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Rename the Thames to the Ning Nang Nong

To mark the passing of the world's premier surreal poet
  (+31, -4)(+31, -4)(+31, -4)
(+31, -4)
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This would would be a suitable honour for the late Spike Milligan. May he rest in peace or alternatively in Lewisham if Jerry Archer gets to heaven.
Aristotle, Feb 28 2002

Spike Milligan: More than just a Goon http://news.bbc.co....1550000/1550507.stm
Spike Milligan's obituary. [Aristotle, Feb 28 2002, last modified Oct 21 2004]

On the Ning Nang Nong http://www.koikadit...n/ningnangnong.html
The words, and the artwork, of the poet himself. [Aristotle, Feb 28 2002, last modified Oct 21 2004]

Spike's Films http://www.fireflyc...g/spike/movies.html
some you might know... [po, Feb 28 2002, last modified Oct 21 2004]

The Guardian's Great Britons http://www.guardian...3604,724964,00.html
Spike was voted joint second in a reader's poll. [Aristotle, May 31 2002, last modified Oct 21 2004]

A Number 10 petition to get this implemented! http://petitions.nu...uk/ningnangnongnow/
This may not be approved! [Aristotle, Jun 20 2009]

Not a children's home in Liverpool. http://en.wikipedia...y_Fields_(memorial)
[jutta, Jun 21 2009]

[link]






       And perhaps build cardboard and string bridge over it?
mcscotland, Feb 28 2002
  

       That would be the Millenium Bridge, mcscotland.
DrBob, Feb 28 2002
  

       I hope he wasn't there when it happened.
stupop, Feb 28 2002
  

       lets put it to Ken Livingstone - its what we want!!!
po, Feb 28 2002
  

       It'd be difficult to find cows that go bong though.
dare99, Feb 28 2002
  

       I must admit that I did buy some plain postcards and send this request to Ken Livingstone, Prince Charles, the Prime Minister and my MP. A short, surreal campaign with the 4 stamps that I had to hand.   

       If a string and cardboard bridge was to be made for the Ning Nang Nong (formerly the Thames) there would have to be employed people to say "He's fallen in the water!" in case of structural failure.
Aristotle, Mar 02 2002
  

       A few other minor changes:
Old Father Ning Nang Nong
Ning Nang Nong Rowing Club
Ning Nang Nong Trains
Ning Nang Nong Barrier
Henley-upon-Ning Nang Nong
Ning Nang Nong Police
po, Mar 02 2002
  

       That'd be Ning Nang Nong _Valley_ Police.
CoolerKing, Mar 02 2002
  

       Excuse the absence for an hour or so , all the Brits are watching a tribute to SPIKE MILLIGAN
po, Mar 02 2002
  

       In addition my father would become a Freeman of the Ning Nang Nong in acknowledgement of the right he earned from his apprenticeship as lighterman.
Aristotle, Mar 03 2002
  

       This is the reply I go back from my MP on House of Commons stationary to my postcard :   

       Thank you for your card.   

       An intriguing suggestion! I now have this mental image of Messrs Blair and Prescott in the roles of Bluebottle and Eccles, thought I do not think Mr Blair has yet developed the accent to say, "he's fallen in the water".   

       Yours sincerely,
Aristotle, Mar 08 2002
  

       who is your MP? Aristotle, I am going to try mine (Tom Cox)
po, Mar 08 2002
  

       He's a Conservative chappie who can often be found in Hansard discusing the issue of gypsies and calling on the government to come up with a final solution. That Boris Johnson bloke has a constituency adjacent to my MP.
Aristotle, Mar 08 2002
  

       forgotten his name have you??? sounds like a really charming character altogether!
po, Mar 08 2002
  

       My MP is OK once you grasp that he is a bland Tory who is probably just a just a shade to the left of the current bald Conservative leader whom our national fascist party loves to endorse. I know my MP's name because I spend 15 days of my holiday campaigning for tactical voting against him at the last general election.
Aristotle, Mar 09 2002
  

       all is clear now. and apparently the right hon. gentleman spent some time under Ann Widdecombe - that must have been a pleasant experience....
po, Mar 09 2002
  

