the hill, and most of the old village is
under the lake. One stubborn inhabitant refused to move and was flooded out by Mr Damer. The villager later won his case in court. The "new" village was built all at once in the 1780's along the sides of a single sloping street. The thatched cottages are evenly spaced"
There you have it today's Geography,History AND English Literature lessons all in one fell swoop
John

[Gitchigumee]

Originally posted by johnfowles:
... especially if young damsels are in distressJohn, you are totally redeemed. Anyone who calls me a young damsel is OK in my book.

[ELizabeth]

John,
Your picture of the castles (?)razed by General Fairfax interested me for the following reason:

I live in Fairfax County, VA. The county is named after Lord Fairfax who was granted a very large piece land in what is now Northern VA by whichever King was sitting on the English throne at the time. King George the ? It is said that as soon as the Am.Revolution began Lord Fairfax packed up and fled to England. I wonder if they are related.

Have you heard from the unemployed piano player lately? He has made a stunning cd of his songs.

[johnfowles]

Originally posted by ELizabeth:
John,
Your picture of the castles (?)razed by General Fairfax interested me for the following reason:

I live in Fairfax County, VA. The county is named after Lord Fairfax who was granted a very large piece land in what is now Northern VA by whichever King was sitting on the English throne at the time. King George the ? It is said that as soon as the Am.Revolution began Lord Fairfax packed up and fled to England. I wonder if they are related.

Have you heard from the unemployed piano player lately? He has made a stunning cd of his songs. I receive at least one funny email from Rex “the Rez” every day
Now regarding messrs Fairfax
Truly amazing Lizbet
Continuing in my mission to bore the pants off recalcitrant ex convicts down under
I feel compelled to reply at length.
But I will send a link to this topic to a very good Australian friend in my home town of Sherborne in Dorset England in the hope that as a converted Lighthead she might care to comment here,. She might well post using the member name “Rainbow Trout”
Meanwhile lady from Fairfax county VA
Yes they were certainly related
I googled and found a link on a wiki at:-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Fairfax,_3rd_Lord_Fairfax_of_Cameron
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ef/Thomas_Fairfax.jpg/180px-Thomas_Fairfax.jpg
Thomas Fairfax

