The issue with the cladding is exacerbated by the wind tunnel effect on the west side of the building pulling the slates away from the wall. On windy days you can see the windows curving outwards, pretty sure the architects never envisaged this occuring.

Reminds me of a lengthy (and unresolved) discussion about what the distinction between'fear factor' and 'horror rating' was. What was actually being measured?

As long as it's not the bizarre incarnation of Merlyn gibbering away about the beauty of capitalism who shows up in the final book of The Once and Future King.

Oh yes, the National Museum of Scotland had 'Government Property' toilet paper until around 1984 IIRC. It was the user-unfriendly shiny white interleaved Rizla type.

Yes, this was never explicitly stated but it fits my understanding of this use of floor being class-coded.

Hobyahs and dismembered dogs are the true the stuff of nightmares. Even now I feel somewhat unsettled thinking about them.

Yes, these connections aren't always obvious, particularly if there's a more common modern equivalent like the way wrought has been superseded by worked, these obsolescent words get stranded in particular expressions 'hale and hearty', 'wrought iron', commonweal' etc.

There's loads of these. Weal and wealth is another where one of the two is obsolescent.

However upmarket the Orient Express is, it's, nevertheless, still *a train* so it certainly wouldn't be my first choice if I was coming up with a theme for a toilet.

"It's a crime feeding a dog human biscuits!"

I'm middle-aged and never really understood the point of Filofaxes to be honest.

You've got the gist of it, yes.

I could have sworn that this Jesus Christ Superstar rhyme was mentioned in Iona Opie's 'The People in the Playground' but I can't find any mention of it. Even the indexes of the Opie's books are an absolute joy: 'Camel, man has sex with [story]' etc.

Jesus Christ Superstar
Barry Sheen on a Yamaha
Does a skid
Kills a kid
Rattles his balls on a dustbin lid

That giraffe's head looks very grubby. Where has it been?