This week the cellarmaster is overseas and the underlings have the responsibility of running the Campbell Bar.
You might say its a case of "while the cat's away, the mice will play".

And what might the mice play? How about Martin Carthys CD - Signsof Life? Martin is a deep voiced Scottish folkie, his acoustic guitar is backed on the best tracks with a deep mood violin played by daughter Eliza Carthy. The tracks to hear are Sir Patrick Spens, The Wife of Usher's Well, and for the Oz, Jim Jones in Botany Bay - and- wait for it - just for Jacques - a Scottish bluesy rendition of Heartbreak Hotel.

And because we were missing the opportunity on the real St Pat's Day we will have a drop of the Irish - Martin Hayes from County Clare - his fiddle bow glides with a smooth precision across fast intricate traditional Irish arrangements - finely supported by Randal Bays on guitar.

Enough of that, now about drinks, no David-Murrays, the cellarmaster stocked the bar before he left - and who else could buy that tight to allow us to sell at prices keener than a rabbitter's dog?

While on the drinks we note that the Paternoster Chardonnay is still waiting for that girl [PC footnote] who wore that exquisitely tailored blue suit last week. Watch out, I owe the library staff some favours - the Chardonnay might slip away.

PC footnote:
Referring to adult women as girls … is inappropriate.
2000 LTUB Assignment Manual

That's a point of view, but besides clumsy constructs like "female person" what are the choices - "woman"? "lady"? Well "lady" sounds as about as exciting as a royal visit to a cheese factory. It seems to me, that the usual reading of the vaudeville line (attributed to Dorothy Fields' father, Lew Fields),

that was no lady, that was my wife,

as being derogative to the wife, is in error. Sure the speaker is drawing the distinction between the concept of a lady and the person he lives with, but the loser in the comparison is determined by the listener's prejudices. Musing on a similar theme the Sentimental Bloke reflects:

But days when I wus down 'nd out she seemed 'igh above;
An' a saint is made for worship, but a woman's made fer love.
…
Fer I wed a reel, live woman, wiv a woman's 'appy knack
Uv torkin' reason inside out an' logic front to back.

Here C.J. rates "woman" more highly than "saint" and hence, presumably, "lady". However see how "woman" needs those adjectives to lift it - otherwise it has all the cold mashed potato gaiety of drowned body police report.

Frankly, I think "girl" is not a bad choice for this occasion, and I have a suspicion, that I might, just, get away with it.

Ground Floor Applied Science II from 5 pm til closing.
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