at the very top it says:-
"Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron (January 17, 1612 – November 12, 1671) was a general and commander-in-chief during the English Civil War."
then further down:-
"Descendants
His only daughter, Mary Fairfax, was married to George Villiers, the profligate duke of Buckingham of Charles II's court.
His descendant Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron (1693-1781), inherited from his mother, the heiress of Thomas Culpeper, 2nd Baron Culpeper, large estates in Virginia, and having sold Denton Hall and his Yorkshire estates he retired there about 1746, dying a bachelor. He was a friend of George Washington. Thomas found his cousin William Fairfax settled in Virginia, and made him his agent. William's son Bryan Fairfax (1737-1802), eventually inherited the title, becoming 8th lord in 1793. His claim was admitted by the House of Lords in 1800. But it was practically dropped by the American family, until, shortly before the coronation of Edward VII, the successor in title was discovered in Albert Kirby Fairfax (born 1870), a descendant of the 8th lord, who was an American citizen. In November 1908 Albert's claim to the title as 12th lord was allowed by the House of Lords"
Elizabeth there is also a lot about your man, whose picture I failed to find, at:-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Fairfax%2C_6th_Lord_Fairfax_of_Cameron
such as
Lord Fairfax was the only resident peer in colonial America. In 1748, he made the acquaintance of George Washington, a distant relative, then a youth of 16
Yet another link between MY Sherborne and the United States especially Virginia
Two others being
1 the misspelt town of Sherborn in Masachusetts
http://www.johnfowles.org.uk/sherborne/sherborn_Inn_sign.jpg
the Sherborn Inn (note the single Key in the “real” Sherborne is a familiar pub called the “Cross Keys”
http://www.camrawdorset.org.uk/images/%20C/Cross%20Keys%20Sherborne.jpg
http://img01.beerintheevening.com/b7/b7b5b5ef7cc69192213a5214cf353fb1.jpg
whose symbol as you can see is a pair of similar golden Keys
and
2.Sir Walter Raleigh.(who built Sherborne “New” Castle in 1594)
"Raleigh has been credited with bringing potatoes and tobacco back to Britain, although both of these were already known via the Spanish. However, Raleigh did help to make smoking popular at court."
from:-
http://www.who2.com/sirwalterraleigh.html
Some sources say on the day he was beheaded Raleigh was granted a last smoke of tobacco -- establishing the tradition of giving a prisoner a last cigarette before execution.
another good read about myths and urban legends associated with Rawleigh is at:-
http://www.trivia-library.com/b/sir-walter-raleigh-never-laid-his-cloak-before-queen-elizabeth.htm, including
"As legend has it, Sir Walter mucked about in the English colony of Virginia in 1586 and took a shipload of tobacco back home with him. In point of fact, he never made it to the North American mainland at all, although he was responsible for establishing three settlements on offshore islands near the North Carolina coast. In any event, it was the Frenchman Jean Nicot, from whose name the word nicotine is derived, who introduced tobacco to France in 1560, and it was from France, not the New World, that tobacco reached England."
There is an oft repeated story that there is a seat in the grounds of Sherborne New Castle where Raleigh was found by a servant smoking and thinking he was on fire soaked him in water
a story retold in another wiki:-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:CatherineMunro/Archive2
"Incidentally Sherborne Castle makes the same claim about Walter Raleigh, except there he had a bucket of water thrown over him, as they thought he was on fire!"
Googling found me a page of Irish history about Raleigh at:-
http://www.turtlebunbury.com/history/history_irish/history_irish_raleigh.htm
which includes this:-
"As with most places associated with Raleigh, Myrtle Grove duly became a hotbed for legends. Raleigh is said to have planted the first potatoes in Ireland here but, as will be seen later in this tale, the true originator of the potato in Europe was far more likely to have been Thomas Hariot of Molana Abbey. Raleigh might also have tried to grow tobacco here, alongside the myrtles (now gone), arbutus bushes and yews (standing proud). A famous anecdote recalls how he was having an exploratory puff in the garden when a servant, never having seen tobacco before and fearing his master was on fire, dowsed him with a bucket of water"
In addition to the above two anecdotes a few miles to the east of Sherborne is the Virginia Ash Pub ( http://www.greenekinginns.co.uk/somerset/inn_05/index.htm) “a charming 17th century grade II listed old coaching Inn”
http://www.greenekinginns.co.uk/somerset/inn_05/images/pic01.jpg
Indeed on the current pub owner’s site (the Greene King Group) linked above it is claimed:-
“Sir Walter Raleigh was known to frequent the Inn and the pictorial sign depicts him returning from the Americas and lighting up his pipe, to the amazement of the locals, who quickly ran to fetch a bucket of water and threw it over him, to put out the fire.”
Finally if you want a real laugh find Bob Newhart’s classic spoof telephone call between Raleigh and his bemused UK agent regarding tobacco
Introducing Tobacco to Civilization


I found the full (text) transcript at:-
http://www.hkexpats.com/HKXPosts~ID~9579~CAT~18~FORUM~10.htm
Scroll down to a posting at the bottom of that page
which ends like this:-
"What's the matter, Walt...
You spilt your what...
Your coff-ee?
What's coffee, Walt...
That's a drink you make out of beans, huh? ha! ha! ha!...
That's going over very big there, too, is it?...
A lot of people have a cup of coffee right after their first cigarette in the morning, huh?...
Is that what you call the burning leaves, Walt?... cigarettes?...
I tell you what, Walt!, why don't you send us a boatload of those beans, too!
If you can talk people into putting those burning leaves in their mouths... they've gotta go for those beans, Walt!... right?
Listen, Walt... don't call us... we'll call you!..."
AND you can hear the first 30 seconds in a clip on the Barnes and Noble site at:-
http://music.barnesandnoble.com/search/mediaplayer.asp?ean=081227674229&disc=1&track=1
just scroll down to find:-
Introducing Tobacco to Civilization
I myself used to live on a road on the Eastern edge of Sherborne called “Castle View”
http://www.johnfowles.org.uk/images/apache_over_sherborne_castles.jpg
It is just off the top of this fine photograph of a UK (Westland) –built Boeing Apache gunship flying over both the Old castle ruins and the “New” Castle; Built by Sir Walter Raleigh in 1594,.
Raleigh originally built it in simpler form as a letter “E” in homage to his former love Queen Elizabeth the First, (a number of buildings seem to have been built about that time in the shape of an ‘E’ to honour Queen Elizabeth I).
Note that the new castle takes the form of the letter “H” (in honour of somebody else no doubt)

[BILLW]

OK I concede that I could live in the cottages but seriously I'm gonna have to ship my Dodge pickup truck over. I don't think I could drive one of those little bitty cars. And before anyone mentions gas - I'll get two jobs so I can afford English gas before I strap myself on a little skateboard-like vehicle.

