pumpkinstrokemarrow

Second, having moaned about the poster parade on the esplanade at Brighton on June 16, I forgot to moan about something of the same sort on the promenade outside the Tate Modern on the way to Macbeth. From which we deduce that more or less permanent posters advertising something worthy, occupying much space and absorbing much money are the latest must have for the people responsible for decorating our streets, presumably some organ of local government. Let's hope that they get the chop in the hard months ahead.

I notice in passing that was also noticeable the Brighton has gone off white. A lot of their buildings are in a dun yellow, rather than the traditional seaside white. A white which can be a bit hard on the eyes on a bright day. That apart, Brighton seems to have managed its sea front buildings quite well. A sensible mixture of new and old with no blanket preservation order on all the old.

Spent the morning puzzling about cousins, having been confused for a long time about the difference between second cousins and once removed cousins. Wikipedia helpfully sorts the whole business out and I learn on the way of a wrinkle in the specification which has the important result of making the relationship commutative. That is to say that if A is a B cousin of C then C is a B cousin of A. Where B might be 'first cousin once removed'. The relationship is not, however, transitive. Something I am reminded about regularly in connection with liking people, liking being a relationship which is neither commutative nor transitive. Put in plain language, the fact that A likes B does not mean that B likes A. And the facts that A likes B and B likes C do not mean that A likes C. Liking is clearly a tricky business.

Coming back to cousins, A is first cousin to B if A is descended from a grandparent of B or B is descended from a grandparent of A, excluding the cases where A is B, A and B are siblings, A and B are in an uncle/aunt relationship and A and B are in a parent relationship. This clearly includes the case when A and B have a grandparent in common. And it is the 'or' bit which is the wrinkle which I had not appreciated before, a wrinkle that means that being first cousins does not necessarily mean a close relationship. To illustrate, a grandson of my great-great-great-great grandfather who was not my great-great grandfather would be my first cousin, albeit somewhat removed. A is second cousin to B if A is not a first cousin to B and if A is descended from a great-grandparent of B or B is descended from a great-grandparent of A.

That deals with first, second, third and so forth cousins. Removal is relatively straightforward, with cousinhood being once removed in the case that A is one generation apart from B. Twice removed in the case that A is two generations apart from B. Which is all fine and dandy provided that people do not inter-marry across generations, when things start to get complicated again.

But I think I have got the general idea. Sufficiently refreshed to go and attend to the flat wheelbarrow tyre. Somehow, not having had a wheelbarrow tyre puncture for years, I have had two in as many weeks. On this occasion it was a very small but very sharp fragment of stone wot done the business. Done the business again where a bicycle puncture repair kit is not going to do the business. New inner tube job. Previous occasion June 10.

PS: Mr G. sufficiently impressed by all this to think that I need a bit of transcendental meditation.