Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Only a lark

Alouette gentille alouette,
Alouette je te plumerai.


I am disturbed to find today the verb plumer meaning to pluck.
All these years, since at least 1961, telling myself, ‘I must look that up’ - at last I do and am shocked at the barbarity of it. Poor little skylark.

4 comments:

FBT said...

1961 was clearly a year of some significance to you. Did your interest in lark-plucking have anything to do with your expulsion from Brockley Grammar?

Sir Compton Valence said...

I think she's onto you, macduff

MacDuff said...

I have emailed her a full and detailed explanation which she will find terribly disappointing - let me have your email address and Ill send you a copy but for the rest of my readership, thats you Krishna and the person who keeps winding up here when he searching for 'Nigel Titt" on Google I shall remain a man of mystery.

Andrew said...

I am gutted that the larks should be plucked. I've heard of pheasant pluckers but rarely lark pluckers, and then only in Malta and Italy.