Bill :)

[ELizabeth]

John,
Thank you for all the research and the links..they are very confusing when it comes to Lord Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord of Fairfax of Cameron who retired to land in VA and died there a bachelor. The Lord Fairfax after which my county is named was married to a very engaging young woman named Sally Carey. Any idea about the contradictions? It is said that George Washington fell in love with her but never did anything about it but pine for her. He must have been an honorable man..GW. Date wise this Lord FX was the only possible FX county owner.

We also have a Culpepper in Va. Farther South than Fairfax County.
'Lizbet

[ELizabeth]

BillW,

Hi! good to hear from you. Before you ship your pick-up to Britan, check out the width of the roads there. Epecially in London. Very narrow.
Say Hi to Lizanne. Are we still on for Gord at Wolf Trap this summer? Hope so. 'Lizbet

[johnfowles]

Originally posted by ELizabeth:
John,
Thank you for all the research and the links..they are very confusing when it comes to Lord Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord of Fairfax of Cameron who retired to land in VA and died there a bachelor. The Lord Fairfax after which my county is named was married to a very engaging young woman named Sally Carey. Any idea about the contradictions? It is said that George Washington fell in love with her but never did anything about it but pine for her. He must have been an honorable man..GW. Date wise this Lord FX was the only possible FX county owner.

We also have a Culpepper in Va. Farther South than Fairfax County.
'Lizbet That's as it may be

OK now I am the one to be a trifle confused.
I was meticuoously fullsome with my acreditations for the various links I found
but feel compelled to repeat that i did say:-
Elizabeth there is also a lot about your man, whose picture I failed to find, at:-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Fairfax%2C_6th_Lord_Fairfax_of_Cameron

where you can indeed read in full:-
"Fairfax was the only resident peer in colonial America. In 1748, he made the acquaintance of George Washington, a distant relative, then a youth of 16, and, impressed with his energy and talents, employed him to survey his lands lying west of the Blue Ridge. {George Washington's elder half brother Lawrence Washington (1718-1752) was married to Anne {1728-1761}a daughter of Colonel William Fairfax of Belvoir-a land agent and cousin of Lord Thomas Fairfax. Anne Fairfax brother George William Fairfax was married to Sally Fairfax nee Cary."
It a l sounds a mite incestious to me however honourable GW might have been!!
so as is only to be expected "Sally" was Sally Fairfax

Please note the full stop (OK have it your way "period") after
" Lord Thomas Fairfax." and before "Anne Fairfax "
I suspect the latter should read Anne Fairfax's brother
It then makes sense to me. Hows about you??
In point of fact all you had to do was google for "GW Sally" or indeed "Sally Fairfax" to find yet another wiki (there is no end to them) at:-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sally_Fairfax
"Sally Cary Fairfax is remembered for being the woman George Washington was apparently in love with at the time of his marriage to Martha Dandridge Custis"
and
"Despite any ardor that Sally and young Washington may have shared, the forbidden temptation that Sally represented could not fit into the lofty standards that Washington had established for himself. All evidence points that they were on their best behavior."
and tellingly:-
"Washington was impressed with this attractive, popular, and intelligent woman--arguably held her as the paradigm of womanhood. She was a key inspiration for the future President to elevate himself to a higher social, cultural, and intellectual sphere,
what fun this is
I hope everybody is taking notes. as there will be a test tomorrow!!

[ELizabeth]

John,
Yet again thank you for your research and forbearance. The Wiki 'thing' says that Sally Cary was married to George William Fairfax. But, I feel certain she was married to Lord Thomas Fairfax. I'll check tomorrow with my local history buffs. I could be wrong...that has happened before! Back at you John. 'Lizbet

[Sheila Ann]

Haven't read Corfid for a couple days and almost didn't read the continuation of this thread. Now that I did I figured I'd add my two cents! I was a 30-year resident of Fairfax County VA before moving to Winchester VA, the burial place (under(!) Christ Episcopal Church, Winchester) of the 6th Lord Fairfax (the bachelor one!). It was my understanding that Fairfax the 6th was the one for whom the county was named but...the Fairfax name was so prominent in the region that it was a 'given' that Fairfax should be its name. I, too, could be wrong as it is way too early in the AM for History 101!

