Odds & sods…

There’s an advertisement for VW cars which is currently making me feel the feels – by which I mean disbelief, crossness, anger, frustration – all the negative emotions.

The scene opens to the interior of a family sized car where we hear a voiceover saying (words to the effect of) “Amsterdam is a long drive…” before cutting to the face of a woman (sat in the front seat), while a pre-teen child (sat in the seat behind her) continuosly kicks the rear of her seat. The woman is clearly not happy but – and here’s the OMG moment – apparently the solution is to buy a bigger car… and not parent the child.

Now of course I realise the job of the advertisement is to sell cars, but FFS! Frankly, this advertisement would put me off buying a VW were I to be in the market for a new car. And I actively like VWs…

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Do you know how falconers breed their falcons? No, I didn’t either. Hold onto your hats, for this one’s an unexpected tale.

Also, unexpectedly, it involves hats…

There is an item called a “Falcon Copulation Hat” which resembles one of those Catholic church approved barrier method contraceptive devices, except it has holes in it. Here’s a link where you can see one should you be that interested. The story goes that Peregrine Falcons nearly became extinct, a fate from which this little hat saved them.

Where did I find this out? Unexpectedly, on a reality tv show pithily – if not displaying much in the way of imagination – entitled Vinnie Jones in the Country, where Vinnie Jones – one time footballer (soccer), and now hard man actor, has a mate who’s a falconer.

Honestly, I’m not sure what’s more surprising – the hat itself, or the fact that I’ve watched every series of a Cockney ex-footballer playing at country landowner. There’s days I’m not sure I even know who I am anymore…

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Lastly, I give you Donkey Wallopers.

English is a wonderfully colourful language – and unusually, I’m not talking about swear words and vulgarity (although I do have a keen admiration for both), rather it’s how the English love to come up with slang or insider shorthand for just about everything.

Himself mentioned this particular term to me one day not long after we first met, and I let it slide by. But then I heard it used by someone else, so I had to ask…

It turns out to be the name given to the cavalry – specifically the Household Cavalry – by your rank and file infantryman, whose origins are not what we’d call fancy, whereas those joining the Household Cavalry generally are.

The derogatory term was dubbed for when they’re on ceremonial duties (see them here on their Museum website) rather than when they’re on active duty, where they perform reconnaissance while “mounted” on tanks – in other words, doing “proper” soldiering, instead of walloping their donkeys… one presumes 🙃

Have any advertisements especially annoyed you? Are there any random facts, or interesting terms you might care to share?

© Debs Carey, 2025