Virtual events

No, I think a likelier scenario is that members with a lively SOH rescued the “cruise” from the Doldrums where it was becalmed
If you need reminding of the meaning of this expression, this seems apt
For centuries sailors dreaded the aptly named Doldrums. This band of windless, hot, and humid weather near the equator could stall sailing ships for weeks, driving the crew to distraction with the monotony and sometimes even leading to the onset of scurvy as fresh supplies ran out
Another definition of the non-nautical usage is also not far out
doldrums/ˈdɒldrəmz/noun
a state or period of stagnation or depression
“. the mortgage market has been in the doldrums for three years. "

But I would not lose too much sleep coming up with inspiration for threads which you initiate and are taken up or possibly need rescuing by others.
The temptation to organise - whether it relates to Site Stuff, obsolescent tenses of French verbs, systems of punctuation or orthography (I never got the <arch> thingy and suspect I was not alone ) might be best resisted.
So, if you have an idea for a thread, go ahead and start it.

Thank you.

Actually the cruise ship's engine was broken down and I was thinking that the next bit would be that the wrong part would arrive causing further delay, but I had not thought of how to get out of that at the time. Sort of first of all devise a problem, then only afterwards try to solve it.

Fixing the broken engine seemed to have got lost.

But I am now clearer as to what was being wanted, and along the way there have been some interesting facts presented.

What does SOH mean please?

I tried searching but couldnot find anything.

> So, if you have an idea for a thread, go ahead and start it.

Thank you. I am just trying to find what people would like. I think it best not to start another virtual journey thread until the cruise finishes, either with a definite endimg or just fades out.

> The temptation to organise

Ah, I had not thought of it like that. I suppose that does sound remiss of me, I had thought of it as pushing forward creatively in a joyful inclusive inspired polymath type of way.

Oh well, hey ho.

"The Virtual cruise Lyon to Avignon and Arles is continuing yet seems likely to be completed in a few days".

"You might think that; I couldn't possibly comment"

SOH means "sense of humour". Not everyone gets jokes and banter in the same way - some brains are wired differently! Makes for a diverse world?

The term GSOH (goodSOH)used to be used in the small ads where people were looking for partners, like PMO in car ads. Which I believe means "perfect mechanical order". For some reason I thought it meant "private motorists only". These abbreviations can be confusing at times.

How about origin of unusual words starting with Abracadabra or is that too boring ?

in a joyful inclusive inspired polymath type of way

Now it’s that sort of assumption which irritates me-
setting yourself as a polymath. Really?
What possible justification do you have for this assumption?

Thank you, both.

I do remember seeing GSOH in dating ads and I realised what it meant. So I am now puzzled by why I did not understand SOH.

I always wonder exactly what GSOH means.

What the person advertising means by GSOH, what anyone reading it might think that GSOH means.

Would they both think it means the same things?

Would one mean laughing at Carry On films and the other mean enjoying obscure puns in foreign languages, like the one about the man who thought a famous French song was about a pink aeroplane. (I know, the old ones are the best)

What if they arranged a date? How would it go?

I do remember seeing one such advertisement from a woman who was looking for a man and included "must be financially solvent" in her requirements list.

I do remember seeing one such advertisement from a woman who was looking for a man and included "must be financially solvent" in her requirements list

And were you?

In the same way that they say if you can remember the Sixties, you weren’t there, if you have to ask what is understood by a good sense of humour…….I rest my case.

> Now it’s that sort of assumption which irritates me-
setting yourself as a polymath. Really?
What possible justification do you have for this assumption

I am interested in many types of things, science, history, literature, languages, art. So I am not just knowledgeable about topics in one of the two cultures that C P Snow wrote about, so therefore I am a polymath. Some people's generality of interests ceased at "O" level as they afterwards only took interest in either science or arts, yet some people retained, or returned in later life, to having an interest in many topics, including topics they did not know about before.

Marsha

^I do remember seeing one such advertisement from a woman who was looking for a man and included "must be financially solvent" in her requirements list^

And were you?

Oh no, I'm male, it wasn't me that was looking.

I meant were you financially solvent, whilst browsing the lonely hearts column?

StarDreamer

> Now it’s that sort of assumption which irritates me-
setting yourself as a polymath. Really?
What possible justification do you have for this assumption

I am interested in many types of things, science, history, literature, languages, art. So I am not just knowledgeable about topics in one of the two cultures that C P Snow wrote about, so therefore I am a polymath. Some people's generality of interests ceased at "O" level as they afterwards only took interest in either science or arts, yet some people retained, or returned in later life, to having an interest in many topics, including topics they did not know about before.

You’re a modest sort of fellow…..

Marsha

I meant were you financially solvent, whilst browsing the lonely hearts column?

I realised what you meant. I was trying to display a sense of humour.

Did you meet anyone with a similar SOH?

It only works because it is in text. If your question had been spoken the intonation would have conveyed the meaning, but in text, the intonation is not there, so the ambiguity can be used to produce humour.

Have you looked to share your wide ranging knowledge with others, SD?
I would love to hear someone like you at our local U3A.

W.I.? Probus? maybe? Church social groups? Even retirement homes - they are always looking for interesting visiting speakers with a wide range of topics.

You might even end up being a guest speaker on a cruise ship -
Just sit back and enjoy the journey!

Hubris is one of the great renewable resources - P. J. O'Rourke

Marsha

Did you meet anyone with a similar SOH?

It was in a free newspaper, there was always a page full, arranged in order of age. It was produced as a business activity, either free or very low cost to advertise, the money earned by people replying needing to make a telephone call to an "09 very expensive" telephone number.

You may find this article of interest SD

www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20191118-what-shapes-a-polymath---and-do-we-need-them-more-than-ever

StarDreamer

Marsha

Did you meet anyone with a similar SOH?

It was in a free newspaper, there was always a page full, arranged in order of age. It was produced as a business activity, either free or very low cost to advertise, the money earned by people replying needing to make a telephone call to an "09 very expensive" telephone number.

But did you meet your soulmate?

CaravanSerai

Hubris is one of the great renewable resources - P. J. O'Rourke

Can it be used to produce energy?

StarDreamer

Marsha

Did you meet anyone with a similar SOH?

It was in a free newspaper, there was always a page full, arranged in order of age. It was produced as a business activity, either free or very low cost to advertise, the money earned by people replying needing to make a telephone call to an "09 very expensive" telephone number.

As I recall, many of these ads were quite seamy and you had to read between the lines?
The days when a lady's vital statistics were added as an additional feature or - worse - when a man thought it not unreasonable to request his desired measurements.
Yuck.