[johnfowles]

Originally posted by johnfowles:

Finally if you want a real laugh find Bob Newhart’s classic spoof telephone call between Raleigh and his bemused UK agent regarding tobacco
Introducing Tobacco to Civilization


I found the full (text) transcript at:-
http://www.hkexpats.com/HKXPosts~ID~9579~CAT~18~FORUM~10.htm
Scroll down to a posting at the bottom of that page
It seem that the posting of the transcript of Bob Newharts tobacco essay has been deleted from the Hong Kong expats site where I found it but google had cached it so I will post the complete thing here.
This is Possibly the funniest comedy skit by a non-Brit that I have ever heard. He deserves an honorary knighthood for this
(It is almost as funny to read as to hear the original recording which I have on tape somewhere if anybody wants to hear it)

INTRODUCING TOBACCO TO CIVILISATION
by
Bob Newhart

Milestones are never really recognised right away... it takes fifty or sixty years before people realise what an achievement it is. Take for instance... tobacco, it was discovered by Sir Walter Raleigh... and he sent it over to England from the colonies.
It seems to me, the uses of tobacco aren't obvious right off the bat... and I imagine a phone conversation between Sir Walter Raleigh and the head of the 'West Indies Company' in England, explaining about this shipment of tobacco... would go something like this...

Telephone rings

Yeh?...
Who is it, Frank?...
Sir Walter Raleigh?...
Yeh?...
Yeh, put him on, will you!
Hey, Harry... you wanna pick up the extension?...
Yeh! it's nutty Walter again!
Hi, Walter baby, how are you, guy? How's everything going?...
Oh, things are fine here, Walt!...
Did we get the what?...
Oh!, the boat load of turkeys, yeh! They arrived fine Walt, as a matter of fact they're still here, they're wonderin' all over London...
Well, y'see, that's an American holiday, Walt!!!...
What you got for us this time, Walt, you got another winner for us?
Tob-acco... er, what's tob-acco, Walt?...
It's a kind of leaf, huh?...
And you bought eighty tonnes of it?!!...
Let me get this straight, Walt, you've bought eighty tonnes of leaves? This may come as a kind of a surprise to you Walt but come fall in England, we're kinda upto our...
It isn't that kind of leaf, huh?...
Oh!, what kind is it then... some special kind of food?...
Not exactly?...
Oh, it has a lot of different uses, like, what are some of the uses, Walt?...
Are you saying 'snuff', Walt?...
What's snuff?...
You take a pinch of tobacco, ha! ha! ha!...
And you shove it up your nose. ha! ha! ha!...
and it makes you sneeze? ha! ha! ha!...
Yeh, I imagine it would, Walt! Hey, Goldenrod seems to do it pretty well over here!
It has other uses though, huh?...
You can chew it!...
Or put it in a pipe!...
Or you can shred it up...
And put it in a piece of paper. ha! ha! ha!...
And roll it up. ha ha ha...
Don't tell me, Walt, don't tell me. ha! ha! ha! you stick it in your ear, right? ha! ha! ha!...
Oh! between your lips!...
Then what do you do, Walt? ha! ha! ha!...
You set fire to it! ha! ha! ha!...
Then what do you do, Walt?...
Ha! ha! ha! You inhale the smoke, huh! ha! ha! ha!...
You know, Walt... it seems you can stand in front of your own fireplace and have the same thing going for you!
You see, Walt... we've been a little worried about you, y'know, ever since you put your cape down over that mud.
Y'see, Walt... I think you're gonna have rather a tough time selling people on sticking burning leaves in their mouthes...
It's going very big over there, is it?...
What's the matter, Walt?...
You spilt your what?...
Your coff-ee?.
What's coffee, Walt?...
That's a drink you make out of beans, huh? ha! ha! ha!...
That's going over very big there, too, is it?...
A lot of people have a cup of coffee right after their first cigarette in the morning, huh?...
Is that what you call the burning leaves, Walt?... cigarettes?...
I tell you what, Walt!, why don't you send us a boatload of those beans, too!
If you can talk people into putting those burning leaves in their mouthes... they've gotta go for those beans, Walt!... right?
Listen, Walt... don't call us... we'll call you!...
G'bye!

[BILLW]

Originally posted by ELizabeth:
Are we still on for Gord at Wolf Trap this summer? Hope so. 'Lizbet We'd love to do Wolf Trap again but it's not on the schedule so far. It usually falls right near his stop at The Keswick but last year he skipped the Keswick maybe he's going to skip Wolf Trap this time around.

We have tickets for Town Hall and The Keswick so far.