       And after Benny, Ning Nang Nong presents ...
arghblah, Mar 10 2002
  

       I don't get it.
lumpy, Mar 10 2002
  

       Who was Spike Miligan and why is the Thames pronounced "Tim" and not as... well, Thames?
painperdu, Mar 11 2002
  

       painperdu: Sacrebleu! Spike Milligan is a late writer, poet and comedian who was born in India with Irish parents. See the links "Spike Milligan: More than just a Goon" and his poem "On the Ning Nang Nong". As for the pronounciation of the Thames - it pronounced in English as Tem(s) with just a hint of the "s" at the end. Don't forget that English pronounciation is received and/or based on (roughly) the spelling which is influenced by the original language a word comes from. I could ask you why "Tin Tin" is pronounced "Tan Tan" in France, for example, but I won't ...   

       lumpy: There is/was a TV production company called Thames Television.
Aristotle, Mar 11 2002
  

       I received a friendly reply from Ken Livinstone's office thanking me for my letter but informing me that are no current plans to rename the Thames.
Aristotle, May 31 2002
  

       This gets my (belated) vote.   

       If the Thames can't be done, what about trying to rename Bexhill-on-Sea? (Setting of a famous Goon Show episode, The Dreaded Batter Pudding Hurler of Bexhill-on-Sea.) Or the sea itself?   

       How's that for a plan of attack? ("Looks like a nail!" "No, it's a tack!")
magrak, Jul 16 2002
  

       If only William McGonagall were alive to pen his funeral ode!
pfperry, Jul 16 2002
  

       I bet they'd still call it the Isis in Oxford.
harderthanjesus, Jun 11 2004
  

       I'm blown away by this - have read a lot of Spike's stuff over the years but never came across the Ning Nang Nong poem.   

       My wife's siblings have the nicknames (in order of age) Noo Noon Ning Nong Nui Neng. I'm starting to wonder if Spike spent time in Thailand in the 60's....
ConsulFlaminicus, Jun 11 2004
  

       <Tabs> not knowing who Jeffrey Archer is happens to be one of the few occasions which proves that 'ignorance is bliss.' I would tell you but then I would have to kill you, for your own sake.
etherman, Jun 11 2004
  

       I currently live in the Thames Valley. I would be nothing less than honoured to live in the Ning Nang Nong Valley. Maybe speakers should be attached to the trees alongside the river also?
harderthanjesus, Jun 11 2004
  

       Ahem, I've set up a petition with the Number 10 Downing Street site to implement this (see link). You need to be a UK resident (or full fill a limited numbers of alternatives) to sign it though.
Aristotle, Jun 20 2009
  

       I think my home in the Royal Borough of Kingston-upon-Ning-nang-nong has a very special ring to it, though I'll require a bigger letterbox to accommodate the larger envelopes to fit the full address on. Ed Davey, earn your expenses.
AbsintheWithoutLeave, Jun 20 2009
  

       // naming buildings and monuments after celebrities is already a common practice//
Au contraire, my dear [21q] - this is a perfectly new practice of naming a natural feature after a celebrity's oeuvre.
Perhaps you could propose the J.D Salinger Memorial Rye Field.
AbsintheWithoutLeave, Jun 21 2009
  

       Hm... You mean perfectly new, like "Strawberry Fields" in New York?
<pedant>The "oeuvre" here would be nonsense poetry or something like that - Ning Nang Nong and Strawberry Fields are names of single works, not oeuvres. Single works get much better names!
  

       I wish this were done more, by the way - it's a much better idea than naming things after people.
jutta, Jun 21 2009
  

       [Aristotle] - couldn't get that link to work...
hippo, Jun 21 2009
  

       //like "Strawberry Fields" in New York//
<pedant> Strawberry Fields was a childrens' home (orphanage) in Liverpool (Lancashire), and hence never was a natural feature.
AbsintheWithoutLeave, Jun 21 2009
  

       The reason the link wouldn't work:   

       "I'm sorry to inform you that your petition has been rejected.   

       Your petition was classed as being in the following categories:   

       * Intended to be humorous, or has no point about government policy"
Aristotle, Jun 25 2009
  

       //Intended to be humorous, or has no point about government policy//   

       It sounds to me like they're tempting you Brits to march in protest.
Picture it, thousands shouting "Ning Nang Nong!, Ning Nang, Ning Nang, Ning Nang Nong!" marching along the river.
Zimmy, Jun 25 2009
  

       Fortunately there is the "Ying Tong Song" and "I'm Walking Backwards for Christmas" to sing on such a march ...
Aristotle, Jun 25 2009
  
      
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