SS6 20 The Carlingford Curse 7
skyangel on March 11, 2017
The story so far: Since moving into the family home of her girlfriend Lucy, Sarah is convinced the house is haunted. At first she assumed it was Lucy's previous partner who died there in mysterious circumstances but now she is not so sure! An old couple who live nearby are telling Sarah about the strange legend that surrounds the house.
Sing a song of sixpence a pocket full of rye,
Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie:
When the pie was opened the birds began to sing,
Oh wasn't that a dainty dish to set before the king?
Not sure how well known this nursery rhyme is in the US but it's said that when Anne Boleyn was expecting a visit from Henry VIII at her home (Hever castle), she requested her servants to go out into the grounds of the estate and catch 24 black birds to bake in a grand pie. They did so using the rye as bait. Astonishingly, the birds were cooked intact, with their feathers still on!
But when the magnificent pie was finally cut open there was such a terrific stench from inside that nobody could face eating it, so the use of the word ‘sing’ in the rhyme really means ‘stink’ and the term ‘dainty dish’ is used as a mocking remark.
Interestingly enough, many people in my area of the UK still use the slang phrase ‘Ew, that hums a bit!’ using a musical term to describe an unpleasant smell.
Next Week: Carlingford thinks he can outwit the curse but he has severely underestimated how cunning Lenore can be! ;)
Have a nice week :)
BearinOz at 1:00AM, March 14, 2017
What about the gerbil ? B-)
skyangel at 2:31AM, March 15, 2017
The gerbil survived. He mistook it for the hamster. ;)
moizmad at 1:40PM, March 12, 2017
I don't think this Carlingford's such a bad guy, he loves animals and MAD Magazine, sounds a bit like me!
skyangel at 2:52AM, March 13, 2017
later in life he subscribed to Cracked instead tho Mo which in my eyes would be treason. I believe he also ate his pet hamster for a dare.
BearinOz at 4:58AM, March 12, 2017
I love how the meaning of so many nursery rhymes has been lost over time. The classic is "Humpty-Dumpty", which was a Royalist siege tower, during the civil war. I forget which Cromwellian-held castle (West Country somewhere) it was deployed at, but they managed to topple it...
skyangel at 6:03AM, March 12, 2017
Bear: I seem to remember from my history lessons that making disloyal remarks about a king was an act of treason punishable by death which could explain why the rhymes are often so cryptic as so many of them seem to be related to royal events. I never knew Humpty Dumpty was a slang name for a siege tower but now you mention it it makes much more sense of the rhyme!
DarkVisor at 1:49PM, March 11, 2017
The wife was having an affair with the butler (she couldn't resists his butles), so she killed her husband and blamed it on a feather
skyangel at 5:55AM, March 12, 2017
Haha I'd like to know if he swallowed it!
DarkVisor at 1:47PM, March 11, 2017
Hmm, that would explain the version where the blackbirds bit off the maids' noses (or something, fairly sure can remember a different version than the one about singing)
skyangel at 5:56AM, March 12, 2017
Hi DV, Haha I'd forgotten that part of the rhyme. I have a very old nursery rhyme book which was bought for me as a toddler and I was quite shocked some years ago to find the wording changes a lot from book to book. One of the most interesting is 'Old mother Hubbard'as I've seen many different variations of some verses, none of which make much sense!
Phantomduck at 12:12PM, March 11, 2017
It's only just begun.
skyangel at 5:46AM, March 12, 2017
Hi Phantom, it has indeed! :)
PBandJ at 8:53AM, March 11, 2017
I knew the rhyme, but not the story behind it. Excellent page!
skyangel at 5:47AM, March 12, 2017
Hi PB, I love the story behind the rhyme too but it does seem it's never been proven so just like Lenore's story we have to keep an open mind! ;)
Infected Blood at 7:06AM, March 11, 2017
Ha! Chocked on a feather, that's awesome (sorry about the crow's death, though :( )! Looking forward to what's going to happen to that Carlingford bastard!
skyangel at 5:43AM, March 12, 2017
IB: This particular crow has a habit of popping up again! ;) As for Carlingford, his is death is a little more elaborate!
KimLuster at 6:17AM, March 11, 2017
Excellent side story continues!! Especially like the detail and dramatic angle of the first panel!! Well, this takes 'eating crow' to a whole 'nuther level!! ('eating crow' being an American colloquialism wherein one says something that later proves dramatically incorrect, and one has to take back the words...) Of course, the Anne Boleyn spin on crow-eating is so very interesting!! Looks like Carlingford is gonna be eating a bit of crow next week too!! Can't wait!!
skyangel at 5:41AM, March 12, 2017
Hi Kim, I've never heard the expression 'eating crow' in my life, so it's interesting that it's so widely used over there. Just Googling it on Wiki I found it suggests that crow's are possibly as foul tasting as'eating one's words' would be metaphorically, but there are also recipes online for making crow pie, so I'm thinking they can't taste that bad! I do love how these phrases stir the imagination.
tommym at 5:16AM, March 11, 2017
Dear Sky, Great page! If I didn't know better, I would think Carlingford has a copy of a Mad magazine anthology. To bad for the gamekeeper:) We here in the U.S. are familar with the nursery rhyme, at least in my era. As a little kid in the 1950's I had a Illustrated book showing the black birds flying out of the pie as the King sat at the table. Thanks for explaining the orignal meanings of those words. tommym
skyangel at 5:14AM, March 12, 2017
Hi Tommym, yea it was kinda naughty of me to slip that in there wasn't it! haha But in the early days MAD did a really great version of The Raven in comic strip form which despite it's parody was very atmospheric, so the art was in my mind while doing that panel. I think it's quite amazing that when you think how much new literature is published for kids every year, these often mysterious little nursery rhymes still have such power. I too, never considered there was anything more too them until I read an article some years ago about the roots of them.
BearinOz at 4:51AM, March 11, 2017
It's why I never get anything from KFC... I saw a vid the other day about processed chicken, starting as a pink sludge. Guaranteed to turn you vegan ! B-) ...p.s. I wasn't expecting "collateral damage" before we get to old Mr.C
skyangel at 5:06AM, March 12, 2017
Hi Bear, That sounds like that mechanically recovered meat system they often warn about, where they just hose down the bones to get every last scrap of chicken off. I was once told by a guy who worked for McDonalds that the meat arrives the same way. Apart from sounding disgusting though, if I'm hungry enough and it smells good enough I'll probably still eat it!! You really can't beat home cooking though for eating healthily.