Bill :)

[johnfowles]

Originally posted by Sheila Ann:
Now that I did I figured I'd add my two cents! I was a 30-year resident of Fairfax County VA before moving to Winchester VA, the burial place (under(!) Christ Episcopal Church, Winchester) of the 6th Lord Fairfax (the bachelor one!). It was my understanding that Fairfax the 6th was the one for whom the county was named but...the Fairfax name was so prominent in the region that it was a 'given' that Fairfax should be its name.OK History 102 students wake up at the back there Sheila!!

I googled on and found successivrely:-
http://www.fxva.com/fxva/history.html
"1649, King Charles II of England granted all of the land between the Rappahannock and Potomac rivers to a group of seven Englishmen. In 1719 this land came into the possession of Thomas, sixth Lord Fairfax, after whom Fairfax County was named. By 1732 there were attempts to form the land into a county, but it was not until 1741 that the Virginia Assembly, meeting in Williamsburg, created Fairfax County. The assembly action took effect the next year."

And regarding where he was buried:-
http://gen.culpepper.com/historical/nneck/5b-leeds.htm
"The first resting place was the original parish church of Frederick, a large stone building erected at Fairfax's own cost in 1762. This building stood on the corner of Loudoun (Main) and Boscawen (Water) streets in the town of Winchester (Cartmel, Shenandoah Valley Pioneers, 1909, pp. 183, 138), where a stone today displays an inscription recording that 'Lord Fairfax was first buried on this spot, and afterwards removed and buried under Christ Church in this town"
"In Memory of Thomas, Lord Fairfax, who died 1782, and whose ashes repose underneath this church, which he endowed.
It will be noted that the date here cited, apparently following Burnaby, is erroneous. For this consideration, as well as others, a new bronze tablet was, in the autumn of 1925, set up in Christ Church on the occasion of the re-interment there of Lord Fairfax's dust; on which is an MI. as follows:
[Arms, Fairfax of Cameron quartering Culpeper, with the motto, 'Fare Fac' being the achievement which Lord Fairfax himself preferred to use in relation to Virginia, as identifying the origin of his proprietary title; and which he had displayed, e.g., on the third (1745) state of John Warner's map of the Northern Neck.]
Under this Spot repose the Remains of Thomas, sixth Lord Fairfax of Cameron, Son of Thomas, fifth Lord Fairfax, and Catherine Culpeper, his wife. Born at Leeds Castle, County Kent, England, October 22, 1693. Died at his proprietary of the Northern Neck in Virginia, December 9, 1781, in the eighty-ninth year of his age. He was buried in the original Frederick Parish Church at the comer of Loudoun (Main) and Boscawen (Water) Streets, whence his remains were removed to this church in 1828; where they were reinterred in 1925, when this tablet was erected by the Vestry of Christ Church."
also worth looking at is
http://gazette.gmu.edu/articles/index.php?id=6925
which starts off:-
"It is said that Sally Cary, who became the wife of George William Fairfax of Belvoir, Va., was George Washington’s first love. She and her husband spent the Revolutionary War in England, but kept in touch with Gen. Washington. She died in Bath, England, in 1811, leaving a will. The original of Sally Fairfax’s will, an interesting piece of local history, is owned by Randolph Lytton.

Lytton, a professor of history at George Mason whose specialty is Greek and Roman history, is also fascinated with the local history of Northern Virginia."
Amen.

[ELizabeth]

OK my face is red. I guess I had it wrong. Still a very interersting thread. My homes sits two blocks frome the Fairfax County Courthouse and George Mason University. I actually live in an historic area of the county. No. VA. is a great place to live, especially the City of Fairfax.

[Peter Bro10]

Quoting BILLW.... "Well Gitchigumee it just goes to show that the ONE thing we ALL have in common here is a love of all things LIGHTFOOT. Once we stray from that common ground our interests are quite varied and rarely overlap."

I beg to differ on the "interests ....rarely overlap", BILLW. For example there is a thread a mile long on aviation. then check the later portion of this tread! Who would have ever thought there would be such keen interest in the historical significance (sp) of Fairfax Co. VA etc, etc....
This is not even to mention that the average Corfidian possesses no ability to stay on topic!!! How on earth do you start with a discussion on the origins of the name "corfid" and end up in Fairfax Co VA??? with much more info about our first president, George Washington, that I didn't know before! Oh yeah, not to mention the bit of insight into the "Brit-Aussie dynamic". This thread went all over the place!!!
In summary,We have enough in common to bind us, and enough diversity to keep it interesting!! So I'll keep coming back for more of the same... sounds familiar??

[johnfowles]

Originally posted by Peter Bro10:
Quoting BILLW.... "Well Gitchigumee it just goes to show that the ONE thing we ALL have in common here is a love of all things LIGHTFOOT. Once we stray from that common ground our interests are quite varied and rarely overlap."

I beg to differ on the "interests ....rarely overlap", BILLW. For example there is a thread a mile long on aviation. then check the later portion of this tread! Who would have ever thought there would be such keen interest in the historical significance (sp) of Fairfax Co. VA etc, etc....
This is not even to mention that the average Corfidian possesses no ability to stay on topic!!! How on earth do you start with a discussion on the origins of the name "corfid" and end up in Fairfax Co VA??? with much more info about our first president, George Washington, that I didn't know before! OK fair cop Peter
I'll 'fess up:-
http://www.johnfowles.org.uk/images/I_Am_Responsible.jpg
But I swear I had no idea the course that this rambling discussion would take.
Basically there are a many things I really enjoy doing on my computer
and without trying to be pretentious I know I do several very well including:-
displaying pictures here
researching ideas that come into my head using google web and image search
in particular describing and wherever possible illustrating the beauties of my home town/county and country.
trying to think up things that I think might interest and/or amuse people here
(especially when presented with a "blank palette" as it were in this small talk forum topic)
I was as surprised as anybody when my casual reference to General Fairfax in connection with the history of my hometown sparked responses from ELizabeth and Sheila.
And even more surprised to find George Washington being mentioned
Just as I was surprised to be accused of being "harsh".
I was not of course surprised when the Australian village idiot produced his customary stream of vitriol directed at me.
http://www.dorkinglabs.com/fim/61.jpg
I do however remain surprised that so far not one person has commented on Bob Newhart's oustandingly funny routine, possibly because too many here are guiltily puffing away at Rawleigh's "cancer sticks"
http://www.dgreetings.com/newimages/nosmoking/smoking03t.gif
http://www.myspacecomedy.com/images/funny/cancer_install.gif
a nasty habit that my 2000 stroke fortunately enabled me to give up.
Yes it will be 7 years on the 19th of January (I went into hospital on January 19th 2000) since I last inhaled the deadly nicotine

[ January 13, 2007, 17:26: Message edited by: johnfowles ]

[Sheila Ann]

:D "How many forum members does it take to change a lightbulb?" ;)

[Gitchigumee]

Originally posted by Peter Bro10:
I beg to differ on the "interests ....rarely overlap", BILLW. ... In summary,We have enough in common to bind us, and enough diversity to keep it interesting!! So I'll keep coming back for more of the same... sounds familiar?? [/QB]I was thinking the same thing. I think we are all connected by many of the same interests.

[Gitchigumee]

Originally posted by johnfowles:
... a nasty habit that my 2000 stroke fortunately enabled me to give up. Yes it will be 7 years on the 19th of January (I went into hospital on January 19th 2000) since I last inhaled the deadly nicotine [/QB]Congratulations! In March it will be 3 years for me, since I gave up the filthy habit.

[BILLW]

Originally posted by Peter Bro10:
Quoting BILLW.... "Well Gitchigumee it just goes to show that the ONE thing we ALL have in common here is a love of all things LIGHTFOOT. Once we stray from that common ground our interests are quite varied and rarely overlap."

I beg to differ on the "interests ....rarely overlap", BILLW. For example there is a thread a mile long on aviation. then check the later portion of this tread! Who would have ever thought there would be such keen interest in the historical significance (sp) of Fairfax Co. VA etc, etc....
This is not even to mention that the average Corfidian possesses no ability to stay on topic!!! How on earth do you start with a discussion on the origins of the name "corfid" and end up in Fairfax Co VA??? with much more info about our first president, George Washington, that I didn't know before! Oh yeah, not to mention the bit of insight into the "Brit-Aussie dynamic". This thread went all over the place!!!
In summary,We have enough in common to bind us, and enough diversity to keep it interesting!! So I'll keep coming back for more of the same... sounds familiar?? LOL

Pete I guess you're right , what was I thinking ?

Actually I was probably thinking about some varied interests that we have that can't overlap. e.g. sport fishing and PETA supporting, just to take a stab...

But I admit you're right - when I met a bunch of us up in Hamilton for the 'comeback' shows we never ran out of stuff to talk about. Even if it was sometimes just about our remarkable fashion sense and ability to 'tart up' out of a suitcase.

Thanks for the reality check,

Bill :)

[charlene]

really Bill - I can't think of anything more important than tarting up with some good fashions....even if we are in Hamilton..
lol
;)
;)
;)